Religion News Selection 13 (Apr 4

Religion News Selection 13 (Apr 4 - 11)

(10 April 10)
by Greg Spearritt

Religion News Selection

Apr 4 - 11, 2010

A selection of religion news stories from Australia.

Inclusion here does not endorse the veracity or quality of any particular item – it just means I found it worth reading and reflecting on (even if badly conceived or poorly written).

If you’re after the unexpurgated (and reasonably unbiased) version, see Religion News Australia which appears weekly on our website.

EDUCATION

Brethren schools given millions (Sydney Morning Herald)

Apr 7 - A TINY school campus at Bendigo in Victoria run by the controversial Exclusive Brethren religious sect is receiving $1.2 million in federal funding to upgrade its library despite having just 11 primary students last year.

INTERNATIONAL STORIES

Abuse

Society will no longer tolerate hypocritical priests abusing power (The Australian)

Apr 6 – (Opinion: Ian Buruma) IN his remarkable apology to the Catholics of Ireland (most of that country's population), the Pope explained why he thought sinful priests were tempted to commit sexual acts with children.

Pope must grovel and beg for our forgiveness (Sydney Morning Herald)

Apr 7 – (Opinion: Chris Geraghty) The world is agog at the criminal, self-serving ways the cardinals and bishops of the Catholic Church have protected their organisation and clergy over revelations about paedophilia.

Official says pope in pain over scandals (The Age, Melbourne)

Apr 9 - The clerical sex abuse scandal is causing Pope Benedict XVI great pain, the Vatican's number two official says.

Future pope stalled pedophile case (The Age, Melbourne)

Apr 10 - The future Pope Benedict XVI resisted pleas to defrock a US priest with a record of sexually molesting children, citing concerns including "the good of the universal church", according to a 1985 letter bearing his signature.

Why did no one call the cops? Princes of church failed royally (Sydney Morning Herald)

Apr 10 – (Opinion: Mike Carlton) As this latest tsunami of child sexual abuse engulfs the Catholic Church, a question for the Pope: did anyone ever call the cops?

Church can 'regain trust' by working with authorities (The Age, Melbourne)

Apr 10 - The Roman Catholic Church must cooperate with criminal justice authorities on child abuse by priests as "the only way to regain trust," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said.

Islam

Continental bid to remove veil in the face of Islamic extremism (The Australian)

Apr 6 - BELGIAN politicians rarely agree on anything, but common ground has been reached on the veil.

Islamic finance bodies have trillion-dollar potential - Moody's (Daily Telegraph, Sydney)

Apr 8 - ISLAMIC financial bodies, which adhere to religious proscriptions against interest, have a market potential of at least US$5 trillion ($5.43 trillion), Moody's Investors Service said.

US Politics

A colossus who bends presidents' ears (The Age, Melbourne)

Apr 10 - US PRESIDENT Barack Obama is a spiritual man whose Christian faith is a real refuge for him when the challenges of office become overwhelming, according to one of his spiritual advisers.

Religious Violence

Yemeni child bride dies of bleeding after intercourse (The Courier-Mail, Brisbane)

Apr 8 - A 13-year-old Yemeni girl who was forced into marriage died five days after her wedding when she suffered a rupture in her sex organs and hemorrhaging, a local rights organisation said today.

Mob beating upsets secular Indonesians (The Age, Melbourne)

Apr 9 - Indonesia is promising a full investigation into the public humiliation, mob beating and possible caning under Islamic law of two people suspected of adultery.

Other

Hitler 'plotted to steal Turin shroud' (Adelaide Now)

Apr 7 - NAZI dictator Adolf Hitler hatched a plot to steal the Shroud of Turin but was thwarted by a handful of plucky Benedictine monks, it was reported today.

Holy baptism water contaminated (Sydney Morning Herald)

Apr 8 - JERUSALEM: It's official - the holy waters of the River Jordan are full of crap.

Study shines light on near-death experiences (ABC News)

Apr 8 - People who have "near-death experiences," such as flashing lights, feelings of peace and joy and divine encounters before they pull back from the brink may simply have raised levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the blood, a study suggests.

Why we tend to trust strangers (Daily Telegraph, Sydney)

Apr 11 - A NEW Canadian study has discovered why we tend to be fair and trusting with strangers we meet: interestingly, the reasons are commercial and religious.

ISLAM

Hijab ban belongs in the sin bin (Sydney Morning Herald)

Apr 10 - When soccer's world governing body FIFA banned Muslim headscarves from competition, a shudder went through Sydney's all-female football team, the Lakembaroos.

POLITICS

Faith has its place but let's not overdo it (The Australian)

Apr 5 – (Opinion: Errol Simper) WE suggested here a couple of weeks back that a Four Corners profile of Tony Abbott might have contained a journalistic sub-text that would feed into an amalgam of discussion.

MP Bob Katter wants giant religious statue (The Courier-Mail, Brisbane)

Apr 6 - MAVERICK federal MP Bob Katter wants to put a giant religious monument on top of Queensland's highest mountain.

RELIGION & SOCIETY

Police crucified for pulling plug on passion play (The Australian)

Apr 6 - POLICE in Victoria say they were responding to public distress when they pulled the plug on a re-enactment of the passion of Christ in the Victorian city of Geelong.

Also: Complaint to Simon Overland after re-enactment halted (Herald-Sun, Melbourne)

Apr 7 - CHURCH leaders behind a graphic crucifixion re-enactment will go to Victoria's police chief Simon Overland to challenge what they say is unfair treatment of religious demonstrations and double standards.

Atheists win a battle but may lose the war (Sydney Morning Herald)

Apr 6 – (Opinion: Madeleine Bunting) Religion has been invigorated by those who came to bury God.

Pastor slams overcrowding on Christmas Island (The Australian)

Apr 7 - THE detention centre priest flown to Christmas Island by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship has slammed conditions at the facility, saying overcrowding is devastating asylum-seekers, locals and the island's crumbling infrastructure.