Religion News Australia 2011 - 2 (Jan 2

Religion News Australia 2011 - 2 (Jan 2 - 9)

(09 January 11)
by Greg Spearritt

Religion News Australia

Jan 2 - 9, 2011

Religion news stories from Australia

(Research: Greg Spearritt)

abuse / catholic church / international stories / islam / politics / religion & society / uniting church / other

ABUSE

Catholic church trials new child protection measures (ABC News)

Jan 6 - The Catholic church is trialing new child protection guidelines at parishes in Melbourne's outer-east.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Church needs to answer critics, instead it silences them (Sydney Morning Herald)

Jan 5 – (Opinion: Eric Hodgens) The Catholic hierarchy has lost its way but refuses to discuss it.

Thousands expected to mourn Bishop Grech (ABC News)

Jan 6 - The sixth Catholic Bishop of Sandhurst will be farewelled at a funeral service in Bendigo this afternoon.

Religious order in $1m will battle (Herald-Sun, Melbourne)

Jan 9 - A CATHOLIC order of friars which has taken vows of poverty is embroiled in a $1 million legal stoush over a woman's bequest.

INTERNATIONAL STORIES

Abuse

'De-baptism' in Belgium in wake of child abuse scandal (The West Australian, Perth)

Jan 9 - BRUSSELS (AFP) - The child abuse scandals rocking Belgium's powerful Catholic Church are also shaking the faith of followers, with more and more people asking to be struck off baptism registers -- a global movement known as "de-baptism".

Hinduism

In the footsteps of Julia Roberts (The Australian)

Jan 4 – (Travel) "SO you come to Bali for the loving and the eating and the praying, OK?" asks my driver, a savvy young Balinese called Ikomang, as we prepare to set off for our daytrip into the mountains.

Islam

Top Egyptian Muslim rejects Pope's 'interference' (Sydney Morning Herald)

Jan 4 - CAIRO: Egypt's top Muslim imam has criticised Pope Benedict's call for world leaders to defend Christians as interference in his country's affairs, the official MENA news agency reported.

Radical cleric Sadr back in Iraq (The Australian)

Jan 6 - RADICAL Shiite cleric Moqtada al Sadr returned to his Iraqi home city of Najaf after an absence of almost four years.

Also: Sadr calls on Iraqis to resist US 'occupiers' (Sydney Morning Herald)

Jan 9 - Radical Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Saturday exhorted a boisterous crowd to resist the US "occupation" by all means, in his first speech since returning home to the holy city of Najaf.

Religious Violence

The intelligence and the luck that saves us from murderers (Sydney Morning Herald)

Jan 4 – (Opinion: Gerard Henderson) The bombing of a Coptic church in Alexandria, Egypt, at the weekend, apparently by a radical Islamist, was widely reported as a suicide attack. This is a serious misnomer.

Violent protests erupt in wake of Egypt bomb blast (The Age, Melbourne)

Jan 4 - ANGRY Christian demonstrators have pelted an Egyptian politician with stones as fears rise of sectarian unrest after a bombing at a church that killed 21 people.

Also: Coptic pope appeals for calm after Egypt church blast (The Australian)

Jan 4 - EGYPT'S Coptic Pope Shenouda III appealed for calm on Monday as Christian protesters clashed with police for a third day in a row after a New Year's Day bombing killed 21 churchgoers.

Also: Copts living in fear after Egyptian bloodbath (ABC News)

Jan 5 - Coptic Christians in Australia are in a state of grief and fear after several congregation members lost relatives in a New Year suicide bomb attack on an Egyptian church.

Also: Defending all religious rights (The Australian)

Jan 5 – (Opinion: Editorial) EGYPT'S Christians need protection from sectarian attacks.

Mexico arrests Saint Death cult leader (ABC News)

Jan 5 - Mexican police have arrested the leader of Mexico's Santa Muerte (Saint Death) cult and accused him of kidnapping and posing as a member of the feared Zetas drug cartel.

Pakistani governor Salman Taseer's alleged killer faces court (The Australian)

Jan 6 - THE suspected killer of a prominent Pakistani governor received a hero's welcome as he arrived at an Islamabad court today.

Also: Extremism engulfs Pakistan (The Australian)

Jan 6 – (Opinion: Editorial) SALMAN Taseer's decency incurred the wrath of fanatics.

Also: Pakistani scholars say mourning slain governor risky (The West Australian, Perth)

Jan 6 - ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A politician gunned down over his opposition to Pakistan's blasphemy laws was buried on Wednesday after a murder likely to cow further those pushing for a more liberal and secular vision of Pakistani society.

Also: Former boss feared Pakistan suspect's extremism (The West Australian, Perth)

Jan 7 - ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The supervising police officer of the bodyguard accused of killing a Pakistani politician had asked for his removal from all sensitive security duties because of his extreme religious views, an investigator said on Thursday.

Jehovah Witnesses say harassed in south Sudan (The West Australian, Perth)

Jan 8 - JUBA (Reuters) - Jehovah's Witnesses in a south Sudan town have been harassed and expelled and a place of worship was burned down after it was alleged they had told voters not to take part in a secession referendum, members of the sect said.

Protest in central Nigerian city after Muslims killed (The West Australian, Perth)

Jan 9 - JOS, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian soldiers fired into the air to disperse youths burning vehicles and tyres in the central city of Jos on Saturday in protest at the killing of seven Muslims in a nearby village, residents said.

Other

Malaysian man dumps wife for being a demon (ABC News)

Jan 6 - A Malaysian man abandoned his wife after a temple medium convinced him she was a demon who wanted to kill him.

Witches forced to pay tax vow spell attack (The Australian)

Jan 6 - EVERYONE curses the tax man, but Romanian witches angry about having to pay up for the first time are planning to use cat excrement and dead dogs to cast spells on the President and Government.

Philippine faithful flock to 'Black Nazarene' (The West Australian, Perth)

Jan 9 - MANILA (AFP) - Tens of thousands of barefoot Philippine Catholics joined a religious procession Sunday for a centuries-old black icon of Jesus Christ believed by many to have miraculous powers.

ISLAM

I was out there for Australia - Usman (Daily Telegraph, Sydney)

Jan 4 – (Sport) USMAN Khawaja last night revealed his pride at being a trailblazer for multiculturalism rather than placing any significance on becoming Australia's first Test cricketer of Muslim faith.

Muslims call for 'radical' radio station to be closed (Sydney Morning Herald)

Jan 9 - THE nation's peak Islamic group has warned that the radio licence of the Sydney-based Muslim station 2MFM, which has been accused of links to a ''radical cult'', should not be renewed because it is promoting ''sectarian fringe views''.

POLITICS

Premier's unholy row with Cardinal (Daily Telegraph, Sydney)

Jan 9 - PREMIER Kristina Keneally has lashed out at the head of her church in Australia, saying she was "saddened" by Cardinal George Pell for denouncing Catholic politicians who do not follow the church's teachings.

RELIGION & SOCIETY

Mother set to appeal ruling on daughter living in 'cult' (Sydney Morning Herald)

Jan 6 - SHE escaped from a group she regarded as a destructive cult, but the Family Court ordered her daughter to live in the religious community she had left behind.

Do women want to believe? (Sydney Morning Herald)

Jan 6 – (Opinion: Brad Newsome) Are women really more likely than men to believe in the paranormal?

Terror threats sour Coptic Christmas services (ABC News)

Jan 8 - Threats of terror attacks on at least four Australian churches prompted police to protect thousands of Coptic Christians during their Christmas Eve services last night.

Also: Sydney churches on extremist hit list (ABC News)

Jan 9 - Coptic churches in Sydney are on an alert after being threatened by an unnamed Islamic extremist group.

A parallel online universe (The Australian)

Jan 8 – (Opinion: Emma Jane) THE dodgiest place to go for information used to be Wikipedia.

Armageddon ready for the end (Daily Telegraph, Sydney)

Jan 8 - Dead birds in Sweden, dead crabs in England, dead fish in the US. What in the world is going on?

UNITING CHURCH

Foster-care ruling dividing the Uniting Church (The Age, Melbourne)

Dec 28 - THE Uniting Church faces a split over a ruling that has allowed an affiliated charity to stop a gay couple from fostering children.

OTHER

Hundreds turn out for Epiphany festival (ABC News)

Jan 9 - More than 500 people have gathered in Darwin for the annual greek festival of Epiphany.