Religion News Australia 2011 - 19 (May 1

Religion News Australia 2011 - 19 (May 1 - 8)

(08 May 11)
by Greg Spearritt

Religion News Australia

May 1 - 8, 2011

Religion news stories from Australia

(Research: Greg Spearritt)

abuse / arts & entertainment / catholic church / education / international stories / islam / religion & society / other

ABUSE

Man's child sex addiction blamed on religious cult upbringing (The Australian)

May 6 - A FORMER member of religious sect that condoned pubescent child sex counted eight schoolgirls among his more than 100 sexual conquests who he met via an adult internet chat room, a court has been told.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Jesus actor excluded (The Age, Melbourne)

May 4 - The actor who played Jesus in Mel Gibson’s 2004 blockbuster The Passion of the Christ says he has been shunned by Hollywood since taking the role.

'Christianity stole my childhood' - Katy Perry (news.com.au)

May 5 - KATY Perry says she left her strict religious upbringing behind after her evangelical minister parents left her without a childhood.

New video released for Lady Gag's controversial new single Judas (The Courier-Mail, Brisbane)

May 6 - AFTER viewing the video for Lady Gaga's new single Judas, you may suspect she was shedding crocodile tears recently when pressed on the relentless Madonna comparisons by British music mag NME.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Large Sydney crowds to watch beatification (ABC News)

May 1 - A large crowd is expected to turn out to St Mary's Cathedral in central Sydney today for the live streaming of the beatification of Pope John Paul II.

Removal of Toowoomba’s Bishop Morris

Vatican forces outspoken Qld bishop to retire (ABC News)

May 2 - The Catholic Bishop of Toowoomba on Queensland's Darling Downs has quit after a row with the Pope.

Church slammed for dumping Toowoomba bishop (ABC News)

May 3 - Catholic leaders have criticised the church hierarchy for a lack of transparency after the Vatican confirmed the removal of a long-serving Queensland bishop.

Secrecy and silence continues in the Catholic church (ABC News)

May 3 – (Opinion: Madonna King) The Vatican's decision to remove William Morris as the Bishop of Toowoomba in Queensland says much about the direction of the Roman Catholic Church, and the followers it wants.

Sacked bishop accuses Vatican of authoritarianism (The West Australian)

May 3 - SYDNEY (AFP) - An Australian bishop who said he was forced to resign after a dispute with the Vatican on Tuesday accused the Catholic Church of "creeping authoritarianism".

Hundreds praise ousted Toowoomba bishop at vigil (ABC News)

May 4 - Hundreds of people braved cold, damp conditions in Toowoomba on Queensland's Darling Downs last night to give thanks to their ousted Bishop William Morris.

Priests voice support for axed bishop (The Age, Melbourne)

May 4 - TWO vigils have been held in Toowoomba, Queensland, to protest against the Vatican's sacking of Bishop William Morris.

Archbishop backs 'good' bishop's sacking (The West Australian)

May 4 - Brisbane's Catholic Archbishop says the Pope must have had a good reason to sack a Queensland bishop but admits he's not been privy to the details of the case.

Archbishop Bathersby 'unaware' of bishop William Morris's dumping (The Courier-Mail, Brisbane)

May 4 - ARCHBISHOP John Bathersby has said he "wasn't aware" of the decision to sack popular Toowoomba clergyman Bishop William Morris, and said it could be a negative for the parish.

Bishop knew of his departure (The Chronicle, Toowoomba)

May 6 - ON THE eve of his departure, Bishop William Morris yesterday revealed he knew about his impending resignation 14 months ago and tried to negotiate his leave date to accommodate the needs of sexual abuse victims and their families.

EDUCATION

Bob Carr slams chaplain funds (Daily Telegraph, Sydney)

May 2 - BOB Carr has described the Federal Government's funding of school chaplains as "abhorrent".

Catholic schools fee fear (The Mercury, Hobart)

May 5 - THE Federal Government yesterday denied a claim by a Liberal senator that Tasmanian Catholic schools would lose funding of $3.5 million as a result of a review.

Schools can bar non-believers (Herald-Sun, Melbourne)

May 6 - RELIGIOUS schools will be able to reject teachers belonging to different faiths under Baillieu Government changes to Victoria's equal opportunity laws.

Teacher fury over God comic (The Age, Melbourne)

May 6 - A COMIC strip that tells children who are bullied to pray, because teachers are too lazy and callous to help them unless God intervenes, was advertised as a ''resource'' by the group that teaches Christian education classes in primary schools.

INTERNATIONAL STORIES

Abuse

Canadian bishop pleads guilty to child porn charge (ABC News)

May 5 - A former Canadian Roman Catholic bishop has pleaded guilty to charges of child pornography.

Catholic Church

The life and times of John Paul II (ABC News)

May 1 - Late pope John Paul II, who was put on the path to sainthood on Sunday, was an inspirational figure who helped bring down communism but alienated many Catholics with his conservative views.

Pope John Paul beatified before crowds of faithful (ABC News)

May 2 - The late pope John Paul II has been officially beatified at a joyous ceremony attended by close to one million people in a jam-packed St Peter's Square in Rome.

Islam

Muslim leaders say they were taken off US (The West Australian)

May 7 - Two Muslim religious leaders say they were removed from a commercial flight in America and told it was because the pilot refused to fly with them aboard.

Judaism

US database documents Nazi theft of Jewish goods (Sydney Morning Herald)

May 6 - The US National Archives on Thursday launched an international database of Nazi-era documents that officials said will make it easier to recover plundered Jewish artifacts.

Religious Violence

Germans arrest three in 'home-grown' terror cell (Sydney Morning Herald)

May 2 - GERMAN authorities say they have foiled plans for a bomb attack by breaking up an alleged terror cell whose leader was under orders from al-Qaeda.

Jihad's rookies under the radar (The Australian)

May 7 - A RECENT spate of jihad-inspired bomb incidents in Jakarta and West Java failed in terms of intended damage, causing a single death, but has generated an outsized yield of national anxiety and confusion.

Four dead as Taliban hold out in Afghan city (Brisbane Times)

May 8 - The death toll from a wave of Taliban attacks on government buildings in the key Afghan city of Kandahar has risen to four as militants held out into a second day, officials said Sunday.

At least five dead in Egyptian sectarian clash (The West Australian)

May 8 - CAIRO (Reuters) - At least five people were killed in a sectarian clash in Egypt on Saturday over a Christian woman who allegedly had converted to Islam, according to officials.

Also: Nine killed in sectarian violence in Cairo (The West Australian)

May 8 - CAIRO (AFP) - Clashes between Muslims and Christians in the Egyptian capital Cairo left nine dead and more than 100 injured and a church was set on fire, medical and security officials said.

Also: Egypt PM cancels Gulf visit after sectarian strife (Brisbane Times)

May 8 - Egypt's prime minister Sunday called a crisis cabinet meeting and delayed a Gulf visit after Cairo clashes between Muslims and Christians killed 10 people, hurt nearly 200 and left a church ablaze.

'Al-Qaeda mutiny' kills 18 at Baghdad jail (Brisbane Times)

May 8 - The accused mastermind of last year's bloody Baghdad church siege grabbed a policeman's gun mid-interrogation Sunday and led a jail mutiny that left eight police, including a general, and 10 inmates dead.

Religious Violence – death of bin Laden

Bin Laden's path of fanaticism and terror (The Age, Melbourne)

May 2 - Osama bin Laden was born into one of Saudi Arabia's most prosperous families, but he left home in search of revolution, found a path of fanaticism, inspired a murderous organisation that terrorised the West, and ultimately became the most wanted man in the world.

Tale of terror: the bin Laden story (The Age, Melbourne)

May 2 - With one spectacular attack on September 11, 2001, Osama bin Laden put Islamist "holy war" on the global agenda of the 21st century — and became a household name around the world.

'This was a kill operation': commandos knew bin Laden would likely die (Sydney Morning Herald)

May 3 - US special forces set out to kill Osama bin Laden and dump his body in the sea to make it harder for the al-Qaeda founder to become a martyr, US national security officials say.

Body buried at sea in Islamic way: US (The Age, Melbourne)

May 3 - OSAMA bin Laden has been buried at sea because it would have been too hard to find a country willing to accept the remains of the world's most wanted terrorist, according to a US official.

Also: Rites administered for bin Laden by US (news.com.au)

May 3 - US FORCES administered Muslim religious rites for Osama bin Laden aboard an aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, an American official said after the raid that killed the Al-Qaeda leader.

Also: Swift sea burial angers Islamic conservatives (The Australian)

May 4 - THE dispatch of Osama bin Laden's corpse - tipped into the sea from the deck of a US aircraft carrier - is stoking controversy among conservative Muslims.

Also: Obama defends bin Laden sea burial as "respectful" (The West Australian)

May 6 - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said U.S. forces were "respectful of the body" of Osama bin Laden when they buried his remains at sea, despite criticism from some Muslim clerics that it violated Islamic practice.

Cause doomed, just like leader (The Age, Melbourne)

May 3 – (Opinion: Daniel Flitton) No one will replace Osama bin Laden at the head of the terrorist vanguard; there is no need.

An emblem of evil and the face of global terrorism (The Age, Melbourne)

May 3 - Imagining his death, Osama bin Laden, the most hunted man in the world, hoped Muslims would rise up and defeat the nation that killed him.

Bin Laden’s death not the end of the struggle (The Age, Melbourne)

May 4 – (Opinion: Julie Bishop) There is no doubt that the killing of Osama bin Laden this week represents a severe blow to the al-Qaeda terrorist organisation he founded in the late 1980s, although it will be some time before the impact of his death on global terrorism becomes clear.

Islamists vow revenge for the death of a 'warrior' (The Age, Melbourne)

May 4 - THE killing of Osama bin Laden will bring ''disaster'' to the US and the al-Qaeda leader secured victory even in death, according to radical Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir.

Plan to deprive followers of a shrine (The Age, Melbourne)

May 4 - WHITE House officials decided before Monday's firefight in northern Pakistan that if US troops killed Osama bin Laden, they would bury him at sea to prevent his grave from becoming a shrine for his followers.

Bin Laden: Terrorist next door (Adelaide Now)

May 4 - DETAILS of the comfortable family life Osama bin Laden enjoyed under the noses of the Pakistani security services have emerged.

Osama unarmed when shot: Inside the daring mission (news.com.au)

May 4 - Osama bin Laden's courier has a telephone conversation with someone being monitored by US intelligence.

This is not a time to party (Herald-Sun, Melbourne)

May 4 – (Opinion: Jill Singer) THE US wanted al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden dead or alive and they got him, dead.

Pakistan Islamists to protest against U.S. bin Laden raid (The West Australian)

May 5 - ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's most influential Islamist party urged its followers to hold mass protests on Friday to demand their government withdraw its support of the U.S. war on militancy after U.S. commandos killed Osama bin Laden near Islamabad.

Indon hardliners can't let bin Laden go (The West Australian)

May 5 - Islamic hardliners in Indonesia labelled Osama bin Laden a martyr and Barack Obama a terrorist on Wednesday.

U.S. drones kill 17 in NW Pakistan; protests over bin Laden (The West Australian)

May 6 - ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - U.S. drone aircraft fired missiles into a house in Pakistan's North Waziristan region on Friday, killing at least 17 suspected militants as Islamists protested against the killing of Osama bin Laden.

Al-Qa'ida plotted september 11 anniversary attack on US railways, seized documents show (The Australian)

May 6 - PLANS by al-Qai'da to attack US trains on the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks have been uncovered in material seized in the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound.

Also: Al-Qaeda plotted deadly rail attack, US says (The Age, Melbourne)

May 6 - Al-Qaeda was considering an attack on US trains on the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, some of the first information gleaned from Osama bin Laden's compound suggests.

Europe's Muslims voice doubt, anger on bin Laden (The West Australian)

May 7 - PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) - Europe's Muslims expressed anger or disbelief Friday over the killing of Osama bin Laden but praise for the late al Qaeda chief was in short supply.

Pakistanis cry 'Death to America' (Adelaide Now)

May 7 - PAKISTANIS have taken to the streets, cheering the slain Osama bin Laden and shouting "Death to America".

Loony bin laden with nuts (Perth Now)

May 7 – (Opinion: David Penberthy) OSAMA bin Laden isn't dead. For all we know he's lying low in Vegas, possibly with Elvis, or living at Ronald Biggs' old place in Rio.

Hundreds rally for bin Laden in Pakistan (Sydney Morning Herald)

May 8 - Hundreds of people took to the streets near the Pakistani city of Quetta to pay "homage" to al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and call for holy war against America, witnesses said.

Killing will spur jihadis, say Taliban (Sydney Morning Herald)

May 8 - KABUL: The killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by US forces will give ''a new impetus'' to the fight against foreign ''invaders'' in Afghanistan, the Taliban has warned.

Videos strip away bin Laden mystique (The West Australian)

May 8 - The United States has sought to puncture the mystique surrounding Osama bin Laden, by releasing seized videos that show him watching himself on television, looking old, ordinary and vain.

Other

South Korean taxi driver found dead on crucifix (news.com.au)

May 4 - A SOUTH Korean taxi driver said to have extreme religious views has been found dead on a crucifix after an apparent attempt to emulate the death of Christ, police said today.

Ye olde Bible hailed as Shakespeare's rival (ABC News)

May 6 - When King James I of England published his authorised translation of the Bible 400 years ago, his aim was to establish control of the church and so cement his rule.

Brazil top court recognizes same-sex civil unions (Sydney Morning Herald)

May 6 - Brazil's Supreme Court recognized the legal rights of same-sex partners in "stable" civil unions, Chief Justice Cezar Peluso announced.

ISLAM

Planned museum hopes to shed light on Islam (The Age, Melbourne)

May 2 - AUSTRALIA'S first Islamic museum is to be built in Thornbury and will work to dispel stereotypes of the often misunderstood religious minority.

For jihadis, conflict is perpetual and everyone has a part (Sydney Morning Herald)

May 3 – (Opinion: Shahram Akbarzadeh) The black-and-white world of the extremist groups will not change.

Profile: Shakira Hussein (Sydney Morning Herald)

May 4 - This researcher hasn't let illness prevent her advocacy of Muslim women's rights.

Repressing women is sharia's raison d'etre (Sydney Morning Herald)

May 5 – (Opinion: Paul Sheehan) Four is the number at the heart of the violent counter-reformation that confronts our Western values.

Terror plotter in court outburst against judge (The Courier-Mail, Brisbane)

May 6 - A MAN convicted of plotting a terrorist attack on an Australian army base has delivered an outburst from the court dock, telling a judge: "You kill people for oil, you kill innocent people, you kill kids".

Also: Accused Vic plotters still radical: judge

May 6 - A trio of men convicted of plotting a terrorist attack on an Australian army base had not shown they had backed away from their radical views, a judge has said.

Minister buys into debate on burqas (The Age, Melbourne)

May 6 - MUSLIM women who choose to wear the face-covering burqa should be entitled to do as they pleased, says Victoria's multicultural affairs minister.

RELIGION & SOCIETY

Fear no longer rules Western world (Daily Telegraph, Sydney)

May 4 – (Opinion: Ian McPhedran) FOLLOWING the execution of Osama bin Laden in his luxury compound in Pakistan on Monday morning, local authorities were faced with the tricky task of assessing the risk to Australian citizens.

Churches in clash over embryo call (The West Australian)

May 4 - A call by WA's chief medical officer to allow the creation of embryos using genetic material from three people has polarised WA's two major church groups.

Operation Get Osama signals loss of values (The Age, Melbourne)

May 6 - (Opinion: Cynthia Banham) In this 10th anniversary year - punctuated so spectacularly by the killing of Osama bin Laden - it's timely to ask how September 11, 2001, changed the world.

10 questions - Simon Longstaff (The Australian)

May 7 - SIMON Longstaff, 52, ethicist, on religion, secularism, free speech and garage-sale bargains.

She who won't obey ... but will cook (Sydney Morning Herald)

May 8 - UNLIKE Kate Middleton, few Australian brides have to worry about their wedding vows being scrutinised by billions of people.

No reason to celebrate lives lost (Herald-Sun, Melbourne)

May 8 – (Opinion: Bryan Patterson) THE global influence of two religious men who suddenly left the planet in recent days could not have been more different.

OTHER

Riot squad at black magic sex sentencing (The Australian)

May 6 - RIOT squad police are outside the Sydney court where three people are about to be sentenced for black magic sex offences.

Also: Tight security at court for 'holy man' rapist sentencing (Sydney Morning Herald)

May 6 - Security has been ramped up and riot squad officers are at court today for sentencing in the "black magic" rape case, after a detective was allegedly assaulted by relatives of one of the offenders, Tony Golossian, outside court at a previous hearing.

Synthetic blood hailed as lifesaver (Herald-Sun, Melbourne)

May 6 - AN international trauma expert who helped doctors administer a synthetic blood to a Victorian woman on the verge of death said The Alfred hospital had set a new standard of care.