Religion News Australia 2011 - 24 (June 5

Religion News Australia 2011 - 24 (June 5 - 12)

(12 June 11)
by Greg Spearritt

Religion News Australia

June 5 - 12, 2011

Religion news stories from Australia

(Research: Greg Spearritt)

abuse / anglican church / buddhism / catholic church / education / international stories / islam / judaism / politics / religion & society / other

ABUSE

The land of lost children (The Age, Melbourne)

June 12 - Thousands of children were shipped to Australia in a shocking tale of betrayal and abuse that continued until 1970…

ANGLICAN CHURCH

Anglican Church seeks converts at a 'sinema' near you (The Age, Melbourne)

June 8 - THE Anglican Church is making a radical bid for new recruits by holding Sunday services in a city cinema.

Same-sex marriage will lead to polygamy, says Jensen (Sydney Morning Herald)

June 11 - ALLOWING same-sex couples to marry could lead to the acceptance of polygamy and incest, the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Peter Jensen, has warned.

BUDDHISM

Dalai Lama lands to warm welcome (ABC News)

June 9 - The exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama has arrived in Melbourne to a large and colourful greeting party.

Dalai Lama show on a higher plane (The Age, Melbourne)

June 9 - As the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader lands in Melbourne today for a five-day stay in the city, the website marketing his eighth tour of Australia offers a window on the dharma and dilemmas of modern marketing.

Dalai Lama reflects candidly on 'useful' life (ABC News)

June 9 - The Dalai Lama says he is not pursuing a political agenda during his visit to Australia, which will be his last as Tibet's political leader.

A laughing Dalai Lama is serious about peace of mind (The Age, Melbourne)

June 10 - ''HEE, hee, hee … '' The trademark laugh - if you were being irreverent (as he often is) you can call it a giggle - heralded the arrival of one of the world's most famous religious leaders, the 14th Dalai Lama.

Dalai Lama kicks goal on Harry O (The Age, Melbourne)

June 10 - HARRY O'Brien hugged the Dalai Lama. He didn't have much of a choice.

The Dalai Lama will make a surprise appearance on MasterChef in a taping in Melbourne (Daily Telegraph, Sydney)

June 10 - HE would be on many dream dinner guest lists but seven lucky MasterChef contestants are about to get the chance of a lifetime, serving the Dalai Lama lunch.

China's repression can't last: Dalai Lama (Sydney Morning Herald)

June 11 - THE Dalai Lama, after a lifetime of struggles against China's government, sees hopeful signs of change in the world's biggest dictatorship.

The holy path to peace (The Courier-Mail, Brisbane)

June 12 - SHE left Australia as Marie Obst - a fresh-faced, 22-year-old on the overland hippie trail to Europe, in tie-dyed skirts and crochet tops.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Priest swaps India for outback (ABC News)

June 9 - A priest from India has started work in outback Queensland, as the Catholic Church looks at news ways of overcoming the shortage of clergy in the bush.

EDUCATION

School chaplain service 'scary' (The Age, Melbourne)

June 3 - A LABOR Senator has expressed concern about the controversial school chaplaincy program, saying the idea of a chaplain sharing conservative views with a child struggling with their sexuality ''scares'' him.

INTERNATIONAL STORIES

Anglican Church

Cleric slams British leaders (The Age, Melbourne)

June 10 - THE Archbishop of Canterbury has launched a scathing attack on Britain's coalition government, warning that the public is gripped by ''fear'' over the government's reforms to education, the health service and the welfare benefits system.

Atheism/Secularism

Atheists sue over bus ads on God-free lifestyle (The West Australian)

June 11 - LITTLE ROCK, Ark (Reuters) - A coalition of atheists is accusing Little Rock's city bus line of violating their rights to free speech in a fight to place ads on public buses praising a God-free lifestyle.

Buddhism

Richard Gere to visit Buddhist sites in S. Korea (The West Australian)

June 8 - SEOUL (AFP) - Hollywood star Richard Gere plans to visit South Korea this month to promote his photo exhibition and tour Buddhist temples, a religious official said Wednesday.

Catholic Church

Pope wants gypsies integrated into society (ABC News)

June 12 - Europe's Gypsies, Roma and other nomads should be integrated into society but must live by the law, Pope Benedict said.

Hinduism

Scantily-clad women see tourists banned from Goa temple (The Age, Melbourne)

June 7 - Foreign tourists have been banned from visiting a prominent Hindu temple in India's Goa state after outrage at their inappropriate clothing and behaviour, religious leaders said.

Indian guru threatens to form yoga militia (Adelaide Now)

June 8 - A TELEVISION yoga guru who led protests against corruption in India threatened to form a militia today, as a new demonstration against the government drew thousands in New Delhi.

Also: Devotees explain love for India's yoga guru (The West Australian)

June 9 - HARIDWAR, India (AFP) - To most of his devoted followers, Swami Ramdev is not an anti-corruption campaigner but a yoga teacher blessed with the power to cure disease and reveal the path to a better way of living.

Also: Indian yoga guru calls off anti-graft fast (The West Australian)

June 12 - DEHRADUN, India (AFP) - An Indian yoga guru on hunger strike for the last eight days in protest at government corruption said Sunday he has called off his fast.

Goa temple bans foreigners (The West Australian)

June 11 - Foreign tourists have been banned from visiting a prominent Hindu temple in India's Goa state after outrage at their inappropriate clothing and behaviour, religious leaders said.

Gurus guide a passage to supremacy (The Age, Melbourne)

June 11 – (Opinion: Matt Wade) There are many ways to become an Indian godman.

Islam

'Obedient Wife Club' urges women to be 'whores in bed' (Sydney Morning Herald)

June 6 - A group of Malaysian women launched an "Obedient Wife Club" on Saturday, urging members to be "whores in bed" and obey their husbands to curb social ills such as divorce and domestic violence.

Headscarf ban cruels Iranian hopes (The Age, Melbourne)

June 8 - NOT participating in the 2012 London Olympics is a nightmare for every serious athlete, but for the Iranian women's soccer team the defeat was extra bitter after they were disqualified right before a crucial qualifying match because they wore Islamic headscarves.

President admits rift with Iran's religious leadership (The Age, Melbourne)

June 9 - PRESIDENT Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran has admitted for the first time that a rift has developed between him and some of the most senior figures of the Islamic regime.

Five Saudi women arrested for driving (Sydney Morning Herald)

June 10 - Police in Saudi Arabia have arrested five women for breaking a ban on female drivers in the conservative kingdom, one of the women says.

Democracy added to Islamism as concern as Turkey votes (The West Australian)

June 10 - ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The last time Turks voted in a general election in 2007, opponents feared the socially conservative ruling party was turning Turkey into an Iran-style Islamic state.

US Politics

US voters uncomfortable with Mormon president: poll (The West Australian)

June 8 - WASHINGTON (AFP) - US voters are uncomfortable with the idea of a president who is a Mormon, even as Massachusetts ex-governor Mitt Romney, a member of that church, leads the pack of Republican White House hopefuls, a poll released Wednesday found.

Religious Violence

Russia shocked by murder of moderate Muslim (The West Australian)

June 9 - MOSCOW (AFP) - A Muslim university professor who criticised radical Islamists was shot dead in Dagestan in a killing that sent a shockwave around the conflict-torn Russian region, officials said Wednesday.

Al-Qaeda's 'noble knight' farewelled by deputy (Sydney Morning Herald)

June 10 - AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI, long al-Qaeda's second-in-command, has delivered his first public comments on the killing of Osama bin Laden, saying in a video eulogy online that bin Laden had ''terrified America in his life'' and ''will continue to terrify it after his death''.

Shi'ite cleric warns Bahrain nearing "abyss" (The West Australian)

June 11 - MANAMA (Reuters) - A top Bahraini Shi'ite cleric said trials of dozens of people and the breaking up of Shi'ite religious marches were dragging the country towards destruction, not reconciliation, ahead of a planned national dialogue.

Egypt's Christians in new despair (Adelaide Now)

June 12 - FIVE weeks after the fall of the Egyptian regime, Ayman Anwar Mitri's apartment was torched.

Other

In Europe, some religions are more equal than others (Sydney Morning Herald)

June 6 – (Opinion: Virginie Guiradon) Religious intolerance is a daily reality in Europe.

Christian practice to have its day in court (Sydney Morning Herald)

June 6 - LONDON: The British government will be forced to say whether it supports the rights of Christians to wear the cross and opt out of diversity legislation as part of a landmark legal case.

Illegal mosaic draws crowd, but sparks debate about graffiti versus art (The Australian)

June 9 - Some say the artwork blurs the line between church and state; others consider it sacrilegious to have Mexico's patron saint pictured surfing.

Arab Spring hits NY Jewish theater (The West Australian)

June 9 - NEW YORK (AFP) - The seemingly absurd struggles of the Middle East and the revolutions of the Arab Spring mingle on stage as the background to a new play by New York Jews about a love affair between a young Muslim woman and an Israeli secret agent.

Why one look will put the fear of god into you (Sydney Morning Herald)

June 11 - DOES it feel like you're being watched all the time?

Lady Gaga in Rome for gay rights march (Daily Telegraph, Sydney)

June 12 - LADY Gaga has arrived in Rome for a gay rights parade at which hundreds of thousands are set to voice their defiance against the Vatican and Silvio Berlusconi's "backward" government.

UN summit adopts AIDS targets amid condom storm (The West Australian)

June 11 - UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - A UN summit ordered a huge expansion in AIDS treatment, but sparked protests by the Vatican and some Muslim nations over its endorsement of condoms and calls to help prostitutes, gays and drug users.

"The Book of Mormon" favored to sweep Tony Awards (The West Australian)

June 11 - NEW YORK, June 10 (Reuters) - "The Book of Mormon," a satirical show about Mormons from the creators of the TV series "South Park," looks set to sweep the Tony Awards on Sunday, aiming to be the most acclaimed show since "The Producers" with 14 nominations.

ISLAM

Unwanted message: vandals interfere with another Islam billboard (Sydney Morning Herald)

June 9 - Vandals have interfered with another of the provocative billboards along Sydney roads offering information about Islam, but organisers say they will push on with their campaign to "build bridges".

DIY jihad book conviction overturned (Sydney Morning Herald)

June 9 - A former Qantas cabin cleaner has won an appeal against his conviction over a "do-it-yourself" terrorism jihad book.

JUDAISM

Crowe snips circumcision tweets (Herald-Sun, Melbourne)

June 12 - THE growing anti-circumcising lobby in the US seems to have a friend in Russell Crowe.

POLITICS

PM should not shun the Dalai Lama (The Age, Melbourne)

June 9 – (Opinion: Editorial) THE Dalai Lama, who arrives in Melbourne today, is no stranger to Victoria.

Also: Julia Gillard holds out on Dalai Lama meet ahead of his Melbourne visit (Herald-Sun, Melbourne)

June 9 - THE Dalai Lama is set to touch down in Melbourne this morning with hundreds expected to greet him at Melbourne Airport.

RELIGION & SOCIETY

Catholic hospital bars contraception advice (Sydney Morning Herald)

June 6 - CANCER doctors are on a collision course with a Catholic health organisation over new religion-based rules which prohibit them recommending contraception to patients taking a drug derived from thalidomide, which can cause severe birth defects.

Speaking in tongues sparks a religious revolution (Sydney Morning Herald)

June 9 – (Opinion: William Vendley) Who would have thought that speaking plainly in ordinary language is revolutionary? But for many religious communities, it is.

Climate change issue bothers believers and pagans alike (The Age, Melbourne)

June 11 – (Opinion: Justine McGill) Last week, the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change entered the public debate on climate change, proclaiming it to be a moral issue.

Religious Rugby League players

Sorry, Blues, but Hoppa jnr puts state of grace first (The Age, Melbourne)

June 7 - WITH a NSW jersey beckoning and rugby league collectively worshipping his every move, you might think Will Hopoate would regret, just for a moment, that he has already decided to knock it all back.

The song lines that kept Hayne on the path to Origin recall (The Age, Melbourne)

June 9 – AFTER half a decade in State of Origin purgatory, NSW could sure use God on their side. Whether there is any intervention from above at ANZ Stadium on Wednesday night is yet to be seen. But in the lead-up to Origin II faith is playing a key role among the Blues, and not just for devout Mormon teenager and rookie Will Hopoate.

Two years in league wilderness might end up mission impossible (The Age, Melbourne)

June 11 - IF HISTORY is any guide, Origin rookie Will Hopoate could struggle to resurrect his league career when he returns from a two-year stint as a Mormon missionary.

Tim Mannah keeps faith living on a prayer (Adelaide Now)

June 11 - Whether it's a particular pair of Speedos, a certain meal or just an offbeat idiosyncrasy no one else knows about, most players have them. And for deeply religious rookie NSW prop Tim Mannah, it involves a prayer from the Old Testament…

OTHER

Sex witch Robin Fletcher faces bans, strict supervision (Herald-Sun, Melbourne)

June 9 - SELF-proclaimed black magic sex witch Robin Angas Fletcher will be placed under strict monitoring for the next five years with a ban on contact with children and restrictions on his religious practice.