Religion News Australia 2011 - 38 (Sept 11

Religion News Australia 2011 - 38 (Sept 11 - 17)

(18 September 11)
by Greg Spearritt

Religion News Australia

Sept 11 - 17, 2011

Religion news stories from Australia

(Research: Greg Spearritt)

abuse / anglican church / arts & entertainment / international stories / islam / politics / religion & society

ABUSE

John Hepworth abuse case

Hepworth urges against naming abuse priest (ABC News)

Sept 13 - The Archbishop of the Traditional Anglican Communion, John Hepworth, says he wants to see a Catholic priest at the centre of sexual abuse allegations stood down from the Adelaide diocese rather than named in Federal Parliament.

Catholic priest denies rape claims made by Senator Nick Xenophon (Herald-Sun, Melbourne)

Sept 13 - UPDATE 6.50pm: THE Catholic priest who was last night named by Senator Nick Xenophon over sex abuse claims has today denied any wrongdoing.

Senator names priest on 'rape' (Sydney Morning Herald)

Sept 14 - A FORMER head Catholic chaplain of the navy, Ian Dempsey, was named in the Senate last night as having allegedly raped a fellow seminarian 50 years ago.

Church tried to help: Archbishop (The Age, Melbourne)

Sept 15 - THE Catholic Archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson, has fiercely defended his handling of male rape allegations against a priest in the face of implicit criticisms from Cardinal George Pell.

Priest takes a holiday after rape claim story breaks (The Age, Melbourne)

Sept 15 - ''THE priest now says he is going on annual leave. Why couldn't he have done it yesterday?'' Senator Nick Xenophon asked.

Priest quits health reform chair amid rape saga (Perth Now)

Sept 15 - IN a tumultuous week for the Catholic Church, a senior South Australian priest has quit a key federal government post amid criticisms he dragged his heels on investigating rape allegations.

Senate urged to probe Xenophon's use of privilege (ABC News)

Sept 15 - The Council for Civil Liberties has written to the Senate president accusing Nick Xenophon of an abuse of parliamentary privilege.

Priest denies abuse allegation (ABC News)

Sept 15 - An Adelaide Catholic priest accused under parliamentary privilege of sexually abusing a man, now an Anglican archbishop, has spoken publicly for the first time to deny the allegation.

Senior church figures at odds as priest denies rape claim (Sydney Morning Herald)

Sept 15 - THE Archbishop of Adelaide has fiercely defended his handling of rape allegations against a priest in the face of implicit criticisms from Cardinal George Pell.

Cappo steps down from government roles (ABC News)

Sept 15 - The man chosen by the Federal Government to head its new mental health commission has decided not to take up the position after being accused of failing to properly investigate rape claims against a priest.

Cleric quits public roles over link to rape claim (Sydney Morning Herald)

Sept 16 - ADELAIDE'S Catholic Vicar-General, David Cappo, who rejected claims this week he failed to act on rape allegations against a priest, has resigned as chairman of the new commission overseeing mental health services.

Cleric quits amid sex case row (The Age, Melbourne)

Sept 16 - THE Catholic Church sex scandal in Adelaide has claimed its first scalp with a decision by one of Australia's most influential clerics to not take up an important federal government position and to resign from another.

Crisis prompts David Cappo to quit Mental Health Commission role (The Australian)

Sept 16 - JULIA Gillard's new Mental Health Commission chairman David Cappo has dramatically resigned a week after the Prime Minister picked him for the role, as the crisis engulfing the Catholic Church over clerical rape allegations deepened.

Senator accuses Catholic archbishop of having double standards on abuse (The Australian)

Sept 16 - INDEPENDENT senator Nick Xenophon has accused the head of the Adelaide Catholic archdiocese of double standards.

Church not above law (The Courier-Mail, Brisbane)

Sept 16 – (Opinion: Terry Sweetman) FOR the best part of 50 years, I have done my job as a newspaperman with one eye on a tangle of laws that often seemed designed to shield the guilty and ensure the ignorance of the innocent.

One man's life, and how the church he loved let him down (Sydney Morning Herald)

Sept 17 - THERE have been few certainties in the complex and troubled world of John Hepworth.

ANGLICAN CHURCH

No fire arrests as churchman backs asylum seekers (ABC News)

Sept 13 - Australian Federal Police say no charges have been laid after a fire at the Darwin Immigration Detention Centre at the end of August.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Sabsabi wins Blake Prize for video installation (ABC News)

Sept 15 - The 60th Blake Prize for Religious Art has been awarded to western Sydney artist Khaled Sabsabi.

Also: Artful ordinariness proves a winner (Sydney Morning Herald)

Sept 16 - LITTLE could appear more exotic or unusual to most contemporary Australians than a group of Eastern mystics - who rarely allow outsiders into their inner circle - going through the centuries-old ritual chanting they believe will eventually bring them closer to God.

Why the Word is worth less (The Age, Melbourne)

Sept 17 – (Review) THESE two books are symptomatic of the malaise afflicting religion in general and Christianity in particular, at least in the West.

A revisionist view of Cain (The Australian)

Sept 17 – (Review) IN her recent book Why Translation Matters, Edith Grossman remarks that "translation asserts the possibility of a coherent, unified experience of literature in the world's multiplicity of languages".

INTERNATIONAL STORIES

Catholic Church

Hero Irish cleric calls for end to holy celibacy (Sydney Morning Herald)

Sept 15 - Dr Daly, who was the Bishop of Derry for 20 years during the Northern Ireland Troubles, has become the first senior Irish Catholic cleric to call for an end to celibacy in the church.

Also: Church may be at turning point on celibacy issue (Sydney Morning Herald)

Sept 18 – (Opinion: Sophia Deboick) The Biblical basis for clerical celibacy is flimsy.

Islam

Millions tune in to watch game show based on knowledge of Islam (Sydney Morning Herald)

Sept 12 - The program's burgeoning popularity mirrors the broader direction of Pakistan.

FBI teaches agents 'mainstream Muslims' are 'violent', Mohammed a 'cult leader' (news.com.au)

Sept 15 - LEAKED documents have revealed the FBI is teaching its counterterrorism agents that "main stream" Muslims are likely to be terrorist sympathisers.

Judaism

'Jew or Not Jew' app pulled by Apple after drawing the ire of anti-racism groups (Adelaide Now)

Sept 15 - APPLE said today that an iPhone application called "Jew or Not Jew" which drew criticism from anti-racism and Jewish groups has been removed from the App Store in France.

US Politics

Obama's strained relations with Israel mobilise both US parties (Sydney Morning Herald)

Sept 16 - WASHINGTON: Not since Jimmy Carter in 1980 has a Democrat running for president failed to win a lopsided majority of the Jewish vote.

Religious Violence

Taliban faction blamed for attack (The Age, Melbourne)

Sept 16 - AMERICAN officials blamed a Taliban faction with ties to Pakistan's military intelligence agency for the attack on the US embassy in Kabul and said the US would not accept the group's haven in Pakistan.

Al-Qaeda Pakistan operations chief killed (news.com.au)

Sept 16 - A SENIOR US official says al-Qaeda's chief of operations in Pakistan, Abu Hafs al-Shahri, has been killed, revealing the latest blow to the terror group's senior leadership.

NATO says big Taliban attacks thwarted (news.com.au)

Sept 16 - NATO forces thwarted a series of planned attacks in Afghanistan aimed at coinciding with the 9/11 anniversary, the head of international forces says.

ISLAM

Men banned as Muslim women win council backing (Herald-Sun, Melbourne)

Sept 16 - MAN bans are spreading as two more council functions are declared off-limits because it is "not appropriate" for men to mix with Muslim women.

Religious man-ban mania (Herald-Sun, Melbourne)

Sept 16 – (Opinion: Editorial) BANNING men from community events because of religious restrictions is not the business of a suburban council.

POLITICS

Jewish MPs clash as Palestine vote nears (The Age, Melbourne)

Sept 16 - TWO prominent Jewish MPs have engaged in a public spat over which of the major political parties is a bigger friend of Israel.

RELIGION & SOCIETY

Church of Scientology upset by leaked report (ABC News)

Sept 14 - The Church of Scientology says it is hurt and upset by the leaking of a draft report critical of its practices.

Scientologists asked to review workers' pay (ABC News)

Sept 16 - The Church of Scientology says it will take on board the recommendations of the Fair Work Ombudsman after it found the church needs to ensure it is complying with the Fair Work Act.

Also: Church of Scientology 'has to conform to labour laws' (Sydney Morning Herald)

Sept 17 - THE Church of Scientology has been found to be subject to Australian labour laws after an investigation into allegations it paid employees who were members of its clergy as little as $10 a week.

Protests continue over Brethren church (Sydney Morning Herald)

Sept 17 - A NSW rural community has turned out in force to protest at a planned 800-seat church the Exclusive Brethren wants to build on the Central Coast.

The church divide was once a highly combustible feature of our national life (The Australian)

Sept 17 - THE church divide was once a highly combustible feature of our national life.

Cultural history no excuse for subjugation of women (The Australian)

Sept 17 – (Opinion: Ian Burma) The two things that get people most excited in cultural conflicts are religion and sex, specifically the way that men treat women.