The Australian Labor Party is set for a religious backlash over its decision to support same-sex marriage and accusations that it has breached another of its election promises, to protect the Marriage Act, reports the Australian. Focusing on the marginal seats of Corangamite, Deakin, Greenway, Reid and Moreton, on Sunday, religious leaders from across Australia warned Read more
An independent audit of the handling of sex-abuse complaints in six Irish dioceses by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCC) has found a marked improvement in recent months. However, the NBSCCC says Church officials regularly overlooked the rights of victims in order to protect priests, they covered up evidence of abuse, moved accused Read more
Caritas Internationalis President Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga wants governments to deal urgently with climate change. Rodriguez wants a deal on climate change that puts poor communities in developing countries first and provides for a sustainable future. “Our climate is changing. This year we saw floods in Central America, South and South East Asia and drought across Read more
A day after an investigation by prominent Adelaide QC, Michael Abbott, found there was no substance to an allegation of rape against one of its senior clerics, the complainant, Traditional Anglican Bishop John Hepworth has filed a complaint with the South Australian police. Bitterly disappointed with the Church investigation, Hepworth said he had no choice but Read more
Traffic jams subsided in Russia after a relic, said to belong to the Virgin Mary, was returned to its home in the Greek monastic complex of Mount Athos. The relic, a belt of the Virigin, is believed to help women’s fertility and cure illnesses and modest estimates calculate nearly three million people visited the relic during its Read more
Vatican – China relations are likely to sour further after excommunicated bishop Paul Lei Shiyin joined the Vatican – China approved ordination ceremony of Father Peter Luo Xuegang. Earlier this week China indicated it is keen to improve its relations with the Vatican. Xuegang’s ordination was seen as an encouraging sign by the Vatican and Chinese catholics. However Shiyin’s participation Read more
The Catholic Church in Adelaide has found there is no substance to an allegation of rape against one of its senior clerics. The allegation was brought by Traditional Anglican Archbishop, John Hepworth and dates back 40 years to when he was a Catholic seminarian. The investigation, conducted by Michael Abbott, a prominent Adelaide QC, found Read more
A retired Supreme Court judge has found the Roman Catholic Church breached both canon and civil law in asking Toowomba Bishop Bill Morris to retire earlier this year. Retired Judge Bill Carter QC was invited to conduct an investigation into the controversial sacking. Angered by the sacking, Morris’ supporters, more than 1,000 people signed a petition over Read more
Pope Benedict has called for delegates attending the UN conference for revising the Kyoto deal to craft a credible deal to cut greenhouse gases. Benedict, dubbed the ‘green pope’ for his environmental concerns, launched his appeal on Sunday during his regular Angelus message. He said the deal needs to take into account the poor and future generations. Read more
A former chief exorcist at the Vatican says yoga and Harry Potter are ‘dangerous’, even Satanic. In an interview with the Telegraph, Fr Gabreile Amorth, who for four years held the position of the Vatican’s chief exorcist, and who has cleansed hundreds of people of evil spirits, said Yoga is Satanic and JK Rowling’s Harry Read more