The head of the Australian bishops’ conference, Archbishop Mark Coleridge, is in Rome for high-level discussions before the Church in Australia’s first plenary council since Vatican II. The plenary council is set to begin in Adelaide October. During his two-week trip to Rome, Coleridge will meet with senior curial figures and Pope Francis. They will Read more
Papua New Guinea (PNG) should discuss resettling Manus Island refugees in New Zealand, says the Catholic Church in PNG. The general secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of PNG, Giorgio Licini, wrote to PNG’s Prime Minister James Marape in January about this. In the letter Licini reminded Marape of New Zealand’s long standing offer to Read more
Australia’s Catholic bishops have welcomed changes to a proposed religious discrimination bill to protect religious believers and institutions from discrimination and needless legal action, but they said more work is necessary for an Australia-wide law. “The draft laws are an important way to help people of faith and the organizations they establish as communities of Read more
The position of Australian churches, faith-based schools and charities to select staff based on their beliefs has been strengthened by a raft of changes to Prime Minister, Scott Morrison’s religious freedom bill. The changes came after faith-based organisations, business leaders and LGBTTIQ+ groups were highly critical of the initial draft. A second draft, Morrison is Read more
Australia’s religious discrimination bill took a temporary step backwards late last week as religious leaders threatened to withdraw their support for the proposed bill. Attorney General, Christian Porter intended to introduce the bill to the Federal Parliament before Christmas. But the powerful religious groups say the bill, in its current form, will actually diminish the Read more
Australian paedophiles are fuelling market demand for extreme content according to senior police officers. The Australian reports the explosion of child exploitation footage is so great the police can no longer arrest their way out of the problem. The problem is made more difficult by digital encryption services and the authorities needing help to police Read more
Last month I joined with Rural Australians for Refugees (RAR) to speak at a series of public forums around the country to discuss the future for asylum seekers who remain in limbo in Papua New Guinea and Nauru. So far I have spoken in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Hobart and Launceston, Adelaide, Perth and Benalla in Read more
Many religions, including Christianity, are being targeted and demonised through new laws regarding issues like euthanasia, abortion and attempts to force priests to break the seal of the confessional. New South Wales Liberal MP Julian Lesser spoke out at a St Thomas More Society meeting saying, while preparing for the upcoming religious discrimination debate in Read more
Australia’s Christian leaders hope new religious discrimination laws will ensure church-run aged care homes do not have to support people when they access euthanasia services. They also hope the new laws will protect churches’ ability to selectively hire school staff who share their religious ethos. They have been urging the government to frame religious protections Read more
A Brisbane rally to oppose anti-discrimination exemptions for religious groups will be held this weekend. The proposed legal changes could see organisations owned by religious groups, such as schools, hospitals and aged care facilities, be given the right under federal law to legally expel students and fire staff on the grounds of sexual orientation, trans Read more