Some Australians, including many victims of child sexual abuse, revile George Pell. Others hold him in high esteem. Neither of these groups will have their minds changed about Cardinal Pell, regardless of what any court might determine. The majority of Australians fall into neither camp. Victorian Police In the midst of controversy and with allegations Read more
Recently the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal de-registered a teacher, making it impossible for them to work in this country. We know very little about the individual, except that he has a strong Christian faith, teaches maths and is a man. Why was he de-registered? A student had decided to transition from female to male, and the Read more
There are renewed calls to change New Zealand’s “outdated” adoption law which has been described as “discriminatory and not fit for purpose”. The Adoption Act – which has not been updated since 1955, has been criticised by the Human Rights Commission, which wants to make the adoption process more accessible for people and relevant to Read more
This government has had more knotty and divisive social issues to deal with than many others. Within months of its first sitting, it was voting on not one, but two medicinal cannabis bills and things only became more complicated from there. Euthanasia, abortion, and drug reform followed. Continue reading
The first Chief Justice of our Supreme Court has urged New Zealanders to embrace the strands from which the country’s piecemeal constitution is woven or risk a rigid and formal framework. Continue reading
Louisiana’s Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s law on reporting child abuse, which requires health workers, teachers, clergy and others to report evidence of child abuse to authorities, does not oblige priests to violate the sanctity of a sacramental confession. The ruling deals with a section of Louisiana’s Children’s Code requiring health workers, teachers, Read more
Wednesday night’s ABC 7.30 program [aired in Australia] carried allegations against Cardinal George Pell. If true, the allegations are devastating: life ruining for victims like Damian Dignan and Lyndon Monument; confronting for all citizens committed to the wellbeing of children; and earth shattering for Catholics who still have faith in their church. The ABC report Read more
This is the age of the disgruntled – in domestic politics and foreign affairs alike. Anti-establishment sentiment within countries is somehow echoed by the way the rule book of international relations is being torn up. These dynamics feed on each other. They are at play in America (the rise of Donald Trump), Europe (growing populism) Read more
Researchers have broken the record for growing human embryos in a laboratory, prompting a lament in the Vatican’s newspaper. Two teams of researchers in the United Kingdom and the United States grew embryos until they were 13 days old. The embryos were kept alive and active beyond the stage when they would naturally implant in a mother’s Read more
Georgia is planning a “blasphemy bill” that will make religious irreverence severely punishable by law. A proposed bill would impose a 100 lari fine (US$120) for “insults to religious feelings”, which would double for a repeat offence. Desecrating a religious symbol could cost up to 1000 lari. The average monthly salary is Georgia is no Read more