Religion is deeply rooted in the human psyche. We contemplate the role it plays in modern society and report on current developments throughout the world.
by Greg Bondar “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonours you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall…
by Jarred Vehlen Andrew HuntleyDecember 26, 1940 – June 22, 2020 I ask him, prompted by the wonder of what such a many-paged volume might contain, “What are you reading?” Placing his coffee down on the table before him, he replies dismissively: “Oh, you wouldn’t be interested.” Undeterred, I insist, “Go on, try me!”…
by Terri M. Kelleher Self-described anti-discrimination campaigner Garry Burns has made numerous complaints under the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act. About 36 of those complaints (which have resulted in 32 legal cases in four courts and a tribunal) have been against one respondent, Queensland resident Bernie Gaynor, for comments on marriage, family and Christian morality. Mr Gaynor…
by Greg Bondar On May 3, a headline in The Australian, “Catholic bishops push Premier to open NSW churches”, raised my eyebrows in joy. The proposal to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian was signed by Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher, Archbishop of Canberra Christopher Prowse and 16 others, including the bishops of regional NSW. The Catholic…
by Anne Lastman In the News Weekly of April 18, 2020, Terri Kelleher asked, “Do we really need to ask what is a woman?” I’d like to respond to that question. Woman in her design is the secret of God. How prophetic has been the clarion call to women to rise up and give honour…
by Peter Westmore Findings by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that Cardinal George Pell covered up allegations of child abuse in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s are totally unsupported by the evidence, and constitute an abuse of power by the Commission. They could more accurately be described as accusations. Nevertheless,…
by Patrick Morgan The pile-on against Cardinal Pell, which began when he was appointed Archbishop of Melbourne in 1996, has now dragged its weary way through a quarter of a century. It first manifested itself as an internal insurrection when some local liberal Catholics began to object to his alleged personal style as bullying and…
On recent Sundays I have participated in my first online sermons. As covid19 shuts down churches and keeps us indoors for the indefinite future, we may be wondering what to do as Christians living amid plague. How should we live when we are self-isolating? No matter how severe this disease or how severe the economic…
Attorney-General Christian Porter has released a second exposure draft Religious Discrimination Bill (RDB2). Following feedback from the consultation on the first exposure draft Bill, the RDB2 makes some welcome amendments. For example it allows “religious bodies” to preference people of their religion and provides that religious bodies do not discriminate when they engage in conduct…
One hope remains for George Cardinal Pell: that the High Court will overturn his guilty verdict. The case should be heard fairly early this year. Much has been written about the two-to-one decision against George Cardinal Pell in his appeal to the Supreme Court of Victoria and the remarkable contrast between the reasoning of the…
It is easy to be overwhelmed by the sense that the problems faced by our society, our country and even our world are so overwhelming that there is no solution. Stained-glass window in the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the town ofMinsk Mazowieski in central Poland. As we approach Christmas,…
This article first appeared in the September edition of Annals Australasia I have never seen a clearer illustration of prejudgement than this case. An avalanche of adverse publicity, a Royal Commission, even a book judging his guilt led up to his day in court. I say this as a former lawyer, not from any…
Our taxpayer-funded national broadcaster, the ABC, has recently launched another intriguing survey about Australians’ attitudes, concerns and beliefs. There are two questions that provide some insight into the topic of unjust discrimination against religious Australians. Similar in scope to “Vote Compass”, the survey, “Australia Talks”, has collected some statistics worthy of mention. It is unclear…
While the feminist revolution took decades to take hold and for society to adapt, the new transgender revolution is being imposed by stealth and subversion with such speed that the broader society has no real concept of what is being thrust upon it. And while feminism (broadly defined as equality of the sexes) had a…
Religious freedom is a basic liberty or inalienable human right, recognised in international instruments and treaties such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Is it something that should be restricted to the provisions of a piece of legislation? The Federal Government has released its religious…
FATHER AUGUSTUS TOLTON: The Slave Who Became the First African-American Priest by Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers Sophia Institute Press, New Hampshire Paperback: 176 pages Price: AUD$49.99 Reviewed by Michael E. Daniel One of the most inspirational persons in the history of the United States Church in the 19th century is Servant of God Rev Augustus (Augustine)…
ANGELS, INCENSE AND REVOLUTION: Catholic Schooldays of the 1960s by Wanda Skowronska (Foreword by Jim Franklin) Connor Court, Redland Bay Paperback: 224 pages Price: AUD$29.95 Reviewed by Michael Gilchrist As the old saying goes, “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it”. However, those in control of Catholic religious education forgot that wise maxim in the…
On June 10, 2019, the Vatican issued a new document to provide Catholic educators guidance on dealing with gender issues. The document is entitled, “Male and Female He Created Them: Towards a Path of Dialogue on the Question of Gender Theory in Education”. Despite its sometimes rather archaic, theological and philosophical language, which can make…
SAINTS AND SINNERS IN THE CRISTERO WAR: Stories of Martyrdom from Mexico by Mons James T. Murphy Ignatius Press, San Francisco Paperback: 264 pages Price: AUD$35.95 Reviewed by Michael E. Daniel As a teenager, I was unable to put down Graham Greene’s novel, The Power and the Glory, after my school chaplain spoke at length…
Asia Bibi, the Pakistani woman sentenced to death for blasphemy in 2010, but freed after an appeal to Pakistan’s Supreme Court was upheld in 2018, has left Pakistan to live in Canada, after Islamist extremists threatened to murder her. Asia Bibi Apart from international pressure, Asia Bibi owes her freedom to her courageous lawyer, who…
Following widespread public concerns over threats to religious freedom during the federal election, the Morrison Government has promised a religious discrimination act by July. Human rights law is a tricky, problematic area of law. As militant secularists want to restrict religious freedoms by making religious freedom legislation as ineffective as possible, there are concerns that…
BY VIOLENCE UNAVENGED: In the Hearts of Kings, volume 1 by Annette Young Distant Prospect Publishing, Lorn, NSW Hardcover/Paperback: 474 pages Price: Hardcover: AUD$49.95; Paperback: AUD$34.95 Available also as an ebook for Kindle, Kobo and Google Play Preorder now from any bookseller, or from the author at annetteyoung.net (signed to Australian addresses) Reviewed by John…
STRANGERS IN A STRANGE LAND: Living the Catholic Faith in a Post-Christian World by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput Henry Hold and Company, New York Hardcover: 288 pages Price: AUD$39.99 Reviewed by Conor Sweeney Archbishop Charles J. Chaput is a rare breed among his class: a serious bishop. By this I mean he is a bishop…
PIONEER PRIESTS AND MAKESHIFT ALTARS: A History of Catholicism in the Thirteen Colonies by Fr Charles P. Connor EWTN Publishing, Irondale, Alabama Paperback: 272 pages Price: AUD$39.95 Reviewed by Michael E. Daniel Central to the foundation story of the United States of America are the voyage of the Mayflower in 1620, and the subsequent establishment of…
THE BENEDICT OPTION: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation by Rod Dreher Sentinel, New York Paperback: 262 pages Price: AUD$38.99 Reviewed by David Daintree Once in a while Providence throws up a splendid synchronicity of famous births. The second-last decade of the fifth century (480–490 AD) was one such special time. What other…
“Indeed, the true friends of the people are neither revolutionaries, nor innovators: they are traditionalists.” St Pope Pius X, in Notre Charge Apostolique (“Our Apostolic Mandate”, 1910) Events of recent times, particularly Brexit and Trump, indicate a challenge to the established order of business, at least in the realm of political and economic policy. There…
The Church and State Summit 2019 held in Brisbane on February 22–23 was billed as an event designed to “arm” Christians to influence culture. Well, the event more than lived up to its hype and more than delivered on its intent. It was the second such event, and more and bigger are promised. The Summit…
SCIENCE WAS BORN OF CHRISTIANITY: The Teaching of Fr Stanley L. Jaki by Stacy Trasancos Habitation of Chimham Publishing, Titusville, Florida Paperback: 208 pages Price: AUD$35.99 Reviewed by John Long Twenty-six years ago, a Benedictine priest named Stanley Jaki visited the NCC and gave a talk on the relationship between science and the Christian faith.…
CATHOLICS CONFRONTING HITLER: The Catholic Church and the Nazis by Peter Bartley Ignatius Press, San Francisco Paperback: 296 pages Price: AUD$35.95 Reviewed by Michael E. Daniel When the reviewer studied Modern History at school, the relationship between the Nazis and the Church was glossed over in the space of a few minutes in one lesson.…
In secular Australia, Christmas is principally a season of giving, both to our loved ones and to those less fortunate. In this respect, it is radically different from other days of national celebration, which mark unique events in our history, like Australia Day or Anzac Day. One aspect in which it is different is…
MARTIN LUTHER: Catholic Dissident by Peter Stanford Hodder & Stoughton, London Hardcover: 448 pages Price: AUD$45 Reviewed by Peter Westmore The five hundredth anniversary of the commencement of the Protestant Reformation took place in 2017. The occasion was marked by a series of events led by the Lutheran Church to commemorate the events which split…
Liberal Member for Menzies the Hon Kevin Anrews delivered the following address to the National Civic Council’s Annual Conference on Saturday, February 3, 2018. Mr Andrews is chairman of the Human Rights Sub-committee of the Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade. In December 1948, the international community gathered at the…
Once the overt sectarian conflicts between Catholics and Protestants largely petered out in Australia in the 1970s, we looked to be headed towards an Australia that was a model of religious tolerance. But in recent times the social stability engendered by religious tolerance is again imperilled as the law increasingly conflicts with religion and conscience…
Recently, my dear friend Diane was lamenting the fact that there are few places for Christians who experience same-sex attraction and wish to be faithful to Christian teaching to deal openly and honestly with those issues. Our culture’s sexual floodtide is breaching many individuals’ and churches’ fidelity to truth, and now, post-Obergefell, there is mounting…
The tiny Russian Catholic Church, which suffered the savagery of communism for over seven decades, has, at least in operational terms, fared little better since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. But this time, the cause was not communist apparatchiks. It was the Vatican’s Curia. Bishop Joseph Werth SJ, of Novosibirsk. The Vatican,…
The Russian Revolution of 1917 posed a question that has never satisfactorily been answered. How could the country swap one national ideology for its diametric opposite? As one Russian observer asked: “What is the explanation of the fact that the Orthodox Church, so powerful in the Russian Empire, was almost reduced to zero by its…
The initiator of the Byzantine Catholic Church in Russia, Vladimir Soloviev, could be regarded a saint, but without question he was a genius and the most creative and influential Russian intellectual of the 19th century. He lived a deeply virtuous life, noted for exceptional generosity to the poor, and he was notorious for giving away…
Orthodox Christianity in Russia has long had a fraught relationship with the state. A healthy relationship between God and Caesar has rarely been observed in practice. Portrait of Vladimir Soloviev by Ivan Kramskoy (1885). The nadir of church-state relations was the intense persecution of the Church under Joseph Stalin. The Russian Orthodox Church was powerless…
FROM TRADITION AND AWAY FROM TRADITION: Poems, 2001–2014 by Andrew Huntley (Bendigo, Extra Castra Publications) Hardcover: 60 pages ISBN: 9780646926049Price: AUD$29.95 Reviewed by Jarred Vehlen For generations men have spoken about the Western tradition, or all that makes up European culture; that which is handed down from one generation to the next,…
Ion Mihai Pacepa was a general in communist Romania’s secret police before defecting to the United States in the late 1970s. The highest-ranking defector from communism in the 1970s, he spoke recently about the connection between the Soviet Union and liberation theology in Latin America. Ion Mahai Pacepa In general, would you say that the…
While the leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies were meeting in Brisbane for the prestigious G20 summit, other groups were also discussing a number of issues affecting our world. The G20 Interfaith Summit took place on Queensland’s Gold Coast during November 16-18, and focused on economic development and religious freedom. Brigham Young University and…
An intense struggle is taking place in the realm of professional licensing in Canada. The religious freedom of Christians and others is colliding on a grand scale with the “equality rights” of the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) identity group, and as the tide turns in favour of equality rights, we are starting…
Christians in Europe have increasingly become targets of discrimination, lawsuits and heavy penalties under the EU’s so-called human rights laws, according to a recent study. Adelaide barrister Christopher Brohier predicts that Christians in Australia could soon face similar pressures. A British Christian couple, who ran a bed and breakfast facility in their home, were fined…
Australians will suffer ever greater curbs on their religious freedoms if they don’t heed the recent experience of the United States, warns Ryan Messmore, current president of Sydney’s Campion College. Late last year, he delivered the 14th annual Acton Lecture on Religion and Freedom, hosted by the Sydney-based Centre for Independent Studies (CIS). It was…
There is never a shortage of examples of how Islam is slowly but surely creeping into Western democracies, with sharia law and other less than democratic features being promoted and eventually accepted. Democracy, of course, can be its own worst enemy as it seeks to accommodate itself to anyone and everyone, even those forces which…
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has confirmed that Bibles should be banned from citizenship ceremonies. The view was stated in answers to questions on notice asked by Tasmanian Liberal Senator Guy Barnett, and again in the Senate on February 21. “I now call on the minister to overturn the decision of his department. He…
Politicians may be far from perfect, but they at least face the public every few years, writes Damian Wyld. The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) never will, despite living off the public purse. It is hardly surprising that under the Rudd Government the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has had considerable success in having its left-wing…
The Rudd Government is undertaking a taxation review which could jeopardise churches’ tax-exempt status, reports Bill Muehlenberg. Every once in a while, calls are made to take away any tax-exempt status for churches or religious groups. There may be many reasons for this. Non-religious folk may not think it fair that they should subsidise religious bodies…
Dr Rowan Williams spectacularly misjudged the public mood with his comments on Sharia law. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, went a step too far and put both feet in his mouth on February 7, 2008, when he delivered the foundation lecture at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. His address, entitled “Civil…
A Christian voice in public life GOD AND CAESAR: Selected Essays on Religion, Politics, & Societyby Cardinal George Pell(Victoria: Connor Court)Paperback: 193 pagesRec. price: $29.95 One of the most persistent aims of 20th-century secularism, taken from the French Enlightenment, was first to marginalise then eliminate religion from political life in the Western world. It is…
When future historians look back at the first decade following Al-Qaeda’s September 11, 2001, strikes on America soil, they’re likely to conclude that the most significant counter-measure against the ideology that inspired those murderous attacks was taken early this year and well away from the Islamic world. Joseph Poprzeczny reports. On March 5, a group of…
Two Christian pastors, prosecuted and fined heavily under Victoria’s Racial and Religious Tolerance Act for allegedly vilifying Islam, learned just before Christmas whether their appeal before the Victorian Supreme Court was successful. Roslyn Phillips reports. The court-room in the Victorian Supreme Court of Appeal in Melbourne’s Lonsdale Street was hushed. At 9:30 am on Thursday,…
A new challenge to Darwinian evolutionary theory is generating some lively debate, reports Bill Muehlenberg. When an American President champions its cause, an Australian education minister says it should be looked into, and the cover of Time magazine treats it as a major story, all within the space of a week, then something must be…
Sri Lankan parliamentarians are advocating divisive and anti-Christian leglislation that could restrict foreign aid – and this at a time when their country is facing so many challenges, reports Dr John Whitehall. Two essentially anti-Christian bills are being considered by members of the Sri Lankan parliament – as if that country were not sufficiently divided…
Hollywood sometimes does a better job than the church in educating the public about the possible impact of biotechnology on humanity’s future, writes Bill Muehlenberg. Several years ago R. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, made a profound observation: “Christians are sleeping through history as new medical technologies threaten the very meaning…
Leaders of Melbourne’s Muslim community attacked Federal Treasurer Peter Costello over comments he made at a Christian thanksgiving service in Melbourne on May 29. Islamic Council of Victoria president Yasser Soliman described Mr Costello’s remarks on Victoria’s first religious hatred case as “a gross misrepresentation”. Mr Costello had addressed a National Day of Thanksgiving Commemoration…
The Pope’s decision to appoint Sydney Catholic Archbishop, Dr George Pell, as a Cardinal of the Catholic Church, reflects the importance which John Paul II gives to Dr Pell’s work in the church the Australia. The appointment was one of 31 new Cardinals in the world’s largest Christian church. Both the Prime Minister, John Howard,…