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Few sights are more desperate than old political parties on the run. In this Australian federal election, the challenge from independents and smaller parties has sparked a nervous reaction, much of it negative and most of it misplaced.
Kevin Rudd’s mother had a saying: ‘Just put it into your forgettery’. It helped him cope with criticism such as his reported tantrums and harsh treatment of staff. Julia Gillard has had her own forgettery raided by ‘misogynists and the nut jobs on the internet’ and elsewhere. Political vindictiveness is not sufficient reason to retrieve unpleasant memories from a person’s personal trash.
Cardinal Pell, with whom I have voiced disagreement, preached superbly at the mass of thanksgiving after the canonisation of Mary MacKillop. 'She does not deter us from struggling to follow her.' As we wrestle with the common good, let's make a place for all our fellow citizens.
In his Easter message, Cardinal George Pell made an oblique reference to sexual abuse in the Church. While most Australians dismiss such utterances as too little too late, it is possible to look at them optimistically when set against actions of the recent past.
Sheik Hilaly compared rape victims to 'uncovered meat'. Bishop Anthony Fisher stated parents of abuse victims were 'dwelling crankily on old wounds'. Unequal criticism of the remarks suggests sexual assault has been appropriated as a cultural or sectarian wedge.
It's hard to think of anybody who would not have welcomed Pope Benedict's apology for sexual abuse. By contrast, nobody could have been pleased to hear an exasperated Bishop Anthony Fisher refer last week to those 'dwelling crankily ... on old wounds'.