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Section: Religion

  • RELIGION

    What should Rudd do now?

    • Frank Brennan
    • 23 February 2012
    46 Comments

    If Rudd loses Monday's expected leadership ballot, he will either go to the back bench or resign from Parliament. If he stays, what will he do? Spend the next six months undermining Gillard as Keating did Hawke? Rudd might not think that is a morally appropriate course of action.

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  • RELIGION

    Alain de Botton's pastoral atheism

    • Patrick McCabe
    • 22 February 2012
    22 Comments

    Where Richard Dawkins could be described as a missionary intent on saving souls from religion, fellow atheist de Botton is more concerned with the spiritual needs of the existing flock. His latest book Religion for Atheists is likely to annoy believers and non-believers alike.

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  • RELIGION

    The problem of goodness

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 02 February 2012
    11 Comments

    The problem of evil has always been with us. The ills that befall us and the monstrous evil that people do challenge the belief that life has a higher meaning, and are corrosive of belief in a loving God. The problem of goodness is rarely spoken of, yet it too presents challenges.

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  • RELIGION

    Working out what white Australia wants

    • Frank Brennan
    • 30 January 2012
    10 Comments

    I have been feeling sad and confused about the happenings in Canberra since Australia Day. On Saturday I got on my bike and went down to the lawn of Old Parliament House. I passed a sign: 'You are now entering or leaving the Australian Aboriginal Tent Embassy ... Abusive behaviour will not be tolerated.'

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  • RELIGION

    Morris affair contains lessons for Church hierarchy

    • Frank Brennan
    • 25 January 2012
    57 Comments

    Just because there is no legal remedy to the denial of natural justice to former bishop Bill Morris, that is no reason for the senior hierarchy not to reflect acutely on their treatment of him. Respectful dialogue with Toowoomba's church leaders would be a good start. 

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  • RELIGION

    Bill Morris and natural justice

    • Andrew Hamilon
    • 23 January 2012
    40 Comments

    The reports by a retired judge and a canon lawyer into the dismissal of Bishop Morris make disturbing reading. Given that the obligation of natural justice carries moral as well as legal weight, Morris was entitled to expect his right to it would be respected by the Vatican.

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  • RELIGION

    Beyond Catholic corporate spin

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 19 January 2012
    8 Comments

    The visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Great Britain last year prompted an interesting experiment. The Church asked for lay volunteers to deal with media enquiries. At first glance this could be construed as an exercise in corporate spin with a focus on persuasion and not on truth.

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  • RELIGION

    Best of 2011: Silence for Norway's dead

    • Bronwyn Lay
    • 13 January 2012
    1 Comment

    On a quiet Sunday night 25 years ago Julian Knight committed Australia's first urban massacre on the street outside my home. The next morning, strangers — made mute — stood and met the silence of the dead. It is powerful to watch the Norwegian people meet the silence of their dead. Published 27 July 2011

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  • RELIGION

    Best of 2011: Trust at stake in Toowoomba

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 12 January 2012
    10 Comments

    The treatment of Bishop Bill Morris risks further blurring the image of the Church. The story told of a good man who encouraged his church, who was resolute in dealing with sexual abuse, but was removed in an untransparent process, will confirm many in their distrust of the Church. Published 15 May 2011

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  • RELIGION

    Best of 2011: Gillard's Malaysia solution stumble

    • Frank Brennan
    • 05 January 2012
    2 Comments

    The Malaysia solution has hit a snag called the High Court of Australia. The Government is now in very stormy waters, because the rule of law and the separation of powers do not readily yield to the sound bites of populist sentiment and the fear tactics of politicians. Published 8 August 2011

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  • RELIGION

    Missing Christopher Hitchens

    • Frank Brennan
    • 20 December 2011
    25 Comments

    We'll miss his intellectual rigour, self-deprecating humour, unpredictable political perspectives, unforgiving character evaluations, and iconoclastic appetite for scrutiny and transparency — even those of us appalled by his vicious and discriminatory anti-religious bigotry. 

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  • RELIGION

    Why I don't preach on abortion

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 08 December 2011
    69 Comments

    I am often asked if I preach on abortion and, if not, why not. The questioners sometimes kindly supply me with the answer. If I do not preach on abortion, it is surely because I am afraid of alienating my liberal friends.

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