I’ve spent considerable energy over the years defending the Catholic Church from some of the extremes of vitriol it attracts (as well as criticising perceived inadequacies), but the church’s worst enemy is its own leadership.
Barney Zwartz, religion editor of The Age
The Catholic Church has an uncanny knack for attracting criticism. It has proven worse than useless in dealing with issues of sexual abuse among its clergy, but is prepared to launch stinging attacks on those priests who don’t precisely toe the party line. The bishop of Toowoomba, William Morris, has effectively been forced out of his post for daring to suggest that the Church might one day want to have a discussion about allowing female priests. He wasn’t even advocating the position, merely hinting at it as a possibility. While this was only one example of Morris’ liturgical incompliance, it seems hard to justify such an extreme stance — particularly as the Church has plenty of priests who, through their breach of trust in either directly abusing children in their care or covering up such acts, still continue to serve.
Extremism and the dangers of religion
The rare confluence of Easter and ANZAC Day this year has contributed to a marathon long weekend in Australia. On the positive side, many will be grateful for five days reprieve from the daily grind of work. On the negative side, it also provides an extended platform for religious zealots to make their voices heard. And so it goes today, with the Australian Christian Lobby’s Jim Wallace taking to Twitter to offer his thoughts on what the ANZAC spirit means.
Just hope that as we remember Servicemen and women today we remember the Australia they fought for - wasn’t gay marriage and Islamic!
I’m still waiting on my integration kit. Because I’d be interested to know what I’ve got to do to integrate better into Australian society.
They're just not feeling the love
Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate love and affection. Except, it seems, in Malaysia. The country’s deputy prime minister has suggested that the Hallmark holiday is unsuitable for Muslims, arguing that it encourages sinful behaviour. The Department of Islamic Development has even launched a campaign called “Mind the Valentine’s Day Trap”.
Of course, that’s a message a great many love-struck men and women around the world might take heed of — especially if you buy the wrong gift, or even forget the day altogether.
Apparently, sex doesn't sell
Religious zealots have a nasty habit of trying to restrict sex education in schools. But while in the Western world, such battles are usually between Christian groups and policymakers, it is perhaps unsurprising that other countries where different faiths predominate also face similar issues. Indeed, the problems can be far worse.
Take, for example, the efforts of Dr Mobin Akhtar, a Pakistani doctor who simply wants pubescent boys to understand what is happening to their bodies — rather than living in fear and shame, all too commonly leading to self-harm and suicides. This seems like a thoroughly decent objective. But Islamist conservatives in his country don’t want to talk about sex. Some government officials have suggested that he encourages pornography, while few retailers dare to sell his book.
