Weekend Wrap for 15 June 2019
In this edition of the Weekend Wrap, there’s plenty of good analysis on a wide range of topics from across the country!
We hope you’re finding our weekly review helpful in staying abreast of issues in the secular space. If you see an article of interest online, be sure to share it to our inbox so that we can include it in our next edition.
The Weekend Wrap is also published on our new 'Secular Spotlight' blog.
From the Capital
Around the Country
VIC: Sexual abuse survivors who signed away their right to further legal action in accepting unfair compensation payouts will soon have a chance to pursue justice. The Andrews government plans to amend the Limitation of Actions Act 1958 to give discretion to a court to set aside a past deed of release or court judgement relating to child abuse (The Age).
QLD: Alison Courtice from the Queensland Parents for Secular State Schools provides an update on her group’s e-petition for the Queensland parliament to review Religious Instruction in state schools (Iron Fist and the Velvet Glove podcast).
Around the World
The Vatican has gone on the attack on gender identity, providing schools with guidelines that oppose inclusive transgender and LGBTQ education (News.com).
A Colorado cake maker is facing another legal challenge after refusing to make a ‘gender transition’ cake on the grounds of religious freedom (Christian Post).
Commentary and Analysis
With the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act to come into force in Victoria soon, Bernadette Tobin explains why Catholic hospitals won’t be taking part (The Australian).
As The Australian’s ‘Christian persecution’ crusade rolls on, it’s worth reading this profile piece on Catholic foreign editor Greg Sheridan. He speaks on how the response to an article in 2017 about the fate of Christianity in the West was “wonderful positive reinforcement for the paper and positive reinforcement for me” (Catholic Herald).
When it comes to religious fundamentalism, you can’t cherry pick the doctrines to suit a particular agenda, writes Mungo MacCallum. And that’s the difference between Israel Folau and PM Scott Morrison (The Monthly).
Anthony Forsyth explores the legal context of the Folau case and outlines why it could set a precedent for employment law and religious freedom (The Conversation).
A new breed of Catholic priest laments that ‘tarnishing’ of the Church’s ‘brand’ by those who have come before him (ABC).
As members of the Labor Party call for the party to become more accommodating of religious Australians, former PM Kevin Rudd adds his two cents, arguing that being a Christian politician doesn’t necessarily mean being part of the Liberal-National parties (Australian Financial Review).
This editorial by The Age argued that the ‘religious freedom’ debate has been foisted upon the nation because of politics, not principle.
That's it for another week!
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