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Cardinal Pell thinks Church positions on contested moral issues have a better chance of being reflected in law and policy if parliaments are not constrained by a Human Rights Act. I would beg to differ. Gone are the days when church leaders can do deals with politicians behind closed doors.
Trees are recognised as powerful cosmological agents in many of the earth's myths, rituals and religious beliefs. A worldwide 'bell ringing for climate justice' on 13 December will signify a vocal, moral and spiritual re-engagement of churches with nature.
When the Hawke-Keating Government cut back funding for overseas aid, churches said nothing. Last week, 260 Christian young people set out to lobby politicians about Australia's failure to meet its obligations to developing nations.
The Pope's social encyclical comes at a time when Australian churches increasingly have to provide charity to those who have been failed by the state. For charity to constitute true giving, social organisations must also be prepared to commit politically.
The swine flu saga has been of interest mainly because the responses to it have shown what Australians consider to be important. That is also true of the response within Australian churches.
Catholic and Anglican Churches are relatively recent converts to religious environmentalism. The rhetoric of the Catholic Church on Creation-care remains largely an optional extra for its organisations; economic and institutional gains take precedence.
The standard by which the most vocal Catholic Bishops judged Obama was his position on abortion, same sex marriages, and on the use of embryos for research. Obama has done the churches a favour by stealing their clothing.
Adelaide has a large, country-town feel about it. Sputes (sports utes) abound and the word 'bogan' is a term of endearment. The mullet hair cut, check shirt and ugg boots have never really gone out of fashion here. These are my people.
Theological colleges increasingly need to turn to churches for underwriting, yet church congregations are dwindling, which affects them financially as well. Something has to give ... and in Brisbane, it already has.
There is tension in the churches between those focused on piety and those engaged with social justice. Benedict's document on globalisation will presumably stress that concern for social justice is essential to the Church's mission.
It is interesting that the Churches have had little to say about the financial crisis and the behaviour that caused it. After all it has put at risk the lives of people throughout the world no less than abortion, euthanasia or gambling.
Clergy signatories to the 100Revs Statement of Apology to the gay community took part in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras on Saturday. Many Christians long for their churches to be places of welcome for all people and commit themselves to pursuing this goal.
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