-
1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Andrew West |Nadyat El Gawley |Simon Branthwaite
Why are clergy regarded as office holders rather than staff? We speak to Reverend Chris Bedding, an Anglican priest and executive officer of the Faith Workers Alliance. 2025 is a jubilee year for the Catholic Church, traditionally a time for renewal and the forgiveness of debt and sin. But with Pope Francis still in recovery from double pneumonia, pilgrims are finding new ways to mark the jubilee. And why are Donald Trump and the United States itself poor role models for true conservatives.
-
1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Andrew West |Nadyat El Gawley
2025 is a jubilee year for the Catholic Church, traditionally a time for renewal and the forgiveness of debt and sin. For millions of Catholics, it also brings an opportunity for a pilgrimage to Rome – and that would normally involve being part of a mass or public prayer led by the Pope. But with Pope Francis still in recovery from double pneumonia, pilgrims are finding new ways to mark the jubilee. Hermione Kitson reports from Rome.
-
1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Andrew West |Nadyat El Gawley
Australia’s High Court recently upheld a long-standing law that says priests are not employees of their churches. They are “office holders”. So where does this leave the large majority of clergy, denied the rights of employees? The Reverend Chris Bedding is an Anglican priest in Perth and the Faith Workers Alliance executive officer.
-
1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Andrew West |Hamish Camilleri |Nadyat El Gawley
A State Memorial Service will be held in Sydney this week for David Polson, one of the first people in Australia to contract HIV AIDS. David lived for 40 years after his initial diagnosis, developing a close friendship with one of his early carers, CLARE NOLAN from the Sisters of Charity. The Catholic nuns ran Ward 17 at St Vincent's Hospital, where they nursed hundreds of HIV AIDS patients. Sister Nolan remembered David Polson and the prejudice he and other patients encountered.
-
1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Andrew West |Hamish Camilleri |Nadyat El Gawley
Pope Francis is reportedly out of immediate danger but will remain in hospital as doctors manage his recovery from double pneumonia. As he has fought the disease, we’ve been looking at his legacy. In the global south, his message about poverty and climate change resounds loudly. Bishop BRODERICK PABILLO is from Palawan in the Philippines. He was a strong critic of former president Rodrigo Duterte, who has been arrested by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.
-
1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Andrew West |Hamish Camilleri |Nadyat El Gawley
What are the implications of recent clashes with loyalists to the Assad regime? The Sisters of Charity ran Ward 17 at St Vincent's Hospital, where they nursed hundreds of HIV AIDS patients. Sister Nolan remembers David Polson and the prejudice he and other patients encountered. And why does the pope's message about poverty and climate change resound loudly in the global south?
-
1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Andrew West |Hamish Camilleri |Nadyat El Gawley
Since the takeover of Syria by the Islamist group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, also known as HTS, an uneasy calm had settled over the country. Religious minorities were more hopeful they could survive the new regime. But recent mass violence in the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus has destroyed such hopes. More than 1000 people, mostly civilians from the Alawite minority, have been killed, as security forces clashed with militias loyal to the ousted Assad regime.
-
1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Andrew West |Nadyat El Gawley |Bethany Stewart
Wokeness. It’s a word that’s gone from badge of pride to insult. It’s an idea with religious roots, even though most of its champions would disdain any religious belief or doctrine. Those who have embraced so-called wokeness say they are promoting social justice. But to sociologist Musa al-Gharbi, it’s social justice for the comfortable – for those who want to feel progressive but hang onto the privileges and status of the upper middle class.
-
1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Andrew West |Nadyat El Gawley |Bethany Stewart
Pope Francis, seriously ill, struggling to work from a hospital bed in Rome. He’s revealed that he has written a resignation letter -- but without a date. So what happens if the Pope slips into unconsciousness? Who’s responsible for leading 1.3 billion Catholics. Professor Darius von Guttner specialises in Vatican affairs and history at the Australian Catholic University in Canberra.
-
Jan 22, 2025 | 
abc.net.au | Andrew West |Hong Jiang |Emrys Cronin |Roi Huberman
Donald Trump is picking fights on many fronts — China, Canada, and even Greenland. But his tough policies on immigration have raised the ire of another world leader, Pope Francis. A fragile peace now exists in Gaza, after a six-week ceasefire began. The uncertainty complicates the enormous task of rebuilding Gaza, and the UN estimates that 92 per cent of housing units have been destroyed. Religion has shaped a lot of Indonesia's democracy.
