Queensland Synod News

Pope Benedict XVI’s baptism of an Egyptian-born Muslim Italian journalist, known for being a strident critic of restrictions of religious freedom in Islamic countries, has been questioned by Muslim leaders in Italy. Magdi Allam, a columnist and deputy editor of the Milan-based Corriere della Sera newspaper, was one of seven people from five countries baptised by the pontiff at the ...

A Canadian church magazine has become the first North American sponsor of a travelling exhibit of the life and work of natural scientist Charles Darwin, whose theory of the evolution of species has long been a source of conflict between scientists and Christians who take the Biblical account of creation literally. The exhibit, which opened at the Royal Ontario Museum ...

Many Filipinos observe Lent, a 40-day period of fasting and prayer for Christians before Easter, with penitence, some allowing themselves to be crucified on Good Friday, and others beating themselves until their bodies bleed, a practice they believe will cleanse their sins. Other Filipinos take time out to go to the beach or to mountain resorts as the end of ...

Sermons by the former pastor of aspiring presidential candidate Barack Obama’s Chicago church have become a heated issue in the US presidential campaign, triggering varying responses during the past week. The controversy centres on sermons delivered by Jeremiah A. Wright Jr, the recently retired senior pastor of the church, Trinity United Church of Christ, which is located in a Chicago ...

The Rev Dr John Evans, Uniting Church Minister at the Church of All Nations, Carlton, is calling for a national debate about whether or not Good Friday should still be a public holiday in Australia. “Whether Good Friday is a public holiday or not, will not change or challenge the day’s significance. In fact, in the place of Good Friday, ...

Blue Care has begun work on a strategy to redress issues affecting the elderly in rural and remote areas of Queensland, Blue Care Principal Adviser of Rural and Remote Services Damien Conley said this week. “The Blue Care Rural and Remote Strategy will address issues confronting older people in the bush who experience extra challenges accessing aged care services in ...

A US commission that monitors international religious freedom has condemned the Chinese government’s crackdown against those protesting in Tibet against Chinese rule. "China continues to use the heavy hand of repression in Tibet, viewing Buddhism practised outside government control as a security threat requiring arrest, detentions, and ‘patriotic education’," said Michael Cromartie, chairperson of the United States Commission on International ...

Rich nations benefiting from corruption are making the poor even poorer The first independent report on global corruption since the election of the Rudd Government says Australia’s foreign policy needs to cut off loop-holes in corruption battle. The Uniting Church will today present the first major independent report on global corruption to the new government of Australia at Parliament House. ...

Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho of the northern Iraq city of Mosul, who was kidnapped in February by armed attackers, has been found dead, church officials in Baghdad have announced. "We found him lifeless near Mosul. His abductors had buried him," the Rome-based SIR news agency quoted Baghdad’s auxiliary bishop, Shlemon Warduni, as saying on 13 March. In a ...

Some Anglican bishops in Kenya say a planned boycott for this year’s Lambeth Conference, a once-a-decade worldwide Anglican church meeting mid-year, would be unnecessary, if gay US bishop V. Gene Robinson and his backers will not be attending. But others indicated they are not reconsidering the boycott as the US Episcopal Church has not repented for the blessing of same-sex ...