Around 1850, the NSW Legislative Council granted the Catholic Church sixty acres on North Head in Manly. At the end of the 18th century, the Anglican Church had already been granted a swathe of dispossessed land in what is now Glebe, in the city's inner west, originally home to the Gadigal people.

Upon receiving the land, the Church embarked on a significant development project. They constructed the castle-like St Patrick's Seminary, now part of St Patrick's Estate, on the headland's peak. Subsequently, they subdivided and leased the remaining land. In its 2013 environmental management plan, the estate said "most of the land to the east and north" of the Seminary had been sold on a "long leasehold basis",

Leaseholders have the right to sell their leases to another party at any time. However, the buyer must be willing to pay the current lease price and the cost of renewing the lease when it expires. Read more

How the Church came to own properties in Manly]]> 173220 https://cathnews.co.nz/2024/05/09/bishops-approve-mass-of-the-land-of-the-holy-spirit/ Thu, 09 May 2024 05:50:27 +0000 https://cathnews.co.nz/?p=170614 Australia's Catholic bishops have approved a liturgy which incorporates elements of Aboriginal language and culture. A motion was passed at the plenary meeting of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference in Sydney on Tuesday approving the Mass of the Land of the Holy Spirit (Missa Terra Spiritus Sancti) for use in the Diocese of Broome in Read more

Father Frank Brennan (pictured), a Jesuit priest and human rights lawyer, blames leadership on both political sides for not seeking common ground.

He hopes a "reconciling spirit" will blow through parliament's chambers during the next three weeks while elected leaders lay the groundwork for the three-month campaign.

He says he'd like some changes made to the federal government's proposed Indigenous Voice referendum question.

It's too broad, he says. Its reference to the Voice making representations to executive government will attract many legal challenges.

He suggests changing the wording from "executive government" to "ministers of state" could broaden support for the referendum.

However, given all major political parties' reluctance to consider any proposed Constitutional amendments, the wording of the change "might not be perfect," he says.

Stating his case in Rome

On Saturday, Brennan will deliver a lecture on the referendum at the Pontifical Gregorian University.

His draft lecture notes say he proposes discussing a contemporary Australian perspective on recognising Aboriginal rights.

He will also urge Australians to recommit to "deep inner listening" towards each other and the land.

This will include reminding Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton of their responsibility for the debate's tone.

"Neither side of the parliamentary chamber has done what was needed to bring the country together, to bring reconciliation in our land, to bring the country to ‘Yes'," Brennan's notes say.

"The government has assured parliament that it would have the power to legislate whether and how representations by the Voice need to be considered by the executive government, and should "tweak the words" to ensure that public servants performing routine administrative tasks will not be required to consider representations by the Voice."

Voters will face a stark choice in the referendum, his lecture notes continue.

"We can vote ‘No' to a constitutionally enshrined Voice either because we continue to think that all constitutional entitlements should be held ‘in common with all other Australians' or because we are not convinced that the Voice will work effectively," the notes say.

"Or we can vote ‘Yes' because, whatever the imperfections of the wording and the risk of future complications, we think it is high time that Australia's First Peoples were recognised in the Constitution in a manner sought and approved by a broad cross-section of Indigenous leaders."

He also plans to tell his audience that only eight of 44 referendums have succeeded in Australia since the federation and he hopes "this one will be the ninth".

Papal gift

Brennan presented a copy of his new book, "An Indigenous Voice to Parliament: Considering a Constitutional Bridge", to Pope Francis this week.

His dedication on the gift says he is "hoping and praying for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament."

"May the Australian people bring the country to ‘Yes', recognising the rights of our First Peoples who have occupied the Great South Land of the Holy Spirit for tens of thousands of years," he says.

Source

• WAToday

The volunteer allegedly told the primary school age children that what they had been taught about why the children were removed was false.

The real reason the children were removed from their families was because of lazy parenting, he told them.

Four of the six pupils the volunteer was teaching complained about his views.

"The complaint involved stereotyping and the ethics teacher is alleged to have voiced racist opinions," said a spokeswoman for the organisation that runs Special Ethics Education, Primary Ethics.

"We commend these students for speaking up and the principal for proactively addressing the matter," the spokeswoman said.

After getting her mother's permission, an 11-year old complainant spoke to reporters about the incident.

"[The teacher said] we should only listen to him because he was 75 and had lived in Townsville for 10 years."

The 11-year old then said the teacher became increasingly agitated when the students argued back.

Her mother said the incident left her concerned about the regulation and vetting of volunteers who were allowed into the public school system to teach both Special Ethics Education and Special Religious Education.

"I'd always seen ethics as quite a good alternative to scripture," she said.

"But it's almost part of the problem because it's the same issue - these people are unregulated. Imagine if a teacher had responded like that? I would expect them to have pretty serious disciplinary action."

A spokesman for the NSW Department of Education said the volunteer's comments "were unacceptable".

An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Special Ethics Education is due to be trialled in New South Wales' high schools next year.

Source

• Daily Mail
• Stuff
• Image: Daily Mail

The doyens of New Atheism taunt believers. The late Christopher Hitchens asserted that "religion poisons everything" and Richard Dawkins has asked whether "religion is the root of all evil".

Any fair consideration of Aboriginal spirituality makes these assertions look like another form of white cultural imperialism. We all owe the Aboriginal community a duty to try to immerse ourselves in the spirituality that formed their culture and binds their communities to this day. This immersion will help inform us of how indigenous and non-indigenous communities can more successfully co-exist. Read more

Sources

• Dick Gross in The Sydney Morning Herald
• Image: Sathya Sai Baba

Dick Gross has written and broadcast about living and dying without a god for over a decade.