The first was that he was gay.

The second was that his life would never be the same.

"I did know immediately that basically, I was lost," he tells ABC RN's Soul Search.

"I lost my parents' world, their political world, their religious world."

As a queer person in a religious environment, he felt alienated, an experience he'd spend the next few decades trying to understand.

His journey led him to religious orders in South America, to the forefront of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and to the work of a groundbreaking French philosopher, who helped him understand why some people scapegoat others.

Love could be real'

Dr Alison grew up in the UK with parents who were "hardline evangelicals" in the Anglican Church.

The family was also politically conservative; his father was a conservative member of the British Parliament and a minister in Margaret Thatcher's government.

"[That's] not a safe place to be if you're a gay kid growing up, realising that you're not fit for purpose in that world," Dr Alison says.

At 18, after reading the biography of Italian Catholic priest and Saint Padre Pio, he found that Catholicism offered a different interpretation of the bible.

It made him feel able to accept both his sexuality and his relationship with God.

He converted to Catholicism, and four years later he joined a religious order in Mexico, where he began training to become a Catholic priest.

Part of his training involved pastoral work with people diagnosed with HIV and AIDS in the UK and Brazil, as the illness swept through queer communities across the world in the mid-1980s.

But while Catholicism had made him feel he could accept his own queerness, he saw serious shortcomings in the Church's response to the AIDS crisis.

"At that time, the official language in the Catholic Church around gay love [described it as] hedonistic and self-centred," Dr Alison says.

It didn't align with the reality he'd observed.

He knew, from working with and counselling queer people facing serious health prognoses, that "[gay] love could be real" and, indeed, that it could be "stronger than death".

Dr Alison felt queer people were being targeted with the language of fear, but he couldn't quite understand why.

The scapegoat

In the late 1980s, as Dr Alison continued his theological studies, he stumbled upon the work of French philosopher René Girard, known for his seminal work on the "scapegoat mechanism".

Girard identified scapegoating as an important part of human adaptation.

Dr Alison, who went on to become an expert in the works of Girard, explains why:

"In situations of pressure, a group which is fighting amongst itself [and] which is full of rivalry, will mysteriously be able to move from an all-against-all to an all-against-one," he says.

Girard's theory is that the scapegoat is a "wrongly accused victim", cast out "for the convenience of the group", he says.

Girard argues that the result of that is increased group cohesion and a better chance at survival.

Dr Alison says it's an age-old practice.

"The celebration of the survival of the group at the expense of a 'wicked other' has been absolutely part of human survival techniques and at the basis of so many mythologies all over the world," he explains.

Indeed many scholars have identified this behaviour across cultures and even across species — studies have pointed to similar behaviour in primates.

Girard's explanation of scapegoating behaviour had a profound impact on Dr Alison.

Suddenly, his own experiences and those he'd heard from the queer community fell into place: they had been scapegoats.

"[Girard] was saying something basically true about me and about the world that I knew," he says.

A personal epiphany

The scapegoat concept can be traced back to the Bible.

In the Book of Leviticus, God instructs Aaron, the brother of Moses, to lay the sins of the Israelites on the head of a goat, then drive it "into the wilderness" to atone for their sins.

Even earlier in history, records of Ancient Greek and Middle Eastern rituals make mention of scapegoating, when a single individual — usually a slave, criminal or pauper — would be sacrificed or cast out in response to a societal ill.

For Dr Alison, the concept "turns on its head the old-fashioned [understanding] … of the death of Christ".

Rather than seeing Jesus Christ's death as a sacrifice to a wrathful God, Girard's interpretation sees Christ as a scapegoat "created by us at our worst" — that is, the judgement and wrath comes from us, not God.

This understanding sees God as loving and compassionate, as he has self-sacrificially given over Christ as a way to meet our demand for violence once and for all.

Dr Alison believes understanding how and why we scapegoat allows us to empathise with minorities, rather than attack them. It also gives us power to push back against the status quo.

"It's a fantastic piece of learning [to] automatically think, 'Well, if the majority says it ... then [they] must be right'."

The psychology of scapegoating

Australian National University's Benjamin Jones, an expert on the social psychology of scapegoating, says at its core scapegoating is a group response to a threat.

That threat can be real, like a food shortage or health crisis, or symbolic, like a threatened sense of group identity or nationalism.

Dr Jones says it's about a group trying to determine and define their own identity.

"Once you exclude a particular [person or group], that does serve to intensify this understanding of what you're like and who you are," he says.

While scapegoating is a deeply ingrained "adaptive" human behaviour, he says it can also be co-opted for evil.

"The classic example is the Holocaust, [which saw] a subgroup being blamed for something without any evidence, and that being used to leverage a particular political interest."

Plenty of minority groups have been subject to scapegoating in recent history, says Enqi Weng, a research fellow at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation at Deakin University.

From post-9/11 Islamophobia to anti-Asian sentiment through the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Weng says there's "a lot of overlap" between scapegoating and prejudice in Australian society. Continue reading

• Anna Levy has worked as a journalist and producer for news, local radio, television and national programs at ABC Brisbane. She is the deputy digital editor for Radio National.
• Rohan Salmond is a producer and presenter with ABC RN's Religion and Ethics Unit.

And he says the church has also probably fallen short in fully meeting the needs of recent migrant communities.

Dew said this when he was commenting on new research by the Wilberforce Foundation which showed a sharp decline in the percentage of New Zealanders who identify as Christian.

Dew is the Archbishop of Wellington and vice-president of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference (NZCBC).

"The findings from this survey speak to Pope Francis' latest exhortation, in which he says 'we are all called to be holy by living our lives with love and by bearing witness in everything we do, wherever we find ourselves,'" Dew said.

"As the members of the NZCBC, we are aware of our leadership role and the role of faith in the public forum.

"We welcome the opportunity to listen more intently, talk more compassionately and understand more deeply how we can walk with New Zealanders in contributing to the wellbeing of all in our society."

During the Synod in Rome in 2015, Dew talked about the need for "new language" to explain church teaching on sexuality.

He spoke of compassion and inclusion.

"When we have documents which talk about intrinsically disordered or being evil, it's not going to help people.

"We've got to find a way to express what the teaching actually says, but not putting it in ways that people feel they're being branded and being told that they're bad or evil."

Source

• Supplied: Amanda Gregan: Communications Advisor - NZ Catholic Bishops Te Huinga o nga Pihopa Katorika o Aotearoa
• www.youtube.com
• nzcatholic.org.nz
• nzherald.co.nz
• Image: youtube.com

"Sad news has reached us of the persecution of our Rohingya brothers and sisters, a religious minority," the Holy Father told pilgrims and tourist in St Peter's Square.

"I would like to express my full closeness to them - and let all of us ask the Lord to save them, and to raise up men and women of good will to help them, who shall give them their full rights."

Later in the week, the Vatican confirmed that Pope Francis will visit Burma (Myanmar) and Bangladesh in November.

The Rohingya are an ethnic minority who live mostly in Rakhine State on the western coast of Burma and practice Islam.

The government of Burma - also known as Myanmar - does not recognize the citizenship or the ethnic minority status of the Rohingya.

The Catholic Bishop's Conference of Myanmar (CBCM) have suggested to Pope Francis not to use the term "Rohingya" when he visits.

The CBCM put forward their suggestion to the pope's representative in the country Archbishop Paul Tschang In-Nam, during their biannual meeting in June.

"We just gave suggestions that the word Rohingya remains a sensitive issue in the country and it is better not to use it during his visit," said Archbishop Alexander Pyone Cho of Pyay, whose diocese covers Rakhine State.

Some Myanmar Catholics have voiced their concerns online. "We pray that pope will not use Rohingya," "It is better not to use Rohingya and raise Rakhine issue," and "Church leaders should suggest pope not to use Rohingya," were some online comments made by Myanmar Catholics.

However, several faith leaders speaking with ucanews.com hold different views.

Wunna Shwe, joint secretary general of the Myanmar's Islamic Religious Affairs Council, said he welcomed the news of the pope's visit.

"As a religious leader, Pope Francis can use Rohingya in his prayers in Myanmar as this is not an attempt to interfere with another country's politics," Wunna Shwe told ucanews.com.

He said that the pope's visit would accelerate harmony and dialogue among the country's different faiths.

Ashin Thuriya, a Yangon-based monk involved in interfaith activities, said he is very glad that Pope Francis will visit Myanmar and agrees it will bring harmony to the country.

"I have no concerns on whether the pope will talk about the Rakhine issue as I understand that the Catholic leader already understands the reality of Myanmar," Ashin Thuriya told ucanews.com.

Bishop Pyone Cho said the pope's Nov. 27-30 visit is for all of Myanmar's people and is aimed at helping bring peace to the country. The visit is not about the Rakhine issue unlike how the international media try to link it to, he said.

Kyaw Min, chairman of a Yangon-based Rohingya party said the pope should decide himself whether to use the term Rohingya. "I appeal to Pope Francis to discuss the plight of Rohingya when he meets with government's leaders," Kyaw Min told ucanews.com.

Source

• Vatican Radio
• aljazeera.com
• Asian Correspondent
• Catholic Herald
• UCANews
• Image: The Wire

Their action was reported by the Russian news agency Interfax, which also carried a Russian Orthodox statement that it "vividly indicates Russia's high authority in the Middle East, especially among the Christian minorities living there".

"It is for the first time since the Nativity of Christ that we Christians of Qalamoun living in the villages of Saidnaya, Maara Saidnaya, Maaloula and Maaroun are under threat of banishment from our land," said a letter from the residents to the Russian leadership and the Russian Orthodox Church.

"We prefer death to exile and life in refugee camps, and so we will defend our land, honour and faith, and will not leave the land on which Christ walked.

"The Christians of Qalamoun believe that the purpose of the Western-backed terrorists is to eliminate our presence in what is our native land, and with some of the most revolting methods as well, including savage murders of ordinary people," they added.

"We see the Russian Federation as a powerful factor of global peace and stability. Russia pursues a firm line in the defense of Syria, its people and its territorial integrity."

The letter adds: "None of the about 50,000 people — physicians, engineers, lawyers, entrepreneurs — who are willing to sign this application want to leave their homes. We possess all that we need, we are not asking for money."

Archpriest Nikolay Balashov, an official of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Orthodox Church, said the granting of citizenship was "hardly possible from a judicial standpoint".

He said he believed the residents' action was guided by the intention to stress that "the Christians of the East have known for centuries that no other country would take care of their interests better than Russia".

Meanwhile, the leader of the Melkite Catholic Church, Patriarch Gregorios III Laham, has said more than 450,000 Christians have fled during Syria's civil war, out of a total Christian population of about 1.75 million.

Sources:

Interfax

Interfax

BBC

Image: Beliefnet

Jae, who is also vicar to the Arab World told Aid to the Church in Need that "Living in Iraq means living in fear."

There is nowhere people can feel safe and the situation has worsened in the last two to three weeks.

Jae said that all Iraqis are living in fear, adding that when a country is shaken by political tensions "minorities suffer the worst consequences."

The tension means people are continuing to emigrate, he said.

"They are still leaving. The ones who could afford it already moved to Europe or USA."

"The next five or six years are going to be crucial to determine if Christians will stay in the country," Jae said.

According to the priest's estimates, up to half of the Christians living in Baghdad before the fall of Saddam Hussein have since left the country.

"The second choice for them was nearer countries like Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan. The third choice was northern Iraq, but many of those who left are coming back because they can't find work or can't get accustomed to the Kurdish language."

Jae's comments come a year after the attack which left 58 Christians dead in Baghdad.

Sources

• Aid to the Church in need
• Image: The Telegraph

According to the study conducted by Pew Research Centre

• the median wealth of white households was 20 times that of black households and 18 times that of Hispanic households
• the inflation-adjusted median wealth among Hispanic households fell 66% from 2005 to 2009. Black households suffered a 53% drop in net worth over the same period. By contrast, whites saw a decline of 16% in household wealth.
• in 2009, the typical black household had just $5,677 in wealth. Hispanic families had about $6,325 in wealth. The average white household had a net worth of $113,149.
• a third of black and Hispanic households had zero wealth, meaning that their debts were larger than the value of all their assets.

Overall, the study attributed much of the disparity to the decline in home values, which hit black and Hispanic households hardest.

"If you're less wealthy, you're more reliant on single assets," says Rakesh Kochhar, a demographer at the Pew Research Centre.

"If you're more wealthy, you have multiple assets."

Overall black and Hispanics have been disproportionately affected by the collapse of the housing market, the financial crisis and the recession period between 2005-2009, but in particular the decline in home values hit black and Hispanic households the most.

"What's pushing the wealth of whites is the rebound in the stock market and corporate savings, while younger Hispanics and African-Americans who bought homes in the last decade... are seeing big declines," Timothy Smeeding, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor who specialises in income inequality, told the Associated Press news agency.

Blacks and minorities have also lost much of their wealth due to higher unemployment during the recession.

In June the unemployment rate remained twice as high for blacks as whites at 16.2% compared with 8.1%, with the rate among Hispanics at 11.6%.

The study show that with work-hours down families are forced to rely on savings, cash up other assets or borrow to make ends meet.

The figures reported in the Pew study are based on the Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation, which surveyed 36,000 households on wealth from September to December 2009.

Sources

• CNN-Money
• BBC
• Christian Science Monitor
• Image: International Association of Machinists
• Image: NY Daily