Churches in Australia have been daubed with anti-Christian graffiti amid an increasingly toxic debate about same-sex marriage.
Last weekend Anglican and Baptist churches in Melbourne were defaced with the words “bash bigots” and “Crucify ‘no’ voters” – a reference to those who are voting “no” in a same-sex marriage plebiscite.
Another piece of graffiti equated the cross with the swastika. Graffiti was also found on churches in and around Sydney.
In August the bishops’ conference urged Catholics to vote against changing the law to allow same-sex marriage, but said the debate should be conducted “with a deep sense of reverence and respect for every person in the nation, and for the choices that they are free to make”.
Weeks later a priest reported being spat at and called a “f—ing ‘No’ voter” as he walked through a shopping centre in Brisbane. Writing on Facebook, Fr Morgan Batt said the best he could do was “smile and move on”, adding: “Australia, this is really not us.” The plebiscite, which is non-binding, is in the form of a postal vote that is already underway. The results will be announced on November 15.
A poll last month found that 55 per cent of Australians supported a change to the law while 34 per cent were opposed. Support for same-sex marriage had fallen by four per cent during the voting period.
Tony Abbott, a Catholic former prime minister, has vocally opposed a law change. Last month he claimed he was headbutted by a man wearing a “Yes” badge. A 38-year-old was charged with common assault.
Ireland’s opposition party backs Eighth Amendment
Members of Ireland’s main opposition party have voted overwhelming to oppose the repeal of the Eighth Amendment to the country’s constitution, which protects the life of the unborn.
Fianna Fáil members voted at the party’s Ardfheis, or conference, to back a motion calling for the preservation of the amendment. At the same time, they rejected a motion calling for its repeal.
Ireland is due to vote next year in a referendum on repealing the Eighth Amendment.
Although Fianna Fáil’s representatives in the Irish parliament are not bound by the conference’s decision, the move from the country’s second largest party is highly symbolic.
The Irish Times reported that most delegates spoke in favour of protecting the right to life of the unborn in the constitution.
Máire Hoctor, a former member of the Irish parliament, criticised Fianna Fáil members of the parliamentary committee on abortion for failing to speak up for the unborn.
Fianna Fáil governed Ireland from 1997 to 2011 under the leadership of Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen. The party’s current leader, Micheál Martin, has yet to declare which side he supports in the referendum debate.
Pope gives sculpture to the UN
Pope Francis has said it makes no sense to lament widespread hunger without tackling its causes, such as war and climate change.
Visiting the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, he said we must not speak of hunger as though it were “an incurable disease.”
He gave the UN office a statue of Alan Kurdi, a Syrian boy whose body washed up on Turkey’s shore in 2015.
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