The Religion and Ethics Report - Separate stories podcast

If the first hundred days of a papacy can shake up the Catholic church, how much drama occurs over 80 years?  History rolls on, one war ends, another begins, scandals aplenty unfold.  But for author Philip Shenon, there has been a constant tension – how much should the church express judgement of the modern world and how much mercy should it extend.  Philip’s the author of a sweeping new history o...

The first hundred days of a president, prime minister, even a pope make lots of headlines. Leo XIV may have less dramatic flair than his predecessor, but he’s used his first three months in office to differentiate himself from Francis, particularly on the question of the Ukraine war.  GUEST:  CLAIRE GIANGRAVE is Vatican correspondent for the Religion News Service . If the first hundred days of a p...

In our near neighbour, Malaysia, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is facing increasing pressure from the Islamist opposition to take an even stronger stand against Israel and the United States over the ongoing Gaza war.

With Israel’s plan to go deeper into Gaza, the scenario looks intractable. Israel itself is increasingly isolated on the world stage. So what tools might be available to the United Nations to “force” a ceasefire and end the siege of Gaza? And if the United Nations Security Council should decide to deploy peacekeepers in the occupied territories, even Gaza itself, what could that look like?  GUEST:...

Treasurer Jim Chalmers convenes his productivity summit next week, trying to balance competing proposals to lower or raise taxes.  The St Vincent de Paul Society is one of Australia’s biggest faith-based welfare agencies and, in its submission to the summit, it asks the treasurer to make ending poverty his top priority.  GUEST: MARK GAETANI is the St Vincent de Paul Society's national president.

It seems like an increasingly intractable situation in Gaza, and Israel’s continuing isolation globally over its actions there is not helping the peace process. What tools are available to the UN to “force” a ceasefire and end the siege in Gaza? And hypothetically,  IF the United Nations Security Council decided to deploy peacekeepers into the occupied territories and even Gaza itself, what might...

In February this year 14 members of Toowoomba-based religious sect the Saints were sentenced to prison in the Queensland supreme court. They group, including her parents, were found guilty of manslaughter over the death of 8 year old Elizabeth Struh's 2022 death by diabetic ketoacidosis. In a confronting documentary for ABC TV's Compass, award-winning journalist Suzanne Smith enters the world of t...

Federal police have charged a Chinese national under the foreign interference laws, after she allegedly tried to infiltrate a Buddhist congregation in Canberra.  Religious communities of Chinese Australians have become particularly targets for Chinese intelligence, according to Australian researcher CLIVE HAMILTON.  His book, Silent Invasion: China’s Influence in Australia , detailed cases of exac...

Israel has allowed a partial lifting of the blockade of Gaza to permit some food drops to take place.  But are drops from the air enough to alleviate conditions on the ground – conditions the United Nations has described as famine-like?  Israel denies that it is deliberately engineering a famine. But the UN says the next few days as “make or break” for humanitarian agencies trying to reach more th...

Israel has allowed a partial lifting of the blockade of Gaza to permit some food drops to take place. But are drops from the air enough to alleviate conditions on the ground – conditions the United Nations has described as famine-like? Israel denies that it is deliberately engineering a famine. AMRA LEE is a researcher in the Department of International Relations at the Australian National Univers...

The Catholic Church is going digital in a big way, a legacy of Pope Francis, who knew the power of social media.  This week, the Vatican’s been hosting more than one thousand online influencers and digital natives from all over the world at its Jubilee for Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers.  One of them is Father ROB GALEA, a priest from Victoria, an author, a singer/songwriter with ei...

As the Vatican seeks to harness social media to spread its message, others are warning that artificial intelligence poses a huge challenge to all religion.  Could AI even be a rival to faith, projecting itself as a source of wisdom that’s neither human nor divine? Professor BETH SINGLER of the University of Zurich is the author of the new book, Religion and Artificial Intelligence . GUEST: Profess...

The Catholic Church is going digital in a big way, a legacy of Pope Francis, who knew the power of social media. This week, the Vatican’s been hosting more than one thousand online influencers and digital natives from all over the world at its Jubilee for Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers. One of them is Father ROB GALEA, a priest from Victoria, a singer with eight albums, and an influ...

South Korea is one of the great success stories of the past 30 years, moving from military dictatorship to a strong democracy and economy. Last year, it weathered a serious test when the former president tried to declare martial law. He’s since been removed. But South Korea’s also the home of a thriving number of troubling religious cults – some of them exported to Australia. Professor Tark Ji-il...

South Korea is one of the great success stories of the past 30 years, moving from military dictatorship to a strong democracy and economy.  Last year, it weathered a serious test when the former president tried to declare martial law. He’s since been removed.  But South Korea’s also the home of a thriving number of troubling religious cults – some of them exported to Australia.  Professor Tark Ji-...

The heroic image of the Anzac at Gallipoli is of the young man, with rifle and bayonet, going over the top of the trenches to face a hail of bullets from the Turkish troops.  While that was, indeed, true, there was another hero at Gallipoli, and he carried only a shovel and a Bible.  William ‘Mac’ McKenzie was a beloved Salvation Army chaplain.  In his day, Mac ranked alongside our most famous sol...

The government of Armenia has gone to war against one of the country’s most powerful institutions – the Apostolic Church. National security police have gaoled a popular archbishop, Bagrat Galstanyan, claiming he was involved in a plot to overthrow the government. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has also demanded the resignation of the top cleric, accusing him of having a secret child. It’s a high-r...

In Armenia national security police have gaoled a popular archbishop, Bagrat Galstanyan, claiming he was involved in a plot to overthrow the government.  Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has also demanded the resignation of the top cleric, accusing him of having a secret child.  It’s a high-risk move for an unpopular government, taking on the ancient church that many Armenians see as the embodiment...

Australia’s Law Reform Commission is reviewing a patchwork of different state laws governing surrogacy.  Earlier this year, the ABC reported that by 2032, the global surrogacy industry was set to reach $129 billion.  But if it’s financial boom for the baby business, what are the ethics of a practice that includes severing the connection between mother and child?  Dr ERICA CERVINI has been reviewin...

In what amounts to a small revolution in the Church of Latter-Day Saints, Mormon women are now permitted to reveal their shoulders, having been taught that bare upper arms were too raunchy.  These changes come with the growing power of Mormon influencers on social media -- known loosely as “#momtok” – and a popular TV show, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. The reality show on Hulu follows eight i...

The announcement by the Dalai Lama that he will have a reincarnated successor when he dies – and that his foundation along will identify the next leader of Tibetan Buddhism – is a major challenge to China, which occupies Tibet. It’s also a challenge to the Trump administration, according to a former official. Randall Schriver served as Assistant Secretary of Defence. He says respecting the Dalai L...

The announcement by the Dalai Lama that he will have a reincarnated successor when he dies – and that his foundation along will identify the next leader of Tibetan Buddhism – is a major challenge to China, which occupies Tibet. It’s also a challenge to the Trump administration, according to a former official.  Randal Schriver who served in the previous Trump administration, says respecting the Dal...

The reincarnation of The Dalai Lama extends beyond it's spiritual significance; it has become a complex geopolitical conflict, with China eager to control the centuries-old process and the future of Tibet. Saransh Sehgal  writes on social issues around the globe, cultures and travel in the Himalayan region and specifically Tibetan geopolitics. He's author of Dalai Lama at 90: The Succession Battle...

He was the charismatic preacher in the sharp suit and flashy car, who preached personal purity – until he came undone in a sex scandal.  Jimmy Swaggart was a global institution in the 1980s.  He died a few days ago.  GUEST: Dr Leah Payne is a historian of charismatic Christianity at George Fox University and author of the new book God Gave Rock & Roll to You A History of Contemporary Christian...

Across Europe, governments are cracking down on clergy associated with the Russian Orthodox Church, accusing them of being propagandists, even spies for the Putin regime.  Ukraine has stripped citizenship from the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, saying he answers to Moscow.  Estonia has just passed a law forcing the local Orthodox to cut ties with Russia. It’s also accused a group of nuns o...