The Buddhist magazine Lion’s Roar in partnership with the Buddhist Film Foundation will present an online Film Festival comprising six Buddhist films and six Buddhist (sangha) talks. The Online Film Festival will run from June 12 until July 23.
News
The Vatican, Black Holes, and the Big Bang
What happens if you fall into a Black Hole? What happened in the early Big Bang? What is the ultimate destiny of the cosmos? These and other questions will be at the center of discussions at a scientific workshop on “Black Holes, Gravitational Waves and Space-Time Singularities” which will be held from May 9-12 at the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo. Among the 35 invited participants, are renowned scientists such as the 1999 Nobel Laureate in Physics, Gerald ‘t Hooft; 1988 Wolf Prize co-winner Roger Penrose; and cosmologists George Ellis, Renata Kallosh and Andrei Linde and Joe Silk.
2018 Parliament of the World’s Religions
Toronto–acclaimed the most diverse city in the world and home to six million Canadians—has been chosen as the host city of the 7th Parliament of the World’s Religions, to be convened in November 2018. The selection of Toronto was made by the Board of Trustees of the governing organization at its April 2017 meeting.
Victoria: Interfaith Service: The Four Faces of Woman and the Sacred Feminine
The Interfaith Centre of Melbourne conducts interfaith services at the Toorak Uniting Church as a recurring event. The next interfaith service will take place on Sunday, 14 May 2017 at 3pm. The theme of the service is The Four Faces of Woman and the Sacred Feminine (Celebrating Mothers Day). This is an interspiritual inclusive service.
Stephen Fry investigated by Irish police for alleged blasphemy
Interviewed on TV show screened in Ireland, Fry asked ‘Why should I respect a mean-minded, stupid god who creates a world so full of injustice and pain?’ Gardaí (police) in Dublin have contacted the man who reported the allegation following a broadcast in February 2015, and a full investigation is due to be carried out.
Pope to Al Azhar: ‘Violence Is Negation of Every Authentic Religious Expression’
While speaking to an international conference on peace at Al-Azhar, the highest theological and religious institution of Sunni Islam in the world and the oldest Islamic University, alongside its Grand Imam, Pope Francis said this, noting: “Above all and especially in our day, the religions are called to respect this imperative, since, for all our need of the Absolute, it is essential that we reject any “absolutizing” that would justify violence.”
Vatican and Myanmar Establish Diplomatic Relations
The Vatican and the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (Burma) are establishing bilateral diplomatic relations, announced a statement by the Holy See Press Office. Pope Francis received the Foreign Minister of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, in a private audience the morning of Thursday, May 4, 2017.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew: “Religions and Peace”
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew gave one significant address at the Al-Azhar and Muslim Council of Elders’ Global Peace Conference in Egypt’s capital of Cairo. ‘The credibility of religions today depends on their attitude towards the protection of human freedom and dignity, as well as on their contribution to peace’, said Patriarch Bartholomew.
The Future You: Pope Francis does TED Talk
Sources report that those following TED’s annual Conference were promised a surprise “world figure” who would deliver his 18-minute message on the conference theme, “The Future You,” alongside tennis and chess champions, including Serena Williams, and entrepreneurs. Yet, no one expected it to be Pope Francis. The theme of the Pope’s talk was The Future You.
Vatican’s Message for Buddhist Feast of Vesakh
Here is the message from the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, to Buddhists on their feast of Vesakh. The English-language message was released by the Vatican on April 22, 2017. The Message is titled: Christians and Buddhists: Walking Together on the Path of Nonviolence
Victoria: Martin Luther and the Jews
On the 500 Hundredth Anniversary of the Reformation The Ecumenical and Interfaith Commission of Melbourne is cosponsoring an event with the Council of Christians and Jews on Sunday, 7th May 2017 at St Paul’s Lutheran Church, Box Hill.
The Changing Global Religious Landscape
Christians will be outnumbered by Muslims by 2035 as birth rates in Islamic countries outstrip those in the west, according to a new demographic analysis. In recent years, more babies were born to Christian mothers than to members of any other religion, reflecting Christianity’s continued status as the world’s largest religious group. But according to Washington-based think tank The Pew Research Centre, this is unlikely to be the case into the future.
