Queensland brings legislation to ban hate symbols

Queensland brings legislation to ban hate symbols

On May 25 (local time), Hindu organisations and activists in Australia, including the Hindu Council of Australia, Australian Hindu Association Inc. and others, raised objections over Queensland MP Annastacia Palaszczuk’s proposal to ban ‘the public display of hate symbols such as swastikas’. After MP Palaszczuk announced the proposal, the Hindus strongly objected to it and urged the MP to change the language of the proposal.

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Faith perspectives on palliative care

queensland faith communities council

How do we support the spiritual needs of patients who are terminally ill? Watch the following videos to learn more about various faith perspectives on palliative care, including: Bahá’í, Tibetan Buddhist, Celtic Pagan, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Representatives of these faiths share a brief outline of their beliefs and how they apply in end-of-life situations. They offer practical advice concerning appropriate ways to interact with a patient and their loved ones in the lead up to death and the period immediately following.

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Cairns bishop condemns ‘ignorant, divisive’ parishioners peddling anti-vaccine myths

Cairns bishop condemns 'ignorant, divisive' parishioners peddling anti-vaccine mythsBishop James Foley of Cairns says Catholic parishioners in Cairns are spreading vaccine misinformation based on “erroneous ideas”. The Cairns Local Government Area has recently surpassed the 70 per cent full vaccination rate. Bishop Foley says rumours that unvaccinated parishioners are not welcome at church are unfounded.

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Queensland: Faith Communities Make Noise For Climate

Sacreed People - Sacred Earth Brisbane
More than one hundred Australian faith communities will ‘sound the alarm’ for the climate as part of a major global multi faith Day of Action on Thursday 11 March at 11am local time. Churches will ring bells, Rabbis will sound the shofar, Imams will call the Azan and other groups are holding silent vigils to draw attention to a series of demands of Prime Minister Scott Morrison for climate justice.

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Closing of Griffith University’s Centre for Interfaith Dialogue and Culture

Griffith University Closing of Griffith University's Centre for Interfaith Dialogue and Culture

Emeritus Professor Desmond Cahill – Chair of Religions for Peace Australia – writes on the closure of Griffith University’s Centre for Interfaith Dialogue and Culture. This talk was delivered on the evening of the Closing Ceremony (Thursday 17 December, 2020 at 6pm) by Religions for Peace Queensland representative Ron Black, of the Baha’i Community.

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Queensland: Catholics and Jews in Conversation

Catholic-Jewish dialogue Brisbane

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and The Executive Council of Australian Jewry held their 22nd Annual Conversation this week, on the subject of “How Does Our Faith Tradition Speak into the Current Pandemic and How Do We Draw on the Richness of our Respective Traditions

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Queensland: International Day of Peace

Emeritus Professor Gillian TriggsDuring the Season of Creation, St John’s Cathedral in Brisbane hosts Professor Gillian Triggs, former chair of the Australian Human Rights Commission, who will deliver the 2020 International Day of Peace lecture, “Shaping Peace Together” co-hosted by the University of Queensland Rotary Peace Centre and the United Nations Association of Australia. Professor Triggs will deliver the lecture from Geneva – a youtube video of the lecture is given.

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Queensland: Women’s Night of Spirituality

St Ignatius Parish ToowongSt Ignatius Parish, Toowong, Queensland, will conduct a Women’s Night of Spirituality on evening of 28 July 2020. Sr Angela Mary Doyle RSM AO will speak about her journey leaving the warmth of her large family in Ireland. Sr Maeve Louise Heaney VDMF who will perform her own musical items especially chosen for the occasion. This will be an online event, available on Youtube.

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Queensland: Taking a Proactive Role in Mobilising Faith Communities during COVID-19

Griffith University - Centre for Interfaith & Cultural Dialogue

Faith communities are uniquely situated to positively and negatively influence the success of Queensland’s’ COVID-19 responses in three areas: faith communities and places of worship, vulnerable groups in society, and community services. To this end, the Centre for Interfaith and Cultural Dialogue at Griffith University brought faith communities together to discover – and report to the Queensland Government – the concerns and needs highlighted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

This report outlines key issues facing faith communities in Queensland during the COVID-19 pandemic as reported from the communities themselves. The methods and findings of the project support improving connections between faith communities and state leadership for sharing lessons learned, improving support for vulnerable groups, and ensuring key health messaging is communicated to strengthen public safety.

The Centre for Interfaith and Cultural Dialogue at Griffith University acted as a link to faith communities, helping to facilitate connections between faith groups to identify issues and opportunities via:

  • a. a questionnaire distributed from 14-27 April 2020, and
  • b. an online Community Forum on 28 April 2020.

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