Sign the Call is a petition from Christian Churches united in compassion for Afghanistan and seeks to join other calls for support for Afghanistan. Any person of faith, any person with human values and respect for life may sign the call.
News
Resilience in a Riskier World
COVID-19 has demonstrated yet again how all disaster risks interconnect – how a public health crisis can rapidly trigger an economic disaster and societal upheaval.
Rather than regarding the human and economic costs as inevitable, countries would do far better to make their populations and infrastructure more resilient.
The annual cost of adaptation for natural and other biological hazards under the worst-case climate change scenario is estimated at USD270 billion, which could be financed through new, innovative sources such as climate resilience bonds, debt-for-resilience swaps, and debt relief initiatives.
NSW Police Minister ‘stunned’ by illegal church gathering
NSW Police Minister David Elliott says he was “quite stunned” to hear dozens of people had gathered at a church in Blacktown last night, in breach of the public health orders. Thirty adults were fined $1000 after police say they participated in a sermon at Christ Embassy Sydney, which itself was fined $5000. “The vast majority of the churches are doing exactly the right thing and I don’t understand, if cathedrals can stream online their services, I don’t know why suburban churches in Blacktown can’t,” Mr Elliott told radio station 2GB.
Rabbi recites Jewish prayer as he is sworn in to Western Australia’s Supreme Court
Rabbi Marcus Solomon, an experienced commercial litigator and arbitrator, on Wednesday was sworn in to the Supreme Court of Western Australia. He chose to conclude the ceremony “with an old Jewish custom” — saying the Shehechyanu Jewish prayer, which is typically recited to celebrate new experiences.
Remembering Gary Bouma
Bishop Philip Huggins – President of the National Council of Churches Australia – writes of his memory of the Rev. Gary Bouma, a fellow Anglican Minister. When Gary Bouma was the distinguished academic at Monash University, Bishop Huggins was Chaplain at the University.
In Memory – Prof. Gary Bouma, AM
Religions for Peace Australia recalls Prof. Gary Bouma – former Deputy Chair of Religions for Peace Australia – Deputy Vice Chancellor at Monash University and Chair of the Melbourne Board of the 2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions. Emeritus Prof. Des Cahill writes in Memory of his friend and associate, Professor Gary Bouma, AM.
USCIRF Calls on U.S. Government to Include Religious Minority Communities in Afghanistan in Evacuations
Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) called on the United States government to include religious minority communities facing severe risk in evacuations to escape persecution from the Taliban. The imposition of the Taliban’s harsh and strict interpretation of Islam in the areas that they have taken over violates the freedom of religion or belief of Afghans who do not share these beliefs.
Getting Covid jab is an ‘act of love’, says Pope Francis
Pope Francis has urged people to get vaccinated against Covid-19, describing doing so as “an act of love”. The pontiff made his appeal in a video produced by the Vatican and the Ad Council, a non-profit US group that has previously made videos promoting vaccination against Covid. He praised the work of scientists for producing safe and effective vaccines.
Will the Taliban Keep Their Promises?
2021 G20 Interfaith Forum Italy – Messages to G20 Leaders
The priority of the G20 Interfaith Forum (IF20) at this historic moment is healing: to heal health, social, and economic fractures stemming from the COVID-19 emergencies, and to heal the conflicts and inequities that contribute to these fractures and are accentuated by them. Religious groups and interreligious communities engage the agendas addressed by G20 leaders, in ways that offer distinctive, global perspectives. These can contribute to such healing. In this spirit, the IF20 advances specific proposals that will focus support to the most vulnerable, who risk being left behind especially in this uncertain time.
Each year the IF20 draws on a global network of interreligious groups to address all aspects of the G20 agenda. A number of policy briefs are under review for discussion with a G20 focus, and will be central topics at the IF20 Forum in Bologna, from September 12-14. Key proposals from these briefs are summarized here; the Annex below covers work-to-date more fully. Dialogue in virtual webinars will continue in the months ahead, as will plans to engage the 2022 G20 hosted by Indonesia.
Climate Change: The future is in our hands, for our children’s children’s children
“As people of faith, we need to know, in detail, how our Federal Government and Opposition will respond to this Report with appropriate policies and budgeting” says Bishop Philip Huggins, President of National Council of Churches in Australia and Patron of Australian Religious Response to Climate Change.
As UN releases climate change report, “the signs of the times have never been clearer” …
The most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an international body of scientists set up by the United Nations, confirms that human-induced climate change is accelerating and is fundamentally changing our only planetary home. The report finds that we are precariously close to surpassing the relatively safe limit of 1.5°C global temperature rise—in under two decades—with increasingly disastrous consequences. “The signs of the times have never been clearer,” say the World Council of Churches. “The report is a major alarm bell.”
