Vic: Arguments abound in places of peace

AAP General News (Australia)
12-23-2003
Vic: Arguments abound in places of peace

By Alan Gale

MELBOURNE, Dec 22 AAP - Australia's religions are currently beset by arguments over
homosexuality, terrorism, and vilification.

The Uniting Church is close to a massive split as infighting continues following the
July decision to ordain practicing homosexuals as ministers.

Despite an overwhelming vote at the National Assembly, many parishes have lodged protests
and are said to have begun seceding from the national body by withholding yearly financial
payments.

What had effectively been a "don't ask, don't tell" policy has been blown wide open,
says Melbourne minister Rosemary Broadstock.

"There are many, many, parishes around the nation who are horrified by what has happened
and I know of many who are withholding their contributions," she said.

Although the national decision has since been effectively rescinded by an executive
council move to allow three years' consultation, this does not appear to have lessened
the outrage felt by many parishioners.

"There is a strong feeling of betrayal, especially when it was discovered that there
had been tacit ordination of homosexuals without formal approval of the national council,"

she said.

"The formal approval really was not needed, but many feel it should have been given
before taking such a strong theological step," she said.

Homosexuality has never been a barrier to ordination in either the Anglican or Uniting
churches, but the expectation had been that a single person was celibate and that marriage
was between a man and a woman.

However, the ordination of what are somewhat awkwardly termed "practising homosexuals"

is also testing the Anglican communion world wide, following the consecration of a homosexual
who lives with his partner as Bishop in the United States.

It leads to the question: "If a gay Bishop living with a gay partner can be consecrated,
why doesn't the church perform same-sex marriages?"

Not only has this led to internal argument amongst Anglicans, but it has also affected
links with other religions.

Unification talks between Anglicans and Roman Catholics and between the Uniting Church
and the Orthodox and Lutheran have recently cooled.

Theological arguments are never resolved quickly, but that does not lessen the pain
and emotion which accompanies them, says Professor Robert Gribben of Melbourne's United
Faculty of Theology.

"There is a considerable amount of grief and anguish," he said.

"Negotiations have not formally stopped, but they have certainly chilled and planned
meetings are being postponed."

At the same time the two churches representing most of the nation's Protestants face
schism over homosexuality, Australia's Muslims are fighting the image of terrorism.

Internal conflict has broken out over the image of Islam, after Sydney's Sheikh Taj
Din al-Hilali took fundamentalist clerics to task for holding grudges against non-Muslim
Australians.

Fundamentalist clerics wanted to appear they were following in the footsteps of Osama
bin Laden, he said.

"They want to appeal to simple Muslims, to boost popularity by saying they are the
ones who are applying jihad," he said.

Their teachings were outside the boundaries of most Australian Muslims and contravened
recent scholars' opinions, he said.

Some Muslims are also battling Christians, claiming to have been vilified by accusations
Muslims would impose Islam on Australians against their will, with violence if necessary.

The Islamic Council of Victoria has taken the evangelical movement Catch the Fire Ministries,
Pastor Danny Nalliah and speaker Daniel Scot to court, alleging Muslims were vilified
at the seminar in March last year.

The council says the seminar incited scorn and hatred of Muslims, mocked what they
believed and misrepresented them and accused Muslims of being terrorists.

Catch the Fire's defence statement argues the seminar accurately quotes the Koran,
so is not capable of constituting vilification.

The hearing, which has already run six weeks, continues in the new year.

AAP ag/dk/br

KEYWORD: YEARENDER RELIGION

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