Archdeacon Sarah Macneil was appointed by Archbishop Jeffrey Driver and will fill the vacancy from July.

Dr Macneil will also become the second female dean in Australia.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/04/06/2535703.htm

Nell'immagine sotto Barbara Darling, vescovo di Melbourne dal giugno 2008 parla nel giorno della sua consacrazione con Kay Goldworthy, vescovo di Perth dal maggio 2008. Ora la chiesa anglicana in Australia ha due donne vescovo e due donne decano. Macnell sarà decano della cattedrale di San Pietro in Adelaide.

 

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A QUEENSLAND woman charged with organising her own home abortion has been committed to stand trial.

Cairns magistrate Sandra Pearson today ordered Tegan Simone Leach, 19, face trial on a charge of procuring an abortion in Cairns District Court on a date to be fixed.

The case has caused controversy in Queensland where the state Government last week rushed through Parliament changes to the law to clarify the legality of medical abortions.

Hospitals temporarily suspended drug-induced abortions pending further legal advice.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,26057808-421,00.html

http://www.childrenbychoice.org.au/nwww/campabortlaw.htm

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Già. Chi mai e poi mai potrebbe immaginare che una ragazza bella, sexy ed affascinante, apprezzata vj e tra i volti più popolari nella televisione australiana e un giovanotto atletico che ha collezionato medaglie nei tuffi nel corso delle ultime Olimpiadi, possano essere gay? Certo, gli stereotipi hanno anche un fondamento di verità ma poterli smentire in maniera cosi' lampante e plateale è una soddisfazione senza prezzo. Dedicato a quelli che "le lesbiche sono tutte racchie e i gay tutti flaccidi smidollati".

 Olympic diver and two-time Advocate cover boy Matthew Mitcham, pop star Sia, and MTV personality Ruby Rose have topped the list of the 25 most influential gay and lesbian Australians, announced on Wednesday.

All three have appeared on the list before.

http://www.advocate.com/GoogleSearch.aspx?cx=004702892678028084022%3Abehrya7ovby&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=UTF-8&q=Ruby Rose#751

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Mitcham

http://www.mattmitcham.com/

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_Rose

 

 

 

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E i giocatori di football sarebbero dei bruti reazionari, dei macho retrogradi? Ma fatemi il piacere! Ci sono ben altri ambienti che tanto si fregiano con proclami progressisti e in cui c'è un'omofobia ben sviluppata. Questi atleti sono davvero un esempio positivo, di quelli che amo ricordare in questo sito.

AFL football may have a reputation for blokiness, but dozens of top players and coaches have launched a campaign to promote tolerance of homosexuality.

The ''inclusion and diversity'' campaign boasts some of the biggest names in football, including Neil Balme, Joel Selwood and Brownlow medallists Jimmy Bartel and Adam Goodes.

Almost 30 players and coaches have signed up to the Players' Association project, to be launched officially next month.

The sportsmen and coaches have been photographed holding handwritten signs calling for acceptance and understanding of homosexuals.

The Players' Association says footballers know how it feels to suffer negative stereotyping and want to help another group of maligned individuals.

Though not scheduled to be launched until closer to the International Day Against Homophobia Day, held annually on May 17, the project is already considered a success because so many players and coaches are involved.

http://www.smh.com.au/afl/afl-news/stars-of-the-afl-come-out-in-support-of-gays-20100410-rzz2.html

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Ancora una volta tutta la mia ammirazione per il coraggio e l'onestà.

I finally accepted my sexuality at the end of 2006 following a huge anxiety attack at work. After what were literally years of torment, denial and very, very dark times, I couldn't live a lie to myself any more.

My family, close friends and, of late, my current work colleagues have been very supportive. These people, possibly already suspecting ''what team I batted for'', were always protective. Their protection became even more apparent in social situations where I would notice them deflect negative comments away from me once I had actually told them I was gay.

Speculation, gossip, rumour and innuendo are common practice; we all do it, I know I have been guilty of it. Living the lie and deflecting the innuendo grows tiring. It is emotionally exhausting and it flat out hurts no matter how hard you try to block it out. I would be extremely well off if someone gave me 10 cents every time I heard the comment ''don't listen to it''. But, like the gossiping itself, it is almost impossible not to.

This year, more than I can remember in recent times, it seems as though there have been an influx of coming-out stories or gay points of conversation. For the people coming out it is no doubt a courageous step and I truly admire them and am inspired by their stories.

Despite the dark, fearful and lonely times, being able to write this fills me with a sense of freedom, pride and relief. There truly is a genuine sense that everything will be OK.

I wrestled for a long, long time wondering whether being gay made me a bad person, but I can no longer fight who I am and that, simply put, is just me. Daniel Kowalski.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Kowalski

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/jumping-in-the-deep-end-20100417-sldd.html

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The Maclean-born woman has become the first Aboriginal person to be ordained in the 146-year history of the Anglican Diocese of Grafton.

Reverend Parker was made a Deacon on Saturday in her Maclean parish church and in another first has had her prayer, linking dreamtime concepts with the Christian Eucharist, included in the Anglican Prayer Book for Australia.

“The occasion has been historical for me in many ways,” she said.

“It is the first time the sacred scriptures have been proclaimed to my people in language within the Anglican Church.”

http://www.dailyexaminer.com.au/story/2010/04/13/lenores-faith-leads-way-aboriginal-deacon-first/

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Congratulazioni, Matthew!

Olympic champion Matthew Mitcham has produced a stunning performance to claim gold at the diving World Cup in China.

Mitcham claimed Australia's third medal at the sport's benchmark meet of the year in the 10 metre platform, the same event he won in sensational fashion at the Beijing Olympics.

"It is the second time I have beaten the Chinese on their home ground," Mitcham said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/06/07/2920114.htm

Sotto due foto di Matthew, in una è col fidanzato Lachlan-fletcher

 

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There is a growing backlash against women being treated as equals in churches around Australia, with some women being pressured not to become priests.

For decades Melbourne had been the diocese most supportive of women priests, and the issue seemed long resolved.

But now, in the Anglican Church and in others, it seems to be a divisive issue once again, with a backlash unleashed and gaining ground.

The question is broader than whether women can be priests and exercise leadership over men, though that is usually how it is framed inside the church.

It concerns all the roles women play in the church and in the

home, where the once-traditional idea that they should submit to their husbands is gaining fresh traction.

This is being re-examined in churches around Australia: Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Pentecostal and others.

Modern technology is also playing a significant role in emboldening conservatives to stand against women joining the threefold ministry of deacon, priest and bishop.

Important American evangelical leaders such as Mark Driscoll and John Piper are instantly accessible through their podcasts and blogs, which thousands of people around the world download every day.

She says many young women are not even attempting to get into Christian ministry.

"If they can get in they can't express their gifts in the fullest extreme, and sometimes run up against neo-Calvinism. So a lot of younger women are going off and doing their own things."

Among Anglicans, the young women bearing the brunt of opposition are reluctant to say much because they are told that to highlight disagreement within the church would hinder spreading the gospel.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/men-lead-women-obey-20100610-xz97.html

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Australia appointed its first woman prime minister, Julia Gillard, who vowed on Thursday to end division over a controversial mining tax, resurrect a carbon trade scheme and call elections within months.

"I asked my colleagues to make a leadership change because I believed that a good government was losing its way," Gillard told a news conference.

Bookmaker Centrebet made a Gillard Labor government outright favorite to win the next election over conservative opponents.

Gillard has long been one of the government's best performers in parliament with her ability to sell policies and deflect political attacks.

Gillard, 48, immediately offered to end a bitter dispute over a controversial "super profits" mining tax, which is threatening $20 billion worth of investment and has unnerved voters, saying she would throw open the door to fresh negotiations.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65N00120100624

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Mi sembra il minimo!

A PERTH judge has ordered that a Muslim woman must remove a full burqa while giving evidence before a jury in a fraud case.

Judge Shauna Deane today ruled that the witness must remove her niqab, or burqa face covering when she gives evidence to the jury.

The judge said she did not consider it appropriate that the witness give evidence with her face covered.

However she stressed she was not making a decision which was making a legal precedent, it was simply her ruling in these circumstances.

In court, defence lawyer Mark Trowell, QC, said the woman's wish to wear the burqa was a "preference she has".

"It's not an essential part of the Islamic faith. If she was in an Islamic court she would be required to remove it,'' he aid.

Judge Deane replied: ``This isn't an Islamic court.''

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/judges-orders-muslim-witness-must-remove-burqa/story-e6frf7l6-1225907310548

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A leading WA Muslim has risked a backlash from his community by calling on the winner of the Federal election to ban the wearing of burqas in public.

Ameer Ali, an economics lecturer at Murdoch University and vice-president of the Regional Islamic Council of South-East Asia and the Pacific, makes the call in an opinion article in The West Australian today.

Dr Ali, describes the burqa and similar robe the niqab as "the lingering relics of a patriarchal, misogynistic and tribal culture" and argues there is no religious obligation in the Koran for it to be worn.

The native Sri Lankan, who arrived in Australia in 1977, argues that the niqab - which covers the entire female body apart from a split gap for the eyes - and the burqa, which has a mesh instead of a gap, not only covers a Muslim woman's anatomy but also "governs her mindset".

He argues the rise of Islamism, or political Islam, combined with "liberal immigration policies of Western governments", has increased the worldwide spread of the garments, which make it impossible for the wearer to properly interact with others around them.

He called on the major political parties to make banning the burqa a bipartisan issue. "France, the Netherlands and Belgium have legislated. Even Syria has disallowed this dress from public space," he said.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/newshome/7717510/ban-the-burqa-muslim-leader/

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