 “Obtaining the vote for women, the divorce law, marriage equality, the gender identity law, the assisted human fertilization law, the law of integral sexual education, the dignified death law were all done fighting clerical power, which seeks to have total dominion over our minds and bodies.”
by
Hundreds of Argentines stood in long lines in Buenos Aires and around Argentina this weekend to join a “Collective Apostasy” movement, renouncing their Catholic faith a week after an anti-choice Senate vote sent thousands of Argentines out into the streets to protest.
The forms signed by participants will be given to the Episcopal Conference in the Vatican, according to the Associated Press. Organizers told La Nacion that attendance at the events exceeded expectations.
The “Apostasia Colectiva” movement, begun by the Argentine Coalition for a Secular State, is aimed at weakening the hold of a church of which two-thirds of Argentinian people are members. The huge turnout at Saturday’s events was brought on not only by the Senate’s decision to uphold a ban on abortions for women up to 14 weeks into a pregnancy, but the Church’s power over the nation and the numerous struggles Argentines have fought against the Church over the years.
“Obtaining the vote for women, the divorce law, marriage equality, the gender identity law, the assisted human fertilization law, the law of integral sexual education, the dignified death law were all done fighting clerical power, which seeks to have total dominion over our minds and bodies,” the event’s organizers wrote on social media.
The Catholic Church lobbied aggressively against the legalized abortion bill. Every year, about 500,000 illegal and unsafe abortions take place in the country, and since the abortion rights vote, at least one woman has died from an attempt to perform an abortion on herself.
“The discourse by the church to convince the people to not accept the law was so outrageous that I reached the height of my enmity toward the Catholic Church,” Nora Cortinas, a human rights advocate, told the AP.
On social media, some indicated that numerous cases of sexual abuse in the Church, like the one a grand jury report revealed in Pennsylvania last week, also figured into the growth of the Apostasia Colectiva movement.
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Showing posts with label Protests. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Protests. Show all posts
Sunday, 26 August 2018
Argentinians join movement to abandon the Catholic Church
Monday, 2 July 2018
ARAN (Australian Refugee Action Network) Conference
Saturday 7 July – Sunday 8 July: The ARAN Conference is in Melbourne: Politics and Protest – the Fight for Refugee Rights. The Australian Refugee Action Network is organising the second ARAN National CONFERENCE, which will be held in Melbourne on Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th July 2018 – we hope you are planning to join us there! The conference is moderately priced ($40 concession, $75 full) and is open to anyone interested in refugee activism and advocacy. Conference dinner on Saturday night – Tamil Feast at rooftop venue in CBD. Additional $35. Gather with other activists and advocates for refugee rights from across Australia to: Discuss the political context and campaign priorities; Share ideas and experience for mobilizing and effective campaigning; Explore strategies for networking across activist and advocacy groups to strengthen the campaign effort. Keep updated with the latest about the conference at including some low cost accommodation options.For more information email Marie at info@refugeeadvocacynetwork.org.au. Bookings at www.trybooking.com/375468
Friday, 28 July 2017
Religious leaders occupy environment minister's office to protest Adani's Carmichael coalmine
The post below is an edited version of an article
which appeared on The Guardian website of 25 July 2017.
which appeared on The Guardian website of 25 July 2017.
Rabbi Jonathan Keren-Black is joined by seven other religious leaders
occupying Josh Frydenberg’s office in Melbourne.
occupying Josh Frydenberg’s office in Melbourne.
A Rabbi, a Uniting Church reverend, a former Catholic priest and a Buddhist leader call for Josh Frydenberg, Minister for the Environment and Energy,
to withdraw support for the Adani coal mine in Queensland.
Religious leaders from several faiths have occupied the electorate office of Josh Frydenberg today, demanding the federal environment minister withdraw his support for Adani’s Carmichael mine, and vowing to stay there until he does so.
Rabbi Jonathan Keren-Black told The Guardian before the action that he had never undertaken such an act of civil disobedience before.
“I have been involved with the environment for many years,” said Keren-Black. “But I haven’t taken action in this way before. It seems to me now the situation is so dire and so urgent that we have to get him to take responsibility. Because we’re talking about an ethical responsibility to the future.”
A rabbi, a Uniting church reverend, a former Catholic priest and a Buddhist leader
call for Josh Frydenberg to withdraw support for the Carmichael mine.
Photograph: Supplied
“In April this year I, along with ecumenical Christian, Jewish and Buddhist leaders, signed an open letter to Minister Frydenberg stating our clear opposition to the mine. We do not feel that the response has been sufficient,” he said.
They have vowed to remain in the office until Frydenberg makes a statement removing his support for the mine, or until they are removed by force.
They say that emissions from burning coal from the mine – which would be the biggest coal mine in Australia’s history – would make meeting the Paris commitment of keeping global warming at “well below 2C” above pre-industrial levels impossible.
As the occupation happens inside the office, outside about a dozen religious leaders are holding a symbolic “funeral for coal”.
Jarrod McKenna, teaching pastor at the Cornerstone church in Perth, is among those leading the funeral.
Fact v fiction: Adani's Carmichael coal mine – video explainer
He said people from various faiths would present eulogies for coal, which would acknowledge the contribution that coal has made to society – particularly in Victoria – but that “it is now time to leave it in the ground”. McKenna said the group is hoping that the action will move Frydenberg “to listen”.
“Primarily to listen
to the wishes of the traditional custodians
who have repeatedly said no.
To the scientists who have unequivocally said no.
To listen to the general public who have said no –
and to listen to his own conscience.”
The coalition of non-partisan groups joining the movement fighting against the development of Adani’s Carmichael coalmine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin has grown in recent months. Last month a group representing about 2,000 farmers joined the Stop Adani alliance, bringing the total number of groups in the alliance to 13.
Sunday, 6 September 2015
Join the Grandmothers to-morrow night outside the #Ballarat Town Hall
From Hayley, BRASSN Volunteer Database Co-ordinator...
Here are three pieces of information for you being passed on from BRASSN (Ballarat Refugee and Asylum Seeker Support Network). The first is a link to an ASRC Newsletter titled 'Are we doing enough'? The second is a Light the Dark vigil held in Ballarat this Monday at 6pm. The third is from BRASSN member David McPhail, who will be participating in the Run 4 Refugees with a Ballarat team.
1. Are we doing enough?http://us1.campaign-archive2.
2. Subject: IMPORTANT Come and join us to Light the Dark for Aylun
1. Are we doing enough?http://us1.campaign-archive2.
2. Subject: IMPORTANT Come and join us to Light the Dark for Aylun
- Sorry for the late notice but this event has just been advertised by Get Up and so the
- Grandmothers Against Detention of Refugee Children Ballarat (https://www.facebook.com/
GrandmothersBallarat) and their Friends invite you to join them outside the Ballarat Town Hall 6pm Monday 7th September at 6pm to Light the Dark. We will stand in solidarity with people throughout Australia who support refugees and asylum seekers. Please bring a candle or torch.
The image of a Syrian child's lifeless body washed up on the shores of a Turkish beach this week brought the world to its knees. His name was Aylan Kurdi, and he was just three years old.
The sad reality is that Aylan was one among millions of desperate people forced to flee from war and persecution. The world is facing a global refugee crisis on a scale we've not seen since WWII, but Australia - our lucky country of a fair go for all - is not doing enough. We can do better to help these people.
We need to do better.
That's why on Monday night, we will light a candle to remember Aylan Kurdi. We will stand together in solidarity with ...people across the world who are forced to ask for protection from countries like ours. We'll shine a light in the darkness, in protest of our country's abandonment of the world's most desperate people, who seek only safety and protection.
We will send a message to the world that our government's inaction does not represent us, and that Australia says welcome.
3. Ballarat Run 4 Refugees running the Melbourne Marathon. Sponsor David Mac Phail to raise funds for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.Would you like to support the ASRC by sponsoring our marathon and by circulating this email through your networks.I am running Melbourne Marathon again this year with the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre [ASRC]. We now have a Ballarat team which includes asylum seekers and refugees. Sophia, my daughter, is also running her first marathon with us. Ballarat Run 4 Refugees is raising much needed funds for Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.ASRC gets no government funding and is completely dependent on fundraising. Last year Run 4 Refugees raised about $250,000 which was about the amount spent on accommodation. In my role as volunteer Case Worker with ASRC I am able to say first hand how well this money is used for people who are otherwise homeless.For 14 years the ASRC has been fighting for the human rights of asylum seekers. Over 10,000 people have been provided with sanctuary, support and hope by the ASRC in this time and thousands of people have won their freedom through this work. Your donation will help provide services to support people seeking asylum: legal appointments, housing, health care, employment services, English language classes, food and advocacy.You can make a donation by clicking on the link below to go to my fundraising page. There is also links to the ASRC web page for more information about the organisation.My fundraising page: http://run4refugees15.gofundraise.com.au/page/ ballaratr4r Hope you can sponsor me again this year.Thanks for your support,DavidDavid Mac Phail,
Ballarat.
0419368199.
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Sunday, 19 July 2015
Australia's beauty lies in the harmony & diversity within our society. Let's support and maintain this.
THESE ARE THE HEADLINES REGARDING
WHAT HAPPENED IN MELBOURNE
ON SATURDAY 18 JULY 2015
AT PARLIAMENT HOUSE.
Who was the centre of attention in front of and near Victoria's Parliament House yesterday? Reclaim Australia and their associates wanted to provide a double focus of attention: themselves and Muslims living in Australia.
No Room for Racism and its sympathisers were equally determined on a dual focus: to counter the racism of Reclaim Australia and its cohort and to make the public aware of their organisation.
Did the events of the day go as planned for both sides? Possibly. Possibly not. However, it seems that there were elements on both sides who were prepared for trouble one way or another.
A group with a similar title to Reclaim Australia hit Ballarat early in 2014. Restore Australia arrived in Ballarat trying to incite antagonism to the building of a mosque in the city - a city which was the site of Australia's first document demanding democratic rights. As can be seen from this Facebook presence, drumming up opposition to the mosque being built by Ballarat's small Islamic community was not too successful.
What Restore Australia did not take into account in the Ballarat situation is that community friendships had already been forged within the broader community by the time they blew into town. The local Islamic community had friends - a broad spectrum of friends. And the then Mayor was an early responder.
Meanwhile, amid all this swirling of clashing tensions and violent police intervention, what were Muslims doing? Yesterday was the beginning of Eid celebrations. Muslims were enjoying themselves. Behind them was a month of fasting. Now can come the feasting. Perhaps Reclaim Australia chose the day and date deliberately with an intent to insult Muslims - or perhaps they knew there would not be a Muslim in sight or hearing of their rampage!
The Faith Communities Council of Victoria has issued the following statement.
Statement on Nationwide Rallies:Faith Communities Council of Victoria
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Wednesday, 24 June 2015
Quaker Bonnets & The Historic Peace Testimony versus Modern Military Warfare
Not a lot is known, up close and personal, in Australia about the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Australia. The main cause of this is that there aren't many of them/us. About 3000 people identified as Quakers at the last census. This came as a bit of surprise - because the most knowledgable Friends (as Quakers prefer to be called), as well as the records of Friends, could only account for somewhat over 1,000. For those who know about Quakers, there is usually one stand-out factor - they are pacifists and active campaigners for peace. Please go here to learn more of The Quaker Peace Testimony. Quakers also keenly maintain their history with women in many places taking to needle and thread in preservation of the Quaker story. The Editor of Beside The Creek can testify personally to the needlework and design skills of Tessa. The event to which Helen refers is the Shoalwater Bay Peace Convergence 2015 which coincides with and is a protest against Exercise Talisman Saber 2015.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Helen Bayes
Shared publicly - 10:23
Tuesday, 6 January 2015
Are the lights going in Europe once more?
Cologne cathedral to switch
off lights in protest at anti-Muslim march
March by Patriotic Europeans Against the
Islamisation of the West is latest in a series of anti-Muslim protests in
Germany
Cologne
Cathedral at night. Photograph: Corbis
Reuters in Cologne
Friday 2 January
201523.24 AEST
Cologne Cathedral, one of Germany’s
most famous landmarks, will be plunged into darkness on Monday evening in
protest at a march by a grassroots anti-Muslim movement through the western
German city.
The rise of Patriotic Europeans
Against the Islamisation of the West (Pegida) has shaken the political
establishment, prompting the chancellor, Angela Merkel, to warn in her new year
address that its leaders were racists full of hatred and citizens should beware
being used.
The group’s last weekly rally in
the eastern city of Dresden attracted an estimated 17,000 people. It plans to
hold further marches in other cities.
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