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I can't find an online news story on this or I would post it. Back in January, Australia awarded its first Victoria Cross - Australia and the Commonwealth of Nation's as a whole, highest award for valour in the face of the enemy - to Trooper Mark Donaldson of the Special Air Service. He was decorated by Her Excellency Quentin Bryce AC, Governor General of Australia, appointed by the Queen on the advice of Australia's Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and the first woman to hold the role as Australia's de facto Head of State as the Queen's representative. She...

Accused Terrorist Wrote Public School Guidelines with ACLU [over 23 references linked below] Abdurahman Alamoudi, President of the American Muslim Council, supporter of Hamas, Hezbollah and accused of ties with Osama bin Laden, helped develop "Religious Expression in Public School" with the ACLU which holds the copyright. Launched by Clinton in 1995, these "Presidential Guidelines" greatly impact public schools today. Nadine Strossen, President of the ACLU, refers to these guidelines as the authority to support the ACLU’s lawsuits restricting Christmas celebrations and removing Nativity scenes from public schools. School districts are pressured to utilize Clinton’s guidelines which he sold to...

Church to defrock disgraced bishop By Greg Roberts July 28, 2004 THE Anglican bishop at the centre of the child sex abuse controversy that forced the resignation of Peter Hollingworth as governor-general is to be formally stripped of his holy orders. A church tribunal headed by Queensland Supreme Court judge Debra Mullins has unanimously resolved that Donald Shearman, 77, be defrocked for seducing a teenage schoolgirl boarding at an Anglican hostel at Forbes in western NSW in the mid-1950s. Church sources said the unprecedented defrocking will be performed by Brisbane Archbishop Phillip Aspinall in the Darnell Room of St Martin's...

‘We’re behind you’: Sydney backs Primates By Madeleine Collins The Sydney Standing Committee has bolstered the heavyweight pressure being put on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lambeth Commission to penalise the Episcopal Church of the United States (ECUSA) over the controversial appointment of Bishop V. Gene Robinson. After a lengthy debate in late May, Standing Committee resolved to support the conservative primates of the Global South – representing two-thirds of the Communion – in their call to the Lambeth Commission to urge ECUSA to turn back to God and withdraw from their election of openly gay Bishop Robinson. Standing Committee also...

TAC PRIMATE FLEXES MUSCLE IN TROUBLED ANGLICAN RING An interview with Archbishop John Hepworth Primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion By David W. Virtue BEDFORD, TX--He's been in the top job for little more than a year, but already he is flexing his ecclesiastical muscle and showing that he is made of the right stuff. He is tall, imposing, and has the right bearing for an Anglo-Catholic Archbishop. He travels extensively, hobnobs comfortably with world class religious leaders, is politically astute, and he is positioning himself and his church for major growth around the world over the next decade. Australian-born...

[the London Times no longer allows free internet access outside of the UK, so this was forwarded to me by a friend *in* the UK] Anglicanism's new holy warriors The Times Mary Ann Sieghart The fundamentalist Diocese of Sydney - and its outposts abroad - can now be seen as the Church of England's militant tendency THINK OF SYDNEY and what springs to mind? A beautiful, cosmopolitan, liberal and laid-back city with a flourishing gay community? You would be only half-right. This wonderful Australian city now also plays host to the most narrow-minded, puritanical and zealous brand of Anglicanism, a...

Sydney choir cancels US tour by Muriel Porter, Australia Correspondent THE CHOIR of St Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney will not proceed with a planned tour of churches in the United States, in response to the consecration of Canon Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire. The tour, which had been scheduled for April, was to have been in conjunction with a tour by the St Andrew’s Cathedral School orchestra, and was to have included engagements in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington DC. Phillip Heath, the head of the Cathedral School, where the 24 choristers are educated on school scholarships,...

Primate stirs strife among Aussie Anglicans Number: 5705 Date: Feb 19, The Primate of Australia, the Most Rev. Peter Carnley of Perth, has issued a stinging attack on the evangelical diocese of Sydney and its leader, Archbishop Peter Jensen. “Sydney Anglicanism”, Dr. Carnley argues, in his book, Reflections in Glass, is out of synch with “mainstream Anglicanism” and holds fundamentalist or erroneous views on Scripture, women clergy, lay presidency at the Eucharist, bioethics, fetal embryo research, ecumenism and interfaith dialogue. Furthermore he claims that the conservative evangelicalism of Sydney does not represent the full scope of the Church even the...

Sydney extremism may lead to split: archbishop By Malcolm Brown The Anglican Primate of Australia, Archbishop Peter Carnley, has made a stinging attack on the leadership of the Sydney diocese. In a new book, Reflections in Glass, Dr Carnley warns the diocese itself might split because of the extremism of the ruling group. The archbishop, who is to retire next February, said that while the leadership of the diocese resisted most of his ideas, they were not universally rejected. "The diocese of Sydney contains as much diversity of thought as most of the other Anglican dioceses, even if it is...

FiF International Leaders gather in London 14 February 2004 Forward in Faith Leaders from all over the world are gathering in London for a series of discussions, the highlight of which will be a meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury. Forward in Faith International Chairman Bishop John Broadhurst, FiF Wales Chairman Wendy Burdon, FiF Scotland Chairman Fr Len Black, FiF North America President Fr David Moyer, FiF Australia Chairman Fr David Robarts and ten other senior members from around the world will visit Lambeth Palace for what will be the first-ever meeting between Forward in Faith International and an Archbishop...

Anglicans face change of direction The Anglican Church of Australia faces a major change of direction in the wake of Archbishop Peter Carnley's announcement this week to retire as Primate next year. The church's evangelical wing - based in the biggest diocese, Sydney - has its best chance in years to elevate a member to the top job. At 59, Archbishop of Sydney Dr Peter Jensen is a relatively youthful bishop. The most senior contenders for the position, Archbishop of Adelaide Dr Ian George, and Archbishop of Melbourne Peter Watson, are set to retire in the next few years. The...

Anglican primate ends turbulent reign with early retirement January 8, 2004 The head of the Anglican Church in Australia, Dr Peter Carnley, has announced that he will step down next year, ending a controversial reign marked by internal church disputes over homosexuality and the role of women in the church. Archbishop Carnley said yesterday that he would retire as primate and as Anglican Archbishop of Perth in May next year, marking the 24th anniversary of his consecration and installation as archbishop. Dr Carnley was anointed as Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia in 2000. Earlier he had ordained Australia's...

Anglicans threaten defection By Vanessa Walker, Religious affairs writer December 23, 2003 One of the nation's most prominent Anglican priests has converted to Catholicism over dissatisfaction with gay and women clergy, as a delegation of conservative Anglicans goes to the Vatican for talks that could lead to more defections. Discontent with the direction of the church has resulted in the Dean of Ballarat, William Edebohls, to convert to Catholicism. Father Edebohls, who is married with children, was ordained a Catholic priest in Melbourne's St Patrick's Cathedral last month and is now assistant priest at St Peter's Church in East Keilor....

LINDA MOTTRAM: The Head of the Anglican Church in Australia says the Church's first homosexual Bishop, Gene Robinson, would not be welcomed as a minister in Australia. Doctor Peter Carnley's comments come amid renewed concern about a split in the Church over the issue of homosexuality since Bishop Robinson's consecration in the US last Sunday. Dr Carnley says he has some sympathy with a statement released yesterday by leaders of the Church in Africa, Asia and South America, declaring themselves to be in a state of "impaired communion". At the same time, he hasn't ruled out ordaining gay priests in...

Resolutions passed by the Sydney Synod concerning Developments in the Anglican Communion Sydney Synod has passed this evening (21/10/03) the following two motions concerning events in the Anglican Communion. Motion 1 Concerning Developments in the Anglican Communion Motion 2 Greetings to biblically orthodox clergy and laity in the Diocese of New Westminster and ECUSA Full Story: Motion 1 Developments in the Anglican Communion Synod reaffirms its commitment to the authority of Scripture and recognises that the Anglican Communion has traditionally maintained its adherence to that authority and that of the 39 Articles of religion. It notes the departure from biblical...

A quick survey of headlines reporting the current crisis in the Anglican Communion reveals one word that appears over and over again: “Anglican unity at threat around the world” (an editorial in The Australian) “Homosexual debate threatens episcopal unity” (Washington Times, 29th July, 2003) “Church unity is at risk” (Washington Post, 30th July, 2003) The references are, of course, to a controversy that has come to the surface this year in the proposed, but abandoned, consecration of an openly homosexual man as Bishop of Reading in the Diocese of Oxford, and the consecration — not abandoned — of a practising...

Homosexuality 'gross': archbishop 13oct03 SYDNEY'S conservative Anglican archbishop has branded homosexuality a "gross public sin" and criticized others in the church for blessing of same-sex unions. The worldwide Anglican community has been split by the ordination in the United States of an openly gay Episcopalian bishop and the decision by a Canadian diocese to bless same-sex unions. Archbishop Peter Jensen's comments came just days before an emergency meeting this week in London of the 38 primates, or leaders, of the world's Anglican churches. The meeting will seek a way to bridge differences that many regard as irreconcilable over the faith's...

Anglican Leader Urges Withdrawal of Recognition from 'Erring Churches' By Patrick Goodenough CNSNews.com Pacific Rim Bureau Chief October 07, 2003 Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - Ahead of a meeting of top Anglican (Episcopalian) Church figures from around the world to discuss the issue of homosexuality, the leader of the largest Anglican diocese in Australia is pressing for swift action against those pushing a liberal agenda in the church. Archbishop of Sydney Peter Jensen has emerged as a strong voice for the traditionalist wing of the worldwide Anglican Communion, mostly based in Africa and Asia, which wants action taken against member...

Expel US, Canadian Anglicans, says Jensen By Barney Zwartz October 2, 2003 For the first time, the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney has suggested that the American arm of the worldwide church be expelled. In an article to be published today, Peter Jensen says time is running out for the Archbishop of Canterbury to act on homosexual issues dividing the worldwide Anglican Church. Dr Jensen suggests the church expel the Anglican province of the United States, which recently elected an active homosexual as bishop, and the Canadian diocese of New Westminster, which blesses same-sex unions. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams,...