Category: Sandy’s Comments

August 23rd is International Day for the remembrance of the slave trade and its abolition.

Article 1 of the United Nations Slavery Convention defines slavery as “the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised”.

There is MUCH to explore in the history of slavery in Australia, for Aboriginal people, Pacific Islanders and others (eg coolies from China) but a summary will suffice at this point. Prayers are included at the end. 

Australia’s slavery started because other countries abolished it.

In 1833, the British government passed the Slavery Abolition Act, which outlawed slavery in most parts of the empire. After the abolition of slavery, the British Government had to take out one of the largest loans in history, to finance the slave compensation package required by the 1833 act, which represented 40% of the government’s yearly income in those days, equivalent to some £300bn today.paid millions in compensation. But it all went to slave owners who were being compensated for the loss of what had, until then, been considered their property. Nothing went to those enslaved, nor was there a single word of apology to the people who had been enslaved.

Some of the former slave owners used their compensation money to emigrate to Australia and buy up land, and slavery remained part of their business strategy.

Aboriginal people were blackbirded and used in the pearling, sugar cane and cattle industries. They suffered terrible abuse and were denied their wages. They were forced into indentured servitude and had their wages stolen. In Western Australia, most employers weren’t legally required to pay Aboriginal workers at all until the 1940s, so long as they provided rations, clothing and blankets.

“It is true that Australia was not a ‘slave state’ in the manner of the American South,” writes Stephen Gray in the Australian Indigenous Law Review. “Nevertheless, employers exercised a high degree of control over ‘their’ Aboriginal workers who were, in some cases, bought and sold as chattels … Employers exercised a form of ‘legal coercion’ over their workers in a manner consistent with the legal interpretation of slavery.” (see more here)

Another example of slavery was the practice of ‘blackbirding‘ Pacific Islander people to work on sugar cane plantations in Queensland. At least 50,000 people, mostly men, from 80 Melanesian islands were brought by boat to work in Australia’s agriculture, maritime and sugar industries. Some went voluntarily but many were coerced or kidnapped. Their wages were less than a third of other workers. The practice was sanctioned by various Queensland laws from the mid-1860s to 1904. Several members of parliament grew wealthy through this system. When the White Australia policy was enacted in 1901, the government ordered the mass deportation of all South Sea Islander people, sparking outrage among those who had built lives on the mainland and wished to stay. Ultimately, around 5000 workers were forcibly deported. In a cruel twist of fate, their deportations were funded by the wages of deceased South Sea Islanders, whose estates were controlled by the government.

Global slavery is not just an historical fact. Modern slavery includes human trafficking, slavery and slavery-like practices. It is estimated that 40.3 million men, women and children around the world are subject to modern slavery. 

It is estimated that 15,000 people are subject to modern slavery in Australia, including sex trafficking, forced marriage and forced labour. Victims are often described as being “hidden in plain sight” – working in agriculture or food processing, hospitality, construction or cleaning.

Wikipedia resources here.

Modern day slavery also happens through the supply chains of Australian companies operating overseas. The global systems and supply chains create demand and make the profit. The world’s supply chains require an escalating work force to match a demand for low cost products fuel the need for cheap labour. Every time we buy we are a link in the chain. The systems and supply chains need disrupting if we are ever going to prevent human trafficking. We are each a part of these supply chains, and need to be diligent to make sure the things we purchase are slave-free. 

In 2018, the Federal Government in Australia passed its first Modern Slavery Act. Under the Act, businesses and not-for-profits operating in Australia with a global revenue of more than $100 million must report what they are doing to stamp out slavery in their supply chains, both domestically and overseas. The hope is that the reporting requirement will bring greater scrutiny and accountability around the human cost of our consumption.  

A prayer (source: Australian Catholic Anti-Slavery Network, ACAN)

We pray for the victims of human trafficking that they may be brought to freedom and rebuild their lives after the traumatic experiences they have suffered.

(We pray that St Josephine Bakhita*, sold into slavery as a child, intercedes with God for those trapped in a state of slavery, so that they will be released from the shackles of captivity). 

We pray for all those who are dedicated to eradicating modern slavery and human trafficking that they will have the courage and strength to reach out and overcome challenges.

We pray that by our actions as consumers we always reject as gravely wrong any goods or services tainted with slavery.

We pray for our governments that their laws will protect victims of human trafficking and reject goods and services from sources associated with slavery and forced labour.

We pray that the Church will continue to defend and free victims of human trafficking and be a source of love, hope and faith to bring the vulnerable and enslaved to find healing for their wounds. Amen.

(St Josephine Bakhita is the patron saint of victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. Her feast day is February 8th)

PRAYER
Lord, in this moment I stand beside every victim who has been human trafficked.
In this moment, I know you bear their excruciating fear, hurt and pain. 
May they feel your peace and grace wash over them.
I pray for justice to be served.
I pray for their release from the unbearable dehumanization, 
anguish and humiliation they feel.
I pray for their liberation from being held captive against their will, 
and by your grace for Good Samaritans to restore their lives.
I pray for the healing of victims and for their loved ones.
I pray as part of a united, worldwide movement for the empowerment and ability of all people of goodwill everywhere to put an end to human trafficking.
I pray never to forget what it feels like to be in this moment; 
to stand in solidarity with victims of human trafficking consumed with fear and pain.
I pray you will use me in some way to help end this human tragedy.
Lord I have faith that your presence, your love, 
and your spiritual embrace will always be with the victims of human trafficking.
Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, hear my prayer.Amen.
(Source: Global Freedom Network, adapted)

Reading (verses from Isaiah 65)
The LORD said ‘For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice for ever in what I am creating;
for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight.
No more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it,
or the cry of distress.
No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime.
They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat.
They shall not labour in vain, or bear children for calamity. Before they call I will answer,
while they are yet speaking I will hear.

UCA Vic/Tas report
ACAN website

15th September 2022 EU Commission moves to ban products made with forced labour on the EU market.
The Commission has proposed to prohibit products made with forced labour on the EU market. The proposal covers all products, namely those made in the EU for domestic consumption and exports, and imported goods, without targeting specific companies or industries. This comprehensive approach is important because an estimated 27.6 million people are in forced labour, in many industries and in every continent. That is an 11% increase from 2016 estimates.
There are similar proposals being considered in many jurisdictions around the world. There is an urgency to tackle modern slavery that cannot be ignored. Read more here.

The Australian bishops present at the Lambeth conference 2022 celebrate the support of the bishops called together by the Archbishop of Canterbury for the Lambeth Conference 2022 for the ‘Statement of Support regarding Indigenous Peoples in Canada and around the world’.

The Statement recognized and regretted the impacts of colonization that ‘stripped Indigenous peoples of their agency, identity, languages, cultures and governance; colluded with the Doctrine of Discovery (in the Australian context, the aspirations and impact of British imperialism), including corrosive government policies; denigrated their spiritual heritages; prohibited ceremonies and stole their land’. We also acknowledge that many First Nations peoples rejoice in the gift of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and now serve the church in leadership throughout Australia.

With deep repentance the Australian bishops present at Lambeth 2022 recognize that the Anglican Church of Australia colluded in the above and within our own history aided the forced removal of First Nations children from their parents (the Stolen Generations) which has resulted in inter-generational trauma for many First Nations peoples. The Anglican Church of Australia acknowledges its own sinfulness in this regards, has sought forgiveness, but continues to walk with First Nations peoples on the long journey of reconciliation.

The Australian bishops present at Lambeth 2022 recognize the issues brought about by the colonization of Australia on the First Nations peoples that need our prayer, advocacy, and action include: poverty; climate change, in particular, but not exclusively, rising sea levels that are having devastating consequences for the Torres Strait Islander peoples; inadequate housing; under employment; youth suicide; appallingly high levels of youth and adult incarceration; deaths in custody; substance abuse and addiction; domestic and other forms of violence, low levels of education, and the ongoing presence of racism among the general population of Australia and its institutions, including the church.

The Australian bishops present at Lambeth 2022 acknowledge the riches that First Nations cultures bring to the Australian people and rejoice that this is beginning to be valued by many in Australia and the Church. We support the ‘Uluru Statement from the Heart’ and encourage a First Nations voice to be heard in the federal and state parliaments of our land. We join with the bishops present at Lambeth 2022 in committing ourselves to ‘walk with and support Indigenous peoples around the world…’

The Australian bishops present at Lambeth 2022

The Most Rev’d Geoff Smith – Primate

The Most Rev’d Dr Kay Goldsworthy

The Most Rev’d Dr Philip Freier

The Rt Rev’d Chris McLeod

The Rt Rev’d Dr Keith Joseph

The Rt Rev’d Cameron Venables

The Rt Rev’d Jeremy Greaves

The Rt Rev’d John Roundhill

The Rt Rev’d Grant Dibden

The Rt Rev’d Dr Greg Anderson

The Rt Rev’d Dr Mark Short

The Rt Rev’d Dr Richard Treloar

The Rt Rev’d Dr Peter Stuart

The Rt Rev’d Dr Matthew Brain

The Rt Rev’d Ian Coutts

The Rt Rev’d Charles Murry

The Rt Rev’d Sonia Roulston

The Rt Rev’d Carol Wagner

The Rt Rev’d Dr Paul Barker

The Rt Rev’d Dr Brad Billings

The Rt Rev’d Kate Prowd

The Rt Rev’d Jeremy James

The Rt Rev’d Clarence Bester

The Rt Rev’d Genieve Blackwell

The Rt Rev’d Donald Kirk

The Rt Rev’d Murray Harvey

The Rt Rev’d Dr Tim Harris

The Rt Rev’d Denise Ferguson

The Rt Rev’d Peter Grice

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.

Psalm 19.1

President Joe Biden unveiled this image of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, known as Webb’s First Deep Field, during a White House event. The image covers a patch of sky approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length by someone on the ground – and reveals thousands of galaxies in a tiny sliver of a vast universe. Webb’s sharp near-infrared view brought out faint structures in extremely distant galaxies, offering the most detailed view of the early universe to date

On December 25, 2021, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope was launched into space. A successor to the immensely successful Hubble, the $10 billion telescope was designed to peer back billions of years to document the formation of the earliest stars and galaxies in the Universe. It was a project 25 years in the making.

NASA’s James Webb telescope is potentially game-changing. What we will learn from it will not only change what we understand about the origins of the universe but also how we fit into this history. And people are already raising questions about what challenges these discoveries may pose to more traditional views of creation. New discoveries could introduce new debates and provoke new questions about religious teachings and theology.

One of the central challenges is what these discoveries would mean for how we understand the significance of human existence. Some might conclude as Carl Sagan once put it, that: “We live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people.”

Some will want to resist anything that is seen as a threat to traditional ways of reading Scripture (eg Big Bang vs creation).

Look far enough back in time, and almost everything we know about our universe could have been different. Matter and energy existed in different forms than they do today, and they may have experienced forces that have not yet been discovered. Key events and transitions may have taken place that science has yet to illuminate. Matter likely interacted in ways that it no longer does, and space and time themselves may have behaved differently than they do in the world we know.

The further away we peer into space, the older the light we are receiving, so we will effectively be able to take snapshots of the early days of our universe. English particle physicist Brian Cox explains the utility of this capability well in an episode of his “Ask Me Anything” podcast.

It’s no secret that science and religion have long been at odds. Still, the validation of scientific theories regarding the origin of the universe will continue to challenge theologies of religions that believe firmly in the Bible’s creation story.

I am reminded of a friend’s brother who was writing a doctoral thesis, and whose research indicated those opening words in Genesis were ‘in beginning (comma)’ not in THE beginning. It was a revelation that God’s work is unfolding and dynamic, not static and fixed in time. It moved the researcher from a ‘factual’ premise to a more dynamic understanding of creation – full of wonder and mystery.

Orthodox Christianity is deeply associated with the word “mystery.” Its theological hymns are replete with paradox, repeatedly affirming two things to be true that are seemingly contradictory. The mystery is considered as essential as the knowing. (Fr Stephen Freeman)

For some Christians, comfortable with a propositional faith, these images from deep space will be challenging and confronting, and will be seen as contradictory to the Genesis account. Such a quandary invites a fresh and thoughtful way of looking at Scripture, of myth, of historical and cultural context.

It also invites a stance where we open ourselves to mystery, awe and wonder as we look at the images being received from deep in space.

The scientific (and global) community will marvel at these images from deep space. They will also provide an opportunity for thoughtful reflection on our Scriptures, our place in the universe, our relationship with God.

They will invite mystery, awe and wonder.

Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory in the heavens. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is humankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

Psalm 8:1,3-4

References
Astronomy.Com
Washington Post

In the Greek Orthodox church, every diocese is a Metropolis, headed by a Metropolitan. The term Metropolitan derives from the Greek word for the capital of a province where the head of the episcopate resides. 

In 2021 the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew proposed to the Holy and Sacred Synod that the Diocese of Dervis (Melbourne) be elevated to the rank of a Metropolis, and His Grace Bishop Ezekiel of Dervis to the position of Metropolitan of the Ecumenical Throne.

“With great joy we announce that during today’s deliberations, the Holy and Sacred Synod, at the recommendation of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, decided to elevate the once glorious Diocese of Dervis to a Metropolis with His Grace Bishop Ezekiel becoming an active Metropolitan of the Venerable Ecumenical Throne”

His Eminence Metropolitan Ezekiel of Dervis was born in 1938 in Akrata Kilkis of Macedonia, graduated from the Theological College Halki (Constantinople) in 1962. Ordained a deacon, he arrived in Sydney that same year where he was ordained a priest on Sunday, 30 September, at Dubbo, NSW, during the consecration of the Church of Panagia Myrtidiotissa. He later served at churches in Leichhardt and Belmore before being elected Bishop on 1 March, 1977, with the honorary title of Dervis. He was appointed Assistant Bishop to the late Archbishop Stylianos and served for three years in Perth, five years in Adelaide and in Melbourne from 1984.

On Sunday, July 24, 2022, the Cretan Village in Wantirna South will host an event in honour of Metropolitan Ezekiel of Dervis, on the occasion of the celebration of his name day. The honorary event is organized on the initiative of Archbishop Makarios of Australia, who, together with the Assistant Bishops and the Intercommunal Committee of Victoria, invites everyone to participate.

At the request of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia, the Holy and Sacred Synod elected four Assistant Bishops for the Holy Archdiocese of Australia, including the Very Reverend Archimandrite Evmenios Vasilopoulos who was elected with the title of Bishop of Kerasounta*. 

In May he was invited to represent the Greek Orthodox Church at at a special event to celebrate the visit to Australia of Mar Awa III, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East.

During his speech, Bishop Evmenios of Kerasounta* referred to the common historical course of the Orthodox Church and the Assyrian Church of the East, but also to the common challenges they are called to face on the fifth continent (Australia): “To preach our faith and maintain our cultural traditions in a society that is becoming increasingly secular and hostile to Christianity”.

“We have a lot to learn from each other because we are related communities in Australia. Not least because so many members of the Assyrian community found refuge in Greece before coming to Australia and speak better Greek than many of us. But these are bonds that go back millennia. We cannot forget that some of the most revered saints of our church were Assyrians”. 

(* Kerasounta is located in what is modern Turkey. A Greek Orthodox church was built in the 17th century about 45 km southeast of Kerasounta. According to reports, the church is adorned with rich iconography, a product of the Greek craftsmen who lived there and the faith of the parishioners that filled it. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were around 800 Greek residents. However, the village was destroyed in the summer of 1916 and its inhabitants were slaughtered by Topal Osman, an Ottoman officer who was a perpetrator of the Armenian and Pontic genocides. Those who survived sought safety elsewhere).

Victoria has become Australia’s first state to specifically ban the display of the Nazi swastika.

Sources
BBC
SBS News
The Age

Under a new law, the Summary Offences Amendment (Nazi Symbol Prohibition) Bill 2022, people who intentionally exhibit the symbol face up to a year in jail or a A$22,000 fine. The bill, hailed as a “thunderous blow” to white supremacists was passed in the Victorian Parliament on 21st June 2022.

The legislation was introduced in May 2022 to Parliament, when deputy opposition leader David Southwick, who is Jewish and has campaigned for the ban for a number of years, urged the government to have the new laws come into effect immediately.

The Bill was passed with bipartisan support.

Ros Spence, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, said, “These laws are part of our unwavering commitment to challenge antisemitism, hatred and racism wherever and whenever they occur.”

Victorian Premier Dan Andrews said “nobody has the right to spread racism, hate or anti-Semitism”. (Statement from Premier’s Department here).

Like many places globally, Australia has seen a sharp rise in anti-Semitic incidents in recent times.

Victoria already has anti-hate speech laws – but they have been criticised for having “gaps”. 

A push for reform intensified in 2020 when a couple raised a swastika flag above their home, angering the local community.

State officials called the new legislation a “proud moment”. Three other states have said they will introduce similar laws.

The Nazi swastika has become internationally recognised for representing anti-Semitism and racism after Adolf Hitler adopted it as the Nazi Party symbol in 1920.

“The Nazi symbol glorifies one of the most hateful ideologies in history – its public display does nothing but cause further pain and division,” said Victorian Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes. “It’s a proud moment to see these important laws pass with bipartisan support. I’m glad to see that no matter what side of politics, we can agree that this vile behaviour will not be tolerated in Victoria.”

There are exemptions for showing the symbol in historical, educational and artistic contexts. It can also be used in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain religious contexts, as it has been for millennia, where it represents peace and well-being.

Faith groups in Victoria have welcomed the state government’s decision to pass legislation banning the public display of the Nazi symbol.

Surinder Jain, Vice President of the Hindu Council of Australia says the Bill will help battle public confusion around the difference between the Nazi symbol and the ancient Indian swastika. “Because when we display it people misunderstand it to be the Nazi hate symbol Hakenkreuz – the hooked cross. This Bill makes a clear distinction between the two. It does the right thing by banning the hate symbol. And it does the right thing by exempting sacred symbols used by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains.”

“The bill will help battle public confusion around the difference between the Nazi symbol and the ancient Indian swastika”

(Surinder Jain, Vice President of the Hindu Council of Australia)

Victoria’s Jewish community also welcomed the bill. Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission (a Jewish organization founded to fight antisemitism) Dvir Abramovich began campaigning for the ban five years ago. He said a Jewish person being confronted by the Nazi swastika is “as threatening as being confronted by a gun”.

“I think people often forget what the Nazi swastika represents – the final solution. That is, the extermination of six million Jews in gas chambers. It represents the desire by the Third Reich to eliminate every single Jewish person on earth. It is the ultimate emblem of evil”.

Andy Meddick MP, addressing the Victorian Parliament, said: ‘This Bill today is not just about a symbol but about an ideology that took an ancient and respected symbol, perverted it, warped it and desecrated it so deeply that the world has come to see it almost exclusively as a symbol of a regime of such deep rooted hatred, murder, rape, genocide, and acts so vile that it’s hard to believe the human species could be capable of them”.

People will be prosecuted only if they defy a first request to remove the symbol.

Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dvir Abramovich – who campaigned for the law – called it a “thunderous blow” to the neo-Nazi movement.

“As our nation confronts the deep stain of a resurgent white-supremacist movement that peddles a dangerous and dehumanising agenda, this parliament has declared that the symbol of Nazism will never find a safe harbour in our state,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The number of anti-Semitic incidents around the world dramatically increased last year, according to a study by Tel Aviv University. Australia had 88 in one month alone – a national record.

In 2020, Australia’s intelligence chief warned of a “real threat” to the country’s security from neo-Nazis. He said “small cells” of right-wing extremists were meeting regularly to salute Nazi flags and share their ideology.

Since the pandemic began, unions and others have also accused far-right groups of “infiltrating” large protests about lockdowns and other restrictions.

The new laws will come into effect in six months to allow for a campaign about the origins of the religious and cultural swastika to be rolled out. The government says it has brought forward the date when the legislation will come into effect, originally planned to take 12 months, based on feedback from religious, legal and community groups.

Find out what the (August) 2021 Census of Population and Housing data reveals about where we live, our ancestry and what languages we speak. 

10am, Tuesday 28th June 2022 at the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra and live streamed on Tuesday 28 June 2022 at 10:00am AEST. A link to the live stream will be made available on the ABS webpage.

If you are unable to tune in on the day, the launch will be recorded and available on the ABS website and the ABS YouTube channel after the event.

For the first time, the Census will also provide information about long term health conditions and service in the Australian Defence Force.

Presenters include:

• Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP, Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury
• Dr David Gruen AO, Australian Statistician
• Professor Sandra Harding AO, Emeritus Professor, James Cook University and former Chair of the Australian Advisory Council (2001-2006)
• Teresa Dickinson PSM, Deputy Australian Statistician and Senior Responsible Officer for the 2021 Census.

An audience question and answer session will follow from 10:30am AEST. A platform to ask questions will be available from this page until the end of the session. If you would like your name and organisation read out with your question, please add this to the top of your question. Questions will be moderated.

The ABS will release 2021 Census data in a staged approach. There will be three key release phases.

1. 28 June 2022 – most topics will be released for almost all geographic outputs for place of usual residence and for place of enumeration on Census night.
2. October 2022 – a smaller number of topics including employment and location-based variables will be released.
3. Early to mid-2023 – complex topics that require additional processing such as distance to work, socio-economic indexes for areas (SEIFA) will be released.