Freedom Matters — latest conversation

From Freedom for Faith –

“Freedom Matters is a conversation with Bishop Michael Stead and Monica Doumit about religious freedom issues across Australia.”

– The latest episode was published last month. Well worth watching to give an idea of current and future challenges.

Michael Stead is the Bishop of South Sydney and Chair of Freedom for Faith.
Monica Doumit is the Chancellor of the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and FFF board member.

Related:

In this three minute video, Freedom for Faith’s Executive Director Mike Southon explains Freedom for Faith’s mission.

Who is really pro-woman?

Dean of Sydney Sandy Grant shares his latest Minister’s Newsletter –

“Dear Friends, here’s a claim to make you sit up and pay attention:

– Post-feminist Australia is anti-woman in a number of problematic ways.

– But Bible-shaped Christianity is pro-woman in regard to dignity and protection.

Let me unpack this… within the confines of an article that I’m trying not to turn into an essay!

Post-feminist Australia is anti-woman in a number of ways. For example, sex-selective abortion is legal in Australia. That means if you discover you’re having a baby girl, but you really wanted a boy, there is nothing stopping you seeking a ‘termination’ of a living, human, pre-born baby for no other reason than sex.

This is not hypothetical. …”

– Read (and, if you wish, take action using the links) at the Cathedral website.

C of E General Synod committee approves debating Private Members Motion on compatibility of intimate same sex relationships

From The Church of England Evangelical Council –

“In July this year, the Church of England will see the most significant Private Members Motion (PMM) on sex and marriage in the last 40 years being brought to General Synod.

It has been confirmed by the Business Committee that the July General Synod will debate the PMM proposed by Professor Helen King, which seeks to affirm the compatibility of intimate same sex relationships with Christian discipleship.

The controversial motion… is cleverly worded and designed to secure support for a revision of the Church of England’s sexual ethics, while at the same time not explicitly asking for a change to Church of England doctrine.”

– Details at the CEEC. (Emphasis added.)

Faithfulness When Freedoms Diminish

“How should Christians live wisely and remain faithful to Christ in a society where religious freedom is on the wane? This is the question driving Patrick Parkinson’s new book, Unshaken Allegiance: Living wisely as Christians with diminishing religious freedoms.

Parkinson writes not as a theologian or a pastor but as a Christian legal academic, and as someone who has experienced intense religious restriction first-hand through his time in communist Czechoslovakia in the early 1980s.…”

– At TGC Australia, Marty Robinson reviews Patrick Parkinson’s new book.

The disturbing questions over a ‘hate speech’ conviction

From Julian Mann at TCW –

“Arguable the most significant reflection so far on the egregious conviction of Finnish politician Päivi Räsänen for ‘hate speech’ has come from an unlikely source – an Anglican theologian.

On Christian Today Dr Martin Davie argues that the international media coverage of the case has largely failed to get to grips with the underlying cultural reasons for Räsänen’s conviction.

On March 26, Finland’s Supreme Court found the former Interior Minister (equivalent of the Home Secretary) guilty on a 3-2 verdict of the crime of incitement against a minority group because of what she had written in a 2004 pamphlet, Male and Female He Created Them – Homosexual Relationships Challenge the Christian Concept of Humanity. …”

– Full article here.

Image thanks to ADF International. See their March 26 2026 article here.

Giggle v Tickle, the Federal Court Appeal — Two Steps Back

From Associate Professor Neil Foster at Law and Religion Australia  –

“The Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia has handed down its long-awaited decision in Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd v Tickle [2026] FCAFC 64 (15 May 2026). …

Sadly, it has to be said that this decision of the Full Court might now be seen as ‘two steps back’.

In short, I think this appeal decision is also legally wrong, and I look forward to it being overturned on appeal to the High Court of Australia if that goes ahead. But the decision also strongly points to the need to amend the Sex Discrimination Act 1984…”

– Read his full post which includes some possible implications of the decision.

Pastor in Northern Ireland convicted for preaching

News from The Christian Institute.

From Glebe to Gallipoli: Indigenous voices into Sydney Anglican history

From Russell Powell at SydneyAnglicans.net –

 “Archbishop Kanishka Raffel has decried the ‘deeply repugnant’ treatment of Aboriginal Elder Uncle Ray Minniecon at an Anzac Day service, as the Diocese prepares to hear the ‘untold stories’ of Indigenous Anglicans. …”

– Read here. And there’s a media release.

James Valentine, Euthanasia and How Christians Should Speak of Death

This week at The Pastor’s Heart, Dominic Steele introduces a topic which is “delicate, important, and pastorally urgent” –

“How should Christians respond when voluntary assisted dying is publicly framed as dignified, compassionate and courageous?

James Valentine has been rightly honoured as a much-loved broadcaster in the wake of his death last week.  But alongside the tributes there’s been significant reflection on his choice to use voluntary assisted dying in the language of control, dignity, generosity and dying ‘his way’.

How do we honour and grieve a much-loved public figure, while still asking serious ethical and pastoral questions about voluntary assisted dying? Has the public conversation shifted from VAD as a last resort to VAD as a normal end-of-life choice?

As we think carefully about death, autonomy, compassion, medicine, conscience and Christian hope we are joined by:

Dr Megan Best, senior researcher and professor of bioethics at the Institute of Ethics & Society at the University of Notre Dame Australia & Director of Ethicenter and

Emeritus Professor Michael Quinlan of the University of Notre Dame. Michael is also on the board of Freedom for Faith and Ethical End of Life Care.”

– A very sobering and important topic.  Watch or listen here.

The Reality of Biological Sex in Law — one step closer

“One of the deeply contested issues in Western societies at the moment is whether the law recognises the reality of biological sex. This is not only a question for faith groups, but it is one that most religious traditions regard as crucial – that there is a difference between men and women, and this difference can matter in some important contexts. But the question is also important for others in society, as this fundamental feature of humanity comes under challenge from those who claim that sex (or gender) is changeable.

The decision of Moshinsky J in the Federal Court of Australia, in Lesbian Action Group Inc v Australian Human Rights Commission [2026] FCA 432 (15 April 2026), arguably moves the law of Australia one step closer to acknowledging biological reality. …”

– Neil Foster shares his opinion on the latest developments – at Law and Religion Australia.

Photo: Associate Professor Neil Foster speaking at a Diocese of Sydney Safe Ministry conference.

Wales – rolls onwards towards same-sex marriage

From Anglican Futures –

“On the 15th April, the Governing Body of the Church in Wales will vote on a “Bill to incorporate into the Book of Common Prayer an Order of Service of Blessing following a Civil Partnership or Marriage between two people of the same-sex”.

If it passes, the fractures in the Anglican Communion will further deepen.

If it is rejected, it will be a miracle. …”

– Read it all here.

Image: Archbishop Cherry Vann delivers her Presidential Address, 15 April 2026. (For whatever interest, the proceedings are live-streamed here.)

Canadian Christian fined for posting ‘There are only Two Sexes’

“A former Canadian school board trustee — an outspoken Christian — is facing nearly $1 million in fines for expressing on social media his belief that there are only two sexes, male and female. …

All of this began back in October 2017, when Neufeld posted on his personal Facebook page that the district’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) program was rooted not in biology but was a ‘social construct’. …”

– AT AP, the Presbyterian online journal, Guido Kettniss shares his latest compilation of news from around the world.

Finland’s Supreme Court acquits Parliamentarian on Bible Tweet, Convicts her for “insult” in 20-year-old church pamphlet on separate charge

“In a narrow 3–2 decision, the Finnish Supreme Court has found parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen guilty of ‘hate speech’ on one charge relating to the expression of her beliefs on marriage and sexual ethics in a twenty-year-old church pamphlet.

Räsänen has been criminally convicted for publishing the 2004 pamphlet for her church, alongside Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola.

The conviction is for ‘making and keeping available to the public a text that insults a group’. The Supreme Court unanimously acquitted Räsänen for her 2019 Bible verse tweet. …”

– Report and image from ADF International.

A Dark Day in Britain

In his latest The Briefing broadcast (19 March 2026), Dr Albert Mohler laments the “very dark day” in Britain as the House of Lords advances legislation to allow abortion up to birth.

– Watch or listen here.

Paul Ehrlich — Author of “The Population Bomb” and Prophet of the Culture of Death

You may have heard that Paul Ehrlich, author of the influential 1968 book, “The Population Bomb” has died at the age of 93.

In his The Briefing broadcast for today, Tuesday 17 March 2026, Albert Mohler remembers Paul Ehrlich and the dark influence of his ideology.

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