Article 116 of the Australian Constitution states that
The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth.
To be free of income tax, company tax, capital gains tax, land tax, stamp duty etc, a religious organiation has to meet a few requirements :
Your organisation will be a religious institution if it is an establishment, organisation or association that is instituted to advance or promote religious purposes.
And furthermore:
An institution will be a religious institution if:
its objects and activities reflect its character as a body instituted for the promotion of some religious object, and
the beliefs and practices of the members constitute a religion.
Now, I’m not a lawyer, but as far as I’m concerned the Catholic Church in NSW is openly, and actively trying to influence voters in that state, by asking them to apply some kind of Catholic litmus test to candidates, and by spreading misinformation about a so-called “Green Agenda“, ahead of the upcoming state election. That’s political activity, not promotion of religious objects.
A document titled The Green Agenda has been distributed by NSW Catholic bishops a week before the state election.
The two-page statement is not telling people how to vote but to vote responsibly.
So it is telling pople how to vote.
In so doing the bishops are asking people to read all The Greens policies carefully because while the party promotes environmental issues which deserve serious consideration, the full bag of policies must be taken into account. Voters cannot just pick and choose and some of The Greens policies, the bishops say, give rise to grave concerns for the protection of human rights and human dignity.
The bishops, including the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, say some Greens policies, such as those on school funding, marriage and abortion, entail serious threats to freedom of religion and conscience.
So Georgie Pell and his cronies will do anything they can, to prevent the Greens from strengthening women’s rights to reproductive autonomy, from limiting the rights of religion to openly discriminate against loving couples that don’t fit the catholic dogma, and from preventing the Public from ending the open, and legal, discrimination against single mothers, homosexuals and non-catholics who want to work in Catholic institutions like private schools. I just love it when the Catholics try to defend their right to not employ single mothers in their schools by arguing that it somehow impinges on their right to practice their religion, or their religious freedom. It’s sickening.
The article also mentions, and lies about, the Victoria Abortion Law Refom Act from 2008.
On 10 October 2008, the Victorian parliament passed the Abortion Law Reform Act. This is now recognised as the freest abortion laws in the world.[Citation needed]The new law has given the green light to late-term abortions, right up to and including nine months. However not content with having unfettered power over unborn babies, supporters also sought the added power over pro-life doctors and nurses.
A clause was inserted into the act took away the conscientious objection of doctors and nurses to any involvement in the act of abortion.
Obligations of registered health practitioner who has conscientious objection
(a) If a woman requests a registered health practitioner to advise on a proposed abortion, or to perform, direct, authorise or supervise an abortion for that woman, and the practitioner has a conscientious objection to abortion, the practitioner must
(b) refer the woman to another registered health practitioner in the same regulated health profession who the practitioner knows does not have a conscientious objection to abortion.
In other words Victorian law now specifically denies doctors and other health practitioners the right of conscientious objection to participating in or being associated with the practice of abortion.So individuals who do not want to be involved in the killing of an unborn child are denied the fundamental freedom of belief, conscience and religion.
What this law has done, is to make an attempt to protect women from religious charlatans, who are unable to make the objectively best decision for a patient, because they are blinded by religious dogma. Such people should not be allowed to practice as doctors in the first place. What I expect from any medical professional, is that he or she is able to look at the condition and situation of their patient objectively, and unbiased by religious dogma, and then based on evidence, and circumstances, together with their patient, decide what the objectively best course of action is. What this law is saying is” if you happen to come across a religious wacko who tells you that he won’t perform an abortion on you, or refer you to someone who will, despite this being a medically or socially necessary procedure at the time, then you have the right to seek another opinion”.
It is clear that the conscience of the pro-life doctor or nurse has been stripped green.
What is clear to me is that the Catholic Church puts their dogma, and the beliefs of their adherents, over the needs and lives of people.
I sincerely hope someone will look into this blatant attempt by the godbotherers and their lobby groups in NSW to openly influence public opinion, and put pressure on candidates, just before a state election.
