Pacific Catholics welcome Pope Leo XIV
On the program this week:
Catholics in the Pacific have welcomed the election of Pope Leo XIV with two cardinals from the region taking part, for the first time, in voting.
New Caledonia's giant geckos are the latest sensation in the global pet trade, but conservationists warn their social media-fuelled popularity is putting the endangered species at risk.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele has fended off a leadership challenge after his finance minister defected with 10 government MP's.
A social media video showing the country's prison's boss in a barroom brawl has gone viral, prompting calls for his sacking.
Tonga's Lulutain Airlines is under scrutiny as the national carrier struggles to stay afloat amidst allegations of mismanagement.
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News.com.au
5 hours ago
- News.com.au
Pope Leo condemns 'exclusionary mindset' in Pentecost address
Pope Leo XIV exhorted the faithful on Sunday to reject an "exclusionary mindset" he said had led to nationalism around the world. Leo's homily did not call out current events and conflicts nor identify individual leaders. But his choice of language was significant, encouraging people to "open borders" within their hearts and minds. The address marked a month since the former Robert Prevost from Chicago was elected pope, and came during a Sunday mass to celebrate Pentacost held under sunny skies in St Peter's Square. Before mass, the 69-year-old pontiff made a turn around the sprawling Baroque square in his popemobile to the enthusiastic cheers of the crowd, estimated by the Vatican at around 80,000 people. Leo said the Church "must open the borders between peoples and break down the barriers between class and race". People must move "beyond our fear of those who are different," he said, noting that the Holy Spirit "breaks down barriers and tears down the walls of indifference and hatred..." "Where there is love, there is no room for prejudice, for 'security' zones separating us from our neighbours, for the exclusionary mindset that, tragically, we now see emerging also in political nationalisms." Leo did not speak of physical borders but his focus on barriers and walls evoked the politics of US President Donald Trump, who has vowed to stem illegal immigration into the United States. The pope also said the Holy Spirit was an antidote to toxic relationships marked by "suspicion, prejudice or the desire to manipulate others". "With great pain," Leo cited "cases where relationships are marked by an unhealthy desire for domination, an attitude that often leads to violence, as is shown, tragically, by numerous recent cases of femicide". In Italy, a slew of femicides have become front-page news over the last month, including the killing of a 14-year girl by her boyfriend last week. Leo also cited the dangers of social media, saying it risked making people "ever more alone" within a "vortex of individualism." "Constantly connected, yet incapable of 'networking'. Always immersed in a crowd, yet confused and solitary travellers," he said. Since his election, Leo has offered to mediate between leaders of countries at war and earlier this week, he had his first telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Several speeches made by the new pontiff -- including among his first words from St Peter's Basilica when he became pope on May 8 -- have focused on building bridges between individuals and peoples. Pentecost marks the end of the Easter season and commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles and disciples of Jesus Christ.
ABC News
15 hours ago
- ABC News
Coalition sticks to defence spending pledge but won't say how it'll pay for it
The Coalition remains committed to lifting defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP but won't detail where the money will come from, as the shadow finance minister suggested the opposition would be open to considering broader tax reform. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to meet with Donald Trump on the sidelines of G7 summit next week, amid pressure from the United States to increase defence spending from the current level of 2.04 per cent to to 3.5. Trade Minister Don Farrell on Sunday said the government was committed to a "significant uplift in the amount of defence spending". "We're focused on what Australia needs to do and we'll make our decisions based on what's in our national interest," he told Sky News. The Coalition went to the election promising to earmark an additional $21 billion for the military between now and 2030, almost double what Labor had pledged. Appearing on Insiders on Sunday, Shadow Finance Minister James Paterson said the Coalition's target of 3 per cent of GDP in a decade had not changed since the party's devastating election loss last month. "The exact profiling of that increase is something that we'll determine through the policy process and closer to the next election. We'll be completely up front and transparent about that," he said. "But yes, we have an objective of reaching the 3 per cent of GDP because we think it is in our national interest." Senator Paterson said the Coalition had three years to outline where that additional funding would go, but listed some potential areas for investment as recruitment and retention, a munitions stockpile, northern military bases, air and missile defence and drones. "There is no shortage of good things we could spend on that would increase our ability to defend ourselves and safeguard our sovereignty," he said. But he would not be drawn on where the money to pay for the increase would come from, saying that work would occur over the coming years. Senator Paterson did suggest the opposition was open to a discussion about the way superannuation is taxed, despite its rejection of the government's plan to double the tax on super balances above $3 million from 15 to 30 per cent. "We're happy to contemplate tax reform. We're happy to talk to the government about tax reform. But we are not interested in increasing taxes, because I don't think that that is what the Australian economy needs right now," he said. "If the government was genuinely serious about a broad-based tax reform process, then we'd be up for that conversation. Now, the government has to take the first steps there." US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked Defence Minister Richard Marles to increase spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP "as soon as possible" on the sidelines of a dialogue in Singapore this week, according to a statement from the US Department of Defense. Mr Hegseth had previously made similar requests, but it was the first time the administration nominated an exact figure. Negotiations with the United States over Mr Trump's 10 per cent tariffs on Australian exports continue, with the subject likely to dominate the anticipated meeting between Mr Albanese and Mr Trump. Access to Australia's critical minerals has been put forward as a potential bargaining chip as Australia continues to push for an exemption. The Coalition had previously said they would oppose Labor's plan to acquire stockpiles of critical minerals from commercial projects, to be held in a national reserve and made available to domestic industry and international partners. But Senator Paterson told Insiders it "might be necessary" for the government to support the mining and processing of critical minerals. "We're very happy to see what the government is proposing here. I can't commit to it in principle without having seen the details, but we're certainly open to it," Senator Paterson said. "Any sensible steps that represent an economic opportunity for Australia and an opportunity for us to demonstrate that we are a good alliance partner of the United States is something that we would offer bipartisan support to." Mr Farrell said Australia had offered the United States "an expanded arrangement in regards to critical minerals" as part of efforts to secure an exemption from the tariffs, which came into force in April. The trade minister met with his American counterpart, trade representative Jamieson Greer, in Paris last week, where he said he made clear that Australia wanted "all of the tariffs removed, not just some of them". "The position I put to Jamieson Greer is that the tariffs the United States has imposed on Australia are unjustified."
The Age
21 hours ago
- The Age
Albanese need not shy away from his Catholic roots
Australian historian Manning Clark described the Australian attitude to spirituality as 'a shy hope in the heart'. We are uncomfortable with overt displays of religiosity or, indeed, strident atheism. For most Australians, to be asked by a stranger (as happens in the US) if they know Jesus as saviour would be cringe-making. This is the cultural context in which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who visited the newly installed Pope Leo XIV last month, claimed a strong Catholic heritage, then almost immediately repudiated that by telling journalists his faith played no role in his politics. It seems that Albo's faith is not so much shy as painfully introverted. It scarcely figures in his discourse compared with, say, his struggles growing up with a single mother in a council house. This is not to doubt his personal faith, but to suggest that he is constrained in the public arena. His papal visit and later counter-balancing remarks were carefully calibrated to please – or, at least, appease – both sides of the divide. Catholics are a quarter of the population, and agnostics probably more than half. Many people believe that for a politician to express faith is to betray the separation of church and state. Former PM Tony Abbott particularly suffered this because of his strong public Catholic identity, with one commentator calling him 'Pell's puppet' (a reference to the late Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney at the time). Loading This is a terrible misunderstanding. Politicians who are believers cannot help but bring their faith to their work because it shapes their values and convictions. They should and they must. This doesn't mean seeking to advance the cause of religion, but that denying their core convictions would be hypocritical and inauthentic. Further, importantly, this is true not only of Christian politicians. Atheists, agnostics and people of other faiths are equally shaped by their values and convictions, and they owe it to their conscience and constituents to honour these. Those who don't risk becoming venal or corrupt. Philosopher Willard Quine provided a helpful analogy with his web of belief, in which the outer strands are contingent but the innermost and strongest are foundational, first principles that may never even be examined. This applies to all of us.
