According to the ABC's Lateline newsite, Catholic bishops in Victoria will write to over 80,000 parishioners, urging them to make submissions to the Senate inquiry into proposed amendments to the Marriage Act opposing any move to legalize same-sex marriage.

The site quotes the Bishop of Sale, the Most Reverend Christopher Prowse stating that any legalization of same-sex marriage will mean "a fragile institution like marriage and family will become more fragile".

The move, however, has been criticized by others.  Former NSW Premier and Catholic, Kristina Keneally, is quoted as saying that same-sex marriage should be allowed because it honours  "self-sacrificing love that people have for one another by giving them and recognising their right to celebrate that in marriage".

The full story and video can be found here.

According to a media release issued by conservative pressure group, the Australian Christian Lobby, the sweeping victory by the Liberal National Party (LNP) in the recent Queensland State Election was due to "disregard" of Queensland's "Christian constituency"

The release cites ACL's Qld Director Wendy Francis stating that the decision by LNP Leader Campbell Newman to participate in an ACL-sponsored webcast, and a corresponding decision by Labor to not have a representative participate, demonstrates that Labour disrespected the Christian constituency and thus compounded the anti-Labour mood of the electorate.

"It was well known in the Christian constituency that most Labor MPs had voted to deny children the chance to at least begin life with a mother and father through controversial surrogacy laws allowing singles, two men or two women to acquire babies. It was also obvious that Labor’s high-profile championing of marriage-mimicking civil unions did not win it any votes, particularly as it was clearly rushed through as a political stunt to support gay activists campaigning at the ALP National Conference in December last.” Ms Francis is quoted as claiming.

The full release can be viewed here.

Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of the worldwide Anglican Communion, has announced he will be stepping down from the position in December this year.

According to the BBC news site, Dr Williams posted a statement on his webpage stating that serving as Archbishop of Canterbury had been an "immense privilege", and that the decision to retire was a difficult one because there was still "much to do".

Appointed the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury in 2002, Dr Williams has confronted growing tensions within the Anglican Communion over the ordination of women and openly gay clergy.  He also generated controversy in 2008 by suggesting that adoption of certain aspects of Sharia law in the UK was an inevitability.

Queen Elizabeth II, as head of the Church of England, has been advised of Dr Williams' decision; a statement released by the Crown Appointments Commission said that consideration of Dr Williams' successor would occur "in due course".

The full BBC article can be found here.

According to the ABC's Gippsland regional web-page, Anglican Bishop of Gippsland John McIntyre has defended his decision to appoint an openly gay priest to the parish of Heyfield. 

McIntyre's defense comes after a group calling itself the Anglican Defense League declared the appointment was contrary to the resolutions of the 1998 Lambeth Conference of Anglican Bishops.  The Bishop stated the Lambeth resolution pertained only to the ordination of gay priests, whereas the priest in question in the present case was already ordained.

According to the ABC website, Bishop McIntyre said: "If they think that I have acted against the Lambeth resolution, they need to think again, because I didn't actually ordain this man. He was ordained over 30 years ago in the diocese of Melbourne."

Importantly, the page also cites Bishop McIntyre as stating that there exists within the Church a wide diversity of views about the place of gay and lesbian people within the church, and that the issue of sexuality is a matter of ongoing discussion and debate.

The full story can be found here:
Anglican Bishops

Australia's security intelligence service, ASIO, has been accused of heavy handed tactics in its attempts to recruit agents from within the Muslim community, leading to disquiet and resentment among Australian Muslims.

According to the Age Online news site, Islamic Society of Victoria secretary Baha Yehia claims the Society has been aware of attempts to recruit young Muslim men as informants for at least two years.  The recruitment effort has been accompanied by an implication that a failure to co-operate with ASIO would result in criminal charges being laid, leading to disquiet and distress in the Muslim community.

According to the report, ASIO's recruitment drive has centred on the Preston Mosque in Melbourne.  In 2008, a number of men associated with the mosque were convicted on terrorism charges.  The Age reports that ASIO's tactics have included continuously ringing and pestering targeted recruits over the phone, or conducting interviews in which the interviewee was questioned by multiple ASIO agents.

The report cites Mr Yehia as saying: ''What we are not happy with is when they attack people from the community for no reason. It's random.''

The full report can be found here:
http://www.theage.com.au/asio-tactics

According to the National Assembly website of the Uniting Church in Australia, the UCA has today announced its strong support for the proposal that asylum seekers should be allowed to live within the community while their claims are processed.

UCA President Rev. Alistair Macrae is quoted as saying: “The evidence is clear that locking people in immigration detention damages them. It’s contrary to all decency to continue to lock up children and vulnerable families for months and even years.

Macrae expressed concerns about media reports that asylum seekers were receiving handouts at community expense.

“We are appalled by the stories in today’s Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun which give the mistaken impression that asylum seekers in community detention are living in luxury. Nothing could be further from the truth.", Mr Macrae said.

"Whatever their intention, these stories serve only to spread prejudice and misunderstanding."

Macrae added that Australia detention centres have been proven to damage people’s wellbeing.

“Community detention is the only humane option to ensure that these children and other vulnerable men and women are not further traumatised after seeking asylum here in Australia,” Mr Macrae said.

The UCA's full statement can be found here:
Uniting Church Statement

Conservative Christian Pastor and head of the "Catch the Fire Ministries", Danny Nalliah, has launched a new political party, Rise Up Australia.

According to the Age Online news site, Mr Nalliah's new party will concentrate on opposing multiculturalism.

The Age Online cites Sri Lankan born Mr Nalliah as stating that although he supports Australia being "multi-etnic", in his view it has only one culture - a culture born from "common sense" and democracy.

Mr Nalliah has been a figure of controversy in the past, having been the subject of an official complaint from the Islamic Council of Victoria that he vilified Muslims (which was later dismissed), and drawing wide-spread condemnation for a statement after the Black Saturday bushfires that the tragedy was a punishment from God for Australian's tolerance of homosexuals.

Rise Up Australia is expected to field candidates in for both the House of Representatives and the Senate in Victoria, Western Australia, Queensland, and Tasmania at the 2013 federal Election, and candidates for the Senate in other States.