The Religion and Ethics Report - Separate stories podcast

With Israel’s plan to go deeper into Gaza, the scenario looks intractable. Israel itself is increasingly isolated on the world stage. So what tools might be available to the United Nations to “force” a ceasefire and end the siege of Gaza? And if the United Nations Security Council should decide to deploy peacekeepers in the occupied territories, even Gaza itself, what could that look like? GUEST: EUGENE CHEN is a Senior Fellow at New York University’s Center on International Cooperation and wrote a piece about the hypothetical UN involvement in the Gaza conflict.In our near neighbour, Malaysia, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is facing increasing pressure from the Islamist opposition to take an even stronger stand against Israel and the United States over the ongoing Gaza war. Anwar himself comes from an Islamist background, but he presides over a coalition that many in this Muslim nation fear is too liberal. And Donald Trump’s nomination of an Australian-born activist as the next US ambassador has also ignited fireworks. GUEST: Professor SYAZA SHUKRI of International Islamic University of Malaysia joined a recent forum at the Lowy Institute, and spoke with us afterwards.Treasurer Jim Chalmers convenes his productivity summit next week, trying to balance competing proposals to lower or raise taxes. The St Vincent de Paul Society is one of Australia’s biggest faith-based welfare agencies and, in its submission to the summit, it asks the treasurer to make ending poverty his top priority. GUEST: MARK GAETANI is St Vincent De Paul's national president.

In our near neighbour, Malaysia, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is facing increasing pressure from the Islamist opposition to take an even stronger stand against Israel and the United States over the ongoing Gaza war.

It seems like an increasingly intractable situation in Gaza, and Israel’s continuing isolation globally over its actions there is not helping the peace process.What tools are available to the UN to “force” a ceasefire and end the siege in Gaza?And hypothetically,  IF the United Nations Security Council decided to deploy peacekeepers into the occupied territories and even Gaza itself, what might this look like? GUEST: Eugene Chen is a Senior Fellow at New York University’s Center on International Cooperation and wrote a paper on the Gaza the day after. 

Treasurer Jim Chalmers convenes his productivity summit next week, trying to balance competing proposals to lower or raise taxes. The St Vincent de Paul Society is one of Australia’s biggest faith-based welfare agencies and, in its submission to the summit, it asks the treasurer to make ending poverty his top priority. GUEST: MARK GAETANI is the St Vincent de Paul Society's national president.

In this thought-provoking discussion, Amra Lee sheds light on the challenges of humanitarian aid in Gaza, emphasizing the need for more than just airdrops. Clive Hamilton delves into the alarming infiltration of Chinese intelligence into Australian religious communities, revealing their tactics for control. Meanwhile, investigative journalist Suzanne Smith exposes the extreme practices of the Toowoomba 'Saints' sect, detailing the tragic case of Elizabeth Struh and highlighting efforts by local churches to combat coercive control. It's a compelling exploration of faith, influence, and accountability.

In February this year 14 members of Toowoomba-based religious sect the Saints were sentenced to prison in the Queensland supreme court.They group, including her parents, were found guilty of manslaughter over the death of 8 year old Elizabeth Struh's 2022 death by diabetic ketoacidosis.In a confronting documentary for ABC TV's Compass, award-winning journalist Suzanne Smith enters the world of the religious cult the Saints and talks to their families and former cult members.Suzanne brings The Religion and Ethics Report exclusive access to audio of police interviews and conversations with some of the young girl's relatives.The program "The Cult of the Saints" will air on ABC TV and be available here on ABC iView

Federal police have charged a Chinese national under the foreign interference laws, after she allegedly tried to infiltrate a Buddhist congregation in Canberra. Religious communities of Chinese Australians have become particularly targets for Chinese intelligence, according to Australian researcher CLIVE HAMILTON. His book, Silent Invasion: China’s Influence in Australia, detailed cases of exactly this type of infiltration. GUEST: Clive Hamilton is Professor of Public Ethics at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at Charles Sturt University 

Israel has allowed a partial lifting of the blockade of Gaza to permit some food drops to take place. But are drops from the air enough to alleviate conditions on the ground – conditions the United Nations has described as famine-like? Israel denies that it is deliberately engineering a famine.But the UN says the next few days as “make or break” for humanitarian agencies trying to reach more than two million Gazans.GUEST:Amra Lee is a researcher in the Department of International Relations at the Australian National University and a former adviser to the UN on humanitarian relief and conflict resolution.

The Catholic Church is going digital in a big way, a legacy of Pope Francis, who knew the power of social media. This week, the Vatican’s been hosting more than one thousand online influencers and digital natives from all over the world at its Jubilee for Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers. One of them is Father ROB GALEA, a priest from Victoria, an author, a singer/songwriter with eight albums, and an influencer with hundreds of thousands of followers.GUEST:Fr Rob Galea is an ordained Catholic priest and is currently serving in the Sandhurst Diocese in Victoria

Professor Beth Singler, an expert in Digital Religions at the University of Zurich, dives into the uncharted waters of AI's relationship with faith. She discusses the potential for AI-generated imagery to mislead and the historical adaptability of religions to new technologies. Singler raises ethical concerns about AI writing sermons and explores the idea of AI as a spiritual entity. The conversation even touches on AI creating new belief systems and the implications of virtual spaces as escapist experiences. It's a thought-provoking journey into faith and technology.