Ganesh Sahathevan

 by Ganesh Sahathevan  The  Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference has taken to Youtube to promote the Yes vote in the coming Voice  referendum , without first consulting with the faithful. This is not the first occasion on which bishops have taken off on a frolic of their own with other peoples money for  unbeknownst  to most Catholics, the bishops do what they do with money from parishioners. In their 2021 annual report the ACBC states:  The Conference capped its levies for three years at $8 million from 2020 to 2022 . The Conference acknowledges this has been appreciated by dioceses, but notes that at the end of 2021 significant cost pressures existed evidenced by rises in the Consumer Price Index. The Conference approved a deficit budget for 2022. The levy is paid by the archdioceses , which in turn fund that payment from Mass collections. Archdioceses are notoriously secretive about their finances despite Canon Law requiring that they provide their faithful with yearly accoun

 by Ganesh Sahathevan  T Mass marking beginning of the  Second Assembly of the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia  at the  Mary MacKillop Memorial Chape l opened with a smoking ceremony Sisters Of Saint Joseph who warned about lies against The Voice referendum have yet to inform the public that the Aboriginal art that adorns their Mary MacKillop Museum was painted by an Indian masquerading as Aboriginal  The fake Aboriginal art that adorns the ceiling of the Mary MacKillop Museum is a matter of public record. As Ross Bowden explains it:  In 1998 the self-described  Aboriginal' artist Sakshi Anmatyerre, whose name before he changed it by deed poll was Farley French. and was apparently born in India, did a huge ceiling painting in a mixture of Aboriginal styles for the Mary MacKillop Museum in Sydney. When questions were raised about his ethnic origins he fled the country.  Sisters Of Saint Joseph who warned of lies against The Voice referendum have yet to inform the public that the

 by Ganesh Sahathevan                                                           As previously reported on this blog, The  Sisters Of St Joseph Of The Sacred Heart have, under the pretext of protesting what they see as misinformation about the Voice Referendum,called for misinformation laws of the type proposed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's Labor Government. In their words:  Strangely, there is  no federal law  that bans untruthful or misleading political advertising, a situation that is supporting the level of disinformation that is abroad and which feeds wild and fearful claims that appear on  social media . Meanwhile they continue to seek donations from the public, without providing any information on how the funds raised have been spent. Apart from their own organistaion   the Sisters also solicit on their website donations for another charity, Mary McKillop Today. Financial statements are provided by the persons in charge of that charity . It is interesting to note tha

by Ganesh Sahathevan  Sisters Susan Connelly,  Josephine Mitchell and  Jan Barnett of the  Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart have written an op-ed for the Catholic Weekly headlined  The false claims of the No Voice campaign.   The headline and the conclusion ; No one can be told how to vote, but each of us will have to answer to God for what we write on that page  summaries the sisters' thesis.  Between the headline and the conclusion there are  assertions such as this : Strangely, there is  no federal law  that bans untruthful or misleading political advertising, a situation that is supporting the level of disinformation that is abroad and which feeds wild and fearful claims that appear on  social media . Nowhere in their article have the sisters addressed the primary issue of why recognition of persons who are Australian citizens is required. They spend much time attacking those who have asked for more detail, regurgitating the argument  (put by among others Anne Twomey )

 by Ganesh Sahathevan                               Professor Megan Davis knows what she is talking about Paragraph Three of The Voice Constituional Amendments states: 3: The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws with respect to matters relating to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, including its composition, functions, powers and procedures. It should be remembered however that "this Constitution" means the amended Constitution, which will read: “Chapter IX Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples 129 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice In recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia: there shall be a body, to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice; the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice may make representations to the Parliament and the Executive Government of the Commonwealth on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres