The Religion and Ethics Report - Separate stories podcast

The Christian Brothers have announced a plan to sell off their remaining 36 properties in Australia at an estimated value of $216 million. 
The proceeds will go to victims and survivors and their lawyers. 
Those with claims against the brothers won’t receive all they’re seeking but the Brothers have revealed they’ve already paid a staggering $480 million in abuse settlements since 1980. 
GUEST:
Professor DARRYL HIGGINS is director of the Institute for Child Protection Studies at Australian Catholic University.

If the geopolitics of Israel and Palestine isn’t hot enough, there’s now a controversy over control of the Al-Aqsa mosque complex in the Old City of Jerusalem. 
For decades, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has been the official custodian, allowing non-Muslims to visit but not to pray. 
But Israeli hardliners -- backed reputedly by the Trump administration and some Gulf Arab states -- want to transfer control to a so-called multi-faith council. 
GUEST:
WYRE DAVIES is the BBC’s Middle East correspondent. He's been covering this story.

A litmus test for anyone seeking office as a Democrat in the US is unqualified support for abortion. 
At the moment, it’s popular. Even in Republican states have passed ballot measures to over-ride abortion bans. 
But can the Democrats forge a long-term coalition to win the congress and the presidency without some pro-life voters, especially Catholics? 
A growing number of progressive Democrats say the party needs to be a bigger tent. 
GUEST:
TIMOTHY KIRCHOFF is a contributing writer to the liberal Catholic magazine, Commonweal.

After 180 years in Australia, the Catholic order of Christian Brothers is closing down – bankrupt and shamed by the child sexual abuse scandal. The Christian Brothers have announced a plan to sell off their remaining 36 properties in Australia at an estimated value of $216 million. The proceeds will go to victims and survivors and their lawyers. Those with claims against the brothers won’t receive all they’re seeking but the Brothers have revealed they’ve already paid a staggering $480 million in abuse settlements since 1980. 
If the geopolitics of Israel and Palestine isn’t hot enough, there’s now a controversy over control of the Al-Aqsa mosque complex in the Old City of Jerusalem. For decades, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has been the official custodian, allowing non-Muslims to visit but not to pray. But Israeli hardliners -- backed reputedly by the Trump administration and some Gulf Arab states -- want to transfer control to a so-called multi-faith council. 
A litmus test for anyone seeking office as a Democrat in the US is unqualified support for abortion. At the moment, it’s popular. Even in Republican states have passed ballot measures to over-ride abortion bans. But can the Democrats forge a long-term coalition to win the congress and the presidency without some pro-life voters, especially Catholics? A growing number of progressive Democrats say the party needs to be a bigger tent. 
GUESTS
Professor DARRYL HIGGINS is director of the Institute for Child Protection Studies at Australian Catholic University.
WYRE DAVIES is the BBC’s Middle East correspondent.
TIMOTHY KIRCHOFF is a contributing writer to the liberal Catholic magazine, Commonweal.

We have an image of Ethiopia as a harsh, even forsaken place, of famine and a landscape literally cracked by rising global temperatures.
But Ethiopia’s a country of resilient, resourceful people, who could thrive, if only world powers stopped meddling. 
That’s the message of Australian aid worker VALERIE BROWNING. 
She’s been living in Ethiopia’s Afar region for 53 years, running an extraordinary organisation that’s helped half a million women. 
Valerie’s back in Australia to visit family and publicise the work of the Barbara May Foundation that helps fund her work. 
Guest:
Valerie Browning is a nurse and author of "Maalika: My Life among the Afar Nomads in Africa”. She founded the Afar Pastoral Development Association and the Barbara May Maternity Hospital.