Australia’s attorney general decries anti-Catholicism

November 12, 2015

In a recent address delivered in Sydney, Australia’s attorney general decried anti-religious bigotry.

“Religious freedom is every bit as important as political freedom,” said Senator George Brandis.

“Members of the Islamic community are sometimes the victims of suspicion and hostility, directed against them by those ignorantly seeking to blame terrorist violence upon Koranic teaching,” he continued. “Members of Christian faiths-- in particular the Catholic faith-- are routinely the subject of mockery and insult by prominent writers and commentators.”

Brandis then quoted a remark by a retired high-court justice that anti-Catholicism is “the racism of the intellectuals,” adding, “or perhaps he should have said the pseudo-intellectuals.”

 

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Further information:

• Commission starts new conversation on religious freedom (Australian Human Rights Commission)
• Ridicule of Tony Abbott's religious beliefs is 'bigotry at its most shameless', says George Brandis (Sydney Morning Herald)
• George Brandis: Catholics and other devout people victims of ‘intolerance’ (The Guardian)