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Australian National Flag to fly at Half-Mast tomorrow for the death of His Holiness Pope Francis (1936 - 2025)

Monday, 21 April 2025

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The Vatican has announced the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis on 21 April 2025.

As a mark of mourning and respect, the Australian National Flag should be flown at half-mast all day on Tuesday, 22 April 2025 in your locality from all buildings and establishments occupied by Australian Government departments and affiliated agencies. Other organisations are welcome to participate.

  • When flying the Australian National Flag with other flags, all flags in the set should be flown at half-mast.
  • If a set of flags includes the flags of other nations, it would be appropriate to seek permission from the diplomatic representatives of that nation to half-mast their flag. 
  • An acceptable half-mast position would be when the top of the flag is a third of the distance down from the top of the flagpole.
  • Information on flag protocol is available at http://www.pmc.gov.au/flag

Your assistance is appreciated. 

Commonwealth Flag Officer

21 April 2025
 

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
1 National Circuit
BARTON  ACT  2600

Posted at 07:38 PM | | Comments (10)

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Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's deeply moving and significant Easter, Pascal message for Christians.

Sunday, 20 April 2025

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Here is my translation (with help from Google) of His Excellency President Prabowo Subianto's truly magnificent Easter message which I've published in full (below), verbatim as he posted it this morning.

Happy Easter to our Christian brothers and sisters all over the country.

Easter is a sacred moment to reflect on the meaning of sacrifice, resurrection, and hope.

May this meaning be an inspiration for all of us to strengthen brotherhood, build peace in community life, and cultivate harmony in the midst of diversity.

Let us maintain unity and continue to sow goodness for an increasingly advanced and prosperous Indonesia.

PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA

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Posted at 03:20 PM | | Comments (25)

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King Charles singles out Islam for mention in our Easter message. We're done.

Saturday, 19 April 2025

Thanks to reader KB for the tip.

The love Jesus showed when he walked the Earth reflected the ... ethic of caring for the stranger and those in need, a deep human instinct echoed in Islam......

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One of the puzzles of our humanity is how we are capable of both great cruelty and great kindness. This paradox of human life runs through the Easter story and in the scenes that daily come before our eyes — at one moment, terrible images of human suffering and, in another, heroic acts in war-torn countries where humanitarians of every kind risk their own lives to protect the lives of others. A few weeks ago, I met many such people at a reception in Buckingham Palace and felt a profound sense of admiration for their resilience, courage and compassion.

On Maundy Thursday, Jesus knelt and washed the feet of many of those who would abandon Him. His humble action was a token of His love that knew no bounds or boundaries and is central to Christian belief.

The love He showed when he walked the Earth reflected the Jewish ethic of caring for the stranger and those in need, a deep human instinct echoed in Islam and other religious traditions, and in the hearts of all who seek the good of others.

The abiding message of Easter is that God so loved the world — the whole world — that He sent His son to live among us to show us how to love one another, and to lay down His own life for others in a love that proved stronger than death.

There are three virtues that the world still needs — faith, hope and love. “And the greatest of these is love”.

It is with these timeless truths in my mind, and my heart, that I wish you all a blessed and peaceful Easter.

Charles R

ENDS

Echoes of Islam...

“(Muslims) are the best of peoples” 

Quran 3:110 

“(Jews and Christians) will abide in the Fire of Hell. They are the worst of creatures.” 

Quran 98:6

 

Posted at 11:24 AM | | Comments (48)

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Fancy that. Another dodgy edit - but their ABC investigates itself and finds it's done no wrong.

Friday, 18 April 2025

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The ABC Ombudsman’s Office has investigated a complaint from the Council of the Australian War Memorial regarding the Four Corners program ‘Sacrifice’ and released its detailed investigation report, which has found no breach of the ABC’s Editorial Policies on any grounds.

Extensive media coverage has been given to the Council’s claim that the program inserted construction noise into the Last Post ceremony and created an impression ongoing works disrupted a commemorative event.  

The Ombudsman’s finding is that “the episode did not suggest that construction noise from the development site had disrupted a Last Post ceremony”.

It says: “We think that Four Corners is correct that no reasonable viewer would interpret this series of scenes as a continuous sequence. Even a viewer who might have got the impression that the recording of the Last Post was live audio from the ceremony in the first or second scene would have understood that it was then “borrowed” as a unifying musical soundtrack for the following (related but separate) scenes.” 

The Australian War Memorial commemorates the men and women who have lost their lives fighting for our nation. It is appropriate the public be fully informed about issues affecting  one of Australia’s most significant shrines. ‘Sacrifice’ examined links between the memorial and the global arms industry and raised important questions about conflicts of interest, corporate influence and the memorial’s future. 

The ABC stands by this piece of public interest journalism by reporter Mark Willacy and the Four Corners team, which brings important issues to the public’s attention. Both the ceremony and the Last Post were presented respectfully and in context.

It is regrettable that News Corporation in its reporting of the Council’s complaint has attempted to link this editorial issue with the Anzac Day coverage the ABC provides for Australians each year across our platforms. 

Anzac Day is one of the largest and most important events the ABC covers. The ABC’s coverage includes a live broadcast of the Anzac Day Dawn Service from the Australian War Memorial and live coverage of dawn services, local marches and other key commemorative events in towns and cities around Australia. We are proud of the ABC’s role in this significant national event.

Media contact: Sally Jackson | ABC Communications

[email protected]

Posted at 05:59 PM | | Comments (20)

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