This episode of Big Little Issues is the second in our three-part series “Abuse in the Church”.

In “Part 2: Willing to Fight Ugly Fights” Dr Janice McRandal speaks to Hilary Jerome Scarsella and Dr Peter Capretto.

Hilary is a Professor of Ethics and Director of Gender, Sexual, and Racial Justice Studies at the Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester, New York.  She is also the Director of Theological Integrity of Into Account; a not-for-profit organisation led by survivors of sexual violence who offer advocacy and support to other sexual violence survivors who have connections to Christian settings.

Peter is a pastoral theologian and philosopher of religion at Phillips Seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is trained clinically as a hospice chaplain and a pastoral psychotherapist and his research and practice are directly concerned with dynamics of trauma, violence and abuse.

In conversation with with these two experts, we uncover how sexual violence is perpetrated and enabled within church communities, and what we might do to fight against this to create church spaces where all people - survivors, the vulnerable, the marginalised - are safe.

Show Notes:

Jennifer Freyd: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Freyd

Rainbow Mennonite Church report: https://intoaccount.org/2020/10/08/catching-flames-into-account-on-the-i-am-mine-series/

This episode of Big Little Issues is the first episode in our three-part series Abuse in the Church.

Content Warning: the following episode contains references to accounts of child sexual abuse which may be distressing for some people. We recognise the significance of survivor and victim stories and acknowledge the strength and resilience shown by survivors to bravely share their stories. For support, contact emergency services on 000, Lifeline 13 11 14 or Blue Knot Foundation 1300 657 380.

In Part 1: The World Intervenes, background is provided into how the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was established. Dr Janice McRandal then speaks to lawyer, Sarah Lim, who is the National Director of the Uniting Church in Australia Redress Ltd. Sarah is deeply committed to the needs of survivors of institutional abuse and restoration of relationships for survivors, the Church and the broader community. We hear from Sarah about how the recommendations from the Royal Commission have been implemented in the Uniting Church. Unfortunately, it becomes clear that there is a worrying disconnect between these recommendations and real change in our churches, where often the bare minimum of accepted practices is taken up. What would it mean if our churches implemented real change - not just legally required child safety training - but a desire to address the theological ideas that have fostered cultures of abuse, including the theological ideas that support ecclesial structures of autocracy, secrecy, and self-protection.

Show Notes:

1. Boston Globe / Spotlight / Abuse in the Catholic Church: http://archive.boston.com/globe/spotlight/abuse/archive/stories/010602_geoghan.htm

2. Video: PM launches Royal Commission into sexual abuse claims https://youtu.be/DJPoLMn1H1I 

3. Transcript: Establishment of Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-18905

You might have heard it said that the bible is a library. If what Christians call the bible is indeed a library, contemporary questions around libraries might help us answer questions about this ‘divine library’. Questions like: "how does a library function in our social world?", "what kind of contemporary library problems and opportunities are we facing?", and "how do academic and public libraries work for the common good?".

Joins us as we talk to academic librarians, Lyndelle Gunton and Anna Lagos, who guide us through today’s critical questions around the production of knowledge and the fair and transparent access to truthful information. And eventually, how this can help us think more critically about the study of theology and the bible.

Show Notes: Click here to access Amy-Jill Levine's article "Supersessionism: Admit and Address Rather than Debate or Deny"

Click here to access Jason Daly's article "Most Antiquities Sold Online Are Fake or Illegal"

Click here to read Lyndelle's recommendation: "Open Knowledge Institutions: Reinventing Universities"

Click here to listen to Anna's podcast recommendation: "Wind of Change"

the cooperative's Big Little Issues Podcast

Episode 1: Space Odyssey

Dr Janice McRandal talks with Dr Luke A. Barnes, Prof David Clough and Prof Mary-Jane Rubenstein about aliens, the multiverse and the billionaire space race.

Show Notes:

Dr Luke A. Barnes

Luke A. Barnes is a Lecturer in astronomy and cosmology. With PhD at the University of Cambridge, he has published papers in the field of galaxy formation and on the fine-tuning of the Universe for life. He is the author, with Geraint Lewis, of A Fortunate Universe: Life in a Finely Tuned Cosmos and The Cosmic Revolutionary's Handbook: (Or: How to Beat the Big Bang), published by Cambridge University Press.

Prof David Clough

David Clough is Chair in Theology and Applied Sciences at the University of Aberdeen.  He is the author of a number of books on animals in Christian theology and ethics including his two-volume monograph entitled On Animals Volume 1, Systematic Theology (2012) and On Animals Volume 2, Systematic Theology (2019). He is also co-founder and co-president of CreatureKind which focuses on the welfare of farmed animals as a faith issue.

Prof Mary-Jane Rubenstein

Mary-Jane Rubenstein is Professor of Religion and Science in Society at Wesleyan University, and is affiliated with the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program. She holds a B.A. from Williams College, an M.Phil. from Cambridge University, and a Ph.D. in from Columbia University. Her research unearths the philosophies and histories of religion and science, especially in relation to cosmology, ecology, and space travel. She is the author of Pantheologies: Gods, Worlds, Monsters (2018), Worlds without End: The Many Lives of the Multiverse (2014), and Strange Wonder: The Closure of Metaphysics and the Opening of Awe (2009). She is also co-editor with Catherine Keller of Entangled Worlds: Religion, Science, and New Materialisms (2017) and co-author with Thomas A. Carlson and Mark C. Taylor of Image: Three Inquiries in Technology and Imagination (2021). Her book in progress is called Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race.