Read our responses to key news stories about pagans, and see our archive of PAN Inc in the news.
MEDIA RELEASES | PAGANS IN THE MEDIA
Media Releases
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Sex Witch ‘Not welcome among his own kind.’
"He will not be welcome anywhere within the Pagan community," Mr Garland said. "Many practitioners of witchcraft and other nature-based faiths are young people with families, and the idea of someone like Fletcher turning up to a picnic or other community event would be horrifying to them."
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Danny Nalliah’s witch hunt is off the mark.
Pastor Danny Nalliah's call for Christians from around Australia to gather at Mt Ainslie on October 17th, 2009 is a good old-fashioned witch-hunt.
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Witches have better things to do, Mr Nalliah…
The accusations, aired on the website of controversial Pastor Danny Nalliah, centre on Mt Ainsley in Canberra. Mr Nalliah alleges that fresh blood has been found there, the result of sacrifices by a local ‘witches coven’. He has called on Christians to engage in what he terms ‘spiritual warfare’, and claims that witches ‘are cursing the Federal Parliament’.
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10 years “Not Long Enough” For Jailed Witch
“Fletcher’s crimes are despicable,” PAN Inc Victorian Coordinator Marian Dalton said today. “No one in the Pagan community that I have spoken to wants to see him released from jail.”
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Witches Spell It Out: Fletcher a Predator
Ms Dalton urged young people involved in Wicca and Witchcraft to exercise caution when dealing with others. “Unfortunately there are predators in every community – the Pagan scene is no exception. Young people should always be careful when dealing with strangers, whether it is in a church youth-group, meditation circle or Pagan gathering.”
See a full list of PAN Media Releases
Pagans in the Media
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SMH 21 June 2009
Pagans party as winter solstice brings hope
For most Australians today will be unremarkable, but for prehistoric pagans standing in rock circles like Stonehenge, the winter solstice was a cosmic event marking the end of one year and the beginning of the next.
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ABC Radio National
Can Interfaith Dialogue Break New Ground?
At the recent Interfaith Summit held in Brisbane, issues such as violence towards women and speaking to pagans remained touchy subjects. We hear from members of the Pagan Awareness Network, as well from Toh Swee-Hin, Director of the Multi-Faith Centre of Griffith University, who believes interfaith dialogue should be a normal part of education and receive government funding. Other guests include Dr Pushpa Wood of the Wellington Inter-Faith Council and Sr Wendy Flannery of Believing Women for a Culture of Peace.
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CNS News
Witch Sues Christians Under Controversial Hate Laws
Garland said the network did not want to get money out the Casey councilors, but merely wanted an apology. "We see using the [state legal apparatus] as wielding a stick. We'll bash them with the stick until they listen. I don't care what their personal opinions are, I don't care if they don't change their minds, but I want them to think before they open their mouths ... especially as paid public officials."
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The Melbourne Times via The Haunted Bookshop
Nature worship, spell casting, and, er, meeting at the pub - Melbourne's pagans are more active than ever, and they say their ranks are growing as people seek paths to the sacred outside monotheistic religions. Denise Mooney talks to witches, a Satanist and other proud heathens about what it means to be a modern-day pagan.
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The Courier-Mail, Australia via the Religion News Blog
Pagans: Exorcisms more dangerous than Pagan beliefs
Pagans have hit out at the Catholic Church after a church spokesman blamed an increase in exorcisms on people dabbling in paganism.