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>> The Liberal reshuffle has few implications for Libertarians. We retain the
>> highest taxing treasurer as treasurer and the most socially conservative
>> Prime Minister since the war as PM, so what's new? I would have thought that educating people about the true nature of
government is always a libertarian issue, but (as someone who doesn't describe
themselves as libertarian) I won't
defend that position beyond inviting others to make up their own minds.
>> What should be the real news at the moment for Libertarians, and it is not good
>> news, is the appointment of George Pell to the position of cardinal within the
>> Catholic Church. This has implications accross the globe as John Paul II has
>> now appointed all but five of the present caste of cardinals, thus ensuring a
>> conservative succession. Like Pell, the other recent appointees are doctrinally
>> orthodox, so do not expect to see any progress on the admission of women to the
>> priesthood, or on freedom of choice in relation to artificial contraception or
>> sexuality etc. Pell himself has been a major thorn in the side of Libertarian
>> Catholics in Australia, undermining many of the freedoms gained at Vatican
>> II. He has de-emphasised the primacy of individual conscience, cut down on free
>> speech within the church, and attempted to impose a repressive moralism and
>> authoritarianism on the laity and priesthood alike. Frankly, I don't care who the Catholic Church apoints as their regional
manager any more than I care about who General Motors, the KKK or the Country
Womens Association appoint as their leaders. I'm not forced to be a member or shareholder of any of those organizations,
and I have chosen not to become one. As such, their internal squabblings are
none of my business. What is my business is the fact that the government subsidizes churches
through land-grant subsidies and such like, but interfering with their right to
choose their own leadership is unlikely to change that.
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