FED:Editorials, Saturday Dec 24, 2011

AAP General News (Australia)
12-24-2011
FED:Editorials, Saturday Dec 24, 2011

SYDNEY, Dec 24 AAP - The realms of church and state have always been separate in Australia,
leaving families and individuals free to pursue their spiritual beliefs, or none, The
Weekend Australian says in its editorial today.

This settled state of affairs is not good enough for a new, radical wave of secularists
who would, if they could, banish every trace of religion from the public square.

At this time of year we respond to the message of peace, goodwill and hope, and we
make time for family and friends, since even in this individualistic, cyber-cocooned world
we are, in essence, social creatures.

Whether lazing at the beach, surfing the web at home or in the air en route to a white
Christmas, The Weekend Australian wishes readers a happy Christmas and a successful new
year .

The Sydney Morning Herald says the Christian religion as a whole is declining steadily
and just as certainly the commercial eruption of the other personality of Christmas seems
to know no bounds.

But the religious version of Christmas suggests each of us can derive a worth from
who we are, not what we own and consume. It suggests that real values of responsibility,
trust, prudence and integrity should be made the pillars on which we build sustainable
communities in which to truly live.

A member of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace has defended the
Occupy phenomenon, noting that the basic sentiment behind the protests aligned with mainstream
principles of Catholic social teaching on the economy. When people suffered from the way
financial markets had operated, Cardinal Peter Turkson said, they had a right to demand
that things be done differently.

He had in mind rules and regulations that protected social welfare rather than excessive
corporate wealth, and the common good over pure individual greed. But as attractive as
that may be, achieving it will also require a general cultural shift.

A good place to start might be in reflection on the real meaning of Christmas and the
extent to which it has been waylaid in our hearts.

Sydney's The Daily Telegraph says just as Australians have fashioned their own Christmas
dining traditions from a panoply of cultures, so too are we working towards a uniquely
inclusive and Australian way of rejoicing in Christmas's deeper significance. Where other
nations find diversity to be the cause of bitter division, we instead find fellowship.

This friendly alchemy can be seen across all cultural groups. The season brings all
of us together in an unselfconscious mood of joy and sharing.

This happy state of affairs shows the modern cultural melting pot called Australia
is actually working. As people should, we just get along.

Australia shows there need be no hatred between people of differing or even opposing
beliefs. There need be no pointless animosity in the present day because of events that
transpired decades or centuries earlier. There need be no seeking out of disagreements.

There need only be the genuine human bonds brought about by shared experience and mutual
respect.

In that spirit, we wish our diverse and dearly loved readership a very Merry Christmas,
to one and all.

Melbourne's Herald Sun says the greatest gifts this Christmas are the children that
doctors thought might not survive.

The families of premature babies never lost faith their infants would come home.

The parents of Bailey Goodwin, born 14 weeks early, twins Madeleine and Bailey Flavelle
born almost three months early, have been told their children will be going home.

Christmas is a special time for children. Nativity scenes celebrate the birth of the
Christ child and remind us that for most Australians Christmas is a religious observance
as well as a holiday.

Most of all, it is a time to be grateful for what we have.

As the stories of these children reflect, life is the greatest gift.

Melbourne's The Age says Christmas is a time of tradition for Australians, both believers
and non-believers.

Although predominantly a Christian country, our multiculturalism means the mixture
of religions, and of the sacred and the secular, is increasingly varied, along with the
celebratory choices available.

Thankfully the coyness that permeates countries, including the US, where references
to Christmas have been termed `the holidays' has been avoided so far.

This offend-no-one principle satisfies a few in the interests of political correctness,
but sacrifices a crucial moment of history in the Christian calendar.

In Australia, this is a time that reaches beyond Christmas-addicts, to hold believers
and non-believers alike in its embrace.

Brisbane's The Courier-Mail says there's so much to be thankful for, despite a year
of terrible and testing sacrifice.

For Queenslanders, this has been a year of sudden, sometimes catastrophic shocks, of
occasional heartbreak; a year of economic uncertainty and fear, of political upheaval
and sometimes fractious public debate.

We got through it thanks to the values we hold dear. We got through it all because
we stuck by our family, our friends and our neighbours - by displaying so often the very
principles Christ himself preached.

The year has taken its toll though, and Queensland has earned a rest and some time
to reflect and to recharge.

Now is the time to not only enjoy the company of friends and family - and indulge in
some of the luxuries of life that we are so lucky to be able to enjoy here - but also
to take time out to contemplate our good fortune.

AAP md/rs

KEYWORD: EDITORIALS

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