Melbourne Archbishop Peter A Comensoli has welcomed news that the Victorian Government has abandoned the idea of scrapping the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer in the state’s Parliament.
On Wednesday night, the upper house debated a petition to retain the Christian prayer in the Legislative Council after it gathered more than 11,000 signatures, AAP reported.
“It is pleasing that both major political parties in Victoria are now agreed on retaining the practice of reciting the Lord’s Prayer in the Victorian Parliament each sitting day,” Archbishop Comensoli said in a statement yesterday.
“This is a great outcome, which shows the value of people of faith standing up respectfully and being heard.
“It was clear from the debate that the message about the importance of the Lord’s Prayer and its value to the community was heard loud and clear.”
AAP reports Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes denied the prayer was ever on the chopping block.
“There is no proposal to remove the Lord’s Prayer from the Parliament,” Ms Symes told the chamber. “We have not been considering a proposal.”
Ms Symes said the Government had instead initiated some “minor conversations” about opportunities to “modernise the start of the day”.
The prayer was first read to introduce proceedings of the Legislative Council in 1857, with the Legislative Assembly following suit in 1928.
It has since been a mainstay in both houses, accompanied by an Acknowledgement of Country in more recent times.
All other Australian parliaments feature the Lord’s Prayer in some form except for the ACT, which replaced it with an invitation to pray or reflect in 1995.
Ms Symes previously promised Labor would workshop a replacement model to the prayer in the next term of parliament if it won the 2022 Victorian election.
Liberal MP Evan Mulholland, who sponsored the petition, argued the Lord’s Prayer remained a symbol of importance and acknowledgement of responsible service.
“This place is deeply rooted in traditions and our Christian foundations that have made our democracy so strong.”
FULL STORY
Statement from Archbishop Peter A Comensoli on prayer in Parliament (Melbourne Catholic)
Lord’s Prayer axing from parliament off the table (By Callum Goode, AAP Via Yahoo News)
