Swiss Witch Pardon

From Independent. ie:

The execution in the 18th century of the last European witch to be sentenced to death by a court of law has plunged Switzerland into a debate over whether she should now be pardoned.

Anna Goeldi, a housemaid, was executed by decapitation after being found guilty of witchcraft in the small Alpine town of Glarus in 1782.

Now, 225 years later, a group of local and federal MPs has prepared a parliamentary motion demanding the full rehabilitation of Goeldi, who was tortured into confessing to being a witch then beheaded. Campaigners claim she was the victim of a conspiracy between the eastern town’s juridical and Protestant church authorities.

Goeldi was employed by the family of a rich married politician, who apparently first impregnated and then sacked her, claiming she made his daughter ill by witchcraft and denouncing her to the authorities.

The move, believed to be the first of its kind, follows other recent attempts to right historical wrongs, including a spate of apologies from countries involved in the slave trade. It comes after officials of the Glarus canton and the Swiss church admitted an error was committed 225 years ago – but refused to legally clear Goeldi.

Walter Hauser, a lawyer and author from Glarus, won support for his campaign on Goeldi’s behalf from a cross-party group of MPs, who are now seeking justice in canton and national parliaments.

In a bestselling book published last month, ‘The Juridical Murder of Anna Goeldi’, he cites evidence indicating that the housemaid was a victim of a conspiracy by her former employer, the influential judge and politician Johannes Tschudi.

Read full story here.

 

Christian & Pagan Students in Battle

 From The Scotsman

Some would call it the Devil’s work. Two ancient religions have locked horns in a bizarre “freedom of speech” row that is echoing around the corridors of one of Scotland’s oldest academic institutions.

The University of Edinburgh has granted permission to the Pagan Society to hold its annual conference – involving talks on witchcraft, pagan weddings and tribal dancing – on campus next month. Druids, heathens, shamans and witches are expected to attend what is a major event in the pagan calendar.

But the move has enraged the Christian Union, which accuses the university of double standards after banning one of its events on the “dangers” of homosexuality.

Matthew Tindale, an Edinburgh-based Christian Union staff worker, claimed some faiths and beliefs appeared to be more equal than others on campus.

“This seems to be a clear case of discrimination,” he said. “It’s okay for other religions, such as the pagans, to have their say at the university, but there appears to be a reluctance to allow Christians to do the same. All we are asking for is the tolerance that is afforded to other faiths and organisations.”

The Union has won strong backing from the Catholic Church in Scotland, whose spokesman, Simon Dames, felt that allowing the pagan festival to go ahead while barring the Union meeting was an example of “Christianphobia”.

full article here

 

Concern over Nature Reserve

From Doncaster Today.

A resident has expressed disgust at the state of one of the borough’s beauty spots – claiming it is going to “rack and ruin.”

Phil Daly claims Thorpe Marsh Nature Reserve is blighted by vandalism and is just a pale shadow of what it was like around a decade ago. He said wood from old hides have been left to rot and many of the current ones have been sprayed with graffiti; and he said paths have been neglected.

Mr Daly, of Scawthorpe, said: “It has been left to go to rack and ruin and is being destroyed. It is such a shame because the wildlife here is just amazing – especially the species of birds such as turtle doves. Some of the habitat is being lost everyday.

“Millions of pounds have been spent at Potteric Carr, while Thorpe Marsh, which in my opinion is a better reserve for seeing birds, has been left to rot away. “It is a total ruin, yobs have turned a once peaceful haven for families to visit into a decaying rotten cesspit.

“It is nothing short of a scandal and people have been kept in the dark as to just how bad things have got.”

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust said the site, near Barnby Dun, is owned by a private firm HJ Banks and therefore it is difficult to get funding for its maintenance, management and development. However, it said work is done on the site by one of its field officers. It also added that the extent of the officer’s work is governed by how much funding the trust is given.

Full article here.

 

Unity with Nature & the Forest people

The homes of the Citorek people spread out at the foot of Mount Halimun. The mountain’s name, which means fog, is apt. The thick air hanging in the forests is a striking feature of the landscape.

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The Citorek people are part of the kasepuhan (community) of Banten Kidul, an affiliation of indigenous people that spreads down to Sukabumi and Bogor in West Java.

The Citorek are now Muslim, albeit with the ever-present influence of tribal traditions, which hold them to strong standards of honesty and fairness.

The Citorek believe God has tasked them with taking care of the natural environment. Citorek must ask God’s permission before planting, harvesting, foraging or interfering in any other way with nature.

“The Almighty has entrusted us with nature, therefore we must treat it well,” Kono said.

Part of fulfilling this trust is the imposition of a limit of only one rice harvest per year. “The Earth needs to rest,” he said. After the harvest, the Citorek usually hold a serah pongokan ceremony marking the time of rest and asking for mother earth’s forgiveness for using her. Surya, a villager, said his people never lacked food, despite the once yearly harvest. “Nature always provided us with all we need,” he said.

Click here for full article.

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Mother Campaigns for Paganism in UK Curriculum

A mother is campaigning to have Paganism included on the curriculum in the UK’s schools.

Part-time student Fiona Edden, who has raised her three children as Pagans, has submitted an online petition on the Downing Street website which last night had been signed by 79 people.

Paganism is followed by about 40,000 people in the UK, yet is not studied at schools where the six major religions are on the curriculum, as well as humanism. Pagan groups last night backed the bid, saying there was unfounded “fear and ignorance” about the religion and the nation’s children should be informed.

But education bosses said there were no plans to introduce the religion into schools, although guidelines have recently been drawn up to look into the teaching of minor faiths.

The petition started after Ms Edden’s eldest child Abbey, 14, raised the issue of Paganism with her teachers, but was told there were no plans to include it. As a co-ordinator of the Durham Pagans, Ms Edden, who has two other children, Dane, 12, and Regan, six, submitted the e-petition as she wants their faith to be part of their schooling.

Ms Edden, of Newton Aycliffe, said: “I feel it is abhorrent that they can’t discuss their beliefs openly and I know many Pagan parents feel the same.” She went on to say that her children’s schools have a duty to acknowledge their beliefs and religious festivals, as with other groups. Her opinions were backed by Morgan Rhys Adams, of the Pagan Federation, a group which embraces a range of nature- worshipping faiths.

She said the inclusion of Paganism was “long overdue”, adding: “This is a multicultural society and it’s unfair to ignore one significant group of people. “The stereotype is wrong. These days you get Pagans in all walks of life, from barristers to doctors and even teachers.”

Schools are required to focus their religious education on Christianity. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority is responsible for drawing up the syllabus. A spokesman said there were no plans to incorporate Paganism into the national framework.

 

Witchcraft Act Being Finalised

Bushbuckridge – Mpumalanga is finalising tough new laws that will enable courts to jail anyone involved in “sniffing out” or persecuting people accused of witchcraft.

The proposed Mpumalanga Witchcraft Act will allow prosecutors to impose fines up to R5 000 or prison terms up to five years.  The Act hopes to reduce the number of withcraft related violence in the province, such as incident that took place in Utah village, Bushbuckridge, on Freedom Day.

A 38-year-old woman was accused of witchcraft when a 14-year-old cattle herder collapsed and died.

The boy had complained that he wasn’t feeling well and strange things, which he couldn’t describe, had been biting him. When he collapsed, he his nose and ears were bleeding.

Constable Robert Makhubele said the community had held meetings all day that Friday and police received a tip-off that a mob was planned to burn the woman and her family to death.  Police found a riotous mob walking down the road. The mob soon started throwing stones, damaging five police vans.  Some officers also were badly assaulted and had to be treated at Mapulaneng Hospital.

 

Pagan Teaching Assistant in Unfair Dismissal

From peronneltoday.com

A former teaching assistant who says she is a white witch has denied telling pupils she could teach them spells.

Sommer De La Rosa, who is claiming unfair dismissal against the Dorothy Stringer School in Brighton, told an employment tribunal that she was sacked for belonging to the Wicca faith.

De La Rosa said she was ordered not to wear the pentagram, a religious symbol, and judged for her pagan faith.

But the school and Brighton & Hove Council said it was due to poor attendance and inappropriate disclosures to pupils.

De La Rosa, who worked in the school’s religious studies and music departments for eight months until last May, said she was asked by a pupil whether the religious symbol she wore was a Star of David and whether she was Jewish.

She said: “I told him it was a pentagram and that I am Wiccan. When the pupil asked what this meant, I told him that I am a white witch [and] if he wanted more information he should look on the internet.”

But Mick Hickman, the school’s former head of religious studies, said he had heard a different version of events and that De La Rosa had told pupils she could help them put spells on people. “The pupil had said she said: ‘I can help you put a spell on people’,” he said.

full article here