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More Plans for Papal
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. . . Excommunication for rebels in Colombia
THE VATICAN Three new patrons On October 1, as the first sessions of the European Synod began, the Vatican published a new apostolic letter by Pope John Paul II, in the form of a motu proprio, proclaiming three new patron saints for Europe: Sts. Catherine of Siena, Brigitte of Sweden, and Theresa Benedicta of the Cross (better known as Edith Stein). In the 15-page letter, the Pope explained that, after appropriate consultation with his advisers, he had decided that it would be wise to name the three new female patrons. These “signs of sanctity with a feminine face,” he said, could demonstrate “the providential tendency in the Church and in the society of our time, recognizing more clearly the dignity of women and their special gifts.” The Church has always recognized and promoted the dignity of women, the Pope wrote. Still, the Christian community has steadily progressed in recognizing the proper role of women, and in that process “the role played by sanctity has become decisive.” Explaining the choice of these three patrons, the Holy Father writes that each saint holds a particular significance for the European continent. Edith Stein (1891-1942) was born into a Jewish family, became a brilliant student of philosophy, then converted to the Catholic faith and eventually entered the Carmelite order, the Pope observed. In her philosophical work she took a special interest in the dignity of women and in human freedom, and her written work offers “truly penetrating” insights into “the richness of femininity and the mission of women from the human and religious perspective.” When she converted to Christianity she did not abandon her Jewish roots, but on the contrary rediscovered the fullness of the Hebrew tradition, and lived the remainder of her days in “true spiritual solidarity” with her people, fully partaking in the suffering of the Nazi persecution until she herself became a victim at Auschwitz. As patron of Europe, the Pope wrote, Edith Stein holds up “a standard of respect, of tolerance, and of welcome, which invites men and women to understand and accept each other in spite of differences in race, culture, and religion, in order to form a truly fraternal society.” St. Brigitte of Sweden (1303-1373) offers a model of ecumenical commitment and dedication to Christian unity, the Pope continued. She played an important role in renewing the ties between the Christians of northern Europe and the Church in Rome, from which they had become separated. But the Pope also called attention to the fact that, before entering religious life, St. Brigitte had been a married woman, and mother of eight children. In calling upon her as a patron, he said, the Church recognizes the crucial role played “not only by those who have received a vocation to a life of special consecration, but also those who are called to ordinary occupations, to lay life in the world, and especially to the high vocation of forming a Christian family.” St. Brigitte, he observed, can also serve as a model of married life, because in her life “conjugal love went hand in hand with intense prayer, with study of the Sacred Scriptures, with mortification, and with charity.” St. Catherine of Siena (1347- 1380), a Doctor of the Church, brought together many Christians—including priests and bishops—as disciples. Her correspondence with people all across Europe helped to bring clarity and spiritual insight to many believers, and she was recognized by the popes of her time for her “peaceful influence” on European rulers. Pope John Paul recalled that St. Catherine tirelessly reminded people of all ranks—including kings and popes—of “the urgent need for moral reform,” and did not shrink from telling the pope himself that he must overcome his “worldly prudence and earthly interests,” and return to Rome after the exile in Avignon. The example of these three patrons should inspire the people of Europe, and remind them of their rich Christian patrimony, the Pope argued. He said that the process of building a unified continent offers “great hope” for the future, and urged Catholics to overcome the “ethical indifference and skepticism regarding matters of inalienable principles” that now threaten the continent with “the most appalling specters of our history.” Christians, he said, are called to confront these dangers with new vigor, and to proclaim the joyful vision that is the Christian heritage of Europe and the message of these three new patrons. “Thus may Europe grow!” he wrote at the conclusion of his apostolic letter. A new facade After months of repair work, the scaffolding that has hidden the facade of St. Peter’s Basilica has finally disappeared. For two weeks in late September, workers labored to remove the scaffolding and prepare for the formal ceremony marking the completion of their massive restoration project. “We have rediscovered what was the original idea of the architect,” said Daniele Pergolizzi, a spokesman for the Fabbrica di San Pietro, the commission in charge of the conservation of Vatican buildings. The restoration has also revealed newly discovered tints that will make St. Peter’s gleam for the Jubilee Year 2000 celebrations. Eight columns of the facade are now a dim white while much of the rest is now the color of straw. In the central loggia, two red pilasters stand next to a green-tinted wall. “The shades give depth and perspective to a flat surface,” Pergolizzi explained. “It’s like the columns stand out from the rest of the complex.” On September 30, the Vatican formally unveiled the renovated facade of the ancient basilica, at a ceremony attended by the Italian president and members of the international diplomatic corps. Pope John Paul II—having recently returned from his summer residence in Castel Gandalfo—blessed the new facade, a choir performed the Te Deum by Charpentier, fireworks were set off, and Eurovision televised the event across the continent. The Italian petroleum company ENI, which provided $5.4 million for the renovation process, has already issued a statement proclaiming its “satisfaction and pride” with the results. ENI began the process of restoring the white stone in March 1997, aiming to demonstrate that modern technology can solve environmental problems. In this case, the restoration provided an enormous challenge: the work subsidized by ENI entailed removing the cumulative effect of several centuries of dust, dirt, and chemical pollution on the stone that had originally been used to build St. Peter’s early in the 17th century. The renovation process involved a careful inch-by-inch inspection of the blackened stone, the use of gentle chemicals, washing with jets of compressed water, and the “artificial whitening” of the stone through the use of a new chemical treatment. Beatification for Fatima seers Two of the three children to whom the Virgin Mary appeared at Fatima in 1917 will be beatified on April 9, 2000. Bishop Serafim de Sousa Ferreira e Silva of Leiria-Fatima, Portugal, made that announcement on October 13, the anniversary of the final apparition at Fatima and the famous “miracle of the sun.” Francois and Jacinta Marto, who died in 1919 and 1920, respectively, will be beatified in Rome rather than at the Fatima shrine, the bishop announced. Vatican sources indicated that although Pope John Paul II had expressed his willingness to travel to Fatima for the ceremony, his busy schedule for the Jubilee Year made it difficult to arrange another trip. Trips confirmed On September 10, the Vatican finally issued a formal announcement of the papal journey to India and Georgia, which will take place in November. Although the Pope’s plan to visit India has been public knowledge for more than a month, the Vatican had never confirmed the plans for that trip until the September 10 announcement. In that same announcement, the Vatican also confirmed the more recent story that the Holy Father will visit the former Soviet republic of Georgia on his return voyage. The Vatican press office said that “logistical problems” with the plans had caused the delay in making the official announcement. Although a detailed schedule of the trip was not made public, the announcement did confirm that Pope John Paul will arrive in India on November 5, remain in Delhi until November 8, then fly to Georgia and return to Rome on November 9. Catechism of social teaching In May 2000, Pope John Paul II will publish a catechism of Catholic social doctrine. Archbishop Francois Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, made that announcement on October 7, as he addressed the European Synod. The preparation of this official compendium of Catholic social teaching has been entrusted to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, which has been consulting with bishops from all around the world in the course of preparing the volume. Archbishop Nguyen told reporters that the catechism would rely heavily on the social encyclicals of Pope John Paul II and his predecessors. While the publication of an official work of Catholic social teaching has been anticipated for some time, the Vietnamese-born archbishop explained that the process of consultation had been a long one, and only now was he able to set a date for the eventual publication of the work. Archbishop Nguyen told the Synod assembly that Church social teaching is “a privileged instrument of dialogue with a new society,” and a “means of evangelization” which should be used to bring people closer to the truths of the Catholic faith. The publication of the catechism, he observed, could be an important aspect of the Jubilee celebration, insofar as it could help the world see the wisdom of Catholicism in a new light. No quick beatification for Pope Pius XII The cause for the beatification of Pope Pius XII is proceeding on a normal schedule, but he will not be beatified in the year 2000, according to the relator for his cause. Father Peter Gumpel, a German Jesuit, has been charged by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints with the task of compiling the documentation on the cause of Pope Pius. He told the Roman news agency I Media that the process “is not far enough advanced” to allow for beatification in 2000. Father Gumpel said there are no particular roadblocks to impede the process, but “it is a tremendous amount of work,” because the pontificate of Pius XII lasted 19 years, and the beatification process entails a thorough study of the Vatican records during that complex period. Pope Pius XII also wrote a great deal, and his writings must be collected and studied. Observing that Pope Pius XII wrote 13 encyclicals, Father Gumpel adds that “he is the individual most frequently cited in the documents of the Second Vatican Council.” An Italian Jesuit priest, Father Antonio Molinari, is the postulator for the cause of Pius XII. He is currently editing a positio, or synthesis of the case for beatification. The first two volumes of that work are now being printed, Father Gumpel reported; but another two volumes are anticipated. When that work is complete, a team of nine theologians will study the several thousand pages involved, and submit their judgment to the cardinals and bishops of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. They in turn will submit a judgment to the Pope, who—on their advice—could authorize the Congregation to issue a decree recognizing the “heroic virtue” of the candidate for beatification. Once such a decree is issued, there is an additional step prior to beatification: the approval of a miracle attributed to the candidate’s intercession. “While it is difficult to predict how much time this all will take, at a minimum it would be two years,” Father Gumpel reported. On the other hand, the German Jesuit said that the cause for Pope Pius XII would not be affected by the renewed controversy over allegations that he did not do enough to stop the Nazi Holocaust. The Vatican Congregation, Father Gumpel said, “is not impressed by publications that have no historic validity.” That was a clear reference to the new book, Hitler’s Pope, in which author John Cornwell resurrects old charges that Pope Pius XII aided the growth of the Nazi regime. Father Gumpel said that the Cornwell book ignores the historical evidence, which clearly shows that those charges are baseless. Cornwell, he charged, displays an ignorance of both German and Vatican history, and a weak understanding of international negotiations. At a press conference at the Vatican on October 8, 150 journalists heard the Jesuit historian, Father Pierre Blet, discuss his research on the activities of Pope Pius XII during World War II. For more than an hour, Father Blet answered reporters’ questions and provided examples of the efforts by Pope Pius to curb Nazi aggression and to save Jews from the prison camps of the Third Reich. The press conference, too, was clearly a response to the publication of Hitler’s Pope. Father Blet dismissed that book as a work “without historical value.” The French Jesuit said that even his own latest book on Pope Pius, published in French in 1998, did not offer any new revelations about the conduct of the Holy See during the war. That topic had been thoroughly explored, he pointed out, in the 12-volume collection of documents from the Vatican archives, published in a series of installments between 1965 and 1981. But Father Blet observed that the collection “remains unknown, even among historians.” That massive collection of documents had been prepared by a four-man team of Jesuit scholars, at the request of Pope Paul VI, in response to the emerging criticisms of Pope Pius XII. Father Blet is the sole surviving member of that research team. Jubilee beatification for past popes? At an October meeting, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints could approve a pronouncement on the “heroic virtue” of Pope John XXIII, paving the way for his beatification. Archbishop Jose Saraiva Martins, the prefect of the Congregation, has disclosed that the cardinals and bishops who make up the Congregation will hear the final presentation of the cause for John XXIII, and then vote on the authorization of a formal decree recognizing his “heroic virtue.” If that decree is approved, he would be proclaimed “Venerable.” Then, the subsequent recognition of a miracle attributed to the late pontiff’s intercession would fulfill the requirements for his beatification. It is possible, therefore, that John XXIII could be beatified during the year 2000. The decision of the Congregation—on the cause of Pope John XXIII and on other pending causes—will not become public until December, when the decrees authorized by the Congregation are read in the presence of Pope John Paul II. The formal reading of these decrees usually takes place three times each year: before Christmas, at Easter, and in July. Pope Pius IX, too, could be beatified in the year 2000, according to an article appearing on September 23 in the Italian daily Il Messaggero. The story reported that the Italian bishops’ conference has recommended in favor of the beatification. The cause for the beatification of Pius IX, whose pontificate lasted from 1846 to 1878, had been completed in 1986, with the formal recognition of a miracle attributed to the late pope’s intercession. However, Pope John Paul II has delayed scheduling the beatification, because Pope Pius IX is a pivotal figure in the development of the Italian nation, and the Holy Father wanted to consult Italian historians and politicians about the possible impact of the beatification. Pope Pius IX reigned during the period when Rome was taken over by troops under King Victor Emmanuel, and proclaimed the capital of the new Italian republic. The Pope, at that time, was confined to the Vatican, and considered himself a prisoner of the new regime. However, the Italian bishops—together with leading politicians and historians—have advised the Vatican that the political controversy surrounding the pontificate of Pius IX has now abated, and his beatification would not have real negative consequences on the Italian political scene. If the Congregation for the Causes of Saints also clears the way for the beatification of Pope John XXIII, it is possible that the two former pontiffs would both be beatified during the year 2000. Popes Pius IX and John XXIII have something else in common: each convened a Vatican Council. Pope Pius IX called together Vatican I; John XXIII convened Vatican II. New push on world debt The lead singer of the Irish rock group U2 has joined with Pope John Paul II in a high-profile effort to encourage the cancellation of debts owed by the world’s poorest countries. The singer known simply as Bono was among a delegation of Jubilee 2000 supporters invited by the Holy Father to visit his summer residence on September 23—100 days before the start of the official millennium celebration. Among others involved in the meeting were the musician Quincy Jones, promoter Bob Geldorf, Harvard economist Jeffrey Sachs, Afro-American activist Randall Robinson, and Rome’s Mayor Francesco Rutelli; all are members of the group Jubilee 2000, which has dedicated itself to advancing the Pontiff’s proposal for the annulment of international debts in the year 2000. At the meeting, Pope John Paul called for “decisive steps” to ease the burden of debt. The Holy Father said that debt is an “urgent” problem for poor countries, and expressed regrets that wealthier nations have appeared hesitant to lighten that load. “It is the poor people,” he pointed out,” who pay the cost of that indecision and delay.” Debt relief is an essential precondition for an effective fight against poverty, the Holy Father argued. But he did concede that it would be only one step in a “much larger task” of lifting the Third World nations out of poverty. That task would also require prudent economic policies and efficient administration, he added. He stressed the importance of education and health care, too, as factors in eliminating dependence and poverty. One week after that meeting, US President Bill Clinton advanced his own proposal for forgiveness of all debts owed to the United States by the world’s poorest countries—a move which marked a substantial step forward from Clinton’s previous position, but still offered only a small measure of relief, since most Third World debts are owed to private banks or international lending agencies. “Today I am directing my administration to make it possible to forgive 100 percent of the debt these countries owe to the United States,” Clinton said on September 30. He cautioned that such relief should be made available only if the nations agreed to use their newly available funds to “finance basic human needs.” The proposal would not affect the billions of dollars of private loans guaranteed by the US government. Ethics in business In a message to participants in a conference on Catholic social teaching in the global economy, Pope John Paul II encouraged the development of international institutions which could help to protect the ethical character of financial transactions, by upholding the notion of the common good. The Pope met on September 11 with members of the Vatican foundation Centesimus Annus-Pro Pontefice, a group which was founded in 1993 and charged with development of Church teachings on questions involving issues such as peace, international solidarity, immigration, and the global economic system. The papal message addressed the problem of “financialization” in the global economy. The Pontiff observed that, because of the huge proliferation of financial transactions, it is possible to amass huge sums of money by trading alone, without performing any other constructive work. Faced with that “delicate situation,” he suggested that it would be desirable to formulate new ethical codes, oriented toward the common good. In fact, he argued, the development of such codes is now “a duty in justice,” in order to prevent forms of global manipulation which could produce “disastrous consequences” for those least able to protect themselves. A healthy economic system, he said, must be guarded by “firm conviction in the primacy of the human person, and the principle that the goods of the earth are intended for everyone’s use.” Manual of indulgences The Apostolic Penitentiary—the Vatican tribunal with authority over matters of conscience—has prepared a 100-page document on indulgences, in preparation for the Jubilee Year. The new document offers the faithful a series of reminders on ways in which to atone for sins: through prayer, the sacraments, acts of charity, penance, and interior conversion. Cardinal William Baum, the head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, said that the new Manual of Indulgences should clarify the teachings of the Church regarding indulgences. In particular, he said, it represents “a real contribution to dialogue with the Lutherans.” During the Reformation, Martin Luther had highlighted abuses in the use of indulgences—abuses which were formally condemned by the Council of Trent. The new Manual of Indulgences, the 4th edition, contains no new teaching. However, it does stress a point that was emphasized by Pope Paul VI in his apostolic constitution on the topic: that any indulgence is dependent upon the proper disposition of the individual. The manual also contains some examples which carry a contemporary flavor, such as the suggestion that praying along with the Pope by means of a television or radio broadcast could be a proper form of reparation and a means of obtaining an indulgence. The document also emphasizes the value of “public acts of witness to the faith.” Plea for reconciliation At his weekly public audience on Wednesday, September 15, Pope John Paul II emphasized the importance of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In a piece of advice to priests, the Pontiff observed, “One is a good confessor if one is a good penitent.” Priests who make frequent use of the sacrament, the Holy Father reasoned, “realize that they are depositories of a power that comes from on high.” As they come to appreciate the opportunity for receiving absolution from their own sins, he said, priests should grow in “those human and spiritual qualities which are so necessary for rapport with the consciences” of those who come to them for confession. For that reason, he insisted, confessors cannot afford to neglect their own spiritual progress, and must get to confession regularly.
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 ITALY Former leader acquitted The Vatican newspaper gave prominent coverage to an Italian court decision that cleared former Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti on charges of conspiracy in the 1979 murder of a journalist. The September 26 edition of L’Osservatore Romano reported that Andreotti had been “found innocent of the most infamous of accusations.” Andreotti, who is now a “senator for life,” had been living under suspicion for seven years, after being accused of involvement in the murder of Mino Pecorelli on March 20, 1979. The conspiracy case had been based on the testimony of Mafia members who had cooperated with prosecutors. Last week’s court decision cleared him, along with five co-defendants. L’Osservatore Romano observed that the shocking charges against a popular political figure had divided the Italian nation. The newspaper also questioned the dominant role played in the case by the pentiti, or former Mafia figures, whose testimony alone drove the investigation. While Andreotti himself has said that he is satisfied with the court verdict, the Vatican newspaper argued that this was “not just a personal issue,” and suggested that Italian law-enforcement authorities should take a careful look at the use of informants and collaborators in cases involving organized crime. Threats to family life At a meeting of representatives of the European bishops’ conferences, Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi of Genoa spoke out against the drive to give “false equality” under the law to common-law marriages and domestic partnerships. Such moves, he said, would work “to the detriment of the institutions of society.” Cardinal Tettamanzi was addressing a meeting organized by the Pontifical Council for the Family. He stressed that the importance of the family, based on marriage, is not a matter of religious belief, but a fact confirmed by human experience. “The requirement that the family must be founded on marriage is not a confessional pretension, but a question of social welfare,” he argued. Consequently, he continued, when public authorities guarantee the stability of the family, they are providing a service which is “not strictly religious, but fundamentally human.” The cardinal therefore condemned the “cultural forces contrary to this conviction,” which he predicted could lead to “the destruction of the institution of the family.” Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, the president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, told the gathering that many different European countries are now facing choices which could pose “some of the most important challenges of the third millennium.” He called for efforts to draw “the clearest possible line of demarcation between the families that are based on marriage and those that are not.” Cause opened for Mafia victim The Congregation for the Causes of Saints has given its approval to the opening of a cause for a Sicilian priest who was killed by the Mafia. Father Giuseppe Puglisi of Palermo died in September 1993, in a Mafia “hit” that was evidently provoked by his frequent public condemnations of organized crime. Father Puglisi was also known for his selfless work with poor young people in Sicily. In a September 15 ceremony in Palermo, Cardinal Salvatore De Giorgi presided at the formal opening of the cause—the process that could lead to beatification—for the slain priest. That ceremony came exactly six years after Father Puglisi’s death: one year after the minimum time required before a cause can be opened, and six months after the Vatican Congregation had approved the opening of the diocesan investigation. On October 5, a reputed Mafia boss was convicted of ordering the murder of Father Puglisi, who was serving in one of Palermo’s poorest neighborhoods when he was shot in the back as he entered his home. Giuseppe Graviano was sentenced to life in prison for ordering the murder. The gunman, Salvatore Grigoli, confessed in 1997 to shooting Father Puglisi on orders from the mobsters and was sentenced to 16 years in prison. The priest was killed just months after Pope John Paul II toured Sicily, urging priests to speak out against organized crime, which has held a stranglehold on the region.
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ENGLAND Military policy overruled Britain could be forced to lift its ban on homosexuals serving in the armed forced following a September ruling by the European Court of Human Rights. The ruling was the result of a test case brought by three homosexuals and a lesbian who were fired from the services when their homosexuality became known. The court ruled that their right to privacy had been violated. The British government immediately suspended all investigations of suspected homosexual personnel pending a new policy to be determined by the Ministry of Defence. John Beckett, Graeme Grady, Duncan Lustiger-Prean, and Jeanette Smith, members of the Navy and Air Force, began their legal challenge in 1995 and were supported by the British gay rights group, Stonewall. The Strasbourg judges dismissed evidence from the government that homosexuality would cause disciplinary problems and ruled that “neither the investigation nor the discharges of the applicants were justified within the meaning of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.” That article guarantees the right of citizens to preserve their own private lives. Service chiefs have refused to comment at this stage, claiming the issue was “far too sensitive.” But a former Royal Air Force chaplain said that, while the Church ruled out any discrimination on the basis of sexuality alone, he feared openly gay servicemen and women would suffer bullying or worse. “This ruling could actually make the situation more acute for them,” he said. “Although they may no longer be thrown out of the forces, they could become the victims of barrack room taunts. And these situations can often lead to more serious violence.” Protecting the family British pro-family groups have condemned plans to give homosexuals the same legal status as married couples. The British government is currently considering proposals to give all cohabiting couples the right to apply for alimony if they split up, to inherit a dead partner’s estate, and to assign insurance benefits to a partner. Janette Woodford, president of the Union of Catholic Mothers said it was “regrettable” to change a law which “seeks to promote the best—that is heterosexual couples marrying.” “We don’t seek to condemn,” said Woodford, “but we do want to recognize and honor those who are willing to stand up and be publicly counted for their intention to create a permanent stable marriage and family.” She added, “We do not believe that same-sex partnerships show respect for the Maker’s instructions and we therefore don’t think they should expect the rights which are properly attributable to those who accept the responsibilities of their created sexuality—male and female, united in love, and open to new life.” Valerie Ritches of the group Family and Youth Concern added that the proposals “take away from the status of marriage and reduce it to the lowest common denominator.” Controversial play A controversial play by Terrence McNally, which depicts Jesus and his disciples as homosexuals, will have its London premier at the end of October, despite opposition from Christians. Corpus Christi angered Christians when it first opened in New York earlier this year, and there were threats of violence at the Manhattan Theatre Club. The play was also blasted during a run at last summer’s Edinburgh Festival. Director Stephen Hendry, who identifies himself as a Catholic, has denied that the play is an attack on Christianity. In an interview with the Catholic Times he said: “We’re not trying to say that Jesus was gay. We’re just looking at his passion in a modern setting. Unfortunately the people who should really see the play are the people who will probably stay away.” Outrage!, the extremist homosexual rights group which has disrupted services at Westminster Cathedral with protests, has defended the play on the basis that “there is no authoritative information about Jesus’ sexuality.” “We don’t know for sure whether Jesus was straight, gay, bisexual or celibate,” said spokesman Peter Tatchell. “There is no evidence for the Church’s presumption that he was heterosexual. And since there is no proof, the theological basis of Church homophobia is all the more shaky and indefensible.”
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SCOTLAND Sex-ed debate Debate has flared up in Scotland over sex education in schools after a 13-year-old boy admitted raping a 7-year-old girl following sex education classes. Lawyers for the unidentified boy told a court hearing that he admitted trying to rape the girl several times and that he had been motivated by the sex education classes. “He had received sex education and that seemed to stimulate interest on his part in sexual matters,” lawyer Graham Robertson told the judge, Lord Eassie. “The time developed when he decided to experiment and try to play doctors and nurses.” Sentencing was deferred while the teen undergoes psychiatric evaluation. A spokesman for the Catholic bishops of Scotland used the news to take aim at sex education curricula. “As far as I can see, sex education in schools would appear to be instruction, not education,” Msgr. Tom Connolly said in a news conference. “Education involves the family as well as teachers, and children should be taught that sex is an expression of love within a permanent relationship: marriage.” Supporters of sex education said attacking the instruction was not the answer. “From everything that has been researched, sex education actually leads to young people not having sex early,” Jackie Nicholson of the Family Planning Association of Scotland told the Herald newspaper in Glasgow. Critics dispute that claim and cite statistics suggesting that sex education actually leads to more experimentation.
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IRELAND New peace proposal A Northern Ireland commission headed by the former British governor of Hong Kong has proposed renaming the territory’s police force, and the introduction of a more equal distribution of Catholics and Protestants in its ranks. Chris Patten’s eight-member commission proposed renaming the Royal Ulster
Constabulary as the Northern Ireland Police Service and reducing the 13,000-strong force
to 7,500 members so long as the current cease-fires of militant groups hold. The new
police force would also seek to change the balance of religious representation among its
members, who are now 92 percent Protestant, in order to reflect Northern Ireland’s
population, which is 55 percent Protestant and 45 percent Catholic. But the major Protestant party, the Ulster Unionists, condemned Patten’s proposals to change the police force’s name and badge—a British crown atop an Irish harp—as “a gratuitous insult” to officers past and present.
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WHALES Priest dismissed A south Wales priest who is currently serving a jail term in Britain for child sex offenses has been officially laicized by the Vatican. John Lloyd of the Archdiocese of Cardiff was dismissed from the clerical state by a decree from the Congregation for Clergy. A letter to the priests of Cardiff described the action as “exceptional,” and may have been the first time such punishment had been meted out to a priest in Britain for several centuries. Lloyd, a priest for 32 years, was convicted last February of sexual offenses against two altar boys and a 23-year-old woman and the rape of a 16-year-old girl. Passing sentence at Cardiff Crown Court, Justice Rougier said: “There can be few grosser breaches of trust than when a priest sexually abuses a young child while exercising his pastoral function. And I find the description of what you did to that girl almost unbelievable.” Even before sentence was passed, Cardiff Archbishop John Aloysius Ward said that Lloyd would no longer be allowed to continue his priestly ministry. “My sympathy and that of the priests and people of the archdiocese goes out to all those who have suffered through his actions and to their families,” said Archbishop Ward. “My first concern is for them. The families had every right to expect a high standard of pastoral care from Father Lloyd and they justifiably believe that their trust has been betrayed.”
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AUSTRIA Warning against hatred Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna said on October 10 that Israel’s fears of a “new hatred” rising in Austria may be well founded, and called on his countrymen to remember the grim lessons of the Nazi era. Israel has threatened to reassess its relationship with Austria if the anti-immigrant Freedom Party joins the next Austrian government, calling the party “neo-Nazi.” Cardinal Schönborn, who was visiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem at that time he issued his statement, said: “I share the concerns of those who are worried about possible developments of new hatred.” “It is very understandable that Austria is watched, especially in this country, with great concern because the history of my country, of our country, has a burden of what has happened in the past,” Cardinal Schönborn told reporters. “We must be very attentive to what our neighbors, our friends, the other countries say about our country,” he said. The cardinal also emphasized that 75 percent of Austrians did not vote for the Freedom Party in the recent general elections, in which that party came in second. Party leader Jörg Haider has been criticized for making comments that seemed to be supportive of the Nazis, including once praising Hitler’s employment policies and describing the Waffen SS as “decent men of character.” Social Democratic Austrian Chancellor Viktor Klima has assured Israel that Haider’s party will not be invited to join the cabinet.
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SLOVENIA Papal visit During a one-day visit to Slovenia on September 19, Pope John Paul II said that “authentic patriotism” would be the key to peace in the Balkans and throughout Europe. At a liturgical ceremony in the city of Maribor, the Holy Father presided at the
beatification of Anton Martin Slomsek (1800-1862), who had once been the bishop of that
city, and is regarded as a father of Slovenian cultural identity. The outdoor liturgy took place amid warm sunshine, although gusts of wind swept across the temporary altar. The ceremony was marked by the performance of a polyphonic chant composed especially for the occasion, in accordance with a rich Slovenian musical tradition. During his homily, the Pope offered Bishop Slomsek as a model for the Slovenians of the third Christian millennium. While the newly beatified bishop was certainly a patriot, he observed, he never gave in to “myopic nationalism,” which is a kind of “self-centered opposition” to the aspirations of neighboring peoples. His efforts to educate the people in their own cultural tradition was “an important contribution to your independence,” the Pope affirmed. John Paul contrasted that positive contribution to the “ferocious ethnic conflicts” which menace the Balkan region today. He urged the faithful to live “with the same sincerity, to live together and collaborate with people of other nationalities, other cultures, and other religions.” At the end of the ceremony, he addressed a similar message to a group of pilgrims from Croatia, recalling “the innocent victims of wars and totalitarian regimes” there, and saying that the people once oppressed by Communism should now unite in pursuit of the common good. After the ceremony, the Pope met with the Slovenian bishops and the 300 delegates to the Slovenian synod, and prayed at the tomb of Blessed Martin Slomsek, before returning to Rome. The trip to Slovenia was the 88th international trip of this pontificate. Pope John Paul has now presided at 932 beatifications and 284 canonizations.
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YUGOSLAVIA UN implicated in Milosevic racial plans The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) lied to the media and to the US Congress to cover up its work with Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic to lower the birth rate of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, according to the Population Research Institute (PRI). PRI said allegations of UNFPA work with Milosevic’s government arose after the UN agency announced its intention to extend operations in Yugoslavia to target Kosovars, after that population was forced into exile while suffering ethnic cleansing at the hand of Milosevic. The population group released a series of media reports and UNFPA disclosures as the US Congress voted on foreign aid that included funding of the international population control programs. In June a UNFPA spokesman said the agency “only provides assistance where it is invited to help.” UNFPA officials also confirmed to the New York Post in August that “Milosevic invited the agency into Kosovo—and tellingly, nowhere else in Serbia.” A UNFPA spokesman also told a PRI investigator in a taped message that the Yugoslavian government “asked us to do what we could . . . and we had just completed a needs assessment at the request of the Yugoslavian government in Kosovo.” He had added that he expected a regular population control program there. In March of this year—just before the onset of NATO bombing and the beginning of a Yugoslavian offensive which prompted a refugee crisis in Kosovo—Yugoslavia’s Minister of Family Concerns, Rada Trajkovic, stated publicly that “the state must find a way to stimulate the birthrate of the populations in central and northern Serbia and to limit or forbid the enormous increase of the birthrate in Kosovo.”
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UNITED NATIONS War of words In an unusually blunt statement issued September 27, the Vatican emphatically rejected the message—contained in a series of news reports during the previous week—that the Holy See was relenting in its opposition to UN family-planning programs that emphasize abortion and contraception. Joaquin Navarro-Valls, the head of the Vatican press office, remarked that “the Holy See has not changed its well-known position.” Navarro-Valls used the occasion to underline the Vatican’s opposition to the use of abortion, abortifacients, and artificial contraceptives as means of family planning. Earlier Nafis Sadik, the head of the UN’s Population Fund (UNFPA), had issued a public statement claiming that the Holy See was backing off its opposition to the UNFPA’s efforts. Sadik made that remark in a September 22 report on the activities undertaken by her agency since the 1993 Cairo Conference. Navarro-Valls said that in accepting the report of the Cairo Conference, the Vatican had not endorsed the UNFPA’s definition of certain controversial terms such as “contraception,” “family planning,” “reproductive rights,” “female controlled methods,” “the widest possible range of family planning services,” “new options,” and “under-utilized methods.” The Holy See, he continued, would oppose any “‘family planning’ services which do not respect the freedom of the spouses, human dignity, and the human rights of the interested parties.” Specifically, the Vatican spokesman continued, the Holy See would continue emphatically
to oppose any family-planning campaign which includes abortion or “emergency
contraception.” He also said that the Vatican would continue to speak out against an
approach to sexuality—often found in the work of the UNFPA—which is
“inspired by a vision of sexuality which does not give due consideration to the
dimension of reciprocity that is constituted by the expression of mutual love.”
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IRAQ Pope’s trip in jeopardy? A September 28 report in Iraq’s official news agency criticized Pope John Paul II’s planned December visit to the country, quoting seven Islamic scholars who accused the Holy Father of using the trip to excuse the West’s “crimes against Arabs.” The Iraqi News Agency’s report was the first open criticism from an official source since the Holy Father said he desired to visit Ur, the birthplace of the biblical patriarch Abraham in northern Iraq. The report charged the Pope’s visit was intended to persuade Christians that they should forgive Jews for what the Iraqi leaders described as their “atrocities,” including the killing of Jesus. Muslims recognize Jesus as a prophet. The Islamic scholars also said that the Pontiff should condemn UN trade sanctions against Iraq—a condemnation the Holy Father has already voiced repeatedly. The seven academics are part of a team assembled by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein as part of an effort to rewrite the country’s history. After the publication of that criticism, the Vatican temporarily suspended preparations for the scheduled papal visit to Iraq, saying that the Holy See was receiving mixed signals from the Iraqi regime. Pope John Paul II has stressed that his trip would be a purely religious pilgrimage. But he cannot reach the site of Ur—which is located at what is now the city of Tal al Muqayyar—without first traveling to Baghdad. And in the Iraqi capital city, some powerful forces are evidently striving to make the papal visit a political event. Since the September 29 criticism of the Pope in the Iraqi government news service—and the accompanying demand that he must publicly denounce “American-Zionist aggression”—appeared to reflect the thinking of some government leaders, the Vatican decided to suspend preparations for the visit, pending a clarification from Baghdad. Vatican sources indicated that the clarification could come in the form of a formal written invitation to the Pontiff; to date, the Iraqi government had only extended an oral invitation. Political analysts believe that the Iraqi regime is divided about the papal visit. Some figures close to Saddam Hussein believe that the Pope’s presence would have a positive impact, since it would call attention to the suffering borne by the Iraqi people as the result of an international embargo. Others, however, point out that Pope John Paul could direct some blunt criticism against the country’s totalitarian government. Vatican sources, speaking privately, indicate that the Pope still intends to make his pilgrimage to Iraq. Although the United States has protested against the Pontiff’s plans, no real obstacle has been placed in the way of a visit, and the Holy See expects to resolve the latest political difficulties with the Iraqi regime. However, if those problems are not resolved quickly, the papal visit—currently scheduled for December 2- 5—might be moved back to a later date. Despite the setbacks in plans, the patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church assured reporters that the papal visit will take place. Patriarch Raphael I Bidawid said: “We are assured that his Holiness will come to Iraq. There is no change to his agenda or program.” Patriarch Raphael told the Royal Institute for International Affairs that he has not received any indication that the trip is in jeopardy and added the visit will have no political overtones. He also said protocol indicated that the Pope should meet with President Saddam Hussein. “I think the president will meet him. There is nothing strange in that,” he said. “It is my conviction the Holy Father will not discuss anything political.”
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LEBANON Bomb
kills deacon A deacon at a Maronite Catholic church in Beirut was killed by a bomb on Sunday, October 3, just minutes after the celebration of the Liturgy. Eyewitnesses said Deacon Shafik Rajha was killed instantly when he opened a bag which had been left unattended in the church building, and a bomb which had been concealed inside the bag exploded. The blast occurred at the St. Gregorius church in the Dekwaneh suburb of Beirut. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bomb attack, the first such terrorist incident in Beirut for more than two years. Lebanese troops surrounded the church and prevented reporters and cameramen from approaching it for more than an hour. In 1994, a bomb explosion occurred in the Maronite church of Sayyidet al-Najat in Zouk, north of Beirut, killing 11 and wounding 59, in the bloodiest incident to take place inside a church since the end of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war. |
ISRAEL Nazareth mosque still in dispute The apostolic nuncio to Israel has rejected an Israeli proposal to allow an Islamic mosque to be built next to Nazareth’s Basilica of the Annunciation, in a large square just outside the revered Catholic church. Nazareth’s Christians and Muslims have squabbled over the plans for months. Archbishop Pietro Sambi said an Israeli government proposal to build the mosque next to the church was “provocative.” “The Vatican has expressed its opposition. If a mosque is needed, very well. But not in that place,” he said. “The Holy Father has a position of strong solidarity with the Christians of Nazareth and with the Christians of the Holy Land. He would like to see them duly protected in their rights and in their dignity.” Israel’s Public Security Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami has said he favors allowing a mosque to be built in part of an area in front of the church that the city council cleared two years ago to make way for a public plaza for Jubilee Year pilgrims. Ben-Ami said his proposal would not “infringe by any means on the rights of the Christians.” In a September letter to Prime Minister Ehud Barak, the leaders of several different Christian communities stated that “the place proposed to build the mosque is not compatible with the ample vision of peace and harmony among all the religious communities in Nazareth.” Muslims have occupied the location in Nazareth for months, claiming that the land properly belongs to the local Waqf, or Islamic trust. Ben-Ami said the government’s solution was designed to satisfy both parties. “Our solution is based on the continuous existence of a very large square that will allow free access to that central element in the religious life in Nazareth, which is the church,” Ben-Ami said. Ben-Ami’s office said a final decision on the mosque proposal would be made by a ministerial committee. It was not clear when the committee would make the decision. Freedom of access The Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem has urged the Israeli government to take the necessary measures to allow a greater access to pilgrims to the different pilgrimage places in the Holy Land. In a statement released on October 12, Patriarch Sabbah asked for “total and free access to all the Holy Places for both local and international visitors and pilgrims.” Many of the pilgrimage places are of difficult access due to security restrictions, which force pilgrims to wait long periods of time. Patriarch Sabbah held a meeting with the Israeli Minister of Tourism, Lipkin-Shahak, to discuss the issue. During their meeting, the proposal to build a mosque adjacent to the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth was also discussed. “Cult” members rejected On October 11 the Israeli government refused entry to 26 Irish and Romanian Catholics, saying they were members of “an extreme Christian cult.” Members of the group said Israeli police used excessive force on them. A police spokesman said officers used reasonable force when the visitors refused to return to their ship after being denied entry. Israel’s government has said it fears it will become a target of doomsday cults as the new millennium approaches and has set up special police units to screen tourists at the borders. In January the country expelled a US group which it claimed was planning to conduct terrorist actions at holy sites. Helena O’Leary, a spokesman for the Irish and Romanian group, said the 26 visitors were in the customs house at the port of Haifa when they were told they would not be admitted and must return to their ship. They refused to move until they had spoken to the Irish ambassador, and it was then that the police beat them, O’Leary said. “I understand Israel’s security concerns,” she said, “but we are simple Catholics with a very strong commitment to non-violence. We didn’t hit back at the police.”
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Nun attacked On September 23 the Archdiocese of Patna, in the eastern state of Bihar, revealed that a Catholic nun had been assaulted by two men earlier in the week, in another attack by Hindu zealots against Christians. Sister Ruby of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary was kidnapped as she traveled by bus between Patna, the state capital, and another city, according to a police report. Two men who had been traveling with the nun dragged her from the vehicle and physically assaulted and humiliated her. “This ugly and inhuman act has shocked the entire Christian community in north Bihar and is creating an atmosphere of fear and panic among the Christian minority,” said Archbishop Benedict Osta of Patna, who informed the police chief about the incident. “I was informed about the incident by the archbishop only today,” replied K.A. Jacob, head of state police, who said that he had immediately ordered an investigation. Archbishop Alan Basil de Lastic, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, expressed the “great concern of the Christian community” over the assault. “It is an affront to human dignity and an insult to Indian womanhood,” he wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. The letter went on to complain that while Vajpayee was busy campaigning for the re-election of his coalition government, “the attacks on the Christian community are still continuing.” Bishop Victor Henry Takur of Bettiah said that Sister Ruby has been working since 1987 in the Chapra region of his diocese in Bihar. While the nuns there had been “repeatedly threatened” to stop their social work among the poor and leave the place, Bishop Takur said, the assailants “reminded” the nun that “once the elections were over,” Hindu mobs would “put an end to your work.”
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PAKISTAN Death threat? Christian leaders and opposition parties in Pakistan denounced the leader of a breakaway Islamic group who said lawmakers who oppose Islamic law in the country should be killed. Maulana Ajmal Qadri of the Party of Islamic Clerics issued a fatwa, or religious edict that called for the death of legislators who oppose a constitutional amendment to impose Islamic law on the whole country. The amendment calls for the federal government to base laws on the Qu’ran. Punishments for violators could include the amputation of hands and feet for thieves, stoning for adulterers, executions for killers, and public beatings for lesser criminals. Critics of the amendment said the law would turn Pakistan into a carbon copy of neighboring Afghanistan where the Taliban militia enforces a strict form of Islamic law, or shari’a. The leader of the Christian Liberation Front, Shahbaz Bhatti, said the amendment “is tantamount to genocide of religious minorities, women, pro-democracy forces and broad-minded people of the country.” He asked, “How can the government guarantee protection to its citizens if it patronizes terrorism, lawlessness and fatwas of death?” Although the amendment passed the Parliament’s lower house earlier this year, it has failed to pass the Senate where opposition parties hold greater power.
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CHINA Critique and rebuttal On October 7 the US State Department released its annual report on religious persecution around the world, calling attention to the countries where religious freedom is curtailed. The report included on its list of religious persecutors China, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, among others. “Much of the world’s population lives in countries in which the right to religious freedom is restricted or prohibited,” the report said. China was cited for persecuting Tibetan Buddhists, Moslem Uighurs, and Protestants and Catholics who do not belong to “official” churches. The report singled out China for its recent crackdowns on Christians and spiritualist groups. “In the past, official tolerance for religions considered to be traditionally Chinese, such as Buddhism and Taoism, has been greater than that for Christianity,” it said. However, “as these non-Western faiths have grown rapidly in recent years, there were signs of greater government concern and new restrictions, especially with syncretic sects,” it said. In its analysis of China, the State Department said religious persecution varies in intensity from region to region. “There were credible reports of incidents of abuse or torture of Buddhist monks and nuns,” the report said. The Chinese government said in Beijing that the report was malicious interference. “Nobody has been arrested or detained because of religious beliefs,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi said. “If religious believers are arrested, it is not because of their religious beliefs but because they have taken part in criminal activities.”
An 81-year-old Catholic bishop and three priests who belong to China’s underground church have been arrested, according to the US-based Cardinal Kung Foundation. Bishop Lin Xili of Wenhou was arrested on September 7 in the Zhejiang province, the foundation said. The bishop had spent 20 years in prison for his faithfulness to the Church. Fathers Wang Chengzhi and Shoa Amin of Bishop Lin’s diocese were also arrested on September 3 and 5. Father Chu Guangyao of Shanghai was arrested on August 16 and the whereabouts of all four men are unknown. Ancient church reopens Communist China re-opened the country’s oldest Catholic church on October 1, just as the regime began celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the Communist revolution. Huanwumen Cathedral was founded in 1605 by the Franciscan monk Giovanni de Montecorvino and was rebuilt in 1904 following a fire. It was closed earlier this year for a restoration that included repair to interior rooms, a new cross above the altar, and new windows in the entire building. “This is the first Catholic church in China. Due to its antiquity, it is considered a relic of incalculable value,” said Joseph Liu, secretary general of the Administrative Commission of Churches in Beijing. The church is used for services by the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, a state-run organization that eschews any ties to the Holy See.
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TAIWAN Sympathy and support Pope John Paul II has sent a telegram to Cardinal Paul Shan Kuo-Hsi of Kaohsiung, extending his condolences to the victims of a September 20 earthquake in Taiwan. Saying that he was saddened by the news of the deaths and injuries that had occurred, the Holy Father said that he would be “close to the entire population” of Taiwan in his prayers. He offered his sympathies to all those who were suffering because of the earthquake. “We are doing all we can to alleviate the suffering of the people: every Church structure is preparing to accommodate the homeless,” said Cardinal Shan, who is also the president of the Chinese Regional Bishops’ Conference in Taiwan. The earthquake killed 1,100 people, and left 3,500 injured, while at least 1,200 more were temporarily buried under the rubble of collapsed buildings. “The Church in Taiwan will move in two phases,” said Cardinal Shan. “First, we intend to mobilize all church and school buildings to provide shelter for the homeless. Then we will start a worldwide campaign for funds to help the earthquake victims.” Prayers for the dead were said in every diocese on the island. “On Sunday, September 26, in every parish, there will a Mass for the dead with prayers for the survivors and a collection in aid of the homeless,” Cardinal Shan said Father Giovanni Battista Zhang, editor of the Faith Bulletin in the diocese of Shijia Zhuang in Hebei, near Beijing, said Catholics on the mainland were “profoundly grieved at the news” and promised their “solidarity with the people of Taiwan.” He added: “We already have been praying for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and today we are very near to our fellow countrymen. We will celebrate Mass for them and do everything we can to help.”
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JAPAN Lessons of Hiroshima, Nagasaki As he greeted a new ambassador from Japan, Pope John Paul II said that Hiroshima and Nagasaki should stand as “symbols of peace” and should remind the world of “the crimes committed against civilian populations during World War II.” Receiving the new ambassador, Toru Iwanami, on September 11, the Pontiff lamented that “true genocides” are “still being committed in several parts of the world” today. He expressed his regret that the “culture of peace is still far from being spread throughout the world.” The Pope also invoked the 450th anniversary of the arrival of St. Francis Xavier in
Japan, which is being celebrated this year. He said that the life of St. Francis should
point to “the importance of spiritual freedom and religious liberty,” and he
saluted “the attitude of tolerance” toward religion which now prevails in Japan. |
PHILIPPINES Mass protest More than 100,000 Filipinos marched through the streets of Manila and other major cities on September 21, to protest plans by President Joseph Estrada to make changes to the country’s constitution. Cardinal Jaime Sin of Manila, at a Mass ending the day’s protests, said: “The moves to amend the charter now are a threat to our democracy.” He added, “The reasons for changing the charter are not clear. The character of the people who will be tasked with amending the charter gives me a nightmare.” Estrada has said he plans to rewrite the constitution only to include provisions for more foreign investment in the country, but opponents fear he intends to remove a provision limiting the president to one six-year term. Supporters of Estrada’s predecessor, Fidel Ramos, had proposed such a change, although Ramos himself never offered public support. The protest came on the anniversary of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos’s declaration of martial law in September 1972. Since Marcos’s ouster in the 1986 “People Power” revolution, September 21 has been marked as an annual day of public support for democracy.
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INDONESIA New religious fighting In early October a week of fighting between Christians and Muslims in the Indonesian city of Ambon left at least 26 people dead, according to local police officials. Military spokesman Jekriel Philips said that battles had been quite intense in several areas of Ambon. He added he had received reports that the clashes had spread to neighboring Haruku island, but there were no reports of casualties there. The Indonesian Maluku island chain has seen numerous clashes in recent months between rival gangs declaring their religious allegiance to Islam and Christianity. Hundreds of people have died and thousands of buildings have been destroyed in the fighting since it started in January.
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SUDAN More slaves ransomed An international Christian aid group has announced that it conducted another controversial “buyback” program to ransom slaves in Sudan, many of them refugees from the civil war in the African country’s southern region. Christian Solidarity International (CSI) said the latest action purchased the freedom of 4,300 black Africans, mostly women and children. The mainly Islamic Arabic north, which dominates the national government, has been at war with the mainly Christian and nativist African south since the early 1980s. Southerners say Arab militias, armed and organized by the Khartoum government, come down from the north on horseback to abduct women and children to sell as slaves. CSI said it has paid Arab slave dealers about $50 apiece to free slaves, bringing to 15,447 the number of slaves they have ransomed since 1995. Some groups, including United Nations agencies, have criticized the slave buyback program for encouraging the practice by making it profitable. CSI called on UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the UN Children’s Fund to try to halt the traffic in slaves in Sudan, which it said was “being committed by agents of the government.” The UN human-rights investigator for Sudan, Argentine lawyer Leonardo Franco, last April called on the Khartoum government to allow an independent inquiry into the slave trade.
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CHAD Need for dialogue On September 9 Pope John Paul II received the bishops of Chad, who were in Rome for their ad limina visit, and urged them to build “friendly relations” with Muslims and with other Christian groups. Roughly 20 percent of the people of Chad are Catholics, while another 15 percent are affiliated with various Protestant denominations; slightly over 50 percent are Muslims, with the remainder adhering to traditional African faiths. Archbishop Charles Vandame of N’Djamena, who headed the episcopal delegation from Chad, told the Holy Father that relations between Catholics and Protestants are “improving day by day.” But he confessed that relations with Muslims are “more difficult.” He observed that religious differences are often accentuated because of differences in ethnic background or economic status, since Christians and Muslims generally belong to different tribal groups with different social status. Pope John Paul said that Catholics should respond to this situation by “resolutely rejecting every trace of fear or rejection of others.” He encouraged efforts to overcome prejudice and to stimulate “better mutual understanding.” And he flatly condemned religious isolation or segregation. “I have a lively hope that all believers will put aside their antagonisms, and unite their efforts to fight against everything that stands in the way of peace and reconciliation,” he concluded.
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BURUNDI Another massacre About 30 Catholics were murdered in their local church in Burundi’s capital city of Bujumbura on September 26, according to the Catholic missionary news agency MISNA. The agency said that a group of men in military uniforms shot at worshippers during Sunday Mass. “At the time of the attack, hundreds of people were gathered for their Sunday prayers,” the report indicated. “The death toll is around 30, all civilians . . . and the majority of the people were Hutu.” The two central African ethnic groups, the Hutus and Tutsis, have been embroiled in fighting since 1993, leaving about 150,000 people dead. The civil war pits members of the Hutu majority against the mainly Tutsi army. MISNA said Sunday’s killings were carried out by “military men, mostly of Ugandan nationality.” Failures of justice In a September 10 meeting with the bishops of Burundi, who were in Rome for their ad limina visit, Pope John Paul II emphasized the demands of justice in the African society. Meeting with the bishops at his summer residence in Castel Gandalfo, the Holy Father expressed regret that the judicial process in Burundi has been painfully slow as the government pursues its investigation into alleged war crimes connected with the genocidal killings of 1997. The Pope pointed out that many people have been imprisoned without trial for long periods of time, and under poor conditions. He also lamented the frequent use of the death penalty. In responding to the papal address, Archbishop Simon Ntamwana of Gitega said that the Catholics of Burundi would seek to build an atmosphere of peace and reconciliation in the troubled land. He also asked the Pope to continue encouraging wealthy nations to provide aid for countries such as Burundi, where poverty and the spread of AIDS continue to make life difficult. Peace talks at risk Internal power struggles in Burundi are jeopardizing the process of peace negotiations, according to the country’s Catholic bishops. In a September 10 public statement, the Burundi bishops said: “We cannot have a real peace if the negotiators neglect the common good in order to defend their own interests and positions of power.” In their message—which was addressed to the opposing powers, political leaders, and negotiators involved in the peace talks currently being held in Tanzania—the bishops deplored the sharp divisions between political parties in Burundi. The bishops pointed out that, in their quest for power, some political leaders were deliberately excluding others from the peace talks, and those who were excluded were continuing their military activities in an effort to force their way into the negotiations. The ultimate losers, the bishops observed, are the innocent civilians of Burundi.
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UGANDA Nun attacks Church teaching A Catholic nun who is also a surgeon in Kampala’s Mulago Hospital has said that couples should use artificial contraception for family planning and that abortion should be permissible in some cases. Several African nations, most with mainly Christian populations, have struggled in recent months over proposals to legalize abortion. Some observers point to international pro-abortion groups, including the United Nations’ Population Fund and the International Planned Parenthood Federation, as being the impetus for the controversy. Sister Justine Najjuka, MD, presented her views on contraception and abortion at a conference in Kampala. Najjuka said that in some cases where a mother’s life is threatened by diseases during pregnancy, abortions could be allowed. She added that the life of the unborn could not be as useful to society as that of the mother. Najjuka also said that couples should use contraception as a scientific method to regulate childbirth—disregarding the teaching of the Catholic Church that artificial contraception is gravely wrong.
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SOUTH AFRICA Pro-life forces rally Pro-life activists from around the world gathered in South Africa on October 9 and 10, helping to rally opposition to abortion and euthanasia in that country. The two-day rally was originally scheduled to call public attention to the fact that an overwhelming majority of South Africans oppose abortion. Although only 11 percent of the country’s voters support legal abortion (according to figures cited regularly in the nation’s press), the practice has been legal since February 1997. Since that time 100,000 abortions have been performed in the country. However, the October rally, held in the town of Amanzimtoti on the shore of the Indian Ocean, gained a new issue when a bill allowing legal euthanasia was introduced into the South African parliament. Dr. Jack Wilke, an American pro-life leader, told the crowd about the widespread abuse of “right to die” legislation in Holland. He also argued that the introduction of euthanasia as a “humane treatment for chronic pain” is misguided, since proper medical treatment can alleviate pain; Dr. Wilke said that 90 percent of those who request euthanasia are actually suffering from depression—another medical condition which can be treated effectively. Albu van Eeden, the chairman of the National Alliance for Life, said: “Euthanasia is contrary to the very nature of medicine. It will destroy the trust which forms the basis of the doctor-patient relationship. Legalizing euthanasia is all about giving the doctor the right to kill, to be both judge and executioner.” Many doctors are already refusing to act as executioners in the case of unborn children, according to Dr. F. Kellerman. He said that most South African physicians refuse to perform abortions, and many hospitals in the country have defied the government orders which require them to provide abortion services. Dr. Kellerman added that Doctors for Life, a group which he represents, is supporting the health-care professionals who choose to protect human life. The National Alliance for Life—the principal sponsoring organization for the rally—had scheduled the weekend event under the theme: “Love Them Both.” In a press statement the group explained:
The National Alliance for Life warned that the legalization of euthanasia could give the government an interest in bringing a premature end to the lives of patients who are elderly, poor, or handicapped. The group also noted that there could be pressure to use euthanasia in the cases of patients who require costly medical treatment. That pressure could jeopardize the lives of AIDS patients, for example, the Alliance noted. An estimated 18 percent of the South African population is already infected with the HIV virus which is believed to cause AIDS. Archbishop Wilfrid Napier, OFM, of Durban told the rally that the fight against abortion and euthanasia is similar to the crusade against apartheid, in which he was heavily involved. “We based our fight against the apartheid system on the Gospel value that the human being is unique, created in the image and likeness of God, and as such has a number of inalienable rights,” the archbishop said. He expressed disappointment that, when the South African constitution was changed and apartheid was abolished, other fundamental rights —such as the right to life—were compromised. The Amanzimtoti conference concluded with a march in which thousands of pro-life activists paraded through the town. Some held signs, which read, in Zulu, “Ukuhushula Wukubulala Ingame” —”Abortion Kills Children.” The participants, including representatives of the 50 groups which co-sponsored the event, then returned to their homes, ready to gather again for smaller regional rallies in the cities of Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Pretoria during the week of October 11-15.
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ARGENTINA President accused of hypocrisy The former wife of President Carlos Menem has publicly labeled the Argentine leader as a hypocrite for claiming to be pro-life, saying that he assisted her in procuring an abortion 30 years ago. Zulema Yoma, who was divorced by Menem in 1990 after he threw her out of the presidential palace, said he accompanied her to an abortion clinic in 1969. Asked why she had the abortion, Yoma said: “My marriage was in no state to bear it and I made the decision for the health of my son Carlitos, who was 7 months old.” Menem has made his pro-life stance a centerpiece of his party’s re-election bid, accusing the opposition party of being pro-abortion. Abortion is illegal in Argentina except when a judge rules that an unborn child can be killed because of rape or danger to the mother’s life. Yoma, who had previously charged that Menem arranged the helicopter crash that killed her son, Carlos Jr., in 1995, said that she went public about her abortion because she “can’t stand the hypocrisy.” New focus on abortion The decision by a Lutheran minister to support the legalization of abortion has sparked a national debate, as well as raising tensions between some Protestant groups and the Catholic Church. Rev. Lisandro Orlov of the Evangelical Lutheran Church said during a public conference on the subject that abortion, which is illegal and constitutionally banned in the country, “should be reconsidered and examined without considering it an absolute evil.” Orlov said, “All Christians believe that abortion is an evil, but we have to review if it cannot be accepted as an extreme measure for extreme situations.” The solution, according to Orlov, would not be making abortion legal, but suspending any legal penalty associated with the practice. “The issue is urgent and should be brought to the first stage of the political debate, especially considering that many women are suffering the pain of unwanted pregnancies,” said the Lutheran minister. “Tradition in Christian non-Catholic churches has been evolutionary in many issues, so it means that it could evolve in this issue as well,” he added. Orlov’s statements were almost immediately criticized by the National Association of Pro-Life Doctors, which issued a statement saying that Orlov “proposes a legal alternative that, beneath a game of words, hides a clear, simple fact: he wants the killing of the unborn to be approved by the law.” A spokesman for the Argentine bishops’ conference dismissed the possibility of a direct response to Orlov, but said that “this certainly will not help form a better dialogue with the Lutheran minority, unless Lutherans themselves clear up what he has said.”
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COLOMBIA Bishop released Archbishop Beniamino Stella, the apostolic nuncio in Colombia, revealed on September 12 that he had met with representatives of the Popular Liberation Army (EPL), the rebel organization that kidnapped Bishop José de Jesus Quintero of Tibu on August 15. Archbishop Stella said that he headed a “humanitarian delegation” that met with representatives of the EPL somewhere in the northern Colombian province of Santander. So far, the conversations are on the right track, although they are advancing at a slower pace than we would like,” said the papal nuncio. “Of course, we not only want the release of Bishop Quintero, who is an innocent victim of the violence, but we want a comprehensive approach to the whole conflict in the region of Catatumbo (in northern Colombia),” the archbishop added. Archbishop Alberto Giraldo Jaramillo, president of the Colombian Bishops’ Conference, said that the presence of the papal nuncio in the delegation that held conversations with the ELN “has given more momentum to the negotiations” for the release of Bishop Quintero. The ELN is the smallest guerrilla group in the rich, oil-producing region, where the right-wing “Self Defense Unit of Colombia” and the Marxist Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) also operate. On September 19 the negotiations bore fruit as the ELN released Bishop Quintero, turning him over to the care of a commission headed by the president of the Colombian bishops’ conference, Archbishop Alberto Giraldo Jaramillo of Medellin. In his first statements to the press, the bishop gave thanks to his fellow bishops and to Pope John Paul II “for his prayers and intervention” and said: “I will keep being a bishop faithful to the Church and leading my people in the diocese of Tibu.” The bishop said that he was treated well, but strongly criticized kidnapping as “an evil that has no excuse, not even for political or so-called social reasons.” He added, “My mission as Bishop of Tibu will continue as usual, because my task is evangelization and evangelization is a process that cannot stop because of violence or other difficulties.” The bishop was reportedly released with a warning from the rebels that he must leave the region.
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GUATEMALA Detecting a breakthrough? The chief prosecutor in the 1998 murder of a Catholic bishop announced in August that DNA evidence taken from blood found at the scene of the crime matches DNA taken from unnamed suspects. Auxiliary Bishop Juan Gerardi Conedera was bludgeoned to death outside his home on April 26, 1998—two days after releasing a report that blamed the military for most of the deaths during the country’s 36-year civil war. Despite accusations against the military by Catholic leaders and human-rights groups, the original prosecutor in the case arrested and charged a priest who lived with the bishop at the time. Current prosecutor Celvin Galindo declined to name the suspect who matched the DNA sample, but the suspect list includes several soldiers as well as civilians.
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VENEZUELA Controversial leader meets Pontiff Pope John Paul II met with Venezuelan President Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias at the Vatican on September 30. The Vatican did not issue any public announcement about their conversation. President Chavez—who was accompanied to Rome by his government’s foreign-affairs minister, Jose Vincente Rangel—also met with the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, and the Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran. The talks between Vatican officials and Venezuelan leaders revolved around the role of the Church in the life of a country that is 91 percent Catholic. The representatives of the Holy See stressed the need to preserve the family, and to protect the dignity of human life. Church officials in Venezuela have expressed serious misgivings about the family-planning programs suggested by the Chavez administration.
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GUATEMALA New surprises in murder investigation Prosecutors investigating the 1998 murder of a Guatemala City auxiliary bishop have said that further DNA tests need to be performed because the last such tests were inconclusive. Special Prosecutor Selvin Galindo Lopez had announced in August that blood samples
taken from the crime scene matched samples taken from some of the 17 suspects in the
murder of Bishop Juan Jose Gerardi Conedera. But in September Galindo said the tests
“are not conclusive, and to confirm the suspects’ participation it will be
necessary to intensify the investigations.” The investigation of the bishop’s death, which has already been marked by a series by disputes and disagreements, took a bizarre new turn on October 8 when the prosecutor abruptly resigned his post and fled the country, saying that he feared for his life. Galindo, speaking from an undisclosed location in the United States, told a radio interviewer that he believed that “in reaching the end of the case I would run a very great risk.” He added that the Guatemalan government seemed unwilling to see the investigation through to the end. The first judge and prosecutor overseeing the case were forced to resign after international complaints that they had gone out of their way to ignore evidence the army might be involved. A second judge resigned in March after one month of presiding over the investigation and fled to Canada, saying he had received death threats after authorizing investigation into political motives.
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Forced sterilization? The Mexican government is engaged in a campaign of forced sterilization of poor, rural women, according to a report in the British medical journal, the Lancet. The report, dated July 31, said that native Indian women in the rural states of Chiapas and Guerrero have filed complaints with the Human Rights Defense Commission that said they were forced to accept birth control and sterilization, because health workers threatened to withhold services and benefits from a government social assistance program. Mexico’s southern states have been the site of native Indian rebel uprisings by the Zapatista rebel group. According to the article, in 1996 a Reproductive Health Rights Tribunal reported that of 142 women interviewed, 24—17 percent—affirmed that they had been subjected to placement of an intra-uterine device (IUD) or sterilization under pressure or without their consent. “Surprisingly, in 1992, Mexico’s own Ministry of Health reported that 37 percent of women who were sterilized at government facilities ‘did not take part in the decision,’” the report said. The researchers said that doctors interviewed in the region said they felt pressured by superiors to urge women to accept birth control and IUDs immediately after giving birth. They also said that “consent” only required a fingerprint or signature on a document the mainly illiterate women could not read and which was not explained to them. The doctors added that “consent” was also sought during the most painful stages of labor. The Mexican government said the official policy was to offer birth control devices and sterilization only after obtaining informed consent, and without putting any pressure on the women involved. But in 1998, the Health Ministry declared population growth to be the most important issue underlying Mexico’s social, economic, and political problems. Exploiting the Virgin The presidential candidate for Mexico’s main conservative opposition party has been criticized by Catholic Church and government leaders for using an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe at a political rally. Most Mexicans highly revere the Virgin of Guadalupe who appeared to the Indian peasant Blessed Juan Diego in 1531. Vicente Fox, shortly after being nominated to represent the Nationa |
