On the third anniversary last week of Mosul being taken by Islamic State (IS) militants, Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako (above) led a delegation of bishops back to the northern Iraqi city. They visited churches and monasteries that government forces recently liberated and prayed among the ruins of the buildings. The tour was designed to encourage Christians who fled their homes to return to Mosul, although jihadists still occupy some neighbourhoods on the left bank of the River Tigris. The delegation met the leader of the Iraqi forces trying to drive IS from northern Iraq. He hoped for the return of Christians to Mosul, saying: “Without its Christians the city would lose its original character and identity”.
Fresh talks with China
The next round of China-Vatican talks occurs this month in Rome but few observers expect any breakthroughs on the issue of episcopal appointments on the Chinese mainland, which appears to be the main focus. China and the Vatican have both changed at least one of their envoys since the last talks in March. While negotiation channels are open, they are moving at a slow pace. China specialist Fr Jeroom Heyndrickx, a Belgian priest who leads the Ferdinand Verbiest Institute at Leuven Catholic University, repeated Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin’s warning that the road ahead for the talks is a long one. However, in the June issue of the Verbiest Update, he writes that there have been some signs of progress, noting that, of the five new bishops last year, three were candidates nominated by Rome while two were government candidates, approved by Rome.
All five bishops serving in Indonesia’s Papua and West Papua provinces have come under criticism from indigenous Papuan Catholics for “staying silent” about alleged social injustices. They staged a protest on 14 June outside a meeting of Archbishop Nicolaus Adi Seputra of Merauke with the four other bishops, held at the Maranatha Waena Convent in Jayapura, capital of Papua province. “The bishops stay silent instead of speaking up more about injustices faced by indigenous people,” said one protester, pointing to lack of health care in rural areas, as well as large-scale mining in the region. Bishop Aloysius Murwito of Agats-Asmat promised to “pay more serious attention to the demands”.
Meanwhile, at least 69 priests from Ruteng Diocese submitted letters of resignation last week, after accusing a bishop on the Catholic-majority island of Flores of embezzling more than US$100,000. They demanded that Bishop Hubertus Leteng completely overhaul the way the diocese is run. Asked about the allegations on 12 June, Bishop Leteng refused to comment. (See page 13)
Stolen relic traced
A relic of St John Bosco, stolen from an Italian basilica near Turin three weeks ago, has been recovered. The missing fragments of the brain of the popular Salesian saint were discovered hidden inside a copper kettle in the kitchen of the thief who hoped to make money from selling the reliquary (pictured), which he believed to be made of gold. Detectives had found fingerprints on the back of the altar as well as shoe prints around the glass case where the relic was housed and forensics experts found a match to a 42-year-old man with a prior criminal history, living in Pinerolo, north of Turin. When detectives raided his home, they discovered the relic with its wax seal still unbroken.
Church leaders in Zambia have issued a statement voicing concern that the country is turning into a dictatorship, citing issues of governance and human rights violations. The Council of Churches in Zambia, the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia and the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops said that they cannot stand by during a “continued state of political tension”.
Fr Cleophas Lungu, Secretary General of the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops said: “Certain people, especially those who are perceived as political opponents of the powers that be or the current establishment, are being treated in a manner that is no different from the way Africans were treated in the colonial era.” The statement demands the release of opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema who is in jail, facing treason charges. He was arrested in April after his motor convoy refused to give way to the motorcade of President Edgar Lungu.
Gangs target Catholics
The Catholic community in north-east Vietnam is being threatened by youth gangs who local priests say are being “aided and abetted” by the Communist Government. Throughout June, gangs of youths in red T-shirts with yellow stars and waving national flags have attacked Catholics and their property in Song Ngoc Parish in the Quynh Luu District of Nghe An Province. “The attacks have been carried out in an orchestrated manner and the police know well what is occurring but are ignoring what is going on,” Fr Anthony Nguyen Van Dinh, with 10 other priests, said in a 13 June petition given to the Government. The youths demand the expulsion of two priests helping local fishermen sue the Formosa steel plant, responsible for a marine pollution disaster last year.
Venezuela plea
Volunteers from Central University in Caracas (above, praying before a demonstration) are now standing by to help those injured in ongoing anti-Government protests. The Venezuelan bishops have been outspoken in their criticism of the Government of Nicolas Maduro and in their support for public protests. Mr Maduro’s policies have brought economic ruin, with child malnutrition at record levels and child mortality jumping by 30 per cent in the past year. Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino of Caracas told Vatican Radio that the repression by the Maduro Government “has been increasingly cruel”. Since April, protests have led to the deaths of at least 70 people.
In a recent letter to six former Latin American heads of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, said the Holy See was “trying to help find a solution to the current serious difficulties”. The letter
followed a meeting in Rome between Pope Francis and a delegation of Venezuelan bishops, which called for negotiations and for “free and fair elections” but avoided direct criticism of the Government.
Compiled by James Roberts
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