Tributes marking the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King on 4 April 1968 emphasised the civil rights leader’s advocacy of non-violent resistance in the fight against racism.
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Administrative Committee issued a statement saying: “This anniversary gives us an important moment to draw inspiration from the way in which Dr King remained undeterred in his principle of non-violent resistance, even in the face of years of ridicule, threats and violence for the cause of justice.”
The bishops recalled that Dr King came to Memphis – where he was shot while talking with friends on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel – to support underpaid and exploited African-American sanitation workers, and arrived on a plane that was under a bomb threat. “He felt God had called him to solidarity with his brothers and sisters in need. In his final speech on the night before he died, Dr King openly referenced the many threats against him, and made clear he would love a long life. But more important to him, he said, was his desire simply to do the will of God.”
Trial date for abuse-case clergy
The trial of a Vatican prefect, a French cardinal, two bishops and a priest on charges of allegedly not reporting a sexually abusive priest has been set for 7-9 January 2019 after being pushed back from its original starting date of 4 April. The Lyon criminal court set “a date sufficiently far off” to arrange for Cardinal Luis Ladaria Ferrer, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), to attend the proceedings alongside the city’s Cardinal Archbishop Philippe Barbarin and the other French clerics accused of shielding the self-confessed abuser Fr Bernard Preynat. The trial was rescheduled because the summons and legal dossier had not been translated into Spanish and Italian and sent to the Spanish-born Archbishop Ladaria at the Vatican in time. Fr Preynat has been accused of abusing boy scouts between 1986 and 1991. Barbarin, who left him in contact with children until 2015, has denied wrongdoing but admitted his reaction was “belated”. Victims’ lawyers allege Ladaria advised Barbarin by letter to discipline Preynat, but to avoid public scandal. At the time, Ladaria was secretary of the CDF, the department that handles clerical sexual abuse cases.
Internet sales ban on Bible
China’s Communist Government, deep in talks with the Vatican on a possible deal on the appointment of bishops, issued a ban on internet sales of the Bible on Holy Saturday. A notice published on the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, Weibo, banned online bookstores, such as Tabao and Dangdang, China’s equivalents of Amazon, from selling Bibles. People searching for Bibles on these sites were greeted with the message: “Sorry! No products in this category available.” There is a rule that the Bible cannot be sold publicly or online in China but this has been allowed to slide over the years.
Catholic bishops in Canada have discussed the possibility of ordaining married men to the priesthood. During a conference dedicated to the future of the Catholic Church in Quebec, Auxiliary Bishop Marc Pelchat said consolidating parishes was not a solution to the lack of priests. He said that ordaining married men of a “certain age, whose ecclesiastical commitment is tested” was an important consideration.
Four members of a Christian family have been killed in a militant attack in southern Pakistan. Pervaiz Masih, Tariq Masih, Imran Masih and Firdous Bibi were shot near their relative’s home in Quetta on 2 April after gathering there to celebrate Easter. A 10-year-old girl was also injured in the attack. “It was a targeted attack and an act of terrorism,” police officer Moazzam Jah Ansari said. Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement carried by their Aamaq News Agency, according to agency reports. In December of last year, a suicide bomb and gun attack targeting a Sunday service at a church in Quetta killed at least nine people and wounded more than 56.
A Catholic priest was found shot dead hours after he said Mass in Democratic Republic of Congo, the latest in a series of incidents in North Kivu province.
“Fr Etienne Sengiyumva was killed on8 April by the Mai Mai Nyatura [militia] in Kyahemba where he had just celebrated a Mass including a baptism and a wedding,” Fr Gonzague Nzabanita, head of the Goma Diocese, told Agence France-Presse. North and South Kivu provinces are in the grip of a wave of violence among militia groups, who often extort money from civilians or fight each other for control of mineral resources. Last week, the Bishop of Goma urged the faithful to pray for a priest who was kidnapped on Easter Sunday and is being held for ransom.
Initially, the kidnappers asked for “the absurd sum of $500,000” [£352,000], Bishop Théophile Kaboy Ruboneka of Goma told Fides News Agency. “Now they are asking for $50,000, but where can we find such a sum?”
Priest arrested
Vatican police have arrested a priest who previously worked at the Holy See’s US Embassy, on charges related to the possession and distribution of child pornography.
After months of investigation, the Vatican announced on 9 April that Mgr Carlo Alberto Capella was taken into custody that morning by the Vatican gendarmes at the request of the Vatican City State’s promoter of justice, who serves as chief prosecutor.
Mgr Capella was recalled from the US in September 2017 after US authorities told the Vatican about a possible violation of child pornography laws by one of its diplomats.
Rosaries a winner at Games
Catholic chaplains have been active in the Commonwealth Games athletes’ village on Queensland’s Gold Coast, which is part of the Archdiocese of Brisbane. Volunteer chaplain Helen Day said a Good Friday liturgy was held in the village and that rosary beads were proving a popular item, particularly among athletes from African nations. Day, a member of the Coolangatta-Tugun parish, joined chaplains and representatives from 16 faith organisations providing services and pastoral care at the Gold Coast athletes’ village.
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