The cell that was occupied by Asia Bibi before her acquittal on charges of blasphemy by the Supreme Court of Pakistan is now being used by another Christian woman sentenced to death for the same crime.
Shafqat Masih and her husband Shagufta Kousar were arrested and charged with sending text messages which insulted Islam. Their appeal has been taken up by Saiful Malook, the same lawyer who represented Asia Bibi.
“We are very happy that our sister Asia Bibi has been released, but this is only one exceptional case. The whole world put pressure on the Pakistani government and after 10 years she was able to leave the country. But there is not only one case, there are several,” Joel Sahotra, parliamentary secretary of the regional government of Punjab, told The Tablet when visiting Portugal.
Meanwhile a Pakistani court has upheld death sentences for three Muslims but acquitted two others in the 2014 mob killing of a Christian couple accused of blasphemy in the eastern city of Lahore.
Bishop’s resignation accepted
On Friday, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Brazilian bishop Vilson Dias de Oliveira, who is under investigation for alleged extortion and cover-up of sexual abuse. Dias de Oliveira was bishop of Limeira and is accused of protecting Fr Pedro Leandro Ricardo, who was rector and priest at the Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua in Americana, Sao Paulo. Four people accuse Leandro Ricardo of sexually abusing them between 2002 and 2003, when they were minors. The priest was suspended in January of this year.
Catholic leaders have voiced concern about a proposed law in California that would force priests to disclose information about child abuse that they learn while hearing confessions. Current law names clergy, teachers, doctors and other professionals who work with children as “mandated reporters,” meaning they must inform law enforcement if told of an allegation of child sex abuse. There is an exemption for a clergy member “who acquires knowledge or a reasonable suspicion of child abuse or neglect during a penitential communication.” The proposal would end that exemption.
Argentina’s General Confederation of Labour has launched a campaign to see Evita Peron (pictured), the actress who became a popular first lady in the 1940s and 1950s, formally declared a saint. Archbishop Eduardo Martin of Rosario said he was surprised by the request, but that “it’s legitimate to request something.” “Everyone can ask,” Martin said, “but I don’t know if they formalised the request through proper channels.”
Chemist beatified
Guadalupe Ortiz de Landázuri (pictured) (1916-1975), a Spanish chemist, was beatified in Madrid on Saturday. Blessed Guadalupe is the first lay member and first woman member of Opus Dei to be beatified. The Pope’s delegate for the beatification Mass was Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, the prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Concelebrating with him were the Cardinal Archbishop of Madrid, Carlos Osoro, the Prelate of Opus Dei, Fernando Ocáriz, as well as six cardinals, nine archbishops, 17 bishops and some 150 priests. Eleven thousand people from more than 60 countries participated in the event.
At least 17 people were injured, and one person was killed in clashes at the Modelo prison in Nicaragua on Thursday May 16. Eddy Montes Praslin, a dual Nicaraguan-American citizen, was shot and killed by a guard.
The United States Embassy in Managua has called on the Nicaraguan government to investigate the circumstances of Montes’ death. Montes was born in 1963 in Matagalpa, Nicaragua and migrated to the United States, where he served in the Army. Upon returning to Nicaragua, he studied to become a lawyer. He went missing during the anti-government protests of 2018 and later showed up in prison. On Friday, police surrounded a protest outside the Cathedral of Managua in response to the attack on prisoners. Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes condemned the police presence and said that dialogue is “the only solution to resolve the socio-political crisis in the country.”
The president of Croatia’s Bishops’ Conference has criticised the Pope for consulting Serbia’s Orthodox patriarch before approving the expected canonisation of Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac (1898-1960).
“I’ve never heard of another church being involved this way, or of a Pope taking this into consideration,” said Archbishop Zelimir Puljic of Zadar. “It’s clear the Serbian Orthodox church wishes to use such a precedent to block this canonisation, and that this isn’t solely directed against Stepinac but will go further.” The archbishop was reacting to remarks by Pope Francis that “unclear historical points” had emerged during Cardinal Stepinac’s canonisation process, about which he had sought help from Serbia’s Orthodox Patriarch, Irinej Gavrilovic, 88.
Sunday sport ban
The Archdiocese of Detroit has announced that it will no longer hold sporting events on Sundays, attempting to refocus “the Lord’s Day” on prayer, family and rest. From the autumn, youth sports of the Catholic High School League and Catholic Youth Organisation will be held Monday to Saturday. Archbishop Allen Henry Vigneron (pictured) said, “we will reclaim this holy day and create more time for families to choose activities that prioritise time spent with each other and our Lord”.
“We will not be bogged down by religious attacks,” said Cardinal Philippe Ouédraogo, Archbishop of Ouagadougou and President of the Bishops’ Conference of Burkina Faso and Niger, after four people were killed and a statue of the Virgin Mary destroyed in an attack on a religious procession last week in the country’s northwest. The attack came a day after six people, including a priest, were killed by gunmen in a Catholic church in Dablo in the central part of the country. Addressing the Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa last weekend in the capital, Ouagadougou, Cardinal Ouédraogo thanked the guests for coming despite the insecurity.
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