Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto has criticised Nigeria’s government for investing millions of dollars in rehabilitating Boko Haram’s so-called repentant members in the belief that they will behave more responsibly. He complained in his Easter homily that the public has heard nothing about a rehabilitation programme for the thousands of abducted Nigerian schoolchildren and noted that families of kidnapping and murder victims have been left on their own. “They cry alone and bury their loved ones alone,” the bishop said. Meanwhile, Boko Haram Islamist insurgents have murdered thousands of Nigerian citizens, destroying infrastructure and displacing entire families. Bishop Kukah described Nigeria as “a massive killing field” while “government and the governed look on helplessly”. The office of President Muhammadu Buhari described the bishop’s criticism as “ungodly”.
Christian churches and Buddhist temples across Myanmar faced military raids and violent searches for hidden anti-coup activists last week. This followed raids on churches in Kachin State, a Christian area, over the Easter weekend. The military have clearly identified people of faith as significant players in nationwide anti-coup protests as well as supplying aid to people most impacted by the 1 February military coup. At least four Catholic churches in villages in Pathein diocese were searched by police and soldiers on 8 April. At a Baptist church in Lashio, 10 religious leaders and staff were detained for two days. In Mandalay, the Sisters of St Joseph of the Apparition visited and prayed with families who lost loved ones. On Divine Mercy Sunday, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, Archbishop of Yangon, urged: “Let us not repay inhumanity with inhumanity.”
Pope Francis celebrated the Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, at the Church of Santo Spirita, Sassia in Rome, a Church rebuilt in the twelfth century that is dedicated to Divine Mercy. “Let us not live a one-way faith, a faith that receives but does not give … Having received mercy, let us become merciful,” Pope Francis said.
Police in Pakistan have saved two Christian nurses from a mob after they were accused of blasphemy by authorities at their hospital in Faisalabad. They had removed stickers inscribed with Islamic verses from a cupboard they were instructed to clean. Mariam Lal and Newish Urooj, who is Catholic, were detained by police and on 9 April, the following day, Bishop Joseph Indrias Rehmat of Faisalabad led a Catholic delegation to meet “high-ranking” police officers. "They assured us that no innocent will be punished”, he reported, “while they try their best to calm the city."
Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, Archbishop of Jakarta and President of the Bishops’ Conference of Indonesia, has called for assistance to victims of flash floods and landslides after a tropical cyclone hit the country’s predominantly Catholic province of East Nusa Tenggara over the Easter weekend. More than 150 were killed and around 8,000 people sought refuge in shelters, including Catholic premises. The Catholic Church in neighbouring Timor-Leste, or East Timor, has assisted 2,000 victims there. Pope Francis, in the Angelus of 7 April, offered prayers for the flood victims.
South Korea’s Catholic Church has undertaken long-term pledges to protect the environment and serve the poor, inspired by the encyclical, Laudato Si'. These form part of a seven-year plan of collective action to care for creation. A Seoul Archdiocese taskforce is preparing a checklist that includes reducing carbon emissions, overcoming ecosystem destruction and creation-centred liturgies.
India’s top court has dismissed a petition that sought a federal law to check religious conversion. The Supreme Court of India on 9 April said persons above 18 years of age are free to choose their religion and a law against conversion would go against constitutional provisions. The petition was filed by Ashwini Upadhyay, a Supreme Court lawyer and member of the ruling pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party. Fr Babu Joseph, former bishops’ conference spokesperson, said the ruling is “in the right spirit” of the constitution,
The Christian Conference of Asia organised a webinar last week, on the theme of “Decreased Access to Safe Water in Asia: Challenges to Human Security”, highlighting that water-related problems are increasingly acute across Asia.
A former spokesperson for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops sharply criticised the involvement of some pro-life groups and Catholic activists in efforts to make it harder to vote. “Instead of talking about how best to protect and support unborn children and their mothers, some pro-life groups are lobbying and fundraising for racially charged voter restriction efforts,” said Kim Daniels, who now works at Georgetown University. The Susan B. Anthony List, a pro-life organisation led by Catholic Marjorie Dannenfelser, joined forces with the American Principles Project, founded by Catholic legal scholar Robert George, to start the Election Transparency Initiative, following disputes over the 2020 election result.
Bishops in Zambia have declined to take up a Church Empowerment Fund introduced by the country’s political leadership to cushion churches amid financial hardships following Covid-19 restrictions. In a 2 April statement, the Zambia bishops’ conference said the timing of the US $2.26 million donation raises concerns as it comes during the run up to the country’s general election on 12 August, and suggested the country's leadership channel the funds to other “areas of need”, including healthcare.
Ghana’s Catholic Bishops have said an alleged ritual killing of an 11-year old boy should serve as a wake-up call for the West African country and its moral standards. According to reports, two teenage boys murdered Ishmael Mensah Abdallah in Kasoa town, after a local witch doctor instructed them to bring her a human body in exchange for their obtaining riches.
Russia's Orthodox church has rejected calls from the Ecumenical Patriarchate to obtain a common Christian celebration of Easter by 2025, the 1700th anniversary of the Nicaea Council, despite support for the idea by the Vatican and some Orthodox and Protestant leaders. In a TV statement, the Russian church's foreign relations director, Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, said his Church has "no intention" of adjusting its Julian calendar, which will mark Easter on 2 May, to the western Gregorian dating system.
More than 31,000 Spanish Catholics have signed letters of support for Bishop Juan Reig of Alcala, who faces legal action by the socialist-led government of premier Pedro Sanchez for accusing it of turning the country into an "extermination camp" with its new euthanasia law, passed in March.
The Pope is planning to beatify the European Union's principal founder, Robert Schuman (1886-1963) in June, according to the Catholic daily La Croix, after a 30-year process, in recognition of his role in building a united, peaceful Europe.
In the second round of Ecuador’s presidential election on Sunday, right-wing banker Guillermo Lasso had a five-percentage point lead over left-wing candidate and economist Andrés Arauz, with 96 per cent of votes counted. Lasso has committed to honouring the country’s debt agreement with the IMF. The bishops’ conference published a statement on Sunday, calling on the electoral authorities “to guarantee transparency and veracity of the results.”
Peruvians voted for Congress members and the first round of the presidential election on Sunday. As of Monday morning, the two leading presidential candidates, likely to pass to the second round of voting, were Pedro Castillo and Hernando de Soto. Castillo is a left-wing teacher and union leader, and his lead came as a surprise. The second round will take place in June. The Episcopal Conference published a statement on 5 April encouraging participation in the elections and transparency.
Retired Catholic Archbishop Paolino Lukudu Loro of Juba, South Sudan and a pillar of the country’s peace process died on 5 April in Nairobi after a short illness. Loro, who had steered the Catholic Church amid a bloody conflict and while pushing political and rebel leaders to accept peace, was flown to neighbouring Kenya for treatment in March. Reports indicate that he died of a severe stroke. He was buried on Monday at St Theresa cathedral in tthe South Sudan capital, Juba. (see View from Rome)
Loading ...
