On Sunday 25 September Cubans backed the government’s call to approve the country’s new Families Code. The plural in the title points to one of the most controversial changes from the previous Family Code of 1975, namely the legalisation of same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex couples. The code also includes measures to allow surrogate pregnancies without charge. There are also provisions to criminalise domestic violence, and a series of measures to enhance the rights of the child, such as raising the age of marriage from 14 for girls and 16 for boys to 18 for both; to allow children a say over which parent they live with in case of divorce; and to give step-parents and grandparents greater rights as guardians of children. The referendum was backed by almost 67 per cent of voters, with 23 per cent against and 26 per cent abstaining. The state-controlled media and social media had called for the Code to be approved, and in Cuba the government can expect its proposals to have almost 90 per cent support. Many supporters of the proposals were reluctant to vote in favour because they did not want to appear to be supporting the government. “Those of us who disagree with the regime and support the Code are in a very difficult moral and political position,” said LGBT activist Daniel Triana. The Cuban churches, while welcoming the proposals on domestic violence and children’s rights, opposed the measures on same-sex marriage. The Cuban bishops’ conference said: “There is no benefit to Cuban families from the introduction into our legislation of elements of the so-called ‘gender ideology’ that underpins many of the proposals,” and called on Cubans to vote “taking account of the dictates of their consciences, their faith, their convictions and principles”. Fidel Castro declared in 1965 that a gay person “cannot be considered a true revolutionary or a true communist activist.”
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva face a runoff election for the presidency on 30 October after neither candidate garnered a simple majority in Sunday’s first round. Lula had 48 per cent of the vote against Bolsonaro’s 43 per cent. Total turnout increased to 122 million votes from 117 Million in 2018.
In one of the world’s worst stadium disasters 125 people died, including 32 children, and 320 were injured in a football stadium in Malang, East Java, Indonesia, on Saturday night. The mayhem was triggered by police firing tear gas on pitch invaders after the final whistle. .
The US bishops’ conference praised the Biden administration for raising the number of refugees it plans to allow into the country to 125,000. “This is an ambitious and worthwhile goal for our nation,” said Bishop Mario Dorsonville, chair of the bishops’ migration committee.
Japan’s decision to give a rare state funeral to former prime minister Shinzo Abe “divided society,” according to the archbishop of Tokyo. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the publicly-financed ceremony was a well-deserved honour for Japan’s longest-serving modern political leader, who was assassinated in July. “As the present constitution prohibits any involvement of religions in a state function, no religious organisations, including the Catholic Church, were involved in the state funeral at all,” said Archbishop Isao Kikuchi.
Pope Francis is scheduled to travel to Bahrain from 3 to 6 November, the Holy See Press Office said, at the invitation of the country's civil and ecclesial authorities. The Pope will visit the cities of Manama and Awali “on the occasion of the Bahrain Forum for Dialogue: East and West for Human Coexistence.”
US Archbishop William Lori, chair of the Pro-Life Activities committee of the US bishops’ conference, endorsed a bill that would set a nationwide ban on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. “Although we will never cease working for laws that protect human life from its beginning and supporting mothers in need, we think that this proposed legislation is a place to begin uniting Americans regardless of their views on abortion,” Lori stated in a letter marking Respect Life month.
Algeria’s government has ordered the closure of the Caritas Catholic charity, after 60 years working in the country. Projects, such as aid to migrants, ended on 1 October. The government gave no official reason for the order.
The International Criminal Court of Justice in The Hague has rejected a bid by the Philippines government of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to stop an investigation into the killing of drug suspects under former president, Rodrigo Duterte. Bishop Emeritus Arturo Mandin Bastes of Sorsogon urged the Court to pursue the case.
The French Church has paid compensation to the first 23 victims of sexual abuse by priests or other church representatives under a new reparation process. The Independent National Authority for Recognition and Reparation (INIRR), established early this year, said more than 1,000 alleged victims have claimed compensation. About 60 decisions have been made, out of which 45 include financial compensation ranging from 8,000 to 60,000 euros, Victims groups criticised the slow progress of the new process.
Brother Andrew, the evangelical Dutch missionary who delivered Bibles behind the Iron Curtain, died on Tuesday last week aged 94. Known as “God’s smuggler”, he personally delivered thousands of Bibles and Christian tracts to churches in the Eastern Bloc during the 1950s and ‘60s, and organised many more Bible-smuggling operations across the world through the charity Open Doors.
Last week, a Hong Kong court adjourned the trial of Cardinal Joseph Zen until 26 October. The 90-year-old former Bishop of Hong Kong and five co-defendants pleaded not guilty at a magistrate’s court to failing to properly register their 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which offered financial and legal help to people arrested during the 2019 protest movement.
Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem have expressed gratitude to King Abdullah II of Jordan as “Custodian” of Christian and Muslim Holy Sites. They thanked him for his recent speech at the UN General Assembly where he said: “As a Muslim leader let me say clearly, that we are committed to defending the rights, precious heritage and historic identity of the Christian people of our region.”
The Catholic Archbishop in charge of Juba Archdiocese, South Sudan has described tribalism as one of the greatest challenges facing the Eastern African nation. In his Eucharistic celebrations, held at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Torit Diocese on Sunday 25 September, Archbishop Stephen Ameyu Mulla stressed, “We cannot build our nation or Church based on tribalism … it will only lead to some Christians doubting the sacrament … it is the country's greatest enemy.”
The archbishop of Valladolid, Spain, has said it is “revolutionary” in our times to see consecrated religious or ordained men wearing religious dress on the streets. Speaking last week at a diaconal ordination, Archbishop Luis Argüello Garcia said, “what is revolutionary, novel, is the presence of the supernatural in the streets and squares; that is friars wearing a habit, nuns being recognisable, and those of us who have been ordained also being recognisable.”
A church destroyed by Islamist extremists during their occupation of northern Iraq is almost repaired. Refurbishment to the interior of the Church of Sts Benham and Sara in Qaraqosh is completed and work will continue on the exterior for another year. Aid to the Church in Need is helping to fund the restoration, and parish priest Fr Boutros Sheeto told the charity that the church’s revival has given hope to Christian families in Qaraqosh.
Christian groups in Iran have released a statement demanding justice for Mahsa Amini and highlighting the “systematic oppression” of women. It follows the death in police custody of the 22-year-old Kurdish woman after she allegedly breached rules requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab. The signatories said, “we demand freedom, justice, and equal rights for all Iranians”. In Britain, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian national who was imprisoned for six years in Iran, filmed herself cutting her hair to support the protests. She explained it was “for my mother, for my daughter, for the fear of solitary confinement, for the women of my country, for freedom”.
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