News Briefing: global

In Zimbabwe, the new Catholic bishop of Mutare Diocese, Bishop Paul Horan (pictured above, kneeling at his ordination), has promised to work alongside all political and religious leaders to better people’s lives. Zimbabwe is suffering a deep economic crisis; at least 4.5 million people need food relief and the Government is cracking down violently on protests. Speaking at his ordination by the Archbishop of Harare, Robert Christopher Ndlovu, in Mutare last month, Bishop Horan said he was pleased that many representatives of political and civil life and people of other religious groups had attended his ordination: “We are all beloved children of the one God, creator of heaven and earth”. He added that the support shown by the people of Mutare since his appointment should be the spirit prevailing in the entire diocese.

Three priests killed in Mexico
In the span of a week, three priests were found murdered in Mexico. All were kidnapped before they were killed. Two priests who had been kidnapped were found dead near the city of Poza Rica, Veracruz, on Monday 19 September. The Diocese of Papantla confirmed the deaths of Fr Alejo Nabor Jiménez Juárez and Fr José Alfredo Suárez de la Cruz (pictured).

Reports say the priests may have known their attackers and had been the victims of  robberies while working in the city. Veracruz has witnessed a number of violent clashes between rival drug cartels but it is still unclear why the priests were killed.

On Sunday 25 September, Fr José Alfredo Lopez Guillen was found dead near the highway between Puruandiro and Zinaparo in the central state of Michoacan. He had been kidnapped on 19 September and his home had been robbed.

The three recent deaths brought the number of priests who have been killed in Mexico since 2006 to at least 31.

According to the latest survey published by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) headquarters in Geneva, membership of the Lutheran Church has increased by 2.1 million since 2013 and is more than 74 million worldwide.

While the number of members is growing significantly in the global South, it is declining in the North. For the first time, the largest Churches in the LWF are in Africa. The largest, in Ethiopia, has 7.9 million members, an increase of 24 per cent since 2013. In Europe, membership dropped by 3.8 per cent over the same period to a total of 34.7 million, and in North America it declined by 4.9 per cent to 3.9 million members. The expansion in Ethiopia coincides with a February 2013 decision by the Lutheran Ethiopian Evangelical Church Makane Yesus (EECMY) to end its 150-year partnership with the Church of Sweden and its 50-year partnership with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The EECMY failed to persuade them to reverse decisions to ordain gay clergy and bless same-sex unions.

The US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump last week announced that a new advisory group of 33 prominent Catholics was joining his campaign.

They include Marjorie Jones Dannenfelser (above), president of the pro-life organisation Susan B. Anthony List, members of Congress, businessman Tom Monaghan, the founder of Ave Maria University, and the former Republican senator for Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum. Announcing the list, Mr Trump set out some “issues important to Catholics” that included religious liberty, pro-life issues, judicial nominations, education and healthcare. “If I am elected president and Congress passes the First Amendment Defense Act [that prohibits impeding the free exercise of religion], I will sign it to protect the deeply held religious beliefs of Catholics and the beliefs of Americans of all faiths. The Little Sisters of the Poor, or any religious order, will always have their religious liberty protected on my watch and will not have to face bullying from the government.” In May, the US Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Little Sisters in their dispute with the Government over “Obamacare” healthcare provisions. These stipulated that they should provide employee health insurance that included contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs.

Brochure for refugees
A bilingual brochure introducing refugees to the basics of the Christian faith and to Austrian traditions, symbols and feasts was presented by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn in Vienna last month. The 44-page brochure, published by the Austrian Church and the Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF), entitled “God be with you in Austria” (“Grüß Gott in Österreich”), will be available free of charge in German/Arabic and German/Farsi editions in churches, church institutions and church integration centres all over Austria. An English version will soon be available.

“Our experience is that many refugees are interested in our Austrian way of life but also have many questions about our traditions. Many aspects of our culture – like Christmas, work-free Sundays and Caritas – have Christian roots. The brochure will help refugees to understand these roots. In it, we also discuss issues like freedom of speech and religious freedom that we in Austria adhere to and which must therefore be understood by all new arrivals,” Cardinal Schönborn said.

Pope Francis urged the families of victims of the 14 July terror attack in Nice to respond with forgiveness while stressing that he wanted to “share their pain”. Meeting a group of them one-by-one in the Vatican last week, the Pope appealed against responding to “hatred with hatred and to violence with violence”. Those who met the Pope included Jews, Christians and Muslims. A radical Islamist, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, killed 86 people, including 10 children and teenagers, when he drove a lorry into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day. Francis said the attack had been motivated by satanic forces. “You can respond to the assaults of the devil only with the works of God, which are forgiveness, love and respect for one’s neighbours,” the Pope said.

The Tablet is sorry to report that Peter Kavanagh, who contributed to the paper from Canada for many years, died suddenly on 7 September at the age of 63. He had been suffering from cancer but continued to work until recently. He leaves a wife and a daughter.