News Briefing: The Church in the World

Archbishop Georges Pontier, chairman of the French bishops’ conference, has wished France’s newly elected President Emmanuel Macron (above) well and has urged him not to pursue divisive social policies. Issues such as the legalisation of same-sex marriage and adoption rights, debates about allowing euthanasia, tighter rules for secularism in public and other social policies caused strains between Church leaders and the outgoing Socialist government of France’s former president, François Hollande.

Mr Macron, a liberal on such issues, is expected to focus more on reform of the French economy and on the European Union. “We must wish him success for the good of our country. Otherwise, it would be catastrophic,” Archbishop Pontier said after Mr Macron’s clear victory on 7 May. He later said: “I also hope he will not bog us down in social debates that have also contributed to the division of the country.”

Abbey invitation

Heiligenkreuz Abbey in the Vienna woods, which was founded in 1133 and is the oldest continuously occupied Cistercian monastery in the world, has invited the Lutheran communities in Germany that have been looking after former Cistercian Abbeys since the Reformation to its annual “Cistercian Day” on 6 June. The invitation is made “in the spirit of reconciliation” in the Reformation anniversary year.

Guest of honour will be the retired Lutheran Bishop of Hanover, Horst Hirschler, now Abbot of Loccum, a former Cistercian monastery founded in Lower Saxony in 1163.
During the Reformation, Loccum and a few other Cistercian monasteries in Germany became Lutheran. They have been looked after by Lutheran communities in the Cistercian spirit ever since.  

Representatives of Colombia’s ELN (National Liberation Army), the sole remaining guerrilla organisation in Colombia, were scheduled to resume peace talks on 16 May with the Colombian Government in Quito, Ecuador.
The Colombian Church was to accompany the talks, which have been delayed because the ELN has continued to kidnap people in eastern provinces such as Chocó despite its talk of openness to the peace process.  
Presidential elections are due in June 2018. Colombia will also play host to Pope Francis in September this year.

South Korea’s new president has been urged to “work for the peace and reconciliation of the Koreas” by the country’s Catholic bishops. The message was sent to Moon Jae-in, from the liberal Democratic Party of Korea, as he was formally sworn in on 10 May.
The bishops said they had high expectations of peace and equality and of an end to corruption. The head of the Korean bishops’ conference, Archbishop Hyginus Kim Hee-jong of Gwangju, said the country needed “a credible leader who keeps principles and steps toward true peace and justice beyond today’s conflicts and confrontations”. Mr Moon’s predecessor, Park Geun-hye, was impeached last December over a corruption scandal and was removed from office in March.

In the context of international concerns over North Korea’s ongoing nuclear capability, Archbishop Kim stressed the importance of dialogue. He reminded Mr Moon, who is a Catholic, of the urgent need for a policy aimed at achieving “the coexistence of North and South Korea”, “peace”, and the “reconciliation of the two Koreas”. Mr Moon, the son of North Korean immigrants, has promised “to visit Pyongyang under the right circumstances”.

An Irish Columban priest based in the Philippines has received the A.K. Shalom Award for human rights. Fr Shay Cullen (above), 74, received the award on 6 May at Germany’s Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt for rescuing minors from exploitation by sex traffickers and paedophiles, and from illegal detention and other forms of abuse.

Ahok prison protests

The jailing of Jakarta’s outgoing Christian governor on blasphemy charges has led to widespread protests from his supporters, who have called for greater religious tolerance and justice in Indonesia. Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (above with his wife, Veronica Tan), better known by his nickname, Ahok, was sentenced to two years in prison on 9 May after he referred to a passage of the Qur’an during his re-election campaign last year. Militant Islamist groups said this insulted the religious text and lobbied for his arrest. He was defeated in the April election by a Muslim rival, Anies Baswedan, after a highly religiously charged vote. “Indonesia should seriously examine the law on blasphemy and abolish it,” the Asian Human Rights Commission said. “The Government needs to develop a standard to eliminate religious hatred.”

Fr Augustinus Ulahayanan, Secretary of the Commission for Interreligious Dialogue in the Bishops’ Conference of Indonesia, warned: “We can only say it is not over: the defence will appeal.” Reflecting on the growth of militant groups, he said: “There has been a striking instrumentalisation of the Islamic faith for political purposes in recent months.”

Pence persecution pledge

US Vice-President Mike Pence on Thursday last week pledged his prayers and support for persecuted Christians around the globe and for members of other religions who are persecuted for their beliefs.

“Your faith inspires me, it humbles me, and it inspires all who are looking on today,” Mr Pence said, speaking to persecuted Christians including Fr Douglas Bazi, a Chaldean Catholic priest from Iraq who survived kidnapping and torture in 2006 before ministering to Christian refugees fleeing Islamic State in 2014. “On behalf of the President of the United States,” Mr Pence continued, “I say from my heart, we stand with you.”

Mr Pence was addressing the first annual World Summit in Defence of Persecuted Christians, hosted by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in Washington D.C. The summit brought together Christian leaders and groups including clerics of Protestant, Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches and members of Congress. Mr Pence paid tribute from the stage to Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington D.C. and to Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the US, as well as to Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk.