Chaplain resignation row
The Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Paul Ryan, is facing strong criticism for his decision to demand the resignation of Fr Patrick Conroy SJ (above), as chaplain of the lower chamber of Congress.
Although Mr Ryan did not specify the reason for his decision at the time, other members of Congress confirmed that some Republicans were upset by a prayer that Fr Conroy had offered during the debate on tax reform last November.
“As legislation on taxes continues to be debated ... may all members be mindful that the institutions and structures of our great nation guarantee the opportunities that have allowed some to achieve great success, while others continue to struggle,” Fr Conroy prayed.
“May their efforts guarantee that there are not winners and losers under new tax laws, but benefits balanced and shared by all Americans.” The chaplain, or a religious leader he designates, opens each day’s session with a non-denominational prayer. It is unclear why it took over four months from that allegedly controversial prayer to lead to his resignation. Mr Ryan said the decision to fire Fr Conroy was not political but followed complaints that the Jesuit priest was not doing a good job.
Three priests in Mexico have been killed or died in suspicious circumstances in the past month. Fr Moisés Fabila Reyes, of the Archdiocese of Cuernavaca, was kidnapped on 3 April and appeared to have died after suffering a heart attack while being held captive.
His body was found on 25 April. On 20 April, Fr Juan Miguel Contreras García was killed at the end of Mass in Tlajomulco, Jalisco. On 18 April, Fr Rubén Alcántara Díaz, the Judicial Vicar of the Diocese of Izcalli, Cuautitlán, north of Mexico City, was killed in his parish office.
The Bishops of Mexico released a statement calling for the violence to end, and urging “our competent authorities once again to undertake in-depth investigations to clarify the facts in conformity with justice to ensure that this and any crime ... does not go unpunished”.
News of violent killings is dominating the headlines in Mexico, just two months before a presidential election in July. In 2017, there were more than 29,000 murders in Mexico, mostly linked to drug cartels and organised crime.
Protests have continued in Nicaragua, after a week of anti-government demonstrations that left at least 63 people dead, 15 missing and more than 160 wounded by gunfire, according to Nicaragua’s Permanent Commission on Human Rights.
On Saturday 28 April, the Catholic Church led a “March of Love for Nicaragua” through the capital city, Managua. The march included students, representatives of the private sector and environmental campaigners. Francisca Ramirez, leader of a campaign against plans for an interoceanic canal that critics say threatens rural communities, said: “It is time for [President] Daniel Ortega to understand that he cannot continue doing whatever he wants with this country.”
The march culminated at the cathedral and passed off peacefully. The bishops’ conference, led by Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes Solórzano, has agreed to mediate a dialogue between protesters and the Ortega government, although no date has been set. The cardinal said: “If, in a month, we see that there aren’t advances in the dialogue, and that the government doesn’t have good faith, then the bishops will remove ourselves.”
Peace appeal
Catholic and other faith-based aid groups are urging an end to fighting in Yemen, where three years of war have created a huge humanitarian crisis. “We were shocked about the numbers coming out of Yemen [affected by] famine and starvation, especially children under five,” said Giovanna Reda of Cafod, a member of the Catholic Caritas network. “We are calling for humanitarian access and a diplomatic solution to the war.” Cafod and its partners are running nutrition programmes for some 30,000 people.
Some 80 per cent of Yemen’s 22 million people are in urgent need of food, water, shelter, sanitation and medical care. Cholera and diphtheria are rife. A Saudi-led coalition is engaged in what is seen as a proxy war with Iran, which is backing rebel groups in the country.
Christian churches and groups in Pakistan joined a day of prayer and fasting on 27 April, calling for the release of Asia Bibi (above). The mother of five was sentenced to death in 2010 on blasphemy charges that she denies. She has been in prison since then.
Archbishop Sebastian Shaw of Lahore said: “Our hope and our hearts are with her”, and the Christian community was praying, “for her freedom and peace”. The Chief Justice of Pakistan’s Supreme Court, Saqib Nisar, recently declared that he would assume personal responsibility for the case, and establish the date of the next hearing before the Supreme Court as soon as possible.
Priest to help migrant workers
The Church in the Philippines is sending a priest to Kuwait next month to assist Filipino migrant workers who have escaped from abusive employers.
Bishop Ruperto Cruz Santos of Balanga (above), head of the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, said that the Commission was sending a Scalabrinian missionary to look into the “real condition” of the 260,000 Filipinos, mostly domestic workers, who live there. Meanwhile, Kuwait has ordered the Philippines ambassador to leave the country for allegedly engaging in “undiplomatic acts”, after embassy staff reportedly encouraged Filipino workers to escape from their employers’ households. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has banned any more Filipinos from going to Kuwait.
Catholic bishops in Cameroon are calling on President Paul Biya to begin talks on finding a sustainable solution to the crisis affecting Anglophone regions of the country. Archbishop Jean Mbarga of Yaoundé said last week that the search for peace had become a national emergency, and the bishops have organised “Novenas for Peace” in the days leading up to National Day on 20 May.
Last October, separatists from Cameroon’s Anglophone regions declared independence for a state they want to create called Ambazonia. More than 25,000 Anglophone Cameroonians have since fled to Nigeria, seeking to escape a crackdown launched by the government on separatists.
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