Pope sends telegram to China as plane flies over Chinese airspace

Brisbane, Australia, Feb 25, 2019 / 01:51 pm (CNA).- Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane is being investigated by his former archdiocese over his alleged handling of information on child sex abuse given him by a woman during a 2006 meeting.

As president of the Australian bishops’ conference, Coleridge attended the Feb. 21-24 Vatican summit on the protection of minors in the Church.

Guardian Australia reported Feb. 25 that “the complaint against Coleridge relates to a 2006 meeting with a Canberra woman who had offered information about child sexual abuse.”

The woman was relating information about abuse in the Archdiocese of Canberra-Goulburn. Coleridge was appointed Archbishop of Canberra-Goulburn in June of that year, and was installed Aug. 17.

According to Guardian Australia, it is alleged Coleridge called the woman a gossip “and acted agressively towards her.”

Coleridge has denied the allegations.

A representative of the the Canberra-Goulburn archdioese told Guardian Australia it is conducting an independent investigation, but progress has been delayed because the woman is not participating: “Archbishop Mark Coleridge cooperated with the investigation and strongly refuted the allegations. When [the complainant] was invited to cooperate with the independent investigation, she chose not to engage with the process. She has instead chosen to take these allegations to the media, which is deeply disappointing.”

The Archdiocese of Sydney has also been made aware of the allegations.

Coleridge was born in 1948, and was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Melbourne in 1974, where he then became auxiliary bishop in 2002. He was Archbishop of Canberra-Goulburn from 2006 to 2012, when he was transferred to the Archdiocese of Brisbane.

He gave a homily at a Mass in the Vatican’s Sala Regia Feb. 24 at the conclusion of the child abuse summit, during which he said that “at times we have seen victims and survivors as the enemy. We have been our own worst enemy.”

The Brisbane archbishop also lamented weak historical care of sex abuse victims, and urged “very practical ways of accompanying all those who have been abused in whatever way they need to be accompanied.”

[…]

Bhubaneswar, India, May 3, 2019 / 02:10 pm (CNA).- A category four cyclone struck India’s Odisha state Friday morning, but humanitarian groups and government forces are better prepared than in previous years.

Cyclone Fani made landfall in Puri, about 40 miles south of Bhubaneswar, May 3. According to Al Jazeera, three deaths connected to the storm have been reported on so far.

In a May 2 statement, Catholic Relief Services explained that preparations were being made to ensure the safety of residents in Odisha and in Bangladesh, whither Cylcone Fani is heading. CRS had distributed supplies to Cox’s Bazaar refugee camp in Bangladesh, where almost 1 million Rohingya refugees reside.

“Our teams on the ground are making last-minute preparations so we can respond as soon as the storm moves on,” said Caroline Brennan, communications director for CRS’ humanitarian response team.

“We are working closely with our Church partners in both India and Bangladesh who are best placed to assess the damage and respond quickly.”

Quartz India reported that the government has taken tremendous strides in preparatory storm programs since a cyclone in 1999 claimed over 15,000 lives. After improvements to forecast and mitigation systems, over 1 million people were evacuated before May 2.

According to WSBT 22, more than 800 shelters were opened and 100,000 dry food packets were airdropped. The government also used the India Coast Guard to distribute supplies, including water and other necessities.

While in the Bay of Bengal May 1-2, the cyclone was measured to have winds more than 150 mph and was considered to be “extremely severe.” It has since weakened and authorities have claimed it to be “very severe,” according to the India Meteorological Department

The department reported that the storm made landfall with about 100 mph winds, which has continued to decrease. It also cautioned that ocean levels could rise to an estimated 1.5 to 3 feet above the astronomical tide, affecting lower areas like Kendrapara, Balasore, and Bhadrak districts.

The storm continues to move northeast toward Bengal, which it is expected to hit some time later today. Forecasters said wind speeds will likely drop to around 40 mph by the time the storm arrives in Bangladesh May 4.

[…]

Fr. Stan Swamy, S.J. / Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha/YouTube

Manila, Philippines, Jul 6, 2021 / 16:01 pm (CNA).
The Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) on Tuesday mourned the death of Jesuit priest Stanislaus Lourduswamy, and called… […]