Manila, Philippines, Jun 15, 2018 / 11:28 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The primary suspect in the killing of Filipino priest Father Richmond Villaflor Nilo was found and taken into custody Thursday night.
According to media reports, the suspect, Adell Roll Mi… […]
Manila, Philippines, Jun 11, 2018 / 03:22 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A Catholic priest in the Philippines was shot and killed in a chapel as he prepared to celebrate Sunday Mass on June 10, local police said.
Father Richmond Nilo is the third priest to be k… […]
Canberra, Australia, Jun 9, 2018 / 03:57 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A new law in Australia will require Catholic priests in Canberra to break the seal of confession to report child abusers, drawing adamant opposition from Church officials.
“Priests ar… […]
Weihui, China, Jun 8, 2018 / 03:39 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The sanctuary of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in China’s Henan province is a popular pilgrimage site for many Catholics, where thousands have journeyed since its founding in 1903 to pray and walk the shrine’s Way of the Cross.
However, on the evening of June 5, local government authorities tore down the sanctuary’s images of Christ along the Way of the Cross, only weeks after Chinese officials told Bishop Joseph Zhang Yinlin of Weihui (Anyang) to dismantle the Way of the Cross without any given reason.
The Way of the Cross was demolished during the night on Tuesday, said Bishop Zhang, when “excavators and pickup trucks were driven to the site at night because authorities feared there would be too many church members in the daytime,” according to UCA News.
Local nuns took videos and pictures of the damages and sent them to chat groups to record the vandalism. One religious source said the Communist Party was making an example out of the sanctuary, saying the government would “allow Catholicism to exist but not develop.”
The sanctuary of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the only pilgrimage site in Henan province and is located in Tianjiajing village. It was a product of the vision of Bishop Stefano Scarella, P.I.M.E., who was vicar apostolic of Northern Honan from 1884 until his death in 1902. He dedicated the shrine to Mary, in gratitude for protecting missionaries during the Boxer Rebellion.
Every year, the sanctuary hosted an annual celebration July 16, where thousands of pilgrims visited from nearby provinces, such as Hebei and Shanxi. However, in 1987, the government banned large pilgrimage gatherings and limited the number of pilgrims to 300.
Despite the shrine’s rooted history in the province, the future of the sanctuary after the recent vandalism is unknown.
The damages sustained at Our Lady of Mount Carmel is indicative of mounting strikes against religious freedom in China. Last fall, one Protestant church was dismantled in the same province, and in February, towns throughout Henan were notified of a ban against publicly posting religious pamphlets.
Crosses at Catholic churches have also been removed and demolished by government officials in Henan, which is believed to have the second largest Christian population in the country, with roughly 2.4 million Christians as of 2009. Church-run kindergarten schools were additionally taken over by officials and closed without further notice, and one bishop’s tomb was desecrated.
Eight of Henan’s ten dioceses have been ordered to be suppressed since Wang Guosheng became the Communist Party Secretary of the province in March.
Zhejiang province has also been a focus for local government persecution of Christians. There have also been reports of church demolition or removal of crosses in Shaanxi province and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
The U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom recently published its 2018 report in April, in which it identifies China as a Country of Particular Concern. This label is given to foreign governments that engages in or tolerates “systemic, ongoing, and egregious” religious freedom violations.
In April, a Chinese government official who oversees religious affairs said that government restrictions on bishop appointments are not a violation of religious freedom, as he emphasized that religions in China must “adapt to socialist society.”
President Xi Jinping, who was granted lifelong rule in March has urged greater government control and less foreign influence over religions in China. New restrictions were put in place by the Chinese government Feb. 1 making it illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to enter a church building.
There were widespread reports earlier this year that the Holy See was close to coming to an agreement with the Chinese government over bishop appointments.
The Church in China is split between an underground Catholic Church and the officially recognized Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association. Every bishop recognized by Beijing must be a member of the association, which is now under day-to-day direct supervision of the Chinese Communist Party.
New Delhi, India, Jun 5, 2018 / 03:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Hindu nationalists trampled a photo of Pope Francis near Sacred Heart Cathedral in New Delhi in a video calling for a Christian-free India which was recently posted online.
The video shows a group of about 20 people chanting “Pope Francis murdabad,” meaning “down with Pope Francis,” after a speech by a man believed to be the controversial Hindu leader Om Swami Maharaj.
Muharaj accused Christians of promoting terrorism and threatened forcefully to expel them from India, reported UCA News.
The video began circulating on social media a few weeks after Archbishop Anil Couto of Delhi wrote a letter calling for a one year prayer campaign leading up to India’s 2019 general elections.
“We are witnessing a turbulent political atmosphere which poses a threat to the democratic principles enshrined in our Constitution and the secular fabric of our nation,” begins the letter, which was read aloud in the archdiocese’s May 13 Masses.
Archbishop Couto requested that Catholics in India’s capital city fast from one meal every Friday for the next year, offering the sacrifice for the spiritual renewal of the nation. He also asked each parish to host a Eucharistic Adoration holy hour each Friday, in which India is consecrated to Our Lady of Fatima.
The archbishop’s letter quickly sparked a controversy among the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Several BJP leaders condemned the archbishop’s letter, calling it a “divisive move.” One BJP parliamentarian, Subramanian Swamy, called for India to end all diplomatic relations with the Vatican in a Twitter message May 23.
Archbishop Couto responded in an interview with Asian News International that “In all churches and institutions we pray and fast. I’m not meddling in partisan politics. We’re just praying that nation should walk in right direction.”
There has been an increase in attacks against Christians in India since the BJP came to power in 2014.
Attacks against Christians in India by Hindu extremists more than doubled from 2016 to 2017, according to a report by Persecution Relief which documented 736 such incidents in the past year.
Religious freedom in India varies among its 29 states. The U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom found that conditions worsened in ten states in India in 2017: Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Odisha, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan.
Sydney, Australia, May 30, 2018 / 11:00 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Australian Catholic bishops confirmed Wednesday that they will participate in a national compensation program for survivors of child sexual abuse, pending the program’s approval by … […]
Beijing, China, May 23, 2018 / 04:29 pm (CNA).- Amid reports that China may be considering putting an end to its two-child policy, experts are questioning the extent of a possible law change, and the effects it would have.
According to Bloomberg, the … […]
Adelaide, Australia, May 22, 2018 / 11:09 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Australian Archbishop Philip Wilson has been found guilty of failing to report allegations of child sexual abuse disclosed to him in the 1970s.
The guilty verdict was announced Tuesday by … […]
Vatican City, May 15, 2018 / 02:45 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis discussed the state of the Church with Taiwan’s bishops this week, while assuring them that episcopal appointments in China will remain the purview of the Holy See.
A small gro… […]
Melbourne, Australia, May 14, 2018 / 04:09 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- An Australian court will determine Wednesday whether to accept a request by prosecutors for a “super injunction” against all media reporting of upcoming trials against Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, on charges of historic sexual offenses.
If accepted, the proposed injunction request would do more than block the details of the trials from being made public; it would also prevent “any report of the whole or any part of these proceedings and any court documents associated with this proceeding.”
The injunction would apply to “all states and territories of Australia and on any website or other electronic or broadcast format accessible within Australia.”
Similar restrictions kept private the number and details of the charges against Pell during a month-long preliminary hearing, during which the majority of the charges against the cardinal were dismissed.
The 10 remaining charges are likely to be run as two separate trials, Pell’s defense lawyer Robert Richter has said. The cardinal returns to the County Court in Melbourne May 16 for a further hearing, which is expected to determine if there will be two trials, and their dates.
The typical motive for use of a gag order on media is to keep members of a jury from learning prejudicial information about a case, leading to bias; though it can also prevent judges and lawyers from being held accountable during a trial.
“The proposed order is a blanket ban and is the most extreme form of order that can be made,” said Jason Bosland, deputy director of the Centre for Media and Communications Law at Melbourne Law School, the New York Times reports.
“It prevents publication of all details to do with the case, including the fact that proceedings are on foot and, indeed, that a suppression order has been issued,” Bosland said. “You can’t even publish the judge’s name.”
Cardinal Pell will remain on a leave of absence from his Vatican position as he faces charges of “historic sexual offenses” in his home country of Australia, the Vatican announced May 1.
The Archdiocese of Sydney posted last week an article and advertisement to its diocesan news website, the Catholic Weekly, explaining how supporters of Pell may contribute to a legal fund set up on his behalf.
The article, published May 4, stressed that though the archdiocese assists with living expenses, it is not responsible for the cardinal’s legal costs, and that the fund was established separately and is not being run by the Archdiocese of Sydney.
The Catholic Weekly reported that since Pell took leave from his role as prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy almost 12 months ago, “many supporters wanted to contribute to his legal costs.”
The fund is being managed by a Melbourne legal firm.
Pell is accused of misconduct dating back decades, during his first years as a priest until he became the Archbishop of Melbourne. He has been accused of groping two boys at a swimming pool in the city of Ballarat during the 1970s, as well as assaulting two members of a choir at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne during the 1990s. More precise details about the charges were not made public.
The cardinal pleaded not guilty to the charges of historical sexual offense and surrendered his passport. The charge of “historical sexual offense” indicates that the alleged crimes happened decades ago. Australian law prohibits details of the charges from being publicly disclosed.
Pell was appointed Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy in 2014. He has been on leave of absence from this position since 2017, when he returned to Australia to face the accusations against him. Pell was the Archbishop of Sydney from 2001-2014, and Archbishop of Melbourne from 1996-2001. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Ballarat in 1966, and had been appointed an auxiliary bishop of Melbourne in 1987.
Pell was first accused of sexual misconduct in 2002, but no charges were filed at that time. In 2013, police in Australia began an investigation into him, before filing charges last year. Pell is reported to be the first cardinal to face a criminal trial for sexual misconduct.
Lawyers representing Pell insist that the charges against him are “impossible” and that he is innocent. Pell himself has repeatedly proclaimed his innocence, saying that he finds sexual abuse to be abhorrent.
“I’m looking forward, finally, to having my day in court,” said Pell in June 2017. “I’m innocent of these charges. They are false.”
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