Manila, Philippines, Oct 31, 2019 / 02:00 pm (CNA).- Catholic bishops have appealed for prayers and aid for earthquake victims after two strong earthquakes hit the Philippines in the last week, causing some deaths and damage.
“Please, agai… […]
Tokyo, Japan, Oct 30, 2019 / 01:02 pm (CNA).- Pope Francis’ three-day visit to Japan in November will include a meeting with people affected by the country’s “triple disaster,” when a major earthquake and subsequent tsunami on M… […]
Canberra, Australia, Oct 28, 2019 / 06:34 pm (CNA).- A government department in Australia has proposed the use of a face recognition system to curb underage access to online pornography, but the idea has been met with concerns over privacy.
The Department of Home Affairs wrote to a House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs that it could offer a “suite of identity-matching services,” reported business tech news site ZDNet this week.
Among possible uses for this technology, the department emphasized the use of a face verification service to restrict teens and children from accessing online pornography. The system would match people’s faces with their identification document in government records.
Current efforts to verify users’ age on pornographic websites include requiring users to enter a date of birth or upload identification documents. However, the Home Affairs department said, these methods can be easily circumvented by minors entering a parent’s driver’s license information.
An identity-matching service would provide a more reliable method of age verification, and could also be used for other age-restricted online activities, such as gambling, it said.
“Whilst they are primarily designed to prevent identity crime, Home Affairs would support the increased use of the Document and Face Verification Services across the Australian economy to strengthen age verification processes,” said the Department of Home Affairs, according to ZDNet.
Before the program takes place, a piece of biometric legislation – the Identity-matching Services Bill 2019 – must first be approved by parliament. However, last week, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security demanded the entire bill be redrafted.
The committee expressed concern that the bill would allow the Department of Home Affairs to have too much surveillance power. It said the bill should be rewritten with a focus on “privacy, transparency and subject to robust safeguards,” the Guardian reported.
“In the committee’s view, robust safeguards and appropriate oversight mechanisms should be explained clearly in the legislation,” said Committee Chair Andrew Hastie, according to the Guardian.
The United Kingdom also tried to implement an age verification system, which would have required porn users to verify their age by entering their credit card information or purchasing a temporary porn pass. The program was originally scheduled to go into effect in April 2018, but encountered numerous technical problems and objections from critics who were concerned about privacy violations. After its implementation was delayed numerous times, the program was officially dropped on Oct. 16.
Kochi, India, Oct 28, 2019 / 06:01 pm (CNA).- Sister Lucy Kalapura, whose dismissal from religious life was upheld by the Congregation for the Oriental Churches last month, has sent a letter asking that her case be further appealed before the Aposotolic Signatura.
She was dismissed from the Franciscan Clarist Congregation in August for several acts of disobedience, including a protest of the handling of another nun’s accusation that Bishop Mulakkal of Jullundur serially raped her.
“I am deeply obliged for providing me the opportunity for a further appeal to the Supreme Tribunal of the Signatura Apostolica. It is desired, in this connection, that an opportunity be granted to me to appear in person before the Tribunal to enable me to present to its honourable members my side of the situation,” Sister Lucy wrote in an Oct. 25 letter to Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.
She also asked that she be able to present her case to Pope Francis.
According to the FCC, Sr. Lucy has led a life against the principles of religious life by disobeying a transfer order, publishing poems after having been denied permission to do so, buying a vehicle, withholding her salary from the congregation, and participating in a protest against Bishop Mulakkal, who has been charged with several instances of raping a nun of a different congregation.
Bishop Mulakkal was charged with rape in April, and his trial is due to begin Nov. 11. A nun of the Missionaries of Jesus alleged that the bishop sexually abused her more than a dozen times over two years.
In her letter to Cardinal Sandri, Sr. Lucy said, according to News 18, that “what purports to be ‘disciplinary action’, and what in reality are reprisals, against me commenced only after I stood by the sisters of the Missionaries of Jesus in their efforts to secure justice for the outraged nun.”
“I wish to urge strenuously that the actions initiated against me, and the vindictiveness it reeks of, cannot be understood aright, if they are seen in isolation from the Franco Mulakkal matter as the trigger,” she added.
Sr. Lucy wrote that she is “a collateral victim of this Franco Mulakkal scandal, in regard to which the mettle of the Church’s commitment to truth and justice is being tested in full public view.”
She charged that “it does not have to be argued that the Holy See being made to be seen as partisan in this case, or as hostile to justice being available to a rape victim, is sure to discredit the witness and integrity of the Catholic Church for the years to come.”
The community’s superior general, Sr. Ann Joseph, wrote in August that Sr. Lucy “did not show the needed remorse and you failed to give a satisfactory explanation for your lifestyle in violation of the proper law of the FCC.”
Sr. Lucy said that the FCC’s charges of disobedience are a “deliberate attempt to paint her in bad light”.
In a January letter of warning sent to Sr. Lucy, Sr. Ann wrote that the nun had joined a protest regarding Bishop Mulakkal “without the permission of your superior. You have published articles in some non-Christian newspapers and weeklies … gave interviews to ‘Samayam’ without seeking permission from the provincial superior. Through Facebook, channel discussions and the articles, you belittled the Catholic leadership by making false accusations against it and tried to bring down the sacraments. You tried to defame FCC also. Your performance through social media as a religious sister was culpable, arising grave scandal.”
The letter also said Sr. Lucy failed to obey a transfer order given her in 2015 by her provincial superior, and that she published a book of poems despite being denied permission to do so, and used 50,000 Indian rupees ($700) from the congregation’s account “without proper permission” to do so.
Sr. Lucy is also accused of buying a car for about $5,670 and learning to drive without permission, and failing to entrust her salary from December 2017.
Sr. Ann called these acts “a grave infringement of the vow of poverty.”
The superior general added that Sr. Lucy has been corrected and warned several times by her provincial over her “improper behaviour and violations of religious discipline.”
“Instead of correcting yourself, you are simply denying the allegations against you stating that you have to live your own beliefs, ideologies and conviction. You are repeatedly violating the vows of obedience and poverty. The evangelization and social work you do should be according to the FCC values, principles and rules. The present mode of your life is a grave violation of the profession you have made,” Sr. Ann wrote.
After the denial of Sr. Lucy’s initial appeal was communicated to her earlier this month, she told the BBC that “I don’t see any point” in further recourse to the Apostolic Signatura, “since they have made up their mind.”
She maintained: “I am not going to leave the convent. The lifestyle I lead is as per the rules and regulations.”
Sr. Lucy was sent a series of warnings from January through March. The first asked that she appear before Sr. Ann to explain her disobediences, or face expulsion from the congregation.
In January Sr. Lucy said that the congregation was trying to silence her, and denied any wrongdoing.
In May the FCC’s General Council voted unanimously to dismiss Sr. Lucy.
Another nun of the FCC, Sister Lissy Vadakkel, was transferred earlier this year from Muvattupuzha to Vijawada.
Sister Alphonas Abraham, superior of the FCC’s Nirmala Province, said in February that Sr. Lissy’s transfer was unrelated to her acting as a witness in the case against Bishop Mulakkal.
Miao, India, Oct 25, 2019 / 06:01 pm (CNA).- As the Amazon Synod considers the evangelization—and exploitation—of indigenous Amazonian tribes, the conversation reflects as well on what is happening in other parts of the world.
In rural nor… […]
Kottayam, India, Oct 24, 2019 / 12:01 pm (CNA).- The trial of Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jullundur, who was charged with rape in April, will begin Nov. 11 in Kottayam. He has been accused of raping a nun repeatedly over the course of two years, and he denies the allegations.
The summons was issued Oct. 23 by a magistrate in Kottayam.
The nun who has accused Bishop Mulakkal of rape has complained against him to the Kerala women’s commission, saying he his harrassing her and others through social media videos.
“In some videos on YouTube, the photographs of the victim is used, which will reveal the identity. The videos are intended to disrespect, abuse, intimidate and influence the witness, victim and the investigation team. This is a violation of the bail conditions laid down by the Kerala High Court,” she wrote in her complaint.
In August, a nun representing the alleged victim accused the defense of evidence tampering in the case and demanded that the real evidence be presented.
Bishop Mulakkal, 55, faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
A nun, who is a member of the Missionaries of Jesus, has said that Bishop Mulakkal raped her during his May 2014 visit to her convent in Kuravilangad, in Kerala. In a 72-page complaint to police, filed in June 2018, she alleged that the bishop sexually abused her more than a dozen times over two years.
Bishop Mulukkal was arrested in September 2018 amid protests calling for a police investigation of the allegation. He was subsequently released on bail, and he has maintained his innocence.
The bishop has claimed the allegations were made in retaliation against him because he has acted against the nun’s sexual misconduct. He said the nun was alleged to be having an affair with her cousin’s husband.
He was temporarily removed from the administration of his diocese shortly before his arrest.
Sydney, Australia, Oct 23, 2019 / 06:00 pm (CNA).- On Wednesday, Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP of Sydney announced the opening of the cause of canonization for Eileen O’Connor, a young Australian woman who founded the order Our Lady’s Nurses… […]
Hong Kong, China, Oct 23, 2019 / 05:00 pm (CNA).- Amid continued controversy surrounding large-scale political protests in Hong Kong, and fears of a crackdown by the Communist Chinese government, Catholic leaders are echoing protesters’ calls for an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality.
“I ask the Lord to move the government of the special administrative region to respond to the public opinion, and set up an ‘Independent Commission of inquiry’ so that the community can begin with the truth and begin the path of real reconciliation,” Hong Kong Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing, a supporter of the protest movement, wrote on Facebook Oct. 21.
“During a gathering last Saturday, I am so moved by our young faithful who expressed their views on our Church’s participation in the society. Again, I am convinced that one of the necessary ways to resolve the current difficult situation in Hong Kong is the setting up of an ‘independent commission of inquiry,’” he continued.
Bishop Ha’s statement was posted as the legislature of Hong Kong completed the process of officially withdrawing a controversial extradition bill Wednesday, which would have allowed the Chinese government to extradite alleged criminals from Hong Kong to the mainland to stand trial.
The impetus for the bill was a case involving a young Hong Kong man whom Taiwan requested be extradited for an alleged murder. Hong Kong previously has no formal extradition agreements with mainland China or Taiwan.
Christians and advocates widely opposed the bill, fearing that the Chinese government, which already seeks to control and suppress Chistianity on the mainland, would use it to further tighten its grip on free exercise of religion in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China. Hong Kongers enjoy freedom of worship and evangelization, while in mainland China, by contrast, there is a long history of persecution for Christians who run afoul of the government.
An estimated 1 million protesters turned out at the first major demonstration June 6. Catholics have played a major role in the protests since then.
Bishop Ha reiterated calls for prayer, urging the faithful to pray the rosary during the month of October and finish with the intention: “Mary, untier of knots, please pray for us!”
Bishop Ha has taken part in ecumenical prayer rallies with protesters in the past, urged an increase in prayer and said he is concerned for the safety of the many young people involved in the protests. He told CNA in September that he urges “Friday fasting” as part of the prayer for peace in Hong Kong.
Though chief executive Carrie Lam suspended the bill June 15 and even apologized, protesters feared that the proposal could be reintroduced. The next day, an estimated 2 million marchers were out on the streets.
Though the protests have been largely peaceful, participants on both sides have periodically resorted to violence. Police have used rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannon on protesters repeatedly. Thousands of high school and college students staged a strike on the first day of classes Sept. 2, with many wearing gas masks and helmets.
Police shot an 18-year-old protester in the chest Oct. 1, and Jimmy Sham, leader of the pro-democracy group Civil Human Rights Front, was hospitalized last week after being attacked by a group of men wielding hammers and knives at a protest.
Since the protests have gone on, Beijing has instituted a travel ban for some Catholics seeking to enter the island, and Chinese officials are reportedly concerned that Catholics on the mainland could work with the Catholic Church in Hong Kong to inspire similar resistance.
Protesters are demanding that Lam resign for her failure to respond to their demands.
Though Lam has said she has no plans to resign, the Financial Times newspaper reported recently that China’s government is drawing up plans to remove Lam and replace her with an interim chief executive after calm returns to Hong Kong, though China’s foreign ministry responded to the report calling it “a political rumour with ulterior motives.”
Cardinal Joseph Zen, bishop emeritus of Hong Kong and a sharp critic of the Sept. 2018 Vatican-China deal on the appointment of bishops, also has spoken strongly in support of the protesters and in support of an independent inquiry into the police’s tactics.
“We denounce the escalation of police brutality and arbitrary use of force against peaceful protesters, reporters, first-aiders, and ordinary citizens of Hong Kong. We believe it is in China’s interest to show the global community; it is not an enemy of open society and democracy,” a statement from the International Coalition for Democratic Renewal in Hong Kong reads, which Zen shared on social media Oct. 23.
Canberra, Australia, Oct 22, 2019 / 03:18 pm (CNA).- A hearing of the Australian Senate was told Tuesday that the government had narrowed the purview of an independent inquiry into the effect of anti-discrimination laws on religious schools and organizations.
The government had asked the Australian Law Reform Commission in April to report on how to balance competing claims of religious freedom rights and LGBT rights. In recent years, Australia has seen debate over religious freedom with respect to the seal of the confessional, hiring decisions, and same-sex marriage.
Sarah Derrington, president of the ALRC, told a Senate hearing Oct. 22 that the government had in August limited the commission’s field of inquiry and delayed its report.
“The terms of reference as originally drafted were quite narrow in any event but they are narrower again,” she said, according to the AAP.
The ALRC was to have published a discussion paper on its findings in November, but the government directed that it be pushed back at least eight months.
It was also told to confine its recommendation to laws other than the religious discrimination bill, and ensure that legislation on sex discrimination and employment are consistent with the bill.
Derrington said that as a result, she has paused the commission’s inquiry.
The religious discrimination bill is intended make it unlawful to discriminate against people on the ground of their religious belief or activity; establish a religious freedom commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission; and amend existing laws regarding religious freedom, including marriage and charities law, and objects clauses in anti-discrimination law.
The coalition government, which is led by the Liberal Party and includes the National Party, wants to make religious belief and activity a protected class, like race or sex. It also hopes to ensure that groups rejecting same-sex marriage are not stripped of their charitable status.
The bill has faced criticism from both religious groups and LGBT advocates.
Freedom for Faith, a Christian legal think tank, said in September that the bill would have unintended consequences, and urged that it be re-drafted before it is passed.
Among its objections to the bill was that “it does not make much sense to create new exemptions in legislation at the same time as two organisations that report to the Attorney are busily working to reduce or eliminate them,” in reference to the work of the ALRC and the Australian Human Rights Commission.
The Australian bishops’ conference has said that while the religious discrimination bill shows promise, it does not do enough to safeguard religious freedom.
Hong Kong, China, Oct 18, 2019 / 12:54 pm (CNA).- A court in Hong Kong has ruled against the recognition of same-sex partnerships, upholding the government’s policy of not recognizing same-sex marriage or civil unions.
The court’s review stemmed from a petition that a Hong Kong woman filed in June 2018, asking to enter into a legally recognized civil union with her female partner.
Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal had ruled in July 2018 that foreign same-sex couples who have been married elsewhere are entitled to to spousal visas.
According to the New York Times, Judge Anderson Chow Ka-ming wrote Friday that “updating” the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples would lead to “far-reaching consequences” that the court was not prepared to accept.
According to The Standard, the judge noted that the territory’s Legislative Council is free to enact new legislation to legalize same-sex unions, or provide an alternative such as civil unions. But that decision would be beyond the court’s scope of power, he said.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam in July 2018 said that the Hong Kong government has no plans to amend the law and approve same-sex marriage in the near future, and reiterated her position in March 2019.
Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, which also does not recognize same-sex marriage.
In May of this year, the Parliament of Taiwan legalized same-sex unions, the first Asian country to do so.
Taiwan’s constitutional court had in 2017 ruled that same-sex couples had the right to legally marry, and lawmakers were given a two-year deadline to draft legislation.
The people of Taiwan voted against the recognition of same-sex marriage in the country’s civil code in a series of referendums in Nov. 2018. Despite this, the government passed a special law recognizing same-sex marriages while leaving the definition of marriage in civil law unchanged.
Cardinal John Tong, leader of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong, has in the past called on Catholics to consider candidates’ views on sexual morality when electing lawmakers.
The Diocese of Hong Kong has not yet commented on the most recent court ruling.
© Catholic World Report