COLOMBIA
Murder of sixth priest this year provokes anger among bishops
THE COLOMBIANbishops have condemned the violence and “moral decline” in Colombian society following the murder of the sixth priest so far this year, writes Jon Stibbs. Fr Gualberto Oviedo Arrieta, 34, a
parish priest in the Nuestra Señora del Carmen Church in Capurgana, north-west Colombia, was brutally murdered in his home on 11 September. In a 12 September statement, the Bishops’ Conference of Colombia expressed “our profound sadness upon confirming that – during the Week for Peace – the life of a priest who devoted himself to the service of the poorest has been cut short … This shows the state of violence and moral deterioration that our society is experiencing,” the bishops continued. No one has been charged and no motive has been given for the murder. Similarly, there have been no arrests following the murder of Fr Reynel Restrepo, 36, in western Colombia on 1 September. The human-rights group Colombian Support Network linked the shooting of Fr Restrepo to his denouncing of a proposed gold mine, saying extractive industries in Colombia have links with right-wing paramilitary groups. Other threats to priests include left-wing guerrilla organisations, drugs cartels and other criminal gangs.
ZIMBABWE
Orphans left stranded after staff evictions
THE LATEST onslaught on Zimbabwe’s Anglican Church by the deposed bishop and government ally Nolbert Kunonga has involved the eviction of priests and staff from two children’s missions – in Chivu 80 miles south of the capital Harare and Murewa, 50 miles to the east. Hundreds of orphans have been left stranded, writes Ellen Teague. The missions were accused of aligning
themselves with Bishop Chad Gandiya of Harare, who is recognised by the Anglican Communion. Kunonga now runs a rival church and since early August he has been using an interim court ruling in his favour to seize Anglican church assets and evict clergy loyal to Bishop Gandiya. The Archbishop of Canterbury, who is
visiting Zimbabwe next month, hopes to meet with Zimbabwe’s dictator President Robert Mugabe to discuss the situation.
28 | THE TABLET | 24 September 2011
AUSTRIA
Schönborn stands his ground
Christa Pongratz-Lippitt In Vienna
IN THE FACE of this summer’s call to dis- obedience from 400 Austrian priests, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn has insisted that in his Archdiocese of Vienna there will be no devi- ation from the course set by Pope Benedict XVI. The Austrian Priests’ Initiative, led by Mgr Helmut Schüller, has called for reform or discussion on priestly celibacy, women priests, Communion for divorced and remar- ried Catholics, and the role of the laity. In two prime-time interviews on Austrian state television and radio this week, Cardinal Schönborn, insisted that his primary respon- sibility as a bishop was to see to it that church unity was upheld. He had given the leaders of the Initiative in his archdiocese a list of points to reflect on when he met with them in August, and he would discuss the outcome with them when they met again “in the course of the autumn”, he said. He was in full agreement with the Initiative that structural reforms were imperative, “but our approach to solutions differs”, the cardinal said. His plans for reform gave absolute pri- ority to mission, he said. The cardinal has already proclaimed a “Masterplan” for reform entitled “Acts 2010” that foresees a small num- ber of committed Catholic communities that will “shine out” in a multicultural environment and out of which vocations will eventually evolve. Today’s parishes will be merged and administered on a larger scale, making tra- ditional parishes a thing of the past.
INDIA PM demands end to religious bias
THE INDIANPrime Minister, Manmohan Singh, has called for urgent steps to remove the “perceived bias” among the country’s security agencies against religious minorities, writes Anto Akkara. “Such a perception is inimical to effective policing, which must necessarily draw upon the confidence and cooperation of all sections of the population it serves,” the Prime Minister insisted when addressing the
national conference of state police chiefs and other top security officials in New Delhi last weekend. Mr Singh, who is a Sikh,
said the perception that sometimes the law enforcement and investigative agencies were opposed to religious minorities was raised at a recent meeting of the National Integration Council (NIC) which he chairs. The council has 150 representatives from all sections of Indian society.
“It is good that the Prime
Minister has spoken about this concern publicly,” said John Dayal, a Catholic activist and member of the NIC. Mr Dayal said he had raised the issue himself at the NIC meeting. In 1984, 3,000 Sikhs were killed after the then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh guards. In August 2008 in Kandhamal at least 38 Christians were killed after the murder by suspected Maoists of a Hindu leader.
The cardinal defended priestly celibacy by recalling that Jesus had chosen to remain celibate. Asked by his interviewers why women could not become priests, Cardinal Schönborn replied: “There is an absolutely clear reason for this. Jesus chose men to succeed him as Apostles and the Church is bound by his deci- sion.” He affirmed that women’s position in the Church “cannot be prized highly enough” but added: “I implore us all to get away from this fixation on the priesthood.” The Second Vatican Council had moreover made clear, he recalled, that everyone was called to the common priesthood. As far as Communion for remarried divorcees was concerned, Cardinal Schönborn recalled that in the Vienna archdiocese it was already possible for the innocent party in a divorce who had remarried to receive Communion under special circumstances – but this could not be made a general rule, he underlined. The Catholic Church was one of the only institutions that upheld the indis- solubility of marriage and one must not forget the situation of the partners who had been deserted and of the children, he warned. He deplored the fact that so many people “flocked to Communion these days” without asking themselves what the Eucharist really signified and without proper preparation. Asked about the Initiative’s observation that disobeying church rules on, for example, contraception was already widespread, Cardinal Schönborn replied that everyone, including himself, disobeyed rules “several times a day” but that did not mean that the rules were wrong. If he as a bishop were to side with those who were disobeying the Church’s teaching this would cause a schism, he warned, giving the example of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, automatically excommuni- cated in 1988 after illicitly ordaining four SSPX priests as bishops. He was not at any- one’s beck and call for such a step and would not be passing on any of the Priests’ Initiative’s suggestions for reform to Rome, he said.
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