Pope Benedict XVI added his voice to the rising chorus of criticism against the methods used by the police when they raided the Belgian church headquarters. The police said they were searching for evidence of alleged clergy sexual abuse.
The Pope wrote to the Belgian bishops describing the raid on the Mechelen-Brussels archdiocese "surprising and deplorable" for the heavy-handed way it was carried out. He continued by stressing his position that accusations of abuse of minors within the Catholic Church should be pursued by civil as well as Church authorities.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, said "there are no precedents for this, not even in the old Communist regimes". The raid included camera searches in the tombs of two cardinals.
Disappointed with G8 aid pledges
"We're disappointed with the G8 leaders," said Michael Casey, executive director of the Canadian Catholic Organisation for Development and Peace, after the June 26-27 G8 meeting in Huntsville, Ontario, Canada.
"It's kind of a failure," said Alexis Anagnan of the French Catholic aid agency World Solidarity.
These Catholic agencies are of the opinion that the $7.3 billion pledge, including $5 billion from the Group of Eight countries, is not enough, and as a result there will still be millions of needless deaths especially among pregnant women and young children. They also believe the leaders of the G8 group have not lived up to their responsibilities.
Vatican denounces 'handi-phobia'
Neonatologist and bioethicist Carlo Bellieni in an article in the June 10 edition of L'Osservatore Romano, denounced what he called "handi-phobia". He defined this term as "a fear of handicapped persons that has led to the widespread abortion of children with Down Syndrome and the euthanasia of the disabled".
Bellini wrote that while society had begun to reject racial discrimination, it was now courting practices of genetic discrimination, spending billions for prenatal diagnoses that lead to abortion, rather than making similar investments seeking cures.
Catholics, Orthodox must work together
"The difficulties Christians of the Middle East are experiencing are in large measure common to all: living as a minority and yearning for authentic religious freedom and for peace," the Pope said as he welcomed a delegation from the Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople.
The Pope said Catholics and Orthodox can and should work together for the good of their communities in the Middle East.
Persecution of Christians
Two major incidents of anti-Christian violence have been reported around Bangalore, India, in recent weeks. Hindu fundamentalists attacked two young pastors of an evangelical church and set on fire seven vehicles belonging to an evangelical group.
Meanwhile, a London-based human rights group showed its concern for the alarming rise in extremism and intolerance in Indonesia. Among the violations were at least 30 attacks on churches or church property. The Jakarta Christian Communication Forum said it had recorded at least 20 violations so far in 2010.
Compiled by Fr Joe Borg