Quotes and news
Diocese loses case
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has ruled that the diocese of Essen in Germany cannot terminate the employment of a church musician who left his wife to live with another woman.
Like other parish employees, Schueth had made a commitment to uphold the teachings of the Catholic Church.
The court ruled that German courts had erred in finding that the diocese was justified in dismissing Schueth.
Expulsions deplored
A Catholic bishop in Romania has deplored the mass expulsion of Roma from France, and urged European governments to to integrate the continent’s Gypsies.
“There are substantial Roma communities in all European countries, not just Romania and Bulgaria,” said Virgil Bercea, the Greek Catholic bishop of Oradea. “When the French drive them out, all they do is return to visit their families and then travel somewhere else.”
Police arrest victim
After Hindu militants burst into a Protestant church in the Karnataka region of India’s violence-marred Orissa state, and assaulted the pastor, local police arrived on the scene and arrested the pastor – the victim of the violent assault.
Anti-Christian violence has become commonplace in Karnataka. Members of the Christian minority charge that local officials are indifferent to their suffering.
The Mission is real
The Brazilian bishops have condemned violence and “brutal intimidation” against two Guarani communities. The Guarani are engaged in a land dispute with ranch owners, who have reportedly hired gunmen and are denying the Guarani access to food and water to force them off the disputed land.
The sufferings of the Guarani and the suppression of the Jesuit’s mission among them were highlighted in the1986 film, The Mission.