Quotes and news

People celebrating Mass in Namsan-yang, a village of Kachin State in Myanmar, were attacked by the army. Worshippers were beaten and shot. The soldiers then burned the parish and a Baptist church.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide said this is not the first incident where civilians were killed, raped or taken into forced labour. The persecution against different religions has been going on for many years.

Missionaries have been expelled, Catholic schools and hospitals taken over by government and religious freedom abolished. In 2005, the UN’s International Labour Organisation estimated that 800,000 people were subjected to forced labour.

UK bishops lament poor care of elderly

The bishops of England and Wales have called for “a culture of care which cherishes life from its beginning to its natural end”. The bishops made their appeal after an investigation which found that 14 per cent of nursing homes for old people do not give them enough food and water.

Archbishop Peter Smith said “we value the people we care for, and how we treat them holds up a mirror to who we truly are as a society and as individuals”. He added that regulation is important but that it will not solve all problems.

He emphasised the importance of fostering a culture of care that “recognises the God-given dignity of the older person, and sees it as the greatest honour to respect their dignity through the best care”.

Church diplomats exert big influence

Addressing the new ambassador of the Netherlands to the Holy See, the Pope said: “the Holy See is not an economic or military power (yet) its moral voice exerts considerable influence around the world”.

He said this influence existed because the Holy See’s unchanging moral stance “is unaffected by the political or economic interests of a nation-state or the electoral concerns of a political party”.

“In acting as a voice for the voiceless and defending the rights of the defenceless, including the poor, the sick, the unborn, the elderly, and the members of minority groups who suffer unjust discrimination,” the Pope said, “the Church seeks always to promote natural justice as it is her right and duty to do.”

The Vatican’s diplomatic work, he said, “consists largely in articulating the ethical principles that ought to underpin social and political order”.

Bishop optimistic on Tunisian democracy

Archbishop Maroun Elias Lahham of Tunis said recently that although there are only 21,000 Catholics and one bishop in Tunisia, they feel it is their duty to contribute to the country’s democratic development.

“Tunisia has started its path to democracy. It will be a model of democracy made by Tunisians. There are no standard models of democracy valid for all countries. Each creates its own model, adapting it to their social and cultural conditions. I am optimistic about the future of the country,” he said.

Vatican’s thumbs up for Cherie Blair

In a 15-minute interview devoted largely to Cherie Blair’s charitable works, Vatican Radio characterised the wife of the former British Prime Minister as a “devout Catholic”.

In the interview, she discussed the Cherie Blair Foundation for Wo­men, called for a greater role for women in the Church, and praised missionary and teaching sisters.

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)