Quotes and news

The following are extracts from the statement issued after a recent meeting in Cyprus the Council of the Episcopal Conferences of Europe:

“The interpretation of subsidiarity given by European politics, seeing it as a simple work supported by the member states but controlled by the European institutions, seems insufficient. Instead, subsidiarity capable of supporting social cohesion needs a precise regulatory framework which, in addition, demands to be founded on the principle of solidarity.

“(At the root of the European fi­nan­cial crisis is the) lack of an anthropological and social vision focused on solidarity and subsidiarity.

“The bishops confirmed the conviction that Europe needs Christianity and that Christians have a special responsibility for the future of Europe, so that education and instruction value the rich European culture, that art and culture might dialogue with religious faith without fundamentalism from either side and, finally, that cultural exchanges above all between the young people of Europe may have broad horizons.”

The Church proposes a person not a plan

During his recent inaugural Mass at St Andrew’s Cathedral in Glasgow, Archbishop Philip Tartaglia said: “I think it is very important to stress that the proposal the Church makes to the world today is not an idea, or a plan or a policy, but a person. That person is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born of Mary. This proposal remains exciting and endlessly relevant for the world in which we live.

“(When that proposal) is made persuasively and well to people of good will they often find that their minds are drawn to the truth of God and their hearts are touched by the love of God.”

US bishop found guilty

Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City, Missouri, was given a two-year probation sentence which was then suspended. He was found guilty of failing to report evidence of sexual abuse by a priest in his diocese. Mgr Finn is the first American bishop convicted of a criminal offence for mishandling sex-abuse complaints.

Before the sentence was passed Mgr Finn said he was truly sorry and that he regrets his role in the case and “for the hurt these events caused”.

Nigerian bishops slam Boko Haram sect

The Catholic bishops of Nigeria said “the patience of Christians has been tried and tested for too long now through the unprovoked and senseless killing of Christians by the dreaded Islamic sect (Boko Horam).

“We ask that the reckless attacks on them and other innocent Nigerians be brought to a halt through the proper use of intelligence and expertise available of government and security agencies.”

The bishops said Boko Haram is trying to stimulate sectarian violence as a way to divide the country.

Pakistani girl says she did not burn Koran

Rimsha Masih, the Pakistani 14-year-old mentally handicapped Chris­tian girl accused of blasphemy was granted bail after three weeks in police custody. She is accused of bur­ning pages of the Koran. A judge ordered her release on a bail of $5,282 (€4,090), saying there was lack of evidence to justify holding her in jail. Police are now investigating a Muslim cleric, Khalid Jadoon Chishti, who is being accused of planting the pages of the Koran and burnt pieces of paper in the girl’s bag.

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)