September, 2018
Sri Lankan Catholics need to follow pope’s call on death penalty
September 7, 2018 · By Ruki Fernando, Colombo for www.ucanews.com
I was among the Sri Lankans who were shocked to see media reports in July indicating that President Maithripala Sirisena and his cabinet have given the green light to execute drug offenders on death row. For more than 40 years, through civil wars and insurrections, Sri Lanka was one of 29 countries that had maintained a moratorium on […]
Read More...Boracay tribals await land from government
September 7, 2018 · By Jun Aguirre, Boracay Island for www.ucanews.com
At least 12.5 hectares of land have already been found to be ‘viable’ for farm use on Philippine tourist island Tribal people living on world famous Boracay Island in the central Philippines are hoping against all hope that the government makes good on a promise to give them farmland. Many residents, including tribal families, have been evicted over the […]
Read More...Philippine immigration confirms move to deport nun
September 6, 2018 · By Jose Torres Jr., Manila for www.ucanews.com
The Philippines’ Bureau of Immigration has reaffirmed its intention to deport Australian missionary nun Patricia Fox after earlier ordering her to leave the country. The bureau on Aug. 30 dismissed a motion for reconsideration filed by the nun’s lawyers, saying it failed to raise new matters that could warrant the reversal of the expulsion order. Bureau […]
Read More...Philippine bishop decries threats to clergy
September 6, 2018 · By Bong Sarmiento, General Santos City for www.ucanews.com
A Protestant bishop in the southern Philippines has accused the police and military of targeting members of the clergy who work with human rights groups and tribal people. Bishop Rhee Timbang of the Philippine Independent Church said leading clergymen in Mindanao have been placed under surveillance and visited by soldiers and policemen. “We see these cases of […]
Read More...Pennsylvania grand jury accuses over 300 priests of abuse, bishops of cover-up
September 5, 2018 · By Mark Dent for www.ncronline.org
PHILADELPHIA — More than 300 Pennsylvania priests were accused of committing sexual assault and their bishops covering up for them in a wide-ranging grand jury report that detailed some of the most damning accusations brought against the Catholic Church. “There have been other reports about child sex abuse within the Catholic Church,” the grand jury wrote in a […]
Read More...New Mexico compound boy ‘died during ritual ceremony’
September 5, 2018 · By www.bbc.com
A boy whose remains were found in a remote desert compound in New Mexico died during a “ritual ceremony”, US prosecutors said. The boy’s remains were discovered after police rescued 11 malnourished children who were being held at the site. Five adults have been arrested on charges of abusing the children – charges they have […]
Read More...Philip Wilson: Ex-archbishop in cover-up to be detained at home
September 5, 2018 · By www.bbc.com
A former Catholic archbishop will serve a maximum 12-month sentence in home detention for concealing child sexual abuse, an Australian court has ruled. The decision means Philip Wilson, who resigned as archbishop of Adelaide after his conviction, will avoid jail. Wilson, 67, is the world’s most senior Catholic cleric to be convicted of covering up […]
Read More...Woman appointed to head battle against sexual abuse in Chilean Church
September 5, 2018 · By Anne-Bénédicte Hoffner for international.la-croix.com
Chile’s Catholic bishops have appointed Ana Maria Celis Brunet, an experienced lawyer and theologian, to lead the fight against clerical sexual abuse in her new role as president of the National Council of the Chilean Church for the Prevention of Sexual Abuse and Accompaniment of Victims. Pope Francis received Brunet, a specialist in canon law […]
Read More...US migrants: Judge orders deportation plane turnaround
September 4, 2018 · By www.bbc.com
A federal judge has ordered a mother and her daughter to be flown back to the United States, after learning they had been deported mid-appeal. The two were being represented in a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), who said they had fled “extreme sexual and gang violence”. The judge said it was […]
Read More...Filipino Catholic media told to fight ‘fake news’
September 4, 2018 · By Judelyn Vega, Davao City for www.ucanews.com
Filipinos working in the church’s social communication ministry need a lot of prayer and a “sense of mission” to be able “to combat fake news” and work for peace, a gathering in Davao City was told this week. The head of the Philippine bishops’ Commission on Social Communications told the gathering of Catholic media groups to […]
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