RU 18/2006 - NIGERIA, VATICAN, CHINA

- NIGERIA: The Anglican bishop Seth Saleh stated on behalf of the situation reigning in the Islam governed north of Nigeria where a new persecution of Christians is raging: "The charia (Islamic law) forbids to women and men to travel together in public transport means. The interdiction now spread also to private vehicles, saying that men are no more allowed to transport their own women in their own cars. The latter ones are thus obliged to walk on foot." In one word, the Islam authorities don't persecute only the Christians, but also their own religious followers. - (ru; cf. CSI 05/2006)

- VATICAN: Two things are to be signalled. First the fact that the pope always didn't lift the excommunication of +Mgr Marcel Lefebvre, in spite of conversations on this topic, of rumors of a levee by Benedict XVI for such or such recent day, of expectations of hundreds of thousands of faithful, of the obvious injustice made to that holy bishop. Did one not lift the excommunication for many others, including all orthodox bishops? But why not for Mgr Lefebvre? Is the pope not the vicar of Christ on earth who should have fear of nobody in the world? Every day that passes, with His Eminence Mgr Lefebvre excommunicated, is one day too much. And the wound in so many Catholic hearts continues to bleed, because on high level "one negotiates"... - The other sad thing to be mentioned, finishes well. It is about the position of the Church in relation to the condoms: first, two cardinals created surprise and disarray, then a cardinal re-established order. The Italian retired cardinal Maria Martini commented in April 2006 that the utilization of the condom was "a minor evil" to avoid the dissemination of AIDS. Then cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, chief of the Papal Council for the service of health, went one step farther while announcing a survey that the pope, according to the cardinal, had ordered on this question. "My Concil is studying the issue with care, with scientists and theologians specially ordered to elaborate a document on this theme which will be published shortly ". And he specified without restraint: "It's pope Benedict who asked us to make a survey on the particular aspect of the utilization of the condom by those who have AIDS or other infectious diseases". Immediately the big media became delirious saying that the Church was considering the levee of the interdiction of the condom. It was necessary that a 3rd cardinal intervened to stop those rumors. It's cardinal Lopez Trujillo, chief of the Pontifical Council for the Family, who declared without fear: cardinal Maria Martini gave a quite personal opinion which doesn't reflect the teaching of the Church, and the only manner to fight AIDS efficiently remains fidelity and chastity, the only morally acceptable means. The contraception would carry harm to the full gift of oneself which is intrinsically linked to the sexual act... Thanks to Heaven! - If the boat of the Church "takes water from all sides" (cardinal Josef Ratzinger on Holy Friday 2005), and if in addition the bishops and cardinals row in opposite directions, where do we go? - (ru; cf. LSN May 6)

- CHINA: In China the Communists mock of the Vatican which, in the person of cardinal Kasper, continuously frequent the authorities of Peking, notably while visiting the Communist patriotic "Catholic Church", instead of taking care of the ytur Catholics of the underground Church which are heavily persecuted (one supposes that each of these 2 communities has about 6 millions faithful). This time, however, Peking pushed the thing too far. On Sunday April 30th 2006, the Communist authorities made order Ma Yinglin, secretary of the patriotic Catholic bishops' conference, bishop of Kunming in Yunnan province (Southewest China), without consulting anybody. This was too much. His Eminence Zen Ze-kiun, bishop of Hongkong, who was recently created cardinal by Benedict XVI, called in the "South China Morning Post" of Hongkong of May 2nd 2006 to "sever all diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Peking". One could not continue the "dialogue", said the cardinal, without that the Church wouldn't give the impression to have capitulated. Peking corrected immediately cardinal Zen: "We recommend to the religious personalities not to get involved in politics!", hammered the Chinese Minister for Foreign Affairs. Will the recommendation of the cardinal of Hongkong be listened in Rome? Further on, would it not be necessary that the Church interrupts also all ties with the club of abortionists called "European Union", responsible for thousands of babies murdered every day? But here is missing a cardinal standing up, a cardinal ZEN. May God grant us two or three big bishops, as in the times of the Nazi persecution, and everything will go better. - (ru; SJ May 2; LS May 2006).