Christian politician completes two-year sentence for blasphemy in Indonesia

Colombo, Sri Lanka, Jul 23, 2019 / 08:01 pm (CNA).- One of the churches in Sri Lanka damaged in attacks on Easter was re-consecrated Sunday. During the ceremony, the Archbishop of Colombo criticized the government’s investigation of the attacks.

St. Sebastian’s parish in Negombo, nearly 25 miles north of Colombo, was re-consecrated July 21 by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith.

The church was one of several targeted in bombings across Sri Lanka April 21. The attacks killed more than 250, and wounded another 500.

During his homily, the cardinal encouraged Catholics and Muslims to work together to stem the spread of terrorism. He also challenged Sri Lankan officials to reconsider their political agenda, charging that there has been a failure in the investigation of the attacks.

“The executive and the legislature were locked in a power struggle. They did not care about the international conspiracy against the country,” Ranjith stated.

He said that “the selfish power hungry leaders did not worry about ordinary people… The leaders did not heed intelligence warnings… the security council did not meet since October because of the power struggle.”

Ranjith said that “the current leaders have failed. They have no backbone. They must leave the government and go home.”

“I have no faith in any of these committees and commissions of inquiry. These are election gimmicks. The leadership must allow someone else to run the country.”

He expressed fear the investigation “will be brushed under the carpet,” and complained that the government “had been informed about the attacks more than three times” by Indian officials.

At the re-consecration a monument inscribed with the names of 114 victims killed in the attack was unveiled.

The Sri Lankan navy helped to rebuild St. Sebastian’s.

The government has blamed the attacks on the jiihadist group National Thowheeth Jama’ath, whom the police say was responsible for the attacks. The Islamic State has also claimed responsibility, saying the local jihadists had pledged loyalty to the group.

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Melbourne, Australia, Mar 4, 2019 / 04:40 pm (CNA).- A man who says he was sexually assaulted in the 1970s by Australia’s Cardinal George Pell says he will file a lawsuit against the cardinal, after prosecutors scuttled a plan to try Pell for the alleged abuse.

The man, whose name has not been disclosed, claims that Pell touched him inappropriately while playing with him in the swimming pool of a Church-run boys’ home where he resided. The man, referred to by his attorney as “David,” is now 50. He lived at the boys’ home from 1974 to 1978, leaving the home before he was ten years old.  Pell was at that time a priest serving in Ballarat, Australia.

Pell was convicted last year of five counts of sexual abuse, stemming from charges that he sexually assaulted two choir boys in a cathedral in the 1990s, while Pell was Archbishop of Melbourne. He was expected to face a second trial concerning allegations that in the 1970s he sexually assaulted two other boys in the Ballarat swimming pool. Prosecutors dropped that case before trial, citing insufficient evidence.

Charges related to “David’s” claim were dropped weeks before prosecutors decided to scuttle the entire trial.

The cardinal is now incarcerated, awaiting sentencing after a court hearing last week related to his previous trial.

“David” alleges that he was also abused by a nun who staffed the boys’ home. In addition to Pell, he plans to include the nun’s religious order, the Sisters of Nazareth, along with the Australian state of Victoria and the Archdiocese of Melbourne in his lawsuit.

“David’s” attorney told the Guardian that the man “was devastated when the prosecution decided not to proceed with the case.”

Pell is appealing his criminal conviction. Melbourne law professor Jeremy Gans told the Guardian last week that there is a good chance Pell’s appeal will succeed, in large part because there was only one key witness in the prosecution’s case.

While many figures in Australian media have applauded Pell’s conviction, some Australians have called it into question, prompting considerable debate across the country.

Paul Kelly, editor-at large at The Australian, said last week that “the implausibility of the evidence” against Pell “raises serious doubts” that the cardinal had a fair trial.

Other observers have expressed similar sentiments. Well-known Australian crime reporter John Silvester argued in The Age that “if Pell did molest those two teenagers in the busy cathedral, it certainly does not fit the usual pattern of paedophile priests.”

“Pell has become a lightning rod in the worldwide storm of anger at a systemic cover-up of priestly abuses. But that doesn’t make him a child molester,” Silvester said.

When Sky News Australia commentator Andrew Bolt announced that he would defend Pell on his television program Feb. 26, the network pulled all advertising from the broadcast, to ensure that advertisers would not be connected to the discussion.

“Sky News is committed to providing a platform for robust debate and discussion and is not afraid to tackle confronting and controversial issues,” a spokeswoman for the network told the Weekly Beast.

“Sky News recognised that the controversial topic of George Pell’s conviction to be covered by one of its highest-rating commentators may have presented an environment that left advertisers open to campaigns by activists.

“A proactive decision was made to replace advertisements during Tuesday night’s program.”

“David” has not yet filed a lawsuit. Attorneys say that he will seek damages for psychological harm, lost wages, and medical expenses. Attorney also say they will call as witnesses other men who allege Pell sexually assaulted them in a similar fashion.

Pell has denied the accusations.

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Indian Catholics bishops pray at the closing of the their Feb. 7, 2024, conference. / Credit: Anto Akkara

Bangalore, India, Feb 12, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).
The Catholic Church in India has called for observing March 22 as a “day of prayer and fa… […]