CNA Staff, Dec 29, 2020 / 09:57 am (CNA).-
The White House on Tuesday issued a proclamation praising St. Thomas Becket, an English archbishop who was martyred 850 years ago after conflict with King Henry II over the rights of the Church.
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CNA Staff, Dec 29, 2020 / 09:05 am (CNA).- The bishops of Nigeria have urged prayer for the safety and release of a Nigerian Catholic bishop who was abducted Sunday in Owerri, the capital of Nigeria’s Imo State.
Bishop Moses Chikwe “is said to have been kidnapped in the night of Sunday 27 December 2020,” the secretary general of the Nigerian bishops’ conference has reported.
Bishop Chikwe is the auxiliary bishop of Nigeria’s Archdiocese of Owerri.
“Up to this moment, there has been no communication from the kidnappers,” Fr. Zacharia Nyantiso Samjumi said in a press release obtained by ACI Africa Dec. 28.
“Trusting in the maternal assistance of Blessed Virgin Mary, we pray for his safety and quick release,” the CSN secretary general added a press release circulated under the headline: “SAD EVENT FROM OWERRI.”
Various sources have confirmed to ACI Africa the abduction of 53-year-old Nigerian bishop, all indicating that the bishop’s whereabouts remain unknown.
“I spoke with the archbishop yesterday evening and asked him to let me know if any new thing occurs. Nothing yet,” a Catholic bishop in Nigeria told ACI Africa Dec. 29, making reference to Archbishop Anthony Obinna of Owerri archdiocese.
According to The Sun, the kidnapping occurred along Port Harcourt road in Owerri at about 8 p.m. local time.
Bishop Chikwe “was kidnapped alongside his driver in his official car,” The Sun reported, citing eyewitnesses, who added that the bishop’s vehicle “was later returned to Assumpta roundabout, while the occupants were believed to have been taken to an unknown destination.”
An anti-kidnapping police unit has begun investigating the abduction, the newspaper reported.
Bishop Chikwe’s abduction is the latest in a series of kidnappings that have targeted clergy in Nigeria, but previous abductions have involved priests and seminarians, not bishops.
On Dec. 15, Fr. Valentine Oluchukwu Ezeagu, a member of the Sons of Mary Mother of Mercy (SMMM) was kidnapped in Imo State en route to his father’s funeral in the neighboring Anambra State, in southeastern Nigeria. He was “unconditionally released” the following day.
Last month, Fr. Matthew Dajo, a Nigerian priest of the Archdiocese of Abuja, was kidnapped and released after ten days in captivity. Multiple sources in Nigeria told ACI Africa about negotiations for ransom following Fr. Dajo’s Nov. 22 kidnapping, some sources indicating abductors’ demand for hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars.
Earlier this month, the U.S. State Department listed Nigeria among the worst countries for religious freedom, describing the West African nation as a “country of particular concern (CPC).” This is a formal designation reserved for nations where the worst violations of religious freedom are taking place, the other countries being China, North Korea, and Saudi Arabia.
The action by the U.S. State Department was lauded by the leadership of Knights of Columbus, with the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, Carl Anderson saying December 16, “Nigeria’s Christians have suffered grievously at the hands of Boko Haram and other groups.”
The murders and kidnappings of Christians in Nigeria now “verge on genocide,” Anderson added December 16.
“The Christians of Nigeria, both Catholic and Protestant, deserve attention, recognition and relief now,” Anderson further said, adding, “Nigeria’s Christians should be able to live in peace and practice their faith without fear.”
According to a special report released by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) in March, “no fewer than 20 clergymen including at least eight Catholic Priests/Seminarians were hacked to death in the past 57 months and not less than 50 abducted or kidnapped.”
Catholic bishops in Nigeria, which is Africa’s most populous nation, have repeatedly called on Muhammadu Buhari-led government to put in place strict measures to protect her citizens.
“It is just unimaginable and inconceivable to celebrate Nigeria at 60 when our roads are not safe; our people are kidnapped, and they sell their properties to pay ransom to criminals,” members of CBCN said in a collective statement on October 1.
A version of this story was first reported by ACI Africa, CNA’s African news partner.
Denver, Colo., Dec 29, 2020 / 03:00 am (CNA).- Chatting with Lee McDowell is a peaceful experience.
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New York City, N.Y., Dec 28, 2020 / 03:55 pm (CNA).- Handing an important religious freedom victory to houses of worship in New York, the state’s Second Circuit ordered that the 10 and 25-person caps to worship had to be suspended while the case is pending.
According to the Becket Fund, who represented a group of Synagogues and rabbis as well as the Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, the court’s decision “effectively means that New York cannot enforce its caps against any house of worship.”
“And since Connecticut is also in the Second Circuit, it means that Connecticut’s similar caps on worship are unconstitutional,” Becket Fund explained in a tweet.
And since Connecticut is also in the Second Circuit, it means that Connecticut’s similar caps on worship are unconstitutional.
— BECKET (@BECKETlaw) December 28, 2020
On November 25th, the day before Thanksgiving, the Supreme Court ruled that Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 10 and 25-person caps on worship attendance were discriminatory against synagogues and other houses of worship. Since that decision, a majority of states have moved away from caps on worship attendance.
“The Court also said that after remand the district court had to reconsider the 25% and 33% percentage capacity limits using ‘strict scrutiny’ – the highest standard known to constitutional law. That will be a hard standard for the Governor to meet,” The Becket Fund stated.
“It would be better to stop trying to restrict synagogues, churches, and mosques. Gov. Cuomo should read the writing on the wall and let New York join the 33 states that do not cap or put percentage limits on in-person worship,” The Becket Fund added.
According to Eric Rassbach, attorney at the Becket Fund, “under the Second Circuit standard, California would lose immediately. It makes no sense to allow thousands to mob Macy’s etc., as they did before and after Christmas while allowing zero worship. No other state has such differential treatment of worship.”
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CNA Staff, Dec 28, 2020 / 08:00 am (CNA).- Relics of Auschwitz martyr St. Maximilian Kolbe were installed in a chapel in Poland’s parliament before Christmas.
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CNA Staff, Dec 28, 2020 / 07:00 am (CNA).- Bishop Alberto Rojas succeeded Bishop Gerald R. Barnes Monday as the bishop of San Bernardino, California.
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Vatican City, Dec 28, 2020 / 05:10 am (CNA).- Pope Francis issued a new law Monday reorganizing Vatican finances following a series of scandals.
In a document issued Dec. 28, the pope formalized the transfer of financial responsibilities fr… […]
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