Report: Former Hong Kong bishop Cardinal Zen arrested

CNA Staff, Dec 15, 2020 / 05:00 pm (CNA).- The International Criminal Court has declined to investigate the Chinese government for their detention of ethnic and religious minorities, the organization announced on Monday. While declining to proceed with the allegations of human rights abuses, the court left the complaint open for the possibility of future action.

The complaints were filed by two groups of exiled Uyghur people: the East Turkistan Government in Exile and the East Turkistan National Awakening Movement.

According to the court’s report, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court received allegations on July 6, 2020, that “Chinese officials are responsible for acts amounting to genocide and crimes against humanity committed against Uyghurs falling within the territorial jurisdiction of the Court on the basis that they occurred in part on the territories of Tajikistan and Cambodia, States Parties to the Rome Statute.”

China is not a state party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, a 1998 treaty which makes genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of agression as international crimes. Tajikistan and Cambodia, however, are signatories of the Rome Statute. 

Per the report, however, the International Criminal Court lacks jurisdiction in this case, “since the actus reus of each of the above-mentioned alleged crimes appears to have been committed solely by nationals of China within the territory of China, a State which is not a party to the Statute.” 

The Chinese government admitted in October 2018 that “re-education camps” for members of the Uyghur population had been established. The camps were first spotted on satellite imagery in 2017.

The highest estimate sets the total number of inmates in the camps at 3 million, plus approximately half a million minor children in special boarding schools for “re-education” purposes. Survivors have reported indoctrination, forced abortions, beatings, forced labor, and torture in the camps.

While the International Criminal Court will not be investigating China, a lawyer representing the East Turkistan Government in Exile expressed optimism that additional evidence will show that the court has jurisdiction in the matter. 

“The (Office of the Prosecutor) has in effect asked for more evidence if it is to be able to open an investigation,” said Rodney Dixon, QC, the lead barrister who submitted the complaint, said in a press release on Tuesday, December 15. 

“The OTP says there is insufficient evidence now, but further evidence can be provided which can lead to an investigation being opened. The fact is that the file is not closed as we have submitted under Article 15(6) was acknowledged by the OTP, the purpose of which is to get an investigation opened which the Prosecutor will consider,” he said.  

“We are submitting further evidence to get an investigation opened. This process before the ICC is ongoing and we are hopeful that an investigation will be commenced.”

Dixon referred to this as “a very important moment” for the Uyghur people. 

“The millions of Uyghur victims who are suffering terrible atrocities at the hand of the Chinese Government officials need justice and we are hopeful that the ICC will take up this investigation,” he said. 

“We will be providing highly relevant evidence that will permit this to happen in the coming months. We are engaging with the Office of the Prosecutor as these proceedings go on with the aim of opening a full investigation.” 

The repression of Uyghurs is part of a widespread effort by the Chinese government to “Sinicize” religion and culture across the country.

In October, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced a resolution to declare China’s actions against the Uyghur population as a genocide, and express “the sense of the Senate that the atrocities perpetrated by the Government of the People’s Republic of China against Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region constitutes genocide.” 

The senators said that China’s actions violate the norms outlined in the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and called for an international response to China’s actions.

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St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Via Shutterstock / null

CNA Newsroom, Aug 25, 2022 / 07:15 am (CNA).

An Australian court on Wednesday ruled that a man can sue the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne and Cardinal George Pell for nervous shock over the alleged sexual abuse of his late son.

The man is the father of a former choirboy, who prosecutors alleged had been abused by Pell. His son died from an accidental drug overdose in 2014, having never made a complaint against Pell. 

The father is seeking compensation in a civil case against the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne and the 81-year-old Pell, who served as archbishop of Melbourne from 1996 to 2001. 

According to court documents, the father claims his son was abused by Pell and died from a heroin overdose “caused by the psychological impact of the abuse.” In turn, he says, he suffered nervous shock for which he is making a claim against the archdiocese and the cardinal.

Australia’s High Court unanimously overturned Pell’s conviction for alleged sexual abuse on April 7, 2020. The cardinal, who has always maintained his innocence, was released after more than 13 months of imprisonment and returned to Rome, where he had served as the Vatican’s economy czar.

The Supreme Court of Victoria ruled on Aug. 24 that the man can sue over the psychological harm he says he suffered over the death of his son. 

According to a report by the Age, this decision could pave the way for other families to sue the Church.

Justice Michael McDonald ordered the archdiocese to pay the plaintiff’s legal costs, but not Pell, who he said played “no active role” in the hearing, the ABC reported.

A spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Melbourne told the Age: “We acknowledge the judgment handed down by his honor … and will be working through what that means in coming days.”

The case will return to court at a later date.

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Tokyo, Japan, Mar 11, 2020 / 04:00 am (CNA).- More dioceses in Japan have shut down Mass for the coming weeks in response to the ongoing outbreak of the coronavirus nationwide.

The majority of Japanese dioceses have now suspended all public worship.

10 dioceses of 16 have now suspended public Masses, according to Satoh Takaharu, a spokesman for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan

This comes after reports and pronouncements from various individual bishops across the nation regarding temporary church closures.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan says that the bishops have not made any sweeping or mandatory prescriptions on the virus outbreak, and the matter is left to the discretion of individual diocesan bishops.

“The CBCJ is not in a position to issue such directives as the situations vary in dioceses and the dioceses are taking necessary measures accordingly,” said Satoh.
 
Additionally, the CBCJ went on to say that decisions on the matter are not in any way influenced by the Japanese authorities. Churches are making precautionary choices by their own judgement.

“The CBCJ is not in contact with the Japanese government to decide what to do on Masses,” said Satoh.

As of March 10, 587 people in Japan have contracted coronavirus, and 10 have died.

Other religions’ places of worship in Japan have also closed temporarily, including mosques. Native Japanese religions — Shinto and Buddhism — do not have weekly obligations of attendance and have been less impacted by the outbreak.

The Archdiocese of Osaka, led by Cardinal Thomas Aquino Manyo Maeda suspended March 13th public Masses yesterday, and is expected to introduce additional measures this week.

Dioceses that had previously implemented Mass cancellations are now extending them.

The Archdiocese of Tokyo has now cancelled public Masses through March 29th, as well as all public church gatherings besides weddings and funerals.

“The other day, it was announced that Masses all throughout Italy, including the Diocese of Rome, had been suspended. In Japan, it is not yet clear when the infections will peak,” said an official update on the Archdiocese of Tokyo website posted today.

The update continues, “For events other than Masses, as much as possible kindly consider postponing or canceling them, except only for small gatherings. In case of holding such events, in addition to hand disinfection, kindly provide sufficient ventilation, keep a distance between each other, and try to finish as quickly as possible.”

The announcement from the Archdiocese of Tokyo also stressed that the dispensation from Mass is not a dispensation from religious observance, and urged Catholics throughout the community to worship in private for the time being.

“Since we are not relieved from our duty to pray on Sundays, let us find time to offer our Sunday prayers, in spiritual communion with the whole Church community.”

The news comes on the heels of worldwide church closures in countries affected by the coronavirus outbreak, including Pope Francis’ own Diocese of Rome.

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