Asia – Pacific

Newcastle, Australia, Nov 28, 2018 / 11:51 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Lawyers representing Archbishop Philip Wilson, who was convicted in May of failing to report allegations of child sexual abuse disclosed to him in the 1970s, appealed his conviction this week in a Newcastle court.

Archbishop Wilson was convicted May 22 of failing to report abuse committed by Fr. James Fletcher when Fletcher was charged with child sex abuse in 2004. The victims of the scandal, Peter Creigh and another altar boy who is unnamed for legal reasons, said they both had told Wilson in 1976 of their abusive experience with Fr. Fletcher.

The archbishop has maintained his innocence throughout the process, saying he had no recollection of the accusations, and insisting that if he had been notified of the scandal, he would have offered pastoral care to the victims and their families, and reported the event to his superiors.

Archbishop Wilson’s lawyer, Stephen Odgers, argued Nov. 27-28 that Creigh may not have clearly communicated to Wilson that he had been indecently assaulted, suggesting that under the law in 1976, the act described to Wilson was an indecency, but not an assault.

The ABC reported that Newcastle District Court Judge Roy Ellis countered that it was an assault under 1970s law, saying, “I don’t think, in this case, that this is going to be a problem for the prosecution. You have some problems, but this isn’t one of them.”

Odgers also questioned the archbishop’s memory of a conversation held 28 years before Fletcher was charged, and that he may not have known the information could be of assistance to the police.

Ellis stated, “We have all experienced having forgotten something and being reminded about it and realising you had made a mistake and you were wrong,” according to the ABC.

Ellis also noted that Archbishop Wilson’s behavior with a priest who asked him for advice relating to the abuse of another boy by Fletcher was inconsistent with him knowing and failing to report Creigh’s story.

Fr. Glen Walsh approached the archbishop in 2004, who “advised Father Walsh he … should be reporting it to police,” Ellis said.

“The way he acted in my mind runs completely contrary to him realising and then not remembering Peter Creigh’s evidence.”

Archbishop Wilson did not appear in court for the appeal.

Ellis is to deliver his judgement Dec. 6. He has allowed the archbishop not to attend the judgement in person, but rather electronically.

Wilson was sentenced to 12 months of house arrest July 3, and has been serving the sentence at the home of a relative in New South Wales, wearing a tracking device.

9News reported that if Ellis upholds Archbishop Wilson’s conviction, there will be sentencing appeals from both the defence and prosecutors.

Archbishop Wilson resigned as Archbishop of Adelaide July 30, after having said initially he would only do so if his appeal failed.

He said he changed his mind because “there is just too much pain and distress being caused by my maintaining the office of Archbishop of Adelaide, especially to the victims of Fr. Fletcher,” and he had become “increasingly worried at the growing level of hurt” his conviction had caused.

Wilson was ordained a priest in 1975, and consecrated a bishop in 1996.

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Taipei, Taiwan, Nov 27, 2018 / 05:58 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The people of Taiwan voted against the recognition of same-sex marriage in a series of referendums last weekend, reinforcing the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman.

The advisory vote was held on November 24. Three referendum questions in favor of traditional marriage passed by significant margins, while two questions in opposition failed, according to the Straits Times.

A Taiwanese high court ruled in 2017 that it was unconstitutional to ban same-sex marriages. The ruling gave the lawmakers of Taiwan two years to develop a same-sex marriage law, but the government has been in a deadlock. The two years will be up in May 2019.

The government used the newly revised referendum law, which offers the people a chance to vote on any question which receives 280,000 signatures. In order to pass, the questions must then be approved by a quarter of the eligible voters and exceed the number of votes in opposition.

Three referendum questions favored the traditional definition of marriage, including the question, “Do you agree that Civil Code regulations should restrict marriage to being between a man and a woman?”

Two questions put forth by advocates for same-sex marriage did not pass, including the question, “Do you agree that the Civil Code marriage regulations should be used to guarantee the rights of same-sex couples to get married?” The Taiwanese people also voted against adding LGBT education to the national curriculum.

The referendum was an advisory vote. Shiau Hong-chi, a professor of gender studies at Shih-Hsin University, told the Guardian that same-sex marriage will still have to be handled in court.

“The referendum is a general survey, it doesn’t have very strong legal implications,” he said. “One way or another it has to go back to the court.”

Earlier this month, Archbishop John Hung Shan-chuan of Taipei spoke on the Church’s stance on same-sex marriage in a closed-door conference. According to UCA News, the archbishop stressed that the Church sees all people as brothers and sisters, but cannot change God’s design for marriage.

While the Church does not condone discrimination, “we cannot support same-sex marriage and same-sex union,” he said.

“During the review of the Civil Code by the Legislative Yuan, I have clearly stated the attitude of the Catholic Church: the legalization of same-sex marriage and same-sex union is not in line with our teachings. The Chinese Regional Bishops’ Conferences in 2016 and 2017 respectively clearly stated our opposition.”

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Washington D.C., Nov 27, 2018 / 05:07 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Chinese human rights activist Chen Guangcheng called the Vatican’s pact with China over the selection of bishops “preposterous” in a sharp critique of the Sino-Vatican agreeme… […]

Manila, Philippines, Nov 26, 2018 / 10:45 am (CNA).- The president of the Philippines encouraged on Monday Catholics to build their own chapels, rather than attending Catholic churches.

“When someone is baptized, you have to pay…when someone dies, you have to pay,” President Rodrigo Duterte said in a speech Nov. 26.

“Build your own chapel in your own house and pray there. You don’t have to go to church to pay for these idiots,” he added, according to Rappler.

Though president of predominantly Catholic country, Duterte has a record of criticizing the Catholic Church.

On All Saints’ Day, Nov. 1, the president said, apparently joking, the Christians should display his picture on Church altars instead of depictions of “drunkard” saints.

“Who are those stupid saints? They’re just drunkards,” Duterte said, according to The Philippine Star.

“Just stay with me. I’ll give you one patron saint so you can stop searching for one. Get hold of a picture of mine and put it on the altar — Santo Rodrigo,” he said.

In August, Duterte called the Church a “hypocritical institution” and before asking at a meeting of business leaders ““Is there any bishop here? I want to kick your a**.” In June, the president said that God is “stupid,” and a “son of a b-tch.” The president’s spokespersons have frequently mentioned that the context for his statements is the abuse he apparently suffered while a student at a Catholic school.

Duterte has said he was molested by Fr. Mark Falvey, SJ, who has been accused posthumously of serially sexually abusing children. In May 2007, the California province of the Society of Jesus reached a $16 million settlement with at least some of his victims.

Duterte, who is accused of human rights abuses amid a brutal crackdown on drug trafficking in the Philippines, ordered this year that Sr. Patricia Fox, a long time activist in the country, be deported, in response to her criticisms of government tactics. After a legal battle, Fox returned to her native Australia, but says she will appeal her immigration case in the Philippines.

In August Fr. Amado Picardal, a priest who criticized Duterte went into hiding, saying that “death squads” had targeted him for assassination. 

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Manila, Philippines, Nov 24, 2018 / 04:59 pm (CNA).- On average, the Philippines is hit by 8-9 tropical typhoons per year. These storms can cause significant damage – but they rarely reach the magnitude of 2013’s Typhoon Haiyan.

Today, half a de… […]

Beijing, China, Nov 24, 2018 / 04:43 pm (ACI Prensa).- Wang Jie (a fictional name) is a deacon belonging to the Chinese underground Church. He has spent several years studying in Europe, and for security reasons cannot use his real name, since Chinese authorities may not let him reenter his country if they knew he is preparing to become a priest.

The seminarian shared his story recently with media. He was born in China “in an area where most of the people are pagan.” None of his family members were Catholic, and in fact his parents “had never even heard the word ‘Christianity.’”

But one day his mother fell ill. They found what they believed to be a medical center with a cross on it. It was actually a church, where a nun received them.

After his mother recovered, Wang’s parents returned to thank the woman for caring for her.

“Then the nun began to gradually speak to them about faith, about Christ. My parents were very interested and after some time they converted,” he said. “We see it as a miracle so we would know the faith. God guided us to his house.”

In a sense, the conversion was natural, because his parents were already practicing charity and trying to help others in any way they could. Wang’s entire family was baptized when he was eight years old.

His family joined the underground Catholic Church. They could not openly practice their faith, as the government only recognized the “Patriotic Church” controlled by the Communist Party.

When Wang’s mother became pregnant again, they faced a challenge. The one-child policy, which was in effect at the time, prohibited families from having a second child. But as Catholics, his parents refused to abort. They looked for a way to avoid the heavy penalties imposed by the Communist government on families with more than one child.

“When my sister was born, we found a family that had just had another child, and we registered them as if they were twins. In fact, my sister doesn’t have my same last name [as I do] but that of the other family because according to those documents they are siblings,” he said.

Eventually, his parents befriended a priest who was a rector of the seminary. The rector explained that the seminarians had to move every three or four months to avoid being discovered by the authorities.

“My parents offered them our house, they could live on the ground floor and we on the top floor,” he said.

For the next 10 years, seminarians were living intermittently on the ground floor of the house. Touched by their example, Wang felt a call to the seminary.

He made the final decision after accompanying one of the seminarians to give some catechism lessons.

“When I returned home, it was as if something had set my heart on fire, I told my parents I wanted to be a priest. I had that seed of a vocation in my heart,” he said. “Now I’m a deacon and no words can express the very profound joy I have in my heart.”

The seminarian said that even though he is studying in Europe, his desire is to return to China as soon as possible to preach the Gospel there.

Life as a Chinese Catholic is difficult. Mass is celebrated in family homes, and people must be careful not to talk about their faith explicitly, because the authorities could be listening. However, living with the risk of arrest is worth it, Wang said, because “we want to have the Truth, it’s what you have to do despite the cost.”

One of the worst moments he faces, he said, is when he has to enter China without the authorities discovering that he is a seminarian.

“When I’m in line to enter and I have the passport in my hands, I start praying to the Virgin: ‘My mother, help me. My mother, help me.’ And everything has always gone well even though the dangers are real. God always helps me,” he said.

Regarding the recent accord between the Holy See and the Chinese government which initiates the integration of the underground Church with the Patriotic Church, the seminarian stressed the importance of unity.

“There are some who say the accord is good, and others who don’t think so. But above all we have to pray a lot and follow what the Church says, because the Devil wants to divide the Church and knows how to do it,” he said.

“God gave the key to the papacy to Saint Peter and that’s part of our faith, and either we unite ourselves to Peter or we’re not going anywhere.”

Wang Jie is currently studying and receiving formation as a priest in Europe thanks to the Fundación Centro Académico Romano de Formación (Academic Formation Center Foundation of Rome).

This foundation grants scholarships to seminarians and priests from dioceses in need from all over the world so they can receive formation at the University of Navarre, Spain, of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, Italy, to later return to their dioceses.

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Canberra, Australia, Nov 19, 2018 / 05:01 pm (CNA).- After being slammed for his religion and told he would never understand abortion because it is a women’s issue, Australian senator Barry O’Sullivan declared himself a woman before parliament last week so that he could speak about abortion issues.

“I’m going to declare my gender today, as I can, to be a woman, and then you’ll no longer be able to attack me,” O’Sullivan told fellow representatives at parliament Nov. 14.

The declaration was part of longer and heated remarks given by the senator, who said he was tired of the “vomit” and “vitriol” he received from far-right colleagues whenever he tried to raise “issues around strong values.”

Earlier that week, O’Sullivan, a Catholic, had motioned for pro-choice protesters to be banned from the annual pro-life Day of the Unborn Child events. This prompted Larissa Waters of the Australian Greens party to say that O’Sullivan would never understand abortion as a women’s issue.

“Senator O’Sullivan needs to get his hands and his rosaries off my ovaries and those of the 10,000 Queensland women who have an abortion each year,” Waters said, according to the Australian Associated Press.

She later complied with a request to withdraw her comment on the grounds that it attacked O’Sullivan’s religion.

“You cannot say the word abortion without being attacked..” O’Sullivan said in his remarks Nov. 14.

“These people come and attack me for my religion…using words like ‘rosary beads’, because I had the audacity to raise issues around late-term abortions, where babies who are only minutes away from getting a smack on the ass and a name, are being aborted under the policies of the Australian Greens,” he said.

“So I will not stand silent, I will not stand mute while these people try to continue to marginalize policies and ideas that we want to continue to discuss for this nation,” he continued.

O’Sullivan said that he believes many of the “values” issues he raises, including pro-life positions, reflect the values of an “ever-increasingly silent majority” of Australians, who are afraid to speak up for fear of being attacked for their beliefs.

“I’ve moved sensible motions here, reflecting the views of many people in our society, only to have formality denied,” he said, just before declaring his gender to be a woman.

“It is dispicable the behaviour of these people, for them to come in here with the freedom that they do, and that vomit, that vitriol that comes out of their mouths, it needs to be called out,” he added.

The senator’s gender-swap declaration sparked comments mostly of ridicule and disdain on social media. It also launched an extensive debate on Wikipedia about whether to change the pronouns on O’Sullivan’s page from “he/him” to “she/her.”

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Wenzhou, China, Nov 16, 2018 / 05:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A Vatican-appointed Chinese bishop has reportedly been taken into custody by the government and is undergoing “isolation and indoctrination.”

This is Peter Shao Zhumin’s fifth… […]

Singapore, Nov 12, 2018 / 03:23 pm (CNA).- The Archdiocese of Singapore has introduced a new policy to ensure couples are taking the time they need to properly prepare for marriage.

Catholics looking to getting married in any of the archdiocese’s 32 churches have to book their wedding date at least one year in advance, according to Catholic News.

Previously, the couples only had to notify the church six months before the wedding. Archbishop William Chye of Singapore made the decision in October after discussing the move with the archdiocese’s priests.  

Couples must still undergo the same marriage preparatory programs, including a marriage course and a meeting with the priest who will preside over the wedding.

A Catholic spokesperson for the archdiocese told Strait Times that the new policy emphasizes the importance of the commitment of matrimony and helps Catholics prepare for it.

“In response to the feedback and to help our fellow Catholics prepare for such a major commitment in their lives, the Archbishop, in consultation with his Senate of Priests, is looking to refine the recommended policies presently in place,” he said.

“It marks the beginning of a journey that the Church and the couple take together to prepare the couple for their commitment to each other,” he added.  

Numerous other Christian dominations in Singapore have similar requirements, which may range from six to nine months prior to the wedding day.

Daniel Seah is an engaged Catholic in Singapore who plans to get married in 2020. He told Straight Times that he was happy with the new policy.

“In my opinion, the divorce rate is quite high and I think the Church is looking at ways to help couples discern deeper if this is the right person for them before they walk down the aisle,” he said.

“Even if you book a hotel, you may also need to book one year in advance but people don’t grumble about that.”

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Xuanhua, China, Nov 8, 2018 / 03:28 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Four priests from the underground Catholic Church in China’s Hebei province have been taken into policy custody for indoctrination, AsiaNews reported Monday.

The publication wrote Nov. 5 that the priests are being “indoctrinated on the religious policy of the Chinese government … because they refuse to enroll in the Patriotic Association.”

The abducted priests are Fr. Zhang Guilin and Fr. Wang Zhong of the Diocese of Chongli-Xiwanzi, and Fr. Su Guipeng and Fr. Zhao He of the Diocese of Xuanhua.

Fr. Zhao He may be under house arrest, according to some sources.

Reports of the destruction or desecration of Catholic churches and shrines have come from across China, including the provinces of Hebei, Henan, Guizhou, Shaanxi, and Shandong.

The Church in mainland China has been divided for some 60 years between the underground Church, which is persecuted and whose episcopal appointments are frequently not acknowledged by Chinese authorities, and the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, a government-sanctioned organization.

A Sept. 22 agreement between the Holy See and Beijing was intended to normalize the situation of China’s Catholics and unify the underground Church and the Patriotic Association.

The agreement has been roundly criticized by human rights groups and some Church leaders, including Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, Bishop Emeritus of Hong Kong.

Zen wrote in a column for the New York Times that the agreement was a step toward the “annihilation” of the Catholic Church in China.

While Pope Francis is “very pastoral,” Zen said does not think that he properly understands how communist China works. In Pope Francis’ home country of Argentina, the communists worked to defend the poor against government oppression, often alongside Jesuits, he said. This could be why the pope “may have a natural sympathy for Communists,” as he views them to be persecuted.
It is far different, said Zen, in places where communists are the ruling party – like China. When they acquire power, the communists become the persecutors themselves, he said.

While the exact terms of the agreement between China and the Vatican were not released, Zen is not optimistic about the future of the underground church. While Pope Francis could still “veto” the nomination of a state-approved bishop, “how many times can he do that, really?”

“What good is having the last word when China will have all the words before it,” he asked. He also expressed doubt that the approximately 30 bishops of the underground Church will still be permitted to function as bishops if the two Churches are reconciled.

Since the agreement in September, two CPCA bishops were invited to attend the synod on youth. These men are “known to be close to the Chinese government,” and their attendance at the synod is “an insult to the good bishops of China.”

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