Bishops in Philippines welcome Duterte’s arrest
ROMAN CATHOLIC bishops in the Philippines have welcomed the arrest this week of the former President (2016-22), Rodrigo Duterte, on charges of crimes against humanity, Vatican News reports. He was taken into custody by the Philippine authorities at Manila airport on 11 March, after an ICC warrant was issued. His arrest followed a year-long investigation into his “war on drugs”, through which he is alleged to have ordered more than 6200 extrajudicial killings. The president of Caritas Philippines, the Rt Revd Jose Colin Bagaforo, said: “True justice . . . is about accountability, transparency, and the protection of human dignity. For years, Duterte has claimed that he is ready to face the consequences of his actions. Now is the time for him to prove it.” The Vicar Apostolic of Taytay in Palawan, the Rt Revd Broderick Pabillo, said that, regardless of his guilt, the crimes had happened under his watch and must be investigated. “That is what democracy should be: no one is above the law.”
Study records priests’ abductions in Nigeria
ELEVEN of the 145 Roman Catholic priests in Nigeria reported as having been abducted between 2015 and 2025 have been killed, and four are still missing, the Vatican news agency Fides reports. Its study, published last week, says that, between July 2022 and June 2023, 3620 people were abducted in 582 kidnapping cases, and about five billion naira (about $3.88 million) was paid in ransoms. Church personnel have been increasingly targeted. Abductions of priests were more numerous in particular states, such as Onitsha, Kaduna, and Owerri, which recorded 47 cases. Most abducted priests were released, either through police operations or ransom payments. Kaduna emerged as the most dangerous state, where 24 priests were abducted and seven were killed. The latest incident was on 5 March, when Fr Sylvester Okechukwu, a priest in Kafanchan diocese, in Kaduna State, was murdered the day after his kidnapping.
Australian church marks 70 years since arson attack
THE 70th anniversary of a fire that destroyed St John’s, Camberwell, in Melbourne, was commemorated on Sunday, and the offerings were given to the Adas Israel Congregation, whose synagogue in Ripponlea was fire-bombed in December. In a statement to the congregation, the Vicar and churchwardens said that the donation resonated with the church’s own experience of an arson attack in 1955. While governments had a responsibility to protect all citizens, faith communities could work to build solidarity.
Cubans freed in Vatican-mediated deal
THE Cuban government has granted the early release of 553 prisoners, this week, completing the deal mediated by the Holy See in the final days of the Biden presidency, Vatican News reports. On 14 January, President Biden removed Cuba from a US terrorism blacklist in exchange for an agreement to free 553 prisoners held after anti-government protests in July 2021 — the largest since Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution. In a statement after the deal, the Cuban President, Miguel Díaz-Canel, said: “As part of the close and fluid relations with the Vatican State, I informed Pope Francis of [the decision to free the prisoners] in the spirit of the 2025 Jubilee.” The deal was overturned six days after President Trump was sworn in, but prisoners have continued to be sporadically released. In February, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, called the gradual release of the Cuban prisoners “a sign of great hope”. On Monday, the vice-president of Cuba’s High Court said that the process had successfully been completed.
Children encouraged to bring their ‘big dreams’ to God
THE Scripture Union International (SUI) is hosting the first Global Children’s Day of Prayer, on 29 March, for children aged between eight and 14. The 90-minute online event will involve children, connected to the SUI through a camp, school, or community group, leading others in prayer for local and global needs. Before the day, children have been invited to think of their “Big Dream” for the world and to pray for that. The International Director, Monika Kushmierz, said: “We hope it will be the start of an annual event that will encourage children to talk to God about their concerns, hopes, and dreams for the world.” scriptureunion.global/what-we-do/pray
Act on climate finance, United Nations urged
THE World Council of Churches (WCC) has co-signed a statement calling on the UN Human Rights Council to address the “climate-debt-tax-human rights nexus as a moral imperative”. The statement, delivered by the Revd Peter Adenekan during the 58th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, said: “Many of these countries are spending more on servicing debt than on lifesaving public services and responding to the climate emergency. In other words, obligations to repay debt are preventing governments from meeting people’s rights to health, education, and a clean environment.” Mr Adenekan, a student at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, is researching, with the WCC’s Living Planet Programme, the intersection of climate and debt in Nigeria.
