WORLD

National Catholic Reporter, March 2, 2001 by Gill Donovan

Catholics concerned over Falun Gong treatment

Catholic leaders in Hong Kong expressed concern over increasing government pressure on the spiritual movement Falun Gong and what this could portend for the underground Catholic church in mainland China. Coadjutor Bishop Joseph Zen Zekiun of Hong Kong said that he was alarmed by Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa's public comment that Falun Gong "carries some characteristics of an evil cult."

The bishop expressed concern that the underground Catholic community in China, comprising Catholics not formally affiliated with the government-approved church, could be similarly branded an evil cult.

Zen wrote in the Sunday Examiner, an English Catholic weekly, that there is no evidence that Falun Gong has committed crimes typically associated with an evil cult, such as dishonesty, violence, psychological manipulation or destruction of family values. He noted that the government of mainland China declared Falun Gong an evil cult in July 1999, long before the January suicide of alleged group members at Tiananmen Square.

Although Falun Gong is illegal in mainland China, its activities have so far been tolerated in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Recently, however, mainland and local officials and politicians have called for greater caution and control regarding the sect in the territory.

From the Catholic church's point of view, Zen said, Falun Gong may be classified as "heretical" by some traditional religions, but this is not equivalent to being an evil cult.

Zen said Falun Gong only began protesting after it was defamed as an evil cult. Similarly, he observed, part of the Catholic community on the mainland passively resists the government's attempts to cut the local church off from the jurisdiction of the pope.

Indian bishop urges stand against globalization

Indian Cardinal-designate Varkey Vithayathil of Ernakulam-Angamaly urged church people to nonviolently fight the ill-effects of globalization and exploitation of farmers. The church is committed to the cause of farmers and should act firmly against exploitation, said the head of the Syro-Malabar Catholic church, based in the southern state of Kerala.

"If the powerful exploit the poor in the name of international treaties, the church considers it evil and will oppose it," he said in a letter read in the parishes of Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese Feb. 11.

Prices of farm products have fallen and driven farmers to poverty as the country began implementing World Trade Organization commitments. In some places, farmers are reported to have committed suicide as a way out of poverty.

Most of Kerala's 6 million Christians are farmers who grow cash crops such as rubber, coconut, black pepper, tea and cardamom. Prices for these have steadily declined since India embraced economic liberalization in 1991.

Some 120 farmers committed suicide in Andhra Pradesh, another southern state, in 1999 to escape debt and poverty. Similar incidents were also reported from the northern states of Haryana and Punjab.

Trial for murder of Guatemalan bishop delayed

Outside the Guatemala City courthouse, church and human rights workers extended colorful banners demanding justice for the death of the "martyr of troth," as many refer to the late Auxiliary Bishop Juan Gerardi Conedera of Guatemala City.

But the protesters and many around the world watching for the Gerardi murder trial to commence will have to wait longer: At the hour the trial was set to open Feb. 15, the president of the three-judge tribunal announced the trial would be suspended until further notification.

This most recent delay in the case is a result of an objection filed by defense lawyers against one of the three judges selected to preside over the trial. The decision came as a blow to the Human Rights Office of the Guatemala archdiocese.

Gerardi was murdered April 26, 1998, two days after releasing a report that attributed the majority of deaths in Guatemala's 36-year civil war to military and paramilitary groups.

Seated before the panel of judges was Fr. Marlo Orantes, the priest who worked and lived with Gerardi, and who is accused of his murder. Hospitalized since March for nervous system and heart problems, Orantes showed up in court in a wheelchair, checked robe and bedroom slippers. Also present was Gerardi's cook, Margarita Lopez, who is standing trial as an accessory to murder. The defense and prosecution teams were also present.

Neither retired Col. Disrael Lima Estrada, a former head of military intelligence, his son, army Capt. Byron Lima Oliva, nor former presidential guard Obdulio Villanueva -- all charged with "extrajudicial killing" -- was present.

East Timorese need lawmaking role

The head of Dili diocese has warned that Fast Timorese will not be able to regain lost faith in the rule of law if they are not involved in building the new legal system for their land. Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Beio spoke on "Human Rights, Law and Justice in East Timor" Feb. 17 at St. Francis Xavier Church in Petaling Jaya, a suburb of Kuala Lumpur. He was invited to Malaysia by the Catholic Lawyers' Society.