Jailed Chinese Bishop's unexplained death

Vatican, Oct.14,2007 (CINS/Cathnews) -  The Vatican has expressed concern over the unexplained death of a jailed Chinese bishop who was quickly cremated and buried by Chinese authorities without a religious ceremony.

Han Dinxiang, bishop in Hebei province who belonged to China's underground Catholic Church, died in custody on September 9.

The Vatican newspaper said he had suffered for his faith "in life and death", and estimated that he had been jailed for more than 20 years in total, World Wide Religious Newsreported.

"The news of his death took everyone by surprise because there was no knowledge that the prelate was sick or suffered from any illness," L'Osservatore Romano Newspaper said.

The article also expressed concern at police surveillance around Han's grave.

The Vatican has had no diplomatic relations with Beijing since 1951, two years after the Communist takeover.

The US based Cardinal Kung Foundation, which reports on China's underground church, said Han had spent the last eight years of his life in prison.

He was arrested in 1999 during a religious retreat.

The Vatican newspaper said Chinese authorities moved the jailed bishop to a secret location in 2006.

Ayyash appointed Bishop for Roman Catholic of the Parish of Petra, Philadelphia and entire Jordan

Amman, Oct. 14 (CINS/JNA) - Bishop Yasser Hanna Ayyash was appointed a new Jordanian Bishop for the Roman Catholic of the Parish of Petra, Philadelphia and entire Jordan.

Ayyash is the first Jordanian to be appointed Bishop in the history of the Roman Catholic Church.

His appointment was announced at the Melkite Roman Catholic Cathedral Mass the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch His Beatitude Gregorios III Patriarch of Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem and the entire East.

Vietnam Prime Minister meets with Catholic Bishops

Ha Noi, Vietnam, Oct.14,2007 (CINS/VNS) — Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung met with representatives at the 10th Viet Nam Bishops’ Conference on friday.

On behalf of the Government, he congratulated the conference for their successes and highlighted key points in the country’s socio-economic development.

He stressed the Party and State’s policy of promoting the great national unity, with great care for Catholics.

Dung praised the conference’s contributions to national development, especially their efforts in fighting HIV/AIDS, reducing traffic accidents, and improving education.

Nguyen Van Nhon, chairman of the Viet Nam Bishops’ Conference, said the organisation would mobilise Catholics to help develop the country, and encourage people to further better education, health care, and traffic safety.

Fidei donum priests sent on mission to Asia, Italian bishops urge greater commitment to missions in Asia

Rome, Italy, Oct.14,2007 (CINS/AsiaNews) – Asia “is a horizon which cannot be overlooked” by Italian Churches.  This is why Fidei donum priests should be guided “there, where Christianity first arose”.

This is the invitation contained in a note from the Commission for the evangelisation of peoples and co-operation between Churches of the Italian Bishops Conference, published yesterday to mark the 50th anniversary of the encyclical letter Fidei donum, in which Pius XII re-launched the urgency of missionary activity and exhorted diocese throughout the world to send priests and lay people to announce the Gospel “to the peoples”.

The note, issued for the missionary month of October, recognises “the obstacles of culture and language” which often make missions in Asia difficult, but it also underlines how this is “a horizon that cannot be ignored by our Church”.  Above all, writes the Commission, contact  with the Asian communities, “creates precious osmosis, helping us to feel part of the universal Church and placing us in touch with cultures and traditions of vast dimensions, which all to often appear to be ‘exotic’ and distant”.

Since the Letter was published in 1957, an average 1900 priests have been ‘donated’ by Italian diocese to the world, of which 11 have died announcing the Gospel, among them don Andrea Santoro, martyred in Turkey in 2006. The note adds that “if it is true, according to the words of Tertullian, that the blood of the martyrs rather than being a sign of death is in fact the seed from which new Christian’s spring, then we can be certain that none of these lives have been offered in vain”.

The Commission “hopes that this fiftieth anniversary encourages Italian diocese that have no Fidei donum to opt for this choice, and those who honour the Italian Church which such generosity to continue along this path with increased renewal”.

U.S.-born archbishop, nuncio to Australia, dies in Miami Beach

Vatican City, Oct.11, 2007 (CINS./CNS) -- U.S.-born Archbishop Ambrose De Paoli, the Vatican nuncio to Australia, died Oct. 10 in the intensive care ward of Mt. Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Fla., the Vatican newspaper said.

The newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, said the 73-year-old archbishop had been diagnosed with leukemia in March 2005.

"Despite the treatments he underwent, he was physically very debilitated in the last few weeks" and doctors recommended that he return to the Archdiocese of Miami, where he was incardinated, it said.

The newspaper said Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, sent Archbishop De Paoli a message in late August, assuring the archbishop of his prayers and those of Pope Benedict XVI, "asking the Lord to grant him serenity, comfort and strength."

The archbishop sent a brief message to the Vatican Oct. 6, "expressing his devotion and his gratitude to the Holy Father," the newspaper said.

Archbishop De Paoli's funeral will be held Oct. 17 at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Miami.

The same day in Canberra, Australia, a memorial Mass will be celebrated at St. Christopher Cathedral. The Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference also will offer a Mass for the repose of the archbishop's soul when the bishops gather in November for their plenary meeting.

Born Aug. 19, 1934, in Jeannette, Pa., he was ordained to the priesthood for the then-Diocese of Miami in 1960. After completing a degree in canon law, he entered the Vatican's diplomatic corps in 1966.

He served in Vatican embassies in Zambia, Venezuela and Canada before working in the Vatican Secretariat of State.

Ordained a bishop in 1983, he served as the Vatican's chief representative in Sri Lanka, then as the Vatican representative in southern Africa, in Lesotho and in Swaziland.

The Vatican and South Africa established diplomatic relations in 1994 after the dismantling of apartheid, and Archbishop De Paoli became the Vatican nuncio to the country.

After serving as nuncio to Japan, he was named nuncio to Australia in late 2004.

Australian Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide expressed sadness over the death of Archbishop De Paoli in an Oct. 11 letter to Cardinal Bertone.

"Archbishop De Paoli's personal and friendly demeanor allowed him to mix easily with those he met at the many and varied functions and activities he attended which make up Catholic life in Australia," said Archbishop Wilson. "Above all, his love and fidelity for Jesus Christ and the church, and his loyal service to the Holy Father, (were) always most evident."

Jesuit Father Mark Raper, president of Catholic Religious Australia, expressed appreciation for Archbishop De Paoli's attention to the leaders of Australia's religious congregations. He said in an Oct. 11 statement that the archbishop "was respectful of the role of religious and appeared to understand the value of their prophetic and contemplative role in the church and in society."

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