MONDAY

January 12, 1998   vol 9, no. 8    SECTION TWO

HEADLINES:

Jewish Mayor paves way for Pope's visit to Jerusalem for Jubilee 2000

      The reality of the Holy Father making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Land just rose several decibels on the prospective meter when Jerusalem's Mayor, an Israeli, announced he would soon extend an invitation inviting the Pope to join him in celebrating the Millennium despite Palestinian protests, citing the need for Peace and calling upon the Apostle of Peace - Pope John Paul II to help the process. Click on Jerusalem to read more.

      JERUSALEM (CWN) - Jerusalem's Israeli mayor on Thursday said he will send an invitation to Pope John Paul in the next few days, asking him to participate in millennium celebrations in the Holy Land, but Palestinians said the gesture is inappropriate.

      Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah said the time is not yet right for a papal visit. "We hope God will give us the right moment in which to hold this visit. We need the correct context, a historical context," he told Mayor Ehud Olmert during a visit to Christian leaders marking the New Year. Bethlehem Mayor Hanna Nasser said he would advise the Holy Father not to attend the celebrations unless Israel and the Palestinians have negotiated a permanent peace agreement by then and have found a solution for Jerusalem.

      Patriarch Sabbah told Olmert that he blames Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "hard-line" policies for preventing an appropriate peace agreement. "We need to find peace here in Jerusalem, and as a policy maker we know you have the ability to help us in that endeavor," he said.

Cardinal Ortega calls for better communications as suspicions arise over planted bug

     The head prelate of Cuba called for a more open dialogue between communist leaders and the Church to offer the people a vital need to be able to worship openly to fulfill their spiritual life. This announcement came before Church officials discovered a hidden microphone in a room the Holy Father was to meet in and Castro's regime is highly suspect of planting it. Yet the U.S. has officially sanctioned the Pope's visit in less than two weeks, promising they will cooperate fully with whatever the Holy Father and Castro agree on, including lifting sanctions if Castro lifts his restrictions on the Cuban people. Click on Cuba to read more.

      HAVANA (CWN) - Cardinal Jaime Ortega of Havana, in an interview with a Cuban Catholic magazine before Pope John Paul's visit to Cuba this month, said there has yet to be a real dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Communist government concerning the spiritual life of Cuba's people.

      The magazine Verdad y Esperanza quoted Cardinal Ortega as saying that preparations for the papal visit January 21-25 had begun contact, but a real dialogue had not yet begun. The magazine, made available by the church on Thursday, was the first publication produced by an association of Roman Catholic journalists formed last year on the island.

      Meanwhile, US President Bill Clinton said he saw the papal visit as a hopeful sign and said that any concessions by the Cuban government to human rights and freedom would be met with "reciprocal concessions" from the US on an economic embargo and diplomatic relations. "I think there ought to be a reciprocal relationship ... where, as Cuba shows more support for democracy and human rights, we should open up, we should try some reciprocal effort, but it has to be reciprocal," he said. "It will be interesting to see how the Pope's visit goes. I'm very encouraged that he's going," he added. "The Pope is a very persuasive fellow ... we hope that he does well."

Where is Charleton Heston when you need him?

     We're not referring to his role as Moses but his role in the epic "Khartoum" for it was there last week that the Sudanese government came to blows with the Church by closing down a popular Catholic meeting place, further straining relations between the government and Church officials. It was something not unexpected since Christian protests had prompted retaliation by the state. In addition, there have been harassments by government troops and police for years, threatening everything they could to oust Christian control of this popular club. Click on Khartoum to read more.

     VATICAN (CWN) -- A Catholic club in Khartoum has been closed and confiscated by the government of Sudan, after 40 years of existence.

      Comboni Press, an arm of the missionary Combonien Fathers, yesterday announced the confiscation, saying that government authorities ousted the Catholic owners on December 31. The authorities cited a secret government decree, signed on December 6, which was conveyed to the club only days before the seizure.

      The club, which has been shut down for several years, had once been a meeting place for various Catholic groups in the capital city. It had also housed some athletic facilities, and-- since the influx of refugees caused by the country's civil war-- a school for displaced youngsters.

      Since 1992, the club has been subjected to repeated threats that it could be closed. Police have raided the building and arrested students, and some of the club's property has been confiscated. The club has been closed to the public even during the Pope's visit to Sudan in 1993.

      Tensions surrounding the building reached a new level in 1996, with a government announcement that the lease would not be renewed; the Catholic bishops were "invited" to hand over the club, with the promise of a quick settlement for the property. Bishop Gabriel Zubeir Wako had responded by demanding an explanation for the forced closing of the club, and documentation of the government's legal authority to close out the lease.

      In November, a coalition of Christian groups had lodged a formal protest against the Sudanese government's policies, which have been persistently hostile to Christians. Some observers believe that the decision to close the club in Khartoum was, in effect, the government's response to that complaint.

For all other standard features, articles and columns, click on Archives

---

---

Click here to return to SECTION ONE or click here to return to the graphics front page of this issue of the Daily CATHOLIC.

January 12, 1998 volume 9, no. 8          DAILY CATHOLIC