NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- The Vatican has expressed grave concern over the arrest of a Catholic bishop in Rwanda.

      Bishop Augustin Misago of Gikongoro was taken by the government of President Pasteur Bizimungu, who charged that the cleric was involved in the massacres that took place in Rwanda in 1994.

      "The arrest of a bishop is an act of extreme gravity, which affects not only the Church in Rwanda but the entire Catholic Church," the Vatican said in an April 15 statement. The statement went on to say that diplomatic relations between the Rwanda and the Holy See would be "profoundly" affected by the move.

      The Vatican expressed the hope that "all legal guarantees" would be in force in the trial of Bishop Misago, and confidence that "his innocence will soon be proven."