Hong Kong cardinal pleads not guilty
A FORMER RC Bishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Joseph Zen, pleaded not guilty to charges relating to the national security law when he appeared at a court hearing on 24 May. He was arrested, with three others, on 10 May, for alleged “collusion with foreign forces” relating to the operation of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, of which he is a trustee (News, 20 May). Crux Now, an online RC news website, reports that, shortly after being released on bail, Cardinal Zen, who is 90, celebrated mass in Holy Cross, Sai Wan Ho, during which he spoke about the suppression of the RC Church in China. “Martyrdom is normal in our Church,” he said. A full five-day trial is due to begin on 19 September.
Pope hails extension of truce in Yemen
POPE FRANCIS has welcomed a two-month extension to the truce in Yemen as a “sign of hope” for an end to “that bloody conflict that has generated one of the worst humanitarian crises of our days”, Vatican News reports. The truce came into force on 2 April. Civilian casualities more than halved in the first month. Speaking after the Regina Coeli on Sunday, the Pope said: “Please let us not forget to think of the children, the children of Yemen: hunger, destruction, lack of education, lack of everything.” The UN estimates that, by the end of 2021, 377,000 had been killed in the war, more than half of whom had died in the resulting humanitarian crisis.
WCC opens digital library of ecumenical theology
THE World Council of Churches (WCC) has launched the “Faith and Order Papers” — a free online library of ecumenical theology from the past century. It includes publications produced by the Faith and Order Movement, a forerunner to the WCC. The interim deputy general secretary, the Revd Dr Odair Pedroso Mateus, said on Tuesday: “This is a digital library of more than one century of ecumenical theology . . . focused on overcoming divisions among Christian Churches.” It documents the theological results of studies and conferences, and how conferences were conceived, implemented, and concluded. “The library’s opening page, on the WCC website, includes abstracts of almost all documents.”
Anglican church in Genoa celebrates 150 years
PENTECOST marked 150 years since the dedication of the Church of the Holy Ghost, Genoa, in Italy. The Suffragan Bishop in Europe, the Rt Revd David Hamid, led an anniversary eucharist in the church on Sunday. The Chaplain in Genoa, Canon Tony Dickinson, has written a book, Redeemed from Fire: The story of Holy Ghost, Genoa, to be published in the autumn. The Church of England has had a presence in Genoa for more than 200 years.