RC Hong Kong bishop arrest ‘an outrage’
THE arrest of a former RC Bishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Joseph Zen, is an “outrage”, the Bishop of Southwark, the Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, told the House of Lords last week, on day two of debates on the Queen’s Speech (News, 13 May). “Given that the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund did little more than fund legal aid for protesters from the 2019 pro-democracy movement and closed its operations in 2021, is it not an outrage that one of those arrested, along with other trustees, should be 90-year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen?” Cardinal Zen is a trustee of the Fund. He was arrested for alleged “collusion with foreign forces” and later released on bail. He is reportedly set to appear in court on Tuesday. His supporters fear that a crackdown on churches in mainland China could spread to Hong Kong.
WCC mourns violence at Californian church
ONE person has died and five others have been injured at Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, California, when a gunman opened fire during a lunch hosted by a Taiwanese congregation, after the Sunday service. The suspect, David Chou, who is 68 and a US citizen of Chinese descent from Las Vegas, was arrested and charged. The acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Revd Professor Ioan Sauca, said: “Together we grieve the loss of life and pray for the healing of those injured.”
St Saviour’s, Riga, appeals for postcards
THE people of St Saviour’s, Riga, in Latvia, are inviting Anglicans around the world to send them postcards, including digital ones, as part of an annual national celebration, Baznicu Nakts (Night of Churches). On the last Sunday night in May, churches open for organ concerts, choral performances, exhibitions, lectures, and other cultural events. This year, St Saviour’s will be curating an array of postcards, all of which will receive a response. The churchwarden, Joe Horgan, said: “So far, we have received digital postcards from 45 churches in 16 different countries.” Cards should be addressed to josephjhorgan@gmail.com or St Saviour’s Anglican Church, Anglikanu iela 2 Riga, LV-1050, Latvia.
Lord Carey supports assisted dying in NSW
LORD CAREY has written to members of the Parliament of New South Wales, in Australia, urging them to pass the Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) Law that is currently stalled in the Legislative Council, The Australian reports. “No care home should take such control of a mature rational person in full control of his or her faculties that the person’s rights are taken away,” he is reported as saying. “That would be cruel, monstrous, unethical, and un-Christian.”