Ecumenical plea to Japan over radioactive water
THE Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) joined a peaceful demonstration in Suva, in Fiji, last week, against the dumping into the ocean of nuclear wastewater from the crippled Fukushima plant. The plans were first announced by the Japanese government in 2013. Despite strong opposition from Churches, civil-society groups, and environmental organisations, this began on 24 August — the day of the demonstration. The PCC’s general secretary, the Revd James Bhagwan, said during the march that the solution was the cheapest, but not the best, for the country. In June, the Conference, in a joint statement with other organisations, warned: “We acknowledge the vast legacy of nuclear testing within the region along with the ongoing climate crisis, both of which will be exacerbated by attitudes which continue to treat rivers and oceans as nuclear dumping sites.”
Investigation launched after Haitian clash
THE National Police of Haiti are to investigate a deadly clash on Saturday when an Evangelical leader, Marcorel Zidor, led “hundreds” of protesters, some of them armed, into a gang-controlled area of the capital, Port-au-Prince. The director-general of the police, Frantz Elbé, said that the investigation would ensure “that such irrational acts never occur again”. No official estimate has been released of the number who died when the gang reportedly opened fire with machine guns. In a press release on Monday, Elbé said that an “immense crowd” had rallied behind Zidor in a “spontaneous demonstration”, most of them wearing olive-green uniforms and clothes bearing his name, and some carrying machetes and assault rifles. One witness told The New York Times: “The pastor’s followers really believed what he told them. He said they were bulletproof, that those who were wounded had no faith.”
Jesuits banned from Nicaragua
THE authorities in Nicaragua have banned all Jesuits from the country and ordered that all the Society’s assets be confiscated, claiming that it had failed to comply with tax reporting, Vatican News reports. Last week, the Conference of Jesuit Provincials of Latin America and the Caribbean reported that they had been ordered by police to leave their personal residence, despite showing documents proving that the building was not part of the Jesuit-run Central American University, which was closed by the authorities this month (News, 25 August). The incident is the latest move by President Daniel Ortega’s government against the Roman Catholic Church.
Christian convert’s family given restraining order
AN 18-YEAR-OLD Christian convert in Nigeria has secured a court order protecting her from members of her family who had threatened to kill her for converting from Islam, ADF International reports. The woman, known as Mary (not her real name), was smuggled to safety by her mother after death threats from Mary’s father and brothers. Mother and daughter sought a restraining order, after which the High Court in northern Nigeria handed down an order of perpetual injunction against the father and brothers. It stated: “The defendants are hereby restrained from threat and attempt on the life of the applicant following her decision to change from the practice of Islam to Christianity and also not to breach her fundamental rights as to the choice of her religion or thoughts.” No appeals were filed. Sean Nelson, the Legal Counsel for ADF International, which provided legal support for the case, said: “We are relieved that Mary has found protection from these credible threats and that the court recognized her fundamental right to convert from Islam to Christianity.”