Village destroyed in Sudan landslide

THE Pope has expressed sorrow at news that only one person survived a landslide which engulfed the village of Tarasin, in Darfur, in Sudan, on Sunday, after several days of heavy rain. On Tuesday, Pope Leo sent a telegram to the Bishop of El Obeid, the Rt Revd Yunan Tombe Trille Kuku Andali, assuring him of his “spiritual closeness” and prayers for “divine blessings of consolation and strength” for Sudan. The country is riven by civil war between the army and paramilitaries. The Times reported that many refugees from the fighting had sought refuge in the mountains of Darfur. Médecins sans Frontières has warned that communities were cut off by the war, and “neglected by aid actors”. The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army, which controls the region and has largely stayed out of the fighting, called this week for international assistance to recover bodies from the landslide, saying that “initial information indicates the death of all village residents, estimated to be more than 1,000 individuals, with only one survivor”.

Australian diocese enters receivership to pay redress survivors

THE diocese of North Queensland has entered receivership in an attempt to fund redress payments to victims of child sexual abuse, writes Muriel Porter. It is believed that the diocese needs to raise AUD $8 million to fund the payments. The Queensland Supreme Court has granted the order to appoint receivers in the hope that financial restructure will help the diocese to sell some assets, in addition to the disposal of both the diocesan-registry building and the bishop’s house. The National Redress Scheme to compensate victims of historic abuse was established following the Royal Commission into Institutional Response to Child Sexual Abuse, which concluded in 2017. A diocesan spokesperson said that the application to the court was “a solemn and difficult decision”, but it was hoped that the impact on congregations would be minimal.

Former Florida bishop case can still go ahead

AFTER hearing that the former Bishop of Florida the Rt Revd John Howard “sort of fell off the radar” and failed to respond to requests for further information in a case relating to financial matters (News, 22 August), a church disciplinary panel ruled last week that the case could go ahead regardless. Bishop Howard, who was Bishop of Florida for 20 years until his retirement in 2023, made written responses to the allegations in August last year, in which he denied all wrongdoing, but has not provided further information. Bishop Howard is also facing a separate allegation of discrimination against LGBTQ+ clergy, for which he has denied any wrongdoing.