Brazilian Primate to chair environmental network

THE Archbishop of Brazil, the Most Revd Marinez Rosa dos Santos Bassotto, has been appointed to chair the Anglican Communion Environmental Network (ACEN), in time for the 19th meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council, to be held from 27 June to 5 July. ACEN is set to bring a joint resolution with the Anglican Communion Peace and Justice Network on environmental justice and reconciliation work.

Mormons return to Christian category in US list

THE Pentagon reduced by 180 the number of religious categories that military personnel can identify as last month, leaving 31, including the category “no religion”; but the list was revised this week to reinstate the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A Pentagon policy memo had initially excluded the group — often referred to as Mormons — from being categorised as Christian. Then, on Monday, the Latter-day Saints were included, after appeals to the Defense Department, and its Secretary, Pete Hegseth, from the Utah Republican senators Mike Lee and John Curtis, who are members of the Church.

Mystery over shooting of African bishop

THE Pope has expressed “sorrow” after the RC Bishop of Quelimane and Apostolic Administrator of Beira, in Mozambique, the Rt Revd Osório Citora Afonso, was shot in the chest and died on Saturday morning at his episcopal residence in Quelimane. A statement from the Vatican said that the Pope “joins in prayer with the people of the dioceses and of Mozambique in this time of bewilderment, asking the Lord to grant them consolation, to keep every man and woman in His love, and to stay the hand of the violent”. The President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Mozambique, the Archbishop of Nampula, the Most Revd Inácio Saúre, said that Bishop Citora’s body had been found “lifeless and in strange circumstances that have yet to be clarified”. An investigation has been opened.

Clause to break the seal-of-confession in abuse cases dropped

A CLAUSE in French legislation which would have compelled priests to break the seal of confession in child-abuse cases was withdrawn from a Bill last week. The legislation to which it was attached was intended to help to tackle violence in schools. On 1 June, the new legislation was adopted by the National Assembly without the clause, after objections from Roman Catholics. The proposal had been put forward by the group Ensemble pour la République, which is led by the former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal. It was seen as part of a wider response to allegations of historic abuse at the Notre-Dame de Bétharram Catholic School in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. There, 200 former pupils filed complaints, about 90 of which concerned sexual abuse. Article 9 of the original text stated that ministers of religion would not be exempt from mandatory reporting, even for information received “in the exercise of their ministry”.