Two Cases: Allegations of Abuse and Conviction of Abuse

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Mother whose son died in 2005 decided she had to come forward with her son’s story about archbishop’s abuse because she knew the first victim.

CHR Comment: Normally I do not repost or comment on these stories with allegations against church officials. However, the release of this story alongside another case moved me to add something to the history log about these events. Sadly, such cases of abuse are all too real and destructive to the life of the church and to human beings generally. The problem of sinful abuse is ever present where corruption prevails.

The first story is about Archbishop Anthony Apuron of Guam who is relieved from his duties while under investigation after three allegations of abuse. The story explains that Apuron continues to hold the title of archbishop and that the Roman Catholic Church claims the sole right to investigate and judge their clergy, a matter that goes back to medieval distinctions between civil and canon law and the jurisdictions that applied with each. Although this case is still under investigation, recent history has included many examples of abusive clergy brought to justice.

The second story link below is about a “Christian” English teacher, Richard Huckle, who taught in Malasia for c. 9 years, repeatedly abused children, and even composed a manual on how to commit such sins and get away with them. A London court has given him 22 life sentences. His case perhaps presents the most compelling argument for the death penalty, given the callous, destructive nature of his crimes. Huckle is a most dangerous, predatory person who wants others to repeat his crimes. Keeping him alive seems exceptionally dangerous to the most vulnerable persons in society.

Source: Temp archbishop arrives to oversee Guam Catholics

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/06/world/britain-asia-child-abuse/index.html

Boko Haram Attacks Force 50,000 to Flee Homes

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More than 50,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in southeastern Niger after a series of attacks by Islamic extremist group Boko Haram, the United Nations refugee agency said Tuesday.

CHR Comment: The article does not describe the religious character of the violence in Nigeria. Boko Haram is an Islamic militant group whose name means “western education is forbidden.” The group is notorious for its attacks upon Christians and other non-Muslims. The second link takes you to the 2015 church history summary, which describes Boko Haram as the bloodiest jihadist group of that year.

In the picture above, the boy holds a French sign saying , “Je suis Diffa” (“I am Diffa”), which refers to the region of Nigeria attacked.

Source: Boko Haram attacks force 50,000 people to flee homes in Niger

https://churchhistoryreview.org/2015-global-events-in-church-history/

Pastor’s Wife Stabbed to Death in Nigeria

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A Christian woman and the wife of a local Nigerian pastor was stabbed to death by attackers last week, reports say, allegedly because she insulted the Muslim Prophet Muhammad.

CHR Comment: Bridget Abahime was 74-years old and the most recent target of violence against Christians in this nation that is half Christian and half Islamic. The article also describes the deaths of hundreds of Christian farmers at the hands of Islamic Fulani herdsman since there are disputes over land in the Benue region.

Source: Pastor’s Wife Stabbed to Death in Nigeria for Allegedly Insulting Prophet Muhammad

Pope Declares Swedish Nun a Saint

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Maria Elisabeth Hesselblad helped hide Jewish families in her convent during the German occupation of Rome.

CHR Comment: Hesselblad was baptized as a Lutheran in Sweden, converted to Catholicism in New York, helped to found the Bridgettine Order in Rome, and hid at least a dozen Jews in her convent during the Holocaust. She was truly an interesting person, the first Swedish saint in over 600 years.

Source: Pope Declares Swedish Nun Who Sheltered Jews During The Holocaust A Saint

Pope John Paul II Relic Stolen from Cologne Cathedral

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A cloth with a drop of the late Pope John Paul II’s blood was stolen from Cologne Cathedral, German police said.

CHR Comment: One wonders about the motivations for such a theft. The thief could not display the relic without gaining unwanted attention. If the relic is truly of low monetary value, so that money is not the motive for the theft, then how would the person who took it justify breaking the commandment of God, “You shall not steal?” (Exodus 20). How could they use it devotionally and expect to gain God’s blessing?

Source: Pope John Paul II relic stolen from Cologne Cathedral

Edicule at Church of Holy Sepulcher under Restoration

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A team of experts begins restoring the ancient tomb in Jerusalem where Christians believe Jesus was buried, in the first such works for 200 years.

CHR Comment: Work on the Edicule was delayed due to disputes between the Greek Orthodox, Armenian, and Roman Catholic groups that are responsible for it. This is one of the sites where Jesus may have been buried. Scholars have proposed other locations.

Source: Jesus’s tomb in Jerusalem undergoes restoration work – BBC News

Latvian Lutheran Church Officially Bans Women’s Ordination

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CHR Comment: In recent years there has been a conservative trend in the Latvian Lutheran Church (ELCL) as the article states they have not been ordaining women ministers for some years already. This is a substantial change in direction that will receive notice from other Lutheran church bodies around the world. Historically, Lutheran churches did not have women’s ordination until the twentieth century.

Source: Latvian Lutheran church officially bans women’s ordination

Married, then Divorced Nine Times for Rape

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An Iraqi Christian woman in her 30s and a mother of three narrates how Islamic State terrorists “married and divorced” her as many as nine times a night to rape her with “justification” before she escaped their stronghold of Mosul.

CHR Comment: A horrific description of what may happen to ISIS prisoners/slaves, who are often Christian or Yazidi. The article includes quotations from ISIS propaganda that seek to justify abuse on the basis of Quranic teaching.

Source: Iraqi Christian Says ISIS Fighters ‘Married, Divorced’ Her 9 Times a Night for Rape

Mother Teresa’s Hometown Prepares for Her Canonization

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The sleepy village of Letnica, Kosovo, is where Mother Teresa found her calling before going on to become one of the most famous figures in the Catholic Church.

CHR Comment: The canonization will take place on September 4 but Letnica expects increased attendance at their annual Black Madonna festival. The town is also the location of the monastery where Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu (Mother Teresa) committed to becoming a missionary.

Source: Mother Teresa’s Hometown Prepares for Her Canonization – NBC News

Genocide of 1.5 Million Armenian Christians Recognized by Germany

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The genocide of 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks during Wold War I, many of them Christians, has been recognized by the German parliament in a move that prompted Turkey to recall its ambassador in anger.

CHR Comment: The first genocide of the 20th century took place from 1915–1917. As Christian-Muslim relations are strained these days by terrorist attacks and other reports of violence, the memory of the genocide during the First World War continues to cause tension.

Source: Genocide of 1.5 Million Armenian Christians Recognized by Germany, Turkey Throws Tantrum