Cardinal Zen with more to say:
The diocese of Hong Kong is preparing to appeal against the dismissal by the Court of First Instance of a judicial review of the government’s school management reforms.
This was revealed yesterday by Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun who described the government as “heartless” and “disrespectful” of the long-term contribution of the Catholic Church to education. Arthur Li Kwok-cheung, head of the department of education, replied by describing the cardinal “an old man, who should not grumble so much."
Pakistani Christians sentenced for blasphemy
Both men worked as groundskeepers at a private factory and for friends and neighbors in
Munir
Park
, a rural area of
Faisalabad
, 260 kilometers south of
Islamabad
. According to Father Yaqoob Yousaf, the local parish priest, more than 80 Christian families live in the area, part of
Punjab
province.
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James and Buta were arrested Oct. 8 for allegedly burning pages from an Islamic studies book. Since then Bishop Joseph Coutts of
Faisalabad
has held a press conference, while
Faisalabad
diocesan officials, the parish priest and catechists have held meetings with Muslim clerics and influential persons to explain that the accused did not knowingly insult Islam.
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Father Yousaf told UCA News that James burned the pages with other discarded papers in a sack on the street in front of his home. The sack was given to his daughter Nargis by a Muslim family for whom she worked as a maid.
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Local people said they discovered partially burned pages containing Qur’anic verses in the sack, and a mob of about 500 gathered outside James’ house chanting slogans. Police arrested James and Buta and tried to pacify the mob, which protested outside the police station all that night.
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As news of the arrest spread, Father Aftab James, director of
Faisalabad
diocese’s commission for interfaith dialogue, Father Yousaf and catechists met with local Muslims.
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"Pacifying them was a hectic job since they were not ready to listen and demanded public hanging of the ‘gustakh‘ (insolent)," Father Yousaf recalled.
The sentence: 15 years in prison, plus a fine.
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