Gunmen Release Chaldean Catholic Priest

Father Hani Abdul Ahad was released in Iraq June 17 after being kidnapped in early June, reported Reuters.

Auxiliary Bishop Shlemon Warduni of Baghdad said Father Hani was well.

“We ask everyone to pay attention to our situation because at this moment Christians in Iraq are in a terrible state,” he said. “We have nothing against anyone; we only want to rebuild Iraq.”

Abortions Reach New High in UK

According to a report from London’s Evening Standard, more than 200,000 women had abortions in England and Wales, a new record for killing.

The figure, released by the Department of Health, represents an increase of almost 4%. Close to 4,000 of the abortions were performed on women younger than 16, the legal age of consent for sex in the UK. The overall abortion rate has been rising steadily since 2002.

Priest to Lead Philippine Peace Panel

Father Eliseo Mercado (r), the new head of the Philippine government’s peace panel negotiating with Muslim rebels, said June 19 that the next round of talks would be held in July as planned, Reuters reported.

Father Mercado, 59, replaced Silvestre Afable, a cabinet-rank officer who resigned amid reports that he was not getting full support from President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the powerful military. Analysts have said Mercado could fare even worse, since he is not part of government and is a member of the clergy.

“These are all perceptions,” said the 59-year-old missionary of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. “Peace-making is not a politicized and partisan matter. It knows no color, no ideology and no religion to be sustainable, stable and to be carried on from one government to another.”