Police Detain Two Priests in China

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, May 17 — Authorities recently detained two priests from the underground Catholic Church in China — which is loyal to the Pope — as they were about to begin teaching classes on natural family planning and theology.

Police did not comment on the report by the Cardinal Kung Foundation, the Stamford, Conn.-based group that monitors the Catholic Church in China and the communist government's attempts to repress it, the wire service reported.

Father Lu Genjun, 42, was detained in Dingzhou, a city in Hebei province. The whereabouts of Father Cheng Xiaoli, 40, were unknown. The Associated Press reported a number of priests have been detained in the Hebei province, some for years.

Catholic Radio Station Comes to Rwanda

BBC, May 17 — A new Catholic radio station will be available soon in Rwanda.

The Rwandan government signed an agreement in early May with the Church in Rwanda to allow the new station, Maria Nyina wa Zombo (Radio Maria), to broadcast in the country, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported.

The station is expected to broadcast evangelization programs as well as to support unity and reconciliation policies in the country. It will also include programs on social welfare, combating HIV-AIDS, fighting illiteracy and how to assist street children, orphans and widows.

Church Leader Questions Philippine Vote Results

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, May 13 — Philippine Archbishop Oscar Cruz on May 13 questioned the election results of President Gloria Arroyo, who garnered 100% of the vote in the May 10 elections in one Filipino community.

Archbishop Cruz said he found it “amazing” that all 5,470 voters of the town of Santo Tomas had taken the voting advice of their mayor, Antonio Aguilar, a supporter of Arroyo, the news service reported.

Archbishop Cruz compared the elections to those during the 20-year dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, which ended in revolt in 1986. Other senior Church officials before the elections had expressed concern of an alleged plot to commit wide-scale voter fraud.

Thousands of priests and lay people participated in poll-watching during the May 10 election, Agence France-Presse reported; however, the Church as a whole had not yet given its verdict on the conduct of the election.

Exit polls had predicted Arroyo would beat out her main rival, film star Fernando Poe.

Still Hope for Christian Reference in EU Constitution

REUTERS, May 18 — God is making a comeback in the European Constitution — at least for now.

Several countries demanded a reference to Europe's Christian roots at a meeting in mid-May regarding a draft of the constitution, the news service reported. Italy and Poland raised the issue again at the meeting of European Union foreign ministers on the constitution. The 25-member bloc hopes to approve the constitution in June.

“We are aware of the difficulties,” said Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, “but we believe that a small inclusion in the text would not alter the preamble too much.”

Ireland, Poland, Italy and Spain have long sided with the Vatican position to include a reference to Christianity in the constitution. Secular France has opposed such a reference.