Banned Bishop Says Mass by Phone

ASSOCIATED PRESS, May 6—Bishop Jerzy Mazur, a Latin-Rite Catholic bishop from Poland who has been refused re-entry to Russia by that country's government, is saying Mass by telephone for his congregation in Irkutsk, the news service reported.

The bishop's voice is broadcast through the church over loudspeakers, to a congregation, which has been without its pastor since April. Mazur is the second Catholic priest who has been banned from Russia, following the recent ejection of Father Stefano Caprio.

Associated Press traced the heightened tensions between Roman Catholics and the Russian Orthodox Church to native resentment at“the Vatican's decision this year to upgrade four apostolic administrations in Russia to full dioceses.”

Christians Emerge from Hiding in Indonesia

REUTERS, May 6—The pressure has eased for the moment on the Christians of Indonesia, the British news service reported.

In the Christian regions of the Molucca Islands, a weekend of sectarian violence left the city of Ambon a virtual ghost town. Riots on Saturday, May 4, were sparked by the arrest of Islamist leader Jafar Umar Thalib, who may have ties to Osama bin Laden. Two people died and 12 were injured during those protests.

Despite the pause in violence following the weekend's clashes, authorities fear more violence from Thalib's followers, who wish to impose Islamic law on all Indonesians—including the 15% who are Christian, Hindu or animist.

Thalib's arrest was supported by Christian and Muslim clergy alike. A. Polpoke, a leader of Ambon's Muslim clerics visiting Jakarta, said,“Jafar Umar Thalib is clearly against the … peace truce and therefore it is fair enough for him to be arrested.” The Rev. I.W.J. Hendrinks, speaking for local Protestant churchmen, said,“We thank the police.” A spokesman for Laskar Jihad blamed its leader's arrest on U.S. pressure to clamp down on terrorism.

A team of clerics from Ambon visiting Jakarta asked the government not to impose martial law in the Moluccas. Warned Catholic Bishop P.C. Mandagi,“There will be an ethnic cleansing if martial law is imposed.”

Islamist Terror Strikes St. Joseph Festival

CWN NEWS, May 1—Catholics celebrating the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker May 1 were attacked in the village of Notre Dame, near Cotabato City in the southern Philippines, the news service reported. Islamist militants threw grenades into the crowd, killing three and injuring almost 100.

That region of the Philippines has seen sustained terrorist activity by Muslims seeking independence, including several bomb attacks two weeks ago in General Santos City that claimed 15 lives. A man claimed responsibility for those attacks on behalf of the Abu Sayyaf Muslim guerrillas, which according to CWNews is“a group which has been linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network.”