Nun Killed and Priest Kidnapped in Colombia

THE CALGARY HERALD, Sept. 21 — Sister Yolanda Ceron was shot by Colombian gunmen, probably in retaliation for her work with a Catholic human rights team, the Canadian daily reported.

Amnesty International blamed the killing on a right-wing paramilitary group that had targeted human rights workers before. Officials said they had no suspects.

Just days later, Florida's Orlando Sentinel reported a Slovak priest was kidnapped on a dangerous highway in Colombia. The most likely kidnappers of Father Pavol Sochulak were leftist guerrillas, members of the National Liberation Army.

Hentoff: Sudan Harbors Terrorists and Slaveholders

THE WASHINGTON TIMES, Sept. 24 — The Sudan Peace Act is even more necessary in the aftermath of terrorist attacks on the United States, columnist Nat Hentoff wrote in the Washington daily.

There have been reports that President Bush may veto the act because of a proposed amendment to ban from American capital markets (including stock exchanges) foreign oil companies that invest in Sudan's rich oil fields. Sudan's Catholic bishops recently accused the companies of “profiting from gross and systematic violations of human rights.” The companies pay money to the Khartoum government, which uses slave raids and bombing of Christian schools and hospitals as part of its war against Christians and animists in the country's south.

In April, the State Department issued a report naming Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism. The report charged that Sudan sheltered members of terrorist groups linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda group, and that bin Laden had a “working agreement” with Sudan's government.

Pakistan's Christian Minority Waits in Fear

THE INDEPENDENT, Sept. 24 — Armed guards surrounded Christian churches in Pakistan as tensions rose over the United States’ declaration of war on terrorists, the London daily reported.

Christians are a tiny minority in majority-Muslim Pakistan — there are about 4 million Christians in a country of 140 million. Although the country's constitution guarantees religious freedom, the law also punishes blasphemy against Islam. Courts have overruled blasphemy convictions, but Christians charged with blasphemy have been murdered before their cases even reach court, and a judge who overturned a conviction was assassinated. President Pervez Musharraf proposed amending the law last year, but dropped the issue when Muslim groups threatened protests.

Muslim zealots often attack Christians. Many fear that the attacks will increase if the United States attacks Afghanistan. One Catholic priest said there were rumors that a mullah had urged his flock to kill two Christians for every Muslim killed in Afghanistan.

Bishop Alexander John Malik, of Lahore, the head of the Church of Pakistan, said he had written to the authorities seeking protection for Christians and their institutions.