Voodoo Now an Official Religion

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH (U.K.), May 3 — For the first time anywhere in the world, voodoo has been recognized as a mainstream religion.

Haiti's government, led by former priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide, made the move in April, The Daily Telegraph reported. The Haitian president issued a decree announcing that that the state acknowledges voodoo as “a religion in its own right" and that he would prepare legislation affirming that status.

A March 15 marriage in a voodoo temple has already been given legal recognition. Aristide's decree specifies that voodoo priests may ask the government for permission to preside at weddings, funerals and even christenings.

The decision has sparked heavy criticism from Christian and other religious groups.

Voodoo has existed in Haiti since that island was flooded with slaves in the 18th century and is regarded as a holdover of their African ancestral religion, combined both with certain Catholic externals (such as saints) and elements of black magic.

According to The Telegraph, former Haitian dictator François “Papa Doc" Duvalier was himself a voodoo practitioner, who used its rituals to convince his subjects that he possessed godlike powers.

Catholics Active Against Mugabe's Dictatorship

INDEPENDENT CATHOLIC NEWS, May 2 — In April, the bishops of Zimbabwe issued a Lenten pastoral letter denouncing the “frightening" degree of corruption, lawlessness and tyrannical abuses committed by the government of post-colonial dictator Robert Mugabe.

Echoing their pastors, more than 200 lay Roman Catholics gathered in Harare, Zimbabwe, to hold a symbolic “no-confidence vote on Mugabe.” Their statement urged “the present government [to] step down and hand over to those who are prepared to serve the country and all its people.”

The Catholic Institute for International Relations has joined the Zimbabweans in their effort, according to Independent Catholic News. The London-based anti-poverty organization announced on May 2 that it supported the Zimbabwean bishops’ statement.

The Catholic Institute endorsed the bishops’ demand for “meaningful dialogue with the political opposition party and all significant sectors of Zimbabwean society.”

Cardinal Pleads For Peace in India

UNION OF CATHOLIC ASIAN NEWS, May 5 — Catholic bishops are pleading for peace in Kerala, a region of India that has included Christians since apostolic times.

The bishops called for dialogue after Muslim-Hindu violence claimed the lives of nine people in the South Indian village of Marad on May 2. Muslim extremists attacked the fishing village with swords and knives while most of the men were out at sea, according to the Union of Catholic Asian News, a Church news organization based in Thailand.

Local police said villagers were afraid to help the wounded — until police arrived and fired into the air to chase away the attackers. Eight Hindus and one Muslim died.

Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil of Ernakulam-Angamaly, leader of Kerala's Catholic bishops, has called on the Indian government to take urgent action to restore law and order, and promote interreligious harmony.