Mexican Cardinal Killed by Government?

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Nov. 15 — When Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo was murdered at the Guadalajara Airport in May 1993, authorities attributed the crime to drug lord Benjamin Arellano Felix. But Arellano Felix was just acquitted of any role in the slaying, leading some to accuse the former anti-clerical Mexican government of the slaying, according to the Associated Press.

Earlier this month, the current Archbishop of Guadalajara, Juan Cardinal Sandoval, told the newspaper Reforma that the Mexican Church suspected a government role in the slaying.

“The official explanation is now totally discarded,” Sandoval said. A provocative new book written by a former attorney general in Mexico also attributes the cardinal's murder to the old government without laying out its likely motive.

Church Mediates Land Conflict Among Catholics

FIDES, Nov. 15 — Land ownership is frequently a source of conflict in the developing world. But the Church has helped avert violence in a largely Catholic region of Indonesia, according to Fides, a Vatican missionary news agency.

Father Fransiskus Aliandu told Fides that for generations the Diocese of Larantuka has labored to stop fighting between the Paji and the Demon tribes on Adonara Island, which is just east of Flores Island. The Paji and the Demon tribes do not recognize private property rights and often resort to violence to claim tribal lands. Migrant workers returning to the island from Malaysia have worsened land conflict among tribal Catholics on this small island, Fides reported.

Two killings in September were related to just such a land dispute between Lewokelen and Tobi villagers. Father Aliandu said the local Church will “continue mediating, cooperating with the local government and tribal leaders to stop the land-motivated killings. It is the Church's responsibility to always guide the Catholic faithful.”

For the people of Adonara, he said, “land gives happiness and life.” Larantuka Diocese has a population of 247,268, of whom 230,375 are Catholics.

Pearl of Indian Culture Might be Lost Forever

UCA NEWS, Nov. 11 — Due to negligence and disinterestedness of the authorities, a pearl of India's Christian culture risks being lost forever, according to UCA News, an Asian Church news organization.

St. Anne's Church was built between 1681 and 1695 during Portuguese colonial rule in Goa on India's western coast. Now it has been put on the List of 100 Most Endangered Sites of the World Monuments Watch, a New York-based nonprofit fund dedicated to preserving historic art and architecture worldwide.

In 1986, the Indian government's conservation agency was supposed to restore the structure, which features Indian motifs such as lotus and palm leaves, as well as a vault that fuses Gothic and Roman styles.

The estimated cost of 9 million rupees (then $214,000) was to be shared by World Monuments Watch and Fundacao Oriente, a Portuguese organization, but it never took place.

Now the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage will reapply for funds and suggests that Church authorities hire experienced restoration architects for the work.