Kosovo: Bishop's Bravery; Priest's Protest

THE UNIVERSE, May 23-The British Catholic newspaper reported two responses by clerics to the war in the Balkans.

First, an ethnic Albanian bishop has chosen to remain in Kosovo to give comfort to residents left in the devastated Yugoslav province, reported the paper.

Auxiliary Bishop Marko Sopi of Skopje-Prizren was staying in the city of Prizren, along with the local seminary rector and a small group of sisters, said the paper, citing a “moderate Kosovar leader.”

Before the war began, Catholics in Kosovo numbered about 60,000, a minority among the Muslim population.

In a separate development, a priest in Italy burned a model of an American Apache helicopter during a children's First Communion Mass in order to protest the war. The priest, Don Tarcisio Guarnieri, said he would have also burned a model of a Serb tank if he had one available, said the newspaper.

China: Birthday Wishes From a Hidden Church

FIDES, May 30-“The only Vatican-appointed bishop in mainland China, who sent birthday wishes to Pope John Paul II, … later said he regrets there is little chance of him ever meeting the Holy Father,” said the Rome-based news agency that focuses on mission territories.

“It is not possible for me to go to see him, and it is very difficult for him to come to China,” said Bishop Matthias Duan Yinming of Wanxian in the Sichuan province. The 91-year-old prelate, who was telephoned by the news agency on the Pope's 79th birthday, said, “I only want to pray that God bless the Pope and grant him good health and wisdom to guide the Church.”

Ordained a priest in 1937, Bishop Duan said he has “experienced several popes” in his long life. Catholics in Wanxian Diocese will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Bishop Duan's episcopal ordination on Oct. 18. He was appointed a bishop by Pope Pius XII in 1949.

As for Vatican-China relations, the bishop's office said, “We don't worry too much; God has his time and his plans.”

Orthodox Priests Freed in Russia

FRENCH PRESS AGENCY, May 28-Russian soldiers rescued two Orthodox priests held hostage in Chechenya, a region torn by war in recent years over a struggle to win independence from Russia.

Bandits took Fathers Piotr Makaroy and Sergei Potapov hostage earlier this year during a raid on their village in Ingushetia, a republic near the border of Chechenya, the French news organization said. Security forces raided the hideout where the priests and five soldiers were being held for ransom.

There are reports of from 500 to 700 other hostages being held for ransom in the rebel republic.