The archdiocese of Rouen has opened a formal inquiry into the Cause for beatification of Fr Jacques Hamel, who was killed while celebrating Mass last July.
Archbishop Dominique Lebrun of Rouen announced the opening of the inquiry at the end of his Chrism Mass.
Fr Hamel was killed at Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray church near Rouen when, police said, two young men who claimed allegiance to the Islamic State stormed the church. After taking several hostages, the attackers slit Fr Hamel’s throat and seriously injured another parishioner. Following a standoff, police killed the attackers, ending the hostage situation.
Traditionally, the Vatican requires a five-year waiting period after the death of a candidate for sainthood before a Cause is opened. Pope Francis waived the rule in response to pleas from French Catholics.
The Pope called Fr Hamel a martyr during a special requiem for the priest last September in the chapel of Domus Sanctae Marthae at the Vatican.
“Fr Jacques Hamel had his throat slit on the cross, at the exact moment he was celebrating the sacrifice of Christ's cross,” the Pope said. “A good man, meek, brotherly and who always sought to make peace, was murdered as if he were a criminal. This is the satanic line of persecution.”
The inquiry is expected to take several years, even though the beatification of a martyr is a simpler process because there is no need to prove that a miracle occurred through his intercession. An archdiocesan statement said about 50 people will be contacted. The group will include witnesses at the Mass as well as family members and others who knew him.
Czech bishop to state: give Chinese Christians asylum
A Czech bishop has accused his government of putting trade ties above human rights after it delayed granting asylum to dozens of Chinese Christians.Auxiliary Bishop Vaclav Maly of Prague, chairman of the Czech Church’s Justice and Peace Commission, told Catholic News Service that the “usual popular objection” cannot be applied to the asylum seekers. “There are no terrorists among them and no doubts about their work ethic,” he said.
“An act of goodwill would enable Czech officials to show we decide our own affairs and won’t be pushed into a corner by protests from China. It’s shameful to see economic interests prevailing over humanitarian concerns,” he wrote.
Bishop Maly said he was confident the Chinese Christians were “simply seeking refuge from the threat of persecution”, and believed their acceptance would “improve the reputation of the Czech Republic” after criticism of its attitude towards refugees from Syria and Iraq.
“A principled stance can ultimately help resolve many problems,” Bishop Maly said. At least 60 Catholics and Protestants from China requested asylum from February to May 2016 and are being held in Czech reception centres.
Iraqi ghost town marks Easter
Hundreds of Iraqi Christians have celebrated Easter at towns recaptured from Islamic State.About 100 Iraqis gathered in Mar Yohanna church in Qaraqosh. Qazwan Bulos Mousa, who attended with his wife and three children, said it represented “major hope for the final return of all”.
Only four families have returned to the town since its recapture, he said. Milad Mansour, an officer in the Assyrian militia, told the AFP agency that the liturgy was a “sign of goodness and hope”.
