Prominent Catholics RIP

Bruce Kent obituary (Guardian)

Bruce Kent, who has died aged 92, was the most controversial Catholic priest of his generation in Britain. To his detractors, his high-profile involvement with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament during its renaissance in the 1980s was unsuitable behaviour for an ordained member of a church that accepted the arguments for nuclear deterrence. For his admirers – and there were very many more of them than detractors – he was a prophetic and charismatic figure who almost single-handedly shook English Catholicism out of its complacency, studied moderation and instinctive avoidance of all things political. To see Monsignor Kent exorcising the Polaris nuclear submarine base at Faslane on the west coast of Scotland, or leading protests at Greenham Common, Berkshire, against the deployment of US cruise missiles, or allowing bailiffs to seize his few worldly possessions rather than pay with his taxes for the proliferation of nuclear weapons was a potent reminder that the Christian gospel is a social and radical one. One of the ironies of the ferocious campaign waged against Kent by self-avowedly God-fearing Conservative MPs, MI5 and the Vatican’s diplomatic representative in Britain... was that the subject of their fury was such a mild-mannered man. Kent was no firebrand and even when confronted and abused by his detractors was emollient. He followed Christ’s example, often quoted but notoriously hard in practice, of turning the other cheek...

The Catholic hierarchy watched from the sidelines with growing unease and not a little envy. Cardinal Basil Hume, who had given Kent permission to take on his CND role, allowed him a great deal of rope and defended him against his accusers... Kent felt he had no choice but to leave the priesthood if he was to carry on speaking out on the threat facing the world... He wept as he broke the news to those in the church who had supported him, and many wept with him. “I knew,” he later wrote, “that I no longer fitted into the priesthood as others saw it”...

RIP. He was certainly a source of inspiration to me in my youth.

Gillgannon, US priest who spent three decades in Bolivia as Vatican II advocate, dies (NCR)

Fr. Michael Gillgannon, missionary priest from the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri, and a leading expert on Latin America, died June 19. He was 88...

Fr. Michael Himes: a theologian and friend who shaped so many lives (NCR)

If you ever had the privilege to hear a homily from Fr. Michael Himes, or attended one of his lectures, you never forgot him. Just ask any student or faculty member at the University of Notre Dame in the late '80s and early '90s, or at Boston College in the last three decades. The insight and brilliance of his thought made an immediate impression. However, long after the recollection of his words faded, you remembered how he made you feel: that you were loved beyond imagination, and you had something special to offer the world. My good friend passed away on June 10 just a few weeks after celebrating his 75th birthday and 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. I will never forget how he made me feel...

Cardinal Hummes, known as a defender of the poor, dies at 87 (Vatican News)

Franciscan Cardinal Claudio Hummes passed away Monday at the age of 87. His many years of ministry were dedicated in particular to the accompaniment of indigenous peoples, whose voice he brought to the Synod for the Pan-Amazonian Region in 2019...

Jesuit priest, Fr. Diego Fares, dies at 66 (Vatican News)

"Close to the people, close to Jesus." This communion of thought with Pope Francis was constant in the life and activity of Father Diego Fares, an Argentine Jesuit and writer for La Civiltà Cattolica, who died on Tuesday at the San Pietro Canisio Jesuit Residence in Rome at the age of 66, after a long illness... Until his last days, the Holy Father expressed his closeness to Fr. Diego, visiting him for the last time on 10 July...

World’s Oldest Member of the College of Cardinals Dies at 98 (ACI Africa)

Cardinal Jozef Tomko died early Monday morning in Rome at the age of 98. At the time of his death, the Slovakian-born cardinal was the world’s oldest living member of the College of Cardinals... Tomko was a member of the College of Cardinals for over 37 years after St. Pope John Paul II made him a cardinal in the consistory of May 1985...

“Giant of African Theology” Dies, Catholic Priest Mourns Fr. Prof. Magesa (AMECEA)

The renowned African theologian Prof. Fr. Laurenti Magesa who passed on Thursday, August 11, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania has been described by a fellow Catholic priest as a “giant of African Theology.”

In his message shared Friday, August 12, the President of the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar (JCAM) Fr. Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator associated the death of Prof. Magesa to some African culture when “towering personalities in fields of human endeavour are likened to a giant tree in the forest,” hence their demise is aptly expressed with the metaphor of a fallen tree”... “Magesa authored, co-authored and co-edited numerous ground-breaking books, like What is not Sacred? African Spirituality in which he brilliantly explored the beauty of the spirituality of African Religion and its enduring gift to Christianity as a light, not a shadow, as it tended to be portrayed by those who were either ignorant of or biased against its true nature”... "The significance of {Anatomy of Inculturation: Transforming the Church in Africa} was instantaneous and unmistakable: Magesa had written the magna carta of African theology of inculturation. The combination of his penetrating insight, engaging originality and evidence-based analysis redefined the meaning, significance and practice of inculturation”... “Magesa practiced the art of theologizing with grace, candour and integrity. He respected his students and always made a point to remind them that he, too, was a learner”... “A man of humble demeanour, he was not given to self-aggrandisement. His thinking was always lucid, original and inspiring. He provoked constructive thinking and shunned ideological controversies and intellectual artificiality aimed at damaging the reputation of his trade or the position of those who held a contrary view”... Fr. Magesa’s scholarship, research, writing and publication “gave a distinctively African face to Inculturation Theologies, Liberation Theologies and Catholic Theological Ethics, three areas where he was the undisputed leader”...

To the JCAM President, Fr. Magesa “remained the humble and amiable Christian that he always was. As we gathered around his bed and expressed our emotions of sadness and grief, he muttered, “Don’t do that … this {suffering and death} is part of life.” His imminent death did not rob him of his graciousness, warmth and respect for people.”

I never had the privilege of meeting Fr Magesa, but I have corresponded with him. Truly a towering figure. It is no exaggeration to call him the "Giant of African Theology", and he has been a revered teacher for the best part of fifty years.

Edited to add: Tanzanian-born “Giant of African Theology” Remained Humble to his Death: Jesuit Scholar (ACI Africa)

Few hours to his death on Thursday, August 11, Fr. Prof. Laurenti Magesa Corneli who has been described as “the Giant of African Theology” remained the humble man he had been all his life, the President of the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar (JCAM) has said in his tribute to the late Tanzanian-born Theologian. He had just turned 76...

>6 John5918: Late Rev. Prof. Magesa Encouraged Young Theologians to Think Critically, Value African Heritage: Eulogy (AMECEA)

The late Tanzanian-born cleric described as a “great African Theologian,” Prof. Fr. Laurenti Magesa has been eulogized as a role model who shaped the minds of young theologians to reason and analyze information intelligently and value African heritage. “The years he (Prof. Magesa) served at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) and other Institutions of higher learning within and outside the AMECEA region and his short stay at AMECEA Blessed Bakanja Seminary contributed substantially in building up a generation which cherish critical thinking while valuing our African heritage,” the chairman of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) Bishop Charles Sampa Kasonde eulogized the late Prof. in his message shared with AMECEA online. “His writings and teaching career has inspired many young theologians in building up a coherent African theology,” Bishop Kasonde of Zambia’s Solwezi Diocese, added in the message signed Tuesday, August 16, days after the death of Prof. Magesa. According to the Zambian Prelate, the late cleric who passed on Thursday, August 11, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, has died at a time when the African Continent needed him most synodal issues that are currently ongoing in the Church. “As we respond to the call of His Holiness Pope Francis on Synodality to journey together as Church in our local context, Fr. Magesa was fully involved in this synodal journey in collaboration with other theologians in our region,” Bishop Kasonde mourns the late theologian adding that he received the “sad news with deep sorrow”...

Not a recent death, but the anniversary of a modern day martyr, Fr John Kaiser MHM, a US missionary who died in Kenya.

At Death Anniversary, Catholic Missionary Priest Remembered for Justice Advocacy in Kenya (ACI Africa)

On the 22nd anniversary of the murder of Fr. John Anthony Kaiser, Catholic Bishops in Kenya have remembered the American-born member of the Mill Hill Missionary (MHM) for advocating for justice in the East African nation. Members of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) say the death anniversary of the Priest whose body was found lying on the roadside near his place of mission over two decades ago serves as a reminder of the injustices in the society today. In their Wednesday, August 24 anniversary message published in a Kenyan Daily, KCCB members say that 22 years after his death, Fr. Kaiser is remembered and celebrated by the Church, MHM members, his family and all people of goodwill “for the tireless efforts in advocating for justice for the poor, oppressed and vulnerable, preaching peaceful coexistence.” Fr. Kaiser was known for working with the vulnerable and the oppressed in Kenya. He was vocal and bold against the forced evictions of Kenyans from their ancestral land... Fr. Kaiser’s body was found lying next to a shotgun with a wound on his head on the morning of 24 August 2000 along the Nakuru-Nairobi highway...

At the request of KCCB members following his demise, the Kenyan government opened an inquest into his death, which ended on 12 June 2007 after hearing from 111 witnesses. On 1 August 2007 the presiding Magistrate ruled that Fr. Kaiser was killed, and that the “suicide theory” that had been floated by the Kenyan government and FBI was based on pre-conceived notion. The Magistrate further said that she could not point out with certainty who killed Fr. Kaiser on the basis of evidence tabled before her in the inquest.

I was here then, and I remember it well. I knew him, albeit not closely. It is widely believed that he was assassinated for being outspoken about injustices committed by government figures. RIP, mate.

Archbishop Rembert Weakland died on monday @ 95 a lion of the American Catholic left, Former Archbishop of Milwaukee, former primate of the Dominican Order, and an advocate of all the buzz issues that get me in trouble here. I will touch upon a couple of issues His Excellency was noted for (tip of a gigantic iceberg) He infamously lobbied to reduce the time for victims of sexual abuse to bring their claim to court. He urged flexibility on abortion and had numerous affairs with other men one of whom he "paid" one 450k to keep his mouth shut, stole, I think would be more appropiate from faith Catholics who gave thinking it was for this or that legitimate church function, He admits to shredding documents of abusive priests and later on we find out he only shredded copies of reports, given this guy's track record we will leave the implication of that to conjecture, advocacy groups have complained of his constant castgation placed on victims. No bishop before or since used such aggessive tactics to silence victims. His own abbey where he was an abbot refused him hospitality after his retirement. The reason I put this in this blog is the hope we do not excuse systematic evil because of ideological alliances that create a systematic negligence, I will pray for the Archbishop tonight and I truly hope he RIP....AMDG....

>9 brone:

Might be good to cite some sources for all these alleged faults. RIP.

>8 John5918:

Just remembered that there's a book about Fr Kaiser, You Will See Fire by Christopher Goffard.

Bishops in Southern Africa Eulogize World-renowned Theologian as “beacon of hope for poor” (ACI Africa)

Catholic Bishops in Southern Africa have eulogized the late world-renowned researcher and theologian, Fr. Albert Nolan, as one who inspired hope among “the poor and oppressed” and acknowledged with appreciation his prophetic role during the time of apartheid in South Africa. Aged 88, the member of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans - OP) who authored several books, including Jesus before Christianity; Jesus today: A spirituality of radical freedom; Hope in the age of despair and other talks and writings; and God in South Africa: The challenge of the Gospel, among others, died in his sleep at Marian House in Boksburg, South Africa in the early hours of Monday, October 17, OP leadership announced...

I had the privilege of meeting and interacting with Nolan around twenty years ago, a truly humble and prophetic priest. I can thoroughly recommend his books, particularly the first two mentioned above.

I'm bereft over two scholars, John O'Malley and John Meier.

O'Malley was an absolute giant in early-modern Catholicism, who broadened into work on councils, with books on Vatican II, Trent and Vatican I and so forth. His What Happened at Vatican II is fantastic—a single volume introduction to the council for English-speaking reader. I've read it multiple times. (If you want to hear some of his take, YouTube has many, many hour-ish, more general talks he's given on Vatican II.)

Meier is the author of the six-volume A Marginal Jew, a classic of "historical Jesus" studies. The basic methodology is something that was needed. Book after book on the historical Jesus will have a chapter on methodology, establishing some criteria for how to excavate the historical Jesus* (e.g., the criterion of embarrassment, multiple attestation, etc.), then go on to use them only fitfully. Meier defines his criteria at length—basically volume one!—then proceeds to examine every major question and issue systematically through that lens. If it sounds boring to you, well, I've read volumes 1-3 more than twice each, so it's not boring to me!

*Defined not as the "real Jesus," but as the Jesus we can know from the sources, as we would any other figure of ancient history, prescinding faith claims.

Cardinal Richard Baawobr dies unexpectedly (Vatican News)

Cardinal Richard Baawobr has returned to the house of the Father. The sad news was received in the evening of Sunday 27 November 2022, and announced in a statement signed by the Secretary General of the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers)...

A newly-created Ghanaian cardinal, who had been ill for a couple of months. RIP.

Edited to add: “Faithful witness, wise, gentle pastor”: Holy Father Pays Tribute to Late African Cardinal (ACI Africa)

Pope Francis has eulogized the late Richard Kuuia Cardinal Baawobr who died on Sunday, November 27 as a “faithful witness to the gospel”. In a Tuesday, November 29 telegram message, Pope Francis says he learnt “with sadness” of the death of the Local Ordinary Ghana’s Wa Diocese who belonged to the Society of the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) and joins the people of God in praying for the soul of “this wise and gentle pastor”...

Edited again to add: Catholic Bishops in Africa Eulogize Cardinal Who Served “with dedication, generosity” (ACI Africa)

Members of the Symposium of Episcopal Conference of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) have paid glowing tribute to Richard Kuuia Cardinal Baawobr who passed on in Rome on November 27... “The Universal Church has, thus, lost one of her worthy sons and Pastors who served the Lord and his brothers and sisters with dedication and generosity...”

>13 timspalding: Tim -- what are the other two volumes in the Marginal Jew series? LT series shows only 4 vols.

ETA: OK, I've identified vol5 which isn't listed in the LT series, but what's vol 6? Tnx

Cardinal George Pell, Australia’s most powerful Catholic, who was dogged by scandal – obituary (Guardian)

Cardinal was acquitted on appeal of child sexual abuse charges but remained tarnished by his response to paedophile priests over decades...

Controversial Catholic cleric Pell dies aged 81 (BBC)

Cardinal George Pell, whose conviction on child abuse charges shocked the Catholic Church before being quashed, has died at 81. The former Vatican treasurer is Australia's highest ranking Catholic cleric, and the most senior Church figure ever jailed for such offences. He died of heart complications after hip surgery, Church officials say. Cardinal Pell served as Archbishop of both Melbourne and Sydney before becoming one of the Pope's top aides. He was summoned to Rome in 2014 to clean up the Vatican's finances, and was often described as the Church's third-ranked official...

Australian Cardinal Pell, whose convictions were overturned, dies at 81 (NCR)

Cardinal George Pell, who was the most senior Catholic cleric to be convicted of child sex abuse and spent 404 days in solitary confinement in his native Australia before his convictions were overturned, died Tuesday in Rome. He was 81. Pell died after undergoing hip surgery at Salvator Mundi hospital... "This news comes as a great shock to all of us," Sydney Catholic Archbishop Anthony Fisher said in a statement on Facebook. "Please pray for the repose of the soul of Cardinal Pell, for comfort and consolation for his family and for all of those who loved him and are grieving him at this time"...

May he rest in peace.

At funeral, Pell hailed for bearing ‘unjust condemnation’ with dignity and peace (Crux)

At his Vatican funeral Saturday, the late Cardinal George Pell was praised for his “greatness of intellect and heart,” and, in an allusion to his conviction followed by eventual exoneration on sexual abuse charges in his native Australia, for bearing an “unjust and painful condemnation” with “dignity and interior peace.” For decades Pell was an influential, tone-setting figure both in Australia and the Vatican...

Murder Investigation Underway in Shooting, Death of Auxiliary Bishop in USA (ACI Africa)

The shooting death of Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David G. O’Connell Saturday is being investigated as a homicide, authorities have confirmed... “We learned early this morning from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s office that they have determined that the death of Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell yesterday was a homicide. We are deeply disturbed and saddened by this news,” Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez said in a statement Sunday. “Let us continue to pray for Bishop Dave and his family. And let us pray for law enforcement officials as they continue their investigation into this terrible crime,” Gomez added... A native of Ireland, O’Connell, 69, ministered to immigrants, the poor, and victims of gang violence for 45 years in the South Los Angeles area. Pope Francis made him a bishop in 2015...

It seems he was noted as a peacemaker, and for his work amongst immigrants and the poor. RIP.

Edited to add: A couple of nice tributes to him in this Guardian article: Los Angeles police arrest suspect in fatal shooting of Catholic bishop:

advocated for immigrant and disadvantaged communities... a “longtime peacemaker and fighter for justice”... chair of the Southern California Immigration Task Force, which lobbies for immigration reform.

As LA Catholics mourn Bishop O'Connell, they look to carry on his legacy (NCR)

The corporal and spiritual works of mercy that Auxiliary Bishop David O'Connell immersed himself in during 45 years in the Los Angeles Archdiocese became a connective tissue with many of his parishioners, friends and colleagues. Those friends say his actions spoke louder than the tenets of Catholic social teaching he might have tried to conjugate in Spanish through his Irish brogue, perhaps sometimes put on intentionally as a way to draw a laugh at his own expense in the midst of anxiety or despair. Those who mourn the news of his murder, cutting short his life at age 69 on Feb. 18, often speak through tears recounting his advocacy for immigrants, resourcefulness for those on the margins, and leadership in making Catholic education accessible. The trauma of his death also goes against everything he stood for as a peacemaker when it came to gun violence or conflict resolution...

The death of Fr Aylward Shorter on Sunday, 29th January 2023 in Southwark, UK, at the age of 90, which included 61 years of missionary life in Italy, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and UK passed me by and I've only just become aware of it. I think I met him once, many many moons ago, and his writings have certainly had an influence on me. A great missionary. RIP.

Address by Cardinal Michael Fitzgerald M.Afr at the funeral of Fr Aylward Shorter M.Afr (Tablet)

I met Cardinal (then Archbishop) Fitzgerald in Uganda about twenty years ago, and was also impressed with him.

Sudanese Bishop Emeritus Macram Max Gassis mccj RIP

A requiem mass for the late bishop will be held at the Apostles of Jesus Shrine, Langata Road, Nairobi, Kenya, at 10 am on Saturday 17th June.

Family Obituary: Bishop Macram Max Gassis

Christians Have Lost a Modern-Day Hero (National Review): Bishop Macram Gassis valiantly defended Catholicism and helped millions of all religious backgrounds in Sudan.

Video tribute from EWTN

My own simple personal tribute to the late bishop: "A great man, a personal friend and mentor to me for almost forty years, a fighter for justice, peace and human rights, who will be sadly missed but whose legacy will live on. May he rest in peace."

I hope nobody will consider it spam if I mention that there is an official biography of the bishop, An Angry Shepherd, available on Amazon as an e-book, and that I am the author.

It is with deep sadness that Pax Christi International informs you about the death of Bishop Luigi Bettazzi, one of the youngest and most junior participants in the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), early morning of 16 July 2023.

Bishop Luigi Bettazzi (1923) was a life-long friend of Pax Christi International, who served as President of our international peace movement from 1978 to 1985.

During the presidency of Bishop Bettazzi, Saint Oscar Romero, the Archbishop of San Salvador invited Pax Christi International to act in solidarity with his troubled country; Dom Helder Camara of Brazil asked Pax Christi to sponsor several influential consultations on nonviolence; fact-finding missions led by Bishop Bettazzi travelled to Central America, Haiti and Brazil after which Pax Christi published important reports about the human rights situation in those countries.

During those years, Pax Christi also responded to ‘The Troubles’ in Northern Ireland and to other critical conflicts worldwide. In line with the concerns of Cardinal Bernardus Alfrink, his predecessor as International President, Bishop Bettazzi engaged in dialogue with Christians in Central and Eastern Europe and then in the Soviet Union, with an important series of seminars and exchanges with the Russian Orthodox Church.

Pax Christi International was granted Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC at the United Nations in 1979, and started to make regular submissions, especially to the Human Rights Commission in Geneva, related to (nuclear) disarmament, the arms trade, human rights, and East-West relations.

After his mandate, Mgr. Bettazzi remained active within Pax Christi Italy and Pax Christi International, participating in different solidarity visits to the Balkans during the civil wars (1992-1995). In April 2016, Bishop Bettazzi attended the ‘Nonviolence and Just Peace Conference’, cosponsored by Pax Christi International and the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. In 2017 he took part in Pax Christi International’s delegation to the Vatican’s conference on ‘Prospects for a World Free from Nuclear Weapons and for integral disarmament’ and the Conference’s Audience with Pope Francis.

Bishop Bettazzi loved Pax Christi International and was always an enthusiastic, active member of our international Catholic peace movement. His focus on active nonviolence (peace in action), disarmament and human rights nourished by a prophetic biblical spirituality was evident in the many books he authored. Bishop Luigi Bettazzi’s warm personality and closeness to the people will be greatly missed. Pax Christi International was blessed by the leadership and love of Bishop Bettazzi, a great shepherd and nonviolent practitioner to the end of his life. May his passion for a more peaceful, just and nonviolent world inspire both young and old around the world and may this holy peacemaker rest in the peace for which he lived.

Bishop Marc Stenger and Sister Wamuyu Wachira
Pax Christi International Co-Presidents

Martha Inés Romero
Secretary General

I had the privilege of meeting the late bishop at the nonviolence conference in Rome in 2016 referred to in the text. RIP.

Not a recent death, but today is the anniversary of the assassination of Fr John Kaiser, an old Mill Hill Missionary colleague of mine, in Kenya in 2000. He was a fierce defender of human rights, and continued despite being arrested, beaten and threatened with deportation. He testified about the violence at Maela camp for people displaced from their homes by violence, championed the cause of two schoolgirls who had been raped by a senior government minister, was due to testify against the Kenya government before the International Criminal Court, and a few months before his murder he received the Kenya Law Society's annual Human Rights Award. He was shot dead on 23rd August 2000 and his body was found by the roadside the next morning. The Kenya police initially believed it was murder but an FBI "expert" claimed it was suicide. After a long struggle by the Church and human rights groups the inquest was reopened and in 2007 it was determined that Fr Kaiser was murdered, although the judge was unable to say who did it. May he rest in peace.

A nice sentiment was expressed by the nuncio at the funeral: "Only two days before his death, I met Fr Kaiser for a long conversation. At the end, he asked my blessing, which I reluctantly gave him. At that moment, I thought it would have been better if he, an old and worthy missionary, had blessed me. How much more I am convinced of that now that we look at him as a martyr of the faith?"

>16 John5918:

"dogged by scandal"

"controversial Catholic"

"whose convictions"

Hardly the most balanced selection of sources, my friend.

I imagine he is with Our Lord, given the calumnies he suffered with great patience and fortitude.

>24 LesMiserables:

Thanks. First let me welcome you back to the group. You were a regular poster a good few years ago, and it's good to see you back.

I had intended, along with >17 John5918:, to provide a fair balance, with two Catholic sources and two secular ones, but sadly I think the good cardinal's memory is always going to be dogged by some of those phrases you quote. He was undoubtedly a controversial figure, both inside and outside the Church. While I disagreed with him on a number of issues, I appreciated the hard-headed professionalism than he contributed to Pope Francis' attempts to reform the Vatican's finances and administration. I always had my doubts about the sexual abuse accusations against him, as did Australian Catholic colleagues who would say, "I don't like him nor agree with him, but this doesn't ring true". The thought that a fully liturgically-vested high-profile archbishop would find the time, opportunity and privacy to commit the alleged offences in the sacristy of his own cathedral after a Sunday mass is very unlikely. Anyone who has tried even to go for a pee while wearing liturgical vestments would realise the logistical implausibility of it! I'm glad that the Australian legal system, while working slowly and painfully, nevertheless eventually acquitted him. I might add that another thing I admired him for was his response to the earlier allegations, many years ago, when the first thing he did was suspend himself from his active duties while the investigation was taking place, the same action that would be taken against any clergyman accused of such crimes, whilst maintaining his innocence. A man of principle who did indeed bear calumnies with patience and fortitude. RIP.

Thanks for the welcome. Unfortunately this was a political witch-hunt with widespread collusion of politicians, lawyers, journalists, and activists. All of them saw Pell as an obstacle to their Marxist world view. Taking him down was designed to silence the orthodox Catholic voice in Australia. It failed.

>26 LesMiserables:

Yes, I think he became a scapegoat for all the resentment against the Catholic Church which had built up in Australia, in part at least due to the sexual abuse scandal and the subsequent cover up scandal. He was tried and found guilty by the media and by public opinion long before he had the chance to defend himself in, and eventually be exonerated by, the judicial system.

Highly-respected South Sudanese Catholic Bishop Paride Taban dies in Nairobi (Sudan Post)

South Sudan’s highly-respected Catholic Bishop Paride Taban who is renowned for his peace activism in the world’s youngest country died on Wednesday in the Kenyan capital Nairobi aged 87...

Pioneer Catholic Bishop of South Sudan’s Torit Diocese Dies on All Saints Day at 87 (ACI Africa)

Bishop Paride Taban, the first Catholic Bishop of Torit Diocese in South Sudan, has passed on Wednesday, November 1, the Solemnity of All Saints. He was aged 87. Bishop Taban died in Nairobi, Kenya after a protracted illness...

A wise and holy man who was both a mentor and friend to me for many years. RIP.

Edited to add a short comment which I have shared on one or two news media, "a humble, holy and wise man who lived and breathed peace, forgiveness and reconciliation".

Pioneer Catholic Bishop of Torit Diocese Eulogized as “symbol of peace” in South Sudan (ACI Africa)

Edited to add: I did a podcast on Bishop Paride for the Pan African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network, available here if anyone is interested in hearing about this remarkable man.

Africa Mourns Fr Bénézet Bujo, the Pioneer of African Theology Dies at 83 (CISA)

Regarded as one of the pioneer figures of African Theology, Fr Prof. Bénézet Bujo has died at the age of 83. The native of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and professor emeritus of the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, died after a long illness on Thursday evening, November 9, at the Friborg Cantonal Hospital... The University of Fribourg notes that from the beginning, Bujo’s research had been oriented toward the search for an ethics that, in light of African traditions, takes seriously the deep relationships among human beings, including vital relationships with the world of ancestors and descendants, established by and in God as the spiritual foundation of all reality. “The philosophical background was provided by the great authors of European scholasticism, but also and in particular by the discourse ethics of Jürgen Habermas, which he however significantly expanded with the concepts of an “ethics”, “Consensus” or an “ethics of palaver” of African origin. In this way, he succeeded in formulating an authentic African Christian ethic, which made him known well beyond Fribourg. His numerous publications in German, French and Swahili bear witness to this,” the university’s faculty of theology noted... “Africa has lost one the pioneers of African Theology. In the last past five years or so the African scientific community has lost a number of its great thinkers. Benezet Bujo joins his colleagues John Mbit, Charles Nyamiti, Desmond Tutu, Tharcisse Thsibangu, Ka Mana, Laurenti Magesa, Anne Nasimiyu, and Teresia Hinga, just to name a few. We are proud of you all, our elder brothers and sisters. You had a passion for Africa"...

Pioneer African Theologian Eulogized As a “man who took God seriously, gift to the Church” (ACI Africa)

Fr. Bénézet Bujo, one of the pioneer figures of African Theology, who was laid to rest on November 25 has been eulogized as a “man who took God seriously, legend, gift to the Church”...

Catholic Archbishop Known for Freedom, Democracy Advocacy in Togo Dies at 93 (ACI Africa)

Archbishop Philippe Fanoko Kossi Kpodzro, who has been known for freedom and democracy advocacy in Togo has passed on in Sweden, where he had fled following the West African nation’s controversial 2020 presidential election. He was aged 93...