Antipope’s skull sparks dispute over legacy
A DISPUTE over the rightful home of the skull of the Antipope Benedict XIII (Pedro de Luna) (1328-1423), which was stolen during a burglary of a ruined Spanish palace in 2000, has brought him back into the limelight, The Times reports. Benedict XIII was the Avignon Antipope, a rival to the Roman Pope, during the Western Schism between 1378 and 1417. His native region of Aragon, in north-eastern Spain, is petitioning Pope Francis to rehabilitate him as it commemorates the 600th anniversary of his death. Last week, a court ruled that his skull should be returned to the village of Sabiñán, near Zaragoza, the regional capital of Aragon, from where it had been stolen. It was donated to the village in 2019 by the Olazabal family, which also bequeathed the palace near by from which it was stolen. The village of Illueca, Luna’s birthplace, also claims the skull, and the mayor had promised to appeal against the decision. The skull is currently being kept in a museum in Zaragoza under the protection of the regional government.
Netanyahu bans tourists from Temple Mount
VISITS by non-Muslims and tourists to the holy site of Temple Mount in Jerusalem are to be suspended until the end of Ramadan, about 20 April, after a week of violent unrest in the city showed no sign of subsiding. The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced the ban on Tuesday, after the military confirmed that its soldiers had shot dead two Palestinian gunmen in the occupied West Bank, The Guardian reports. More than 90 Palestinians, most of them fighters in militant groups, but some civilians, have been killed since January. At least 19 Israelis and foreigners have died. The latest unrest was sparked by a violent stand-off between Israeli police and Palestinians on the Temple Mount on Wednesday of last week (News, 6 April). This week, the St Porphyrios Orthodox Church, in Gaza, reported that the special travel permits usually issued by Israel to allow residents and Christians to leave the Hamas-controlled area and visit holy sites in Israeli territory during the forthcoming Orthodox Easter holiday had also been cancelled.
Myanmar pastor imprisoned on terrorism charge
A PASTOR and former president of the Kachin Baptist Convention, in Myanmar, the Revd Dr Hkalam Samson, has been sentenced by a Myanmar court to six years imprisonment on charges of unlawful association, defaming the state, and terrorism, Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports. Dr Samson was arrested in December at Mandalay International Airport, and put on a plane to Kachin State, where he was detained again on landing (News, 23 December 2022). The US Commission on International Religious Freedom said at the time that Dr Samson was facing prosecution in relation to preaching and speeches made in Bible classes. He had previously faced prosecution after meeting the former US President Donald Trump to discuss religious freedom in Myanmar in July 2019.
Indian PM visits cathedral on Easter Day
THE Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, visited the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, in New Delhi, on Easter Day — a move that, church leaders hoped, would promote dialogue with the government on curbing Christian persecution in the country, the Union of Catholic Asian News reports. Mr Modi’s visit on Sunday evening was the first since, as the leader of the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party, he became Prime Minister in 2014. During his 25-minute visit, Mr Modi lit a candle in front of the statue of risen Jesus and sang three Easter hymns. The Bishop of Syro-Malabar, the Rt Revd Kuriakose Bharanikulangara, described the visit “as a golden opportunity to initiate dialogue at the federal and provincial levels to tackle the menace of persecution against Christians”.
