What happened?
More than 800 suspected drug dealers and users have been killed by police and vigilantes in the Philippines since May, according to human rights groups.
In a joint letter, 300 civil society groups have called on the UN to condemn the violence, which they link to President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.
During his campaign for the presidency, Duterte vowed to stop criminality, warning that his administration would be a “bloody” one.
What the British media said
The Economist argued that the blood-lust of Filipinos taking part in the killing would not last, as it is “no solution to the Philippines’ many problems”. The number of people drawn to President Duterte’s policies demonstrates how bad things are for those living in poverty across the country, it said.
President Duterte’s extreme stance on crime may derive from his 22-year tenure as mayor of “murder capital” Davao City, the article said.
It warned: “The lesson of the drug wars in Latin America is that extrajudicial violence makes everything worse. Innocent people will be killed; and denunciations will also be used to settle scores and exploited by gangs to wipe out rivals. Filipinos’ desire for instant retribution will, surely, turn to horror, hatred and revenge.”
What Filipino Catholics said
Church leaders in the Philippines have said they are “powerless” to stop the violence. Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan appealed to Filipinos to listen to their conscience. He said: “From a generation of drug addicts, shall we become a generation of street murderers?”
Catholic economist Bernardo M Villegas said he believed the president’s other policies would help the country in the long run. He said that President Duterte had “a genuine concern for the poorest of the poor” and will focus on improving the economy, providing free education and pursuing agricultural development.
Villegas concluded: “As far as ideology is concerned, I would put Rody Duterte in the same class as Angela Merkel of Germany rather than Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.”
The most overlooked story of the week
✣Diocese ‘prepared to start Cause for Fr Hamel’
What happened?
The Archbishop of Rouen has said he is prepared to begin the Cause of Fr Jacques Hamel, the priest murdered by Islamists while celebrating Mass.
Archbishop Dominique Lebrun told La Croix that he would be willing to waive the usual rule of delaying the Cause until five years after the candidate’s death.
Why was it under-reported?
Canonisation stories rarely make headlines until the canonisation is actually about to take place and are more likely to attract coverage if the figure was famous or controversial. The process of canonisation can also be long and it is not widely understood by the mainstream media.
As Archbishop Lebrun explained to La Croix, the fact that Fr Hamel was martyred (killed in hatred for the faith) means no miracles would be required to declare him a saint. The archbishop said the diocese had “carefully preserved evidence about Fr Jacques”.
What will happen next?
As Archbishop Lebrun said: “Formally, it is for the bishop of the person’s place of death to initiate the procedure. There is a local phase with a careful survey of the life and death of the person. Then the case is sent to Rome where it is studied before the Pope makes his decision.”
The first step in a normal sainthood Cause is for the diocese to investigate the candidate’s life to see if he or she lived a life of heroic virtue. The subsequent document, or positio, is then passed on to Rome at the conclusion of the diocesan phase.
✣The week ahead
Youth 2000 will hold its annual prayer festival from Thursday at Walsingham, Norfolk. More than 1,000 young Catholics will gather for the five-day festival. The days are devoted to Mass, Confession, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and workshops. To book a place visit youth2000.org. The cost is £100 but smaller donations are accepted.
The Great British Bake Off returns on Wednesday. The show is hosted by Sue Perkins, a cradle Catholic, and Mel Giedroyc, who recently spoke about rediscovering the Catholic faith after the birth of her daughter Florence.
A mass of Thanksgiving will be held for Mother Teresa on August 26, her birthday, at the mother house of the order she founded in Calcutta, India. A film festival in the city dedicated to the saint will start on the same day. Festivities in Calcutta will continue not just until her canonisation on September 4 in St Peter’s Square, but for the rest of the year.
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