The Catholic Weekly 21 June 2020

14 21, June, 2020 W orld catholicweekly.com.au Vorris outlet’s racist diatribe ARCHBISHOP ALLEN Vi- gneron and the Archdiocese of Detroit condemned “rac- ist and derogatory” language used by a fringe organisation located in the archdiocese that bills itself as Catholic and posted a video calling the archbishop of Washington an “African Queen,” saying he is an “accused homosexual.” “The Archdiocese of Detroit has been made aware that an organisation located in southeast Michigan has pub- lished racist and derogatory language in reference to the Archbishop of Washington, Wilton Gregory,” the archdi- ocese said a statement on 11 June referencing Church Mil- itant/St Michael’s Media in Ferndale, Michigan. The Church’s Militant’s controversial spokesman, who made the statements, is Michael Vorris. The video disparages the Washington archbishop, who is black, and calls him a liar. Archbishop Vigneron also individually issued a state- ment saying that “racist and derogatory speech wrongful- ly diminishes the God-given dignity of others. It is not in accord with the teachings of Christ. As our nation contin- ues its important conversa- tion on racism, it is my hope that the faithful will turn from this and all other acts or atti- tudes which deny the inherent dignity shared by all people.” On Twitter, Bishop Richard Stika of Tennessee also called out the group on 11 June, saying it was “not a Catholic organisation,” and that “they lead others to sin by their of- ten vile comments.” Vorris is best known for his harsh, accusatory condemna- tions of many figures in the Catholic world. A FORMER military com- mander accused of killing six Jesuits and two women work- ing with the Society of Je- sus during El Salvador’s civil war went on trial on 8 June in Spain, offering hopes of jus- tice for crimes that have wal- lowed in impunity for more than three decades. Inocente Orlando Mon- tano, a former colonel in the Salvadoran army and former deputy defence minister, ap- peared in a Spanish court- room wearing a health mask and seated in a wheelchair to ¾ ¾ David Agren $25m man released Jesuits murder trial begins Man who got millions for brokering controversial Vatican property deal is freed AN ITALIAN broker who was arrested for his involvement in the questionable majority stake purchase of a proper- ty in London by the Vatican’s Secretariat of State was grant- ed a conditional release after 10 days in a Vatican jail cell. In a statement released on 15 June, the Vatican said Gian Piero Milano, Vatican chief prosecutor, and his deputy, Alessandro Diddi, granted a conditional release to the ac- cused broker “following the outcome of the interrogations to which Mr Gianluigi Torzi was subjected in the con- ¾ ¾ Junno Arocho Esteves A memorial for the six Jesuits massacred in 1989 at Central Ameri- can University in San Salvador. PHOTO: CNS/LUIS GALDAMEZ, REUTERS text of the investigation into the sale and purchase of the building at 60 Sloane Avenue in London.” His release was granted after Torzi gave “a detailed memorandum” as well as “numerous attached docu- ments deemed useful for the reconstruction of the facts un- der investigation,” the Vatican said. The Italian broker was ar- rested on 5 June after he was interrogated at the Vatican prosecutor’s office regarding his involvement in the Lon- don property deal which first came to light in early October when Vatican police conduct- ed a raid on offices in the Sec- retariat of State and the Vati- can financial oversight office. According to internal doc- uments leaked by the Italian news magazine L’Espresso , Vatican authorities are inves- tigating how the Secretariat of State used A$290 million to finance the property devel- opment project in London’s Chelsea district in 2014. Torzi served as the middle- man in the Vatican Secretariat of State’s eventual purchase of the majority stake in the London property in 2018 from London-based Italian financi- er, Raffaele Mincione, Vatican News reported. While the Vatican incurred debts from the purchase, Torzi received an estimated A$24.5 million for brokering the deal. Several Vatican officials were investigated for their in- volvement in the deal, includ- ing Mons Alberto Perlasca, the former head of the Vatican Secretariat of State’s adminis- trative office. According to the Vatican, Torzi faces charges of extor- tion, embezzlement, aggravat- ed fraud and money launder- ing. If found guilty, he faces up to 12 years in prison. - CNS ¾ ¾ Rhina Guidos face charges of murder and a sentence of up to 150 years in prison, if convicted. Prosecutors allege Mon- tano, 76, participated in “the decision, design or execution of the killings” in 1989. It’s believed the attack was carried out to scuttle possi- ble peace talks between the US-backed government forc- es and the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front. Spain pursued the case of the slain Jesuits as five of the victims were Spanish citizens. The country also has a “universal jurisdiction law,” which allows it to assert juris- diction for especially heinous crimes. The priests were pulled from their residence on the campus of the Jesuit-run Central American Universi- ty in San Salvador on 16 No- vember 1989 and murdered by soldiers. The attack on the priests was carried out under the pretext of searching for leftist rebels. A rifle taken from the rebels was used in the mur- ders in an attempt to pin the crime on others. Father Ignacio Ellacuria, rector of the Central Ameri- can University and an impor- tant figure in the peace talks, was killed in the attack. Also killed were Fathers Ignacio Martin Baro, Juan Ramon Moreno, Amando Lopez, Se- gundo Montes and Joaquin Lopez. Julia Elba Ramos, a house- keeper, and her teenage daughter, Celina, were also shot dead on the university campus. The murders generated international outrage and highlighted the horrors of a 12-year conflict pitting right-wing death squads against leftist rebels. - CNS His release was granted after Torzi gave ‘a detailed memorandum’ ... deemed useful for the reconstruction of the facts under investigation.” The Vatican Vatican chief prosecutor, Gian Piero Milano, speaks during the opening of the judicial year at the Vatican in 2017. PHOTO: CNS PHOTO/L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO