December 1949 and December 1996

Nuns prefer dispersal to Red Rule – 1949

Rather than submit to the Communist Government directive to retire to three convents and live there under superiors appointed by the state, 1 400 nuns in Romania have returned to their families. The nuns were given 15 days to decide between the two options, yet the three convents offered to them only have space for about 100 religious each. Every priest in Romania has been made a civil servant and are under pressure in an attempt to force them to repudiate their bishops, who are all under arrest.

Church in Namibia turns 100 – 1996

The Church in Namibia celebrated the “grand finale” of its 100th anniversary on December 8. The anniversary had been observed all year culminating in the establishment of the Namibia Catholic Bishops’ Conference, having previously belonged to the Southern African Conference. Pope John Paul’s special envoy, Cardinal Josef Tomko, was scheduled to attend the December 8 celebrations outside St Mary’s Cathedral in Windhoek, an event scheduled to draw between 2000 and 2500 people.