SADNESS AT THE EXECUTION OF THREE CATHOLICS IN INDONESIA

VATICAN CITY, SEP 23, 2006 (VIS) - At midday today, the Holy See Press Office released the following communique:

  "With great sadness the Holy See has learned the news that the execution of Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus da Silva and Marinus Riwu has been carried out. The men were held responsible for violence in Poso, Indonesia, in 2000.

  "On this matter, the Secretariat of State has repeatedly intervened with the Indonesian authorities to ask, in the Holy Father's name, for a gesture of clemency in favor of the three condemned men. Apart from the telegram published on August 12, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, then secretary of State, sent the Indonesian head of State Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, two letters, one on December 5, 2005 and another on March 7, 2006. Further steps were taken through the Indonesian embassy to the Holy See on December 13, 2005, and on February 14 and September 20, 2006.

  "At a purely humanitarian level - inspired by the Catholic Church's well-known stance on the death penalty, and bearing in mind the circumstances of this painful case - the Holy See, through its interventions, aimed to contribute to the efforts being made in favor of the process of reconciliation in Indonesia, and to the traditional peaceful coexistence of members of different religions, which it is hoped will continue to distinguish that great country."
OP/EXECUTION CATHOLICS/INDONESIA                VIS 20060925 (240)