NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 Women deacons: The Vatican said Wednesday that Pope Francis has created a new commission of experts to examine whether women can be deacons, an ordained role in the Catholic Church currently reserved for men. The 10member commission, the second of Francis’ pontificate to study the fraught issue, includes equal numbers of men and women representing the United States and six European countries. Deacons are ordained ministers who perform many of the same functions as priests. They preside at weddings, baptisms and funerals, and they can preach. They cannot celebrate Mass. Married men can be ordained as deacons. Women cannot, though historians say women served as deacons in the early Christian church. Advocates for expanding the ministry to include women say doing so would give women greater say in the ministry and governance of the church, while also helping address priest shortages in several parts of the world.
2 Guilty plea: A truck driver accused in the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants whose bodies were found inside a refrigerated container that had been hauled to England pleaded guilty to manslaughter Wednesday. Maurice Robinson, 25, of Craigavon in Northern Ireland, entered the plea at Central London Criminal Court. Robinson appeared in court via video link alongside four codefendants. The bodies of the 39 people were found in the container at the back of the truck on Oct. 23. Police investigating the case found the 31 male and eight female victims were all from Vietnam and ranged in age from 15 to 44, including 10 teenagers.
3 Yemen ceasefire: Saudi officials said the coalition fighting Iranbacked Houthi rebels in Yemen will begin a ceasefire starting Thursday. The officials told journalists Wednesday night the decision was in response to U.N. calls to halt hostilities amid the coronavirus pandemic. They said the ceasefire will be for two weeks, during which the coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government will support U.N. efforts to bring the rival parties to the table for peace talks.
4 China sinks boat: The Philippines on Wednesday expressed solidarity with Vietnam after Hanoi protested what it said was the ramming and sinking of a Vietnamese fishing boat by a Chinese coast guard ship in the disputed South China Sea. Manila expressed deep concern over the reported April 3 sinking of the boat carrying eight fishermen off the Paracel Islands. China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and has built several islands equipped with military installations in the area, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. Vietnam has been the most vocal opponent of Beijing’s territorial assertiveness. The Vietnamese were rescued by the Chinese and admitted to wrongdoing, China Maritime Police said in a statement. China seized the islands from Vietnam in 1974 and frequent confrontations have occurred.
5 Penalizing judges: Europe’s top court ordered Poland’s government to immediately suspend a new body set up to discipline judges, saying the chamber did not guarantee independence or impartiality of its verdicts. The newly appointed Disciplinary Chamber of Poland’s Supreme Court is widely seen as the rightwing government’s tool to control judges who are critical of its policies. The European Union says the chamber violates basic values of judicial independence and rule of law. Wednesday’s ruling by the European Court of Justice was an interim measure while it weighs the EU’s case against Poland’s extensive changes to the judiciary. Warsaw argues its judiciary needs to be more efficient and freed of communistera legacy. Critics say the moves seriously threaten Poland’s rule of law.