(Vatican Radio) A Mexican former State Governor accused of massive corruption and organized crime has been arrested in neighbouring Guatemala. James Blears with the details.Listen to James Blears report: Dishevelled and unkempt, former Governor of Vera Cruz Javier Duarte was arrested in the lobby of a hotel in the town of Panajackel, 130 kms West of Guatemala City. According to the Mexican Attorney General`s Office, Interpol helped in locating him. Mexico`s Foreign Ministry is now seeking his extradition.Governor from 2006 until October of last year, Duarte disappeared then, without completing his term. In that same month he was expelled from the Institutional Revolutionary Party- PRI. Auditors investigating vastly depleted coffers, say it`s one of the worst cases of misappropriation of funds for many years. Businesses and properties have been seized by investigators, who`ve also froz...
(Vatican Radio) A Mexican former State Governor accused of massive corruption and organized crime has been arrested in neighbouring Guatemala. James Blears with the details.
Listen to James Blears report:
Dishevelled and unkempt, former Governor of Vera Cruz Javier Duarte was arrested in the lobby of a hotel in the town of Panajackel, 130 kms West of Guatemala City. According to the Mexican Attorney General`s Office, Interpol helped in locating him. Mexico`s Foreign Ministry is now seeking his extradition.
Governor from 2006 until October of last year, Duarte disappeared then, without completing his term. In that same month he was expelled from the Institutional Revolutionary Party- PRI. Auditors investigating vastly depleted coffers, say it`s one of the worst cases of misappropriation of funds for many years. Businesses and properties have been seized by investigators, who`ve also frozen more than one hundred bank accounts.
Duarte is likely to legally try and resist extradition, but sooner or later he`ll be returned to Mexico to stand trial for a legion of alleged crimes, mostly involving graft.
Cincinnati Archbishop Dennis Schnurr. / Credit: Archdiocese of CincinnatiCNA Staff, May 8, 2024 / 12:55 pm (CNA).Archbishop of Cincinnati Dennis Schnurr has been diagnosed with cancer, the archdiocese revealed this week, with the prelate set to begin preparing for chemotherapy treatment this week. An archdiocesan spokesman told CNA on Wednesday morning that on Friday the archbishop "received a post-operation diagnosis of stage 3 small bowel cancer." "His doctor noted that, generally speaking, the archbishop's health is excellent, and that is certainly a source of optimism for the success of the treatment," the archdiocese said. "The treatment plan includes a regimen of chemotherapy over the next six months, preparation for which will begin this week," the statement continued. "We ask all Catholics and people of goodwill to please keep Archbishop Schnurr in their prayers," the archdiocese added. Schnurr was installed as the Cincinnati arc...
Father Ricardo Mata. / Credit: Garland Police DepartmentCNA Staff, May 8, 2024 / 14:27 pm (CNA).Police in Texas this week announced the arrest of a priest with the Diocese of Dallas over allegations of inappropriate contact with two minors. The Garland Police Department said on its Facebook page that officers had arrested Father Ricardo Mata on Monday "on two counts of indecency with a child, a second-degree felony.""The allegations are based on reports of inappropriate contact with two juvenile victims, which occurred during a visit to a residence in Garland," the police said. Investigators are in contact with the Diocese of Dallas, the police said. Mata's bonds were set at $75,000 and $100,000, the police department said. In a Tuesday statement on its website, meanwhile, the Diocese of Dallas said that it had been "recently made aware of an allegation by a juvenile girl of inappropriate touching involving a priest.""Upon learning of the allegation last week, di...
Pope Benedict XVI on April 21, 2007, in Vigevano, Italy. / Credit: miqu77/ShutterstockCNA Newsroom, May 8, 2024 / 11:07 am (CNA).The man arrested for the theft of a pectoral cross bequeathed by the late Pope Benedict XVI to a parish in his native Bavaria is now facing time behind bars.According to CNA Deutsch, CNA's German-language news partner, the Traunstein district court on Monday sentenced a 53-year-old Czech citizen to two years and six months in prison.The perpetrator, whom authorities described as a serial thief with a history of crimes across several European countries, left traces at the crime scene that led to his identification and arrest.However, local media reported that the cross is still missing, and the verdict may yet be appealed.Pope Benedict XVI bequeathed a pectoral cross to St. Oswald's Church in the city of Traunstein in Bavaria after his retirement in 2013. The cross was stolen June 19, 2023, from the church. Credit: Bavarian Police/CNA DeutschThe court ...
