Human rights groups are demanding an investigation into the failure of U.N. forces to prevent a raid in which nearly 200 women were systematically gang raped in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in late July. The U.K.’s Cardinal Keith O’Brien accused the BBC of institutional bias against “Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular,” charging that its news coverage is contaminated by “a radically secular and socially liberal mindset.” ♦ A French physician and professor of bioethics, Father Bruno Cadore, was elected superior general of the Dominicans Sept. 5. ♦ Churches and human rights groups in South Africa are expressing concern over the South African government’s decision to withdraw a special permit granted that had allowed thousands of Zimbabweans to reside in the country without documents. ♦ GuideStar, which tracks performance in the non-profit sector, reports that 40 percent of charities saw a year-over-year decrease in donations between January and May. ♦ Condemning triple suicide bombings that killed 30 at a Shiite religious ceremony in Pakistan, Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha of Lahore said the Sept. 1 attacks, committed as “thousands of flood victims await international support, [were] cowardly.”
