NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- Members of the international diplomatic corps in Guatemala have called upon President Alvaro Arzu to speed up the investigation into the murder of Bishop Juan Gerardi.

      In their request to the president, the accredited diplomats said that an vigorous effort to "let the truth shine through" would eliminate suspicions and rumors in connection with the death of the bishop, who was found murdered in his home last year shortly after he released a report criticizing the country's military forces for human- rights violations.

      Speaking on behalf of the diplomats, the Vatican's nuncio in Guatemala, Archbishop Ramiro Moliner Ingles, said that "in a young democracy under the rule of law, it is much more serious to accuse and condemn an innocent man than to allow a guilty party to go free." To date, the only suspect being held in connection with the assassination is a priest who was living in the same rectory as Bishop Gerardi. Church officials have repeatedly affirmed their belief that the priest, Father Mario Orantes Najera, is innocent.