NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      GUATEMALA CITY (CWNews.com) - A re-examination of the body of a slain Guatemalan bishop on Thursday found no signs of dog bites as investigators had surmised.

      Nine experts took part in a five-hour autopsy on the late Bishop Juan Gerardi Conedera looking for evidence of dog bites to connect the chief suspect, Father Mario Orantes Najera, to the murder. Father Orantes owns a dog which reportedly responds only to his commands, and Spanish experts had told prosecutors that they had seen evidence of dog bites while examining photographs of Bishop Gerardi's body.

      The bishop was bludgeoned to death on April 26, two days after releasing a report critical of the military for its role in the 36-year civil war. While human rights groups claim Bishop Gerardi was murdered because of his human rights work, prosecutors have charged Father Orantes, who lived with the bishop, with the crime.