Burundi bishops say murder of nuncio was an act of sacrilege

Published: 2004-01-02

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Those responsible for the murder of the Vatican's ambassador to Burundi are guilty of "the sin of sacrilege" and should be brought to justice, the bishops of Burundi said. "The authors of this crime wanted to silence the voice of the Gospel," the bishops said in a statement released Jan. 2 at the Vatican. The country's bishops offered their condolences to the family of Irish Archbishop Michael A. Courtney, 58, who was shot in an ambush Dec. 29 as he was returning by car to Bujumbura, Burundi's capital. Struck by several bullets, including one in the head, he died a few hours later in a Bujumbura hospital. The archbishop's body was flown to Dublin Jan. 2 where a prayer service was held at the airport. The funeral and burial were scheduled for Jan. 3 in Nenagh, the archbishop's home town. A memorial service celebrated by Archbishop Pierre Christophe, nuncio to Uganda, was held in Bujumbura Dec. 31.

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