He Heard My First Confession

Nuncio Cancels Tashkent Visit After Priests Killed In Russia

Italian-born Archbishop Antonio Mennini, 61, planned to present his credentials to the Uzbek government during a visit to Tashkent in early November. He has been nuncio to Russia since 2002 and was additionally appointed nuncio to Uzbekistan this past July 26.

Bishop Jerzy Maculewicz, apostolic administrator of Uzbekistan, told UCA News he had been informed of the cancellation. The visit was put off after Fathers Victor Betancourt and Otto Messmer were found dead in their Church-owned apartment on Oct. 28. Ecuadorian Father Betancourt, 42, taught at Moscow University. Father Messmer headed the Jesuits' Russia Region.

The regional superior was born of German descent in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, and previously served as a parish priest in the Kazakh capital, Astana.

Two of his brothers are also Jesuits: Bishop Nikolaus Messmer, who heads the apostolic administration of Kyrgyzstan, and Father Hieronymus Messmer of the German Province. Russian media reports claim the priests sustained wounds to their heads and that nothing was stolen from the apartment. Over the last few years, several Russian Orthodox priests were killed in Russia and most murders were connected with the theft of Church property, predominantly icons for resale.

Bishop Maculewicz said the November visit would have been useful for the local Church. He elaborated that for many years the Church in Uzbekistan has being seeking registration of two new parishes and a Caritas social-service organization, all of which require government approval. Missionaries of Charity nuns also have experienced problems expanding their mission in the country. The bishop said he hopes the nuncio, as a diplomat, can help. On All Souls' Day, Nov. 2,

Bishop Maculewicz called on Tashkent Catholics to pray for the slain priests during their traditional procession and prayers for souls of the departed in Botkino cemetery. They prayed the rosary and sang hymns during several stops around the cemetery to remember the dead, including relatives and those killed during World War II. Ludmila Fathi, a Catholic in her 50s, recalled her dismay upon hearing about the killing of the priests. "I was shocked when I heard it from the Russian TV news," Fathi told UCA News at Sacred Heart Church, the only Catholic church in the capital. She also thought Russian news agencies did not cover the tragedy accurately,

reporting that there were signs of a party in the apartment and that the police were considering it a case of domestic violence.

Another Catholic, who preferred not to give her name, told UCA News she knew Father Messmer and doubted the deaths were due to domestic violence. "He heard my first confession and I am deeply hurt,"

she wrote via e-mail. On the day the priests' bodies were found, after the news was made public, a requiem Mass was held at Our Mother of Perpetual Help Cathedral in Astana. A similar service reportedly was held in Moscow, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady.

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