A British-born priest who has served in Indonesia for more than 40 years has called on the Vatican to end its tradition of keeping disciplinary cases involving the clergy confidential and demanded changes to the way bishops are appointed.

In an opinion piece published in Hidup, a weekly magazine published by the Jakarta Archdiocese, Divine Word Father John Mansford Prior, a missiology lecturer at the Catholic School of Philosophy in Maumere on the Catholic majority island of Flores said the handling of moral cases involving clergy must be “completely transparent, just like in the state system.”

“If the Holy See compels a bishop to withdraw, the results of the trial [of a bishop] must be officially announced,” he argued.

Father Prior, who also works at the Candraditya Centre for the Study of Religion and Culture in Maumere is a former consultor of the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conference (FABC). His article, published in the Oct. 29 edition of Hidup, specifically addressed the resignation of Bishop Hubertus Leteng of Ruteng.

Pope Francis approved Bishop Leteng’s resignation on Oct. 11 after an investigation into allegations of misappropriating more than US$100,000 of church funds and an illicit relationship with a woman. In its official announcement, the Vatican did not give a reason for Bishop Leteng’s resignation.

Father Prior told ucanews.com on Nov. 1, that in addition of transparency, the church should also encourage due process.

“If there were credible accusations, the clergy, whether it’s a priest or bishop being accused, should be immediately discharged, certainly with innocent prejudice,” he said.

The church is not credible in handling such cases, he argued because “priest investigates priest, bishop investigates bishop and it is done in private.” “Who can really believe in the results of such a process?”

Thousands of Filipino Catholics are expected to join a religious procession to call for “national healing” that will be held in a major thoroughfare in Manila on Nov. 5. A statement from the Bishops Conference of the Philippines said the event will be a “prayerful gathering for the healing of the nation.”

The country’s bishops declared Nov. 5 as “Lord Heal Our Land Sunday” that is highlighted by the procession on Epifanio delos Santos Avenue, site of the 1986 “people power” revolution. An image of the Our Lady of Fatima, which was brought by devotees during the revolt that toppled the 20-year rule of Ferdinand Marcos, will be carried in next week’s procession.

Abp Socrates Villegas, president of the bishops’ conference, said the activity is not meant to encourage attempts to destabilize the government.

“We ask the Lord for healing of our land, healing of our people so we can move forward in peace, in prosperity, for all,” said the Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan. “Healing does not mean turning a blind eye but being conscious to what is happening in our societies and owning to our mistakes,” added the prelate. He said the “signs of the times” is calling Filipinos back to God’s fold because “we turned our back to God.”

Indonesian Protestants celebrating the start of the Reformation 500 years ago have embraced Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation on the Proclamation of the Gospel in Today’s World, calling it a document that can significantly help mend ties among Christians in a country blighted by growing religious intolerance.

The Protestant Reformation began on Oct. 31, 1517, when Martin Luther, a German pastor sent his Ninety-Five Theses on the power and Efficacy of Indulgences to the Archbishop of Mainz in which he criticized the Catholic Church and the papacy.

During celebrations in Jakarta on Oct. 31 to mark the event Indonesian Protestant leaders said the pope’s message in his 2013 Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium or The Joy of the Gospel, in which he a called for churches to avoid blaming each other, held special meaning in Indonesia as fears grow over rising intolerance in the country.

“The invitation by Pope Francis in the document is very relevant, asking churches to distant ourselves from blaming and slandering attitudes,” Rev. Herniette T. Lebang, chairwo-man of Communion of Churches in Indonesia, said at the Oct. 31 gathering.

In Pakistan, Christian prisoners are denied the consolation of faith offered by chaplains denounces The World Watch Monitor, granted permission to visit detainees in prisons across the country. The Rev. Maurice Shahbaz, director of the Prison Mission Society of Pakistan, says he has been trying to get consent for visits to prisoners by missionaries, evangelicals, and pastors for more than a year. This would allow Christians, already discriminated against by cell companions because of their faith, to have at least the consolation of faith.

Tariq Mehmood Khan Babar, deputy general inspector, says the ban on imam visits to detainees dates back to early 2015, in conjunction with the approval of the National Action Plan. This is the terrorism prevention plan launched by Islamabad following the Taliban massacre at the Peshawar military school in December 2014, which resulted in the deaths of 132 children.

The threat of violent extremism remains in the predominantly Catholic Philippines even after the end of a five-month siege by terrorists in a southern city, said Catholic and Muslim officials.

Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the Philippines bishops’ Public Affairs Committee, told Catholic News Service that, according to some analysts and the president, “terrorist cells are already everywhere. It’s not only concentrated in Marawi, but there is a presence also in other parts of Mindanao.”

The historically peaceful Marawi on Mindanao Island in the South was the site of a sustained siege by Islamic State loyalists, who wanted to claim it as an IS caliphate. More than 1,100 people — mostly IS fighters — died in the battle where the fighters, fortified with munitions and provisions, withstood a military offensive backed by intelligence and special training from the United States, Australia and other countries.

The military killed two local leaders who headed the fight, prompting the president to declare the siege over.

Days later, Mindanao’s Cardinal Orlando Quevedo of Cotabato told reporters “the threat of terrorism is still there” and that extremist ideology and plans for a caliphate continue.

Manila-based terrorism analyst Rommel Banlaoi told CNS the fall of the IS-held capital of Raqqa, Syria, Oct. 17 meant the terror group would end moves to set up a worldwide caliphate in Iraq and Syria and decentralize. We value your input. Please help us improve NCRonline.org by taking this quick survey.

Banlaoi, executive director of the Philippine Institute for Peace Violence and Terrorism Research, said the caliphate would instead be in the “hearts and minds” of its fighters. He predicted IS would become more of a “franchise operation,” using the internet to urge followers to carry out terrorism acts against “the infidels and crusaders” in their home countries.

“ISIS is planning to set up a strong foothold in Asia,” he said. “And in Asia, the epicenter of their plan is the southern Philippines.”