Vatican's regret over execution in Indonesia

(Saturday, 23.09.2006) The Vatican on Saturday expressed “great regret” over the execution of three Roman Catholic militants in Indonesia, and called for reconciliation and peaceful coexistence among different religions in the country.
Fabianus Tibo, Marianus Riwu and Dominggus Silva were executed by a police firing squad early on Friday in Central Sulawesi province. They were sentenced to death in 2001 after being convicted of leading a mob in an attack that killed more than 200 people at an Islamic boarding school during Muslim-Christian clashes in the province. The three men had originally been scheduled to die in August but the executions were postponed after an appeal for clemency by Pope Benedict XVI and rights groups and demonstrations by thousands of Indonesians. Pope Benedict XVI had appealed to the Indonesian president in August to spare their lives, citing “humanitarian grounds.”
“The Holy See has learned news of the execution with great regret,” the Vatican said in a statement on Saturday. It recounted efforts by the Pope and Vatican officials to halt the executions, and said the appeals were on a “strictly humanitarian level” and were “inspired by the well known position of the Catholic Church on the death penalty.” The Vatican, staunchly opposed to capital punishment, has campaigned in favour of a moratorium. “The Holy See, with its interventions, has meant not least to contribute to efforts in favour of the process of reconciliation in Indonesia and to the traditional peaceful coexistence among those belonging to different religions - which it hopes will continue haracterizing that great country,” the statement said.