Missing nuns
THE US Embassy has asked the Guatemalan government to look for two American nuns, a Guatemalan priest and a seminary student who have been missing since they left on a short car trip to the West of the country recently. Nine priests have already died this year as a result of violence between guerilla groups and government security forces.
Vatican union
FOUR women and 52 men representing 1,560 Vatican lay employees met recently to draw up a list of demands for working conditions. Domenico Licciardi, vice president of a new organisation, said that although the employees had considered various types of protest action, there would never be a strike at the Vatican because "the Holy Father is with us."
Bomber shot
POLICE in Pakistan have shot dead the man they believe was responsible for planting a bomb during the Pope's visit to the country. Police say that the man was a commander of the Al Zufikar group, an underground movement run by two sons of the late Prime Minister Mr Bhutto.
114 expulsions ELEVEN MORE missionaries expelled from Burundi, East Africa, arrived in Brussels recently. This brings the number of expulsions from that country to 114 this year, according to the Belgian Episcopal Secretariat.