1 HE LAST minute withdrawal of permission for Cardinal Paulo Arns of Sao Paulo, Brazil, to visit South Africa has provoked a diplomatic storm, with the Brazilian president protesting to the South African ambassador to his country.
Cardinal Arns, a member of the international executive committee of Pax Christi, had his visa withdrawn at the last minute on Monday by the South African authorities because he refused to sign an undertaking to have nothing to do with the international anti-conscription festival taking place this weekend.
To those attending the meeting in South Africa, Cardinal Arns sent a message of support, saying "your struggle is more than ever our struggle".