By: David Bloomberg
Re: When Church & State Mix...

From _Church & State_, February 1995:

            Non-Catholic Jailed in Timor for Mass Participation

    A non-Catholic who accepted communion during a Roman Catholic mass on the
Indonesian island of Timor has been sentenced to four years in prison.
    The incident occurred in March of 1994 when Herman Kanu, 30, attended a
Catholic service and took communion.  He was recognized as a non-Catholic after

improperly making the sign of the cross, reported the _National Catholic
Register_, and later charged with desecration of the host.  Catholics on the
island say deliberate desecration of the host has been a problem since 1980.
In one incident, a mob surrounded a man who desecrated a host during mass and
beat him to death outside a church.
    A crowd of about 3,000 Catholics gathered outside the courthouse in
Kefamenanu, where Kanu was sentenced.  Church leaders later said they were
satisfied by the sentence.  Bishop Anton Pain Ratu of Atambua said the verdict
will "educate the irresponsible desecrator about the importance of maintaining
interreligious tolerance for national stability."

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What?  They were satisfied with the verdict?  Sheesh, he only got 4 years in
prison, and that other guy got BEATEN TO DEATH.