Coroner’s view on archbishop’s killing queried

I READ with interest your report (May 14) of an inquest held in Nenagh concerning the death of Archbishop Michael Courtney in Burundi.

As a long-time friend of Michael, I am puzzled by the opinion expressed by the coroner that the murder was a “random killing”.

All the reports at the time of the event suggest that he was specifically targeted, that his travel arrangements were known and that he was the victim of a pre-planned attack.

To call the murder a “random killing” is not correct. An RTÉ documentary, made around the time of his death, contains interviews with many people who knew the situation in Burundi and they speak clearly about a deliberate killing.

The papal nuncio in Uganda, who flew to Burundi immediately after the shooting, stated that it was an “assassination”. Reuters reported that both the president of Burundi and the episcopal conference president were agreed that Michael had been deliberately killed. The “result” of the inquest falls a long way short in doing justice to a brave man who lived out the gospel mandate in extreme circumstances.

Rev John A MacMahon

Diocese of Leeds

England