Funeral for murdered French priest

Brother Roger, the founder of an ecumenical Christian community who was murdered last week during a prayer service, is being buried today in a funeral ceremony expected to draw thousands.

Cardinal Walter Kasper, the Vatican’s top ecumenical official, was to celebrate the Mass, Vatican Radio reported.

Police are holding a Romanian woman who witnesses said surged from the crowd of some 2,500 attending the service and slit Brother Roger’s throat.

The 90-year-old monk founded the Taize Ecumenical Community in the Burgundy village in 1940 and drew deep respect from the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of England and other Christian leaders for his role in promoting dialogue among Christians a