MADRID (Reuters) – Catalonia could become the first mainland Spanish region to ban bullfighting in a local parliamentary vote this Wednesday that has pitted animal rights activists against fans of the centuries-old national symbol.

The bill went to Parliament after 180,000 Catalans signed a petition circulated by anti-bullfighting group Prou! (Enough, in English), which argues bullfights are cruelty to animals.

In December the parliament voted 67 for and 59 against to take the citizens’ petition under consideration, and the final vote on Wednesday is expected to echo that outcome as lawmakers of all stripes, from Socialists to conservatives from the nationalist CiU party, support the ban.

“We understand it’s a tradition but now is the time to rethink such a bloody act. There are other traditions we can hang on to,” Silvia Barquero, spokeswoman for the small anti-bullfighting party, or PACMA.

In the bullring, the torero and his team use capes, lances and darts to master the bull and then eventually kill it with a sword in a highly-ritualized performance.

The bullfight was made illegal in Spain’s Canary Islands in 1991.

Under the ban, which would come into effect in 2012, the last active bullring in Catalonia’s capital, Barcelona, would shut down as would the remaining few elsewhere in the region.

MADRID (Reuters) – A Catholic diocese in eastern Spain said Tuesday one of its monks is suspected of abusing a child and asked for the family’s forgiveness, the first such abuse charge to become public in Spain.

The diocese of Segorbe-Castellon said in a statement the monk was from the Order of “Los Carmelitas Descalzos” and his superiors had taken action against him.

It did not name the monk, nor give details of the charges against him. Nobody at the diocese was available to comment.

“The Bishop expresses his dismay over the acts reported to the police which, if true, are unacceptable for Church and society,” the statement said.

“He shares the pain of the victim, his parents and family and asks them for forgiveness,” the statement said. “Not a single case of abuse by a priest is acceptable.”

Several Spanish media said the Order had transferred the monk to a convent in northern Spain and banned him from being alone with children as a precautionary measure.

Media also reported that the order had passed on details of the suspected case to the public prosecution of the Supreme Court in Valencia, but no one was available at the court to comment on the reports.

MADRID/KINSHASA, April 10 (Reuters) – Rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo have kidnapped a Spanish doctor and shaved off all his body hair in the hope it will give them magic powers in battle, according to a Congolese government minister. The Spanish Foreign Ministry confirmed on Saturday that Mario Zarza Manresa, a doctor who was travelling through the vast Central African nation, had been kidnapped. Zarza Manresa was seized on April 1 while travelling down the Congo River on a boat that was overrun by rebels, who later attacked the capital of the northern Equateur province, leading to two days of fighting that killed dozens last week. Congolese Information Minister said late on Friday that Zarza Manresa had been "shaved completely by Ibrahim (a rebel leader) who believes in magical fetishes made with hair and body hair of whites". Gunmen from Congo’s plethora of rebel and pro-government armed groups often adorn themselves with trinkets or traditional garments before heading into battle, in the belief that they will protect them from the bullets of the enemy. Some believe wearing fetishes will turn bullets into water. The Spanish government could not confirm the reports of Zarza Manresa’s shaving, but Felix Costales, the country’s ambassador in Congo, told Spanish television that fishermen in the area had seen the hostage and he was well. Zarza Manresa was in Congo as a tourist and not for work. The Enyele, the ethnic group that the rebels come from, has not previously had any gripe with Europeans, Costales said. The incident took place 50 km (30 miles) north of Mbandaka, the provincial capital that was attacked last weekend. Government troops backed by United Nations peacekeepers eventually repelled the rebels but the clash marked the fighters apparently expanding their rebellion and underscores Congo’s simmering violence, four years after post-war elections. (Writing by David Lewis; Editing by Giles Elgood)