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Priesthood and Ministry series: A call to prayer

Crucifix of Waterloo battle stolen Page 5

No 4715

Recovering in faith after marriage breaks down

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Can Zuma’s promises be trusted?

BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

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RESIDENT Jacob Zuma’s state of the nation speech at the official opening of parliament this month has left many questions unanswered and failed to reflect on previous years’ promises, according to Catholic observers.

Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban said the fact that there are local government elections this year must be the reason why Mr Zuma spoke in very general terms, refraining from making specific promises.

According to Mike Pothier, research coordinator of the bishops’ Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO), the state of the nation was a useful report-back on progress made over the past year.

“He mentioned, for example, that visible policing has been stepped up; that many serious crimes are on the decrease—which has been confirmed by independent experts— and that the court backlogs are reducing. He could also point to the improved matric results; to the fact that 81% of the population is now connected to the electrical grid; and to another 400 000 people being given access to a basic amount of safe water.”

Cardinal Napier said the overview of the government’s performance was “fair enough, even if it emphasises the positives and skips over the negatives, like the disastrous teachers strike, with the by now customary intimidation, violence and destruction”.

Mr Pothier agreed, saying some of last year’s boasts were ignored this time around.”

In his 2010 speech Mr Zuma claimed that 480 000 public works job opportunities had been created by December 2009. “Assuming that those ‘job opportunities’ actually existed at the end of 2009, where are they now?” Mr Pothier asked.

Mr Pothier made specific reference to the president’s 2010 claim of “proposals” which were to subsidise the cost of hiring young workers to encourage firms to take on inexperienced staff. “No such proposals have been forthcoming; indeed, proposed labour law amendments seem to make it more difficult for firms to employ inexperienced staff.”

He added that some fundamental commitments were unfulfilled, such as railway improvements, which Mr Zuma had set as a goal for 2010. “Alas, the railways have become ever less dependable, to the point where the only national passenger service, Shosholoza Meyl, shut down entirely last year for a number of weeks.”

Mr Pothier said last year’s track record makes it difficult to trust that this year’s promises will be met.

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his year’s promises, he added, would make a big difference in the country— specifically, the R20 billion in tax incentives to promote investment in the manufacturing sector; the R9 billion (over three years) for “new job-creation initiatives”; and the R10 billion (over five years) which the Industrial Development Corporation will make avail-

able for high job-creation investments.

Yet, “the futility of relying on such commitments was neatly illustrated [in the State of the Nation address]. Under the heading of ‘’Education’ the president declared that ‘the administration must ensure that every child has a textbook on time!’ Even as he spoke, writers, publishers and printers have been complaining that it will not be possible for them to complete the new text books on time for the beginning of the next school year—the education department has not given them sufficient warning of the requirements of the new curricula,” Mr Pothier said.

Cardinal Napier said that not only were promises unfulfilled and vague, apartheid norms of race classification continue through systems of affirmative action and Black Economic Empowerment, which the cardinal said violate the Constitution and Catholic teaching.

He said the president’s speech touched on nearly all areas of life, but excluded the spiritual, moral and ethical. Since the president has used these concepts as part of his election campaign, it would have been reasonable to expect him to say something on them.

The cardinal said there was no clear moral or ethical message regarding change of behaviour and the need for a good work ethic, with the aim of “containing the spread of HIV/Aids and getting us away from the culture of entitlement as well as away from the theft and fraud, the cheating and deception that are blighting our future”.

M

r Pothier pointed out that a firm stance on mining was lacking as it is of vital importance to the country’s economy.

The recent mining industry indaba saw an altercation between mineral resources minister Susan Shabangu, who assured delegates that nationalisation of the mines is not part of the ANC’s policy, and the ANC Youth League, which immediately contradicted her.

The president’s address, Mr Pothier said, would have been the perfect opportunity for Mr Zuma “to show who is really in charge— his minister or his youth league—and to demonstrate that on this thorny issue he knows where we are heading”.

Mr Pothier said Mr Zuma’s silence on the matter was inappropriate: “As far as he is concerned, apparently, it is not necessary to give direction on such an important matter.

This kind of inaction has become typical of Mr Zuma’s presidency.”

Mr Pothier concluded that the state of the nation has given the country some direction, but the lack of clarity and the number of different opinions from key personalities on certain issues will make it difficult for the goals to be achieved.

“As long as we are in relatively calm waters that may not be too much of a problem; but sooner or later the waves will start to grow,” Mr Pothier said, adding that he hopes Mr Zuma will make himself more prominent during such times.

A young pilgrim watches as Pope Benedict leads the Sunday Angelus prayer from the window of his private apartments at the Vatican (Photo: Max Rossi, Reuters/CNS)

What the pope will do at WYD

BY SARA ANgLE

ments have been added.

On his second day in Spain, the pope HEN Pope Benedict travels to will meet young religious sisters at the Madrid for World Youth Day monastery of El Escorial, (WYD) in August, about 40km north of he will hold special meetMadrid. ings with young university Afterwards, he will meet professors and young reliabout 2 000 young university gious sisters. lecturers there.

WYD organisers have In what has become a published what they said standard WYD appointment, was the pope’s “entire agenPope Benedict will celebrate da” for his August 18-21 trip Mass on August 20 with to Spain. seminarians in La Almudena WYD will begin on cathedral.

August 16, before the pope Also on the papal agenda arrives; many of the events is a visit with a delegation of will take place near Madrid’s disabled persons participatcentral Plaza de Cibeles and ing in World Youth Day and at the Cuatro Vientos air with residents at a centre for base. those with handicaps.

The pope will arrive at In addition, Pope BenePope Benedict receives the Barajas airport on August official World Youth Day 2011 dict will be present in the 18, where he will be greeted backpack from Cardinal Anto- Plaza de Cibeles on August by the king and queen of nio Rouco Varela of Madrid.

19 for the beginning of the Spain. The usual welcoming Stations of the Cross, ceremony with youths from which will be spaced out around the world will take place that over 1,5km of a main Madrid street. Each evening in the Plaza de Cibeles. station will focus on one of 14 statues While much of the schedule repeats stan- contributed from ten different cities dard WYD events, a couple of new appoint- across Spain.—CNS

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Blood from a pope to help crashed F1 star recover

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NJURED Polish race car driver Robert Kubica (pictured) has received a reliquary containing a drop of blood from the late Pope John Paul II in an effort that Church officials hope will hasten the 26-year-old Formula One star’s recovery from a serious crash.

He also received a strip of fabric from one of the late pope’s liturgical robes.

“John Paul II was a sportsman himself, he

loved sport as a young man,” Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz told Warsaw’s TVN24 news. The cardinal was secretary to the Polish pope.

Considered a rising star on the Formula One circuit, Kubica is a devout Catholic who used to sport an image of Pope John Paul II on his helmet.

He was competing in a road rally in Liguria, Italy, on February 6, when he lost control of his vehicle at high speed on a curve

and crashed into a guardrail. He sustained multiple fractures and his right hand was partially severed.

Co-driver Jakub Gerber, a passenger in the vehicle, was uninjured.

Kubica was hospitalised under intensive care near Genoa. Doctors performed seven hours of surgery in an attempt to save the driver’s right hand. He also underwent other surgeries to repair broken bones in his arm, shoulder and foot.—CNS

2

LOCAL

The Southern Cross, February 23 to March 1, 2011

New initiative helps ‘the person and the family’

BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

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ishop Hugh Slattery, retired of Tzaneen, has hailed a new initiative called “The Foundation of the Person and the Family” and thanked those involved for being active by “doing something” in response to issues facing the person and family today.

“When we look back over the past few hundred years, we realise how rapidly the whole way of life has changed. It is continuing to change with increasing rapidity.

One social revolution leads to another making it very difficult for people to adjust to such accelerating change. And they all affect in various ways every individual and every family”, said Bishop Slattery. The bishop said the likes of the industrial, medical and scientific-technological revolutions have brought massive changes in the way people live.

He added the more recent sexual revolution and current communication and social networking changes we are seeing in the world today have also contributed to the way people live.

“All these developments have naturally affected the person and

the family in various ways, some generally good as in the area of health and some obviously bad as in the sexual revolution,” he said.

Bishop Slattery said there was a crisis around the person and the family in today’s world. Somehow, he said, God has been quietly dropped or at least marginalised in our modern world. The bishop called this secularism and a crisis as the “modern world rejects God and the laws he has written in our hearts and revealed in the Bible”.

The Foundation of the Person and the Family was launched in late January at St Charles parish in Victory Park, Johannesburg, and aims to help individuals find answers to questions they face.

Bishop Slattery said there were four fundamental aspects of the crisis and these were reasons why initiatives such as the one launched in Victory Park were necessary.

Firstly, our identity as human beings is often questioned resulting in a great hunger for meaning and truth, said Bishop Slattery. Secondly, in the secular culture there is no moral foundation to support us and enable us to live as truly human

Fr Hugh Slattery beings, he said.

The bishop added that the human body has become another casualty in this secular culture. “It has no value or dignity in itself but is just an object or a thing which we can use and dispose of as we wish,” Bishop Slattery said, adding that practices of abortion, promiscuity and contraception has led to human life becoming “very cheap and we see an increase in murders, violent crimes and especially rape”.

Finally, the bishop said because today’s culture views life as controllable, so too is the family. He said marriage and family are no longer seen as important in society and

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ed celibacy”.

He said the launch of the foundation will use the teachings already available in the Church.

He added that it was important that initiatives such as this share holy teachings with the many people out there who are “hungry for the truth which the Church has on sex, love and God”.

According to Fr James Ralston OMI the new initiative aims to heighten the awareness of the value and importance of each individual and their significance in the family environment and in the society at large.

“The ‘Theology of the Body’ has been a life-altering experience for a number of people who have attended the discussions and the Foundation of the Person and the Family seeks to supplement the existing structures and to bring about a greater awareness of self and of others.”

The bishop commended the foundation for telling people about the positive culture of life and family, adding that he hoped leadership in the Church can offer the support which the lay faithful expect through the promotion of the dignity of the person and the happiness of the family.

■ The foundation will be running courses in March and April on the Theology of the Body and courses on Joy Filled Marriages at St Charles church in Victory Park, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary church in Krugerdorp, St Theresa’s church in Edenvale and at La Verna Retreat Centre in Vanderbijlpark. For more information contact Jenny Harrington 011 888 8494.

Visa deadlines loom for WYD pilgrims

BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

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get very little support or protection from government or courts of law.

“Instead of helping marriage and the family, modern culture is much more concerned about promoting an aggressive class-war kind of feminism and also homosexuality as a normal lifestyle including gay marriage and adoption rights—all this under the banner of so-called human rights and equality.”

Bishop Slattery said the changes our society has seen is not coming from individuals. “In Africa they are actively being imposed by powerful international organisations and western governments,” he said, referring to organisations such as Planned Parenthood International, “which is in nearly every country in the world and gets huge funding from big business and western governments to promote its reproductive health agenda.

“Many western governments make abortion a condition for giving aid to poor countries. Pope John Paul II called this ‘the culture of death’ and a ‘war of the powerful against the weak’. “We are surrounded by all this and no doubt we are influenced by it as we are continually being brainwashed by society itself.”

Bishop Slattery said Pope John Paul’s “Theology of the Body” and “Theology of Human Love” are profound and exciting studies of “God’s great plan for us from the very beginning, how things went wrong through original sin, and how Christ has enabled us to again make contact with the ‘beginning’ in living our lives as gift whether in marriage or in consecrat-

HE 2011 World Youth Day (WYD) pilgrims are gearing up for the international event to be held in Madrid, Spain, in August.

While most of the pilgrims have been preparing spiritually and by fundraising, the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) has raised concerns about logistical issues.

According to Fr Chris Townsend of the SACBC Office

for Communication and Media, the current pressing matter is acquiring Spanish visas. He said the Spanish government was going to be strict with applications.

“We close visa applications on February 28,” he said, noting that if pilgrims did not comply they would miss out on the event despite months of preparation.

Fr Peter Lafferty Cssp, who has been in charge of the visa process for the trip, has contact-

ed all the bishops around the country to encourage them to place pressure on pilgrims.

A Facebook page has been set up with all the relevant information. Fr Lafferty said parish groups and individuals are encouraged to go to the page or get in touch through the various contacts listed online.

The closing date for the submission of information is February 28. For further information search “WYDvisa Madrid” on www.facebook.com

CORRECTION: Due to a spellchecking mishap, the name of Samora Machel settlement in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, was incorrectly rendered as Samora Michel in the report “Australian road trip highlights challenges, good work” (February 2). We regret the error.

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LOCAL Jesuits, CPLO encourage parliamentarians with reflections during Lent

BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

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HIS year’s Ash Wednesday, March 9, will see a new cycle of Daily Reflections for Lent— an initiative of the Jesuit Institute South Africa.

According to the institute’s director, Raymond Perrier, the reflections will be sent by e-mail every working day to 450 MPs and to several thousand people across the country.

The daily reflections, which were launched last year, form part of a joint initiative with the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO), an associate body of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

Mr Perrier said the initiative received a very positive response and it was decided to continue it this year.

“During Lent people want to spend more time in prayer and reflection,” said Mr Perrier. “We found that people are especially looking for help to connect their prayer life with wider political and social issues. We discovered last year quite how hungry people are for such reflections!”

At the end of the 2010 programme, the Jesuit Institute conducted some research.

They found that 73% of those who received the reflections read them every day and a further 18%, two to three times per week. What is more, 77% forwarded them to at

least one other person.

The reflections have been prepared by Fr Ron Boudreaux, a Jesuit from the United States who specialises in spirituality.

“As with last year, the e-mails will start with a quote from the Bible or a saint, but occasionally we will also have quotations from other holy books,” Fr Boudreaux explained.

“Each week will look at an area of relationship: with ourselves, with God, with the planet, with material objects and with our neighbours.

The five days of each week will then help readers to reflect on healthy and unhealthy relationships and how to regain balance,” he said.

Mike Pothier of the CPLO added: “We think that these reflections are really important in helping our MPs to reflect on their work and how faith can contribute to a better society.

“There was very good feedback from MPs when we pioneered this last year and that is why we are offering daily reflections again in Lent 2011. We believe that they will be both inspirational and challenging.”

Mr Perrier said those around the country who want to pray with and for our MPs can also receive the reflections by sending an email with their name and the name of their parish to database@jesuitin stitute.org.za

The Southern Cross, February 23 to March 1, 2011

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Zimbabwe Church concerned over pre-election violence

BY BRONWEN DACHS

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IMBABWEAN Church officials are becoming increasingly concerned about heightened violence and intimidation as the government prepares for an as-yet-unscheduled national election.

Their concern stems from lagging implementation of parts of an agreement on the formation of a unity government following violence-plagued elections in 2008 and a surge in propaganda favouring President Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference said.

Fr Frederick Chiromba, the conference’s secretary-general, said the media’s portrayals of Mr Mugabe were “not helpful”. He said the media “should be reporting in a way that promotes national healing and reconciliation”.

Deep wounds remain following the most recent national election, which saw Zimbabwe engulfed in a series of crises after Mr Mugabe was re-elected by default when challenger Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) withdrew from a run-off election a week before the vote, citing violence against his party’s supporters. Although the two sides eventually agreed to form a unity government with Mr Mugabe as president and Mr Tsvangirai as prime minister, deep distrust remains.

The bishops said in a pastoral letter that the agreement “bore signs of hope for the restoration of peace in the country”, but that the lack of its full implementation has led “to the continued isolation of the country by most of the international community”.

The value of these “positive steps” has been eroded by lack of “collective commitment and political will”, the bishops said.

The prelates called on the parties in the coalition government to work together “to achieve national healing and social progress”.

“Without this sincere engagement, we will continue to be dogged by violence, political intolerance, hate language in the public media, injustice, rigging of elections, fear and deception,” the bishops said.

They also urged Zimbabwe’s leaders to “prioritise poverty eradication by using proceeds from natural resources like diamonds and the land for the development of the whole nation and all its citizens”.

Anticipating rising violence, a branch of the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe asked that an “effective security plan” be developed to ensure the safety of its members from politically motivated intimidation. The commission’s February newsletter noted that some of the trauma healing workshops the

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commission sponsors in the Harare archdiocese were cancelled because of political tension.

The Southern Africa Coalition for the Survivors of Torture, a Zimbabwean rights group, reported mob attacks, threats, assaults, questionable arrests by police and at least one shooting in Harare, according to the Associated Press.

Other violence of concern to Catholics is aimed at Anglicans loyal to their official church, Fr Chiromba said, noting that “police are chasing people away” from Anglican churches in Harare.

He said the Catholic Church and other churches are allowing Anglicans to use their buildings for worship services. Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury said in late January that Anglicans are being bullied, harassed and persecuted by police and a faction of priests who back Nolbert Kunonga, the excommunicated former bishop of Harare and Mugabe loyalist.

Zimbabwe’s churches have not spoken out as a group against the violence because “we are waiting for guidance from the Zimbabwe Council of Churches”, Fr Chiromba said. The council, to which the bishops' conference belongs, was asked in August by the heads of various denominations “to investigate the situation and come up with recommendations”.

No investigation has begun yet.—CNS

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The Southern Cross, February 23 to March 1, 2011

INTERNATIONAL

Priests fear Egyptian youths will turn away from Church

BY BARB FRAzE

T Hindu painter Venkataswami Logaguru poses with his painting of Bl Teresa of Calcutta. The painting was part of an exhibit featuring the work of two dozen artists after they participated in a four-day camp organised by the fledgling Christian Artists Association of India. The camp celebrated the theme “Mother Teresa: Communicator of Compassion”. (Photo: Anto Akkara, CNS)

WO priests with strong ties to Egypt said they feared young Egyptian Catholics will turn away from the Church because it did not back the protests that led to the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak.

“If we lose the youth in the church, then we are done,” said Fr Makarios Isaac, an Egyptianborn priest of the archdiocese of Toronto, Canada, and an associate of Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers who is based in Kenya.

Fr Isaac, originally ordained for the Coptic Catholic diocese of Minya, Egypt, and the former diocesan development director there, said the main Muslim and Orthodox leaders forbade participation in the protests. He said the Coptic Catholic patriarch of Alexandria, Cardinal Antonios Naguib, told protesters to go home.

The priest said he feared young people will “turn their backs on the church” and say, “You never stood with us...you never taught us to stand up for our rights”.

Maryknoll Father Douglas May, who worked in Egypt for 18 years of Mr Mubarak’s nearly 30-year rule, said he thought “the Christian leaders in Egypt played it safe”.

“I’m afraid that the church leadership has lost its credibility with the Christian youth over this,” said Fr May, now stationed in Nairobi.

Both priests, who have indults to minister to Copticand Latin-rite Catholics, spoke of discrimination that Christians faced under Mr Mubarak’s rule and that of his predecessor, Anwar Sadat.

They said that any permit to

People cheer as a Christian Egyptian raises a cross and declares solidarity with the anti-government protesters in Tahrir Square in Cairo. (Photo: Yannis Behrakis, Reuters/CNS) do with a Church building— even repainting it—had to be signed by the former president.

“We had to wait 21 years to get a permit,” said Fr Isaac.

Even after the permit was granted, he said, state or local officials could stop construction for “security issues”.

Fr May, who left Egypt in 2007 but still visits at least twice a year, said that in the town of Dalga, Coptic Orthodox literally worship underground because they have not had a permit for a church for 20 years.

As a foreign priest, said Fr May, he was often called in by the Egyptian secret police, which he said had spies at the Coptic Catholic seminary where he taught. He said police would mention that the bishop was not going to attend a meeting—when no one else knew that—and even repeated back to the American things he had

said in confidence to four seminarians.

Both priests also spoke of discrimination against Christians.

In the Egyptian army, said Fr May, discrimination against Christians was constant.

“There’s a fair amount of conversion” to Islam in the military because of the pressure, he said. Christians are called mushrik, which means someone who believes in many gods or is an idol worshipper. He compared it to calling an American “the N-word”.

He added there is “great hope” for the country’s future, including whoever leads Egypt will be concerned not to make the same mistakes as Mr Mubarak, “because they can see the power of the people”.

Fr May said he thought it was too early to tell how things would turn out for Egypt’s Christians.—CNS

Detained priest plans hunger strike

A

JAILED priest in Vietnam undergoing medical treatment at a Church-run home said he will begin a hunger strike to protest his sentence when authorities return him to a prison camp in March.

“The communist government plans to take me back to the camp on March 15,” Fr Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly said in a statement reported the Asian Church news agency UCA News.

“I will go on indefinite hunger strike and refuse medical treatment to oppose the sentence,” he said.

Fr Nguyen Van Ly, 64, has been at a home for retired priests in Hue since his release last March 15 from the prison camp in northern Ha Nam Province because of health problems. The home is within the compound where Archbishop Etienne Nguyen Nhu The resides.

Fr Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly

A longtime supporter of religious freedom and human rights, Fr Nguyen Van Ly said the government is forcing him to serve out the rest of

his sentence.

The priest was sentenced to eight years in prison and five years of house arrest in March 2007 for alleged anti-government activities. He has denied the charges.

“The sentence is unfair and against international law,” he said in the 10-page statement.

He said his partially paralysed right leg and arm, caused by three strokes in 2009, are 60% better. He also said he wanted to donate his organs to people in need of them and his body to a medical school in Hue. Ordained in 1974, Fr Nguyen Van Ly has peacefully criticised government policies on religion and advocated for greater respect for human rights in Vietnam since the late 1970s. He has been imprisoned for his actions for 17 years and held under house arrest for 15 years.—CNS

Vatican: Priest numbers increase

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HE number of Catholic priests in the world has increased consistently over the past decade and the “relative superabundance” of priests in Europe and North America has begun to attenuate, the Vatican said.

The “relative superabundance” refers to the percentage of the world’s priests who live in Europe and North America compared to the percentage of the world’s Catholics who live there.

Anticipating some of the figures that would be released in the Statistical Yearbook of the Church, the Vatican newspaper said that in 1999, just more than 15% of the world’s priests lived and ministered in Central and South America while 42.4% of the world’s Catholics lived there.

At the end of 2009, the percentage had changed slightly: Latin America had 17.3% of the priests and 42.2% of the world’s Catholics.

L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, published its article with a small selection of statistics from the yearbook reporting worldwide church figures as of December 31, 2009.

The newspaper article focused on the statistics’ demonstration of ten years of steady growth in the number of Catholic priests in the world. A more complete set of statistics was expected to be released when the Vatican had finished printing the yearbook.—CNS

INTERNATIONAL

Eco land grabs hurt Africa

BY MARY DuRRAN

R

EPRESENTATIVES of Catholic organisations at the recently concluded World Social Forum said that massive investment in large tracts of land across Africa involving foreign capital—a practice detractors call “land-grabbing”—is pushing small farmers off their land and threatens to lead to another worldwide food crisis.

“Recent massive land grabs targeting tens of millions of acres for the benefit of private interests or third states...violate human rights by depriving peasants, pastoralists and fishermen of their means of production, by restricting their access to natural resources or by removing their freedom to produce as they wish,” said a draft statement prepared by delegates at the six-day conference.

Among those working on the statement were representatives of Misereor, the German bishops’

development agency; Caritas Senegal; the Senegal bishops’ Justice and Peace Commission and the Food First Information and Action Network.

Martin Brockelmann-Simon, Misereor’s executive director, told workshop participants that it was estimated that up to 48 million arable acres have been bought by interests outside of Africa since 2006.

“These deals are causing loss of food supply, social conflicts, depletion of water supplies, loss of jobs and ecological damage,” Mr Brockelmann-Simon said.

Workshop participants heard how foreign investors are using fertile or resource-rich African land to grow crops that can be exported to other countries, to cultivate crops for bio-fuel production or for mining interests.

“Food crops, such as jatropha, that can now be used for agro-fuels

have become a very valuable commodity,” said René Segbenou, president of the Benin-based National Network for Sustainable Management of Genetic Resources. “This is driving the push by foreign investors to buy up more and more land for the production of agrofuels, as this has become a very lucrative business.

“Any support for agro-fuels amounts to support for land-grabbing,” he said.

The discourse of those seeking investment is that Africa has huge swathes of unused and vacant lands, that can be turned into easy profits, said Ruth Hall, a senior researcher at the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian studies in Cape Town.

However, Ms Hall disputed the availability of African land, calling it a myth. She said land that

The Southern Cross, February 23 to March 1, 2011

appears vacant at times is usually used by tribes or nomadic cattle herders, who need access to land to survive.

“Land-grabbing is very easy in Africa, because only the minority have formal title to land,” Ms Hall explained.

Despite the fact that international capital is widely used to buy land, Church leaders and other analysts placed the primary blame for landgrabbing with African governments.

“We call on parliaments and national governments to immediately cease all massive land grabs, current or future, and to return the plundered land,” the World Social Forum statement read. It also demanded that “national govern-

5

ments implement an effective framework for the recognition and regulation of land rights for users through consultation with all stakeholders’ and put an end to corruption and cronyism”.

“We must not allow a new form of impoverishment of the masses, that tramples on the rights of people to land”, said Fr Alphonse Seck, vicar-general of the diocese of Dakar and executive secretary of the Senegal bishops’ Justice and Peace Commission.

“We need more just policies in each of our countries, including Senegal. Land-grabbing is having disastrous consequences on the people of our continent,” he said.

—CNS

Zambian cardinal urges African voters to elect good leaders

BY MWANSA PINTu

C

ardinal Medardo Mazombwe, retired archbishop of Lusaka, Zambia has called on people in Africa to elect leaders who can bring about meaningful development to the continent and act in the best interests of the people they represent.

In an interview in Lusaka, Cardinal Mazombwe said people should not only choose leaders who will merely govern but look for candidates who care for others and who can deliver just and sustainable development for all people.

His comments came as 25 African nations prepare for local, legislative and presidential elections in 2011.

In addition to Zambia and South Africa’s local elections, elections will be held in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mauritius, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

“As we go for elections this year, let us look at those people who are capable of delivering materials that are going to help us develop to some significant degree,” the 79-year-old cardinal said.

“We don’t only need people who are capable but people that have a heart for humanity because God created us to have life and to have it in abun-

dance,” he added. “Anybody who destroys life has got no share in our development.”

A vocal advocate of debt relief for poor countries and

human rights, the cardinal said the use of Africa’s abundant natural resources must benefit all people.—CNS

FRANCISCAN NARDINI SISTERS

A boy holds a small cake in the informal settlement of Mukuru Kwa Njenga in Nairobi, Kenya. The settlement is home to more than 250 000 people who live in corrugated metal and wood shacks without running water, electricity or a sewage system.

(Photo: Nancy Wiechec, CNS)

Crucifix stolen from Battle of Waterloo site

BY JONATHAN LuxMOORE

A

CATHOLIC bishop has appealed for recognition of the importance of religious symbols for military personnel after a historic crucifix was stolen from a chapel at the site of the Battle of Waterloo.

“Battlefields are places where people are called to pray for peace and the fallen, however long ago the fighting took place,” said Bishop Richard Moth of the military diocese of Great Britain.

“The openness to prayer and faith remains widespread among troops today, and the experience of active service very often

brings out a religious element even among people who don’t necessarily go to church at home,” he said. “So any soldier would be appalled by this immoral theft, which is a terrible shame and disservice to the wider community.”

Bishop Moth’s comments were made as an international police hunt continued for the nearly 2m commemorative crucifix, which was believed stolen from the chapel at Hougoumont in Belgium.

In an interview, the bishop said the crucifix was considered a key emblem by British regiments who took part in the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte’s

Blessed Paul Joseph Nardini

For more information, contact the Vocation Team at An international police hunt is underway for the Houngoumont crucifix stolen from Battle of Waterloo site in Britain. (Photo: Daily Mail) Grand Army in 1815, and had long been a reminder to anyone visiting Waterloo of the “massive loss of life”.—CNS

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6

The Southern Cross, February 23 to March 1, 2011

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

Egypt’s new start

T

HE popular pressure that has, in some cases, led to the collapse of autocratic regimes in the Arab world has been compared to revolutions that brought on the sudden collapse of the Soviet empire in 1989. Certainly the events of 2011, like those in 1989, are geopolitical game-changers.

Egypt and the Arab world will not be quite the same again, even if some repressive regimes withstand the discontent of their citizens. The people in the region have found their voice.

They demand to be heard and to be accounted to.

The countries that divest themselves of autocratic rule are now rebuilding their political society from a blank canvass, at least in as far as past experiences of political administration are concerned. In Egypt particularly, this new beginning will present a challenge to the powerful military, which will want to balance its own interests with those of the people (who themselves will have many different and perhaps irreconcilable expectations).

Whatever happens in Egypt and whichever direction the country’s new rulers may take, other Arab countries will be profoundly affected by it.

It is reasonable to expect that fundamentalist Islam will make an effort to impose a theocratic alternative to democracy. It is unlikely that the military will countenance that, but it seems inevitable that the new system in Cairo will loosen the country’s strings to the United States and take a new course of direction in its relations with Israel, which had long benefited from a strategic partnership with the deposed president, Hosni Mubarak. Indeed, it is said that part of the discontent with Mr Mubarak resided in his deeply unpopular Israel policy.

Israel must prepare itself for new geopolitical realities. We must hope that its response will be pragmatic, and that its iron will of self-preservation will find expression not in aggression, but in a serious willingness to work towards a just and lasting peace in the region—a motivation Israel has consistently

shown to be lacking as long as it could count on Egypt’s collaboration.

A move towards greater structural Islamisation in Egypt and elsewhere would be bad news for the region’s already embattled Christians. It is welcome that Egypt’s powerful Muslim Brotherhood is maintaining its relatively moderate position, calling for a secular government.

Egypt’s Christians, who make up 10% of the country’s population, suffered much discrimination and violent attacks under Mr Mubarak’s rule.

In January, Mr Mubarak withdrew his ambassador to the Vatican in protest against Pope Benedict’s call for the protection of Egypt’s Christians.

Pope Benedict’s comment was not controversial. He rightly noted: “In the Middle East, Christians are original and authentic citizens who are loyal to their fatherland and assume their duties towards their country.” We must pray that the new leadership in Egypt and elsewhere will acknowledge that.

There are hopeful signs. During the protests in Cairo and elsewhere, Muslims and Christians formed protective cordons around one another to fend off violence, and Muslims have guarded Christian churches after they were attacked.

Not too much should be read into the failure by the Christian leadership to side with the protesters; most Muslim leaders also declined to take sides in the protests. Egypt’s religious leadership is not generally expected to provide political guidance.

It will be crucial that in the recalibration of Egyptian (and Arab) politics the Christian communities succeed in securing equitable minority rights. In this endeavour the contribution of the Catholic Church will be crucial.

Perhaps more than any other denomination, the Catholic Church has developed a working (albeit fragile) relationship with Islam. The Church must insist that religious freedom be embraced under new Arab leaderships, just as Muslims enjoy broad religious freedoms in traditionally Christian countries.

The Editor reserves the right to shorten or edit published letters. Letters below 300 words receive preference. Pseudonyms are acceptable only under special circumstances and at the Editor’s discretion. Name and address of the writer must be supplied. No anonymous letter will be considered.

The road to truth

I

REFER to the Open Door column (February 2) by Michael Shackleton, wherein he replies to Tommy Hartley’s “Challenge to the Catholic Church”.

I write as an encouragement to Mr Hartley. For the very reasons put forth by Mr Hartley, I left the Church after having been caught up in the pentecostal/evangelical movement, where I remained 25 years.

During this time I witnessed such venom and derogations

Founder of Little Eden a blessing

D

URING the 1980s I had the privilege of meeting Italianborn Domitilla Hyams, whose death was reported in The Southern Cross (February 2).

She claimed that the Blessed Virgin Mary had appeared to her in the small dining room of her Edenvale home. She said Our Lady was holding children in her arms and had asked Domitilla to take care of them. This led to the foundation of Little Eden, where physically and intellectually challenged people are cared for. In her labours Domitilla was supported by her South African WWII soldier husband Danny and a team of supporters, including her own children.

I would assume it to be a foregone conclusion that some people might have ridiculed Domitilla’s matter of fact assertion that the Queen of Heaven had visited her in that compact little room, although the sustained success of Little Eden would certainly provide scoffers with food for thought. Far from preening herself on account of any form of distinction, Domitilla seemed to me to be slightly unsure of herself, almost apologetic.

While she showed me Little Eden, however, her diffidence vanished. We were still talking when she took off her coat, rolled up her sleeves and started helping the staff make beds. She corrected with courteous authority when finding that some essential detail had been overlooked. She apologised because the spotless linen on the beds was so patched and mended. She caressed the little patients and chatted with them before moving on to the next bed. With endless compassion she pointed out a small boy who was paralysed as a result of parental abuse.

In spite of her long life, for she was in her early nineties, Domitilla’s death must have been a sad blow to Danny, their beautiful family and the patients and staff of Little Eden.

I doubt whether they or any other person who knew her would dis-

against the Church, which was indeed regarded as unchristian and cultish.

By and large, Catholics were regarded as unsaved, the pontiff was the anti-Christ and Rome was the city of Babylon. During my honeymoon with this group, I believed all that was said and taught—in much the same situation Mr Hartley finds himself .

With the passing of time I found myself beginning to query much of the theology expounded by these churches.

I realised that their teachings were, in reality, very shallow; lacking in depth and credibility. With-

out going into any detail, I was awakened through reading one of Pope John Paul II’s publications.

This awakening led me to do some of my own searching regarding the teachings of the Catholic Church. My search was very revealing indeed. Every accusation against the Church was laid to waste. I would urge Mr Hartley to read Karl Keating’s book The Attack on Catholicism by Pentecostal and Evangelical.

This book goes a long way in resolving any misgivings one may have about Catholic teachings.

Arthur Sierra, Johannesburg

agree when I say that her presence brought blessing to many lives.

Luky Whittle, Kroonstad

enough that Pope Gregory VII in 1074 instructed that priests must be celibate; but even in the 15th century it was assumed that 50% of priests were married.

In our modern history, Pope Pius XII gave an indult (permission) for a married Lutheran priest in Germany to be ordained as a Catholic priest in 1951, and this was done again with other Lutherans in 1952 and 1953. Even in 1966, when Paul VI confirmed clerical celibacy in Sacerdotalis Caelibatus, he also left a provision for the ordination of married convert priests. So, this is not a “new dispensation”. Again, in 1980, Pope John Paul II granted the Pastoral Provision, which allowed for the ordination of married Anglican priests in the United States who converted to the Catholic faith.

Since then, over 100 married priests have been ordained on a case by case basis. These priests however are not permitted to serve as pastors in parishes due to their familial commitments and serve only as sacramental ministers, and if their spouse dies, they are not permitted to remarry.

Thus, ordinations of married convert ministers to the Catholic priesthood is nothing new and is not meant as a means to attracting good qualified priests, but simply a pastoral response to the Holy Spirit working in the Church. It is not the intention of Anglicanorum Coetibus to create a new class of married priests. In fact, it only allows for the ordination of convert priests from the Anglican communion to the diaconate and priesthood. Bishops must be celibate.

Future new vocations of unmarried men to serve those in the Anglican ordinariates will have to embrace clerical celibacy as the norm.

Rev Damien Truslow, Vryheid

In good faith

F

OR many years The Southern Cross has accommodated and encouraged its letter writers to put forward their ideas, criticisms, hopes, fears and opinions. Mostly, this is done in good faith with the submissions attracting agreement, further comment and/or constructive criticism.

However, in his letter “The Lord’s true message” (February 8), Peter Throp has accused John Lee and myself of promoting secularism, women priests and same-sex unions.

In my case, Mr Throp has no information on which to base or make such statements. Whether, in fact, the statements are true or false, is irrelevant; the spirit in which the letter is written is derogatory.

On the issue of women priests, let me state that I fully concur with the editor of The Southern Cross who wrote in his editorial of July 2, 2008, that debate on the issue is legitimate.

About same-sex unions, I have, to date, made no statements. How I have allegedly promoted secularism, is a mystery to me.

It is good for people to comment, disagree, argue against or in favour; but do so in good faith and with a kind heart.

Tony Meehan, Cape Town

Clerical celibacy history

B

RIAN Gouveia responds in “Celibacy Debate” (February 9) that the ordination of married Anglicans “seems to be a deviation from the entrenched Catholic order of priesthood”, and wonders how this can be done?

Celibate priests in the Latin Rite Catholic Church have not always been the tradition, and over the course of the centuries, some priests were married and others were not.

While this was not common practice, it must have been common

Opinions expressed in The Southern Cross, especially in Letters to the Editor, do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor or staff of the newspaper, or of the Catholic hierarchy. The letters page in particular is a forum in which readers may exchange opinions on matters of debate.

Letters must not be understood to necessarily reflect the teachings, disciplines or policies of the Church accurately.

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Pray, Fathers, pray!

W

HAT exactly do we mean by shared or collaborative ministry?

Time and time again we have spoken of ministerial priesthood as one of leadership and service.

This ministry involves theological charisms and human charisms. We cannot, and should not, reduce the priestly office to a purely consecratory sacramentary function. If we did it would hardly be described as a human vocation.

At the same time it is quite possible (and sometimes is the case) that the ordained minister does not have some of the human charisms of leadership and all that this entails. Priests are not all leaders or administrators or organisers. In spite of what St Paul says, on a human level we cannot be all things to all men.

Nevertheless, even if the priest lacks certain human qualities and skills, he still has the leadership role of holding together in order and stability the ministry of all within the community.

Shared or collaborative ministry begins on the part of the priest by recognising this fact and discovering the needs of the people of God. He has to discern and release the gifts that are there in the community. He has to affirm and support those who exercise these different ministries. He has to coordinate the work in the parish and work for unity within the diversity that exists in his parish.

In no way should collaborative ministry be seen as the threat to his own role of leadership.

Priests have to discern their own gifts, graces and weaknesses. They do not have every leadership gift by virtue of ordination. Simply to understand this will release priests from the unreal expectations that are so often laid upon them as

priests and pastors.

All that I have said about the priest and pastoral ministry counts for absolutely nothing if priests are not men of prayer.

In Luke 11: 1-4 we are told that his disciples asked Jesus: “Lord, teach us how to pray.” They had noticed that Jesus prayed and prayed often, and strangely enough when he seemed to be most in demand.

He taught them the simplest and greatest of Christian prayers, the Our Father.

Just as Jesus taught us how to pray, those of us who claim to carry on the ministry of Jesus must teach our people how to pray. We cannot do that unless we pray ourselves. To do this we priests must be men of prayer.

I

n spite of all the faults and failings, people expect priests to be men of prayer.

The world in which we live and work is generally action-filled, with little time or taste for stillness, quietness, meditation or prayer. Unfortunately this attitude has sometimes affected us priests in our ministry.

I have heard priests say: “I do not have time to pray; my work is my prayer.”

While there is a sliver of truth in this, functionally it is meaningless. In my experience many who subscribed to this view are no longer with us. It is true that the priestly ministry when done in a prayerful spirit has a nourishing quality to it. Liturgical and official prayer, as good as they are (especially when celebrated beautifully and prayerfully), are no substitute for personal, private prayer.

Ministry without a foundation of prayer easily becomes social work. The priest is not primarily a social worker, nor is he a professional man. The priest should be professional in the sense that what he

Let love overcome power

I

WAS hurt and upset the other day when a priest phoned me. It was in connection with the family calendars issued by MARFAM and the resources for building up and strengthening family communication.

Fair enough not everyone wants to read MARFAM’s media. Maybe they don’t appeal, maybe they are either too simplistic for some or too difficult to understand for others. The point that disturbed me and challenged me was that he said: “I don’t work for families!”

The next day, when I was giving a talk while visiting a parish I told the congregation: “The priest is there to serve the families of the parish, the parishioners and families are not there to serve the priest.”

The priest agreed, but the parishioners looked a bit shocked.

What is our attitude in the Church?

What are the power relations?

In many programmes, projects, and the Interdiocesan Consultation that is still in progress, we often hear the comment: “You have to get the priests on board, otherwise it doesn’t work. They hold the power.”

I work with many priests who are deeply dedicated to family life. They are frustrated when they organise and promote a workshop for couples or families, and people don’t turn up, even if they have promised him they will be there.

That is another version of powerplay which also manifests itself in other ways in Church life, on pastoral councils and sodalities and the various parish portfolios.

The family theme for the month deals

with power, in the specifically chosen context of marriage: the power relations in marriage.

It is often perceived, especially in Africa that men hold the power. They are stronger and usually more aggressive and can demand their rights, especially (perceived) sexual rights, more readily. But women have power too and more subtly deny the men or impose their own will. In fact, they often control the home situation. They are also becoming more assertive, if not necessarily aggressive.

T

he answer to power play in marriage, as in any other context, is communication. Communication skills, negotiation and conflict resolution skills are ingredients that are absolutely essential in a relationship as intimate as marriage. Commitment is essential too, but while that alone can make the marriage tick over, it will not enhance the quality of the relationship so that the couple can experience the joy and unity that God wishes for his sacramental couples.

Fr Chuck Gallagher, one of the founders of Marriage Encounter in the beautiful prayer “Our Father’s Call to a Couple”, spoke for God: “Nothing is more important to me than your loving each other. So valuable and so precious is that special love that my Son has made you one of the sacraments of his Church. You in your unique union in your everyday life together are a sacred sign of his caring, healing and lifegiving presence. Wherever you are, whatever you say in tenderness to each other and whatever you do in loving union brings

Mgr Paul Nadal Priesthood and Ministry

does, he does well. He is not a professional man in the sense that he is pursuing a professional career.

The priest is essentially a man of God who, according to St Paul, “holds this treasure in pots of earthenware, so that the immensity of the power is God’s and not our own” (2 Cor 4:7). His ministry should be permeated with Gospel values. In prayer he is open to the Spirit who animates his life and ministry. It is in prayer that we open ourselves to the Spirit.

In our priestly ministry there is always the possibility that an outward appearance and performance as seen in the exercise of our ministry does not coincide with our inner reality— of who we really are.

To a certain extent this is true of all of us, but if the discrepancy between what we say and do, and who we really are so great, then something is radically wrong.

There is no way we can rationalise or justify a fundamental and permanent discrepancy. Something will give way and we eventually crack.

That discrepancy, if it exists, can only be overcome in and through genuine prayer. We can deceive others, we can even deceive ourselves, but there is no room for deception when we stand spiritually naked before God in prayer.

Many years ago an old priest (I am his age now) said to me: “If we as priests do not pray we become no more than disgruntled, selfish and crusty old bachelors.”

Please God, that never happens to us priests. So, my brother priests, pray—and pray often! n This is the second part in Mgr Paul Nadal’s series on the priesthood and ministry.

Toni Rowland Family Friendly

Jesus is his Body, the Church, alive to all whom you touch.” Power, well handled, aims at this unity and this witness.

To return to my first point. Does a priest, or should a priest work for families?

Undoubtedly yes. Pope John Paul II often said: “The future of the Church—and of the world—is through the family.”

In his 1981 apostolic exhortation Familiaris Consortio, Pope John Paul stated that “no plan for organised pastoral work at any level must ever fail to take into consideration the pastoral area of the family”.

Other post-Vatican II Church documents have made similar statements.

Families are the real basic building blocks of the Church and this awareness is part of integrating the special African Synod concept “Church as Family”, and also its converse of the family as the domestic church.

Both priest and people themselves must work for the good of families. Couples should avail themselves of the different marriage enrichment programmes, skills training opportunities and resources that are available and priests should promote and support them, even becoming personally involved as much as they can.

May the vision of Jesus and our Church echoed in the popular quote by the late rock star Jimi Hendrix inspire us to greater openness to collaboration. “When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.”

The Southern Cross, February 23 to March 1, 2011

7

Chris Chatteris SJ Pray with the Pope

Fidelity with Gospel General Intention: That the nations of Latin America may walk in fidelity to the Gospel and progress in justice and peace.

E used to think of Latin America as one of the last solidly Catholic regions of the world. This has ceased to be the case.

Since the 1970s, US-based evangelical churches have made a concerted and successful effort to gain a foothold in the region. There is some evidence that these movements received funding from US Republican administrations who wanted to counter the influence of liberation theology. The Vatican too, was critical of South American liberation theology but it certainly did not want evangelical Protestantism to take its place, which is what has happened in some places.

While liberation theology, because of its focus on social and political issues, may have lost some Catholics to Protestantism, there is today a growth of interest in the social Gospel among the Protestant churches themselves. This may be because of increasing impoverishment among their poorer members. They now realise that a theology which concentrates only on the family and spirituality, or simply promises magical financial enrichment, does not do justice to the fullness of the Gospel.

Perhaps in this way the Holy Spirit is moving Protestants and Catholics closer to each other.

One Protestant scholar implicitly prays with the pope when he says he desires “a complete and integrated Gospel that deals with the fundamental alienation of humans from God, an alienation that splinters all the relationships that humans sustain: those to God, to themselves and to others”. We can all say ‘Amen’ to that.

W

For the persecuted Missionary Intention: That the Holy Spirit may give light and strength to those in many regions of the world who are persecuted and discriminated against because of the Gospel.

It seems that some Christians today are trying to claim the right “victim credentials”. Some people in the Church in Europe seem to think they are the victims of persecution. Having lost its previously privileged position in society, the Church in Europe is now coming under a certain amount of pressure from secularists and the media. For example, secularists in Italy want crucifixes to be removed from government schools.

However, to call this “persecution” is a bit of a stretch in the context of Christian history. The Roman martyrs of the first three centuries, who were thrown to the lions in the Colosseum, might not be too impressed by this loose use of the word.

Certainly, there are regions where Christian congregations have been bombed or where there is official or unofficial ant-Christian discrimination. But even this is not of the same league of earlier times. It is certainly tough for Christians in China today, but still a far cry from the persecutions in 17th-century Japan, where Christians were killed in their thousands, some by crucifixion.

In the past, violent persecution came through official state policy. Today, unofficial “persecution” is carried out by fanatics in countries where Christians are regarded by some as second class minorities and/or as allies of the country’s enemies. Iraqi Christians are a soft target convenient for taking indirect revenge for Western military intervention.

The violence is not normally directly state-sponsored, but, for political reasons the state finds it hard to fight it. For example in Pakistan the government would like to repeal the blasphemy laws but is politically too weak to do so.

Of course, even if it does not add up to the severity of the persecutions of yesteryear, we should pray for our brothers and sisters who are called to witness to Christ under these difficult circumstances. We should also prayerfully support the Holy Father’s diplomatic efforts to lessen tensions between religions and that his initiative of a multi-faith gathering in Assisi in October will be instrumental in achieving this.

GREAT READING FOR LENT AND EASTER A reconstruction of events surrounding the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth Author: May-Muriel d’Oliveira

The Mountain Grapevine “is a happy marriage of sound biblical scholarship and journalistic talent. A rare combination indeed!” (Fr Henry Ratering CMM, Mariannhill Monastery) AVAILAbLE FROM: Pauline Multimedia, Jhb and Dbn. The Catholic bookshop in CT. The author at 083 785 2205 and malandmay@telkomsa.net A study guide is available on the internet for free at www.mariannhillpress.co.za

8

The Southern Cross, February 23 to March 1, 2011

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Thank you for your 2010 generous contributions, the Bishops’ Lenten Appeal received R7 732 579,25 Kindly contribute generously to the Lenten Appeal. Monies collected will help the Works of the Church in Southern Africa including the poor and needy programs. Let your sacrifice be to the Glory of God. Get your posters, envelopes and mite boxes from your parish.

Message from the Bishops Lent 2011 Once again we, your bishops, send our special greetings to you as we begin with you this holy time we call “Lent”. It is a truly holy time when God offers us the grace of conversion, the grace and the power to return to him “with all our hearts and souls” (Deut. 30:2). We make it a holy time by our fast, by our prayer, by reaching out to those who need our help.

God gives two invitations to each of us. He invites us to follow him closely and he invites us to be his messengers.

First, he invites us to follow him closely. At the Last Supper He told the apostles, “I don’t call you servants anymore. I call you friends” (John 15:15). He says to each of us, “I want you to be my friend. I want you to walk with me. I want you to be holy as I am holy” (see Leviticus 11:44). During this Lent, this time of reflection and prayer, we can ask ourselves:

Do I think of God as my Friend?

Do I spend time with him each day?

Do I meet with the parish family every Sunday?

Do I keep his commandments, all of them?

Secondly, God invites us to be his messengers. He depends on us to spread his message and to reach out to those who call on him. After he washed the feet of the Apostles, He said “I have given you an example. Do as I have done to you” (John 13:15). After His resurrection He told his followers that they must continue his work: “As the father sent me, so I am sending you” (John 20:21). Jesus came to serve. He continues that service through each one of us. Every time you visit a sick person, every time you console those who have lost a family member, every time you put an offering in to your Lenten envelope, you are continuing that service. You are washing feet as Jesus did. In fact you are washing the feet of Jesus Himself. When we meet him He will say, “You did it to me” (Matt. 25:40).

Jesus came as the messenger of the Father. Today he sends us as his messengers to continue his work, to spread his message, to preach his word. Each time you teach a catechism class or help lead a Sunday Service, each time you take part in Small Community Bible Sharing, each time you visit a member who doesn’t come to church anymore, you are the messenger of God and of Jesus his Son. You can also be God’s messenger by the silent witness of your life. When you show courtesy to fellow travelers on the road, when you show kindness to your superiors or to those who work for you, when you are completely honest, when you refuse to give a bribe or take a bribe, when you do a full day’s work for the wage you receive, then you are witness to the God you believe in and to Jesus His Son. May God help each of us to walk with God during this Forty Days marked with intense prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. May God help us to be loyal friends of Jesus. May God inspire us to be his messengers to the people of our place and our time.

You may also contribute via SMS SMS LENT and your diocese to 40810 SMS cost R20 Bank Details Name of Bank: Standard Bank Name of Account: SACBC Lenten Appeal Account Number: 010009744 Branch Number: 01004500 National Director: Fr Michael Flattery Contact Details: 012 323 6458

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FOCUS

The Southern Cross, February 23 to March 1, 2011

9

Getting through divorce with faith Even Catholics get separated or divorced, at least in civil law.

The disintegration of a once loving relationship is traumatic.

SEAN WALES CSsR outlines a retreat hosted by Redemptorists for separated or divorced Catholics.

O

FTEN it is not easy to count the number of people in a family circle who are affected by a separation or divorce.

The ripple effect of separation or divorce goes on and on, sometimes in surprising ways.

Recently a group of people affected in one way or another by separation and divorce met for a retreat day at the Redemptorist Monastery parish in Bergvliet, Cape Town. From 10:00 to 15:00 they took “time out” from their ordinary busy engagements to find rest for their souls.

The Retreat Day was presented in four segments, with some input and plenty of time for prayer and reflection.

The first step was to enter into positive silence, a necessary element for any spiritual growth.

Physical silence can be difficult to achieve in our noisy world; mental silence and the accompanying emotional silence can be a greater challenge.

on DStv audio channel 170

Finally, for authentic spiritual growth some religious silence, awe and wonder are indispensable. Hand in hand with silence goes a love of solitude, essential to any human growth. Only those who know how to be alone can know how to be with others.

The second segment was focussed on the healing of memories. Knowing how distressing hurtful memories can be and how they can rob us of peace and joy for a lifetime, it is helpful to connect our memories with the great memory of the Church, the memory which allows us to enter into the mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection: the Eucharist.

The key to the healing of hurtful memories lies in the prayer of thanksgiving, not for the evils we have suffered, but for God’s presence holding us through all that went wrong.

The third presentation was about prayer. We pray as we are.

The prayer of a Carmelite nun is shaped and coloured by her specific vocation. So too with those who are separated and divorced.

For a person who has endured these traumas it is important to cling to the truth that God never divorces anyone. We all have to learn patience with our imperfect responses and we all need to stay in the family of the Church.

It is likely that the prayer of forgiveness will feature largely as we learn to say with Jesus “Father, forgive…”

Another aspect of the prayer of the separated or divorced is the prayer of stability: after so much

upheaval in one’s life one needs to be “planted in love, built of love” again. Always and everywhere we are learning the prayer of thanks and praise.

These three segments were all accompanied by at least a halfhour of private reflection and prayer; there was an opportunity also to consult with the retreat giver.

The final session looked “Beyond Separation and Divorce”.

To respond to the Spirit and let our hearts expand in terms of the spiritual life, certain classical structures of the spiritual life were discussed on the basis that everyone, no matter what has happened so far in life, is called to holiness.

Practical ways of structuring one’s prayer life, how to develop spiritual reading (Lectio Divina), what kind of discipline is appropriate in daily living and what shape service of our neighbour can take—all these were placed before the retreatants.

This last session was followed by an opportunity to ask any questions or make any comments. The teas and lunch provided moments for social exchange.

While many couples seek counsel before they take the big step of getting married, not much help is offered to those who are separated or divorced.

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10

FOCUS

The Southern Cross, February 23 to March 1, 2011

Sexual bullying: Church must lead combat A gay teenager’s suicide after being bullied online has brought issues of bullying and the treatment of homosexuals to the surface in the United States, as CAROL zIMMERMANN reports.

T

HE suicide of 18-year-old university student Tyler Clementi in the United States last September not only put the spotlight on the harassment of gay teenagers but also highlighted the possible role of religious groups in instilling negative views about homosexuals.

The first-year student at Rutgers University in New Jersey jumped to his death from a bridge the day after a video revealing his sexuality was

streamed on the Internet by his roommate.

Tyler’s death and other recent teen suicides in the US stemming from gay bullying have prompted finger-pointing about how this happened and ideas about how it could be prevented.

Although religious groups have been blamed in part, many of them have been seeking ways to stop such discrimination.

Catholic Church teaching calls homosexual acts morally wrong but affirms the dignity of those with homosexual inclinations.

The US bishops specifically condemned “unjust discrimination” of homosexuals in their 1997 document “Always Our Children: A Pastoral Message to Parents of Homosexual Children and Suggestions for Pastoral Ministers”.

Jewish groups have been urging members to sign a pledge to end anti-gay bullying and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints (or Mormons), which opposes homosexuality, released a statement condemning gay bul-

lying. Church leaders from various religious denominations have also been providing information for pastors and youth leaders about how to minister to teens struggling with their sexual identity.

But despite these efforts, church groups are still suspect in some of these teen suicides, according to a poll by the Public Religion Research Institute in partnership with Religion News Service.

The poll showed 72% of Americans believe messages about homosexuality stemming from religious institutions contribute to negative views of gays and lesbians, and 65% see a connection between these views and the high rates of suicide among gay youths.

Christian churches, schools and organisations also get a bad rap in a new online project called “It Gets Better”, which features video clips of gay and lesbian adults who urge teens not to give in to despair.

Many clips include stories of those who did not feel welcome at church-sponsored programmes.

Ursulines of the Blessed Virgin Mary We are the Ursulines of the Blessed Virgin Mary, called to serve Christ through education of girls, women and servants, pastoral and social work.

Do you feel God’s call? Join us.

Contact Vocation directress: Ursuline Sisters PO Box 36 Ngqeleni 5140 Cell: 072 958 2111 OR Box 212 Libode 5160 Tel: 047 555 0018

J.M.J

HOT POT PAINT AND HARDWARE

I

n a blog for the Jesuitpublished America magazine, Fr James Martin SJ wrote that Catholics can “do a better job in reaching out to young gays and lesbians”, but he also praised the US bishops’ 1997 document and successful diocesan and archdiocesan programmes for gay and lesbian Catholics.

He said the “voluminous writings of popes and theologians on human dignity all speak to the great gift that every person’s life represents”.

He also stressed a “line often ignored” in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which stresses that homosexual persons must be welcomed with “respect, sensitivity and compassion”.

The priest, who is a book author and cultural editor of the Jesuit magazine, described Church traditions as “good places to start when it comes to outreach, especially with youth—and not just with gay and lesbian youth, but with all who feel excluded”.

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The website, TeensAgainstBul lying.org, was created by the Minnesota Parent Training and Information Center, called the PACER Center.

Convent of the Visitation School and St Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights in the uS produced several videos for the new site.

(Photo: CNS)

A tribute Facebook page for Tyler Clementi who committed suicide after his university roommate posted Tyler sharing a kiss with another man on the Internet.

He said the Church’s pro-life stance should include “finding ways to protect all life, which also means preventing suicides”—including suicides by gay people.

At Jesuit-run Fairfield University in Connecticut, students in November held a candlelight vigil to pray for acceptance and inclusion of gay and lesbian students.

Susan Birge, assistant vicepresident of student affairs and director of counselling and psychological services at the university, said students and school officials recognise that recent suicides are not just about harassment over sexual orientation, but also how the Internet is used and how people treat one another overall.

Ms Birge is particularly concerned about a recent finding by the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research showing that compared to college students of the late 1970s, students today are 40% less empathetic, with the steepest decline in empathy occurring in the past ten years.

R

esearchers came up with the data by combining the results of 72 different studies of American college students conducted between 1979 and 2009.

Ms Birge hopes students will be able to come up with ideas to reverse this trend.

She said Fairfield University constantly urges students to take care of one another and to take

care of the poor, but said there is a disconnect if students can “be on Facebook and cause pain”.

The US federal government has also reached out to students with newly issued guidance about bullying.

A 10-page letter, sent to the nation’s school officials by the US Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, spells out that certain types of harassment may violate civil rights.

“Simply put, we think in this country bullying should not exist,” US education secretary Arne Duncan told reporters. “Students simply cannot learn if they feel threatened, harassed, or in fear.”

Karen Ristau, president of the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA), agreed, saying this is a message she often stresses in talks around the country.

She said Catholic schools will “double up our efforts as well because [bullying] is unacceptable”.

On its website, the NCEA stresses the importance of antibullying programmes.

It also states: “When one youth calls another youth a ‘queer’ deliberately intending it as a painful, prejudice slur, it is critical that school staff and student bystanders respond with more than, ‘Boys will be boys.’

Schools cannot tolerate such teasing, intimidation or prejudice.”— CNS

The Southern Cross, February 23 to March 1, 2011

Fr PD Winters OMI

F

ATHER Paul Desmond Winters, parish priest of Sacred Heart, Katlehong, passed away on January 4 after complications following a hip replacement. He was born in Dublin in 1933 and ordained a priest in 1957. He arrived in South Africa in 1959 and spent his life ministering to the people of South Africa.

He was involved in many different aspects of the ministry from being novice master and also as Oblate provincial from 1978 to 1984 of the then province of the Transvaal. He was also rector of the seminary at Hammanskraal for some years as well as serving as Dean of the East Deanery.

Much of his priestly life was as pastor in various parishes, including Germiston, Edenvale, Orlando East and Diepkloof and this was his preferred ministry. In 2007 he celebrated 50 years in the priesthood.

Fr Winters had endless patience and accepted the ups and downs of life with a great sense of humour. He was totally dedicated to the Church and loved to be in a gathering of priests where he would hold forth on many topics.

He was a gifted sportsman; latterly it was golf but rugby was his first love—indeed he probably would have made the Irish International rugby squad but thought it more an honour to serve the Lord.

His funeral was attended by some 75

Family Reflections 2011 FAMILY THEME: PEACE ON EARTH BEGINS AT HOME”

FEBRUARY—THE POWER OF LOVE AND THE THE LOVE OF POWER 27th 8th Sunday of the Year. The Tremendous Love of God. The image of God’s love being even greater than a woman’s love for her baby gives us a human picture to relate to and help us to understand the power of God’s love. Pray for an increase of trust in God’s love and the strength and power to seek God’s Kingdom through everything we do.

Liturgical Calendar Sun, Feb 27, 8th Sunday of the year Is 49:14-15; Ps 62:2-3, 6-9; 1 Cor 4:1-5; Mt 6:24-34 Tues, March 1, feria Sir 35:1-12, Ps 50:5-6, 7-8, 14, 23, Mk 10:28-31 Wed March 2, feria Sir 36:5-6, 10-17, Ps 79:8, 9, 11, 13, Mk 10:32-45 Thurs, March 3, feria Sir 42:15-25, Ps 33:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, Mk 10:46-52 Fri, March 4, St Casimir Sir 44:1, 9-13, Ps 149:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 9, Mk 11:11-26 Sat, March 5, Mass of our Lady Sir 51:12-20, Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11, Mk 11:27-33 Sun, March 6, 9th Sunday of the year Dt 11:18, 26-28, 32, Ps 31:2-3, 3-4, 17, 25, Rom 3:21-25, 28, Mt 7:21-27

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO #433 ACROSS: 4 Esquire, 8 Lament, 9 Priests, 10 Ninety, 11 Pastry, 12 Rounds up, 18 Underdog, 20 Venial, 21 Scipio, 22 Defence, 23 Grieve, 24 Unhappy.

DOWN: 1 Plenary, 2 Ominous, 3 United, 5 Strapped, 6 Unease, 7 Return, 13 Skullcap, 14 Adopted, 15 Ignores, 16 Demean, 17 Cinema, 19 Escort.

NEW FOR 2011 • ALL WELCOME! 24 September to 2 October

EMMANUEL CATHEDRAL DURBAN PILGRIMAGE Visiting Assisi, Rome and Vatican City Organised and led by Rev Fr Stephen Tully Cost: R15 520

Tel: (031) 266 7702 Fax: (031) 266 8982 Email: judyeichhorst@telkomsa.net A list of current pilgrimages can be viewed by clicking on the Valley View Travel icon at www.catholic-friends.com

REMEMBERING OUR DEAD

“It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins” (II Macc XII,46) Holy Mass will be celebrated on the first Sunday of each month in the All Souls’ chapel, Maitland, Cape Town at 2:30pm for all souls in purgatory and for all those buried in the Woltemade cemetery.

For further information, please contact St Jude Society, box 22230, Fish Hoek, 7975 Telephone (021) 552-3850

11

CLASSIFIEDS Births • First Communion • Confirmation • Engagement/Marriage • Wedding anniversary • Ordination jubilee • Congratulations • Deaths • In memoriam • Thanks • Prayers • Accommodation • Holiday Accommodation • Personal • Services • Employment • Property • Others Please include payment (R1,15c a word) with small advertisements for promptest publication.

IN MEMORIAM OVIS—John. In loving memory of my dearest husband, our father and grandfather who passed away on February 25, 2009. Thank you for what you have done for us. From your wife Theresa, children, grandchildren, families and friends. R.I.P.

clergy, including Bishop Edward Risi of Upington-Keimoes and Bishop Hugh Slattery, retired of Tzaneen.

Community Calendar To place your event, call Claire Allen at 021 465 5007 or e-mail c.allen@scross.co.za (publication subject to space) BETHLEHEM: Shrine of Our Lady of Bethlehem at Tsheseng, Maluti mountains; Thursdays 09:30, Mass, then exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. 058 721 0532.

CAPE TOWN: Holy Hour to pray for priests of the archdiocese, 2nd Saturday monthly at Villa Maria shrine Kloof Nek Rd, 16:00-17:00.

Good Shepherd, Bothasig. Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in our chapel. All hours. All welcome.

Day of Prayer held at Springfield Convent starting at 10.00 ending 15.30 last Saturday of every month—all welcome. For more information contact Jane Hulley 021 790 1668 or 082 783 0331.

DURBAN: St Anthony’s, Durban

Central: Tuesday 09:00am Mass with novena to St Anthony. First Friday 5.30pm Mass— Divine Mercy novena prayers. Tel: 031 309 3496.

JOHANNESBURG: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament: first Friday of the month at 09:20 followed by Holy Mass at 10:30. Holy Hour: first Saturday of each month at 15:00. At Our Lady of the Angels, Little Eden, Edenvale. Tel: 011 609 7246.

First Saturday of each month rosary prayed 10:30-12:00 outside Marie Stopes abortion clinic, Peter Place, Bryanston. Joan Beyrooti, 011 782 4331.

PRETORIA: First Saturday: Devotion to Divine Mercy. St Martin de Porres, Sunnyside, 16:30. Tel Shirley-Anne 012 361 4545.

PERSONAL ABORTION WARNING: ‘The Pill’ can abort, undetected, soon after conception (a medical fact). See website: ww.human life.org/abortion_does _the_pill.php ISRAELI Folk Dancing Workshop, secular and religious, teacher from Argentina, contact Brenda 083 292 5437 or machol.ct@gmail.com

THANKS THANK you for prayers answered to St Jude, St Joseph of Cupertino, St Theresa of Little Flower and Our Lady. Lee-Anne and Kayla

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HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION BETTY’S BAY: (Western

Cape) Holiday home, sleeps seven, three bathrooms, close to beach, R600/night. 021 794 4293 marialouise@mweb.co.za CAPE TOWN: Vi Holiday Villa. Fully equipped selfcatering, two bedroom family apartment (sleeps 4) in Strandfontein, with parking, R400 per night. Tel/Fax Paul 021 3932503, cell 083 553 9856, ivilla@telkomsa.net CAPE WEST COAST Yzerfontein: Emmaus on Sea B&B and self-catering.

Holy Mass celebrated every Sunday at 6pm. Tel: 022 451 2650.

FISH HOEK: Self-catering accommodation, sleeps 4.

Secure parking. Tel: 021 785 1247.

FISH HOEK: Peninsula Fever self-catering, against mountainside overlooking False Bay. Sleeps up to 4 people at R680 per night.

Lounge with sleeper couch, kitchenette, double bedroom, timber deck with sea views. Phone Lizette 084 827 0385.

GORDON’S BAY: Beautiful en-suite rooms available at reasonable rates. Magnificent views, breakfast on request. Tel: 082 774 7140.

E-mail: bzhive @telkomsa.net HERMANUS: Pleasant getaway. Self-catering double accommodation, comfortable, fully equipped in tranquil church garden.

Five minute walk to village centre and seafront. R250 per day, minimum two days. get one night free for all bookings of three days or more. Phone church office 028 312 2315.

(Tues/Thurs/ Fri 10am-1pm or leave a message and phone number).

KNYSNA: Self-catering garden apartment for two in Old Belvidere with wonderful lagoon views. Tel: 044 387 1052.

LONDON, PROTEA HOuSE: underground 2min, Picadilly 20min.

Close to River Thames.

Self-catering. Single per night R250, twin R400.

Email: houseprotea@hot mail.com. Tel 021 851 5200 MARIANELLA guest House, Simon’s Town: “Come experience the peace and beauty of god with us.” Fully equipped

with amazing sea views.

Secure parking, ideal for rest and relaxation. Special rates for pensioners and clergy. Tel: Malcolm Salida 082 784 5675 or mjsalida@mweb.co.za STRAND: Beachfront flat to let. Stunning views, fully equipped. garage, one bedroom, sleeps 3. R450 p/night for 2 people —low season. Phone Brenda 082 822 0607.

UMHLANGA ROCKS: Fully equipped self-catering 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house, sleeps 6, sea view, 200 metres from beach, DStv. Tel: Holiday Division, 031 561 5838, holidays@light house.co.za WILDERNESS: Rustic farm cottage. Sleeps five, self-catering. Ph 073 478 9038. thewoodvillecot tage@gmail.com

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PO Box 2372, CAPE TOWN, 8000 Tel: (021) 465 5007 Fax: (021) 465 3850

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9th Sunday March 6 Readings: Deuteronomy 11:18, 26-28 Psalm 31:1-4, 17, 25, Romans 3:21-25 Matthew 7:21-25

D

O we have rights over God? We often drift unreflectively into thinking so; if that is your tendency, then next Sunday’s readings, just before we enter Lent, may be what you need.

The first reading is put on the lips of Moses, gazing into the Promised Land that he is never to be permitted to enter. He is reminding them (and us) of how to live, if the place is not to be polluted; and the secret is all in the words of God, which we are to put “into your hearts and your souls”, and, symbolically, “bind them as a sign on your hands, and you are to fix them as an emblem on your forehead”.

We are invited to choose between “a blessing and a curse” (and you might think that is what nowadays is called a “no-brainer”, until you reflect how often we make bad choices).

The curse is if you “go after other gods, whom you do not know”; the blessing comes if “you listen to the commands of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you today”. The Lord is in charge.

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God doesn’t take orders from us Nicholas King SJ Sunday Reflections For the p salmist, it is equally evident which way we are to go: “In you, O Lord, I take refuge—I shall not be put to shame”; then the poet makes powerful use of the metaphor of the rock: four or five times he addresses God as “rock” or “refuge” or “fortress”, something, that is to say, that we can rely on, but not someone to treat as responding to our beck and call. We can ask God “may your face shine on your servant; save me in your love”, but we may not give orders.

In the second reading, we listen to Paul outlining how God solves the terrible plight of humanity, which he has spent the previous chapters describing: “Apart from the Law, God’s righteousness has appeared, witnessed by the Law and the Prophets.”

The point is that God is faithful to all of humanity, both Jew and non-Jew: “Everyone has sinned and has fallen short of God’s glory”. Against that, Paul emphasises the free gift: “Justified at no cost, by his unconditional love through the ransoming back which was in Christ Jesus.”

We find this “free gift” idea very hard to cope with, and want to feel that somehow we have “deserved” God’s gift. But that can never be.

The gospel for next Sunday is the end of the Sermon on the Mount; and the first line is a salutary reminder that we cannot treat God like an errant waiter (for that is the tone of “Lord, Lord”).

The key thing (and here Matthew quotes his own version of the Lord’s Prayer) is “doing the will of my Father in Heaven”. It is not how charismatic you have been (“Lord, Lord, we prophesied in your name, expelled demons in your name, did loads of miracles in your name”); if we try that line, we shall hear those terrible words “I never knew you—away from me, you doers of evil”.

Cellular confession WAS fascinated to read in The Southern Cross earlier this month that some techno-savvy Catholics in the United States have taken to heart what Pope Benedict said on World Communication Day recently, how it is not enough to just “proclaim the Gospel through the new media”, but that one must also “witness consistently”.

The developers of “Confession: A Roman Catholic App” for Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPod think their product helps people do both. Brothers Patrick and Chip Leinen and their friend Ryan Kreager said the computer programme app is the only one with an imprimatur and is designed to help people make a better confession.

Given in this case by Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, an imprimatur is an official declaration by a Church authority that a book or other printed work may be published. It declares the published work contains nothing offensive to Catholic teaching on faith and morals.

Mr Kreager explained: “The app is really built for two kinds of people. For Catholics who go to confession regularly, it gives them information. They enter their name, age, their sex, their vocation and their last confession date, and it generates an examination of conscience based on that information.” Centred on the Ten Commandments, the examination would be different for a young mother than for a teenage boy, for example. The examinations were provided by two different priests and in addition to helping Catholics who already

www.birthright.co.za

Chris Moerdyk The Last Word make use of the sacrament of reconciliation, the confession app is “also for people who’ve been away from the Church and want the opportunity to go to confession.

You go to the examination of conscience and it literally walks you through, step by step, your confessions as if you are in the confessional.”

Obviously, the app doesn’t replace the traditional way of confession. You can’t phone through your confession. But on reading all of this, I simply could not resist reprinting here something I wrote some time ago in this column: a very much tongue-in-cheek look at the ultimate in cyber-confessions (if these were allowed).

Just imagine kneeling down next to your bed and dialling away in anticipation of making your confession without having to schlep to church or get in a queue.

There’s the first problem because where I live there is no cellphone signal next to my bed so I would probably have to go upstairs to my study as I usually do and then stand up with one finger in my ear and my leg on my desk in order to get some sort of useable signal. A stance hardly conducive to sanctity in any shape, form or stretch of the imagination. However, let’s assume you actually manage to get

through.

“Hello, you have reached Dial-a-Sin. Your call is important to us, please be patient, you are number 127 in the queue.” Handel’s Largo plays ominously in the background and does nothing for your patience to the point of adding another sin to be confessed before you even start. But at last you are through.

“Hello you have reached Dial-a-Sin. If you would like your confession to be heard by a Dominican priest, press 1, if you’d like a Franciscan, press 2, if you’d like a Jesuit think about this option very carefully and then press 3.

“Thank you for choosing our friendly Franciscan. For mortal sins, press 1; for venial press 2.

“Thank you for choosing venial. To fast track your confession, if your venial sin involves losing your temper, telling smallish fibs and the odd white lie, push 1 for blanket absolution. If your venial sins are a little more serious than the above or you feel they might well stray into the realms of mortal, please push 2 and answer some simple multiple choice questions.

“Thank you for choosing the fast track option. For a recorded homily on the evils of sin, push 1; for instant absolution push 2.

“Thank you for choosing instant absolution. If you require your penance sent to you via an SMS, press 1; if you want your penance read out to you right now by your friendly Franciscan, press 2.

“Thank you for choosing the penance option from your friendly Franciscan.

Remember you are absolved only once you have completed your penance. Terms and conditions apply.

“Your penance is...please be patient as our computer downloads your personal option...zzz... click...brzz...click...your penance is...zzzrp, bzzzz, click, pfrrrrttttt...blppppp...network busy...missed call...”

“Hello you have reached Dial-a-Sin, you are number 348 in the queue...”

At which point, if you are a normal human being and once again frustrated by having a cellphone call dropped at just the wrong moment, you will probably throw your cellphone on the ground, smashing it to pieces, at the same time swearing very loudly and very possibly contemplating heading hell for leather into mortal sin territory.

Then come two parables, and as always with Jesus’ parables we are invited to listen attentively.

Parable one is about the person “who hears these words and does them”, and that person is like “an intelligent person...who builds his house on rock”. Such a house can endure “the rain and the rivers and the winds blowing and falling on that house— and it did not fall, because it was built on rock”.

Parable two, obviously, envisages a rather different scenario, that of a less intelligent constructor, who builds, instead, on sand: “And it fell down—and great was its fall.”

So our task this week is not to dictate to God what God should be doing in this world of ours, but simply to listen to his words, and to the words of Jesus, appreciate the unconditional gift that we have, quite undeservedly, been given and recognise that we are not in charge.

It is God who is in charge, and we may not give him orders; our way to happiness, puzzlingly enough, is to do what God is asking of us.

Southern Crossword #433

ACROSS 4. Title after man’s name is queer (7) 8. Song of grief (6) 9. They were high in the Temple (7) 10. Days of the ten novenas (6) 11. Dad's attempt to produce dough (6) 12. Proud sun brings cattle together (6,2) 18. Canine having no chance of winning (8) 20. An evil sin not so evil? (6) 21. Roman general of the Punic War (6) 22. In court it opposes the prosecution (7) 23. Cause great distress (6) 24. Not pleased (7)

DOWN 1. Bishops’ meeting with full attendance (7) 2. Kind of sign of bad things to come (7) 3. Not untied any more (6) 5. Secured although short of cash? (8) 6. Discomfort (6) 7. Come back like the Prodigal Son (6) 13. Head cover for pope and bishop (8) 14. Took a child not your own (7) 15. Disregards regions (7) 16. Emend a word to lose dignity (6) 17. Go here for entertaining projections (5) 19. Companion to the debutantes ball (6) Answers on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

A

SUNDAY School teacher decided to have her young class memorise one of the most quoted passages in the Bible—Psalm 23. She gave the youngsters a month to learn the chapter.

Little Rick was excited about the task—but he just couldn’t remember the Psalm. After much practice, he could barely get past the first line. On the day that the kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front of the congregation, Ricky was very nervous. When it was his turn, he stepped up to the microphone and said proudly: “The Lord is my Shepherd, and that’s all I need to know.”