The Southern Cross - 110720

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July 20 to July 26, 2011

R5,50 (incl VAT RSA) Reg No. 1920/002058/06

Why fathers must pass on on the faith

No 4735

Vatican praises South Sudan values in and the Catholic Church Harry Potter Page 9

Page 7

Page 4

Colonel: I want to promote Hurley’s legacy

By CLAiRe MATHieSoN

T

Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, archbishop of Durban, turned into a rock star during a visit to Blessed Sacrament parish in Virginia-Umhlanga to celebrate its 50th anniversary. For the occasion, parish priests Frs Joe Money and Donovan Wheatley put together a tridiuum with two visiting priests, Frs Chris Neville and Sylvester Davids. After an evening Mass and reception, Cardinal Napier posed for some photos with the parish’s youth band. He is with adoring fans (from left) Robyn Carrington, Andre de Sylva, Chandre Busschau and Khethelo Zungu. The shoot was set up by Ms Busschau.

HE South African Defence Force and the late Archbishop Denis Hurley did not have a cordial relationship, but today an army colonel is actively engaged in raising funds for the centre that promotes the legacy of Durban’s late archbishop.

Colonel Martin Potlaki, acting officer commanding of the Regional Works Unit of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in KwaZulu-Natal, says that his relationship with Archbishop Hurley is motivating him to raise funds for the centre dedicated to the archbishop.

Paddy Kearney, coordinator of the Denis Hurley Centre in Durban and Archbishop Hurley’s biographer, said that during the apartheid era the late archbishop was regarded with “hostility and suspicion because of his support for conscientious objection” to compulsory military service by white male South Africans. P W Botha, then minister of defence and later president of the republic, called Archbishop Hurley “a lackey of communism” and “a liar” for his opposition to the border war.

But today, according to Mr Kearney, the interaction between the SANDF and the legacy of Archbishop Hurley is quite different.

Col Potlaki is an enthusiastic Eucharistic minister and member of the Catholic Men’s Organisation (CMO), and his relationship with Archbishop Hurley goes back to the mid1980s, “when he met the archbishop for the first time and was surprised to find that he was ‘always ready to give you his time’,” Mr Kearney noted.

“This encouraged him to approach Archbishop Hurley for a bursary to study law at the University of Durban-Westville. The archbishop did not disappoint,” Mr Kearney said.

However, before he could make use of that bursary, Col Potlaki, who was working underground for the then banned African National Congress, was forced to flee the country. He undertook military training in various parts of Africa and overseas.

“When Martin returned to South Africa in the late 1980s with no money or job and a wife and baby to support, Archbishop Hurley was one of the first people he met,” Mr Kearney said. “The archbishop was delighted to see him and invited him to sit down and recount his experiences outside South Africa.”

Col Potlaki said the archbishop gave him blessings and advice.

By the time of their next meeting, Col Potlaki was serving in the newly reconstituted defence force, and Archbishop Hurley had retired to Sabon House, the retirement home of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Durban. The archbishop told Col Potlaki to remember that “you are now a colonel in the national defence force and must serve all the people of this country. Respect yourself, the people you command and those you will be protecting. And, above all, never forget to pray.”

Reflecting on these interactions with his famous episcopal friend, Col Potlaki said: “He is like a saint for me. His advice and help have made me what I am today. I have a picture of him at home and another at work. Whenever I have a difficulty I pray to him to ask God to help me—and I am always helped.”

Col Potlaki said he feels very fortunate to have known the archbishop and will do whatever he can to help the Denis Hurley Centre (www.denishurleycentre.co.za) become a reality. “I’m ready to travel the length and breadth of South Africa to raise funds for this project,” he said.

Pope to write on holiday

By CiNDy WooDeN

F

OR the second year running, Pope Benedict is spending his summer holidays in the papal villa in the hilltop town of Castel Gandolfo, about 20km south of Rome.

“One can find everything here: mountains, the lake, the sea, a beautiful church with a restored façade and good people,” the pope said as soon as he arrived. “I am happy to be here. Let’s hope that the Lord will give us a good vacation,” he said.

Pope Benedict has again declined invitations to spend a couple of weeks of the summer in the Italian Alps. He will be based at Castel Gandolfo until the end of September, said Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi SJ. The pope has suspended his Wednesday general audiences, but he will pray the Angelus each Sunday with several thousand people who gather in the courtyard of the villa at Castel Gandolfo.

Fr Lombardi told Vatican Radio that skipping an Alpine vacation means reducing organisational and security headaches and

costs for both the Vatican and the Italian government.

In addition, he said, Castel Gandolfo has “the advantage of being a familiar location, prepared and equipped for the presence of the Holy Father, a quiet place, where even the altitude is suitable—cooler than Rome, but not particularly high—it has gardens to walk in” and is conducive to prayer and the pope’s cultural work, “both particularly dear to him”.

The spokesman said the pope plans to prepare his speeches for World Youth Day in Madrid in August and for a trip to Germany in September. He also wants to continue working on the third and final volume of his Jesus of Nazareth series.

The first volume was published in 2007 and the second came out in March this year.

Fr Lombardi said the pope, who has already begun writing the third volume, expects it to be shorter than the first two and “a bit different in nature and approach” since it will cover Jesus’ infancy and childhood, for which there is very little information in the gospels.—CNS

Colonel Martin Potlaki is a keen supporter of the Denis Hurley Centre in Durban.

(Photo: J M Ntamubano)

2

The Southern Cross, July 20 to July 26, 2011

LOCAL

Cape Town refugee shelter celebrates 15 years

By CLAiRe MATHieSoN

C

Bishop Peter Holiday at his episcopal ordination in Kroonstad with Archbishops Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg and Jabulani Nxumalo of Bloemfontein.

Johannesburg ‘saints’ provide soul food

By THANDi BoSMAN

T

HE Saints, the youth group of Maryvale parish in Johannesburg, made sandwiches from 100 loaves of bread for the poor as part of the Soul Food project.

They collected bread, jam, peanut butter and butter from their parish and after their 18:00 Mass on Sunday evening they got together and started making the sandwiches.

Margaret Hill, coordinator of The Saints, said that the youth group was not the first to participate in this project. Those of Rivonia and Rosebank parishes had previously done so.

Mrs Hill explained that Soul Food was started by an organisation called Soul Provider. Its volunteers collect left-over food not

sold or used from hotels, restaurants, casinos and other entertainment places.

The food is then distributed to shelters, orphanages, feeding schemes and schools.

Soul Food is currently running in Johannesburg, but aims to expand as resources increase.

Mrs Hill said that Roger Hein, manager of Soul Provider, collected the sandwiches from Maryvale parish to be distributed to shelters.

Mrs Hill said that The Saints youth group is very active in the parish. They are involved with the sacrament of confirmation, the St Vincent de Paul Society and go on many camps.

After raising funds, four youths from the parish will take part in World Youth Day in Madrid next month.

MICASA TOURS

ATHOLIC Welfare and Development (CWD) have re-launched its Bonne Esperance Refugee Shelter for Women and Children in Cape Town.

Aside from providing a temporary safe shelter for some 40 refugee women and children, efforts are made to integrate refugee and asylum seekers into South African society by equipping the refugee women with the skills to make them self-confident independent human beings in their new home environment.

According to CWD communication manager Michail Rassool, the programme also facilitates education and training to counter racism, xenophobia, war and social violence, and to increase refugees’ participation and strengthen the voice in the surrounding communities in order to increase service delivery.

The re-launch was celebrated as a special post-Refugee Day commemoration attended by former residents and other role-players in the refugee service network.

CWD director Lungisa Huna said the event must be seen as a celebration of humanity and a human response to a human situation.

Bonne Esperance was one of the first facilities addressing the issue of refugees in the 1990s. Ms Huna said the refugee men whom she and others were working with at the time spoke of the need for a shelter for women and children.

“The doors of Bonne Esperance first opened in 1996, and since then the shelter has been a sixmonth transit point for refugee and asylum-seeking women and children newly arrived from conflict-ridden or other desperate situations in other African countries,”

A former resident of Bonne esperance, Joseph Misekabu, spoke at the relaunch of the refugee shelter on his experience after he and his mother arrived at the shelter 12 years ago from the DRC. said Mr Rassool.

Many refugees are referred to the shelter from other stakeholders in the field, and many of them have themselves gone on to work for Bonne Esperance.

Ms Huna said the organisation aims to focus on vulnerable women and children in the future.

Bonne Esperance and another CWD programme, Women In Need (WIN), are clustered and will strive towards helping this group of refugees. WIN deals with women who once lived on the streets and in shelters, and similarly journeys with them to a new life.

The re-launch event also included representatives from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) speaking on the international legal situation concerning refugees and why the role of facilities like Bonne Esper-

ance are crucial to the local refugee response.

The representatives also spoke on the UNHCR’s “lobbying and advocacy role, particularly in highlighting ongoing problems in the state system of processing asylum applications. Bonne Esperance has also assisted with addressing backlogs,” said Mr Rassool.

“Former Bonne Esperance residents, who have become integrated into South African life, having survived the trauma of conflict and displacement from their home countries, spoke of the shelter being a ‘home from home’,” said Mr Rassool.

Others, he said, described how Bonne Esperance provided them with a sense of security after the trauma of persecution and flight. n For more information on the programme visit www.cwd.org.za or telephone 021 425 2095

Send your local news to news@scross.co.za

Pilgrimage of Healing to Fatima 8 to 16 May 2012 Celebrating the 95th Anniversary of the Apparition.

Visiting Fatima Shrine, children’s homes, Belém, Batalha, Nazaré, Alcobaça & Bleeding Host in Santarém

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Send letter of application and CV to: jhb@catholicbible.org.za Applications close at noon Friday 5th August 2011. only shortlisted candidates will receive notification of the interview date.

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LOCAL

The Southern Cross, July 20 to July 26, 2011

3

Children’s Act is a ‘work in progress’ T

By CLAiRe MATHieSoN

HE new Children’s Act has been operational for the past year. However, despite being revised multiple times, the more than 300 page document is still considered “a work in progress”.

At a round table discussion hosted by the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO), a body of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference, early child development role players discussed the reasons why the Department of Social Development has invited submissions on the regulations to the act and ways to improve the act.

Round table presenter Lucy Jamieson—senior advocacy coordinator at the Children’s Institute, a research and advocacy organisation operating through the University of Cape Town—said the Children’s Act was one of the most complicated pieces of legislation currently in use in the country today, and there is a long way to go before a practical and appropriate document can be produced.

Lois Law, researcher for the CPLO, said not only do young children deserve the best in the provision of services and programmes, they are “entitled to them in terms of section 28 of the Constitution, and by virtue of South Africa’s endorsement of both the UN convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and our stated commitment to the Millennium Development Goals”.

Ms Law said the act and its amendment provide the legislative framework within which the vision, policies, hopes and aspirations for the protection and development of children can take place.

But while in theory many of the legislation’s concepts were appropriate, Ms Jamieson said, there are various reasons why these were not always effective.

“The Children’s Act promotes the preservation and strengthening of families, ensures constitutional rights of children, oversees structures and services that protect and help develop the child and

recognises children with special needs,” said Ms Jamieson.

The very principle of the act and all its services puts the best interests of the child first. But because the act is so encompassing, some of its intentions have not been achieved in practice, Ms Jamieson explained. Thus the call for submissions for potential revisions has been made by the Department of Social Development.

In addition, Ms Jamieson said, South Africa has changed drastically from the time the Children’s Act was first conceived. “In 1997, there were 47 000 children in foster care. Today, there are more than 500 000.” The effects of HIV/Aids have also impacted on the legislation that governs it, she said. Today only 32% of the country’s children live in traditional two-parent households.

The norms and standards that the legislation has put in place are very high, so even role players that were attempting to assist children with the right intentions were not succeeding.

“While high standards are important, threatening the closure of a child care facility, for example, because it does not meet a particular standard is not necessarily in the best interest of the children that are cared for by the care facility,” Ms Jamieson said.

Instead of threats, she said, the facility would be better off receiving help and support or “conditional registration” whereby the facility can achieve funding if certain standards are met as opposed to out-right closing them down.

“The norms and standards also need to be contextualised. A facility that has no running water should not be expected to have the same ablution facilities as one that does have. These facilities shouldn’t be closed, rather should be required to have ‘adequate’ ablutions—and this is entirely contextual,” Ms Jamieson said.

Such decisions have to be made by social workers but there are simply not enough social workers in the country. “South Africa is good with handing out grants.

Money is not our problem. Our

problem is that there are not enough social workers with enough time to ensure the money is correctly spent and the situation a child is in improves.”

Currently the country is in need of 66 000 social workers but the number of registrations has dropped “simply because the conditions a social worker will work in are appalling”.

The act currently stipulates that a social worker needs to be involved in the placement, monitoring and counselling of children in need and child-care facilities.

“Poor decisions are being made because social workers simply don’t have the time to monitor and follow up on cases, not to mention handle new cases,” Ms Jamieson said.

The Children’s act has the best interests of a child in mind, but practically the act has not been effective. The amendments, while they intend on improving the governance and protection of children, are only likely to be in place by 2014 and will continue to be a “work in progress”.

Precious Blood Sisters celebrate 125 years STAFF RePoRTeR

T The Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood, led by majorettes, walk in procession to an open tent where they celebrated their 125th anniversary.

HE Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood in the Eastern Cape celebrated the 125th anniversary of their foundation by Abbot Francis Pfanner in 1885.

Led by majorettes from St Paul’s parish, the sisters walked in procession to an open tent at Glen Avent convent in Mthatha where the Eucharist was concelebrated by Bishop Sithembele Sipuka of

Mthatha, fellow bishops, Mariannhill Missionaries and diocesan clergy.

Many local religious communities, friends and benefactors joined the sisters in praise and thanksgiving to God for the graces upon the missionaries over the past 125 years.

The Precious Blood Sisters presently work in 20 countries in the fields of education, health-care

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and a range of pastoral ministries.

They reach out to the poor, sick, marginalised and disadvantaged, especially women and children, in an attempt to share the love and compassion of the redeeming love of Christ.

The day concluded with prayers for continued blessings from God to fulfill the sisters mandate to spread his love to others in the Church and through the world.

Tangney

Special Interest Tours La Modanna della Speranza Led by: Fr Giovanni Meneghetti CP 12 – 23 April 2012.

Rome. Audience with the Holy Father.

Cathedrals of Rome.

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Assisi. San Giovanni Rotondo.

Padre Pio. Monte Cassino.

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Effective Education Today for a Successful Tomorrow St Thomas Aquinas School in Witbank seeks to appoint a dynamic

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL – HIGH SCHOOL JANUARY 2012 • • • • •

This senior position requires a suitably qualified educator who is: An innovative thinker with proven leadership, management and administrative skills Knowledge about the FET curriculum and its requirements Able to interact confidently with staff, learners and parents, a ‘people person’ To be willing to contribute to the whole school ethos and accept the Catholic traditions of the school Committed and available for all school functions and events

Please send your CV with your SACE registration and the names and contact details of two referees to: head@stthomasaquinas.co.za by 19 August 2011.

The school reserves the right not to make an appointment. Submission of an application does not in itself entitle the applicant to an interview.

Staying True to our Values

4

The Southern Cross, July 20 to July 26, 2011

INTERNATIONAL

Vatican paper: Harry Potter champions values

By CiNDy WooDeN

T

Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter in the final instalment of the film series. Two reviews of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in the Vatican’s daily newspaper praised the film saying the saga championed values that Christians and non-Christians share. The film opened in South African cinemas on July 13. (Photo from Warner Bros)

HE last battle of the almostgrownup Harry Potter may be too scary for young viewers, but it champions the values of friendship and sacrifice, the Vatican newspaper has said.

“The atmosphere of the last few episodes, which had become increasingly dark and ominous, reaches its pinnacle,” said one of two reviews of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 printed in the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.

The darkness “may disturb younger audiences”, said reviewer Gaetano Vallini. “Death, which was a rare occurrence [in the previous Harry Potter films] is the protagonist here”, which is another reason the film may not be appropriate for everyone, he said.

“As for the content, evil is never presented as fascinating or attractive in the saga, but the values of friendship and of sacrifice are highlighted. In a unique and long story of formation, through painful passages of dealing with death and loss, the hero and his companions mature from the lightheartedness of infancy to the

complex reality of adulthood.”

Young people introduced to Harry Potter through the seven books by J K Rowling and the films based on them have grown with Potter and his friends, Mr Vallini said, “and they certainly have understood that magic is only a narrative pretext useful in the battle against an unrealistic search for immortality”.

In the second review, Antonio Carriero reaffirmed one point Vatican reviewers have made since the Harry Potter books first appeared in Italian: The story captured the imagination of millions of children around the world and got them reading books.

And, he said, the saga championed values that Christians and non-Christians share and provided opportunities for Christian parents to talk to their children about how those values are presented in a special way in the Bible.

Potter’s archenemy, Lord Voldemort, “does not represent Satan, as it would be easy to think, but is a man who has made bad choices in his life”, Mr Carriero said.

Voldemort has chosen not to love others and sees himself as the

centre of the universe, he said.

Mr Carriero said Voldemort is like many modern men and women who think they can do without God and without others, they don’t believe in heaven, and yet they are the most frightened of dying.

“Eternal life is reached through death, not without it. And Harry Potter, although he never declared himself a Christian, calls on the dark magician to mend his ways, repent for what he has done and recognise the primacy of love over everything so he will not be damned for eternity,” he wrote.

The Deathly Hallows demonstrates that “from the pure of heart like the young Harry, ready to die for his friends”, come big lessons, Mr Carriero wrote.

The film also teaches that “it’s possible to change the world. It is Harry, with his inseparable friends, who demonstrates that it is possible to vanquish evil and establish peace,” the review said.

“Power, success and an easy life do not bring the truest and deepest joys. For that we need friendship, self-giving, sacrifice and attachment to a truth that is not formed in man’s image.”—CNS

Cardinal plans talks with priests calling for disobedience

By CiNDy WooDeN

A

USTRIAN bishops have criticised an effort by a group of priests calling for reforms in Church practice, including opening the priesthood to women and married men, but the bishops have not taken or threatened disciplinary action.

Michael Prüller, spokesman for Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna, said the cardinal (pictured right) plans to meet in late August or September with the Viennese priests who are among the leaders of the “Initiative of Parish Priests”, which launched a “Call to Disobedience” in June.

The initiative, which says it has just more than 300 members, suggested saying a public prayer at every Mass for Church reform; giving Communion to everyone

who approaches the altar in good faith, including divorced Catholics who have remarried without an annulment; allowing women to preach at Mass; and supporting the ordination of women and married men.

In a telephone interview from Vienna Mr Prüller said that as far as he knew, the Austrian bishops have not discussed a common response to the priests.

“No bishop has threatened disciplinary actions, but at the end of the day if a priest leads his parish away from what the Church teaches, action would have to be taken,” Mr Prüller said.

The “Call to Disobedience” said the priests felt forced to follow their consciences for the good of the Church in Austria because the bishops have refused to act.

Cardinal Schönborn in a statement issued on June 22 said he waited three days to respond because he did not want to react “out of the anger and sorrow” the priests’ initiative caused him.

“The open call to disobedience shocked me,” he said.

The cardinal said none of the priests was ordained by force and all of them vowed obedience as they strive to do God’s will.

Cardinal Schönborn said righteous human beings must follow their conscience, and if the priests really believe they have such an extreme conflict of conscience

with the Church, they probably should consider whether they still belong in the Church.

“I believe and hope, however, that this extreme case does not occur here,” he wrote. But ultimately, “we all decide whether we want to walk the path with the pope, the bishops and the universal Church or not”.

Bishop Egon Kapellari of Graz, vice-president of the Austrian bishops’ conference, in a statement said the priests’ proposals “seriously threaten the identity and unity of the Catholic Church”.

While pastors are right to be concerned about providing more and better pastoral care to Catholics in the country, the situation in Austria is not so drastic that it would require priests to act outside communion with the universal Church, he said.

It is one thing to call public attention to the needs of the Church, Bishop Kapellari said, and it is another to encourage people to disobey Church teaching and practice.

Bishop Kapellari said that while personal conscience is a “highly respected value” in the Church, it is wrong to imply that the pope and bishops are not acting out of their own good conscience when promoting the unity and tradition of the Church.—CNS

Pope meets families of piracy victims

M

ARKING World Maritime Day, Pope Benedict met with a dozen people who have family members being held captive by pirates.

At the end of his recitation of the Angelus prayer, the pope offered prayers for seafarers, “who unfortunately have been kidnapped during acts of piracy.”

“I hope they are being treated with respect and humanity, and I pray for their families so that they will be strong in their faith and not lose the hope of being reunited soon with their dear ones,” he told thousands of people gathered in the courtyard of his summer villa at Castel Gandolfo.

As the crowds were leaving the papal villa, the pope met privately with an international group of family members of piracy victims, “giving them serenity” and assuring them of his prayers, said Fr Giacomo Martino, director of the Apostolate of the Sea for the Italian bishops’ conference.

Fr Martino accompanied the family delegation to Castel Gandolfo for the encounter, which, he said, brought them “heart to heart with the heart of the Church through the Holy Father”.

In late May, the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travellers issued an appeal to governments, shipbuilders and owners to do more to help the families of piracy victims in addition to stepping up efforts to prevent piracy in the first place.

The pontifical council said that in the first five months of 2011 there had been 214 new episodes with 26 ships and 522 sailors still held hostage by pirates.

The British website Save Our Seafarers (www.saveourseafarers.com) estimates there are some 800 sailors currently being held by Somali pirates alone.—CNS

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, July 20 to July 26, 2011

5

Irish diocese mishandled abuse allegations as recently as 2008

By MiCHAeL KeLLy

A

JUDICIAL report into the handling of allegations of child sexual abuse against clerics in the Irish diocese of Cloyne has concluded that the Church’s own guidelines were “not fully or consistently implemented” in the diocese as recently as 2008.

The report, released by Judge Yvonne Murphy, also said Cloyne Bishop John Magee admitted to what has been described as inappropriate behaviour with a young aspirant for the priesthood. It said the bishop embraced and kissed him.

The 400-page report also records for the first time stark disagreement among Irish bishops over whether Bishop Magee—a former secretary to three popes—should quit as bishop of Cloyne after December 2008, when the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church said he was using child safeguarding policies that were “inadequate and, in some respects, dangerous”.

At an emergency meeting of the Irish bishops' conference in January 2009, just weeks after the report critical of Bishop Magee, “there were strong opinions on both sides” as to whether the bishop should quit.

The Vatican announced in March 2010 that Pope Benedict had accepted Bishop Magee’s resignation.

The commission was charged with investigating the handling of allegations made against 19 priests from 1996—when the Church in Ireland first implemented child protection procedures—to 2009.

The commission found that “the primary responsibility for the failure to implement the agreed procedures lies with Bishop Magee”.

“It is a remarkable fact,” the report notes, “that Bishop Magee took little or no active interest in the management of clerical child sexual abuse cases until 2008.”

The commission accuses the Vatican of being “entirely unhelpful” to bishops who wanted to fully implement the agreed guidelines.

The report is highly critical of the Cloyne vicar-general, Mgr Denis O’Callaghan, who “did not approve of the requirement to report [allegations] to the civil authorities”.

The report says allegations of abuse and concerns about inappropriate behaviour were raised against nearly 8% of priests serving in the diocese. One priest of the diocese has been convicted while another was successful in having his trial halted because of his age.

On a positive note, the commission concludes that "there was no case in which the Diocese of Cloyne moved priests against whom allegations had been made to another parish or out of the diocese altogether."

Three of Ireland’s 26 Catholic dioceses have now been subject to judicial inquiries that have severely criticised Church leaders and found that the reputation of priests and the Church and the avoidance of scandal were put ahead of the rights of children to be protected from abuse.—CNS

Greek Catholics fear looming disaster

By JoNATHAN LUxMooRe

A religious image of Mary is part of a creation by Colombian fashion designer Diego Bohorquez during a fashion show in Bucaramanga, Colombia. (Photo: Fredy Builes, Reuters/CNS)

Hindu militants storm Catholic convent school, mistreat Sisters

A

BOUT 50 Hindu extremists burst into a Catholic school in southern India, demanding enrolment for two children, the Vatican missionary news agency Fides reported.

The episode underscored the “schizophrenia” of Hindu radicals in India, who attack Christians yet recognise the excellent education provided by Church-run schools, a local source told Fides.

The incident occurred in Belgaum in south-western India, at St Joseph’s Convent School run by Canossian Sisters.

The extremists forcibly entered the school premises and threatened and mistreated the sisters and some of the teachers, Fides said. The sisters called the police, who were able to calm the situation.

Guiding the group was a man claiming to be a leading member of a nationalist Hindu party, the Bharatiya Janata Party. He demanded the enrolment of a friend’s two children.

After the incident, the school requested police protection to guarantee the safety of students and staff in coming weeks.

G

REECE’S Catholic Church faces disaster because the current economic crisis is forcing it to end vital social and charitable projects, said Archbishop Nikolaos Foskolos of Athens.

“This crisis could be the worst in our history,” Archbishop Foskolos said. “There’s corruption everywhere, especially among our politicians. We get no help from the state or other Western churches, and our faithful can’t give any more. Our parishes and dioceses are in deep trouble, and in a few months we won’t be able to support our staffers and employees.”

The archbishop voiced the concerns as European Union finance ministers released emergency funding to rescue the faltering Greek economy. Amid violent street protests the Greek legislature approved tough austerity measures and tax increases on June 29, paving the way for the EU action.

The archbishop said the higher taxes would have more impact on the Catholic Church than on the country’s predominant state-sup-

A man stands between discount advertisements at the entrance of his shop in Athens. (Photo: yiorgos Karahalis, Reuters/CNS) ported Orthodox Church. But the Orthodox Church still faced “serious problems” after being told its clergy’s state-paid salaries would be cut by half, he said.

“We’re only a small minority, with few properties and resources, and we’ve been burdened in recent years by many Catholics coming here from poor countries in search of a better life, using Greece as Europe’s eastern gateway,” Archbishop Foskolos said.

“Since we joined the EU in 1981, we haven’t received any help from other Western churches,

since we’re considered a rich country ourselves and they can aid only the Third World,” he added. “But we have parts of the Third World here in Greece, and it’s creating great pastoral and social hardships.”

In addition to spending cuts, the economic plan passed by the Greek parliament calls for tax increases, a “solidarity levy” on households, sweeping privatisation, school closures and sharp state sector staff and wage reductions.

Archbishop Foskolos said the crisis has forced Caritas Greece, the Church’s aid and development agency, and the Sisters of Charity to reduce assistance to refugees and asylum seekers. The Catholic-run hospice and two soup kitchens in Athens also planned to close by the end of 2011 because they did not have the resources to keep them running.

“Many people are suffering real poverty in Greece. Though we are doing what we can, the situation can’t continue,” said the archbishop, who oversees a Church numbering 200 000 Greek and foreign members in four dioceses.—CNS

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LEADER PAGE

The Southern Cross, July 20 to July 26, 2011

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Sex marketing?

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

Harry Potter and the Christian connection

T

HE release this month of the final movie in the Harry Potter franchise has revived the inevitable debate about whether adventures of the young wizard encourage young viewers or readers of the JK Rowling story to experiment with the occult.

Invariably, the critics of the Potter series bring up an old correspondence in which Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith and now Pope Benedict XVI, appears to entertain misgivings presented to him in a letter.

There is no record of Cardinal Ratzinger actually having read the Potter books. In any case, the future pope redirected his correspondent to an official of the Pontifical Council for Culture, who had read the books and took a benign view of them.

As we read this week, the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano shares the positive view of the Potter franchise in two reviews of the latest film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. The reviewers see values in the Potter stories that are essentially Christian: the qualities of love, friendship, courage and self-sacrifice.

In its culmination, the Potter saga treats even more profound themes of penitence and death as Potter, who embodies righteousness, calls on the malevolent Voldemort “to mend his ways, repent for what he has done and recognise the primacy of love over everything so he will not be damned for eternity,” as one reviewer put it.

This should resonate profoundly with Catholics who place the possibility of salvation for all at the centre of their faith.

Rowling’s story presents a moral vision in which virtue triumphs over evil by the exercise of one’s own (not necessarily magical) powers to do good.

Potter critics do not dispute this, but argue that the Potter saga propagates witchcraft, with the potential to seduce readers to experiment with the occult and separate young Christians from God. Many objections originate from people who have had experiences with occultism,

either as practitioners, counsellors or exorcists. Their insights are valuable in assessing the nature of the wizardry of the Potter stories in relation to individuals prone to experiment with the occult.

But more is needed than suspicion and conjecture. The critics have produced no empirical evidence which might support their doubtless well-intentioned concerns.

Indeed, it is reasonable to presume that young individuals who are prone to dabbling in the occult draw their inspiration not from Ms Rowling’s fiction but from various New Age fads, abuses of astrology, and lack of proper adult guidance.

Only those who are detached from reality would understand the Potter story as an introduction to witchcraft. Harry Potter is a fantasy and can be dangerous only to those who have difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality.

In any case, readers of the book and viewers of the films will readily appreciate that the wizardry serves as a narrative device. At least by the end of the series it becomes clear that the significance of the Potter tale resides not in magic spells but in a meditation on the perennial battle between good and evil. The climax in particular can be understood as an allegory on salvation—even if Rowling had no such theological intent.

The Potter series provides an excellent catechetical opportunity. It creates a premise for fruitful discussion with young people on subjects such as the occult and the dangers it presents, the battle between good and evil, the virtues of sacrifice and loyalty, the ways of redemption and so on.

The L’Osservatore reviewer condensed the final message of the Potter series in terms that Christians should welcome: “Power, success and an easy life do not bring the truest and deepest joys. For that we need friendship, self-giving, sacrifice and attachment to a truth that is not formed in man’s image.”

W

HILE praying outside a place of abortion recently, I talked to employees of the clinic who had just given a talk to one of the prestigious schools in the southern suburbs of Cape Town.

I was shocked that one of the best schools in the Cape actually invited a speaker from an abortion clinic to speak to the parents! Are other schools doing this too in the interest of “education”?

The speaker from an abortion clinic is, at the end of the day, a marketer, and the product is abortion. The language is soft and lulling: “We only ‘terminate’ a ‘foetus’.” Not a baby, though science is clear that once an egg is fertilised, life has begun.

There is only a “procedure room” for what are simply “procedures”, she says. An abortuary I say. Not a

Help needed

T

HE Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, also known as the Good Shepherd Sisters, were founded in Quebec in 1850. It is nonprofit organisation founded for the rehabilitation of women out of prison, youth in difficulties and unwed mothers and their children.

The congregation came to work in Lesotho in 1935. They are dedicated in a particular way to the works of mercy and faith education in social services and teaching in remote areas among the poor and the needy.

They are also engaged in health services whereby they work in health centres among people of different illnesses, especially those suffering from HIV/Aids.

One of the convents in the mountains, St John the Baptist convent in Marakabei, was blown away by heavy winds, part of the roof sheeting was blown away, and many windows were broken. As a result when there are heavy rains, the damage increases as the ceiling is damaged by rain Since the congregation could not afford to renovate that building, we humbly request financial help with whatever you could, so that we may be able to buy material for renovating and continue the work of mercy in that area.

Sr Maria Goretti Montle, PO Box 14258, Maseru 100, Lesotho

A fallible opinion

P

ROFESSOR Brian Gaybba’s opinion (June 22), is that, if the Church’s teaching regarding a particular belief is not unanimously accepted by God’s people, then that issue is not part of the Church’s infallible teaching. This means that

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“butchery”, the promoter of abortion says.

The way the private abortion clinics market to the youth is through contraception. The schools invite them in and through guidance class discussion is held. Sexual activity amongst the youth is encouraged, awareness is made of the inexpensive contraceptives available at the abortion clinic, and, well, if the contraceptives fail, then the youth is already familiar with the clinic and it becomes the place to return to.

So what can we do as parents who love our children and who love and respect life in the womb?

• If there is a speaker at your child’s school, ask what organisation they are representing. If they represent an abortion clinic, rally other parents and get the talk stopped. If it has happened already make the principal aware that you will not tolerate speeches from

these organisations in the future.

• Raise your need for organisations that love life to be represented at your school. Speak out at public meetings, such as AGMs, at your school or raise it with the governing body of the school. Be courageous!

• Talk about pregnancy and let your daughter know that in the event of an unplanned pregnancy, you would be there for her, loving and supporting her. At the same time you need to explain to your male and female children that sexual activities belong in the context of marriage. We can do this even if we have made mistakes ourselves.

• Join or start prayer vigils for the protection of life in your town or city. Do these exist already? Find out where they are happening.

Let us stand up against forces which threaten to destroy our families and in love support and nurture our unborn children.

Annabel Horn, Cape Town

the Church’s teaching against abortion would not be accepted if there were an absence of unanimity among God’s people on this issue.

The issues of Humanae Vitae and women’s ordination, advanced by Prof Gabbya as examples of his fallible opinion, are indeed infallible teachings according to Vatican II (Lumen Gentium 25) because they have been taught constantly and definitively, over a long period, by popes and bishops around the world.

This is one of the three ways in which infallible doctrinal teaching can be presented by the magisterium of the Church.

Dissent from Humanae Vitae is a very serious matter. It may result in giving encouragement for the use of the contraceptive pill which has an abortifacient action. Our Lord gave his mandate to the Catholic Church to teach the moral law. The spiritual consequences of dissent from his laws, as presented by the Church, are too grave to be risked.

Regarding women’s ordination, Pope John Paul II confirmed that the Church does not have the authority to ordain women. He further stated that no support, or encouragement of any kind, must be given to any individual, group, movement and so on campaigning for the ordination of women to the priesthood.

These infallible teachings of the Church will not change.

Franko Sokolic, Cape Town

SACBC needs to take laity seriously

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.

R

EFERRING to the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference Foundation, “to support our local Church ourselves” is a step in the right direction. To amass capital and use only the generated interest is wise, and to build up a trust and register it as a non-profit organisation is good.

The trust will nominate an executive committee to allocate every year a certain amount to the different departments and works of the conference.

But it is a big mistake to choose the archbishops as trustees and not lay people trained in money matters. With this set-up the whole exercise lacks credibility.

The SACBC has missed a chance to show that the Church takes the laity seriously.

Fr Hans Leu, Otjiwarongo, Namibia

Crooning cleric

I

WONDER whether the Mass Monica Heymericks attended (June 29), where “Happy Birthday” was sung, is in the same parish as mine?

Our priest, who has a fixation on the “Extraordinary” (Tridentine) rite, sees himself as the “new Eddie Fisher”, for he launched forth into “O mein Papa” on Father’s Day during Mass recently, scooping and crooning his way, off-key, to the “delight” of the congregation who erupted into applause every now and then. Doesn’t he know that applause during Mass is a “no-no” with Pope Benedict?

What next? “Mother Machree” on Mother’s Day? Mary Gladwin, Johannesburg

PERSPECTIVES

The important role of fathers

M

OST us have special memories of our fathers (at least I hope so). I especially treasure the memories of my own father, who died when I was just 16 years old.

Even though he had a busy job as a teacher, my dad always spent time with me and my sister. I can remember when he got down on the floor and played jacks with us. That was at a time when not many fathers played with their children!

My dad was very reluctant to buy a television, because he and my mother saw the importance of children spending their free time doing such things as reading, getting exercise outside, and playing with other children. We also helped with household chores.

We were probably one of the last families to get a television—I believe when I was in the fifth grade. I can thank my dad (and my mother) for giving me a love of reading that lasts to this day. I still would much rather read than watch TV. Another thing my dad emphasised was doing well in school. Education was very important to him. His own father supported seven children by being a drayman (carrying ice and water, primarily). My grandfather encouraged his children, including my father, to get a college education. Most of them did, with the majority becoming teachers.

My father also had a strong Catholic faith. He always had a rosary in his pocket and I could often see him fingering the beads. He made sure we attended Mass every Sunday and we often went to church during the week for such things as the novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

Although he was a public school teacher,

he wanted us to attend Catholic schools for elementary and high school education.

My dad always encouraged prayers before meals and bedtime. It was just part and parcel of our life as a Catholic family.

Although my father died too soon, he did leave a strong legacy behind in our family. I think my husband is very much like my father in how he has played an important role in the lives of our children (and now our grandchildren). My husband was involved in helping bring up our children in an active way. Our son is carrying on that tradition in his involvement with his two daughters.

Fathers play a key role in their children’s practice of their faith. I found information on Swiss research on church attendance which highlighted the vital role played by fathers in their children’s practice of religion.

Rev Robbie Low, who analysed this research, is a Church of England clergy-

Children take their cues in faith-life from their fathers, according to a study.

Mary Uhler Point of Faith

man and member of the editorial board of the magazine New Directions.

Rev Low explains that the Swiss survey wanted to determine whether a person’s religion carried through to the next generation, and if so, why, or if not, why not.

There is one critical finding: it is the religious practice of the father of the family that, above all, determines the future attendance at or absence from church of the children.

If both father and mother attend regularly, 33% of their children will end up as regular churchgoers, and 41% will end up attending irregularly. Only a quarter of their children will end up not practising at all.

If the father is irregular and mother regular, only 3% of the children will subsequently become regulars themselves, while a further 59% will become irregulars, and 38% will be lost.

If the father is non-practising and mother regular, only 2% of children will become regular worshippers, and 37% will attend irregularly. More than 60% of their children will be lost completely to the church.

This research confirms the important role of the father in passing on the faith to his children. Of course, the mother influences her children, too, but the father can make or break his children's ties to their faith. n Mary Uhler is the editor of The Catholic Herald, newspaper of the diocese of Madison, Wisconsin, in which this article first appeared.

St Peter would weep at Church today

T

HERE is a lovely story in a devotional booklet called Our Daily Bread about a convert to Christianity who was so perplexed by what she saw in Christians that she told a friend she wanted to read a book on Church history.

When the friend asked why, the new Christian responded: “I’m curious. I’ve been wondering when Christians started to become so unlike Christ.”

The story may sound like a joke, but in reality it is a disturbing story.

It is disturbing for at least two reasons.

First, the generality of Christians of our time do not even realise that there is a serious malady—that Christians are not what they are supposed to be.

Secondly, because we are not what we should be, we are no longer clear about the mission and purpose of the Church in the world.

Indeed, I can go so far as to suggest that if the apostles Peter and Paul were to come back to compare the kind of Church they helped to build and the Church of our time, they would be so surprised they would shed tears to see what we have become compared to their vision of the Christian community.

Some readers might think I am fussing about nothing when, like the new Christian in the story above, I suggest that Christians have lost it and are not what they should be.

But Paul would certainly be alarmed to see self-confessed practising gay bishops in some churches and to see Christian men who are married to men and women married to women. Peter would open his

eyes in disbelief to see the rapid development of churches whose pastors openly proclaim that you become wealthy by becoming a Christian.

An American pastor called Robert Tilton has gone so far as to despise Jerusalem as a dusty place in which to follow Jesus. He would rather find the Lord in a beautiful place like Hawaii. He is quoted as saying: “If I’m going to go to the cross, I’m going to go in a pretty place. Not some dusty place like Jerusalem.” And yet Jesus was born in a stable!

The likely response to the examples I have cited so far is that these are problems of minority groups and do not reflect the teaching of the majority of mainline churches. Let me therefore turn to other aspects of Christianity which we readily accept but would shock faithful members of the early Christian church.

T

ake, for example, the extent to which Christians have been divided since the great schism of 1054. To Paul our divisions would be tantamount to Christ himself being divided.

And one wonders how Jesus himself views these divisions. If there is anything for which Jesus prayed with passion, it was the unity of his followers. In the prayer (Jn 17) Jesus suggests that without Christian unity the world will not believe that God sent him.

Despite this, many Christians seem to believe that unity is “a nice to have”, but not an essential feature of Christian witness. Thanks to the World Council of Churches and Vatican II, ecumenism is gathering some momentum.

Emmanuel Ngara Christian Leadership

There are many other characteristics of the Christians of today that must be making believers from the apostolic times turn in their graves, but let me end by citing this one: Unlike the early Christians, we have no visible identity as followers of Christ.

Our only significant distinguishing feature is that we go to church on Sunday, but what is that? Muslims go to the mosque on Friday; so how different are we?

We are just as corrupt and worldly as other people. Our values are not distinguishable from the values of the world; those in positions of influence practise the leadership of domination contrary to what Jesus taught about leadership. We even have Christian political parties, but one struggles to see any difference between such parties and those like the African National Congress, Cope or the Democratic Alliance.

Small wonder many people, some young Christians included, now believe that every religion is as good as any other!

The followers of Jesus have little, if anything, to show that they are “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world”. So, where did things begin to go wrong? Has Christ failed us or have we failed Christ?

on DStv audio channel 170 also streamed on radioveritas.co.za Listen on iPhone or Blackberry: http://listenlivec2p1.ndstream.net:8030

The Southern Cross, July 20 to July 26, 2011

7

Michael Shackleton open Door

Why pre-marital sex is wrong Young Catholics have little problem accepting that extra-marital sex is wrong because it is a violation of the permanent covenant made between husband, wife and God. But influenced by their peers, they are finding it hard to understand why pre-marital sex is condemned by the Church as immoral. Your comments?

RE-MARITAL sex, or sexual intercourse between two unmarried persons—usually referred to as fornication—can be casual with one or more partners, or in a more stable way when a couple live together for months or years.

The latter is almost the norm in modern Western society, and the former is as old as society itself.

Commonplace these may be, but the Church has to uphold and teach the contrary because its teaching comes from Christ and his Apostles.

Christ considered fornication on the same level as adultery (Mk 7:21). Paul writes bluntly to the Corinthians: “Keep away from fornication...it is a sin against your own body” (1 Cor 6:18).

Paul frequently, such as in Romans 12:2, insists that Christians must not be conformed to the world but to Christ. This means they must take the practice of their faith seriously, and so personalise it that it becomes a matter of their own integrity, informing their conscience, giving them a moral awareness of what is right and what is wrong.

Many Catholics are reluctant to condemn premarital sex when it is commonly accepted. In this atmosphere of tolerance, they feel no obligation to follow the Church’s intolerant stance.

It is not easy to penetrate today’s resistant wall of indifference to the teaching that sex within lawful marriage is the only moral way. A thorough grasp of how the Church understands marriage as God’s will for the well-being of humanity must be the basis for any discussion on sex before or outside of marriage.

Scripture gives us guidance, in particular in 1 Cor 6:12-20, but also in Genesis 2:18-25, Matthew 19:3-6 and Ephesians 5:21-33.

Any indifference or tolerance in respect of premarital sex is not the way to have a clear conscience on the matter. Through the author of Revelation, Christ tells the church of Laodicea: “You are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were one or the other, but since you are neither, but only lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth” (Rev 3:1516).

We can gather, then, that he will not tolerate those who accept his teaching half-heartedly.

P

n Send your queries to Open Door, Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000; or e-mail: opendoor@scross.co.za; or fax (021) 465 3850. Anonymity can be preserved by arrangement, but questions must be signed, and may be edited for clarity.

Only published questions will be answered.

NEW FOR 2012 HOLY CROSS PILGRIMAGE 31 August to 10 September

Visiting Jordan, The Holy Land and Constantinople (Istanbul) A spiritual and fascinating journey organised and led by Fr A. Ignatius Heer Cost from R22 285 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

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COMMUNITY

The Southern Cross, July 20 to July 26, 2011

IN FOCU S Edited by: Lara Moses Send photographs, with sender’s name and address on the back, and a SASE to: The Southern Cross, Community Pics, Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000 or email them to: pics@scross.co.za

Bishop Michael Coleman of Port elizabeth with Fr Thembalethu Mana at the consecration of the altar ceremony at Maria Hilf church in Woodlands near King William’s Town. (Submitted by Pumla Madliwa)

young people that form part of the Salesian youth Movement from parishes in ennerdale and Finetown, Johannesburg, had a day of recollection at the Salesian Sisters’ community in Clonlea. Fr Jonathan Daniels SDB who celebrated the Mass. (Submitted by Clarence Watts)

The edge Core team from Blessed Sacrament parish in Durban at their weekend retreat on the Bluff with Fr Donovan Wheatley. (Submitted by Maggie Fuller)

Parishioners from St Joseph’s in eersterust, Pretoria, joined a procession organised by the oblate Brothers of St Francis de Sales. (Submitted

by Faried Abrams)

Couples for Christ (CFC) from Durban, Pietermaritzburg, escourt, Kokstad and Cape Town with CFC spiritual director Fr Max Kolbe Jacobs oSB. (Submitted by Rachel Volkwyn)

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• a strong personal commitment to the objectives and ethos of Catholic education • experience in a Catholic educational environment • a successful teaching record and involvement in extramural activities • a good understanding of current educational practice The incumbent will be expected to: • be a practising Catholic • co-ordinate and lead the Religious Education programme of the College • teach Religious Education from Grade 8 to 12 • to be part of Ethos Committee of the Board of Governors • in addition to teach Life Orientation in accordance with qualifications in the High School section of the College • participate in extramural activities Applications should be addressed to the Principal and should include certified copies of all relevant certificates as well as a motivation and names of two contactable references, which should include one from a Catholic priest. Applications should reach the College on or before the 31 July 2011, delivered by hand to the College or emailed to prross@cbcpretoria.co.za

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AFRICA

The Southern Cross, July 20 to July 26, 2011

9

The Catholic role in South Sudan The Catholic Church, including South Africans, have played a key role in bringing Africa’s newest nation, South Sudan, into existence. Amid the joy, Catholics also noted that much work remains to be done, as CLAiRe MATHieSoN reports.

W

HEN the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) started working with their counterparts in Sudan there were 53 countries in Africa. After more than a decade of work, it is possible to see the important work the Church has done as a new nation, South Sudan, was born.

The Southern African bishops have been involved with the Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference and the ecumenical movement in Sudan since the mid1990s. According to John Ashworth, Sudan advisor to the Catholic Church and of the Denis Hurley Peace Institute in Pretoria, there have been many solidarity visits in both directions, and “the SACBC has expressed its support in concrete ways, particularly through its Denis Hurley Peace Institute”.

While a new country has been established with a new flag flying and a new currency planned, Catholic News Services (CNS) reported that Catholic officials have highlighted the need for patience and a focus on what the people of South Sudan have achieved.

In “achieving their right to selfdetermination”, marked by the July 9 independence ceremony in the capital, Juba, the people of South Sudan have “what the better-educated and better-fed people of Libya, Yemen and many other countries are looking for,” Dan Griffin, adviser on Sudan to the US bishops’ Catholic Relief Services, told CNS’ Bronwen Dachs.

“Their potential and hope give them a tremendous advantage,” he said, noting that the 8 million citizens of South Sudan “may not have phones, banks or roads but they do have rights and dignity and a government of their consent”.

Mr Ashworth confirmed this sentiment. “The Catholic Church in South Sudan will continue to play an important role in public life. It will encourage, advise and guide the government of the new country, learning lessons from the experience of the Church in South Africa.”

SACBC’s Chris Townsend from the Office of Communication and Media was a part of the South African delegation, which also included Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban, that travelled to Juba to oversee the referendum in which 99% of the region’s voters voted in favour of the south seceding from the north. Various local Church representatives have been visiting over the years, most notably Arch-

bishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town and Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg.

Fr Townsend was also present on July 9, the country’s official independence day. “The Jubilation of seeing the flag raised, the quiet confidence of a new constitution and country was only outdone, for me, by the ‘hand of god’ moment when the power failed before [president of Sudan] Omar AlBashir could start speaking. When he eventually finished, the crowd gave him a very polite, almost English, clap and then spontaneously stood up and waved him off,” said Fr Townsend.

T

he priest said South Sudan has committed to reverse the tendencies of the former Sudan of “centralisation, coercive religious compliance and a single Arab identity by publically committing to a multicultural, diverse and secular state.”

South Sudan’s first president, Salva Kiir Mayardit, is himself the Catholic father of a Muslim son and has stated that South Sudan would be a nation which respects the freedom of religion.

However, Fr Townsend pointed out that the world’s newest country has a long way to go. He described the lack of development and infrastructure as “chronic” where there are fewer schools and less opportunity.

Vincent Bolt, Sudan country representative for the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (Cafod), the official aid agency of the English and Welsh bishops, told CNS that 800 000 people are expected to return from the north to South Sudan. Since October, “350 000 people have already made their way home”.

He added it was a challenge to reintegrate the returnees into rural life, noting that many had lived in cities such as Sudan's capital, Khartoum, in the 20 years they were away. They had moved north in search of peace and work.

But there is hope and great expectation for the new country.

Fr Townsend contrasted “arriving at the very little airport of Juba” in January with what he called a “great energy…for explosive growth” six months later.

“South Sudan is a country of enormous potential,” the priest said. “As the Catholic archbishop of Juba, Paulinus Loro, said on welcoming his guests to a certain chaos before the celebrations: ‘we have never been a country before’.”

Fr Townsend said extensive programmes will continue to run in the new country—mostly at the request of the local Church.

He added that while independence was just the start of the new country’s journey, the greatest wealth South Sudan possesses is “the generosity and commitment of the people. In this they have more wealth than all the oil and gold in the region”.

“There is an amazing sense of goodwill in the country and that will carry South Sudan.”

A man waves South Sudan’s national flag as he attends the independence Day celebrations in Juba. Hundreds of thousands of people celebrated independence after decades of civil war. (Photo: Thomas Mukoya, Reuters/CNS)

Finalise borders so we can grow crops

By BRoNWeN DACHS

S

UDAN and South Sudan need to finalise their borders so that people in the world’s newest country can get to work growing crops in the lush fertile region, according to Fr Peter Othow, coordinator of development and aid for South Sudan’s Malakal diocese.

“People who live in the border area are tense,” Fr Othow said in a telephone interview from Malakal, which is seen as one of the potential flashpoints along the 2 000km border with Sudan.

“They can’t settle, because they feel that anything could happen,” he said, noting that during a surge of violence in May people fled from surrounding rural areas to Malakal and are afraid to go back.

Some have moved 1,5km south of “where they think the border will be, so that they are free to cultivate” the land, he said.

With “good security, everything can be achieved”, said Fr Othow, who was born and raised in South Sudan.

He said Church programmes aim to help communities to be

“food secure without depending on the North or neighbouring countries”.

For instance, a diocesan programme will provide seeds and tools to people along with lessons on how to plant crops and vegetables effectively.

Soldiers from both countries patrol the contentious border outside Malakal “on opposite sides of a canal, which really is a big ditch”, Fr Othow said.

Sudan lost almost a third of its territory and about three-quarters of its oil reserves with the split that followed a January referendum in which almost all of the residents of the South voted to secede.

There are political differences among the people of Malakal and “a struggle for power which, if not carefully handled, could lead to more conflict”, Fr Othow warned.

“People need to learn to negotiate for power-sharing in government,” he said, noting that a “culture of negotiating” has yet to be developed in South Sudan, where “people often think that violence and threats of renewed tribal conflict speak louder” than debates

with political opponents.

There are “high hopes that, with independence, there will be a much-needed focus on education”, Fr Othow said, noting that teachers who are able to teach in English, South Sudan’s official language, are “desperately needed”.

South Sudan is one of the leastdeveloped regions in the world. An estimated 85% of its population of around 8 million is illiterate.

Until 2005, all subjects at schools in the non-Muslim South were taught in Arabic, said Fr Othow. Now, “subjects are taught in English and Arabic is taught as a language”.

Health services are another “urgent priority” in the newly independent state, Fr Othow said, noting that while there is one government hospital in Malakal, a Comboni sister runs a clinic outside the town, “serving people who otherwise would have no access to health services”.

According to Doctors Without Borders, 75% of people in South Sudan do not have access to basic health services.—CNS

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Right: Sudanese women carry crosses as they rehearse for an independence Day ceremony in Juba. (Photos: Reuters/CNS)

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10

The Southern Cross, July 20 to July 26, 2011

CHURCH

ST MARY’S, DE AAR

Small parish united by diversity The small cathedral parish of Our Lady of the Assumption in the Karoo town of De Aar has remained a close-knit community even as it has become more international, as THANDi BoSMAN reports.

T

HE small parish of St Mary’s cathedral in the diocese of De Aar is bound together by its members’ differences, the strong relationships among parishioners and everyone helping in church activities.

De Aar is in the Northern Cape in the Pixley ka Seme district. It is about 320km from Kimberley with a population of about 45 800 people.

St Mary’s has about 160 parishioners, and for the past ten years the parish numbers have been growing, especially since the area has seen the influx of many immigrants from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Cuba.

The cathedral was built by two German brothers and consecrated to Our Lady of the Assumption on

Parish administrator Fr Douglas Sumaili is responsible for the running of St Mary’s cathedral.

August 15, 1929.

The first parish priest of St Mary’s was a German, Fr Hauer.

The church was blessed by Archbishop Gijlswijk, the apostolic delegate of South Africa.

Before the cathedral was built, De Aar’s Catholics celebrated Mass once a month with a visiting priest from Port Elizabeth.

The first bishop at St Mary’s was Bishop Joseph De Palma, an American who headed De Aar diocese from 1967-91. Bishop Joseph Potocnak, also an American, was

appointed in 1992. Since 2009 the diocese has been headed by Bishop Adam Musialek.

Until 1972, Holy Cross Sisters ran a school for about 350 children, but the convent closed due to lack of funding.

The biggest achievement for St Mary’s this year was the renovation of their cathedral. Their sanctuary in now lined with white marble. But parishioners agreed that there is still work to be done in improving the cathedral.

Parish administrator Fr Douglas Sumaili is responsible for work in the parish and the running of St Mary’s. It is the first time that St Mary’s has had a full-time administrator.

Fr Sumaili makes it a point to visit the old age home, Sonder Sorge, on Saturdays, assisted by a lay person, to distribute Communion to the sick and frail who are unable to make it to Mass.

Parishioners of St Mary’s try to get involved in their church’s activities. They have a monthly social gathering in their church hall to foster community. They also have a choir which practises on Fridays and Saturday afternoons.

One of their challenges lies with the youth. They do not have a very big youth section because when the young people leave school they leave De Aar for their

St Mary’s cathedral in the diocese of De Aar has come a long way with its biggest achievement this year being its renovation. tertiary education elsewhere.

St Mary’s also struggles with Catholics who do not come to church, even though they are visited on a regular basis. The parish tries to uplift their youth by celebrating a monthly youth Mass for which young Catholics prepare the liturgy, choose hymns and take up the offering.

The Southern Cross was popular at St Mary’s, but over the past three years sales declined. To overcome this, parish leaders actively urge their parishioners to subscribe to the newspaper. It is promoted by word-of-mouth, and by those who receive The Southern Cross and pass it on to others in the parish.

The biggest fundraising event at

St Mary’s is the annual Central Karoo Show.

For three days in January the parish has a stall at the event where they sell pregos, cool drinks, hotdogs, pancakes and Russians.

They have been doing this for the past eight years.

Parish secretary Carol Smith commented on the unity of the parish and its diversity: “St Mary’s is a parish where every one of us partakes in activities. We all have a wonderful relationship; maybe it’s because—even though we come from different cultures, backgrounds, and different countries and have different languages—we are all one big family,” said Ms Smith.

The Southern Cross, July 20 to July 26, 2011

Fr Peter Hortop OP

D

ominican Father Peter “Nkululeko” Hortop died on May 22 at the age of 82.

Born in Kimberley in 1929, he grew up in Springs where his devout Catholic family prayed the daily rosary and attended daily Mass.

Peter and his brother Eric entered the Dominican Order. He was professed in 1952 and ordained to the priesthood on November 30, 1957.

A great sportsman

throughout his life, excelling especially in football, Fr Peter ran the Comrades marathon for the first time at the age of 50.

After serving as a priest in Hinckley in England for a few years he left the Dominican order, but returned in 1981 to serve the poor and oppressed.

Fr Peter was a fearless campaigner for justice and peace in the apartheid which resulted in him spending almost

nine months in prison.

As a Dominican he worked in Stellenbosch, Lesotho, KwaThema, Tokoza, Meadowlands and Payneville, and was then a popular prison chaplain for a number of years.

Fr Peter was generous and could never say no to anyone in need. He lived a simple life and was satisfied with very little.

His last years were spent praying for the brothers in his commu-

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 (R1,15 a word) with small advertisements for promptest publication.

IN MEMORIAM nity—his way of participating in their apostolates.

Emil Blaser OP

Sr Emmanuel Bosch OP

O

AKFORD Dominican Sister Emmanuel Bosch died on May 15 at Villa Assumpta in Pietermaritzburg.

Sr Emmanuel was born in, 1924 in Durban and made her first profession at the Oakford Dominican Congregation in 1948.

Sr Emmanuel was assigned to many convents in South Africa as well as in England and Rome.

Her longest stint was in Empangeni, from 1980 until she became too frail and moved to Villa Assumpta last December.

In her younger years, she taught religion

Family Reflections July 22 St Mary Magdalene. There are different stories about her but all we really know from the gospels is that she was a sinner who repented, asked Jesus for forgiveness and became one of his most faithful followers. As peace matures in us, especially in us older people, can the love of Jesus make us open to be peacemakers?

of reaching out to and helping the poor in the area around Empangeni has been collected in a little book titled Sr Emmanuel of KwaZuluNatal, South Africa.

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)

Liturgical Calendar Year A

Sunday, July 24, 17th Sunday 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12, Psalm 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-130, Romans 8:28-30, Matthew 13:44-52 or Matthew 13:44-46 Monday, July 25, St James, Apostle 2 Corinthians 4:7-15, Psalm 126:1-6, Matthew 20:20-28 Tuesday, July 26, Ss Joachim and Anne Sirach 44:1, 10-15, Psalm 132:11, 13-14, 17-18, Matthew 13:16-17 Wednesday, July 27, feria Exodus 34:29-35, Psalm 99:5-7, 9, Matthew 13:44-46 Thursday, July 28, St Victor Exodus 40:16-21, 34-38, Psalm 84:3-6, 8, 11, Matthew 13:47-53 Friday, July 29, St Martha Leviticus 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34-37, Psalm 81:3-6, 10-11, John 11:19-27 or Luke 10:38-42 Saturday, July 30, St Peter Chrysologus Leviticus 25:1, 8-17, Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 7-8, Matthew 14:1-12 Sunday, July 31, 18th Sunday Isaiah 55:1-3, Psalm 145:8-9, 15-18, Romans 8:35:37-39, Matthew 14:13-21

LINDSELL—Richard died July 21, 2004. our dearest son and brother will always be remembered in our prayers. Rest in peace.

John, Patricia and family.

PERSONAL

before getting involved in working for the poor in and around Empangeni.

For many years she worked for Lifeline as well as being involved in hospice work. She assisted many Aids orphans with funding which she received from many sources, both local and overseas. For many she was something of a “Mother Teresa of Empangeni”.

Sr Emmanuel was a great story-teller. Her life story and her many ways

BETHLEHEM: Shrine of Our Lady of Bethlehem at Tsheseng, Maluti mountains; Thursdays 09:30, Mass, then exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. 058 721 0532.

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Perpetual eucharistic Adoration in our chapel. All hours.

All welcome.

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DURBAN: St Anthony’s, Durban Central: Tuesday 09:00 Mass with novena to St Anthony.

First Friday 17:30 Mass—

11

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.

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Word of the Week

Southern CrossWord solutions

Patristics is the study of the writings of the Fathers of the Church Application: Scriptures, the formulations of the Councils, and the sacred writings that continue to form the textual tradition of the Church are all part of the study of Patristics.

SOLUTIONS TO #454. ACROSS: 2 Enchanted, 8 Unit, 9 Muscovite, 10 Precis, 11 Using, 14 Swami, 15 Arum, 16 Mauve, 18 Need, 20 Giver, 21 Run-up, 24 Beasts, 25 Crucified, 26 Idea, 27 Beatitude. DOWN: 1 Supposing, 2 Firewater, 4 Nous, 5 Hacks, 6 Novena, 7 Eats, 9 Minim, 11 Usurp, 12 Graveside, 13 Ambrosian, 17 Egged, 19 Dulcet, 22 Unfit, 23 True, 24 Bead.

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PRAYERS

HOLY St Jude, apostle and martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke you, special patron in time of need. To you i have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg you to come to my assistance. Help me now in my urgent need and grant my petitions. in return i promise to make your name known and publish this prayer. Amen. SRB. HOLY SPIRIT you who makes me see everything. you showed me the way to reach my ideal. you who give me the divine gift to forgive and forget all that is done to me and you are in all the instincts of my life with me. i want to thank you for everything and confirm once more that i never want to be separated from you no matter how great the desires may be. i want to be with you and my loved ones in your perpetual glory. This prayer should be said on 3 consecutive days, after the 3rd day, the request will be granted, no matter how difficult it may be. Promise to publish the entire dialogue with the condition of having your request granted. RM HOLY Spirit beloved of my soul, you who solves all problems, lights all roads so that i can obtain my goal. you who gave me the divine gift to forgive and forget all evil against me and that in all instances of my life, you are with me. i want this prayer to thank you for

all things as you confirm once and again that i never want to be separated from you ever in spite of all material illusion. i wish to be with you in eternity.

Thank you for your mercy towards me and mine.

Amen. VC (name request) then 3 our fathers, 3 Hail Mary’s, 3 glory be’s. Say this prayer for three consecutive days after which the prayer will be granted, even if it may be difficult.

QNM SAINT Theresa, the Little Flower of Jesus, please pick a rose from the heavenly garden and send it to me with a message of love. i beseech you to obtain for me the favours that i seek. (mention here your request)Recommended my request to Mary, Queen of heaven, so that she may intercede for me with you before her Son, Jesus Christ. if this favour is granted i will love you more and more and be better prepared to spend eternal happiness with you in heaven. Saint Theresa of the Little Flower pray for me. BS.

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ST GERARD’S HOLY TOURS PILGRIMAGE TO PORTUGAL, SPAIN & FRANCE - JULY 2012 Ten nights’ accommodation in 3-star centrallylocated hotels as follows: - Two nights Fatima (Portugal) - One night Burgos (Spain) - Three nights Lourdes (France) - One night Avignon One night Ars - Two nights Paris Booking via John Sheraton 0217055131 or 0832777999 email: john.sheraton@gmail.com

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18th Sunday: July 31 Readings: Isaiah 55:1-3; Psalm 145:8-9, 1518; Romans 8:35, 37-39; Matthew 14:1321

A

T the very heart of our existence is the unconditional generosity of God; we would not even be, had not God already created us, for no merit of ours. And therefore we are most like ourselves when we reflect in our lives that divine generosity.

That is the message that comes to us from next Sunday’s readings.

The first reading is a lovely and wellloved passage, addressed to all of us (“all you who are thirsty”), and offering that what we really want we shall certainly be given by this generous God “at no charge; at no price, wine and milk”. The challenge is to recognise what we are doing if we refuse God’s generosity, “why spend money on what is not bread...that does not satisfy?”

The secret, always, is God’s unfailing love for us, “I shall make with you a covenant for all time, the enduring loyalty promised to David”.

The psalmist knows this, of course: “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and great in love.” Then, in the phrase used in grace before meals all down the centuries, we hear (and must learn to accept): “The eyes of all are waiting upon you, and you give them their food at the right time.”

Only of God can we say: “The Lord is just in all his ways, and loving in all his deeds.”

But best of all, and this even though it may

•

•

Conrad

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Do not refuse God’s unfailing generosity Nicholas King SJ Sunday Reflections not feel like it, “the Lord is close to all who call upon him, to those who call on him with integrity”. Generosity on this scale unnerves us a bit, perhaps.

In the second reading we hear Paul in one of his most glorious purple passages, the climax of the four chapters in which he explains to the Romans why they can have confidence in what God has done for us.

“Who can separate us”, he clamours, “from the love of Christ?”

Then he offers a list of possible separating factors: “oppression, or being in a tight corner, or persecution or having nothing to eat or wear, or danger or guns?” Then he dismisses all of these as though they were nothing (as indeed, of course, they are, under the providence of God), “with all of these things we conquer—and more than conquer—through the one who loved us”.

Then he presents us with another list: “Death, life, angels, rules, things present, things to come, powers, height, depth, or

any other created thing.”

We can hardly follow this, but get the gist, as he triumphantly concludes that none of these “is going to be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”. Whatever precisely this means, we can certainly pick up the high levels of emotion in these lines that so powerfully celebrate God’s generosity.

In the gospel for next Sunday we see this generosity in action. It starts with an unsuccessful attempt on the part of Jesus and his disciples at getting a bit of privacy; but Jesus spoils it all, because “he saw a great crowd and was compassionate upon them, and healed their sick ones”. Then the disciples get into the act; but their generosity is only a pretence: “This place is deserted, and the hour has gone by. Get rid of the crowds, then they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.”

Like many such suggestions that you and I have made, it wears the clothes of generosity, this suggestion, but is nothing of the kind, as Jesus points out. “They have no need to go away—give them something to eat yourselves”.

They do a quick audit and come up with the response that: “We’ve only got five loaves and two fish,” breathing a sigh of relief, no doubt, that they don’t have to do

A tale of two people I HAVE two stories to tell you today. They come from a Southern Cross reader who is as good at lifting things off the Internet as I am.

The first story took place when Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. Capone wasn’t famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder. Capone had a lawyer nicknamed “Easy Eddie”.

Eddie was very good. In fact, Eddie’s skill kept Big Al out of jail for a long time.

To show his appreciation, Capone paid him well. Eddie got special dividends as well. He and his family occupied a fencedin mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago City block.

Eddie lived the high life of a Chicago mobster and gave little consideration to the atrocity that went on around him.

He did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly.

And, in spite of his involvement with organised crime, Eddie tried to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was. Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn’t give his son: he couldn’t pass on a good name or a good example.

One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. He wanted to rectify wrongs he had done.

He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al “Scarface” Capone, clean up his tarnished name and offer his son some semblance of integrity.

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anything too demanding. Jesus makes no comment on what is going on, except to insist on their generosity: “Bring them here to me.” (So there went their supper!).

We watch in astonishment as the crowds are made to sit down on the grass, while Jesus “took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to Heaven, and blessed the loaves and broke and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds” (so they had, after all, done what he had told them to do, and shared in the generosity of God). Nor does it stop there, for, instead of everyone getting half a crumb each, “they all ate and were satisfied, and they took up the surplus, twelve baskets of fragments!”

And, just in case you were thinking that there were only three and a half people there, we learn that in the generosity of God, “those who ate were about five thousand males, quite apart from the women and children”.

The point is, you see, that we simply have no idea what God’s generosity can achieve; but we shall certainly find that if we try to overcome our woefully ungenerous instincts, we actually are more fully ourselves than we should have thought possible. How do you think those disciples felt at the end of all that?

Southern Crossword #454

Chris Moerdyk

The Last Word To do this, he would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great. So he testified.

Within the year, Easy Eddie’s life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street. But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer at the greatest price he could ever pay. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion and a poem clipped from a magazine.

The poem read: “The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop, at late or early hour. Now is the only time you own. Live, love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time. For the clock may soon be still.”

The second story took place during World War II and is about heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O’Hare, (pictured above) a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific.

One day, his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realised that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank. As he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his

blood cold; a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American fleet.

The other American fighters were long gone and the fleet defenceless. He couldn’t reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet, nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet.

Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dived into the formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 calibres blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another.

Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent.

Undaunted, he continued the assault.

He dived at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible, rendering them unfit to fly.

Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction.

Deeply relieved, Butch O’Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier.

He reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch’s daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft. This took place on February 20, 1942, and for that action, Butch became the US Navy’s first Ace of WW II, and the first naval aviator to win the Medal of Honour.

A year later, Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His home town did not allow the memory of their hero to fade and today O’Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man.

Oh, and by the way, Butch O’Hare was Easy Eddie’s son.

The moral of these stories? You don’t get airports named after you if you go around calling yourself “Easy Eddie”.

As with most good stories, this one benefits from embellishment—but you get the general gist of it.

ACROSS 3. Charmed by the plainsong?

(9) 8. Individual thing (4) 9. Capitalist member of the Russian Church? (9) 10. Summary that is one short of precise (6) 11. Employing what’s amusing, with the morning hours gone (5) 14. Hindu holy man (5) 15. Kind of lily like a drink (4) 16. Pale purple liturgical colour (5) 18. Necessity (4) 20. God is said to love a cheerful one (5) 21. Rising period before a parish event (3-2) 24. He was with the wild ...

(Mk 1) (6) 25. Executed like Jesus (9) 26. Not quite perfect notion (4) 27. A blessing from Jesus' sermon (Mt 5) (9)

DOWN 1. Assuming with no proof (9) 2. Booze to cool the devil’s tongue? (9) 4. Heinously conceals practical intelligence (4) 5. Roughly cuts the tired journalists (5) 6. One over the eight for daily prayer (6) 7. Swallows the food (4) 9. Musical note going back and forth (5) 11. Take by force (5) 12. Serious position during the burial (9) 13. Old rite of the church of Milan (9) 17. Urged to go on by the hen?

(5) 19. Soothing sound of the organ (6) 22. Not suitable to be of poor health (5) 23. Accurate (4) 24. Tenth of a prayerful decade (4)

Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE hile driving in Pennsylvania, a family caught up to an Amish carriage. The owner W of the carriage obviously had a sense of

humour, because attached to the back of the carriage was a hand-printed sign: “Energy efficient vehicle: Runs on oats and grass. Caution: do not step in exhaust.”

Send us your favourite Catholic joke, preferably clean and brief, to The Southern Cross, Church Chuckle, Po Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000.