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no 4745
New missal materials now available STAFF RePoRTeR
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HE new altar missals have now been distributed to all dioceses in the region, the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) has said. “This means that all parishes will have two full months in which to familiarise themselves with the missal and to prepare for implementation” on November 27, the first Sunday of Advent, when the new translations of the collects, prefaces and Eucharistic prayers come into use. The third phase of the liturgical changes, with the new lectionary switching to the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, will be implemented in 2012 on Ash Wednesday, February 22. The corresponding Book of the Gospels will also be available at this time, the SACBC said. The SACBC said that “a special pre-publication price” has been set for the altar missals. They are now “significantly less expensive than those available through online or retail offerings”. An 80-page book containing the full Order of the Mass, but without the readings, is being distributed to dioceses this month. The recommended retail price of these is R15 each. At the same time, a 16-page booklet containing the updated congregational parts are also being distributed. The recommended
retail price of these is R2 per copy. A discount of 20% applies to orders from the SACBC’s Liturgy Office of 100 or more of both Order of the Mass book and the booklet. The Sunday and Daily Missals will be available before Lent 2012, the SACBC said, “which will enable its introduction at the same time as the new lectionary”. The SACBC did not have “a definite price” for the full missals, and the conference will not sell them. The missals will, however, be available from Catholic bookshops. The bishops’ conference also recommended the use of the interactive Becoming One Body, One Spirit in Christ DVD-Rom, which it described as “an excellent teaching resource”. The recommended retail price for the disc is R130. Meanwhile, Catholic media in Southern Africa have undertaken to publish articles on the liturgical changes. This week The Southern Cross begins a seven-part series of articles written by Chris Busschau, a member of the Liturgy Office’s implementation committee (see page 10). Also running over seven weeks will be a series of shorter articles in the Catholic Link, the parish newsletter published by the Redemptorist Mission Press. Radio Veritas has also begun to present one-hour programmes covering the changes.
Ten Commandments are Catholic president’s law By MWAnSA PinTu & STAFF RePoRTeR
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AMBIA’S first elected Catholic president told members of his parish he will base his rule on the Ten Commandments. President Michael Sata, 74, the founder and leader of the Patriotic Font who was elected on September 20 in a shock result, also commended the Catholic Church for the role it played in ensuring that the nation held peaceful elections. Mr Sata, nicknamed “King Cobra”, replaced Rupiah Banda, who took over leadership of the state after the sudden death of President Levy Patrick Mwanawasa in 2008 and who beat Mr Sata in the presidential election in October of that year. This year, Mr Banda conceded defeat, saying the people had spoken. His Movement for Multi-party Democracy had ruled Zambia since one-party rule ended in 1991. “Now is not the time for violence and retribution. Now is the time to unite and build tomorrow's Zambia together,” Mr Banda told a news conference. In the year leading up to the September election, Church leaders—including bishops—spoke out repeatedly against actions by Mr Banda’s government, which accused the Church of favouring opposition leaders. Mr Sata, a member of St Ignatius parish in central Lusaka, told his fellow parishioners that his government will embrace the fight against corruption because the Seventh Commandment states: “Thou shall not steal.” He said his government will prosecute anyone who steals, regardless of socio-economic status or party affiliation. The new president said he would ensure equal distribution of wealth among all Zambians, saying he would not want to see a situation where his children have three meals a
newly elected Zambian President Michael Sata holds a Bible as he is sworn in at the supreme court in Lusaka. He is Zambia’s first elected Catholic president. (Photo: Makson Wasamunu, Reuters/CnS) day while others had none. Mr Sata, who grew up in a Catholic family in Mpika diocese in northern Zambia, also emphasised the need for people across the country to love one another and embrace reconciliation. He commended Church officials for preaching about reconciliation and said his government would embrace Catholic ideas of discipline and serving the people. Earlier, Mr Sata and wife, Dr Christine Kaseba, who regularly attend the 06:00 Sunday Mass at St Ignatius, were blessed by the congregation. Parish priest Fr Charles Chilinda prayed that God would grant the president wisdom, knowledge and good judgment so he could effectively govern the people of Zambia. The priest said the president’s crusade against corruption would not be successful if people did not get rid of corrupt practices. “Corruption starts from within us,” the priest said. “You can cry about the lack of
The plane carrying Pope Benedict is seen over a crucifix as it arrives at erfurt airport in Germany. See page 9 for John Thavis’ round-up and analysis of the pope’s first official state visit to the country of his birth. (Photo: Frank Augstein via Reuters/CnS)
Pope: Germany trip was a ‘festival of faith’ By Cindy Wooden
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OPE Benedict has said he was happy to see that “the faith in my German homeland has a young face, is alive and has a future”. The pope told an estimated 10 000 pilgrims and visitors at his weekly general audience in St Peter’s Square that his trip was a true “festival of faith”, and his liturgies and Masses, meetings with public officials, other Christians and Jewish and Muslim representatives “helped us see once again how it’s God who gives the deepest meaning and true fullness to our lives; in fact, he alone gives us, gives everyone, a future”. Pope Benedict said it was “particularly moving” to meet briefly in Erfurt with the 98-year-old Mgr Hermann Scheipers, “the last surviving priest from the Dachau concentration camp”. The Nazi camp had a special section for imprisoned priests and ministers who had spoken out against the Nazis. Mgr Scheipers was arrested for ministering to forced labourers from Poland. More than 2 500 Catholic priests were imprisoned in Dachau, and more than 1 000 of them died there. The pope also spoke briefly about his meeting in Erfurt with five victims of clerical sexual abuse. He said: “I wanted to assure them of my sadness and my close-
medicines in hospitals, but if you steal medicines in hospitals, can the patients...access these medicines?” he asked. The president of the Zambian bishops’ conference, Bishop Ignatius Chama of Mpika, urged Mr Sata to embrace all Zambians, regardless of their political affiliation, just as Jesus and the Catholic Church did. The bishop said Zambian Catholics would pray for the president to lead people with humility, fairness and commitment.
ness to them in their suffering.” Pope Benedict said he was honoured to be the first pope to address the German parliament and he wanted to lead the legislators and all citizens in a reflection about the relationship between faith and freedom, and about the importance of moral values having an impact on the way people live together in society. The 84-year-old pope said that since he was a young man, “I had heard people talk about the region of Eichsfeld—a strip of land that always has remained Catholic despite various historical events—and about its inhabitants who courageously opposed the dictatorships of Nazism and communism.” Visiting the Marian shrine at Etzelsbach and celebrating vespers, the pope joined generations of people who “entrusted to Mary their requests, concerns and sufferings, receiving comfort, grace and blessings”. The trip, he said, “offered me the occasion to meet the faithful of my German homeland and to confirm them in faith, hope and love, and share with them the joy of being Catholic. But my message was addressed to the entire German people to invite them to look with hope toward the future.” n See page 9 for round-up and analysis.
Mr Sata, who in 2008 recovered from a heart attack in a Johannesburg hospital, has in the past defended Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe. In this year’s election, he campaigned on an anti-Chinese investment ticket. “Foreign investment is important to Zambia and we will continue to work with foreign investors who are welcome in the country, but they need to adhere to the labour laws,” Mr Sata said after being sworn in.