The Southern Cross - 111123 by The Southern Cross

November 23 to November 29, 2011

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Going to church can ward off depression

The Church in the world’s biggest Aids nation

Page 5

Pages 7-10

No 4751

In crisis, there’s family love Page 11

Bishops: All have job to do in fixing climate crisis BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

T The 2012 debutantes of Holy Rosary School in Edenvale, Johannesburg, spent many hours assisting the Santa Shoebox Project 2011, packing and wrapping presents for many special children throughout Gauteng. This has become an annual tradition for “the Debs” at the school and, according to the school, the project grows every year.

Ghana oil find may be bad news

HANA’S bishops have urged their country’s government to make judicious use of its new revenue from oil and gas. Last year’s oil discovery off the coast of Ghana’s Western region “is raising the political temperature” in the country, the Ghana Bishops’ Conference said in a statement. The “early signs” of the government’s reaction to its new status as an oil-producing nation “give cause for apprehension”, said the statement, signed by the conference president, Bishop Joseph Osei-Bonsu of Konongo-Mampong. “The debates in parliament on the question of whether a fixed percentage of these resources should be reserved for the development of the Western region and government tussles” with international oil companies “suggest that we are in danger of repeating the mistakes associated in oil production elsewhere in Africa, with ominous consequences,” the bishops said. “The oil find should ordinarily be good

news,” they said, noting that “countries like Norway have shown how, with good governance, the additional resources which are made available can be harnessed to create a nation at peace with itself.” Ghana’s government must “factor the real concerns of the people into the contracts with the oil companies and the management of the oil revenues for the benefit of all,” the bishops said. To ensure accountability, the government needs to publish regularly all information regarding contracts, exploration and planned production activities as well as annual audited accounts of its fiscal activities, they said. “The Western region, where the oil and gas have been found, should be given the attention it deserves in terms of development and infrastructure,” the bishops said, noting the “deplorable state of most of the roads” in the region. The bishops called on the government to develop a strategic national vision shared and owned by all Ghanaians.—CNS

Pope to light Christmas tree with an iPad BY KRISTIN GOBBERG

ITH a tap on an iPad, Pope Benedict will light the world’s largest electronic Christmas tree in the Italian town of Gubbio without having to leave his home in Vatican City. The city and diocese of Gubbio announced at a news conference that the pope would light the tree via a video link set up by the Vatican Television Centre. The tree-lighting ceremony will take place on the evening of December 7, the eve of the Immaculate Conception. From his apartment in Vatican City, the pope will turn on the tree using an application on the iPad 2. Before lighting the tree, the pope will send a video message to the citizens of Gubbio thanking the volunteers on the committee who organised the event and who have been responsible for setting up the tree for decades. The electronic tree extends more than

HE local Church has joined forces with eco-activists and other faiths to call for swift and positive action on climate change as the world’s leaders converge on Durban for the COP17 climate conference in November and December to discuss the global weather phenomenon. In a pastoral letter issued for the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) ahead of COP17, Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg, said the world and all of creation was now threatened by climate change. “While climate change is a process that occurs naturally, there is now general agreement that human activities are causing it to happen much faster than it naturally would,” said Archbishop Tlhagale, president of the SACBC. Activities including the excessive burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, petrol and gas; intensive livestock farming and deforestation have contributed to climate change— the effects of which “we are already feeling”, Archbishop Tlhgale said. “This global climate crisis poses a great spiritual challenge to all Christians, people of all faiths and all people of goodwill, as it is the consequence of the destruction of God’s creation in which we have all participated in one way or another. It calls for a change of mindset, and a change of lifestyle to reduce our dependence on fossil-fuel energy like coal and oil.” The SACBC has called on all parishes, communities and organisations at local, regional and national levels, as well as individual Catholics, to be proactive through reducing greenhouse gases by growing trees to absorb carbon. In addition, the bishops said individuals should “grow vegetables and crops organically to reduce the use of chemical-based fertilizers; and share the food thus grown with the hungry and malnourished in your midst”. Archbishop Tlhagale said as this global climate change crisis continues to grow, individuals should link their efforts to “those of national governments and the United Nations to achieve the goal of lessening the carbon footprint (which is our contribution to carbon emissions) on the planet for our sake, for the sake of future generations and that of all living beings”.

The electronic Christmas tree which the pope will light with a tap on his iPad. 610m upon the face of Mount Igino near Gubbio, and uses more than 8 700m of electrical cable. Built in 1981, it was recognised in 1991 by the Guinness World Records as the world’s largest Christmas tree and stays lit until the feast of the Epiphany on January 6.—CNS

eanwhile, an interfaith movement, We Have Faith, is acting for climate justice, in time for COP17. The campaign, led by African faith leaders including Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban, calls on the world’s governments to take a committed moral stand and “reach an agreement to curb climate change in order to secure life it all its fullness for future generations”. The campaign will culminate in a rally on November 27 where a petition will be handed over to the leaders attending the COP17 talks. The event will also be attended by cyclists from the SACBC’s Justice and Peace Department who have cycled from Johannesburg as part of the Catholic organised Ride for Climate Justice as well as members

of a youth caravan travelling from Nairobi to Durban. Justice and Peace’s advocacy officer Shaka Dzebu said the department has “environmental justice as one of its priorities. Therefore we find it necessary to respond and organise action around COP17”. Publicist Jo-Anne Smetherham of We Have Faith said climate change was the greatest threat humanity has ever faced. “Climate change is already causing unpredictable, extreme weather like severe storms, heat waves, droughts, floods, tornadoes and heavy snow. Africans, who have done the least to cause climate change, will be the most devastated,” she said. The local climate activists will hand over a petition, which can be signed at www.wehavefaithactnow.org, to the world leaders at COP17. The petition calls for a fair, ambitious and legally binding agreement to be signed by all countries. Bishops from the SACBC have already shown their support by signing the petition. Ms Smetherham said the petition further calls for clear short- and long-term targets for carbon emission reductions and to ensure “there is adequate finance for adaption in Africa. Such finance should come from historically polluting nations in recognition of their ecological debt and be additional to existing development aid, governed exclusively and equitably under the United Nations.” With South Africa as the world’s 13th highest global emitter of carbon dioxide, the petition calls for a demonstration of political will to pledge much higher targets of renewable energy production, by phasing out coal and nuclear production, and by developing the job creation potential of renewable energy. Mr Dzebu said the Justice and Peace Department was “very happy we’re going to be showing that everybody can take a stand, and make a difference”. The cyclists have travelled mostly through rural areas where many people feel they’re victims of climate change. Ms Smetherham said there was a profound need for a renewed vision on climate change, one based on the moral principle of justice and equity, “to ensure the future of humanity and of all life on our planet”. She added that protecting the planet is demanded of us by all faiths. “Only when all human beings hold each other’s lives and the lives of other beings to be deeply sacred, will our common destiny be secure.”

LOCAL

The Southern Cross, November 23 to November 29, 2011

Book charts South Africa’s Lebanese history BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

The diocese of Oudtshoorn pilgrims to World Youth Day 2011 handed over the diocesanYouth Cross to young people of St Liborius parish in Parkdene, George.

World Youth Day Cross travelling within diocese BY LEVEINIA BOTHA

ORLD Youth Day (WYD) 2011 pilgrims from Oudtshoorn diocese handed over the diocesan Youth Cross to the young people of St Liborius parish in Parkdene, George. The ceremony included a short street procession with recommended prayers and hymns. The Youth Cross is based on the World Youth Day Cross that was given to the young people by Pope John Paul II. Since WYD in Madrid in August, it has been at the parishes of St Mary’s in Rosemoore and St

Vincent Pallotti in Pacaltsdorp. The cross will travel from parish to parish within the Oudtshoorn diocese until the next WYD in 2013, said diocesan youth chaplain Fr Dennis Ongansie. “Young people are encouraged to have prayer sessions/activities around the cross for the duration of its stay in their respective parishes, and to embrace the challenges of their own ‘crosses’ with the help of their Heavenly Father,” Fr Ongansie said. “Pilgrims will use this cross to keep the spirit of WYD alive and inspire other young people to a life centred in Christ,” he said.

OUTH Africa’s Lebanese community is being commemorated in a new book, People of the Cedars, by Ken Hanna, a third generation South African born Lebanese Catholic. The book was conceived 40 years ago when Mr Hanna was editor of a news publication serving the Lebanese South African Community called the Cedar Leaf. The stories written and collected during that time would make a wonderful book about “our colourful community,” Mr Hanna said. Together with Lebanese Maronite Missionary Father Charbel Habchi, who edited and illustrated the book, People of the Cedars is now in publication. All

proceeds will finance charitable works, schooling and missionary works. “Those who read the book will find the story of a people with strong roots in the past, their struggles, successes and failures, their sense of community, family and belonging and their strong Christian Catholic faith,” said Mr Hanna, adding that the book is of interest to all South Africans. “Many South Africans have married into the Lebanese South African community. Many have close ties with the community and its people, through business, sport and friendships,” he said. People of the Cedars includes stories of priests, nuns and educators who have served both the local Catholic community and the

greater South African community. In South Africa, of the estimated 50 000 Lebanese immigrants, an approximate 90% are Catholic. “[The book is about] the successes of the Lebanese in every field of endeavour in the South African context. It is about their failures and fallibility. It is about people, our fight against apartheid in the courts of law, the Anglo boer war and the illegal liquor trade. It is family, faith, finance and fellowship—the four great pillars of any good community,” said Mr Hanna who dedicated the book to “my mother and Our Mother”. n Available from December 1 at R300. Contact Our Lady of the Cedars of Lebanon on 011 804 1305 or e-mail maronite@netactive.co.za for more information.

Let Hope&Joy SMS inspire you STAFF REPORTER

HE Hope&Joy network has launched a two-week series of SMS messages to inspire Catholics as world leaders meet for the Cop17 conference on climate change in Durban. The daily SMS messages are intended “to link our Catholic faith to care for the planet”, said Raymond Perrier, national convenor of Hope&Joy.

“The two weeks of daily SMS draw from Scripture, Church documents and from recent popes to encourage us to be co-creators with God and to be responsible in our use of the earth,” he said. One message quotes Vatican II’s dogmatic constitution Gaudium et Spes: “God intended the earth with everything contained in it for the use of all human beings and peoples.” Another quotes Bl John Paul II:

“Almighty God envisioned a world of beauty and harmony, and created it, making every part an expression of God’s freedom, wisdom and love.” During December the SMS service “will link the themes of Advent and Christmas to Vatican II”, Mr Perrier said. To subscribe, at a cost of R3,50 per week, SMS the word JOY to 31222 and on receiving a return SMS reply with the word YES.

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LOCAL

The Southern Cross, November 23 to November 29, 2011

Jesuit Institute call for spiritual direction papers BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

T Domitilla Rota Hyams, the late founder of Little Eden, was honoured posthumously for her outstanding achievements in the development and upliftment of the quality of life of persons with intellectual disability.

Late Little Eden founder honoured STAFF REPORTER

HE late founder of Little Eden, Domitilla Rota Hyams, has been given a posthumous award by the Hamlet Foundation. The honour was awarded in recognition of her outstanding achievements in the development and upliftment of the quality of life of persons with intellectual disability. The Hamlet Foundation was founded in 1954 to provide care and advocacy for intellectually disabled children. The Johannesburg-based Little Eden provides care and support to children with intellectual disabilities and was founded by Mrs Rota Hyams in 1967. Today the home cares for 300 children and adults. Apart from offering relief to mothers of disabled children, the purpose of the centre was also to dispel the negativity around sufferers of intellectual disabilities in the community. According to Hanneli Esterhuysen, the home’s publicist, Mrs Rota Hyams believed this was her duty in the divine plan. Danny Hyams, husband to Domitilla for more than 63 years,

received the award alongside their two daughters, Mary Hyams and Elizabeth Toldo. Mrs Rota Hyams died on January 18 at the age of 92. Mr Hyams said his late wife was one of those “rare individuals who led a truly purpose-driven life and as a result also created purpose and hope for countless others—not only for persons with intellectual disability, but also for their families. She always regarded herself only as an instrument in God’s hands”. He added it was a great honour to accept the award on her behalf. The award is one of many Mrs Rota Hyams received during her lifetime. According to Ms Esterhuysen, Mrs Rota Hyams had also been the recipient of awards from Rotary International, the papal Bene Merenti medal as well as various awards from her native Italy. Ms Esterhuysen said work continues at Little Eden. “Domitilla’s legacy will live on with the continued support of the society’s friends and benefactors,” she said. n For more information visit www.littleeden.org.za or call 011 609 7246

HE Jesuit Institute South Africa has made a call for papers for a potential presentation at the inaugural conference on “Spiritual Direction in the African Context” in 2012. The institute’s Puleng Matsaneng said the conference, to be held from June 24-27 in Johannesburg, will be hosted in collaboration with St Augustine’s college. The conference is intended for those engaged in the ministry of Christian spiritual direction as well as for academics with an interest in the subject. Its aim is to provide a forum to explore issues related to carrying out spiritual direction in an African context. “The conference is aimed at both academics and practitioners

interested in spiritual direction. The opening evening and first two days will focus on papers and discussion. In addition, the final day will be experiential and particularly useful for formators and active spiritual directors,” Ms Matsaneng said. “The first two and a half days of the conference will offer papers on different aspects of spiritual direction; the third day will be more experiential and geared to practitioners, focusing on implications for the practice of spiritual direction.” Speakers already confirmed include Professor Raymond Mosha, an expert on African Traditional Religions; Liz Budd Ellman of Spiritual Directors International; Puleng Matsaneng and Dr Annemarie Paulin-Campbell, both

of the Jesuit Institute-South Africa; and Dr Festo Mkenda SJ who translated “The Spiritual Exercises” into Kiswahili. The institute has called for papers on topics such as cross-cultural issues in spiritual direction in Africa, spiritual direction and religious formation in the African context, the training of spiritual directors in the African context, and the role of ancestors in spiritual direction in the African context. “We hope that people from different parts of Africa will participate and add a richness to the sharing of experience,” Ms Matsaneng said. n Parties wanting to present papers are requested to submit a one page abstract by January 10, 2012 to Ms Matsaneng at p.matsaneng@jesuit institute.org.za

Empangeni Rotarian Mike Bunting hands over the keys of the microbus, also funded by Rotary Mainz and International Rotary, to Sizanani senior social worker Sr Hedwig Maphumulo, programme director Sr Ellen Lindner and social worker Nkosazana Dlamini. See page 9 for more on Sizanani Outreach Programme. (Photo: Sidney Duval)

The Southern Cross, November 23 to November 29, 2011

INTERNATIONAL

Rape in Congo ‘destroys women and society’ BY BARB FRAzE

HE high incidence of rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo is not just destroying women, but is destroying the nation’s society, said the generalsecretary of the Church’s national Justice and Peace Commission. In Africa, the woman is “the central and most important guardian of values in society,” said Sr Marie-Bernard Alima. Rape in the DRC is “not just rape”, Sr Alima said in an interview on a visit to Washington. “It is rape to destroy a person’s dignity” and to “degrade women and to degrade society”. “The trauma that they are subjected to cripples them in all their activities,” she said. The United Nations has called the DRC the centre of rape as a weapon of war, and the June issue of the American Journal of Public Health estimated Congolese women are raped at the rate of

nearly one each minute. That same study showed that nearly a quarter of those surveyed had been raped by their spouses or partners. Sr Alima said the rapes started when the war began in 1998, but they continue today, although the war has ended, because smaller, local militias saw that the tactics by soldiers worked. The approach to stopping the rapes “has to be comprehensive”, because they are tied to a web of issues involving power and control. Studies by her commission indicate that, to stop rapes, society must stop the illegal extraction of minerals, especially in the eastern part of the country; resolve the issues of illegal arms; and reintegrate young men into society. Sr Alima said that, when a woman is raped, she is “rejected by her husband and her community”. “A woman’s intimacy is so central to her identity” that, when she is raped, “she loses confidence in herself because she feels she no

longer exists as a woman”. The Justice and Peace commission is working on “psycho-social accompaniment—accompanying them to help re-establish their selfdignity,” Sr Alima said. Women are treated as individuals and receive trauma counseling, but also are helped to reintegrate into their communities. Family-based pastoral care programmes help reunite wives with their husbands. Other programme components teach literacy and women’s empowerment, and one initiative helps bring together victims and the men who raped them. Women who have been raped actually lead men through the process, she added. The goal is to “re-establish this sense of respect for women.” Sr Alima said that, in one sixmonth time period, a woman who had been raped learned to read and write and was elected head of her village—including by men who had raped her.—CNS

Comboni missionaries

St Peter’s basilica is reflected in a horn prior to Pope Benedict’s general audience in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican. (Photo: Paul Haring, CNS)

Holy Land peace needs courage BY CINDY WOODEN

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We are committed as Priests or Brothers to EVANGELISATION and DEVELOPMENT in Africa, Europe, America and Asia

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Fransiscan Sisters Servants of the Holy Childhood of Jesus

IALOGUE is essential for religious leaders in the Holy Land, “a place full of memories sacred to our traditions”, but a place that each day faces challenges to living together in harmony, Pope Benedict told religious leaders from Israel. The “movement towards reconciliation requires courage and vision, as well as the trust that it is God himself, who will show us the way,” the pope said as he welcomed members of the Israel Council of Religious Communities and several Israeli government representatives. The pope had met with council members when he visited Nazareth in 2009 and he invited them to the Vatican. The council was established in 2007 and brings together leaders of 18 different religious communities, including Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Druze, Samaritan and Bedouin leaders. The Christians on the council represent the Greek, Armenian, Coptic and Ethiopian Orthodox communities, the Anglicans

and the Latin-rite, Armenian, Maronite and Melkite Catholic communities, as well as the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land. Israeli Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yonah Metzger told the pope the group intends “to prove, once and for all, that we can live in peace; we do so in mutual respect and appreciation”. Archbishop Fouad Twal, Latin Catholic patriarch of Jerusalem, told the pope: “We do not want this meeting to be merely a show. We earnestly renew our commitment to continuously promote justice, peace [and] respect for the dignity of every human being.” He said the religious leaders are “acutely aware” of the limitations of their ability to influence the international and regional diplomatic activity trying for decades to bring peace to the Middle East. However, he said, “as a religious council, we are aware of the power of faith and prayer and our responsibility to do more for reconciliation among our local communities”. Sheik Mouafak Tarif, head of Israel’s Druze community, told the pope that promoting broth-

erhood and rejecting violence and other attacks on human dignity are objectives held in common by the region’s religions. And, he said, the trip to Rome gave the religious leaders the time and space they needed to discover more about their commonalities and to build their friendships. Sheik Mohamad Kiwan, head of the 340 Muslim imams serving mosques in Israel, asked the pope to help promote peace in the land so many religions consider sacred, a land “where at the same time, the shofar is blown, the church bells ring and the voice of the muezzin calls to prayer.” In his speech to the group, Pope Benedict said, “In our troubled times, dialogue between different religions is becoming ever more important” for generating “an atmosphere of mutual understanding and respect that can lead to friendship and solid trust in each other.” “Justice, together with truth, love and freedom, is a fundamental requirement for lasting and secure peace in the world,” he said.—CNS

Protesting nun killed

A Are you called to join us to love God, in praising Him in Prayer annd serving Him, as we care for people in need, especially children?

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53-YEAR-OLD nun who led campaigns to defend tribal rights was shot dead in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand. Sr Valsa John, who belonged to the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary, was killed early on November 15 near her home near the city of Dumka, reported the Asian Church news agency UCA News. Sr Lilly Mary, the order’s provincial, said Sr Valsa John was working with people belonging to the Santhal tribe and was living alone. She had been protesting against mining companies that were exploiting the tribal people of the region and had been arrested in 2007 for a protest, Sr Lilly Mary said. That case had been settled.

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, November 23 to November 29, 2011

Austrian bishops reject call for laypeople to celebrate Mass

USTRIA’S Catholic bishops have rejected a call by dissident Church members for laypeople to begin celebrating Mass in parishes with no priests. The bishops said that some demands connected to “this call for disobedience at the initiative of priests and laity are simply unsustainable” and breach “the central truth of our Catholic faith”. “As bishops, we are all naturally concerned about our Church’s real and serious problems—Austrian dioceses are facing up to the

situation and taking opportunities to innovate,” said a statement. This month the Austrian branch of the We Are Church movement said laypeople should start making up for clergy shortages by consecrating and distributing Holy Communion, as well as preaching and presiding at Mass. The bishops said they had discussed “heavy demands for change” at their plenary meeting, but “the summons to disobedience has not only left many Catholics shaking their heads, but also triggered alarm and sadness”. “Disobedience is a word of

struggle which nothing can hold back,” the bishops said. “Whoever openly and willingly takes over the duty of celebrating the sacred liturgy in the Church harms the community and himself and shows a reckless attitude.” We Are Church was formed in 1995 following the resignation of Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer of Vienna amid sexual abuse allegations. Hans Peter Hurka, the group’s Austrian chairman, said that the bishops “don’t seem to realise the train has already left and they’re still standing on the platform”.

Study shows: Going to church weekly wards off depression

“The situation is now beyond Church control and the dangers of a schism are very real,” he said. In their statement, the bishops said the duty of obedience had its source “in the Bible and living tradition of the Church” and did not mean “being blind or slavish”. They said debates were under way in each diocese and they were confident they would “find answers to the questions asked today”. “We are not ignoring uncomfortable tensions when we stress that our main concern, today and tomorrow, is to increase the number of baptised, earnestly seeking

God and faith in Jesus Christ by deepening knowledge of the faith and living by the sacraments,” the bishops said. In July, the bishops’ conference president, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna, condemned a “Call to Disobedience,” signed by 250 of Austria’s 4 200 Catholic priests. The document urged Catholics to begin a campaign in support of women priests and “priestless eucharistic liturgies”, as well as for Holy Communion to be given to non-Catholics and remarried divorcees.—CNS

FRANCISCAN NARDINI SISTERS

BY NANCY FRAzIER O’BRIEN

AST studies have shown that those who attend religious services at least weekly tend to live longer and healthier lives. Now, new research in the United States indicates that frequent churchgoers also face those additional years with more optimism and greater social support than other people. A study involving more than 92 000 postmenopausal women showed that those who reported weekly attendance at religious services were 56% more likely to be above the median in terms of their optimism level. They also were significantly less likely to be depressed or to be characterised by cynical hostility. Titled “Psychological and Social Characteristics Associated with Religiosity in Women’s Health Initiative Participants”, the study was published in the Journal of Religion and Health. The research was conducted by a team led by Eliezer Schnall, clinical associate professor of psychology at Yeshiva University in New York. In an interview, Dr Schnall said the study was a natural follow-up to his earlier research showing that those who attended weekly religious services had a lower mortality rate over the eight-year period studied than those who attended less frequently or not at all. The new study was “one of the first to look at whether there were negative factors or

Blessed Paul Joseph Nardini social strains associated with frequent church attendance”, particularly among such a large sample group, Dr Schnall said. He compared such factors to the negative side effects that can sometimes accompany the use of beneficial medications. The research team postulated that “maybe there could be some social strains having to do with religious identification or networks or associations”, he said. “For example, it could be a support system but discourage associating with others not of the belief system, or be a source of strife in marriages or fodder for disagreement” with other relatives or friends, he explained.

But instead the researchers found that women who attended religious services, regardless of frequency, “were significantly more likely to report higher than median level of overall social support”, the study said. Those who attended weekly or more frequently were 54% more likely to be high in social support. “We looked at the religious practices of nearly 100 000 women and—like it or not— found a strong connection between going to church or synagogue or any other house of worship and a positive outlook on life,” he said in a news release about the study.—CNS

Pope to visit Cuba, gang war zone BY CINDY WOODEN & DAVID AGREN

ATICAN officials are at an advanced stage in studying the possibility of a papal trip to Mexico and Cuba in early 2012, Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi SJ has said. The Mexican government and the country’s Catholics have repeatedly said they’d like Pope Benedict to visit. “Cuba is another country that really wants to see the pope,” Fr Lombardi said, and a papal visit

could offer great encouragement to the people and the country “in an important period of their history”. Fr Lombardi said the timing would be related to the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the image of Our Lady of Charity of Cobre, the patroness of Cuba. He excluded other countries being added to the trip and said that because of the altitude of Mexico City, it is unlikely the pope would visit the Mexican capital. “The will of the Holy Father is

clear ... to visit our country in the coming months,” said Archbishop Rogelio Cabrera López of Tuxtla Gutiérrez. Mexico’s bishops, he said, expect the pope to visit much of the country. This would include regions suffering violence from organised crime. A visit by Pope Benedict next year would come as Mexico and the Vatican mark the 20th anniversary of the two states establishing diplomatic relations, which ended nearly 150 years of strained relations.—CNS

Theme for December 4: Christmas Pt 1

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LEADER PAGE

The Southern Cross, November 23 to November 29, 2011

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Editor: Günther Simmermacher

Battle the stigma

MID all the political and economic turbulence of the last few years in South Africa, the crisis of HIV/Aids seems to have taken a back seat. World Aids Day, which is observed on December 1, is a good time for South Africans to return their focus on to the single biggest crisis the country is facing. Simply put, we cannot allow ourselves to succumb to compassion fatigue nor to resignation in the face of what seems to be an insurmountable problem. In the absence of a magic bullet—a vaccination or a cure— our society must learn to live with Aids and adapt to it, just as those afflicted and affected by it must. The Catholic Church in Southern Africa has done so for many years. Catholics are engaged in the HIV/Aids mission in areas where even the state is absent. The Church set up clinics to administer antiretroviral therapy at a time when the government was still deciding whether or not HIV causes Aids. The Church pioneered a home-based care system in the field of HIV/Aids, and the Church is working hard to diminish the stigma associated with HIV/Aids. Some 25% of all Aids care in the country is performed by Catholic agencies. In short, the Catholic Church in Southern Africa, driven by the principle of solidarity with the suffering and the compassion of our Lord, has responded with energy, expertise and love through agencies on all levels, from the bishops’ conference to diocesean and parish initiatives. In the fight against HIV/Aids, the Church has led the way. This week we read about a couple of such organisations and individuals engaged in addressing the health and social implication of the pandemic. They are just some examples of many. Alas, their mission, performed in often difficult circumstances, rarely receives public recognition and they must battle with diminishing funding. Matters are complicated when the state makes financial support dependent on the distribution of condoms, a complex matter on which the universal Church has yet to arrive at a

clear teaching. The phased withdrawal of funding from the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) will demand greater initiative by South African Catholics, even if negotiations for some continued support succeed (as we must pray they will). A crucial element in the battle against HIV/Aids concerns the stigmatisation of those who are infected by it. We must be alarmed at the observation by Sr Alison Muonro OP, who heads the bishops’ Aids Desk: “There are well documented case studies of people living with HIV, even educated people, who would rather die than present themselves for treatment.” Many will not even let themselves be tested, because they fear social and professional exclusion should they be revealed to be HIV-positive. This is a particular concern for women who often are blamed for bringing the disease into the family—not their philandering husbands—and are then ostracised. The fears of stigma have a basis, even today. A programme of destigmatisation therefore is not only a health issue but also a social priority. It must be emphasised that HIV/Aids is not invariably a consequence of immoral conduct. Sexual activity is not always a matter of choice, certainly not in South Africa where many women have little sexual autonomy. And even when apparent licentious conduct does lead to infection, the Christian instinct must be not to judge and ostracise, but to offer compassion and care. “Stigma remains the single most important barrier to public action. It is a main reason why too many people are afraid to see a doctor to determine whether they have the disease, or to seek treatment if so,” UN secretary-general Ban Ki Moon wrote in 2008. “Stigma is a chief reason why the Aids epidemic continues to devastate societies around the world.” And it is in the area of fighting that stigma where the Church, as a body that offers guidance on morals and ethics, must make its voice heard loudly.

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

Bishops, let’s drop the pomp N September Pope Benedict tic ornament”, and while we Itheaddressed the clergy and laity of acknowledge that it has great symChurch in Germany and a spe- bolism, it is repugnant that it cial one-liner emerged: “It is time once again for the Church resolutely to set aside her worldliness”. Would that this could happen, and that our pope were to start the process perhaps by donning the simple garb of the Benedictine monks and carry a wooden staff/crook/crosier. A Catholic encyclopaedia describes this staff as an “ecclesias-

should be the costly ornament that invariably we see. Isn’t it beyond high-time that our hierarchy present to the vast impoverished population of our world some semblance of the Christ whose Church we claim it to be? The Church That Forgot Christ, the title of a book by J Breslin, must seem very apposite to much of the population of the world when they

Great series

ina Estévez, head of the Congregation for Divine Worship (CDW), ruled in 1999 that the Dynamic Equivalence method was no longer acceptable for translating liturgical texts. However this ruling did not have an immediate effect on the work of the ICEL. The next stage in the process was in fact the appearance in 2000 of the new Latin Missal which was described as so different from the original that ICEL would be required to start from scratch with its translations. As it turned out, only minor changes were needed, which the ICEL could easily have made. Then came the CDW ruling of 2001, ratifying Cardinal Estévez’s ruling of 1999, that future translators were to apply Formal Equivalence, carefully ensuring that every Latin word was reproduced in the vernacular. It was therefore no great surprise, though a crushing blow, when the CDW in 2002 formally rejected the 1998 English sacramentary, four years after those eleven English bishops’ conferences had jointly approved their translation (involving ten years of hard work) and submitted it to Rome. The CDW then appointed an entirely new ICEL for its purpose. It seems that we now have no alternative but to accept the new, very Latinate translation of the Roman Missal with its translation errors and frequent use of archaic or imprecise English, as noted by several commentators. Let us not be deluded, however, that it is the fruit of the intensive labours of the original ICEL. JA Kearney, Gillitts, KZN

HRIS Busschau’s series on the new translations of the liturgy. has been a lucid academic analysis of the reasons for the changes and are written in an appropriate dispassionate manner. They should be compulsory reading for all English-speaking Catholics. Congratulations to Mr Busschau, and to the editor for commissioning these articles. Paddy Ross, Cape Town

ICEL delusion

N his third article on the new English translation of the Roman Missal (October 19), Chris Busschau explains the difference between Dynamic Equivalence and Formal Equivalence in the field of translation. In Dynamic Equivalence the translator’s choice is to keep close to contemporary usage, whereas in Formal Equivalence the translation should be as literal as possible. Having pointed out that the post-Vatican II 1969 Roman Missal English translation was based on the principle of Dynamic Equivalence, Mr Busschau then refers to the “decision for ICEL (International Commission for English in the Liturgy) to move back to direct translation (also known as Formal Equivalence)”. He does not actually say that the decision was made by the ICEL, only for it, which leaves one feeling rather uncertain about just how the decision was made. The truth of the matter is that the decision was taken entirely out of the hands of ICEL which is made up of the representatives of 11 episcopal conferences in the English-speaking world, and which was given the jurisdiction after Vatican II to provide a suitable translation of the Roman Missal. The origin of this loss of jurisdiction is that Cardinal Jorge Med-

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

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Life and mercy

OTH your editorial “Responding to abortion” (November 9) and in the same edition the article on Archbishop Joseph Naumann’s response to those who have had an abortion, are appreciated. We are pleased that The Southern Cross, at least, has commented on the 15 years in South Africa where the unborn have been legally exterminated. In spite of the research done internationally showing the gravity of the after-effects for the mothers who have abortion, in South Africa we have still not responded to this pain. As you point out in your editorial, the mercy of Christ is the key to the healing of these mothers (and of course for all those who have in any way participated in the process of performing abortions). We as Catholics need to reach out with the mercy of Christ where we can to those in our communities for their healing and their return to the loving arms of Christ and his Church. Michelle Joseph, Culture of Life, Johannesburg

Like a Mass mart

HANK you for publishing a very interesting newspaper. Conrad’s cartoon in the November 2 issue with Pope Benedict’s call for quiet is so true and also very sad. We went to Cape Town recently to visit parents. We enjoyed our stay very much, but we cannot say the same about attending Mass at the local church a few Sundays and during the week. We were disturbed by parishioners loudly discussing their daily news while others tried to pray or meditate. Leaving after Mass was like being in a supermarket. We are glad to be home in our own parish, and hope the pope’s words can have an influence. Dave Muray, Durban

Is God calling you to the Religious Life in the Franciscan Family?

KRUGER PARK Viva Safaris is engaged with 4 projects aimed at the upliftment of the Acornhoek community, including the COMBONI MISSIONARIES’ OUTSTATION

see on TV and elsewhere the Constantinian monarchical pomp and splendour that typifies our hierarchy; would the Jesus Christ of Nazareth recognise such personages for other than the hypocritical high priests of his time on earth? Isn’t the time right, as our Roman pontiff recommends, for the Church to “set aside her worldliness”, be seen to “go poor”, and to dispose of these disastrously expensive and outdated ecclesiastic accoutrements and then to donate the proceeds to the cause of the poor? Dr John Straughan, Cape Town

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AIDS

The Southern Cross, November 23 to November 29, 2011

The state of the Aids nation South Africa’s response to HIV/Aids is held back by social stigma, economic challenges and diminishing funding, the director of the bishops’ Aids Office told CLAIRE MATHIESON.

HE challenges facing those in the fight against Aids are numerous, continuous and at times seemingly impossible. But the biggest concern currently facing South Africa is the effort to ensure universal access to treatment to those already infected, which could in turn reduce the rate of new infections. “It has been said that Aids hit South Africa at a very bad time, when apartheid was being dismantled and a new democratic South Africa was being created,” said Sr Alison Munro, director of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) Aids Office. “Put differently, priority was given in the 1990s and beyond to building a new country—a difficult enough endeavour even without the unfolding devastation caused by Aids across the sub-continent.” While treatment has made an impact in the developing world, the threat of new infections, challenges around vaccine and drug development and prevailing drug costs, “Aids is more than a problem to be treated only medically and scientifically”, the Dominican nun said. Sr Munro said economic, political, clinical, social and cultural aspects can affect the impact and success of treatment in developing countries. In South Africa, 17 years down the road of democracy, the socio-economic and political challenges remain enormous. She listed some of the realities of South African life: “Urban informal settlement dwellers are often at the forefront of so-called service delivery protests, clamouring for houses, municipal services, employment, improved infrastructure. Family life continues to take a knocking; often children grow up in one-parent families, sometimes never knowing their fathers. Crime and corruption are often perceived to be the order of the day, even when crime statistics are said to be down on those of previous years. The new middle class is often mercenary in its approach to making money, often at the expense of the poor.”

These are some of the greatest challenges facing the treatment of Aids in the country. South Africa remains the country with the highest number of people with HIV infection—an estimated 5,7 million people— and the highest number of people on anti-retroviral treatment (ART) of any country in the world (1,4 million). Since 2004, the Catholic Church in South Africa has initiated more than 30 000 people with Aids on anti-retroviral treatment, through US funding from the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR). But that funding is coming to an end, because the country is “no longer viewed as an emergency”, Sr Munro said. She said negotiations are underway between US and South African authorities concerning future—decreased and different—support to South Africa, which is still very much in need as the challenges are vast and treatment is not universal, due to various factors. Sr Munro said huge strides have been made towards universal access to treatment over the past eight to ten years, globally and in South Africa, and thanks to ART, thousands of lives had been saved. However, universal access to these life saving drugs “is, in fact, a myth”, the Aids Office director said. “Stigma remains a huge barrier to access. There are well documented case studies of people living with HIV, even educated people, who would rather die than present themselves for treatment,” Sr Monro said.

lack of a culture of confidentiality in many small communities discourages people from disclosing their status and from seeking care from their local clinic, she explained. “Societal, cultural and religious beliefs are obstacles in the way patients access treatment or remain on treatment. Family members may insist that patients consult traditional healers rather than clinicians trained in ART management, or that they desist from antiretroviral treatment once it appears that their health is improving.” Sr Munro added fear of the results of an Aids test also causes some people to avoid being tested and causes parents and relatives to refuse consent for the testing of their children. As a result, many people do not know their status and infect their partners. “Dire social conditions faced by the poor, including unemployment, lack of adequate housing, poor delivery of

basic services in underresourced townships and rural villages and in more than 2 000 informal shack settlements, a crumbling education system, and a vulnerable health care system are part of the reality facing the country, and putting a strain on access to basic health services” are further challenges to the situation. Accordingly, Sr Munro said the South African Church is currently in discussion with the National Department of Health to determine a way forward for the ongoing treatment of patients once the PEPFAR funding in no longer available. “South Africa does need to take more responsibility for the health care needs of its citizens than it was willing and able to do in the past, but [it] still has insufficient infrastructure and human capacity across the country to provide treatment to everyone in need of it,” Sr Munro said. “Unless the spread of HIV is contained either by the change of risky behaviour or by a vaccine or a cure—none of which can currently be guaranteed— and if new infections continue to occur, it is not possible to talk of universal access,” said Sr Munro.

ut the situation is not all bad news. Sr Munro referred to drug trial results released in Washington and Johannesburg in late May which she said gives new hope. “The results indicate that the earlier people go on treatment, the less likely they are to transmit HIV.” This treatment is also the “most costly component of the SACBC Aids Office programme”, Sr Munro said, explaining that half of the office’s current budget is spent on ARV drugs and the laboratory tests. The involvement of the Catholic Church started officially through Dutch funders and was enhanced by PEPFAR funding. During that time, more than 23 treatment sites were opened, most of them home-based care sites run under the auspices of the Church. While international funding is to be decreased, Sr Munro said it is important that the expertise built with PEPFAR support, directly and through NGOs and faith-based organisations, continues to help underpin the still struggling programme in different ways. But in a country fraught with issues, “one can sometimes be forgiven for thinking that other problems South Africa is facing take precedence over the problems related to Aids,” said Sr Munro.

The fight against HIV/Aids has become an everyday battle for many around the world. Awareness is being created for the 33 million people who have HIV/Aids. (Photo: Navesh Chitrakar, CNS/Reuters)

HIV/Aids is one of the biggest problems in South Africa with the main concern being the effort to ensure universal access to treatment to those already infected, which could in turn reduce the rate of new infections. (Photo: Nancy Wiechec, CNS)

GOOD SHEPHERD MISSION “A PERSON IS OF MORE VALUE THAN A WORLD” (St. Mary Euphrasia - foundress of Good Shepherd Sisters) Services and projects: (NPO) We reach out to the most vulnerable & marginalized women and children in poor, rural villages/townships. *Primary Health Care clinics, Home visitations & follow-ups *Pre & Post Counseling for HIV/AIDS and related issues *Sustainable food garden projects & food parcels, Prevention talks *Support Groups for HIV/AIDS persons, Health Education *Support groups for orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) *Pre & Primary schools for OVC EDUCATION: *Skills Development Projects – supports adults infected & affected (e.g. Computerskills, dressmaking, catering, hairdressing HBC training etc. SOCIAL SERVICES: *Assistance with birth certificates, I.D.’s, grant applications, counseling, self -help income generating projects etc. FATIMA HOUSE: *Supports pregnant girls/ women in crisis esp. HIV+ HEALTH:

Good Shepherd Sisters are present in: Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg, Pretoria North & North West Province Contact no. for support and assistance: 082 968 8493/ 082 9791606

AIDS

The Southern Cross, November 23 to November 29, 2011

Caregivers also need some care In every diocese throughout Southern Africa, Catholic initiatives are doing great work in addressing the health and social effects of HIV/Aids. THANDI BOSMAN reports on one such organisation from the diocese of Port Elizabeth.

ESPONDING to the devastating social effects of the Aids pandemic, many Catholic initiatives have offered care in hospices and centres for children and adults infected with or affected by HIV/Aids. One of these care centres is Care Ministry, a non-profit organisation that originated in St Bernadette’s parish in Walmer, Port Elizabeth. Founder Moira Boshoff recognised a need in the community for parishioners to receive training in pastoral care, and in 1994 the parish’s first Care Ministry group was commissioned. Since many parishes showed interest in the pastoral initiative, the priests’ council of the diocese approved the formal structure of the Care Ministry in 1996. Care Ministry currently runs 12 active groups within the diocese’s HIV/Aids programme, with a total of 90 volunteer caregivers working in 18 communities in the areas of Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage and Hankey. All volunteer caregivers receive training before working in

Aids care centres and hospices have been opened throughout Southern African dioceses and are doing great work in helping the fight against HIV/Aids. (Photo: St Patrick's Province of the Passionists, CNS) the programmes. Project director Siobhan Dooley said that Care Ministry extended its programmes to the “poorer and more under-resourced areas in the Eastern Cape”. By doing this, Care Ministry created “HIV/Aids awareness as well as offering home-based care, emotional and spiritual support to people infected and affected by HIV/Aids, including orphans and vulnerable children [OVC],” Ms Dooley said. Care Ministry is run by three permanent staff members—Ms Dooley, finance director Moira Boshoff, and administration assistant Nolita Gloria Hewu. It created several projects, including Psycho

Social Support for Orphans and Vulnerable Children Training and Child Health Care Training. Ms Dooley said the volunteer caregivers care and support for approximately 532 people, of whom 67 are known to be HIVpositive. “It is the policy of the Care Ministry to ensure that the final responsibility of care is not taken away from the family and/or friends wherever possible. Care Ministry volunteer caregivers train family members to participate in patient care and provide education, care and support to all involved in the patient’s circumstances. In most instances this is successful and the family offer ongoing support,” Ms Dooley said. Care Ministry receives help from retired nurses who mentor and super-

vise the volunteer caregivers, who work in the communities where they live. Between July and September this year, a total of 1 076 children were given healthcare and 1 016 children had emotional support visits. The Care Ministry workers are faced with daily challenges that sometimes are hard to face. These include the high rate in HIV infections, the difficulty in accessing grants, gang and domestic violence, and child abuse, which adds to the high crime rate. “Alcoholism, poverty and unemployment are still major social problems in the 17 communities in which we offer services,” Ms Dooley said. “Although there has been some improvement over the past few years, much more is still needed” regarding the poor housing and living conditions in the communities the Care Ministry serves, Ms Dooley said. She also mentioned that the multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis [MDR-TB] infection is a high risk for the volunteer caregivers, especially since some of them are HIVpositive and therefore have a compromised immune system. Explaining how the Care Ministry addresses these challenges, Ms Dooley said: “The Care Ministry places a strong emphasis on our ‘Care for the Carer Programme’. Regular stress relief and training events are held to assist our caregivers to stay well and healthy, both physically and emotionally. The volunteers also network closely with other organisations within their areas, such as community policing forums in order to assist in their work”. The volunteer caregivers need that rejuvenation to fulfil their

mission. They not only support patients psychologically but also help them with physical needs when patients are too weak to care for themselves, Ms Dooley said. “Care Ministry volunteer caregivers provide emotional and spiritual support, physical home-based care where necessary [such as bed baths, wound care and so on], health education and referrals to external resources when required. Volunteer caregivers’ network closely with local clinics and hospitals to ensure ongoing medical care is accessed when required,” Ms Dooley explained. Ms Dooley said people can support the Care Ministry—and organisations like it—by donating blankets, clothes, toothpaste or other essentials. And care workers can always do with more prayers from the community to spiritually help them help as many people as possible Ms Dooley believes World Aids Day, observed globally on December 1, is important. “It is a time to remember those who have died, give thanks for the advances that have been made with scientific research and the provision of medications, but also to acknowledge how much work there is to still do. It is an opportunity to focus the attention of our communities to this ongoing issue and breakdown the remaining stigma that is still rife. “It is an educational opportunity to encourage those affected to live positively and to prevent new infections. It is a day to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who are struggling for many reasons; poor health, grieving the loss of a loved one, battling against emotions of depression or fear and to show that we care,” said Ms Dooley.

NAZARETH HOUSE P.O. Box 12116, Mill Street, 8010 Cape Town 021 461 1635

“But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” Psalm 86:15 The Sisters of Nazareth have the privilege of offering a level of care which is not always available to those most needy. With the ever increasing costs of medical supplies (bandages, gauze, needles, rubber gloves & linen savers), the generosity of community giving will always be welcomed. For information on how to help, please contact: Beverly Florence on 021 461 1635 or fundraising@nazhouse.co.za or visit our website www.nazhouse.org.za

ST FRANCIS HOSPICE PORT ELIZABETH Eastern Cape Hospice offers Holistic Palliative Care support for short life expectancy HIV, AIDS, Cancer & Motor Neurone Disease patients and their families

and is the accredited Centre of Palliative Learning for the Eastern Cape, providing training for professional nurses, health workers & community volunteers. (Fully accredited by COHSASA and Hospice Palliative Care Association of SA)

Contact us for further information at 041 360 7070 / 041 360 1279 (fax) Email: hospicefund@progen.co.za Web: www.stfrancishospice.za.org

Non-profit organisations for all around South Africa relie on volunteer caregivers to help fight the battle agains HIV/Aids . (Photo: Rick D'Elia, CNS)

AIDS

The Southern Cross, November 23 to November 29, 2011

Wheels keep turning for rural project Located in one of the poorest areas of KwaZulu-Natal, the Sizanani Outreach Programme in rural Nkandla has impressed pop stars and the BBC, and now has received help from a German Rotary club. SYDNEY DUVAL visited the programme and reflects on the local Church’s response to HIV/Aids.

RITISH entertainer Elton John visited Sizanani Outreach Programme at Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal, in January 2005 days after the tsunami struck Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. While there, he said that the tsunami was one of the greatest tragedies we had ever seen from an instant act of nature, but for the people of sub-Saharan Africa, Aids was a continuing tsunami going on and on every single day. The response of the Catholic Church came several days later at Regina Mundi Church in Soweto, where the struggle against apartheid was given a courageous spiritual voice and hosted the launch of a new struggle initiated by the Church. Some 10 000 people, including 30 bishops, gathered in and outside the church to celebrate a Mass uniting four major efforts: the Catholic Church confronting the stigma of HIV and celebrating Communities of Care; the Church launching its antiretroviral (ARV) programme at 22 sites in Southern Africa; and the Church celebrating the Year of the Bible in Africa and the Year of the Eucharist. Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban, then SACBC president, linked the past with the present in his homily: “Today we are doing once again what had become a custom during he days of apartheid. We are coming to visit our brothers

and sisters who need to hear about, to see for themselves, but especially to experience the loving care and compassion of Christ Our Lord for those who are suffering in any way, and that loving care and compassion of Jesus brought by his Church.” Earlier, in the late 1990s, St Mary’s Hospital at Mariannhill, reacting to a video “Aids Comes on Wheels” which traced the spread of the virus through trucker pitstops, brushed aside the government’s culture of denialism and obstructionist red tape to launch its pioneering rollout of ARVs. It took courage to do this. The Catholic Church in Southern Africa has been working for more than a quarter of a century to turn the tide against the Aids pandemic as an integral part of its pastoral and spiritual caring for those infected and affected by the disease. Running through this outreach like a river of renewing life is the Pastoral Plan: “To be a community serving humanity”—words of vision strung together simply and succinctly, but with ennobling power of the human spirit. Both the plan and the interventions it has inspired have made life a lot better for many infected and affected by HIV/Aids. Adherence to medical treatment does work. Lives are being salvaged. Hope is replacing despair. Children of infected mothers are being born free of the virus. Sizanani Outreach Programme is a comprehensive medical, home-based care, psychosocial, developmental and humanitarian service based on holistic family care, and is one of many Catholic initiatives across the country which are supporting the Church’s work in Aids through religious and lay co-operation—touching lives and situations together in a rural area devastated by HIV/Aids, TB, poverty, unemployment and breakdown of family structures. At the heart of the outreach are the Franciscan Nardinis whose response is inspired by the motto of their founder, Bl Paul Joseph

Franciscan Nardini Sisters Melinda Seiler, Ellen Lindner and Hedwig Maphumulo approach a settlement at Mtshwili, Nkandla, where an extended family living with HIV/Aids survives on social grants and support from Sizanani Outreach Programme. (Photo: Sydney Duval) Nardini: Caritas Christi urget nos (The Love of Christ urges us on). They share the greater vision of the Church in modern times to read, understand and respond to the signs of the times in a way that will make Christian solidarity and caritas a truly lived experience for those in need and distress served by the Church.

ccessing funds and resources is an on-going struggle for organisations such as Sizanani. Decreasing incomes are forcing Catholic funding agencies that could be so generous in the past to cut back on support. They, too, are justified in asking why South Africa, a country endowed with wealth and resources, does not do more for development and welfare organisations that in reality are shoring up the sinkholes caused by poor service delivery. Sizanani found that a providential encounter can work wonders for an outreach that cannot do the work without appropriate transport. Retired obstetrics and gynaecology professor Dr Paul-Georg Knapstein from Mainz, Germany, is a dedicated Rotarian. He met influential TV presenter Gundula Gause who had visited Sizanani with a delegation of the German Catholic funding agency Missio,

led by vice-president Dr Gregor von Fürstenberg, in 2007. As a patron of Missio, which already supports Sizanani, she asked Prof Knapstein if his Rotary Club could also support Sizanani. The professor decided his best response would be to visit Nkandla to see for himself the scope of Sizanani’s work—just as Elton John had done after seeing the BBC award-winning documentary The Orphans of Nkandla which narrated a new dimension of pastoral care by the Nardinis. Already involved with his Rotary Club in supporting La Creche orphanage in Bethlehem, Palestine, Prof Knapstein went everywhere the bundu roads took him, accompanying caregivers on house calls, visiting Nkandla District Hospital which the Nardinis used to run, familiarising himself with administrative procedures, asking probing questions of director Sr Ellen Lindner, a medical doctor, and Sr Hedwig Maphumulo and her social workers. A year later, on November 1, Empangeni Rotary president Jim Dowe was handing over a Mercedes Vito Crewbus to Sizanani at a working lunch at Empangeni Country Club—the result of a combined effort with Mainz Rotary and Rotary International

“ANGEL OF LOVE” St Francis Care Centre in Boksburg provides residential care to 30 children aged 0-7yrs infected with or affected by HIV and AIDS. Once stabilized medically we focus on returning the children to a family unit – whether extended biological family or a host/foster family. We need donors to support these children whilst families are being screened, thus we have developed the “Angel of Love” project. This project invites donors to support a child financially on a monthly basis. Donors will receive a certificate of recognition as an “Angel of Love”. Will be updated on the child’s progress regularly. No further commitment will be required in terms of caring for the child. The “Angel of Love” project presents a win-win situation for both the Centre as well as the donor. The Centre is a registered Non Profit Organization (NPO), and can issue Section 18(a) receipts for bona fide donations, which are fully tax deductible in respect of the Income Tax Act. Companies can also earn BEE points, as donations will be officially acknowledged. One of the children at the Centre who requires an “Angel of love” is: Gift D. - Boy aged 16 months. Mother passed away when he was 10 months old. Referred to us by the Far East Rand Hospital in a very poor, dehydrated condition. He is HIV positive and is on TB treatment. He has stabilized and showing good progress since starting antiretroviral treatment. •R150 per month will provide Gift with residential care, food, formula, medicines and psychosocial care. In addition we will screen a host/foster family so that Gift can have a loving family of his own. Should you wish to become an “Angel of Love” this Christmas, kindly contact - CYNTHIA Cell. 082 903 6914 Email development@stfranciscarecentre.co.za Webpagewww.stfranciscarecentre.co.za

ANGEL OF LOVE PLEDGE FORM Complete and return to fax 086 6939389 I …………………………………would like to become an “ANGEL OF LOVE “ to a child/children Tel/Cell ………………………………… Email:…………………………………………… I pledge R______.OO per month of 1 year as from: ____/____/ 2011 BANK DETAILS; Standard Bank - ACCOUNT NO. 220938245 BRANCH: CODE: 011842 SWIFT CODE: SBZAZAJJ REFERENCE – ‘ANGEL OF LOVE’

which will add versatility and mobility to the 4x4s used to transport staff, medicines and equipment on field trips. The microbus will mean Sizanani no longer has to rely on costly public transport and the taxi service which can be dangerous and deadly given the poor state of roads serving Nkandla, especially when heavy mist is combined with rain and potholes. Sizanani Child and Youth Care Centre and children from the community can now be taken to destinations where they can take part in special socialising and developmental outings, psychosocial encounters in small groups, and specialised support groups serving specific needs and circumstances (HIV, chronic conditions, sexual and physical abuse, childheaded families and OVCs, and abandonment). Sr Ellen and social worker Nkosazana Dlamini shared some core work with Rotarians present. In 2010, they reported, Sizanani vehicles travelled 176 000km on service work, frequently on bad roads to isolated settlements and to “places where no one else goes”. Sizanani was also ploughing back some R12 million a year into the local economy through project funding, salaries, training, combined services, advocacy and access to government social grants. Nkandla has been designated one of KwaZulu-Natal’s two poorest districts (the other is Msinga). It is in this world of thatched huts, massive valleys and rugged terrain that Sizanani can look back to 2004 when the incidence of HIV/Aids among antenatal women was some 37%—and to 2010 when the combined interventions of Sizanani and the Department of Health, through Nkandla District Hospital, had helped decrease the incidence to some 26%. The statistics are only part of the story of how the Galilean ministry runs through the SACBC and spreads to the many lay-religious projects the Church supports in their frontline efforts to serve and heal a society anxious for good news.

Loreto Convent School realises the devastating effect of Aids on the community, and would like to extend a message of support to all caregivers, social workers and counsellors.

May God bless you in your endeavours and give you courage and strength

Sinothando Mother Teresa Association Incorporated under sec. 21 reg 2005/035204/08

Blessed Mother Teresa (1910-1997)

Area of operation: Whittlesea, Eastern Cape Organisation output: Home-based care, children’s clubs, after school care, food and poultry production, health awareness, spiritual aspects and welfare. Status: Charity organisation for Greatest Glory of God. Comments: Doing our work with joy but lack of funding is a major constraint. Message: Keep the joy of loving the poor and share joy with all. Remember works of love are works of peace. God bless. Sinothando Mother Teresa Association Box 313 Whittlesea 5360 Call: 072 064 6033

The Southern Cross, November 23 to November 29, 2011

MALAWIAN COMMUNITY CATHOLIC CHOIR – CD LAUNCH 27 NOVEMBER 13:30 – 17:00 CHRIST THE KING CATHEDRAL HALL, JOHANNESBURG CONTACT: MR D. MASEKO 078 573-9574

AIDS

ln the bleakness of Aids there is light of hope A

IDS. Type the word into Google and you’ll find words like “death rate”m “orphans”, “infection rate” and “South Africa”. It’s not a pretty picture. Say the word to someone and the response is likely to be similar. With 25 million people already dead from the disease, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, and with South Africa having the world’s largest population living with the disease, the situation may seem utterly hopeless. And yet, even in the bleakness, there are beacons of hope in the fight against the disease. Notre Dame Sister Obehi Ogbeide, the HIV/Aids coordinator in the diocese of Kroonstad in the Free State, believes things are “getting better”. In contrast to the past, many people have started to know their HIV status, and take responsibility for their lives. “Many people living with HIV in the community are on the treatment roll for ART and they are living a positive life. Families and communities are becoming more open to accepting people living with HIV/Aids and extending a hand of love and care to them,” she says. Sr Ogbeide believes society and its new familiarity with the disease have made it possible for HIV-positive people to live affirming lives. But the number of infections is still very alarming, she added. The Free State province has the third highest number of HIV cases, with 30,1% infected. Only KwaZulu-Natal (39,5%) and Mpumalanga (34,7%) have higher infection-rates. Sr Ogbeide attributes the high prevalence of the disease to the large number of migrant workers from different parts of the country working in the region’s gold mines. Sick workers become unemployed, communities become affected and the number of orphaned and vulnerable children increases. The Church, which is so deeply rooted in communities, is aware of the problems and is working accordingly. Bishop José Ponce de León of Ingwavuma, the episcopal vicar for HIV/Aids, says the Southern African bishops continue to be committed to addressing Aids in their dioceses, and in this they draw on the support of the large network of Catholic agencies. From fund-raising to technical support needed for individual projects, there is always a local Catholic agency that can help. In many places, the local Church is working where government structures are absent. “Many of the Church projects are providing the kind of support that in other circumstances may have come from clinics or hospitals, or other structures that the Church doesn't have,” Bishop Ponce de León says. There is cause for hope and joy in the work that has already been done and in the work that people are willing to do to help in the fight against Aids. “In many places, the best infrastructure we have is not the buildings but rather the ordinary people, in our dioceses and parishes, who are rolling up their sleeves, and responding to their neighbours in need,” the bishop says. Dr Elizabeth Musaba, director of the Catholic Diocese of Port Elizabeth Aids Council, has worked with people with HIV for more than 25 years. In that time she has seen many examples of hope for the future. “People have come to understand more about the disease and many education programmes have borne fruit,” Dr Musaba says, adding that scientific advances with antiretrovirals (ARVs) are also very encouraging.

ut there are still issues to be taken on. While the Church is doing much, Dr Musaba believes there is still room for more. “In some areas there is a lot of work going on, but not many advances.” She points to individual behaviour modification, poverty and gender equality as just some of the challenges that are not being successfully confronted. Similarly Sr Alison Munro OP, director of the SACBC Aids Desk, says that if people would take greater responsibility for their personal behaviour, some of these infections could be avoided. But, she adds, “this is indeed a difficult area for moral theology”. “It is all too easy to blame individuals in these circumstances, and all too often we so easily do so from the comfort of a position where we don’t personally have to deal with a breakdown in family life, unemployment, poor education and lack of formal employment,” the Dominican nun says. “Prevention of HIV infection remains a deeply challenging issue. Even if the rate of infection is coming down in certain areas, and among certain sectors of the population, the fact remains that too many people continue to be infected on a daily basis in the country.” Dr Musaba says leadership from government and the local Church needs to be more direct.

Claire Mathieson A Church of Hope and Joy “Politically, the message has become blunted. There is not much [political] will to combat the disease. Being Catholic, I feel clergy could also take on a greater leadership role. We need them on the frontline of this battle.” The Catholic Church is known for looking after the poor, sick and marginalised, Dr Musaba notes, but many clergy are not involved in the Aids fight. Perhaps, she suggests, this relates to the complex nature of the prevention methods suggested by medical practitioners and government which are controversial in the Church. While leadership in the fight against HIV/Aids is sometimes lacking, “the positive part of all this is the community response”, Dr Musaba says. According to Sr Ogbeide, the Catholic Church in Kroonstad has had a good response through community-based projects. Its home-based care services—an area the Catholic response to the pandemic emphasises—provide nursing care and support to 236 very ill patients. HIV prevention education through awareness campaigns advise and encourage individuals to do HIV counselling and testing. They also promote a delay in sexual initiation among adolescents as well as faithfulness to partners in sexual relationships. The diocese also operates a programme that provides care and support for 1 477 orphaned or vulnerable children (or OVCs) at drop-in-centres and even at their homes. The nun sees hope in the world of Aids simply because we find “consolation, encouragement, hope, joy and life in abundance. Jesus says, ‘Come to me all ye who are laboured and overburdened and I will give you rest’. This for us is hope and joy in the world of Aids.”

ommy Jarvis has been HIV-positive from birth. He is an adult adoptee and an albino. He is proof that living a positive life, even when one is HIV-positive, is entirely possible. He inspires young Catholics on a regular basis through his presentations at St John Bosco Youth Centre in Johannesburg. Mr Jarvis has also spoken at international Aids conventions and been invited abroad to speak at leading universities. He says he gets a real sense of fulfillment from taking part in the talks. Programmes like those offered at the Bosco centre are “life-changing”. Mr Jarvis’ talks at Bosco offer young people the strength and courage to resist sexual activity or promiscuity before marriage. Since he has “responded well to antiretroviral therapies and lives a full and happy life”, he teaches others that the virus is not a death sentence. Success in the battle on Aids will come from government and civil society working towards the same goal. Johan Viljoen of the SACBC Aids Desk’s antiretroviral programme said in his yearend report that sustainability for the country’s various treatment centres is on its way to being planned and achieved through negotiations with the departments of health in each province. The idea is to get the particular province to supply the SACBC treatment site with, at least, ARV drugs and laboratory tests. “This would ensure sustainability of the programme, as ARV drugs account for at least two thirds of the budget of each site, and laboratory tests account for at least 10% of each site’s budget.” Since March 2011, he says, significant progress has been made.” Agreements have been signed and SACBC treatment sites are beginning to receive opportunistic-infection drugs, HIV test kits, laboratory tests and nutritional supplements from government.” The progress has been quick. “In January 2011 only 13% of SACBC patients were receiving ARV drugs from government. By September 2011 this percentage had increased to 43%. With Holy Family (Tzaneen) patients receiving ARV drugs from November 2011, this figure has risen above 50%,” Mr Viljoen said. Bishop Ponce de León emphasises that the local Church wants to be true to the call of Jesus and the social teaching of the Church, recognising the dignity of people around us and acting in solidarity with them in their very needs. “This is at the heart of who we are called to be as Catholics, showing our love of God in our love for God's people. As Church we are all in this together, bringing love, healing and hope to those in need, and receiving God's love and healing and hope in our own lives.” And according to Mr Viljoen, despite the many challenges, there are in fact milestones to celebrate—and this represents the hope for the future.

PERSPECTIVES

The Southern Cross, November 23 to November 29, 2011

In crisis, we activate our family love

‘T

HE first thing that a person finds in life and the last to which he holds out his hand, and the most precious that he possess, even if he does not realise it, is family life.” These are the words of Bl Adolph Kolping (181365). Almost all of us are born into a family. The nature, size, culture, atmosphere and values of our families are different for all of us, but each one of us is given a natural role to play within our families. Our role is either parent (guardian or elder), child or sibling. The role we play is very important and how well (or badly) we play that role, will have an effect on the quality of family life the others in our family experience. At the heart of playing our roles within our families is love. As we play our roles, we love, knowingly or unknowingly. We don’t think it about any more, or often, but we do it. But if we do give more attention to the way we play our roles, we will contribute with an awareness to the quality of the family life all of us experience. And our ability to become aware within our families is normally tested by a family member who requires special attention: a sick parent, an alcoholic brother, a troubled teenager, a person living with Aids within our family. When our family members experience some of these difficulties, the most precious thing they possess is family.

When we deal with a family member who is going through a difficult time, it changes the way we normally love. Our love becomes more active—it has to, because the situation demands that it does. For example, with a sick parent, we have to break our routine and set aside our own plans to visit them or take them to hospital. With an alcoholic brother we have to be more patient and understanding and accompany him to places of help and support him in his efforts to change. With a troubled teenager, we have to physically spend one-on-one time with her to understand her and to empathise with what she is experiencing, and to encourage her. With a person living with Aids we have to understand first of all what Aids is. This requires us to broaden our understanding of Aids, to get rid of our assumptions about Aids, to get rid of our judgments about people living with Aids, to clear our misconceptions and to deepen our capacity to love and accept this family member living with Aids. Loving the people in all of the above examples requires action from our part. Love, in general, requires action. The families that we are born into are the places where we are meant to show and experience love first. As we move through life we experience other forms of family life or community life, but our calling to love actively remains the same.

The decline of ubuntu

VERY time I pass that spot, the skeleton recalls the same story—a story that is just the opposite of that of the Good Samaritan. Indeed, it shows the extent of erosion of ubuntu in our cities. We shall return to the scene of the skeleton later. In the Good Samaritan story we shudder as we imagine the men of God—a priest and a Levite—making a detour to leave a wounded person bathing in his own blood, with no one to help. One might still indulge them in light of the purity laws which might have prompted their inhumane reaction. I wonder how we can excuse the characters in our own version of the Good Samaritan story— that, dear reader, is your prerogative. Recently a priest in a neighbouring parish in Kinshasa asked me to preside at one of the monthly youth Masses. The proposed theme was “Serving with Charity”, with the Gospel reading being the parable of the Good Samaritan. At Mass I read the parable, and in the homily I centred on a version of the story that the youth knew well; some probably were even actors in it. The event of our story took place on the sloppy road linking two townships: Kisenso at the hilltop and Matete at the foot. This road has a history. Several lives have been lost on this road. Besides being steep, it used to be very narrow and sandy. A little more

than a year ago, only four-wheel drive vehicles could dare to take on that road. If a lorry was stuck on it, which happened often, the one driving behind would know immediately what to do: switch off the engine of his car, remove the key, open the door, get out, lock the door, and start walking to his destination. He would come back for his car only when the lorry would finally clear the road. Fortunately, that is now only history. Still, despite this significant development, there are still a number of accidents, mainly due to drunk drivers and the poor conditions of cars.

o recently there was this mini-bus going up the road. Halfway up the hill, it just couldn’t pull up any further. It began descending in reverse at a speed the driver could not control. It fell into a deep drain. Six people died at the spot, and nine were seriously injured (don’t ask about the capacity of the mini-bus). Given that the accident took place in a high density suburb, and therefore in full view of people, one might presume, almost naturally, that people would rush to the scene of the accident to help. Indeed, by the time the bus had stopped rolling down and got stuck in the trench, people already were at the spot. What good luck for the injured! One would think so. It wasn’t.

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Chris Chatteris SJ Pray with the Pope

Judith Turner On Faith and Life

How to get harmony General Intention: That all peoples may grow in harmony and peace through mutual understanding and respect. HE controversial Swiss theologian Fr Hans Küng says, uncontroversially, that “there will be no peace among the nations without peace among the religions”. To help foster the peace between religions which he believes is necessary for world peace, Fr Küng has initiated the Weltethos (world-ethic) project. This is an attempt to outline a global consensus on the ethical challenges of our times. The musical expression of the Weltethos project could be coming to a concert hall somewhere near you soon. This is a work for “speaker, choir, children’s choir and orchestra” was commissioned by the Global Ethic Foundation. The work is described on the orchestra’s website as a vision “based on the common values of the world religions...conveyed in texts about Confucius, Moses, Mohammed, Buddha and Jesus as well as Hindu writings. The result should, according to Küng, be no ‘religious potpourri’, but a universal message of nonviolence, justice, truthfulness and partnership”. Apparently the reviews have not exactly raved about Fr Küng’s libretto. This is hardly surprising: putting theological concepts to music is a challenge, unless one makes use of the concreteness and poetic muscularity of scripture. Undeterred, Fr Küng also intends to publish a counterpoint to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights entitled the Declaration of Universal Human Responsibilities. He says that ‘Like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities is...a moral appeal, which of course is also intended to have a legal and political impact”. Fr Küng has clashed with Pope Benedict from time to time, but this Weltethos initiative just happens to be right in line with this month’s papal intention. Could this be the “happenstance” of the Holy Spirit?

Families are made of love, but often it is in a crisis that they really show it.

Evans Chama M.Afr Letter from Congo While the dead lay in eternal silence and the injured were crying for help, some of the people who rushed at the scene were busy combing the pockets of both the injured and the dead. Others still were unscrewing parts of the bus. Calculating from a cellphone video taken on the scene, in less than 15 minutes the mini-bus had all its wheels removed, except the one on which it was leaning. The vehicle was looted while the dead were shoved aside and the injured were crying for help but ignored. Once the police had removed the bodies and rushed the injured to hospital, some people took the opportunity to turn the bus to remove even the remaining wheel, as well as having a go at some parts of the engine too. By the following morning only the skeleton remained, and it’s still there to tell the story. This is our latest version of the Good Samaritan story, no longer a Palestine parable, but a real experience, fresh and close to us, just on our street. Coming face to face with such an experience leaves little room for the illusion that African society paints its landscapes with the virtues of solidarity. Maybe once upon a time it did, but now we have got to accept the fact that we are suffering a grave erosion of our values.

Young missionaries Missionary Intention: That children and young people may be messengers of the Gospel and that they may be respected and preserved from all violence and exploitation. HILDREN are natural little evangelists. We have the Lord’s word for it that we should follow their example of open-hearted and humble trust. Matthew reports our Lord saying that “whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven: (18:4). And also that “unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven”. The more conscious witness of young people who have faith nonetheless retains something of the freshness of the child’s relationship to God. And the adolescent who can resist peer pressure and witness to his or her faith, should command our admiration in this materialist bling-fascinated day and age. But the situation of the young cannot be romanticised. The press has recently reported a horrible series of assaults on small children. In the extreme cases the children have been murdered. And there are frequent reports about the trafficking of young people into virtual slavery, sexual or otherwise. It’s difficult to know whether the young have always been preyed upon like this or whether there is something about our modern era which has created particularly fertile conditions for evil these deeds done to children. Perhaps it is the universal commodification of everything in a world where there is nothing that cannot be “marketed”. Whatever the historical case, when the Lord held children up as Gospel-symbols, he surely never envisaged that they would also be symbols of his crucifixion and death. We pray with the pope in thanksgiving for the childlike faith of children, the generous witness of the young and that we as a society and Church will make their protection an absolute priority.

COMMUNITY

The Southern Cross, November 23 to November 29, 2011

Members of Our Lady of Loreto parish in Kempton Park, Johannesburg, attended an annual retreat at the Carmelite monastery in Benoni. They are photographed with the retreat spiritual director Fr Richard April (far left) and parish priest Fr Mari Joseph (far right). (Submitted by Allan Sauls)

Dr Clothilda zondo offers a gift to Bishop Thaddeus Khumalo from Eshowe at a celebratory Mass welcoming new parish priest Fr Bheki Mhlongo to the Mangethe parish.

Children from St James parish in St James, Cape Town received their First Holy Communion, and are seen Fr Mark Pothier. (Submitted by Maria Wagener)

IN FOC US Pre-confirmation candidates from Holy Trinity parish in Kimberley on a retreat with Sr Angela Sutton and their teacher Merselle Fredricks. (Submitted by Anne Malgas)

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 Edited by Lara Moses

The St Bede’s High School debating team of 2011 from GaMolepo, Limpopo, recently won the United Nations Debating Competition and the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement. (From left): Mahlogonolo Modipane, Tryphosa Lamola, Sharon Mdingi, Lebogang Masila and Eddie Mogale. (Submitted by Sr Catharine Pearson OSU) Surrounded by her fellow Franciscan Sisters, Sr Ambrosia Karner cuts her 99th birthday cake at St Peter’s Convert in Nelspruit. Sr Karner is one of ten pioneer sister of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception and has outlived the nine other sisters. Sandra Karlene on a visit to Assisi, Italy, seen here with a local Franciscan cleric.

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REMEMBERING OUR DEAD

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AFRICA

The Southern Cross, November 23 to November 29, 2011

Managing the soil pays dividends BY PATRICIA zAPOR

Paulina Ewoi, keeper of this well in Ngirotin, Kenya, demonstrates how easily it can be used to pump water. (Photo: Patricia zapor, CNS)

Hope in the face of drought A Catholic project that revived old water preservation techniques has changed a community in drought-stricken Kenya, as PATRICIA ZAPOR reports.

EAR the south-western edge of the vast stretch of East Africa where drought has led to famine and more than 13 million people are considered to be living in crisis, Henry Lesokoyu is the picture of hope and optimism. A couple of feet beneath the dry surface of a seasonal river at the edge of Kipsing, precious water that normally runs off has been trapped by a series of new or rebuilt sand dams, making water accessible for the members of Lesokoyu’s Samburu tribe. Just up a small hill at the edge of the village, Kipsing’s first gardeners tend a plot of kale and tomatoes, a move towards agriculture intended to stabilise the local economy and improve nutrition. At one end of the dam, several young herdsmen tended their flock of camels, which nibble on trees and drink from shallow wells dug into the sand. Just below the structure, a group of young men and boys bathe in the water from another shallow well. Downstream, tracks and mounds of elephant dung were evidence of the wide variety of people, animals and birds that regularly gathered at the water source. As the leader of this rural community and chief of his tribe, Mr Lesokoyu has one foot in each of two very different worlds. He keeps appointments made by cellphone and rides a motorcycle among the far-flung settlements of pastoralists—nomadic herders of goats, cattle and camels who move where the grazing takes their animals. On this day, Mr Lesokoyu makes the rounds of several water projects meant to bring a level of economic stability to both the pastoralists and the people who live in the village of Kipsing.

s storm clouds on the horizon signal the imminent start of Kenya’s “short rains” season, Mr Lesokoyu proudly shows visitors the simple dams built or improved by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) over the last few months. Each dam makes it possible for thousands of people to obtain water, even at the height of a drought, he says. As part of its emergency

response to the severe drought in four countries, CRS, in partnership with the apostolic vicariate of Isiolo, has built or rehabilitated ten dams, five wells and one windmill. Another eight dams and wells will be built in the coming months. The dams allow water to collect in the sand a few metres below the surface, making it easily reachable for irrigation, watering animals, drinking and cleaning. Though it is very old technology, only recently has interest in such dams revived, as an inexpensive but effective response to drought conditions. Tom Oywa, CRS project officer based in Isiolo, said each sand dam project cost the equivalent of about R67 000, while it cost about R29 000 to rehabilitate one well. A windmill in the community of Nakupurat, a couple hours’ drive east of Kipsing, was rebuilt for about R80 000, reopening a source of year-round water for 1 500 people of the Turkana tribe who had moved away when the mill became inoperable due to a combination of wear and tear and damage caused by elephants. Their return meant a one-room school they had abandoned also could reopen, so children would not have to walk miles to reach another school.

n Mr Lesokoyu’s community, a pipe from a sand dam runs to a new community garden plot. Though it had been months since the last rain of any kind and years since the last normal amount of rainfall, the acre or so of land was still producing sweet potatoes, kale and tomatoes because of the irrigation. Mr Oywa explained that planting crops is a new enterprise in this village, where families are normally dependent upon livestock for both food and income. Goats are the preferred stock here, because they quickly grow to milk-producing maturity or to a large enough size to be butchered. Cattle earn a good price, but keeping them fed in drought conditions is difficult. Camels become a fallback because they handle drought well and also produce milk, Mr Oywa explained. But camels are expensive to buy, have a long gestation period—13-15 months—and are slow to mature. A year ago, Joseph Kapua was a goatherd like his ancestors. Now he’s one of the gardeners for the plot, trained in techniques by the government extension service a couple of hours away in Isiolo, the nearest city. The effort was worthwhile for Mr Kapua. “I like being able to grow food for the entire family,” he said.—CNS

ITH a little mulch from last season’s corn stalks, a deeper hole with more seeds and a few other tweaks of traditional corn-planting techniques, the villages of Nduwa and Sagawika in Malawi might make it through the next drought in better shape. Though Malawi is not generally included in the reporting and statistics about the current drought and famine in parts of the Horn of Africa, it is subject to frequent crises because of inadequate rainfall or devastating floods. With 87% of Malawi’s population employed in agriculture, the difference between keeping and losing a season’s crop of corn—or having something growing besides corn—can determine whether villages like this prosper or people start dying from malnutrition. In collaboration with the local Church, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the US bishops’ aid agency has been teaching these two communities new techniques for planting, irrigation and simple local banking, with the goal of ensuring that more Malawians make it through the next crisis. Gifts Luwe, an employee of the Mzuzu diocese, translated as residents of the two adjacent villages described the process they had gone through to participate in the savings and agriculture programmes. The community banking system made it possible for villagers to borrow small amounts of money to cover the cost of seeds, fertilizer or other items that might make the difference between a subsistence crop and one that yields enough to sell excess in the markets, providing money for other essentials. Catholic officials taught farmers simple crop-rotation techniques, irrigation and water conservation methods. Mr Luwe said farmers were unaware that the simple habit of

A young girl in the village of Chimutu, Malawi, carries her younger sibling on her back. The pair benefit from a child care centre and nutrition programme cosponsored by the Catholic Health Commission of the diocese of Dedza. (Photo: Jennifer Hardy, Catholic Relief Services) using the last potatoes from a harvest to provide the seeds for the next season was why their potatoes had been growing progressively smaller. Officials taught farmers that replanting the same variety of wheat for ten seasons was stretching the soil nutrients and the viability of that strain of wheat six seasons beyond the recommended cycle. One of the farmers, Arnold Banda, the village chief, was able to get help from experts to address his problem of waterlogged crops. Mr Banda said he had been farming near a stream “but my yields were low because the field would get waterlogged”. A decades-old irrigation system of hand-dug canals did not quite address the flooding, so a new pipe is being installed, enabling farmers to plant farther up the hill, where flooding is less likely. Mr Banda also learned from a government extension agent that simply using new seeds would solve his problem of ever-smaller potatoes and that farmers should be taking no more than one-third of the flow of the stream to irrigate, lest

they disrupt it permanently. “We were practising poor management,” he realised. Adam Weimer, head of programmes for CRS Malawi, said the water conservation techniques being tested in Sagawika have been shown to double the output of corn per acre of land in the first year and triple the harvest by the second or third years. “These conservation agriculture techniques are being practised worldwide as a way to help protect the soil from erosion, protect the nutrients and increase yields in a sustainable way,” Mr Weimer said. “This all grew out of efforts to promote agriculture as a way of ensuring food security” as opposed to livelihoods based entirely on raising livestock, for example, he added. “And we’re also making agriculture more resilient to climate changes.” A plot of land that might normally yield 30-40 bags of corn is projected to produce up to 80 bags the first year using the conservation techniques, he said.—CNS

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The Southern Cross, November 23 to November 29, 2011

LITURGY

The missal: A brief history As Catholics in Englishspeaking regions begin using the revised language of the Roman missal, DENNIS SADOWSKI traces the history of language in liturgy.

HEN the third edition of the English-language version of the Roman Missal is implemented at Advent, it will mark the continuing evolution of the eucharistic liturgy that began in the earliest days of the Church. The most recent changes— which more closely reflect Liturgiam Authenticam (“The Authentic Liturgy”), the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments’ 2001 document on liturgical translations—are unlikely to be the last, liturgists agree. From Aramaic to Greek to Latin to vernacular language after the Second Vatican Council, the Mass has evolved over 2 000 years in an effort to help worshippers appreciate the mystery that is God. “It’s not the changing that’s abnormal. It’s not changing that’s abnormal,” said Jesuit Father John Baldovin, professor of historical and liturgical theology at Boston College. The latest translation, the first phase of which was introduced in the Southern African region in 2008, has been openly criticised by some clergy and liturgy experts for its structurally complicated language that they believe strays from the intent of Vatican II’s liturgical reforms. But other liturgists responsible for catechesis on the missal say that the translation helps bind modern-day Catholics with early Christians through its more authentic language. The Missal of Pius V appeared seven years after the Council of Trent concluded its work in 1563, implementing the council’s call for uniformity in liturgical books. Convened in response to Protestant disputes with the Catholic Church, the council met in 25 sessions in three periods beginning in 1545. By its conclusion the council codified the celebration of Mass

and defined Church teaching on Scripture and tradition, original sin, justification, the sacraments and the veneration of saints. In part, credit the development of the printing press for the missal’s introduction in the 16th century, said Fr Richard Hilgartner, executive director of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat on Divine Worship. “The idea of trying to codify the liturgy prior to the invention of the printing press, it was just seen as a huge obstacle because you couldn’t reproduce it,” Fr Hilgartner said. Until the late 16th century, holy books were reproduced by hand by monks, making widespread distribution of sacred texts impractical. But long before the first missal was promulgated, a desire for consistency in worship began to emerge. Some Mass prayers can be traced to the third century, said Rita Thiron, director of the Office of Worship in the diocese of Lansing, Michigan, citing the second eucharistic prayer, which dates to about 215. By the fourth century worship became more formalised because of a growing concern for orthodoxy. That concern led to standardisation of prayers and readings in various rituals. By the seventh and eighth cen-

turies the sharing of prayer texts became more common, Fr Hilgartner said. Sacramentaries were also assembled, the most notable being the Old Gelasian Sacramentary in the seventh and eighth centuries and the Gregorian Sacramentary in the late eighth century. In 785, Pope Hadrian I gave a copy of the Gregorian Sacramentary to Charlemagne, king of the Franks, who unified liturgical practice in Western Europe by expanding the sacramentary’s use among faith communities across the continent. At the same time, Latin was becoming the language of the Church. Fr Daniel Merz, associate director of the US bishops’ Secretariat of Divine Worship, explained that the use of Latin took several hundred years to emerge, beginning in the third century; by the 10th century it was widespread. “But even in Rome it’s interesting that the first several hundred years you can see there was this concern to have the language be in the language of the people.” After the Council of Trent it would be more than four centuries before the Roman Mass saw significant changes. Even though several popes granted concessions to missionaries to allow Mass to be celebrated in local languages to aid in evangelisation—including Mandarin in China in the early 14th century, Arabic for the Carmelites in Persia in 1624 and Iroquoian for the Jesuits in 1773 near modernday Montreal—Mass changed little until Vatican II. The first document to emerge from Vatican II in 1963 was the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Consilium), which called for “full, conscious, and active participation” of all people in the liturgy. The missal reflecting those principles, known as the Missal of Paul VI, was approved in 1969. That missal was translated into English by 1973 by the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL). It was slightly revised in 1975 with the addition of new eucharistic prayers for reconciliation. That English translation appeared in 1985 and remained the missal in use until last Sunday.—CNS

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Does the way we worship reflect the way we pray? AN OPINION BY FR RAYMOND MWANGALA OMI

NE December, I attended the Christmas Mass at a parish in Lusaka, Zambia. That Mass was characterised by a lot of joyful singing and dancing. At the end of Mass, I commented to someone that there was a lot of singing and dancing, but jokingly asked when did people actually pray. The response made me rethink my theology of worship. The person to whom I had made the comment to responded: “But that is how we pray!” The singing and dancing were an act of worship. With my Roman training I had become accustomed to a certain understanding of liturgy which does not include such elaborate expressions of emotion. The liturgy must be simple and to the point, I was told. But can such expression of emotion be considered Catholic worship? As the Church in the Englishspeaking world prepares for the introduction of the new liturgical texts mandated by Rome, I find myself wondering how the new translations will affect worship and whether they will be an expression of the people who will use them. The liturgy is an act of worship in which the Church joins in the prayer of Christ, the Priest. Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, was incarnated into a particular culture and used the elements of this culture to reach out to people of every age, offering the gift of salvation. He did not invent a new culture which was totally foreign to the men and women of his time, but using elements from their ordinary everyday experiences, he invited them to encounter God.

Liturgy must connect with our lived experience and help us connect with God. It must be a means of salvation. What I find difficult to accept is that Jesus made the Jewish culture of his—or any other culture for that matter—sacred. With the incarnation God took our human condition seriously, and by sharing in our nature as humans saved us from damnation. Insisting on the literal translation of the Latin and on using language that is foreign to the community is tantamount to saying the language itself has become sacred. True, there are certain elements in the liturgy that cannot be adapted, but language certainly is not one of them. The language of the new English translations that will be introduced on the First Sunday of Advent is not anything close to the way we speak the language in daily life. As it were, Englishspeaking communities will have to learn a new language in order to worship God as though there was something terribly wrong with English as it is spoken. Language is dynamic, but the change should not be forced. What then will happen to the dictum, that the way we live (and speak) is the way we worship? Will the new translations widen the gap between liturgy as an act done in certain places on certain days of the week and the rest of life? I can only hope that the changes will help all to connect with God. The way we speak and move should also be expressed in the way we worship. May we worship in spirit and in truth. n Fr Raymond M Mwangala OMI is the academic dean at St Joseph’s Theological Institute in Cedara, KwaZulu-Natal. He writes in his private capacity.

The Southern Cross, November 23 to November 29, 2011

The gender of mission

HANK you for providing a fresh look at missionary work in the Catholic Church, starting with the Hope&Joy articles “Joy in being a modern missionary” (October 19) followed by “A new vision: Everybody a missionary”. The picture painted by Fr Anthony Egan about how mission activity affected (or not) the ordinary laity in the pews before Vatican II is clear and in accordance with our status at that time of “Pray, pay and obey”. The Second Vatican Council’s expansion of the manner and means to be a missionary was without doubt timely. Claire Mathieson reports on interviews with experts in the field of music, media, art, and even sport to show that these are alternative modes of mission work. She does give the viewpoint of a Consolata missionary stating that“mission is understood as proclaiming the Gospel to those who do not know it” and who further emphasises the words of Jesus: “Go to the whole

world…”. He also confirms that the call has been made for all members of the Church to answer the call to mission. Are we no longer to believe that proclaiming the Gospel is the sacred duty of an ordained male priest only? Fr Egan confirms that the Council’s vision was to draw in a much wider group of people. Reading all the witnesses to the various modes of “mission”, a deep conviction arises that we are all called to be missionaries. Yet, for women, the call has to be limited? It seems short-sighted in the light of the every, all, whole et cetera being emphasised. The confusion arises in the light of what Paul is saying in Romans 1. According to a footnote of the African Bible (p 1907): “The gospel, as power of God (Rom 1:16), does not simply convey information—intellectual and theoretical knowledge— about salvation. Rather it offers redemption to all who believe.” Can women proclaim and witness to the Gospel and offer redemption?

Community Calendar To place your event, call Claire Allen at 021 465 5007 or e-mail c.allen@scross.co.za, (publication subject to space) BETHLEHEM: Shrine of Our Lady of Bethlehem at Tsheseng, Maluti mountains; Thursdays 09:30, Mass, then exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. 058 721 0532. CAPE TOWN: Good Shepherd, Bothasig. Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in the chapel. All hours. All welcome. Day of Prayer held at Springfield Convent starting at 10:00 ending 15:30 last Saturday of every month—all welcome. For more information contact Jane Hulley 021 790 1668 or 082 783 0331. DURBAN: St Anthony’s, Durban Central: Tuesday 09:00

Mass with novena to St Anthony. First Friday 17:30 Mass—Divine Mercy novena prayers. Tel: 031 309 3496. JOHANNESBURG: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament: first Friday of the month at 09:20 followed by Holy Mass at 10:30. Holy Hour: first Saturday of each month at 15:00. At Our Lady of the Angels, Little Eden, Edenvale. Tel: 011 609 7246. PRETORIA: First Saturday: Devotion to Divine Mercy. St Martin de Porres, Sunnyside, 16:30. Tel Shirley-Anne 012 361 4545.

We are taught that only ordained priests can proclaim the Gospel and offer redemption so that means evangelisation (or real missionary work) is for priests only. Either Bishop Ponce de Leon is half right (or half wrong), or the Church will have to review its teaching on the ordination of women. The pre-Vatican II view of women as teachers, nurses etc actually still prevails. All the missionary work the faithful in the pews can do is pray and fund the real missionaries. So what has changed? Fr Egan, the theology of the common priesthood of all believers has no status with the magisterium. I don’t know what stories I would feature in a missionary magazine but I would seriously consider campaigning with whatever resources are available for a doubling up of human power in the field of evangelisation. Our Church is promoting missionary work quite correctly, but the process of being a unified community doing the work is not endorsed by the magisterium. Rosemary Gravenor

Liturgical Calendar Year B

Sunday, November 27, First Sunday of Advent Isaiah 63:16-17, 19; 64:2-7, Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19, 1 Corinthians 1:3-9, Mark 13:33-37 Monday, November 28, feria Isaiah 2:1-5, Psalm 122:1-9, Matthew 8:5-11 Tuesday, November 29, feria Sirach 44:1, 10-15, Psalm 24:1-6, Mark 10:17-21 Wednesday, November 30, St Andrew Romans 10:9-18, Psalm 19:8-11, Matthew 4:1822 Thursday, December 1, BI Clementine Anuarite Isaiah 26: 1-6, Psalms 118: 1, 8-9, 19-21, 25-27, Matthew 7: 21, 24-27 Friday, December 2, feria Isaiah 28: 17-24, Psalms 27: 1, 4, 13-14, Matthew 9: 27-31 Saturday, December 3, St Francis Xavier 1 Corinthians 9: 16-19, 22-23, Psalms 117, Mark 16, 15-20 Sunday, December 4, 2nd Sunday of Advent Isaiah 40: 1-5, 9-11, Psalms 85: 9-14, 2 Peter 3: 8-14, Mark 1: 1-8

Family Reflections November theme: Eternal life, Eternal peace November 27: 1st Sunday of Advent. Waiting for the Lord. Jesus warned his disciples and he warns us too. “Stay awake” because we do not know when our time will come to be called by God and to be held accountable, so that we can accept the gift of eternal life, eternal peace. It is a very good idea to make plans now, before the holiday madness starts how to avoid any possible problems as best we can.

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO #472. ACROSS: 1 Buff, 3 Homicide, 9 Retreat, 10 Dogma, 11 All Saints Day, 13 Alight, 15 Purest, 17 Spirituality, 20 Doric, 21 Volcano, 22 Selfless, 23 Vein. DOWN: 1 Barnabas, 2 Fatal, 4 Opting, 5 Indisputable, 6 Ingrate, 7 Edam, 8 Metaphorical, 12 Stay down, 14 Imperil, 16 Staves, 18 Image, 19 Ides.

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

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IN MEMORIAM LEBONA—Aaron David. In loving memory of my husband “AD”, our father and grandfather who passed away November 24, 2003. You will always be lovingly remembered and greatly missed by your wife Evelyn (55 years altogether), sons and daughters-in-law and grandchildren. Thank you for the gift of your love. Always in our thoughts and prayers. Eternally rest in peace. SHARKEY—Brian. 25/11/2010. One long year has passed. Missing you desperately. Your loving wife Val.

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PRAYERS HOLY SPIRIT you make me see everything and show me the way to reach my ideals. You give me the divine gift to forgive and forget. In all instances of my life you are with me, protecting me and opening for me a way where there is no way. I thank you for everything, and confirm once more that I never want to be separated from you, no matter how great the material desires. I want to be with you and my loved ones in your perpetual glory. Amen. Say this prayer for 3 consecutive days. Publication promised. Mary Dudley.

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ACCOMMODATION OFFERED CAPE TOWN—Cape Peninsula: Beautiful homes to buy or rent. Maggi-Mae at Aida Cape Lifestyle Homes 082 892 4502. 021 782 9263, maggimae@aida capelifestyle.co.za SUNWICH PORT—One bedroomed furnished garden cottage, 180 degree sea view, walk to beach and shops. Suit single quiet person. R2 000pm. L/W included. Contact Patrick 082 774 7760

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION BALLITO: Up-market penthouse on beach, selfcatering. 084 790 6562. BETTY'S BAY: (Western Cape) Holiday home sleeps six, three bathrooms, close to beach, R600/night (winter) R800/night (summer). 021 794 4293 marialouise @mweb.co.za CAPE TOWN: Vi Holiday Villa. Fully equipped selfcatering, two bedroom family apartment (sleeps 4) in Strandfontein, with parking, R400 per night. Tel/Fax Paul 021 393 2503, 083 553 9856, vivil la@telkomsa.net FISH HOEK: Self-catering accommodation, sleeps 4. Secure parking. Tel: 021 785 1247. GORDON’S BAY: Beautiful en-suite rooms available at reasonable rates. Magnificent views, breakfast on request. Tel: 082 774 7140. bzhive@telkomsa.net KNYSNA: Self-catering accommodation for 2 in Old Belvidere with wonderful Lagoon views. 044 387 1052. KOLBE HOUSE: Is the Catholic Centre and residence for the University of Cape Town. Beautiful estate in Rondebosch near the university. From mid November, December and January, the students’ rooms are available for holiday guests. We offer self-catering accommodation, parking in secure premises. Short walks to shops, transport etc. Contact Jock 021 685 7370, fax 021 686 2342 or 082 308 0080 or kolbe.house@telkomsa.net KZN SOUTH COAST Holidays. Take a break. Come and stay at Mag’s Place self-catering garden unit in Umtentweni. It’s welcoming clean and spacious, with two bedrooms to accommodate 4

people comfortably. The complex is small and secure, situated within 1km to the main swimming beach. No main roads to cross and no traffic noise. Available from 1st December 2011. Peak season rate R180 per night per person. Please call Maggie 082 926 8624 or email maggie@magsplace.co.z a LONDON, Protea House: Underground 3min, Piccadilly 20min. Close to River Thames. Self-catering. Single per night R250, twin R400. Phone Peter 021 851 5200. MARIANELLA Guest House, Simon’s Town: “Come experience the peace and beauty of God with us.” Fully equipped with amazing sea views. Secure parking, ideal for rest and relaxation. Special rates for pensioners and clergy. Tel: Malcolm Salida 082 784 5675 or mjsalida@mweb.co.za SOUTH COAST, Uvongo: Secure holiday unit, with lock-up garage. Sleeps 6. In complex. 078 935 9128. STRAND: Beachfront flat to let. Stunning views, fully equipped. Garage, one bedroom, sleeps 3. R450 p/night for 2 people—low season. Phone Brenda 082 822 0607 STELLENBOSCH: Five simple private suites (2 beds, fridge, micro-wave). Countryside vineyard/forest/mountain walks; beach 20 minute drive, affordable. Christian Brothers Tel 021 880 0242, cbcstel@ gmail.com UMHLANGA ROCKS: Fully equipped self-catering 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house, sleeps 6, sea view, 200 metres from beach, Dstv. Tel: Holiday Division, 031 561 5838, holi days@lighthouse.co.za

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2nd Sunday of Advent: December 4 Readings: Isaiah 40: 1-5, 9-11; Psalm 85: 914; 2 Peter 3:8-14; Mark 1:1-8 HE first reading is the lovely opening of the prophecy assigned to the anonymous poet, charged with guiding Israel out of their exile in Babylon, who sings to them, “Comfort, comfort, my people”; he is instructed to “speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and tell her that her time of service is filled out”. It turns out that Israel (us, that is) has got things badly wrong, and has been deservedly punished for it, but that the time of punishment is finished. However, just before you start to open up the bar and crack a beer in celebration, notice the implication of this. There is a journey, and a difficult one, to undertake before you reach home: “Prepare a way for the Lord in the desert, make a straight road for our God in the wilderness.” If there is celebration, it will come at a cost, and it is not because it is “party-time”, but because “the glory of the Lord is going to be revealed, and all flesh shall see it”. This is good news, and so the prophet is told, “preacher of the good news to Sion, loudly raise your voice, preacher of good news to Jerusalem, do not be afraid, tell the cities of

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Odd things going on in Mark’s gospel Nicholas King SJ Sunday Reflections Judah, ‘Look! Your God!’” This is followed by a wonderful vision of God as shepherd, “feeding the flock, gathering the lambs”. So it is a strange reading, but joyful, if we read aright the mystery of this Advent of ours. The key, of course is to listen for God’s voice, as the psalmist says: “I am going to pay attention to what God the Lord will say—for he is speaking peace to his people...so that his glory lives in our country.” God comes with his four faithful companions (and this is our responsibility during Advent): “Integrity and Steadfast Love”, followed by “Justice and Peace”. We shall not be properly preparing for the Lord’s coming unless these attendants accompany us also, and we watch in astonishment as they

“meet”, “look down from heaven”, “embrace”, “march before him” and “follow his steps”. The second reading is intended to give us courage as we wait for this coming, and not to start thinking that “the Lord is slow in his promise, as some people think of slowness”. We are told to think of the “Lord’s Day” as coming “like a thief”; it is not, however, all that “furtive”, since “the heavens are going to pass away with a roar...the elements are going to burn and be dissolved”. And our part? It is simply, it seems, to be “eager to wait for this without any spot or stain”. We listen in alarm. The gospel for next Sunday is the opening verses of Mark’s gospel, the strangest of all the gospels. It starts by proclaiming itself “good news about Jesus Messiah”, which sounds all right. Then some manuscripts add “son of God”, which sounds all right until we remember that at the very end of the gospel a Roman centurion is going to declare him “son of God”, because of the appalling way in which he has died. This is very odd, and it

Who said love would be easy? S EVERAL years ago, a Presbyterian minister I know challenged his congregation to open its doors and its heart more fully to the poor. The congregation initially responded with enthusiasm and a number of programmes were introduced that invited people from the less-privileged economic areas of the city, including a number of street-people, to come their to church. But the romance soon died as coffee cups and other loose items began to disappear, some handbags were stolen, and the church and meeting space were often left messy and soiled. A number of the congregation began to complain and demand an end to the experiment. But the minister held his ground, pointing out that their expectations were naïve, that what they were experiencing was precisely part of the cost of reaching out to the poor, and that Jesus assures us that loving is unsafe and messy, not just in reaching out to the poor but in reaching out to anyone. We like to think of ourselves as gracious and loving, but, the truth be told, that is predicated on an overly-naïve and overlyromanticised notion of love. We don’t really love as Jesus invites us to when he says: “Love each other as I have loved you!” The tail-end of that sentence con-

Conrad

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

tains the challenge: Jesus doesn’t say, love each other according to the spontaneous movements of your heart; nor, love each other as society defines love; but rather: “Love each other as I have loved you!” And, for the most part, we haven’t done that: • We haven’t loved our enemies, nor turned the other cheek and reached out to embrace those who hate us. We haven’t prayed for those who oppose us. • We haven’t forgiven those who hurt us, nor forgiven those who have murdered our loved ones. We haven’t, in the midst of being hurt, asked God to forgive the very people who are hurting us because they are not really cognizant of what they are doing. • We haven’t been big-hearted and taken the high-road when we’ve been slighted or ignored, nor at those times have we let understanding and empathy replace bitterness and our desire to withdraw. We haven’t let go of our grudges. • We haven’t let ourselves be vulnerable

to the point of risking humiliation and rejection in our offers of love. We haven’t given up our fear being misunderstood, of not looking good, of not appearing strong and in control. We haven’t set out barefooted, to love without security in our pockets. • We haven’t opened our hearts enough to imitate Jesus’ universal, non-discriminating embrace, nor have we been able to stretch our hearts to see everyone as brother or sister, regardless of race, colour, or religion. We haven’t stopped nursing the silent secret that our own lives and the lives of our loved ones are more precious than those of the rest of the world. • We haven’t made a preferential option for the poor, haven’t brought the poor to our tables, and haven’t yet abandoned our propensity to be with the attractive and the influential. • We haven’t sacrificed ourselves fully to the point of losing everything for the sake of others. We haven’t ever really laid down our lives for our friends—nor, especially, for our enemies. We haven’t been willing to die for the very people who oppose us and are trying to crucify us. • We haven’t loved with pure intention, without somehow seeking ourselves within our relationships. We haven’t let our hearts be broken rather than, however subtly, violate someone else. • We haven’t walked in patience, giving others the full space they need to relate to us according to their own inner dictates. We haven’t been willing to patiently sweat blood in order to be faithful. We haven’t waited in patience, in God’s good-time, for God’s judgment on right and wrong. • We haven’t resisted our natural urge to judge others, to not impute motives. We haven’t left judgment to God. • Finally, not least, we haven’t loved and forgiven own selves, knowing that no mistake we make stands between us and God. We haven’t trusted God’s love enough to always begin anew inside of God’s infinite mercy. • We haven’t loved as Jesus loved. After his wife Raissa died, the French Catholic philosopher Jacques Maritain edited a book of her journals. In the preface he describes her struggle with the illness that eventually killed her. Severely debilitated and unable to speak, she struggled mightily in her last days. Her suffering both tested and matured Maritain’s own faith. Mightily sobered by seeing his wife’s sufferings, he wrote: “Only two kinds of people think that love is easy: saints, who through long years of self-sacrifice have made a habit of virtue, and naïve persons who don’t know what they’re talking about.”

gets odder, for Mark says he’s going to quote Isaiah when in fact the line comes from Exodus (or Malachi); finally he gets back on track with a quotation that is from Isaiah, one that we heard in the first reading. But there is not much about Jesus in all this, we reflect, as we are introduced to the uncomfortable figure of John the Baptist, with his work in the desert, his “baptism of repentance”, his less than attractive clothing (“camel-hair and a leather belt round his waist”) and horrid diet (“locusts and wild honey”). And what does he do? Mysteriously, he points to Someone Else, “the one who is stronger than me, whose sandal-thong I’m not fit to bend down and untie”. More mysterious yet, we are told what Someone Else is going to do: “he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit”. We hardly have any notion what all this means—but we should be intrigued, as the shops get louder and louder in their demands on our wallets: what is it all about, this Advent?

Southern Crossword #472

ACROSS 1. Use it for polishing in the nude? (4) 3. Manslaughter (8) 9. Go back to time of soulsearching (7) 10. Defined doctrine (5) 11. Time to celebrate the holy ones (3,6,3) 13. How Moses found the bush (6) 15. O...of creatures (hymn) (6) 17. I pity rituals holding this quality of soul (12) 20. Order of Greek architecture (5) 21. It might well erupt (7) 22. Benevolently altruistic (8) 23. Blood channel (4)

DOWN 1. Levite from Cyprus (Ac 4) (8) 2. Kind of deadly blow (5) 4. Choosing (6) 5. Unable to be denied (12) 6. He does not give thanks (7) 7. Netherlands cheese made up (4) 8. Symbolical form of poetical harm (12) 12. Remain below, like flattened boxer (4,4) 14. Endanger (7) 16. A vest’s for musical notes (6) 18. Duplicate of original icon (5) 19. Fatal day in March (4) Solutions on page 15

CHURCH CHUCKLE

ne day a few years ago Pope Benedict and the former Italian prime minister shared the same stage at Rome’s packed Stadio Olimpico. The pope leaned towards Silvio Berlusconi and said: “Do you know that with just one little wave of my hand, I can make every person in this crowd go wild with joy? And this joy will not be a momentary display but will go deep into their hearts and they will forever speak of this day and rejoice!” Mr Berlusconi laughed at the pope and replied: “I seriously doubt that, your Holiness! With one little wave of your hand? That’s preposterous. Show me!” So the pope backhanded Mr Berlusconi who, caught off-balance and by surprise, tumbled off his chair and fell off the stage! And the crowd roared and cheered wildly... Send us your favourite Catholic joke, preferably clean and brief, to The Southern Cross, Church Chuckle, PO Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000.