The Southern Cross - 120307 by The Southern Cross

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March 7 to March 13, 2012

Vatican II led a Catholic Bible revolution

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R5,50 (incl VAT RSA)

Reg No. 1920/002058/06

No 4766

From kissing Elvis to the convent

Excerpts from ‘My Brother, The Pope’

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Land: Act soon or face another Zim BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

Fr Stephen Tully, administrator of Emmanuel cathedral in Durban, held a cake sale (including four cakes that he personally baked and auctioned), raising more than R11 000 for the Denis Hurley Centre. Fr Thami Zuma, assistant administrator, had earlier held his own cake sale which raised a further R6 000 for the same cause. There is no truth in the rumour that Tully & Zuma’s Confectioners will soon be in operation. (Photo: S Tamika, Berea Mail)

Nuns win farming award BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

WO Franciscan nuns have walked away with the Emerging Farmers award during the Master Dairy Association of South Africa awards held in Bloemfontein. Srs Priscilla Katase and Winifred Mosololi of the Assisi mission farm in Marseilles, Bloemfontein, were selected winners on account of an “above average performance”, said awards convener Rampie de Wet. “I’m so grateful to have won this award. I know it’s not easy to win this on a national level,” said Sr Katase, who had been the recipient of the regional award in 2009 and 2010 for the Free State. Mr de Wet said there were two farms that outperformed this year out of the five regions—Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Northern region. Apart from production figures, “we also take into account [the nominees’] enthusiasm for the breed they farm with and the general management of the dairy herd and the contribution towards the dairy Industry as a whole”. He said: “Sr Priscilla and Sr Winifred are two very positive people who give hope to everyone crossing their road, and their Hol-

stein herd near Westminister in the Eastern Free State was something a lot of farmers could learn from.” “With the attitude of these two wonderful people I can only predict that we will hear of them again in the future. The dairy they run is one of the finest managed by an emerging farmer,” Mr de Wet said. Sr Katase, who is the manager of the farm, said it was wonderful to be recognised for all their hard work. The farm is home to a herd of 46 Holstein cattle that are milked twice daily and a truck comes to collect the farm’s milk, 640 litres of it, every second day. Sr Mosololi manages the books, while Sr Katase handles the day-to-day management of the farm. “Sr Winnie is my right hand. She keeps all the books and official records,” Sr Katase said. When she arrived at Assisi, Sr Katase worked with Oblate Brother Anton Raab who ran the mission farm—a commercial farm at the time. “But when Br Anton returned to Germany, all the equipment was sold. We were left with just four milking points— enough for just the school children and sisters.” Since being left with a small herd and a fraction of the farming equipment, Sr Katase

HE levels of inequality between the rich and poor in South Africa are so extreme that the country is becoming “a ticking time bomb”, especially if we don’t get behind the land redistribution effort, one of the key inequities, a delegation of Catholic bishops told the minister for land reform. Dominican Father Mike Deeb, coordinator of the Justice & Peace Department (J&P) of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), warned: “We all have to work together if we’re going to avoid a Zimbabwe-like situation.” Six bishops and representatives of J&P met in Pretoria with Gugile Nkwinti, minister of Rural Development and Land Reform. J&P presented the minister with the Catholic Church’s “Vision for Land Reform in South Africa”, a document released in late January as a “bold attempt by our Church to highlight some key theological criteria which may assist the quest for land justice in this country”. Fr Deeb said the meeting was positive, encouraging and enlightening. The SACBC delegation gave a presentation on land reform and invited Mr Nkwinti to respond to the challenges of the situation. “Then all the bishops shared concerns being faced in their own dioceses,” said Fr Deeb, adding that the issue of land invasion was one of the concerns highlighted. “The minister said he felt overwhelmed by the experience as he has never been exposed to the realities and difficulties the Church was experiencing in answering the question of land reform,” said Philani Mkhiza, J&P’s land desk coordinator. The minister, he said, was impressed, positive and exhausted by the stories. Bishops Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg, Graham Rose of Dundee, Xolelo Kumalo of Eshowe, Peter Holiday of Kroonstad, Joe Sandri of Witbank and Jan de Groef of Bethlehem shared their personal experiences with the land reform issue in their respective dioceses. “Four of the bishops represented those dioceses that are most at risk, with the other two being particularly interested in the issue—and specifically how it affects the poor of the country,” said Mr Mkhiza. However, Fr Deeb stressed that while the issue is located in rural areas of the country,

the problem is a national issue. “Most people think the issue affects only big land owners and landless people,” said Fr Deeb. And while on the surface these two parties are those directly involved in the process, “we will all ultimately be affected if the process is not conducted properly”. The priest said that all South Africans must engage with the land question. “It’s a multipronged issue. Resolving the land question means taking into account training, resources, cultural considerations, NGOs as well as government needs.” He said the SACBC delegation was pleased with the outcome of the meeting. “There was a great sense of urgency from the minister. He was open about failed projects and showed great concern and urgency to act,” said Fr Deeb. He added that the Church’s vision is very much in line with the government’s proposed green paper, but further consultation will take place. “There were three very positive outcomes from the meeting: firstly, the minister invited us to become part of the national reference group which will develop the green paper further. Hopefully our input will help with the evolution of the legislation,” Fr Deeb said. Secondly, in response to the bishops’ frustration in dealing with the land issue and not knowing whom to talk to, the minister gave the Church a direct line of contact. Finally, the minister addressed the issue of how state land will be used. On the latter point, said Mr Mkhiza, the Church would push for clarity. “The minister was frank about the weaknesses of the process so far. He didn’t duck and dive on issues, which we found encouraging. He was also apologetic that the Church had suffered in her efforts to redistribute land,” Mr Mkhiza said. Still, J&P feels there are areas that need more work. “We’re going to make use of this opportunity to contribute to the process,” he said. J&P is currently assisting communities in the dioceses of Mariannhill, Queenstown, Witbank and Dundee and works closely with the six dioceses represented at the meeting. “We need to push forward,” said Fr Deeb. “Catholics should be interested in how Church land is being used in their diocese and South Africans should care about the redistribution process.”

Our new-look website

The Southern Cross has revamped its website (scross.co.za) with a new, cleaner look which will enhance the visitor’s browsing experience. “An important aspect of the redesign was the website’s usability on smartphones, iPads and other mobile media platforms. The feedback we have received from users of these media has been very positive,” said webmaster Sean Twomey. The Southern Cross is constantly working on integrating the newspaper and its various services with new technologies. The digital newspaper site (digital.scross.co.za) has also been redesigned.

has made it her mission to build the farm once again. Her daily 2am mornings and dedication to building the farm once again have been recognised by the award. The sisters are constantly working to improve their farming practices. From better breeding practices, optimal feeding programmes to proper milk recording, the sisters are learning it all. This, Sr Katase said, will help them expand. Sr Katase said she is passionate about her

ongoing farming education. She has a diploma in animal husbandry with Stanford Distance Learning and has also completed various short courses with Grain SA. She hopes to raise more funds for the farm which will enable them to plant additional fodder, provide access to more grazing, and possibly afford the sisters an opportunity to expand into other farming operations. “My dream is to pasteurise the milk at the farm and deal directly with local supermarkets.”

LOCAL

The Southern Cross, March 7 to March 13, 2012

Fr Brennan celebrates 50 years and retirement from SACBC BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

‘I

T’S been a busy couple of months,” said Fr Vincent Brennan SMA who has just retired as secretary-general of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) and recently celebrated his golden jubilee as a priest. The Irish born priest joined the Society of African Missions (SMA) immediately after school and was ordained a priest on December 10, 1961. He celebrated his first Mass the following day and shortly after left for Nigeria in 1962. He has called Africa home ever since. “I taught in a teacher training college in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara state, and later was appointed principal,” said Fr Brennan of some of his experiences in Nigeria. So effective was his teaching that the education department in the state called on Fr Brennan to head a combined college of education and secondary school.

He worked in education until 1977 when he was recalled by his bishop to help in the administration of the diocese. Apart from his duties as diocesan secretary, Fr Brennan said he also wrote a weekly column for the Nigerian Herald newspaper, entitled “From the Pulpit”, prepared and presented religious programmes for broadcast on the local radio and television stations, and helped out with Mass and other pastoral duties in the cathedral parish. Fr Brennan obtained a master’s degree (with distinction) in missiology during a sabbatical year in Rome. But he soon returned to Nigeria where he worked as a parish priest. “In 1984 while I was on home leave in Ireland I was asked by the provincial of the SMA fathers to transfer to South Africa to form part of a pioneering team of SMA priests who were being sent to minister to the people in the diocese of Rustenburg.” Fr Brennan said although it was

not easy to leave Nigeria after 20 years, he agreed to the transfer. He arrived in South Africa at the beginning of February 1985 and after studying Setswana at the Stigmatine House in Pretoria for some months, Fr Brennan became involved in building up many Christian communities in the diocese as well as the building of new churches in the rural areas of the diocese. He served as both vicar of education and vicar of catechetics for the diocese of Rustenburg. As education vicar he played a pivotal role in discussions and negotiations with the Bophutatswana Department of Education which resulted in the opening of Holy Family School and Mankwe Christian College of Education in 1992. In addition to the opening of schools, new churches were built at Lerome (Christ the King) and Saulspoort (St Paul’s). During all this time Fr Brennan continued to study privately for a masters degree in canon law which he also

passed with distinction. In 1999 he was appointed associate secretary-general of the SACBC, a post he held for six years. In 2006 Fr Brennan was appointed as secretary-general of the SACBC, a post he held for the past six years while also serving as parish priest at Mogwase in Rustenburg. “I returned there every Friday afternoon and came back to Pretoria on Sunday evening,” he said. Fr Brennan returns to Mogwase and plans to “make up for lost time”, adding that “my parishioners have been very patient with me”. The Mogwase parishioners celebrated the priest’s jubilee with a brass band, ululations and an “enjoyable, spiritually-uplifting and fulfilling thanksgiving Mass”, the priest said. The Mass was celebrated by Fr Brennan and concelebrated by Fr Pius Afiabor, the regional superior of SMA Fathers in South Africa. Also in attendance were Bishop

Fr Vincent Brennan SMA has celebrated his golden jubilee as a priest and has retired as secretary-general of the SACBC. Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg, Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria, and Sr Hermenegild Makoro CPS, Fr Brennan’s successor as secretary-general at the SACBC.

Catholic university partners social outreach academy BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

The Catholic University of Munich and the Chrysalis Academy in the Western Cape have formed a partnership which aims to strengthen local communities through their activities.

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NEW partnership between the Catholic University of Munich and the Chrysalis Academy in the Western Cape was formed in February and aims to strengthen local communities through the application of research, development and social training. A delegation from the university was hosted by Albert Fritz, Western Cape MEC for Social Development. The group visited the Chrysalis Academy as it was an example of “successful social development projects in the region”. Lucille Meyer, the academy’s chief executive officer, said the visit was followed by the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the university and the academy.

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“They were very impressed with the programme and felt that there was nothing of its kind in their country. They indicated that they would be very keen to explore some of their university students visiting the Chrysalis Academy for research purposes.” Founded in June 2000 as an initiative of the Western Cape provincial government, the Chrysalis Academy offers a social crime prevention and upliftment programme targeting “youth at risk” between the ages of 17-25 who have attained a minimum education level of Grade 9, are presently unemployed and have no criminal record. Ms Meyer said the overall aim of the delegation's visit was “to foster a relationship based on bilateral teaching and student mobility and mutual research projects” with the long term goal to

strengthen communities “through the application of research, development and training”. Students at the Chrysalis Academy enter a three-month-long empowerment training programme that focuses on the individual’s physical, psychological and spiritual development. “It is a preventative initiative, as opposed to a rehabilitation programme,” she said. Youth are taught skills of trade such as welding, carpentry, cookery and fire fighting with the purpose of reintegrating into society. Since the academy’s establishment a total of 5 000 graduates have successfully completed the course at Chrysalis. Ms Meyer said this was “an exciting venture which will benefit communities in the Western Cape”.

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The Southern Cross, March 7 to March 13, 2012

Choose better, spend more BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

HIS year’s budget was “wellconstructed and measured”, according to an analysis issued by the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO). The country has money to address our needs and we know which needs should be most urgently addressed, said Mike Pothier, research coordinator of the CPLO, an office of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference. But what is missing “is the political will to put in place the right people to do the job of applying the money to the needs; and to get rid of those who cannot or will not do it”, he added. “When we consider the mismanagement and incompetence that has led to today’s crisis in the Eurozone, with countries like Greece and Ireland on the brink of economic meltdown, and with no guarantee that sizeable economies like Italy and Spain will not also fail, it is appropriate to congratulate the finance minister, and the government in general, on another well-constructed and measured budget,” Mr Pothier said. However, the flaw in the budget was not how it was designed, but how it was being implemented. “The R82 billion that went unspent in 2010/11 is money that was essentially withheld from thousands upon thousands of unemployed labourers, artisans, small-business owners, technicians, drivers and machine operators, all of whom ought to have been hard at work on new roads, railway lines, energy projects and the like—if only government departments knew how to plan and manage projects properly,” Mr Pothier said. Unless the country sees changes

in selecting the right people to implement the country’s money, “we should not be surprised if unemployment continues to sit at one in four people, with its attendant poverty and inequality, no matter how many billions of rands are allocated in budget speeches”, the analysis noted. Finance minister Pravin Gordhan himself identified the problem in his speech saying that spending has “lagged” behind the country’s plans. “We have to do better than that —state enterprises, municipalities and government departments all need to improve their planning and management of capital projects,” the minister said. Mr Pothier said the allocation of funds to massive infrastructure spending was no surprise following President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation Address where it was made clear that this would be the centrepiece of government’s plans to boost employment. Accordingly, over the next three years it is intended to spend R845 billion on capital projects in the energy (R300 billion) and transport and logistics (R200 billion) sectors. “If these plans were to become a reality they would undoubtedly have a huge impact on unemployment, and thus on poverty and inequality,” said Mr Pothier. However, while public-sector corruption is a serious problem, “the money lost to corruption does not come close to the 32% of capital expenditure lost to incompetence, bad planning, political infighting, cadre-deployment and third-rate management skills”, Mr Pothier said while the budget was well planned, the implementation of it would once again be the true test.

Parish administrator Kelsey Hauptfleisch (left) and parish priest Fr Russell Pollitt SJ of Holy Trinity in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, visited Mariannhill Mission Press to seek ways of using technology better for the work of the parish and university chaplaincies in Johannesburg. Fr Pollitt met with press director Rob Riedlinger to see how Mariannhill and Holy Trinity parish could collaborate better on ventures that will be effective in spreading the Good News. Online media specialist Shereé Conway (right) of the Mariannhill Mission Press instructed the visitors on how to use the technology at our disposal effectively. The parish website (trinityjhb.co.za) was set up with the help of Mariannhill Mission Press and has various dimensions—information, downloads of parish forms, a parish registration page (which is captured directly into a database), parish news and links to other relevant sites. “In between her training, Kesley was given a tour around the printing press. She was amazed to see how much work comes from ancient but beautiful printing machines,” Fr Pollitt said. A first time visitor to Mariannhill, Ms Hauptfleisch was also struck by the beauty of the monastery “and could not believe how good it looked, especially when she heard that everything was handmade”.

Comrades support Hurley Centre STAFF REPORTER

ARDINAL Wilfrid Napier of Durban has invited all Catholic runners taking part in this year’s Comrades Marathon on June 3 to make it a sponsored run for the Denis Hurley Centre. The centre’s coordinator, Paddy Kearney, said the idea came from Thomas Daniels of Sacred Heart parish in Woodlands, who will be running his 17th Comrades this year, and offered to do it for the Hurley Centre. “The idea is that each Comrades runner who would like to participate in the project will appeal to the members of their own parish as well as their family and friends to sponsor them. All the proceeds will go to the Denis Hurley Centre,” said Mr Kearney.

Runners are invited to attend the launch of the initiative on March 15 at 18:00 with Cardinal Napier. Mr Kearney said the archdiocese will also host a special Mass for the runners, their families, friends and sponsors prior to the 90km ultramarathon. Runners will be blessed in their running gear. The theme of the project is taken from Hebrews 12:1: “Run then with determination the race that is set before you.” Runners from other parts of South Africa as well as from other countries are welcome to participate. n For official sponsorship forms and more information contact project organiser Mark Wardell at markvwardell@gmail.com or call 083 789 5062.

Thomas Daniels, the first person to volunteer to run the Comrades as a sponsored race for the Denis Hurley Centre. He is from Sacred Heart parish in Woodlands, Durban.

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The Southern Cross, March 7 to March 13, 2012

INTERNATIONAL

Cuba ready for the pope BY PATRICIA ZAPOR

HE Shrine of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, home to the 400-year-old statue of Cuba’s patroness, has always been an impressive sight: a towering pale yellow basilica perched in the picturesque foothills of the Sierra Maestra. It’s where Pope Benedict will visit on March 27, making him the most prominent of tens of thousands of pilgrims expected to make the trek to the shrine of La Caridad, as the image is known, in this 400th anniversary year. He also will celebrate open-air Masses in Havana and Santiago de Cuba and meet with government and Church leaders. But his main reason for coming, according to the Cuban bishops’ conference, is as a pilgrim of La Caridad. The Mass in Santiago also will be dedicated to La Caridad. In the past three years, the shrine at El Cobre has undergone a gradual transformation in anticipation of the 400th anniversary. Peeling plaster has been repaired; new paint brightens walls; new dormitory rooms for pilgrims have been added and the existing ones updated. A chapel area has been remodelled for grateful and hopeful people to leave medal-

lions and other remembrances for their petitions. Glass cases hold some of the more poignant and well-known tributes: sports paraphernalia, letters, and an article about writer Ernest Hemingway’s gift of his Pulitzer Prize—the gold medallion itself is locked away. A marble tabletop nearby holds candles lit by those offering their prayers A work schedule with the September 8 feast of La Caridad as its goal got pushed up by six months in December when the pope’s visit was announced. Just down the hill from the dormitory building is the new residence at which local officials say Pope Benedict will be the first overnight guest. The residence was intended as a home for retired Archbishop Pedro Meurice Estiu of Santiago, who died last July before the home was completed. The pope’s time at the sanctuary of El Cobre will be private and is scheduled for just one hour. Fr Eugenio Castellanos, rector of the shrine, said people will be welcome on the grounds during the pope’s visit, but they will not be allowed inside the church. He said arrangements will be made so people outside can hear whatever the pope may say and view his

Thousands follow papal tweets

HE number of people following Pope Benedict on Twitter has increased tremendously since his account was launched, with more than 12 500 following the pope. “It is quite incredible,” Mgr Paul Tighe, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications told the Catholic News Agency. He was particularly impressed with the number of retweets of the pope’s messages. The dramatic upsurge in interest in the pope’s Twitter presence coincided with the beginning of Lent on February 22. On that day, Vatican officials began tweeting part of the Pope’s Lenten message, an innovation they will con-

tinue every day until Easter. Twitter is an online social networking site that enables users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters. Anyone can sign up to follow the pope, whose messages are tweeted in English, Italian, Spanish, German and French, via @Pope2YouVatican. Soon they will also be available in Portuguese. “It’s an important initiative for evangelisation and evangelisation through communication,” Fr Paolo Padrini, coordinator of Pope2You. “The initiative puts the Pope in contact with the people of God and in particular with young people, because Pope2You was created mainly for young people.”

visit on television screens. Mass in Santiago de Cuba on March 26 will be held in Antonio Maceo Revolution Square, scene of the 1998 Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II. Archdiocesan organisers expect up to half a million people to come from across eastern Cuba, throughout the Caribbean and the United States.

he Cuban government announced that people who wish to attend the Masses will be able to take the time off work with pay. Church officials in Santiago and Havana said the government had not yet decided whether the days would be declared public holidays to help with traffic flow. The Mass in Santiago will be in the late afternoon, with participants expected to gather throughout the day. Tens of thousands of people are expected to line Pope Benedict’s route between El Cobre and Santiago, as well as the streets between Havana’s José Martí International Airport and his first stop in the capitol, where he will meet with the bishops of Cuba and civil authorities. The March 28 Mass in Havana will be in Revolution Square, also the same location where Pope John Paul celebrated Mass.

A man peddles flowers to pilgrims on the road leading to the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity in El Cobre. Golden sunflowers are a popular offering left at the shrine by devotees. Pope Benedict visits Cuba from March 26-28. (Photo: Nancy Phelan Wiechec, CNS) Mgr José Félix Pérez Riera, executive secretary of the Cuban bishops’ conference, told Catholic News Service that the Church is printing 300 000 copies of the programme for the Havana Mass but added that planners could only guess at how many people might attend. In 1998, an estimated 150 000 people attended the papal Mass in Havana. In 1998, the four Masses celebrated by the pope were fairly evenly spaced across the island, in

Havana, Santa Clara, Camaguey and Santiago de Cuba, Mgr Pérez noted. The two liturgies planned for Pope Benedict’s visit are at opposite ends of the country, making for bus rides of four to five hours or more for many people who might want to participate. Mgr Pérez said he had been quoted a price of $1,25 (R9,30) per mile per person for hiring buses, a prohibitive price in a country where the average monthly salary is about $20 (R150).—CNS

Nigerian prelate urges unity BY PETER AJAYI DADA

RCHBISHOP John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja has challenged Nigerians to do everything possible keep their nation united and to resist any attempts to divide it along narrow religious lines. “We live in a nation where everyone is supposed to be free to profess whatever faith he or she decides to follow,” Archbishop Onaiyekan said in his homily at the opening Mass of the Nigerian bishops’ plenary. He commended Nigerians for achieving a measure of success in nation-building despite what he called “occasional appearances to the contrary”.

However, he said, recent troubles in Nigeria—armed revolt, economic disparity and corruption— had inflicted spiritual damage to the nation, making it difficult to live together as children of God. Archbishop Onaiyekan also urged Nigeria’s leadership to live up to its responsibility by restoring and maintaining security and by bringing opposing forces together for dialogue and reconciliation. “Especially, the civil authorities must continue the efforts to disarm violent aggressors who attack and kill innocent people,” he said. Boko Haram, an extremist Islamic sect with somewhat undefined leadership and goals, has targeted Nigerian leaders and public

institutions with increasing violence since 2009. The Associated Press reports that, in the first two months of 2012, the sect was blamed for killing at least 310 people. Archbishop Onaiyekan said no amount of grievances about impoverishment, marginalisation or neglect can justify attacks on and destruction of innocent human lives and hard-earned property. Freedom of religion means respect for all, the archbishop said. “It is about time, therefore, that we sincerely examine our attitudes and review certain practices of religious intolerance, some of which have been inherited from earlier times.”—CNS

Church preps for synod

AKING final preparations for the world Synod of Bishops on new evangelisation in October, a committee of cardinals and bishops discussed how difficult it is today to transmit the faith to others. “There was talk about the ‘current fruitlessness of evangelisation’, in part because of the presence of certain influences from modern culture that make the transmission of the faith particularly difficult,” said a Vatican press release. The ordinary council of the general secretariat of the Synod of Bishops met at the Vatican to discuss a draft of the working document for the synod, which will be held at the Vatican October 7-28.—CNS

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, March 7 to March 13, 2012

Ex-Anglicans thank pope in St Peter’s Mass BY CAROL GLATZ

NGLICAN hymns, chants and prayers reverberated off the marble walls of St Peter’s basilica as some members of the world’s first ordinariate for former Anglicans celebrated their coming into the Catholic Church. “Wonderful is not a strong enough word to express how we feel to be here”, where the apostle Peter gave his life “and where his successors guarded the faith for generations”, said Fr Len Black in his homily. Mass at the basilica and the pilgrimage to Rome generated “a feeling of coming home,” said the Catholic priest who served as an Anglican pastor in the Scottish Highlands for 31 years.

The group of about 94 pilgrims, including a dozen priests, was led by Mgr Keith Newton, head of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, which was established in January 2011 for former Anglicans in England and Wales. After celebrating morning Mass in a side chapel, the group moved to the centre of the basilica and stood in front of the Confessio—a lower chapel honouring St Peter’s confession of faith that led to his martyrdom—and recited the General Thanksgiving, a traditional Anglican prayer. The week-long Lenten pilgrimage highlighted the season’s call to conversion but also was an opportunity to thank Pope Benedict for establishing a structure for welcoming former Anglicans into

the Catholic Church. Mgr Newton also met briefly with the pope at the end of a general audience. The pope’s 2009 apostolic constitution Anglicanorum coetibus provided a way for entire Anglican parishes or groups to become Catholic while retaining some of their Anglican heritage and liturgical practice. “We felt this was the answer to our prayers” for corporate Christian unity, the monsignor said, adding that ecumenical dialogue seems to no longer have full and visible corporate union as its goal. Dialogue has become more of an exercise in finding common ground and ways to cooperate, while the Anglican Communion falls further away from seeking revealed truth, Mgr Newton said.

The nun who once kissed Elvis

ORE than half a century ago, she kissed Elvis Presley in the movie Loving You—five years later she left Hollywood to become a nun. Dolores Hart swapped the King of Rock ’n’ Roll for a totally different kind of king when she became Benedictine Sister Dolores—and made something of a comeback this year when a documentary film about her life was nominated for an Oscar The 1957 Elvis movie was the debut for the actress who was born Dolores Hicks in Chicago in 1938. Nine films followed, with the future nun starring opposite such screen legends as Montgomery Clift, George Hamilton and Robert Wagner, as well as in another Presley movie, 1958’s King Creole. The turning point for the actress, who had converted to Catholicism at the age of ten, came when she played St Clare of Assisi in the 1961 film Francis of Assisi (coming shortly after she played the lead in the summer romance Where The Boys Are). Meeting Pope John XXIII, she introduced herself: “I am Dolores Hart, the actress playing Clare.” The pope responded: “No, you are Clare!” She left Tinseltown (and a fiancé) the following year—her final film was the comedy Come Fly with Me—to join the Benedictine Abbey of Regina

Sr Dolores Hart on the red carpet at the Oscars, with Rebecca Cammisa (right), the director of a documentary about the nun. Right: Dolores Hart and Elvis Presley in a promo shot for the 1957 film Loving You. Laudis in Bethlehem, Connecticut. When she initially visited the abbey to discuss her vocation, she arrived in a limousine; when she entered the religious life, she emptied her pockets of all her possessions. She took her final vows in 1970 and later became the abbey’s prioress. Her story is now the subject of the Oscar-nominated HBO documentary God is Bigger Than Elvis, which is scheduled to premiere in the US on April 5. The documentary’s director, Rebecca Cammisa has said that Sr Dolores “still has a lot of charm and charisma, she definitely did not lose that when

she went into the monastery”. “I hope the film will break the stereotype of who nuns are and what they do,” she said. At the Oscars, God is Bigger Than Elvis lost out to Saving Face, a documentary about a London-based Pakistani plastic surgeon who went to Pakistan to perform reconstructive surgery on survivors of acid violence. Before her appearance at this year’s Oscars, Sr Dolores returned to Hollywood for the first time since leaving the movie industry in 2006, to raise awareness for peripheral idiopathic neuropathy disorder, a neurological disorder which she suffers from herself.

Vatican discusses infertility treatment BY CINDY WOODEN

HE majority of the world’s fertility specialists have spent so much time and effort trying to promote and perfect in vitro fertilisation that they have wasted resources and time that could have been used to find ways to prevent and treat infertility, a physician told a Vatican audience. “Infertility is a symptom of an underlying condition,” and too many physicians do not even attempt to find the cause and treat it; they simply recommend in vitro fertilisation, said Dr Thomas W Hilgers, a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life and director of the Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction in Omaha, Nebraska. Dr Hilgers was one of 16 speakers at a workshop sponsored by the Pontifical Academy for Life to discuss the latest research on the causes, prevention and treatment of infertility. According to the academy, infertility affects about 15% of the population in the industrialized world and up to 30% of the population in some developing

countries. “We want to offer a contribution to try to reduce as much as possible this phenomenon, which makes it impossible for so many people to procreate a child and to satisfy their just desire for responsible parenthood,” Bishop Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, academy president, told the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano. With in vitro fertilisation, a woman’s eggs are removed, united with sperm in a laboratory, and then implanted in the womb of the mother or a surrogate. The procedure is costly, and the Catholic Church teaches IVF is immoral because fertilisation does not take place through the sexual union of a husband and wife, and because of the number of fertilised embryos that usually are destroyed or frozen. “Women go to the IVF clinic with an underlying disease and they walk away from these clinics with the same disease,” Dr Hilgers told participants at the workshop. Addressing the workshop, Pope Benedict said that an almost exclusive reliance on technology and a focus on finan-

cial profit seem to dominate the field of medical responses to infertility. However, what couples need and deserve, he said, is “a correct diagnostic evaluation and a therapy that corrects the causes of infertility”. “In effect, scientism and the logic of profit today seem to dominate the field of infertility and human procreation, reaching a point where it also limits many other areas of research,” Pope Benedict said. The physicians and scientists at the Vatican conference, however, were motivated “by the desire not only to give a couple a child, but to restore the spouses’ fertility and the dignity of being responsible for their procreative choices in order to collaborate with God in the generation of a new human being”, the pope said. The pope said that Catholic couples need to know that their marital vocation is not diminished if they cannot have children. The couple is still called to love and self-giving, and “to collaborate with God in the creation of a new humanity” and a better world.—CNS

He said Bl John Henry Newman saw himself engaged in a battle against liberalism, or rather, “that view that it didn’t really matter what you believed, they were all equally important and that there was no such thing as revealed religion. And I think that’s exactly what’s happening in the Anglican community—it’s all personal opinions. The problem of the ordination of women and gay marriage are symptoms of the problem—the problem I think is liberalism in religion, secularism.” Mgr Newton, who was an Anglican bishop, said the real underlying motive for him and many others to break with the Anglican Church was “because we believe in revealed truth” and obedience.

The creation of an ordinariate, which is similar to a diocese but national in scope, was a particularly Catholic way of building reciprocity between traditions in which each shares and contributes its own unique gifts with the other, he said. “That seems to be exactly the way that ecumenism should go,” he said. “It’s the Holy Father’s vision and we’ve got him to thank for it.” The biggest challenges have been practical issues, he said, such as determining where clergy, especially those who are married with families, will live; deciding how much priests will be paid; and finding a place and time to worship that’s convenient for parishioners and clergy.—CNS

The Southern Cross, March 7 to March 13, 2012

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

The land question

HE government’s engagement with the Catholic Church on questions of the equitable distribution of land is much welcome. With a view to next year’s unhappy centenary of the 1913 Native Land Act, it is also timely. The Land Act, which set the ceiling of black land ownership in South Africa to 7%, continues to haunt us, even a century later and even after almost two decades of our inclusive democracy. Of course, the Act did not start the process of dispossession, but it entrenched, protected and perpetuated the land grabs of previous generations. It was the basis of the economic enslavement of much of the black majority, especially under apartheid. The effects of this are felt acutely even today, posing many, perhaps most, of South Africa’s social and economic problems. The post-1994 dispensation is still struggling to find a way of arriving at a coherent and feasible agrarian land reform policy. Since 1994, the government has redistributed only 8% of land, of which 90% has been unproductive. The government knows that this represents an abject failure. The status quo, whereby a small number of people control most of the privately-held land, is not sustainable. South Africa is facing an explosion of anger by the landless, one that does not require its fuse being lit by populist demagogues. It is born of frustrated desperation. Indeed, escalating cases of land invasions and protests suggest that the pot of discontent is already on the boil. For South Africans, the portent of anarchic Zimbabwe-style land grabs looms large. The government knows what utter privations the morally and logistically corrupt agrarian land reform in Zimbabwe created, so caution must be exercised as we move towards a responsible and equitable land reform policy. In South Africa, such a policy must meet the expectations of the landless poor while at the same time comply with the state’s constitutional obligations. Crucially, a land reform policy must not compromise the country’s food supply. Therefore, if land is redistributed, it must remain productive. The idea that 90% of the small

portion of land that was redistributed since 1994 has remained barren signals that it will not suffice to simply change ownership of land, by whatever means that is accomplished. Those who work the land must be provided with the skill, technology and capacity to be productive. Clearly, the willing-seller willing-buyer model has failed, with the government taking much of the blame for that. New equitable means must be found. The mechanics of land redistribution will require good will and sincerity from all sides in collaborating for the common good, with an understanding that past injustices must be corrected. For example, Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Mulder’s recent suggestion in parliament that Africans cannot lay claim to land in the Western and Northern Cape, because historically these regions were not inhabited by them, contributes nothing constructive to the debate— unless he was proposing that land redistribution must include the much ignored descendants of the indigenous populations of those regions. The Catholic Church, basing its position on Scripture, proposes that land is not merely a commodity, but a gift to humanity of which we take stewardship for the common good. A document on land issued in January by the Justice & Peace Department of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference explains: “In the social teaching of the Church, the process of the concentration of landholdings is judged a scandal because it clearly goes against God’s will and salvific plan, inasmuch as it deprives a large part of humanity of the benefit of the fruits of the earth.” Therefore, the “Vision for Land Reform in South Africa” document says, care for the land “implies seeing it not simply in material terms as geographical space, but in moral and theological terms as an opportunity for sharing and caring for the poor, the dispossessed, the stranger, the sojourner, the widow and orphan”. Land reform and the way it is implemented concerns us all, even those South Africans living in urban centres, in terms of social stability, food supply and justice. None of us can remain detached from the process.

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.

Giving up our time during Lent for our Lord UR parish priest is not a great offered a different option—he sug- And in quiet contemplation—no O believer in the “giving up” of gested the “giving up” of some of babbling of set prayers—just sharthe usual things during Lent. Per- our time to God, specifically to be ing a little of ourselves with Jesus, haps he has a point; perhaps many of the “sacrifices” made are selfserving—diets to achieve weightloss, abstinence from liquor because we know it’s not doing us any good anyway. And if the savings achieved by these actions resulted in the benefit to the needy, then they would be justifiable—but how many times does this happen? On Ash Wednesday our priest

Voice from Kenya

HE Southern Cross is fast becoming popular in my part of the world: East Africa. Your news coverage of the Southern Africa region, Africa, Vatican and the world at large is well done. The same can be said of other content in the newspaper. For me The Southern Cross presents a challenge to other regions in Africa which are yet to establish and promote the print media. In some parts of the Eastern African region there is no such Catholic print media. The Church should go for both radio and print media. In this way, the media work in the Church would be fully balanced. From this side, I wish the editor and his team all the best in the media work they are currently engaged in. Keep it up! Wanjiku wa Karago, Kibichoi, Kenya

Dissapointing Mass behaviour

N Ash Wednesday our son, grandson and I went to Mass a half hour early to experience “quiet time” in front of the Blessed Sacrament and to prepare for Mass. The first ten minutes were fine. Then the “total onslaught” began. I hadn’t realised that so many Catholics still came to Ash Wednesday Mass. I think most came straight from work. “Oh, there’s so and so”, a kiss and a cuddle, leading straight into a conversation. All the while talking they are texting too. Eventually I got up and told a young lady to put her Blackberry away. Next, a trio of 30 something ladies sat next to us. One of them seemed to be relating something that had happened to her that day. She got louder, the hands began to fly as she described this event. I became annoyed and told her that she wasn’t in the cinema, asking her to please be quiet. She told me to mind my own business, saying:

spent with him, in Jesus’ presence —the setting aside of as little as 15 minutes per day for devotion to God. It sounds easy, but it’s not so simple. No putting it off, no “I’ve just got to finish this report”, no “I’ll get there when the washing is done”, no “this evening when it’s quieter”! A set time, to be adhered to, a promise to Jesus to be honoured.

and listening for what he has to tell us. Our priest said that this exercise would bring us nearer to God, nearer to Jesus, and I believe him. 40 days of Lent—40 occasions to be shared with Christ. And if we’ve missed a few of those days, so what? Even one 15-minute period would perhaps be more than what we’ve been offering so far. Tom Drake, Johannesburg

“Mass hasn’t started!” I was embarrassing my grandson and myself, so I hung up my “class monitor” hat, turned into my shell and tried the rosary, again. To no avail. Turning the clock back a few weeks, I was reminded of Fr Bonaventure Hinwood’s remarks about us being held captive by the parish choirs. As usual we were in the church a good half an hour before Mass. I was awakened by a trumpet blast! The guitar trio had been joined by a trumpet, saxophone, plus the organ. On a recent hike I found one of the most tranquil places I had ever been to. I reckon we’ll go there, plant some tomatoes, smoke “the tree of knowledge” and worship God with no noise or disturbances. Kevin Murphy, Johannesburg

in New Zealand to believe in a perfect world which can be legislated into existence. Some concept of original sin (like mine) has to be watched lest it become cynical. Progress in the world has been through discovery but even better control of matter has not improved man’s inhumanity to man. My Catholic faith is the best explanation and way of life that I have been exposed to. Possibly what Mr Straughan is asking for is another paradigm of original sin. Perhaps we are computers with an operating system that is not self-sufficient but needs updates, upgrades, refreshing, archiving and, of course, a daily log in and out. I wonder why it has become a point of interest for Mr Straughan now? I know the article by Michael Shackleton (who taught me altar serving in the 1950s at St Michael’s in Rondebosch, Cape Town) on limbo was a stimulus, but has something caused a stench which Mr Straughan has been tidying up? Chris Radloff, Pukekohe, New Zealand

Nature misbehaves

EGARDING Bernard Straughan’s request for original sin to be reassessed (January 18), Christianity and salvation history are based on original sin, the Fall of Mankind. To reassess original sin would be to inspect the foundations and shake the structure of the Church. My wife and I have received The Southern Cross in hard copy form for the past 12 years courtesy of my younger brother in Namibia. Our awareness of faultlines has been heightened by the devastating earthquake in Christchurch last year. Nature shares in this innate tendency to misbehave. Original sin reverberates through concepts such as aging, degeneration, cancer, pain, untimely death, crime. No concept of original sin has led politicians 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.

It’s a sin

ATHER Seán Wales (February 15) stated that the family that goes the contraceptive route is mistaken in the eyes of the Church, but they are acting in good conscience, in good faith and so do not sin. However, most birth control methods are not in fact contraceptives (which prevent the formation of new life), but are actually abortifacients (which can destroy new life after its formation), and one of these is “the pill”. Thus, regardless of the state of their conscience when doing this, no Catholics who utilise actual or potential abortifacients, can be said not to sin. Damian McLeish, Johannesburg

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PERSPECTIVES

Creator of Heaven and Earth

OD is a non-physical entity causally influencing the cosmos in non-physical ways. God’s mode of causal influence is more likely to be beyond the governance of natural law, and therefore that influence is not measurable, predictable, or publicly observable. To the extent that the sciences describe regular, measurable, predictable, controllable and repeatable behaviour, acts of God will be outside the scientific remit. But that does not mean they do not occur. There is great naiveté in the atheist assumption that our presence in the universe is self-explanatory, and does not require an answer. Because to reject God is to imply that reasons for the existence of an orderly natural world are not crucial and need not be sought. This view implies that laws of nature exist simply because they are, or because we find ourselves in one of countless “multiverses” in which ours happens to be hospitable to life. And there’s no need to ask why this should be so, or to inquire about the mechanism that generates so many worlds. It is absurd to assume that where there once was nothing now there’s something—and there’s no need to ask why. Yet it should be clear to any scientist that nothing, by definition, cannot give birth/rise to something. But the curiosity of the theist who embraces science is greater, not less, because he seeks an explanation that is deeper than what science can provide— an explanation that includes science, but then seeks the ultimate reason why the logic of science should work so well. The hypothesis of God comes not from a rejection of science, but from a penetrating curiosity that asks why sci-

ence is even possible, and why the laws of nature exist for us to discover. It is true, of course, that organised religions do not point to a single, coherent view of the nature of God. But to reject God because of the admitted selfcontradictions and logical failings of organised religion would be akin to rejecting physics because of the inherent contradictions of quantum theory and general relativity.

cience, all of science, is necessarily incomplete—this is, in fact, the reason why many find science to be such an invigorating and fulfilling calling. Why, then, should we be surprised that religion is incomplete and contradictory as well? We do not abandon science because our human efforts to approach

An impression of the Big Bang. It should be clear, Mphuthumi Ntabeni writes, that nothing cannot give birth to something.

Mphuthumi Ntabeni

Reflection on the Apostles Creed – Pt 2

the great truths of nature are occasionally hampered by error, greed, dishonesty, and even fraud. Why then should we declare faith a “delusion” because belief in God is subject to exactly the same failings? So when we believe in God, Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, it is no cardinal sin of ignorance that we do not state, or understand it, in terms which would satisfy scientists. Those whose curiosity compels them to investigate how God created the universe, and decipher that it was done through what they call a Big Bang theory are in their right because they are using God-given powers to investigate these things. But it does not necessarily mean their findings or speculations are above religious Revelation. In fact, it is God’s kind mercy that allows both Revelation and science. God chose not to leave us in total darkness about our origins. Worshipping the idea of self-sufficiency tends to lead many to unprecedented irrationality when that idea attacks the reality of God as the ground of existence. These are the ones who have brought us to the stage Socrates feared most whereupon we are “filled with the conceit of wisdom instead of real wisdom”. This to me is more or less the satanic attitude depicted poetically by Milton’s Satan in Paradise Lost. In rebelling against the Creator of the Universe, Satan is compelled by his position to deny that he was even created by God and to tell his followers: “We know no time when we were not as now.”

Lent: A time to be our real selves Anthony L Gathambiri IMC ENT is well underway! Do you feel it? What a moment! It is a time that should not leave us unchanged, but make us better people. We have to celebrate Lent, not “observe it”. It is a time to eliminate those things that make us not look like disciples of Christ. It’s a time to eradicate

In an age when our success is measured by material things, Lent is a good time to reflect on our own worth and opt out of the competition for acclamation, argues Anthony Gathambiri IMC.

what hinders us from being authentic. We can only be authentic Christians if we first work on our own selves. Lent is a moment to model ourselves on Jesus. It is a time to follow Jesus more closely, as his followers. John Mason, in his book Imitation is Limitation, tells us that the more you are like Jesus, the more you become what you are supposed to be. God does not demand from us to be the best preacher in the world or the best doctor, as though we are in a contest. He wants us to just be what he created us to be. Our only job here on earth is to express who we really are. If you are Anthony, just be Anthony, and not Peterson or Daniel. You can never become them, anyway. Every human being is born unique, an original. Lent should be a time to remind ourselves that we are original, and not imitations. We should boldly say: “I am original,” and working on our own particular gifts. Nobody is a replica of another. Out of the seven billion people in the world, no one has the same finger prints, not even identical twins. It’s upon us to use this moment of grace to go back to within ourselves and discover our strengths and weaknesses, so that we can work on them. Each of us has untapped strengths that could improve our world. If people only knew how rich they were, they would spend days and nights

Lenten Reflection

trying to discover that treasure. And all of us have that hidden treasure within us, waiting to be discovered. Try to discover and work on that gift of, for example, reconciling people, or of being able to make people feel at home in any place, or of public speaking. The journey of reclaiming our true identity is not that easy. It requires of us to keep reflecting on how we are doing things. We need to say mea culpa and beat our breasts thrice when we try to live other people’s lives. These days, an individual’s success in life is measured by their car, whether they have the latest laptop, a lovely house, and also by their educational accomplishments. This causes much unhealthy competition among people. We need to take our eyes off others and spend some time with Jesus in this season of Lent. We need to ask him for grace to help us believe in ourselves, because we are created for a purpose. During Lent, we need to go the extra miles in prayer, asking God to show us our purpose of being on earth. It’s through this that we may shun that habit of imitating others.

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The Southern Cross, March 7 to March 13, 2012

Ugonna John Bosco Ezeomedo

Lenten Reflection

Why there is no Alleluia in Lent

HE word “Alleluia” comes from the Hebrew and literally means “Praise Yah”, and is translated as “Praise the Lord”. The Hebrew word “Alleluia” as an expression of praise to God was preserved, untranslated, by the early Christians as a superlative expression of thanksgiving, joy, and triumph. It was mostly used at the Paschal time, mainly because of its association with the “the great Hallel” (Alleluia Psalms) that was sung during the Passover. Because it expresses the apex of Christian joy that explodes at Easter, the Church suspends it during Lent, which is the 40-day desert preparation for that great Paschal experience. It does not mean that there is a time we should not praise God. We praise God throughout the year, and this is why the Alleluia is replaced with its various translations, such as “Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, king of eternal glory”, or “Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ”. Just as our life on earth, the life of the Church is seasonal. Trees shed their leaves in winter and blossom with new life in spring. The same way, the Church symbolically goes into winter in Lent in order to blossom with the Risen Lord at Easter. That is why Lenten celebrations are more characterised by sorrowful gestures and decorations. There are no flowers on the altar, no Gloria and Alleluia in the liturgy, the hymns and prayers are more sorrowful in language. The Church is in the desert with her Lord. The same mood of reduced joy is also experienced during Advent in preparation for Christmas, but not with the same intensity. The Church is organic; that is why the entire year is filled with celebrations that emphasise her mood and growth process at each moment. Throughout the year, she lives out in visible signs and symbols, the great mystery of the Life and Death of her Spouse, Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. With the great “Alleluia” sung at the Easter night Mass, the Church blossoms again like a sunflower into the Easter joy of her Risen Lord. And this joy fills the whole world, with Alleluia resounding in almost every expression during the liturgy. The New Life flowing from her Spouse is celebrated anew in colours and songs of great joy, typically expressed in the Alleluia. But now, as we look forward to this great event, let us get deeper into the season of Lent. Lent symbolises our sorrowful journey on earth towards heaven, our final Easter. Getting into the spirit of Lent helps us get into the proper spirit of our journey towards heaven. Our life on earth is marked with daily repentance. Also, we experience here on earth the New Life of Christ and the joy of heaven, but not fully yet. We still have our crosses on, we still have to suffer and die with Christ. Symbolically, Christ still hangs on the cross in us, till the last person to be saved goes into heaven. That is why our crucifix still has the image of Christ on it. n Ugonna John Bosco Ezeomedo is a graduate of Philosophy from Bigard Memorial seminary in Enugu, Nigeria. He is a member of St Patrick’s parish in La Rochelle, Johannesburg.

FOCUS

The Southern Cross, March 7 to March 13, 2012

How Vatican II set off Catholic Bible revolution

T was the Bible that led the “Bishops’ revolt” at Vatican II. And in many respects it is Vatican II’s renewed concern for Scripture that has had (with the revised liturgy) possibly the greatest impact on the Church as a whole. When the bishops gathered in Rome in 1962, they were presented with a series of draft documents for their approval by the conference organisers. As they read through the document of scripture and revelation a number of them voiced their rejection of what they considered its inadequacies and excessive slant towards a dogmatic control over biblical interpretation. When the schema was withdrawn a new committee comprising Vatican officials and bishops started to redraft it. The new document Dei Verbum (officially adopted three years later, on November 18, 1965) radically shifted Catholic understanding and use of the Bible. The technical language of revelation was replaced with the term “Word of God”, with an emphasis on how God spoke to God’s people through individuals and communities who then communicated this experience to others in human words. The connection between the Word of God and the Christian tradition is further spelt out in a careful formulation: tradition is both the handing on of revelation and the sum total of it. It develops through the prayerful study of rev-

Anthony Egan SJ

A Church of Hope and Joy

elation by all believers in their contexts, but with a special role assigned to those who lead the Church (the bishops). The magisterium of the latter is thus important but not exclusive. Scripture, then, must be carefully interpreted. It cannot be read literally, as one still sadly finds among fundamentalists of all denominations. Dei Verbum strongly endorsed the use of modern critical Biblical scholarship in this regard. Another key point made was that the Hebrew Bible—what was then still called, somewhat colonially, the Old Testament—was as central to divine revelation for Christians as the New Testament. The Council Fathers were quick to reject any idea of supersessionism, the idea that the New Testament somehow invalidated the “Old”. Most importantly, the Council reiterated the centrality of Scripture and the reading of Scripture for the whole Church. The idea that Catholics could slope into the back of the church on Sunday in time for the Offertory and still consider they’d met their Sunday obligation was cast aside—we are a people of both Word and Sacrament. Similar-

A young woman studies the Bible. Vatican II opened up a whole new world of Catholic scripture scholarship. (Photo: Karen Callaway, Catolico) ly Catholics were strongly encouraged to read the Bible, to study it and to draw spiritual nourishment from it.

ithin a few years of the Council the fruits of Dei Verbum could be felt by everyone. From being an intellectual backwater Catholic biblical scholarship rapidly caught up with (and in some ways outstripped) its Protestant counterparts. With the official sanction given by Optatem Totius (the Council document on priestly formation), Scripture study was revitalised in

seminaries and theology faculties. And beyond the seminary and university lay Catholics were also rediscovering the Bible. The latter took a number of important directions. The first was simply that more and more Catholics actually owned Bibles— and read them. New Catholic biblical translations emerged and became bestsellers. One of the most innovative, the Jerusalem Bible (itself based on a French text developed by scholars of the École Biblique in Jerusalem, validated against Greek and Hebrew sources) incorporated such

literary luminaries as novelist JRR Tolkien and the philosopher Anthony Kenny as translators. Other classic translations like the Revised (and later New Revised) Standard Version represented a dramatic new ecumenical venture between Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox scholars. The second was an attempt to develop various forms of Bible study groups in parishes and chaplaincies. In some places this move was crucial to the growth of small Christian communities in Asia, Africa, the Americas (and even in some parts of secularised Europe). A third, and perhaps indirect, outcome was the resurging popularity of scripturally-based retreats among clergy and laity alike. The most obvious of these were those individually-guided retreats based on the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius Loyola. Where previously based on “points” given during conferences by directors, the shift occurred in the late 1960s—firstly in the English-speaking world— towards individually-guided retreats where retreatants meditated upon passages of scripture assigned to them. With such developments the face of Catholic spirituality, worship and theological thinking changed almost beyond imagining. One wonders whether the Reformers of the 16th century would have recognised Catholics after 1965; one wonders too what they might have needed to protest against!

Of rebels and leaders A DANGEROUS DOZEN: 12 Christians Who Threatened the Status Quo But Taught Us to Live Like Jesus, by the Rev C K Robertson. SkyLight Paths Publishing. Woodstock, Vermont. 2011). 171pp TEN AFRICAN HEROES: The Sweep of Independence in Black Africa, by Thomas Melady and Margaret Melady. Orbis Books. Maryknoll. 2011. 205pp Reviewed by Regina Lordan N the face of violence and political instability, certain brave Christians have answered with a rebellion and conviction, changing the world forever. Two books highlight these people who impacted the world throughout history. In Ten African Heroes: The Sweep of Independence in Black Africa, Thomas Melady and Margaret Melady offer an insider account about the influence of faith and theology on African leaders who were the impetus for peaceful revolution from colonisation in Africa in the 1960s. The Reverend C K Robertson’s A Dangerous Dozen: 12 Christians Who Threatened the Status Quo but Taught Us to Live Like Jesus features men and women from early Christianity to modern history who were a threat against political order and the status quo, sexism, anti-Semitism and bigotry. A noted Anglican theologian, Rev Robertson wrote a truly interesting book that even offers the amateur reader some unknown information about important Christians and their rebellious spirit. For example, St Francis of Assisi is often viewed as a peaceful man with birds perched on his shoulder and rabbits snuggled at his feet. Though he was a friend to the animals, according to Rev Robertson, St. Francis’ order of men evoked anything but an ambivalent response from Church leaders. Living in poverty and preaching among the people, St Francis’ followers bordered on the extreme and weird, and were viewed by some as a threat to the status quo. Rev Robertson also wrote about other gamechangers: St Paul, Dorothy Day, Sojourner Truth and Archbishop Oscar Romero, to name a few. Rooted in historical research and reflection, these

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stories are inspiring, engaging and educational. In their book, the Meladys describe in great detail the many meetings and correspondence they shared with key African leaders involved in the peaceful independence movements that swept the continent. Former US. ambassador to Burundi, Uganda and the Vatican, Thomas Melady built relationships with these leaders by coordinating visits with universities and other agencies when they travelled to the United States. Through these and other diplomatic duties, Melady and his wife built important relationships and deep understandings of the Christian motivations behind the statesmen from around the African continent. They share the stories of Leopold Senghor, Julius Nyerere, Kenneth Kaunda and others in the book, highlighting the influence of Protestant and Catholic teachings and missionaries in their lives. A little dry, the book is appropriate for the reader who is familiar with and interested in African politics and movements. However exclusionary to the common reader, it gives an interesting insight into the so-called “Arab Spring” protests and reminds the reader that faith and religion cannot be discounted as a powerful motivator for action, good and bad.—CNS n Regina Lordan is a former assistant international editor of Catholic News Service.

The Southern Cross, March 7 to March 13, 2012

FOCUS

The pope, by his brother Pope Benedict’s brother, Mgr Georg Ratzinger, has published a book in which he describes the relationship between the two siblings, from the young Joseph Ratzinger’s favourite toy to his bedtime habits.

Mgr Georg Ratzinger is interviewed by Michael Hesemann at his home in Regensburg, Germany, for the monsignor’s book about his beloved brother, Pope Benedict. (Photo courtesy of Michael Hesemann)

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ECOUNTING their rural Bavarian childhood and subsequent lifelong friendship, the elder brother of Pope Benedict offers a privileged look at the personal side of the spiritual leader of 1,3 billion Catholics. My Brother, the Pope, published on March 1 by Ignatius Press, is based on interviews with Mgr Georg Ratzinger by German writer Michael Hesemann and was originally published in German last year. Joseph, the future Pope Benedict, was “very slight and delicate” at birth, Mgr Ratzinger says, and was “often sick” as an infant, with diphtheria among other ailments. Later on, Joseph’s favourite toys were stuffed animals, and he was particularly attached to a pair of teddy bears. Mgr Ratzinger describes family life with their parents and older sister Maria as free of any overt conflict, “since each one settled that himself and with God in personal prayer.” Glimpses of the boys’ destinies came early on. When a cardinal visited their small town in 1931, arriving in a black limousine, four-year-old Joseph exclaimed: “I’ll be a cardinal someday!” Nevertheless, Mgr Ratzinger says, his brother was never ambitious, and external honours have been “always unwelcome” to him. “My brother was somewhat better behaved than I,” Mgr Ratzinger says, yet he recounts a boyhood prank in which the two tricked a local farmer into losing track of his oxcart. Recreation of a more edifying sort came when the boys played at being priests, using a toy altar made for them by an uncle. “It was a really beautiful high altar, which he even equipped with a rotating tabernacle,” Mgr Ratzinger recalls. “Naturally we used water instead of wine for the makebelieve consecration.” The future Pope Benedict, now a proficient amateur pianist and lover of Mozart, “did not take to music quite as spontaneously as I did”, says Mgr Ratzinger, who went on to become the choirmaster of Regensburg cathedral in

The cover of Mgr Georg Ratzinger’s memoir My Brother, the Pope, and (right) Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, as a youth. In his book, the pope’s brother reveals some insights into the private Pope Benedict, including his favourite TV programme and who washed the dishes when they spent time together. Bavaria. His brother “was a little more restrained, although he is a very musical person”, Mgr Ratzinger says. Recounting Hitler’s rise to power in 1930s Germany, Mgr Ratzinger says that their father regarded the dictator as the “Antichrist” and refused to join the Nazi party. “But so as not to put our family completely at risk, he advised Mother to join the women’s organisation,” Mgr Ratzinger says, noting that the women “did not talk about Hitler but instead exchanged recipes, chatted about their gardens, and sometimes even prayed the rosary together”. It was only reluctantly that the two boys obeyed requirements to join the Hitler Youth and later served in the German military during World War II, Mgr Ratzinger says. The pope’s brother was present at the Allied bombardment of the monastery on Monte Cassino, Italy, in 1944. Mgr Ratzinger recounts anecdotes about their time together as adults: watching a German television series about a police dog named “Inspector Rex” and dividing tasks in the kitchen—the monsignor drying dishes while his brother, by then a cardinal, washed them. In 2005, after the death of Pope

John Paul II, Mgr Ratzinger was sure that his brother was too old to be elected pope. When he heard the new pontiff’s name pronounced on live television, he admits that he was “disheartened”. “It was a great challenge, an enormous task for him, I thought, and I was seriously worried,” Mgr Ratzinger says. The pope later confided that his election had “struck him like a bolt of lightning”, Mgr Ratzinger says. Readers get a glimpse inside the papal household as Mgr Ratzinger describes his brother’s daily routine. On Tuesdays, for example, Pope Benedict listens to tape recordings and practices his pronunciation of the remarks in foreign languages that he will make at the next day’s general audience. Mgr Ratzinger says that his brother has not been indifferent to the many criticisms that he has received during his career, as prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and then as pope. Pope Benedict is “personally very sensitive, but he also knows from which corner these attacks come and the reason for them, what is usually behind them”, Mgr Ratzinger says. “That way he overcomes it more easily, he rises above it more simply.”—CNS

‘Of course I still call him Joseph’ Here is an exclusive excerpt from the English translation of My Brother, the Pope by Mgr Georg Ratzinger. The book takes the form of an interview, along with editorial commentary, by co-author Michael Hesemann.

Who are the Norbertines? To misquote William Shakespeare: “A rose by any other name smells just as sweet”

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Q: How do you actually address him? A: I call him Joseph, of course; anything else would be abnormal! Does he suffer intensely from the many attacks from the media? He is personally very sensitive, but he also knows from which corner these attacks come and the reason for them, what is usually behind them. That way he overcomes it more easily, he rises above it more simply. It is nevertheless true, too, that he most often meets with a lot of sympathy, again and again and wherever he goes. Can you reveal to us his greatest wish? Well, I really cannot mention one single specific wish. He simply hopes that he succeeds in completing his task as well as possible, that from the human side he can contribute his part to what the Holy Spirit is working from above. In your view, what are the focal points of his pontificate? The focal points result from particular situations to which he reacts, and therefore they are more reactive than active. But he is, of course, very concerned that the liturgy should be celebrated worthily and that it be celebrated correctly. Indeed, that is a genuine problem. Our diocesan music director

recently said that it is by no means easy nowadays to find a church where the pastor celebrates his Mass according to the regulations of the Church. There are so many priests who think they have to add something here and change something there. So my brother wants an orderly, good liturgy that moves people interiorly and is understood as a call from God. Do you see continuity between the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI, or is your brother focusing on different matters? You cannot say that, because to a great extent pontificates are not defined by the will of the pope but, rather, are reactions and responses to the events of their time. Of course, the events of our time manifest a certain degree of continuity; there are no major leaps or breaks but, rather, problems that develop continuously over the decades. No doubt, John Paul II took his inspiration from my brother in many areas and, of course, was in ongoing contact with him; he set great store by his judgment. In that regard, then, there is a certain similarity, and the two pontificates do not differ in essential points. It is said that he reads aloud to you from the breviary since your vision is no longer very good, while you play music for him ... That is right; he prays the breviary aloud: after Mass in the morning, vespers in the afternoon, and compline [the night prayer of the Church] in the

evening, because I can no longer pray them alone. In the evening, before we go to sleep, he sometimes asks me to play a song for him. Then I play for him on the piano a hymn or a folk song, for instance, “Im schönsten Wiesengrund,” or night songs like “Der Mond ist aufgegangen” or “Adieu zur guten Nacht”, just very simple things. In Advent or the Christmas season, of course, I play Christmas carols instead, whatever suits the occasion. Do you also watch television together? Does the Holy Father have a favourite programme? Well, before the news, there used to be a television series Inspector Rex [an Austrian police drama that focused on a sniffer dog; it aired from 1994 to 2004]. We always used to watch it, because we like dogs, too. We are well acquainted with Helmut Brossmann, the owner of the German shepherd Rex who played the title role. He lives in the vicinity of Regensburg; he is also the manager of the Kastelruther Spatzen [a choir from South Tyrol, Italy] or the Augsburger Puppenkiste [a famous marionette theatre]. He is originally from the Sudetenland and converted to the Catholic faith a few years ago. A canon from the “Old Chapel” instructed him, and I was his confirmation sponsor. Other than that, my brother rarely watches television, at most a video film once in awhile that is related in some way to the Vatican or to a forthcoming canonisation or beatification. n More next week

The Southern Cross, March 7 to March 13, 2012

Sr Rita RSM, a truly special person H

ERE at the Losperfontein Correctional Centre, we are truly blessed with the weekly presence of an angel in disguise, a fountain of refreshment in a desert, a woman who is an embodiment of her religion. This person is Sr Rita Carey,

an extraordinary human being for sure. Her consistent, uplifting spirit and overall kind nature, is an attribute that can tame even the fiercest predator. It is always something to look forward to when she comes to teach her classes to studying offenders.

Community Calendar

To place your event, call Lara Moses at 021 465 5007 or e-mail l.moses@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: Fundraiser Car Boot Sale and Morning Market at St Brendan's Corvette Rd cnr Longboat Rd Sunvalley, last Saturday of every month 7am-1pm R25 per lane Maggi-Mae 021 782 9263 or 082 892 4502 mvidas@mweb.co.za Third annual Good Friday procession to St Mary's cathedral, starting April 6 from Immaculate Conception church in Parow, at 09:30am. To join contact Dino on 0718619401 or Ursulla on 0826708229.

Public lecture delivered by Prof Jan Jans: “Vatican II–What lessons for going forward?”, presented by the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office. March 12 at 19:00 at St Michael’s parish hall, Rouwkoop Road, Rondebosch DURBAN: St Anthony’s, Durban Central: Tuesday 09:00 Mass with novena to St Anthony. First Friday 17:30 Mass. 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.

I just want to take the opportunity to thank her for being who and what she is. More of her kind would surely transform this broken world in which we find ourselves, to a more kinder and more pleasant place. Gert Louw, Losperfontein Correctional Centre, Rustenburg

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 487. ACROSS: 1 Realms, 4 Crisis, 9 Water into wine, 10 Richest, 11 Domed, 12 Truth, 14 Prone, 18 Aesop, 19 Impacts, 21 Prince of peace, 22 Singly, 23 Urchin. DOWN: 1 Reward, 2 Antichristian, 3 Merge, 5 Reorder, 6 Swimming coach, 7 Steeds, 8 Knits, 13 Topical, 15 Campus, 16 Sidon, 17 Astern, 20 Piper.

Liturgical Calendar Year B Sunday, March 11, Third Sunday of Lent Exodus 20:1-17, Psalm 19:8-11, 1 Corinthians 1:2225, John 2:13-25 Monday, March 12, feria 2 Kings 5:1-15, Psalms 42:2-3; 43:3-4, Luke 4:24-30 Tuesday, March 13, feria Daniel 3:25, 34-43, Psalm 25:4-9, Matthew 18:21-35 Wednesday, March 14, feria Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9, Psalm 147:12-13, 15-16, 1920, Matthew 5:17-19 Thursday, March 15, feria Jeremiah 7:23-28, Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9, Luke 11:14-23 Friday, March 16, feria Hosea 14:2-10, Psalm 81:6-11, 14, 17, Mark 12:28-34 Saturday, March 17, feria Hosea 6:1-6, Psalm 51:3-4, 18-21, Luke 18:9-14 Sunday, March 18, Fourth Sunday of Lent 2 Chronicles 36:14-17, 19-23, Psalm 137:1-6, Ephesians 2:4-10, John 3:14-21

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Word of the Week

Mystagogy: A liturgical catechesis which aims to initiate people into the mystery of Christ. Application: The catechetical period following immediately after the reception of baptism by adults is called mystagogy.

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IN MEMORIAM

SCHIPPER—Justin. March 2, 2011. Loved in life, never forgotten in death. Missed every day. Michele, Megan, Courtney and Jarryd.

PERSONAL

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PRAYERS

HOLY ST JUDE, apostle and martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke you, special patron in time of need. To you I have recourse from the depth of my heart. I humbly beg you to come to my assistance. Help me now in my urgent need and grant my petitions. In return I promise to make your name known and publish this prayer. Amen. A.E.W. HOLY ST JUDE, apostle and martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke you, special patron in time of need. To you I have recourse from the depth of my heart. I humbly beg you to come to my assistance. Help me now in my urgent need and grant my petitions. In return I promise to make your name known and publish this prayer. Amen. Thank you for prayers answered. T. L. ST THERESE, the Little Flower, please pick me a

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rose from the Heavenly garden and send it to me with a message of love. Ask God to grant me the favour I thee implore and tell God that I will love Him each day more and more. The above prayer, plus 5 Our Father's, 5 Hail Mary's and 5 Glory Be's, must be said for 5 successive days, before 11 am. On the 5th day, the 5th set of prayers having been completed, offer one more set—5 Our Father's, 5 Hail Mary's and 5 Glory Be's. Thank you St Thérèse for prayers answered. NP.

Schoenstadtt Mary

THANKS

THANKS for favours received. J.S.

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PILGRIMAGES 2012

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4th Sunday of Lent: March 25 Readings: 2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23 Psalm 137:1-6, Ephesians 2: 4-10, John 3:1421

God’s fidelity is unfailing

Nicholas King SJ

EXT Sunday is “Laetare Sunday”, when you can take a break from the austere rigours of your Lenten journey, before plunging back in for the last three weeks. You will notice, though, how the mood of the readings on weekdays gets darker from now on, focusing less on our own personal sinfulness, more on the disaster that we shall be recalling on Good Friday. So it may be good to ask today, “What is the worst that can happen?”, and to remind ourselves that God works unceasingly to bring victory out of apparent catastrophe. We can see a hint of this in the first reading for Sunday. It comes from the very end of the Book of Chronicles, and is a reflection on the terrible disaster of the burning of the Temple, the destruction of the Wall of Jerusalem, and the appalling experience of Exile to Babylon. And the Chronicler is absolutely clear about the reason for this: the religious establishment had “added infidelity to infidelity, and defiled the House of the Lord in Jerusalem”. Worse than that, God had warned them, “by the hand of his prophets, and sending his messengers, that he was sparing

Sunday Reflections

his People and his Holy Place”. Sadly the recipients of God’s warning reacted only with “sneering at his messengers, despising his words, mocking his prophets”. So Jeremiah’s prophecy came true, which will have given him little pleasure. However God’s fidelity is unfailing, and God is always looking to bring good out of disaster, and so we learn to our astonishment that “God raised up the spirit of Cyrus King of the Persians”; and this unpromising potentate has discovered that “the God of heaven, even He Himself, has commanded me to build Him a House in Jerusalem in Judaea”. Better than that, “any one of you, from all His people, his God shall be with him, and let him go up”. God is powerfully at work here. In the psalm for next Sunday the singer looks back on the awfulness of exile in Baby-

lon: “By the rivers of Babylon, we sat down and wept...on the willows there, we hung up our harps.” They recall the mockery of their captors, who asked them, “give us one of your songs, then”; and these exiled musicians insist that they could not possibly forget their beloved City of Jerusalem, and praying to God to “lift up Jerusalem, above all my highest joy”. It is a deeply touching lament this, only slightly spoilt by the vengeful lines that follow (which are never read in church), about the destruction of Babylon, and of its unfortunate children. The second reading is also aware of God’s ability to bring triumph out of disaster; God, who is “rich in mercy”, and who, “when we were corpses because of our transgressions he made alive along with Christ...and raises us up along with him, and sat us down along with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus”. Then he turns and addresses his audience in these remarkable terms: “You are his poem, created in Christ Jesus.” We need to reflect deeply on these words in the remaining weeks of Lent. The gospel considers the worst disaster of

Why we still need prayer A FRIEND of mine tells this story: As a young boy in the 1950s he was struck down with pneumonia. His family lived in a small town that had neither a hospital nor a doctor. His father had a job that had taken him away from the family for that week. His mother was home alone with no phone and no car. Frightened and completely without resources, she came to his sickbed, knelt beside it, pinned a medal of St Thérèse of Lisieux to his pajamas, and prayed to St Thérèse in words to this effect: “I’m trusting you to make my child better. I’m going to remain kneeling here until his fever breaks.” Both my friend and his mother eventually fell asleep, he in his sickbed and she kneeling beside it. When they woke, his fever had broken. My friend shares this story not to claim that some kind of miracle took place (though who is to judge?). He tells it to make a different point, namely, how his mother, in a situation of fragility and helplessness, dropped to her knees and turned to God as if by natural instinct and how, today, that kind of a response is no longer our own natural instinct. Very few of us today, faced with this kind of situation, would do what his mother did. Why not? Because our personalities have changed. Charles Taylor, in an outstanding book, A Secular Age, traces out how, as our world has grown more secular, we have moved more and more from being porous personalities to becoming buffered personalities.

Conrad

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

We have a porous personality when our everyday consciousness stands in anxiety and fear before threats that can come to us from nature or elsewhere (illnesses, death, epidemics, storms, droughts, earthquakes, lightning strikes, wars, evil spirits from other worlds, curses from malevolent persons, ill chance, threats of all kinds) for which our main and often only defence is power from the other world (God, angels, saints, dead ancestors, benign spirits, fairies, genies). Our personalities are porous when they are made fragile by threats that only powers beyond us can ultimately appease. All human resources within us and around us are seen as inadequate and helpless in securing our lives. Part of that belief too is that the natural world itself is far from only natural. Instead it is an enchanted world within which, beneath the surface, lurk spirits of all kinds, good and bad; and thus coping with life means not just dealing with the physical things of our world but also with spirits, good and bad, who, hidden inside and behind things, interfere with life and can bless or curse us. I remember as a child sprinkling

myself with holy water for safety during lightning storms. I had a porous personality. A buffered personality, on the other hand, is one within which everyday consciousness lives inside of what Taylor calls “a self-sufficient humanism”. Self-sufficient humanism believes that we are essentially adequate to handle the darkness and the threats within life and that there are no ghosts and spirits, good or bad, lurking beneath the surface of things. There is only what we see and that’s all—and that’s also enough. We don’t need help from another world. In self-sufficient humanism you don’t sprinkle yourself with holy water during lightning storms; you stand securely behind a safe window and enjoy the free fireworks. And that lack of fear is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s an illusion of course, but, even so, God doesn’t want us to live dominated by fear. The word “gospel” after all means “good news”, not threat. Jesus came into this world to rid us of false fear. But, with that being said, the belief that we are self-sufficient is still a dangerous illusion and a crippling immaturity. In the end, we are not safe from lightning and disease, no matter how safe our windows or good our doctors. To think of ourselves as self-sufficient is naïve, an illusion, a living under a pallof-enchantment. We are not in control. Moreover, there is an immaturity in the belief that we are so much more advanced and freer than were our grandparents who were afraid of lightning and pinned religious medals on sick children. Their fear inspired an important virtue. That virtue may have been conscriptive, but it was real. What was that virtue? Robert Bellah, an American sociologist, once looked at how community and religion tend to thrive inside of immigrant communities and challenged us, post-immigrants, to become “innerimmigrants”. That’s also true here. We need to get in touch with our “inner porous self”, namely, our deep down fragility, helplessness, insubstantiality, and lack of self-sufficiency. And the purpose of that is not to instill fear, but gratitude. It is only when we realise that we are not in control and that our lives and our safety are in the hands of a great and loving power beyond us that we will bend our knees in gratitude, both when we are joyous and when we are afraid.

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all, the crucifixion of Jesus, and, with the audacity that is so very much a mark of John’s gospel, interprets it not, like Mark, as a catastrophe, but as an exaltation: “As Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man has to be lifted up.” Then come the beautiful, often-quoted words that go to the heart of what God does with the mess that we have made: “God so loved the world, that he gave the only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not be destroyed, but might have eternal life.” Now that “eternal life” is, we learn at the end of the gospel, what the whole gospel story has been about. God has been at work in the life of Jesus, and the worst that human beings can do is not going to be enough to thwart God’s project: it is true that “this is judgement, that the Light came into the world, and human beings preferred the darkness to the Light”, but God is still at work in the darkness: “The one who does truth is coming to the light, in order that their words may be revealed as being done in God.” We rejoice next Sunday because God’s fidelity is more powerful than human intransigence.

Southern Crossword #487

ACROSS 1. Areas of kingdoms (6) 4. Time of danger (6) 9. What Jesus changed tastefully (5,4,4) 10. Most wealthy (7) 11. Having a cupola at the top (5) 12. The liar is a stranger to it (5) 14. Having a tendency to lie flat (5) 18. A pose for the storyteller (5) 19. Little devil does, having strong results (7) 21. One of the titles of the son (Isaiah 9) (6,2,5) 22. Not the way animals entered the Ark (6) 23. Child dressed in rags (6)

DOWN 1. About hospital room: there’s a prize (6) 2. He’s opposed to Jesus’ followers (13) 3. Amalgamate (5) 5. Make new arrangement in monastery? (7) 6. College instructor in water advancement? (8,5) 7. Ed sets the horses (6) 8. Bone heals and stink returns (5) 13. Relating to today's news (7) 15. University area (6) 16. Paul put into this port (Ac 27) (5) 17. At the back of the ship (6) 20. He plays the bags (5)

Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

Jesuit, a Dominican, and a Trappist were marooned on a desert island. They found a magic lamp, and after some discussion decided to rub it. Lo and behold, a genie appeared and offered them three wishes. They decided it was only fair that they could each have one wish. The Jesuit said he wanted to teach at the world’s most famous university, and poof, he was gone! The Dominican wished to preach in the world’s largest church, and poof, he was gone! When it was the Trappist’s turn, he just said: “Gee, I already got my wish!” Send us your favourite Catholic joke, preferably clean and brief, to The Southern Cross, Church Chuckle, PO Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000.