The Southern Cross - 120516 by The Southern Cross

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May 16 to May 22, 2012

John XXIII aide recalls lessons from old boss

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Hoaxed by a fake Bible verse

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R5,50 (incl VAT RSA)

Reg No. 1920/002058/06

No 4775

After attacks, priests vulnerable to violent crime

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New nuncio: I’m one of you BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

T Catholics look at a wax replica of St John Bosco contained in a special touring reliquary in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Relics of the 19th-century Italian priest, including bones and tissue from his right hand and forearm, are currently touring the world and will come to Southern Africa in July. Don Bosco (inset), founder of the Salesians and advocate for poor and neglected children, was born in 1815 and canonised in 1934. (Photo: Edgard Garrido, Reuters/CNS)

Saint’s relics set for Southern Africa BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

HE relics of St John Bosco, founder of the Salesian congregation, will come to South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho for two weeks in July. The relics are making a pilgrimage around the world to prepare for the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the saint’s birth, and 150 years since the founding of the Salesians of Don Bosco. According to Salesian provincial Fr Francois Dufour, the relics will be mainly visiting the places where the Salesians provide their ministry, especially with the young and the poor, in Gauteng, Swaziland, Lesotho and Cape Town. The relics will be in the region from July 1-15. Founded in Turin by the Italian diocesan priest Fr John Bosco, the Salesian congregation today is present in more than 130 countries and is made up of more than 16 000 priests and brothers, 14 000 sisters, 3 000 seminarians, 500 novices and 120 bishops, of whom five are cardinals. Don Bosco (1815-88), as the founder is popularly called, was canonised by Pope Pius XI in 1934. Fr Dufour said that Don Bosco was to the 19th century, what Mother Teresa was to the 20th century, for the poor and abandoned. The Salesians in Southern Africa continue the work of its founder: “the promotion of the glory of God and the salvation of souls, especially of those most in need of education, while providing the members with mutual help towards their own sanctification”. The tour of the relics started in 2009 and

will visit all the countries where the order is present. It has to date included more than 80 countries. “On July 1 at 1pm, the casket will begin the Southern African leg of the pilgrimage, in Johannesburg. It will go on to Swaziland, Lesotho and the Western Cape,” Fr Dufour said. “Even though priority is given to Salesian presences, the event is not just a Salesian event, but a celebration of the gift that Don Bosco is to the universal Church,” said Fr Dufour. So far the worldwide tour has seen many highlights and stories. In Ecuador, the entire bishops’ conference gathered and prayed over the relics. In Mexico, the relics were sequestrated at customs for unknown reasons. It was then discovered that a group of customs officials were taking the time to pay their respects. Thailand saw a group of Muslim officials visit the relics, and a top general in Myanmar (Burma) allowed the relics to travel through the country on account of the work the Salesians do for the poor. After hearing the relics had visited Cuba, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, which was to be the only South American country to not receive the relics, retracted his refusal and welcomed Don Bosco to his country. While the details regarding the relic tour in South Africa are still to be finalised, Fr Dufour said that most of the events will be open to the public and all will be welcome to come see, touch, venerate and pray beside the relic. n For more about the works of the Salesians in Southern Africa, visit www.salesians.org.za and www.salesianmissions.co.za

AKING up his new office in Pretoria, the new papal nuncio to Southern Africa conveyed Pope Benedict’s greetings to South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland, and asked his welcoming party to “please, accept me as ‘one of you’”. Italian Archbishop Mario Cassari was appointed the pope’s representative and Vatican ambassador to the Southern African conference region, Lesotho and Namibia in March. His posting before that was in Croatia. He previously spent nearly 15 years in the Southern African region, serving as secretary to Archbishop Joseph Mees, the apostolic delegate in Pretoria from 1985-89. Speaking at the Bertoni Centre in North Pretoria, Archbishop Cassari said: “I want to express my deep gratitude to the Holy Father who has entrusted me with this delicate task of service. During my audience with Pope Benedict, which he has recently granted me, he asked me to convey to each and all his greetings and the assurance of his prayers and blessing.” The welcoming party included Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban, whom the nuncio had known as bishop of Kokstad; Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg; Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria; and numerous dignitaries and religious. Sr Hermenegild Makoro CPS, secretarygeneral of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, told The Southern Cross that she is looking forward to working with the nuncio because “the secretariat is the channel of communication for the conference with the Vatican through the nunciature, other conferences and other bodies. I remember [former nuncio] Archbishop James Green saying to Fr Vincent Brennan [her predecessor] that he was not only the secretary of the bishops’ conference, but also of the nunciature. This showed the working relationship between him and the secretary-general of the conference.” Archbishop Cassari said he considered himself “lucky and happy because I was granted the great gift to meet you, dear brother and sisters, and in this way to offer you joyfully some years of my priestly life”. He said it is important and necessary for him to do his work for the kingdom of God. “From my side I assure you of my loyal, fraternal and constructive commitment. And whenever I were to go wrong, do not be afraid to correct me”. The nuncio said the work of the Catholic Church during the years of apartheid was not only noble, but indeed heroic. “I was impressed by the image and the actions of Archbishop Hurley and many others like him…The number of bishops, priests, religious men and women as well as

Sr Hermenegild Makoro CPS addresses the congregation at a welcoming Mass for the new nuncio, Archbishop Mario Cassari (second from left). With him are Cardinal Wilfrid Napier (left) and Archbishop Buti Tlhagale. (Photo: Fr Chris Townsend) lay faithful who suffered persecution, maltreatment and even incarceration in the struggle against racial discrimination attests to the total commitment of the Catholic Church to end the legalised and inhumane treatment of many people. “I saw and admired this Catholic Church united with Christ in the Passion, and involved as well in the new life of the Risen Christ, a Church that advocated and acted for the transformation and renewal of society in justice and peace, a brave Church, witness of the Gospel, and always faithful to the pope and to the Holy See.” He also said that today’s Church remains courageous stating that the challenges regarding the family and the challenges against life, “which is sacred from moment of conception,” are two of the areas the Church is working courageously in today. Sr Makoro described the Archbishop Cassari as a “humble man and lively person”. She said the nuncio’s joy to be back in Pretoria was very evident on the evening he had with the bishops. The nuncio did not reveal any immediate plans for his tenure but did refer to Pope Benedict’s call to new evangelisation, saying the whole Church is invited to “make an effort so that faith will be proclaimed and lived in our society in order that the Good News of the Gospel, that never changes, becomes the ferment for a life more in accordance with our Christian vocation”. But he did say that the local Church was on the right path. “I do not have to teach you anything. On the contrary, I have to learn. Allow me just to encourage you to go ahead in the name of God, and to speak out the Truth of God and on God, and to work together for his Kingdom. “So from today my homeland is to be here among you, in this Catholic Church, in which I am a pilgrim among pilgrims on our way to the true homeland of heaven and the eternal life.”

Bin Laden files: Catholics ‘fertile ground’ for conversion to radical Islam BY MICHAEL KELLY

N al-Qaeda official concluded that Catholics were “fertile ground” for conversion, “particularly after the rage expanding against the mother church (Vatican) as a result of its scandals and policies refused by many of its public”. American al-Qaeda spokesman Adam Gadahn wrote to Osama bin Laden in Jan-

uary 2011 and laid out reasons for reaching out to Catholics, particularly the Irish. He urged bin Laden to use public anger at the Church’s mishandling of clerical abuse to encourage Irish people to convert to Islam, according to newly declassified documents. The letter was contained in files allegedly found at bin Laden’s Pakistan hideout after he was killed by US special forces in

Abbottabad, Pakistan, in May 2011. The letter from Gadahn particularly highlighted the reason for approaching the Irish, noting Ireland was not a participant in “Bush’s Crusade wars”. Gadahn wrote that Irish people, “who were the most religious of atheist Europe”, were moving toward secularism. “Why do not we face them with Islam?” he asked.

He said he considered preparing a similar message to Catholics living in Arab regions, calling them to Islam, but put off his message following backlash from an attack on a Catholic church in Iraq. Fifty-eight people died in an attack on the Syrian Catholic Church in Baghdad on October 31, 2010, after military officials tried to end a terrorist siege of the church.—CNS

The Southern Cross, May 16 to May 22, 2012

LOCAL

Gala dinner fundraising The cruel side of tourism for Denis Hurley Centre T T BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

STAFF REPORTER

HE archdiocese of Durban will host a gala dinner to jointly raise funds for the Denis Hurley Centre as well as celebrate the 80th birthday of Mgr Paul Nadal, “one of the best known priests in the Durban archdiocese”, said centre coordinator Paddy Kearney. Mgr Nadal was prepared for his First Holy Communion by then-Fr Denis Hurley in 1940, and was ordained by Archbishop Hurley on December 8, 1959. Mr Kearney said Mgr Nadal worked closely with the archbishop for many years especially from 1969-76 in the Catechetical Commission and as director of the National Pastoral and Catechetical Centre (Khanyisa) from 1976-83. He also served as the archbishop’s last vicar-general. “In his retirement Mgr Nadal is one of the most active of the Denis Hurley Centre’s patrons and trustees,” Mr Kearney said. The gala dinner will be one of the last major functions to be held in the present centre before its demolition to make way for the new Denis Hurley Centre, which is to be constructed on the same site. The evening will be hosted by Fr Stephen Tully, administrator of

Mgr Paul Nadal (insert) with the late Archbishop Denis Hurley and the late Bishop Dominic Khumalo. A gala dinner will be held to celebrate Mgr Nadal’s 80th birthday as well as raise funds for the Denis Hurley Centre. Emmanuel cathedral, and Thami Zuma. It takes place on Friday June 22 at 18:30. Tickets cost R250 and can be obtained from Joe Fredericks at 084 586 0226 or from Eileen Abra-

HE tourism industry is one with many opportunities for entrepreneurs and the unemployed. It is well supported and encouraged in South Africa, but one Catholic tourism worker from Bloemfontein has decided to write a tell-all book about the pitfalls in the industry. Born in Sterkspruit in the Eastern Cape, today Mfundo Ngcangca works for the Department of Tourism in Bloemfontein as provincial registrar responsible for tourist guides. Mr Ngcangca said he felt the need to put pen to paper when he noticed a growing trend within tourism. “People have turned to be selfish. Fewer are sharing the big cake which is tourism,” he said. “This multi-faceted, moneyspinning industry continues to hold many in its thrall,” he said. But instead of the tourism becoming full of employment opportunities which could grow in multiple directions, Mr Ngcangca said companies are working alone instead of together. “Certain sectors do not want to

share with others. For example people in the transportation or accommodation sector want to own everything without utilising or outsourcing other emerging entrepreneurs.” For the parishioner of St Mark’s church in Bloemfontein, entrepreneurship is important to the growth of the industry at large. It will present benefits for the individuals as well as the local economy, he said. But operators are not interested in helping each other as well as the industry at large, grow. Mr Ngcangca also said that those trying to make a living from the tourism industry are affected by issues of xenophobia and insector fights. “I want people to realise the industry is not an easy one,” said Mr Ngcangca. “It can be cruel— especially to those just starting out.” Mr Ngcangca said the book, entitled Tourism can be a Cruel Industry, is aimed at those who are interested in the industry, and especially those considering a career in tourism. n For more information contact mfundo@detea.fs.gov.za

hams 083 669 3832. Parishioners are invited to sponsor priests from their parishes to enable them to attend. Musical entertainment will be provided by local group The Josephs.

Johannesburg plans for WYD 2013 STAFF REPORTER

HE Johannesburg archdiocese is well underway with planning for next year’s World Youth Day (WYD) to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 23-28, 2013. So far more than 160 people have signed up to attend the international Catholic youth gathering and spiritual preparations for pilgrims will begin in June. A committee headed by Fr Rodney George OMI and Fr Teboho Matseke is working towards ensuring the needs of the pilgrims are met and that the “pilgrimage is a joyous and memorable one”. They are assisted by seven young people who participated in last year’s WYD, which was held in Madrid.

“We held an expo on April 22, showcasing what is to be expected when attending World Youth Day, primarily for those who haven’t been privileged enough to attend this event,” said one of the organising committee members, Lebo Majahe. The expo was also an opportunity for pilgrims to share testimonies on how the journey to previous WYD events had impacted their lives. Ms Majahe said the Johanneburg pilgrims also aim to live up to the 2013 theme: “Go and make disciples of all peoples”, inspired by Matthew 28:19. “We want to carry forward the message of hope to fellow youth by being evangelisers to each other,” she said. The organising committee is

working on an estimate cost of R20 000 per pilgrim which will cover return flights, accommodation, registration and meals. Ms Majahe said a big fundraising effort would begin shortly. “Both Fr George and Fr Matseke have encouraged pilgrims to fundraise more so that the cost won’t be such a burden to their parents.” To date, fundraising ideas are being shared through online parish groups, youth pages and the Johannesburg Archdiocesan News. Ms Majahe said there was a limited space available on the pilgrimage and interested parties should register on www.catholic-johannes burg.org.za/dept_youth/wyd_2013 or www.learn3d.co.za. A non-refundable R1 000 is to accompany the registration form.

Holy Family parish in Manenberg, Cape Town, held its first market day for 2012, with flags flapping in the wind, the air filled with fragrant aromas from the braai and golden oldies sounding from the speakers to sing along with. The group of traders represented various ministry groups in the parish and collected a handsome amount for the church. Among the items on sale: clothing (new and good second-hand), soft toys, jewellery, packets of sweet goodies, cakes, chicken platters, boerewors rolls as well as an international brand of cosmetics and toiletries. Photographed selling goods at the market day are Reyhana Jacobs and Kaylan Lawrence. The market day is a monthly event where shoppers can get great bargains while supporting a worthy cause. The church also runs an aftercare programme for the children of the community. For more information please contact Dominic Cloete on 021 692 3236 or 073 798 8035 or dominic.cloete@za.nampak.com

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LOCAL

The Southern Cross, May 16 to May 22, 2012

Priests vulnerable after attacks BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

LLUSTRATING how vulnerable priests are to violent crime, at least two priests were attacked within a few weeks of one another—leaving a Pretoria priest wounded and a Cape Town priest in hospital. Fr Andrew Cox of Our Lady of the Visitation parish in Constantia, Cape Town, was attacked on May 6 in the parish office while he was locking up after Sunday evening Mass. The priest was found tied up and gagged by the parish secretary. He had been stabbed in a leg and his face was very bruised. Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town condemned the attack. “I am shocked and deeply distressed by the cowardly attack on

Fr Andrew Cox who was brutally assaulted on Sunday evening, when his defences were down after a busy weekend. I deplore the level and senselessness of the violence used against Fr Cox who is one of the kindest and gentlest people that I know.” Mphuthumi Ntabeni, a member of Constantia’s parish pastoral council, said it is suspected that the criminals were either familiar with the parish or had been watching the church for some time. “They knew where the keys for the safe were kept, and what time the evening Mass ended. They also knew that on the Friday before the attack we had a very successful fundraising event, and they were looking for that money in particular,” said Mr Ntabeni.

Frs Sammy Mabusela IMC of Pretoria (left) and Andrew Cox of Cape town were both attacked in separate incidents. Money and cheques were reportedly stolen. “We live in an enormously violent country and this attack serves as a reminder of the need to find real and lasting solutions to the crime that is ravaging our society,” said Archbish-

Newsroom for Radio Veritas BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

LONG with the changes that now allow Radio Veritas to broadcast on 576MW, the country’s only Catholic radio station is also changing some of its content with the introduction of a newsroom which will produce original news for the station. “One of our goals is to provide our station with up to date news about the Church in Africa and indeed in other parts of the world,” said station director Fr Emil Blaser OP. The newsroom is currently under the guidance of deputy director, Orlinda Orlando, but will be handed over to Bruno Carvalho, a professional journalist. Mr Carvalho received a

degree in journalism from the University of Johannesburg and is currently working towards his honours in philosophy. With experience in field reporting, on-air presenting and editing—including a stint a local Jewish community radio station in Johannesburg—Fr Blaser said Mr Carvalho is a “great asset to our staff”. Radio Veritas received funding this year to set up the newsroom and to enable the station to train members of staff. “Listeners can expect relevant and up to date news casts. Up to now we have been training people to read the news, but we need to train people in the skills of sourcing and writing news. We will also gradually increase the number of newscasts during the day,” he said.

The newsroom will take on three young interns who will be trained in journalism. Fr Blaser said one of the station’s objectives was to react to the high unemployment rate in the country. The internship programme would help make these people employable. “All our present production staff were unemployed volunteers who received on the job and some in-house professional training. Some of our former staff, who received the same training, have been head hunted by top commercial stations and now hold management positions.” Fr Blaser said the development of the newsroom had many benefits—not only for the listeners but also those who work behind the scenes.

op Brislin. “We give thanks that the life of Fr Cox was spared and my thoughts and prayers are with him for a complete and speedy recovery.” Mr Ntabeni said when the injured priest was waiting for the ambulance he kept saying “he forgives them from the bottom of his heart”. He said that it seemed that the attackers tried to gouge out the priests’ eyes “because they were concerned with him seeing them”. Last month national youth chaplain Fr Sammy Mabusela IMC was the victim of an attempted hijacking following a visit to family in Brits, Pretoria. “At an intersection, I heard a loud bang and the left side window of my car was smashed,” Fr Mabusela said. He believes hijack-

ers smashed the window with the hope that he would stop the car and investigate. “I drove off like a bat out of hell. I don't know where I got the strength and courage to drive like that,” he said. Fr Mabusela sustained cuts to his face. “I cannot thank God enough that I survived with a few cuts and bruises in the face. I think people will start calling me Father Scarface,” he joked. He told The Southern Cross that priests are soft targets. “Crime is also going to end up affecting our pastoral ministry. What yardstick would one use to know if someone is coming with genuine problems or if they are pretending to be people they are not and their motive is to rob, hurt or even kill you?” he asked.

New CD and DVD from Pretoria choir BY THANDI BOSMAN

FTER the success of four CD releases, the St John Vianney Choir from the national major seminary in Pretoria is releasing a new CD and DVD titled St John Vianney Seminary: The Greatest Hits. The 60-voice choir put together the CD and DVD with the help of a creative and technical team. The aim of the production is “to contribute to the cultural background of South Africa and Soweto through music, dance and percussion ensembles”, said project coordinator Lawrence Mduduzi Ndlovu. The CD consists of 17 songs, performed in different languages, which “vary in mood,” Mr Ndlovu said. The DVD consists of performances of the choir in different locations along with different choreographies on different tracks. “[People] can expect the particular

sound that has been offered only by St John Vianney Seminary Choir over the years. Furthermore they can also expect a variety of songs which are known and not known in the Catholic community in our region,” Mr Ndlovu said. “The seminary is located in Pretoria, thus not everyone in Southern Africa can reach it. We want to bring the seminary to the people, to their homes and their daily lives.” The launch will take place on May 19 at 13:00 at the largest Catholic church in South Africa, Regina Mundi Church in Moroka, Soweto, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. “lt is our intention to host the event there in order to celebrate the rich heritage that is enshrined in Regina Mundi [which] today stands as a beacon of hope and no longer a place of despair and refuge,” Mr Ndlovu said. n To order the CD at R90 or the DVD R120 contact John-Paul Mathebula on 082 998 1425 or 012 460 2039.

SA group at international family meeting BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

GROUP of South Africans will travel to Milan in Italy at the beginning of June to take part in the VII World Meeting of Families Family 2012. Toni Rowland of Marfam will attend the international gathering as part of the official South African delegation, along with Bishop Dabula Mpako of Queenstown and Fr Chris Slater, chairman of the Southern African Council of Priests (SACOP). Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria is also set to attend, out of his own interest. The World Meetings of Fam-

ilies will open with an international theological and pastoral congress that will be held in Milan and other cities and dioceses of Lombardy. Some 111 speakers from 27 countries will join 5 000 participants. The event will welcome 100 official delegations with roughly one million faithful expected to take part in the final Mass. Pope Benedict will preside over a vigil, which will take place on June 2 and then the final Mass on June 3. “I have been to four out of the six events held so far and it has given me a great opportunity to travel around the world and network with those involved in family ministry,”

said Mrs Rowland who was able to secure funding for members of the delegation. Mrs Rowland said she was using the international event’s theme, “Family, Work and Celebration”, in some of the Family Life and Marfam resources she produces. The first event was held in Rome in 1994 and takes places every three years. This year’s international gathering is intended to reflect on the family as human heritage, suggesting the idea that the family is a universal human heritage and at the same time contributing to the human element of life everywhere in the world.

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INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, May 16 to May 22, 2012

Swiss Guards hit the Internet to attract recruits I BY CAROL GLATZ

N an effort to boost recruitments through more modern methods of outreach, the Pontifical Swiss Guard has opened a page on Facebook. Facebook.com/gsp1506 was launched “to open a window” and better inform young people about the “Guardia Svizzera Pontificia”, said the guard’s commander, Colonel Daniel Anrig. “We want to improve communication with young people who otherwise might not have an opportunity to find out what the Pontifical Swiss Guard really is,” he told journalists. Currently, applications to serve are open only to Swiss male citizens who served in the Swiss Army and are Catholic, under 30 years of age, stand at least 1,74m tall and boast an “irreproachable reputation”. The colonel said he would love to allow female recruits, but such a move could be considered only “when the circumstances change”, specifically having more than one barracks to house the soldiers.

Guard officials have lamented a slump in applications over the years and have been looking to improve outreach, Col Anrig said. A former guard, Bernhard Messmer, has been hired to work on recruitment projects; he will be aided by nine other former guards who each will be in charge of a different region in Switzerland so the people “can be closer to the guards”, said the colonel. The guard also has a video feed on YouTube at “The Corps of the Pontifical Swiss Guard”. During an audience with Swiss Guards, new recruits and their families and friends, Pope Benedict thanked the men for their service to protecting the pontiff and guarding the apostolic palace. He said he “fervently appreciated” that young men today still choose to sacrifice a few years of their lives in complete service and dedication to the successor of Peter. The hard work, long hours and “peculiar service” of the guard, he said, mean the soldiers have to possess unique characteristics, such as having a solid Catholic

faith, loyalty and love towards the Church and Jesus, “diligence and perseverance in small and big daily tasks, courage and humility, altruism and availability” to serve. New soldiers are sworn in during a colourful ceremony at the Vatican every May 6 to commemorate the day that 150 Swiss Guards died saving Pope Clement VII’s life during the sack of Rome on that date in 1527. Since its founding in 1506, the corps—currently numbering 110 guardsmen—performs honorary and ceremonial duties, as well as guarding the life of the pope and keeping watch over the papal palace. Though they sport Medievalera weaponry with their halberds and armour during colourful ceremonies, the guards are trained in the latest defence techniques, which range from the Monadnock Defensive Tactics System for controlling aggressors to martial arts and modern firearm use. Guards who continue their service after two years qualify to train to become certified Swiss federal security experts.—CNS

A Swiss Guard recruit takes his oath during the swearing-in ceremony for 26 new recruits in Paul VI hall at the Vatican. New recruits are sworn in during a colourful ceremony at the Vatican every year to commemorate the day 150 Swiss Guards died saving Pope Clement VII’s life during the sack of Rome in 1527. Responding to falling recruitments, the Swiss Guards have now launched a Facebook page and a YouTube channel. (Photo: Paul Haring, CNS)

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ENYA’S Catholic bishops have said they will develop a voter education guide outlining the qualities of a good leader in advance of general elections next March as part of an effort to ensure a conflictfree vote. After a two-day meeting outside of Nairobi, the bishops also said they would refrain from endorsing any candidate or political party and would focus their efforts on helping “people elect persons of integrity who have the good of the nation at heart”. In a statement titled “Kenya’s Commitment to Peaceful General Elections in the Light of Justice, Forgiveness, Healing, Reconciliation and Peace”, the 26 bishops called on the political parties to present comprehensive platforms to the electorate. “Too much interest seems to be placed on political positions rather than service to the people,” the bishops said. The elections are the first to

be held under Kenya’s revised constitution, adopted in 2010, largely in response to the ethnic violence that left 1 220 dead after the contested 2007 general elections. The bishops welcomed the rules under the new constitution but cautioned that all Kenyans must ensure that officials are committed to carrying out a safe and fair vote. They also called for peace and reconciliation in the wake of the violence to continue. Despite negotiations in early 2008 that settled the disputes and resulted in a power-sharing arrangement in the Kenyan government, the bishops said several issues remain unresolved. “As we approach the general elections, we openly demand for a public answer to these questions: What happened to the land where the internally displaced persons used to live and earn their living with dignity? Who is occupying that land today? Who is enjoying the grabbed properties? Who has ever been judged in our court of

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law for violating this golden constitutional right that stipulates that ‘every citizen has the right to enter, remain in and reside anywhere in Kenya’,” the bishops said, quoting the new constitution. The bishops urged Kenyans to join the government to resettle the 350 000 people who remain displaced throughout the country, offer restitution to those who lost homes and possessions during the violence in late 2007 and early 2008, develop a national identity card program and increase security while reducing violence in the country. “We note with concern the escalating levels of insecurity even in places of worship, arising from threats and acts of terrorism and criminal activities,” the bishops said. They also called upon police to end the use of excessive force on innocent civilians. The bishops continued to voice their opposition to a provision of the constitution that allows abortions to be carried out.—CNS

Catholic Church still US’s largest BY DENNIS SADOWSKI

Contact: Brother Evenie Turner O.F.M. 082 599 7718, PO Box 914-1192, Wingate Park, 0153, 082 409-1457/ 012 345-1172

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HE Catholic population of the United States stood at 58,9 million in 2010, or about 18,9% of the US population, according to a new census of religious congregations. The “US Religion Census: Religious Congregations and Membership Study” showed that the number of Catholics is three times that of the country’s second largest religious body, the Southern Baptist Convention, with nearly 19,9 million members. The study is conducted every ten years and coincides with the once-a-decade US census. It also collected data from Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and other religious congregations. Overall, 150 million Americans—48,8% of the population—were associated with the 236 reporting religious bodies. “The counts are the best that could be supported by religious data, sacramental statistics and survey data,” said Cliff Grammich, a researcher working for the Glenmary Research Center who compiled statistics. He said he analysed statistics provided by individual parishes on the number of registered households, registered individuals, infant baptisms, burials and Mass attendance to arrive at the final count.—CNS

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, May 16 to May 22, 2012

British Catholic parishes urged to be involved in Olympics BY SIMON CALDWELL

“FAMILY TRIATHLON” was a novel idea. It involves teams of three people from the same family, each of whom would compete in one of the three categories of the event—either cycling, running or swimming—against other families. The idea posed a few problems, but Colm Hickey was not going to be deterred in his role as the London 2012 Olympics Catholic “gold champion” of Our Lady and St Joseph parish in north London. His arguments prevailed and the family triathlon was scheduled to take place on May 13, with the blessing of the British Triathlon Federation. On May 20, there will be a huge football tournament, also organised

by Mr Hickey and, closer to the Olympics, which begin on July 27, there will be other parish-based sporting activities. These are just some of the events that Mr Hickey, a 55-year-old teacher, has been promoting through his parish since he was recruited as a gold champion in September. The parish-based gold champions represent just one of many initiatives of More Than Gold, an umbrella group of 16 Christian denominations set up with the aim of helping the churches to engage more closely with the Olympics. The idea of a gold champion in every parish was to try to interest the entire Catholic community in the games. “The whole concept,” explained

Mr Hickey, “is just trying to get people in any way to be inspired by sport”. Sport and religion should be connected, he said, so that people became “more active, more community-focused, have a good life and to develop friendships they wouldn’t normally have”. “I haven’t banged the religious drum too much, but I am saying in the literature I am putting out that this is part of the Church’s contribution, this is what we are doing... so that people can feel a greater affinity to the parish and a greater sense of community to our area,” he added. The Catholic Church would help build cohesive communities and strong parishes if it used sport in a creative way, he said.

Although the activities of the gold champions may tempt Catholics to take part in sport, other initiatives are being planned during the games to help visitors to take their mind off sport and to focus on religion instead. Key among these will be the Joshua Camp, which will be set up in St Bonaventure’s Catholic School, just a 20-minute walk from the Olympic Village in East London. About 400 Catholics from at least 13 countries will be based at the camp. Participants first meet on August 1 for three days of training before they break up into small teams for eight days to evangelise and to offer service and hospitality to visitors. “There will be a sort of festival feel to the first three days,” said

camp coordinator Alice Hall. The Catholic adults staying at the camp will work in hospitality centres—one of which is Westminster Cathedral—and will give out bottles of water on the main highways to the Olympic stadium. But they will also be inviting visitors into two Catholic churches in London’s West End and into another church close to the stadium with the suggestion that they pray, light candles, read Scripture and leave written petitions for prayer before they depart. Throughout the duration of the games, residents of the Joshua Camp will also be participating in round-the-clock adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, praying for a “peaceful and safe” Olympics.— CNS

At 96, John XXIII aide recalls his old boss BY FRANCIS X ROCCA

HEN the freshly named patriarch of Venice, Cardinal Angelo Roncalli, chose 37-year-old Fr Loris Capovilla as his personal secretary in 1953, a sceptical adviser told the cardinal that the priest looked too sickly to bear the strain of his new job. “Then he’ll die as my secretary,” replied the future pope, now known as Bl John XXIII. Today, at age 96, now-Archbishop Capovilla has outlived his employer by nearly half a century, but remains an indefatigable custodian of his legacy. At Sotto Il Monte Giovanni XXIII, Bl John’s birthplace about 40km north-east of Milan, the archbishop pursues a highly active retirement that includes running a museum dedicated to the small town’s most famous native son. While keeping up with current events, Archbishop Capovilla draws on his remarkable memory to recount vividly detailed and revealing stories of his years with one of the most consequential figures in modern Catholic history. The archbishop was privy to some of the pope’s first remarks, only a few days after his election in 1958, about what would become the Second Vatican Council. Cardinals and bishops had presented the new pontiff with a litany of challenges before the

Church—“not doctrinal but pastoral problems”, the archbishop notes—in areas that included the liturgy, diplomacy, and the education and discipline of priests. “My desk is piling up with problems, questions, requests, hopes,” Bl John told his secretary. “What’s really necessary is a council.” Though the pope mentioned the idea more than once, his secretary refused to comment. Finally the pope gave his interpretation of the priest’s silence. “You think I am old,” Bl John told him. “You think I’ll make a mess out of this enormous task, that I don’t have time. But that’s not how you think with faith. If one can only begin with the preparatory commission, that will be of great merit. If one dies, another will come. It is a great honour even to begin.”

hatever doubts he may have had at the outset, Archbishop Capovilla came to appreciate the council’s historic importance and to play a part in it behind the scenes. It was the archbishop, in his own telling, who persuaded a reluctant and tired Bl John to step to a window and bless the crowd in St Peter’s Square on the night of October 11, 1962, following the council’s first day. In now-famous remarks, the pope went on to bid the people: “Now go back home

Mgr Loris Capovilla assists Pope John XXIII during a meeting with ambassadors at the Vatican in this undated photo. Archbishop Capovilla (inset), now 96, was the pope’s personal secretary. (Photos: Archbishop Loris Capovilla/CNS) and give your little children a kiss—tell them it is from Pope John.” Bl John, who had earlier represented the Holy See as a diplomat in both Orthodox and Muslim lands, had a special appreciation of the Church’s global character and responsibilities, Archbishop Capovilla says. The archbishop recalls that Bl John received a letter from the Anglo-American poet Thomas Merton, then a Trappist monk in Kentucky, urging the pope to include

an ecumenical dimension in the council. In fact, Vatican II would be the first council of the Church to include Protestants as guests. The pope was a master of modern communication in a personal, popular style that broke with papal tradition just in time for the television age. When a cardinal complained that due to a recent rise in Vatican salaries a mere usher earned as much as he did, Bl John remarked: “That usher has ten children; I hope the cardinal doesn’t.”

he pope’s ebullience was evident even in moments ordinarily governed by the strictest protocol. Receiving Queen Elizabeth II of England, with whom he conversed in French, the pope asked her to say her children’s names aloud, “because children’s names acquire a particular sweetness on a mother’s lips”. The pope gave his secretary a lesson in communication when commenting on a speech by thenCardinal Giovanni Montini of Milan, who would eventually succeed him as Pope Paul VI. “He’s used to speaking to intellectuals, he doesn’t look at who’s in front of him,” the pope said. “Remember when you speak, if there are children present, as soon as you see the children start to swing their legs, it means they’re tired. And adults are children, too; they listen for a quarter-hour or 20 minutes, that’s it.” For all the changes that Bl John ushered into the Church, and notwithstanding arguments that his reign marked a radical break with the past, Archbishop Capovilla says that the pope saw himself as acting in full continuity with Catholicism’s millennial teachings and traditions. “Precisely because he was a great conservative,” the archbishop says, “he was able to bring the world a message of love, of hope and of faith.”—CNS

Official: Church mustn’t bow to those who deny Vatican II BY CINDY WOODEN

HE Second Vatican Council’s teaching, particularly on Judaism and other religions, is rooted in traditional Christian theology and the Bible, and the Catholic Church should not offer concessions to those who do not accept its teaching, said an Israeli-born Franciscan who serves as a judge on a top Vatican court. Mgr David Jaeger, a judge at the Roman Rota, defined as worrying a tendency, “here and there in Catholicism, to look leniently upon stray groups that are marginal but wellpublicised who denounce the doctrine of the council, including the declaration Nostra Aetate”, the document on the relationship of the Church to non-Christian religions. Mgr Jaeger, who grew up in a Jewish family, spoke about Nostra Aetate during a conference on the Second Vatican Council at Rome’s Opus Deirun Holy Cross University. “While often presented as if it were absolutely new,” he said, the teaching of Nostra Aetate “perfectly corresponds to the most ancient intuitions of Christian theology” when it affirms “there can be, and in particular cases, are elements of truth and holiness” in other religions.

The council’s document explained the Church’s “doctrine on Judaism, the only religion which, while not knowing Christ, has its origins in biblical revelation, which is why the Church does not regard it simply as a ‘non-Christian religion’, but ascribes to it a unique status,” Mgr Jaeger said. While recognising the unique and special relationship between God and the Jewish people, he said, the council did not say that Judaism was a “parallel path to salvation” and it did not deny that somehow, in the end, all salvation would be accomplished through Christ. However, he said, “one must take this occasion to express the deep hope that leniency will be denied” to anyone who does not accept the council’s teaching and “that there will be no being content with fake, quasi-adhesions accompanied by evident verbal and mental reservations to the teaching of the Second Vatican Council in general and to Nostra Aetate in particular.” “In fact,” he said, “the extreme gravity of the counter-witness of those who have, for centuries, abused the name of Christ and the term Christian to persecute and oppress the Jews must never be forgotten or underestimated in any way.”—CNS

11-25 May 2013 Join The Southern Cross and the Archbishop of Pretoria on a special pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Meet with local Christians – the Living Stones – before travelling to Rome to see the Pope and to Assisi to see original relics of St Francis and St Clare. HOLY LAND: Jerusalem (with Via Dolorosa). Bethlehem. Nazareth. Cana (with an opportunity to renew marriage vows). Mount of Beatitudes. Capernaum. Boatride on The Sea of Galilee. Mount Tabor. Jordan River. Ein Kerem. Dead Sea, and much more. Guided by a professor from Bethlehem’s University! ITALY: Rome with PAPAL AUDIENCE, the four major basilicas (incl. Mass in St Peter’s), catacombs, ancient sites. Assisi and the beautiful Rieti Valley, where St Francis lived and invented the Christmas crib. CAIRO: Pyramids. Sphinx. Nile Dinner cruise.

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LEADER PAGE

The Southern Cross, May 16 to May 22, 2012

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Editor: Günther Simmermacher

Mary and our faith

ATHOLICS have a very special relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of our Saviour Jesus Christ—a relationship which the Catholic Church encourages and nurtures. Many Protestants, when they don’t misunderstand or reject that relationship, find the Catholic (and Eastern Orthodox) devotion to Mary attractive and spiritually enriching. Some have even made efforts to introduce the Rosary to their congregations. Those Protestants who look unkindly upon the Catholic devotions to the Blessed Virgin often do not explore it beyond the dogma they reject (such as the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption), the Marian apparitions for which they have no use, and what they feel is an undue emphasis on Mary in Catholic and Orthodox devotion. There is, however, an awareness of Mary in Catholic thought that should resonate with all the followers of Christ. Historically, devotion to Mary precedes the schisms in the Church. St Augustine taught that the mother of the Saviour is “surely the mother of his members”, meaning Christ’s followers. And St Thomas Aquinas wrote: “The Blessed Virgin, because she is the Mother of God, has a certain infinite dignity from the infinite good, which is God.” As the mother of Jesus, Mary is the mother of us all. A relationship with Christ surely is deficient if it excludes his mother. Of course, there may be variations in the manner by which that relationship is maintained. Catholics are required to hold that the doctrines of the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption are infallible. This facilitates our celebration of these feasts in communion, unlike the optional devotions and novenas. For South Africans, the Assumption is particularly important as the country’s patronal feast. The Rosary and the associated meditations are at the centre of our sacramental devotion. Through the Rosary and other prayers to Mary we find a shortcut to her Son Jesus, who mediates on our behalf with God. As Vatican II’s dogmatic constitu-

tion Lumen Gentium reminds us, prayer to Our Lady fosters intimacy with Christ. Pope John Paul II in his 2002 apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, which introduced the new Mysteries of Light, put it like this: “The Rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christocentric prayer. In the sobriety of its elements, it has all the depth of the Gospel message in its entirety, of which it can be said to be a compendium.” Other sacramentals, such as the brown scapular or the miraculous medal, also aid many in deepening their Marian prayer life. Catholics are not required to believe in the authenticity of the various Marian apparitions, even those approved by the Church, such as Lourdes, Fátima, Guadalupe, Akita and so on, nor hold that the messages that came from these apparitions are communications from Our Lady. Devotions to such apparitions and their reputed revelations are a matter of private choice, an individual piety. Indeed, the Catholic Church is extremely cautious in how it treats reported appearances of Our Lady, and rightly so. Only a relatively small number has been formally approved as worthy of belief, though devotion to some apparitions, such as those reported by Benedictine Sister Reinolda May in Ngome, KwaZulu-Natal, have the consent of the local bishop. While we may exercise our discretion, devotions based on Marian apparitions clearly have apparent faith-strengthening properties. Even controversial and unauthorised sites of reported apparitions, such as the Bosnian village of Medjugorje, have produced undeniable spiritual fruits. Of course, even without these devotions, there is much in Scripture and Church teachings that will enable the Christian to maintain an enriching devotion to the Blessed Virgin. In his 1987 encyclical Redemptoris Mater, John Paul II located Mary in a central position in the Church: “Mary embraces each and every one in the Church, and embraces each and every one through the Church. In this sense Mary, Mother of the Church, is also the Church’s model.”

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.

Majesty and power of God N reference to Mario Com- accounts satisfactorily for the pagnone’s letter (April 8), I am mind-boggling immensity of the Iconvinced that the beliefs universe and the enormous variety Catholics have in the sacraments are founded on the continuous experience of God’s presence and power in them. And if we believe in the intercessory power of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints it is because so many have found that they really do help us. However, apart from organised religion many, some not even orthodox believers, have found the majesty and power of God in nature. Many scientists too have come to the conclusion that only the infinite intelligence of God

Rescued by God

ATHER Ludwig Brunner’s response to Fr Ron Rolheiser (April 18) is most interesting and enlightening and should also be of interest to Mario Campagnoni, who has his own thoughts on God. Faith is that elusive element that we all yearn to have more of. Never mind one’s belief system, faith is the “glue” that makes all things meaningful. Golfers need to have faith in their swing when the pressure is on. A penalty shoot-out will certainly test the faith of the football players in their ability when it matters most. But surely one of the greatest stories of faith is that of Moses when he returned to Egypt to rescue his people. Did he know beforehand of the impending volcano of Thera that led to the plagues that befell the Egyptians? Did he have any idea of the aftershock that would trigger the tsunami that wiped out the chasing Egyptian army? Of course he didn’t. But his firm faith in their (Hebrews) “living God” was in essence all he needed to pull off one of the greatest rescue acts in recorded history. Patrick Dacey, Johannesburg

The big picture

OUR editorials are brilliant and I would like to comment on the one in your April 11 edition, entitled “The Christian Protest”. I can understand your need to comment on this subject, because it is one that obviously does upset true believers. However, I firmly believe we should ignore advertisements such as the Red Bull commercial, and comments

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and complexity of living creatures. Philosophers such as Aristotle and theologians like St Thomas Aquinas have tried to show that the existence of the universe demands an ultimate and unlimited cause outside of itself. The existence of God and his relationship with the world and human beings is the most important issue that mankind has to deal with; and the almost universal acknowledgement of God is probably the greatest achievement of man. But if man has indeed found

made by the likes of Gareth Cliff, and treat them with the contempt they deserve. We should always remember the words of our Lord when he permitted his crucifixion and suffering: “Forgive them Lord, for they know not what they do.” As humans we always look on life and time as something of short duration. Time is a delusion and there is no doubt that our faith will continue to grow and gain strength as people mature and gain the intelligence and the ability to understand the teaching of our Lord. We should rather look ahead and try and imagine what a wonderful world this will become as we all begin to truly understand and follow the teaching of our Lord. If anyone should ever doubt the ability and power of our Lord, we should look at some of the wonders being opened up by the Hubble telescope. Keep in mind that Christ taught on earth for only three years and without any of the assistance of modern technology, and yet he created the greatest and most long-lived company the world has ever known. Roy Glover, Tzaneen

Hurley Centre not ‘vain’

OHN Reilman (March 28) suggests that instead of building the Denis Hurley Centre at Emmanuel cathedral in Durban, the Church should collect money to re-open parochial schools for Durban children. He sees the new Hurley Centre as a “prestige centre” to honour Archbishop Hurley who has already been honoured by having Queen Street renamed “Denis Hurley Street”. Far from being a “prestige centre”, the Denis Hurley Centre has been designed to be economical to run, with durable and low maintenance finishes. It will also have as many environmentally responsible features as possible, including heat insulation and shading, solar water heaters, enhanced natural ventilation rather than air conditioning, low energy lighting, harvested rain water and recycled “grey” water that will be used for flushing toilets. Yes, the centre is intended to honour the legacy of Archbishop Hurley, but to do that through continuing his selfless work among the poor and needy by providing appropriate accommodation for several social outreach projects: • The Nkosinathi Project 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.

God it is because God is continuously trying to reach us. In many ways the history of the world is a history of God endlessly manifesting himself to us and of us reaching out to him. However, although God is so deeply involved in the world, we cannot always rely on our own individual private experience to discover him, any more than we can rely on our own experiences to prove the theories and laws of science. The stories of the large numbers of people who have been touched by God in a powerful way have been recorded very abundantly in books and magazines and on Christian radio and TV stations as well as websites. Frank Bompas, Johannesburg

which provides food, showers and clean clothing for street people; • The Usizo Lwethu Clinic which provides basic health care to people who can’t afford to go to doctors; • Refugee Pastoral centre which provides a range of services to refugees, particularly in their first few weeks in this country; • JobLinx which trains unemployed people in job readiness and in a range of employmentrelated skills as well as how to look for employment. These projects already have an average of 4 000 client interactions per month. We hope to double that number in the new building and make our services even more effective. In addition, the centre will provide space for catechetical classes for over 300 children every Sunday and a range of venues for sodality meetings and workshops as well as for muchneeded social and cultural events in this highly diverse parish and neighbourhood. We would welcome a visit from Mr Reilman when next he is in Durban, to discuss with him what is already happening here and our plans for the future. Paddy Kearney, Coordinator: Denis Hurley Centre Project

Say grace

S a deacon, I have attended many church functions and meals. On occasions I have been requested to say grace before meals. Some years ago I composed the following: Father, please Feed our hearts, Feed our minds, Feed our spirits, Feed our love for each other, Feed our bodies and Feed those who have no food at all. Perhaps you would like to share this with your readers. Deacon Brian Walsh, Johannesburg

If you can help...

AN you help me? I am a 46year-old English speaking male and have been unemployed for three years. Because of my extreme financial situation, my wife and I and 13-year-old daughter have had to separate. They are staying with my wife’s family temporarily. I am staying with my father, a 71-year-old pensioner on chronic medication. I was born with hearing loss and have a speech disability. I have experience as a diamond cutter but the industry has been in the doldrums for some time. If any reader could assist me in securing employment, I would be most grateful. I am computer literate. Phone: 011 643 4313. Name Withheld, Johannesburg

PERSPECTIVES

Hoaxed by fake Bible verse

HEN I was doing research for the next Day by Day with God and Family booklet, thinking up 115 reflections from Pentecost till the end of the liturgical year, I learned quite a lot, as one can imagine. I was working on a reflection on the saying, “‘n boer maak ‘n plan” (which doesn’t really have direct bearing on the work and needs of farmers), and the reference, “The Lord helps those who help themselves”, came to mind. That really seemed to fit the bill. Then I discovered that this well-known statement isn’t at all biblical in origin. It’s a hoax that we are cheated so cleverly by. The quote is apparently even given a supposed scripture reference, Hezekiah 6:1. There is no book called Hezekiah (there was a king of Judah by that name, c 715-686 BC, but no such book). I was flabbergasted and also quite concerned. How gullible are we? I wonder how many priests have preached on that “phantom verse”. Quite apart from that, the thought is important too. Scripture has a conflicting message. In Psalm 118, we read: “It is better to put your trust in the Lord than to trust in man.” Proverbs 28:26 says: “He who trusts in himself is a fool”, and Jeremiah 17:5 puts it even more strongly: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord.” For me the clue in Jeremiah’s passage is “and whose heart turns away from the Lord”.

There is a big problem here. The Church—and families too, that is, domestic churches—are putting a big emphasis on self-reliance these days. Overseas funding for much of the Church’s work is drying up and we need to fund ourselves and call our people to responsibility. Apply that to family life. According to Wikipedia, the origin of the idea of the Lord helping those who help themselves is in ancient Greek philosophy, whereas the Old Testament emphasises putting one’s trust in the Lord. We have heard that Mother Teresa in funding her ministry to the poorest of the poor was in this mode, but she was also a shrewd lady who knew how to tap into possible resources. Maybe that is what is meant by “‘n boer maak ‘n plan”. From a completely practical point of

Mary and Christian unity

‘C

ATHOLICS worship Mary, not Jesus,” you hear many Christians say, particularly evangelical and Pentecostals. “No we don’t,” we reply. But then you hear of some of the theologically dubious devotional practices of fellow Catholics and attempts to call Mary “coredemptorix” and you wonder. At the very least, this confused understanding of Mary remains a serious obstacle to Christian unity. Yet it needn’t be. If it’s any consolation, the Council Fathers at Vatican II were as confused as we are when it came to understanding the role of Mary. A number of them strongly pressed for a specific council decree on Mary, but after due consideration it was decided that she be the subject of a chapter in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium (1964). The decision is significant for two reasons. Firstly, she is included in a text like Lumen Gentium which is, as a constitution as opposed to a decree, a central text of the Council. In other words Mary is seen as central to the life of the Church. She has a major role to play in the life of faith. Secondly, and following from this, she is symbolically placed within the Church: she is part of the Church itself. Crucial to the Council was the function of Mary in God’s plan of salvation. It is her assent to be the mother of the Saviour that makes her stand out as a model of discipleship, as a model of faith in Christ. She is seen as the human being who freely responds positively to the call of God, in contrast to those who reject the call. She is also the one who accompanies her Son on his mission, more often than not standing in silent solidarity with him—ultimately standing at the foot of the Cross. The Council affirmed that for Christians there is and can only be one medi-

ator between God and humanity— Christ. Without Christ devotion to Mary is meaningless, pure superstition. However Mary, far from diminishing this unique mediation between God and Christ actually “shows its power”. Her influence on us “flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on his mediation, depends entirely on it and draws all its power from it. It does not hinder in any way the immediate union of the faithful with Christ but on the contrary fosters it” (LG, 60). The document emphasises this: “No creature could ever be counted along with the Incarnate Word and Redeemer; but just as the priesthood of Christ is shared in various ways both by his ministers and the faithful, and as the one goodness of God is radiated in different ways among his creatures, so also the unique mediation of the Redeemer does not exclude but rather gives rise to a

The face of Mary is shown in a detail of “The Virgin of the Immaculate Conception”, a painted and gilded statue attributed to Spanish sculptor Juan Martínez Montañés (1568-1649).

(Photo: National Gallery of Art, Washington)

Toni Rowland

Family Friendly

view, I would hate my children and grandchildren to adopt the attitude that the Lord will provide, maybe in the form of their mother or grandmother. Surely it is a question of balance, and there are plenty of other conflicting statements in the Bible. For example, depending on context and circumstances, the people were encouraged to turn their ploughshares into swords, or swords into ploughshares. Jesus is a practical man too. He did have a financial manager, Judas, and tells a parable about a king who sets out to build a tower and calculates what he will require. When he warns about storing up treasure here on earth rather than in heaven, he is concerned about that hazard of turning away from God which Jeremiah warns about. I would like all families to become scripture-savvy, but in an informed way, a life-giving, principled way that takes aspects such as the Golden Rule into account. “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Add to that Christ’s commandment to “Love one another as I have loved you”, and you do have a spirit of generosity but not of greed. Let us not strangle the sense of creativity and initiative that we encourage in our children but remind them of the sometimes very delicate balance. And watch out for holy hoaxes; they should at least make you think.

Anthony Egan SJ

A Church of Hope and Joy

manifold cooperation which is but a sharing in this one source” (62) Within the Church, Lumen Gentium says, echoing St Ambrose of Milan, Mary is a type or model of the Church “in the order of faith, charity, and perfect union with Christ” (63). She is the perfect example of what we, the Church, should be in our lives of faith, hope and love. In essence, she is the saint par excellence. The honouring of Mary in the worship life of the Church is thus to be encouraged, but it should never obscure Christ, particularly since it might prove an obstacle and a scandal to the ‘separated brethren’, other Christians (67). As a guideline we are exhorted to remember that “true devotion consists neither in sterile or transitory, affection, nor in a certain vain credulity, but proceeds from true faith” that leads us to see and honour Mary and imitate her. As a kind of parting shot, the Council notes the respect and honour already shown to Mary by other Christian churches. This needs to be encouraged, as indeed it was after the Council. Valuable books like Mary in the New Testament (1978) were co-authored by Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and Reformed scholars. One of the best devotional books on the Rosary, Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy (1971) was written by J Neville Ward, a Methodist. Clearly, far from causing division, a proper and theologically sound understanding and devotion to Mary can help foster Christian unity. Of course, where an unbalanced devotion to Mary persists it simply undoes much of the progress. Apart from that it seems to me that Marian excess that displaces Jesus from the centre of our faith offends the very object of such devotion, Mary herself.

ORFORD

CONSTRUCTION

ESTABLISHED 1982

The Southern Cross, May 16 to May 22, 2012

Michael Shackleton

Open Door

Do Catholics believe in the ‘Rapture’? I have a non-Catholic friend who belongs to a Bible-study group. She believes in what she calls the Rapture. This seems to mean that Jesus Christ will gather up his chosen ones and take them to heaven, leaving the rest of the human race on earth to face the Anti-Christ before the Last Day. How does the Church view this belief? R van der Westhuizen N the Creed we say that on the last day Jesus Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. This is the nub of Catholic teaching. It is expressed in The Catechism of the Catholic Church in this way: “At the end of time, the kingdom of God will come in its fulness. After the universal judgment, the righteous will reign for ever with Christ, glorified in body and soul. The universe itself will be renewed” (1042). This universal judgment is the Lord’s Second Coming, as mentioned in Matthew 24:29-31. Belief in the Rapture contradicts this article of faith. Rapturists hold that those among the living who believe in Christ will be taken up to heaven before the universal judgment, while unbelievers will remain behind for a period of persecution by the Anti-Christ. The basis for this is obscurely found in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. Catholics cannot take this interpretation seriously. It emerged in the 19th century, promoted by fundamentalists in the United States, such as John Darby and William Blackstone. Their view, which they claimed was supported in Matthew 24:40, was that believers in Christ would be seized in a “rapture” from this world and taken to heaven by Christ before the rest of humanity. This would occur in the twinkling of an eye and in a non-public way, so that if two persons were working in the same place, one could suddenly be removed abruptly to heaven. The Catholic Church’s doctrine is that Christ comes into this world only twice: first, to be born of the Virgin, and second, to return to judge the living and the dead publicly, and claim his everlasting Kingdom. The Church understands Matthew 24:40 in this light. Rapturists see Christ as having three comings into the world: at his birth; his sudden return for the Rapture; his final return at the end of time to judge the living and the dead. There is no evidence of this in either Scripture or Tradition.

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

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For further info, contact: Vocations Director, St Norbert’s Priory PO Box 48106, Kommetjie, 7976 (Cape Town) OR Tel 021 783 1768 Fax 021 783 3742

COMMUNITY

The Southern Cross, May 16 to May 22, 2012

Brs Clarence Watts (director of projects at Salesian Institute) and Chris Sharpe (principal of Learn to Live) took the youth from Don Bosco hostel on a hike up Table Mountain in Cape Town. The hike helped the youth to develop a love for nature and connecting with themselves on a deeper level.

Parishioner Maria de Freitas of Church of the Resurrection parish in Table View, Cape Town, turned 100 years old. Fr Kevin Dadswell gave her a blessing and Holy Communion on her birthday. She is photographed with her caregiver and family. (Front from leftt) great-grandchild Julia, Maria de Freitas, daughter Gilda, great-grandchild Kiara and grandchild Karina. (Back) cousin Rosemarie Fernandes, caregiver Anne, grandchild Antonio, great-grandchild Ashton and grandchild Karina. Antonio, Anna, Ashton and Julia came from the United States to celebrate this occasion. (Submitted by Melanie Pisanello)

St Margaret Mary parish in Green Point, Cape Town, had a farewell party for Fr Patrick Lonergan SDB who was transferred to Westridge in Mitchells Plain. He is photographed with the catechism class and teachers. (Submitted by Teresa Omodeo)

Young people from St Patrick’s parish in Bellair-Queensburgh, Durban, were confirmed by Bishop Barry Wood. (Back from left) Nomandla Madlala, Rita Willard (catechism teacher), Aaron Luke Folkard, Tiffany Reuben, Sonke Mozolo, Linda Goba and Veronica Ngubane (parish coordinator), (front) Michelle Vumisa, Nonhle Ngwane, Carolyn Oberholzer, Marcelle Eckstein and Bianca Sandiah. (Submitted by Keith Paul)

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Brendon Victor and Levern Ahrens were married at St Anne’s church in Sydenham, Durban, on the April 27.

IN FOCUS Send photographs,

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

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Fr David Mthiyane is photographed with children who received their first Communion at St Benedict’s parish in Eshowe. (Submitted by Sr Fidelis Schramm)

VOCATION

The Southern Cross, May 16 to May 22, 2012

In the footsteps of Mary, exalted widow In the early Church, many widows consecrated themselves to God. Some do so even today, as COLLEEN CONSTABLE explains.

RECENTLY met a 40-year-old widow at a workshop. Her husband died at an early stage of their marriage: she never remarried. She dedicates her time to bringing up their daughter who turns 18 this year. This brave woman celebrates widowhood in a way that makes her find purpose and fulfilment in life. Widowhood finds relevance in Mary, the most blessed and holy widow who ever lived. Mary became a young widow when her husband Joseph died prior to Jesus’ public ministry. She stood at the foot of the Cross as a widow and a mother. After the Resurrection of Our Lord, Mary sat among the apostles as a widow and a mother, praying with them, awaiting the descent of the Holy Spirit. Mary provides a relevant basis for women in widowhood to find further meaning in life. Mary is the most relevant symbol of holiness in widowhood: in a Spanish novena she is referred to as “exalted widow”. Unfortunately we do not always reflect on Mary as a widow. Pope John Paul II’s apostolic exhortation Vita Consecrata states that “again as being practised today is the consecration of widows, known since apostolic times (1 Tim 5:5, 9-10; 1 Cor 7:8). These women…through a vow of perpetual chastity as a sign of the Kingdom of God, consecrate their state of life in order to devote themselves to prayer and the service of the Church.” The Order of Widows is an ancient rite currently practised only by the Eastern Catholic Churches who allow the consecration of Eastern Rite Catholics who were in a valid marriage. The Latin rite has not yet re-established the Order of Widow, but indications are that the

Vatican is working on the revival of the rite for consecration of widows. The tradition of consecrated widowhood finds roots in the early Church. The letter of St Augustine, De bono viduitatis (On the Good of Widowhood), written in 414 AD as a response to a letter from the aristocratic widow, Juliana, widow of Olybrius, provides thoughtful and meaningful insight into widowhood and the desire to consecrate such state of life to God. Juliana became a consecrated widow in 412. St Augustine advised her that the chastity she vowed as a consecrated widow was a gift from God. He encouraged her not to fill the gap in her life with wealth, but rather with prayer and thanksgiving to God. Augustine held the perspective that a state of widowhood does not make a consecrated woman “a bride of Christ”. This sentiment rejects the notion or thought of Christ as a second bridegroom for consecrated widows. However, Augustine conceded that consecrated widowhood elevates the widow amongst the members of the body of Christ.

he ancient practice of consecrated widowhood is slowly being revived as a 21st century vocation for widows. What relevance does it hold in today’s modern world? The 21st century widow falls within the category of both young and older women. Some widows are better qualified than the widows of the early Church, with professional aspirations, broad experiences and expertise in fields that our early Church widows at the time had no exposure to. How would the 21st century widow choose to seek holiness following in the footsteps of Mary, exalted widow? Or would such a widow follow Mary through the examples set by many of the widow saints who simply entered a religious community? Ronda Chervin, a widow, mother and grandmother and convert from a Jewish background has researched aspects of widowhood as a lived vocation in today’s world. Her website (www.rondachervin.com) has information for those who discern a form of consecrated or dedi-

cated widowhood. Mrs Chervin became a widow in 1993 and a “dedicated widow to Our Lord” in 2007 after she made private promises. According to Mrs Chervin, dedicated widowhood consists of a private promise to a priest not to remarry and to dedicate the rest of one’s life to prayer and building the kingdom of God in families, society and parishes. Renewal of the promises is done annually. Living a “simple life” is also an option for widows. Mrs Chervin defines “simple life” as meaning that a widow gives away, to the poor or pro-life causes, everything they do not need as a necessity. A widow lives alone or with family or with an apostolic community of priests and lay people, but not in a community of other women. Mrs Chervin has incorporated the option of a “simple life” into her lifestyle as a “dedicated widow”. She also devised her own rule with assistance from her spiritual director and opted for an approach that “does not demand rigid obedience”. This approach apparently allows for flexibility according to daily activities, and yet enables the dedicated widow to uphold her daily prayer and other spiritual commitments. According to Mrs Chervin other approaches to live the vocation of widowhood include “ardent Catholic women”: widows who remain open to remarriage, but enrich their spiritual life through joining a Third Order or a lay movement.

idows may also join a religious community and become a religious sister or contemplative nun. The option of “consecrated widow” within a religious community offers the title and a vocation that is differently aligned to that of religious sisters in the community or lay affiliates. The widow lives by herself or with a group of other widows near the community house. Some religious communities that offer widow specific vocations include the Franciscan Order, the Society of the Most Holy Trinity and also the Pauline Holy

Ursulines of the Blessed Virgin Mary We are the Ursulines of the Blessed Virgin Mary, called to serve Christ through education of girls, women and servants, pastoral and social work. Do you feel God’s call? Join us.

St Bridget of Sweden, depicted in a stained-glass window at Sacred Heart cathedral in Newark, New Jersey, was a 14th-century widow who founded the Order of the Most Holy Saviour, known as the Brigittines. It used to be widespread for widows to enter consecrated life. Today the options still exist for widows to consecrate themselves to God. (Photo: Crosiers/CNS) Family Institute. Mrs Chervin also refers to the option provided by the Servant Widows of the Good Shepherd, a community of consecrated widows started by a widow. They live in convents or in their own homes and wear habits without veils. Another option is “consecrated widow under the bishop”: a vocation practised in France, Italy, Spain, and Poland. Mrs Chervin describes this option as aimed at individuals who want to live as consecrated widows referred to in the New Testament. It does not necessarily include widows who want to live together as a group. Cardinal Raymond Burke, prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, has encouraged widows “who feel called to consecrated life as individuals to write a letter expressing such reasons to the congregation in Rome working on a possible rite”. Widows interested in this option should contact their bishop and ensure that their intention is made

known to the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments at the Vatican. It is argued that in this way the Vatican would become more aware of the growing desire of widows to live as individuals within a rite of consecrated widowhood. There may indeed be young and older widows in our modern world with a desire to grow in holiness through a holy commitment. The Vatican should expedite the establishment of a rite to confer consecration on widows. It will broaden the options of many widows who may not prefer to enter a religious community. We have to acknowledge that there are widows who live their widowhood without remarriage or any form of dedication or consecration. They live prayerful and Eucharistic lives; contribute to their parish community, family and the society. They also deserve our respect as pious widows of our time, following Mary, exalted widow.

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The Southern Cross, May 16 to May 22, 2012

CHURCH

St Ninian’s,

Kuils River, Cape Town

Church with a rich history BY THANDI BOSMAN

AMED after a bishop who, along with his followers, proclaimed the Gospel in Scotland from 397 to 432, St Ninian’s parish in Kuils River, Cape Town, continues to do their patron saint’s work. Situated 30km outside of Cape Town and en route to the Winelands, St Ninian’s parish is home to about 450 families and under the spiritual guidance of Fr Thaddeus Oranusi. The church building itself dates back 40 years, but the history of Kuils River parish dates back to 1922 when Fr Ned O’Reilly used to do his pastoral work on a pushbike. “In those early years, Mass was celebrated at the homes of the early pioneers. Later, as the number of Catholics started to increase, a fundraising group was formed under Fr John Armstrong. Funds were obtained to build the church, and on August 15, 1971, the church was blessed and opened by Cardinal Owen McCann,” said Chris Collins, a member of the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC). “A special stone which was obtained from the St Ninian’s cave in Scotland was later brought to St Ninian’s parish. It was then built into the wall alongside the altar, Mr Collins said. The parish celebrates the feast day of St Ninian, August 28, every year. Mr Collins said that the growth of the parish is a result of many contributing factors. “Kuils River has grown exponentially over the years, resulting in an increase in Catholic families. The diversity of St Ninian’s has also increased extensively and

the parish community is embracing these changes. We are continually engaging with all parishioners to actively participate in parish life.” St Ninian’s parish secretary works part-time at the parish office to help Fr Oranusi with some of the administrative work. Mr Collins said that the parish secretary attends to the needs of the parishioners as well as scheduling baptisms, planned giving forms and making appointments. “We have seen a marked improvement in our day-to-day running of the parish” since the parish secretary was employed, Mr Collins said. Parishioners are involved in a number of ministries and organisations that not only help the Church community but also in the society around them. “We have the Outreach group which runs weekly soup kitchens, facilitates food distribution and rummage sales and do home visitations. The Catholic Women’s League holds weekly craft and sewing classes for its members and the unemployed,” Mr Collins said. “We have a young adult group called 3@BEC (Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation) whose mission is to grow in faith and love for Christ. They participate in prayer and scripture, work closely with the Outreach and see their organisation as a training ground for the future adults of the parish,” he said. The youth group at St Ninian’s is undergoing a growth and development phase and currently consists of 15 core members, Mr Collins said. One of the main concerns of the parish and “of the broader archdiocese” is the loss of the

youth once they are confirmed. Mr Collins explained that the parish has tried to address the youth and understand their needs. “We have initiated a programme to incorporate all third year confirmation candidates to our youth group. The aim is to understand their needs and to identify how best we can accommodate them within the structures of the Church. This is an ongoing process and will be evaluated during the latter part of the year,” Mr Collins said. Mr Collins added that the liturgy group arranged for the gospel readings to be recited during the Easter Triduum in different languages to represent “the various nationalities and cultural groups within the congregation”.

he parish encountered an unforeseen challenge when the Church building experienced fire damage because of an electrical fault, Mr Collins told The Southern Cross. Mr Collins said that the parish faced a number of problems such as spacing constraint for the parishioners and the catechism. Out of this challenge, an opportunity was seen “to review our space requirements and resulted in the building committee submitting plans to create additional capacity,” Mr Collins said. “The fundraising group has been planning a number of events “to raise much needed funds to increase capacity of the church and catechism classrooms. There are a number of other initiatives that are currently in process which will provide added parking space and in the longer term new facilities,” he said.

Active men from St Ninian’s parish prepare a fish braai which was part of a parish get together. (Inset) Lena Samuels, one of The Southern Cross ushers at St Ninians. St Ninian’s parish recently held a food fair which was financially and socially successful. Late last year, St Ninian’s elected a new PPC which focuses on family life, growth and consolidation of Small Faith Sharing Groups (SFG) and Catechism. “The council participated in a workshop and identified specific actions which would go some way in addressing the challenges that are being faced in our community,” Mr Collins said. The parish is divided into SFG zones, and some of these zones stretch far beyond Kuils River. “Zone leaders were appointed to serve these parish communities. We are in the process of establishing Small Faith Sharing Groups in zones where it has not been implemented yet.” He said that the parish received positive feedback from the SFG stating that their experience was “phenomenal”. He added that as the different communities shared their experience they could feel the Holy Spirit move among them. “One could feel their sense [of] belonging and the general interest from the parish in their spiritual and social welfare.” The parish has also experienced a lot of success during the Ecclesia season. “In reviewing the season, our Ecclesia coordinator felt that many positive elements came forth from these gatherings. Relationships have been developed,

Pre-school to Grade 12

people have heard about the sessions and now want to come on board and more facilitators will be trained.” Mr Collins said that St Ninian’s parishioners are seeking additional ways to improve their faith, and that increases demand for The Southern Cross. The newspaper, he said, provides a “wide range of topics” and “accommodates most readers”. The newspaper is promoted through the parish priest and parishioners who actively sell it. The Southern Cross has long been popular in the parish. One previous parish priest, French Father Pierre Bergot, was an enthusiastic supporter of the newspaper in the 1990s. Current pastor Fr Oranusi continues that tradition. “Fr Oranusi always reads an interesting article prior to his weekend Masses. He then briefly reflects on the article to parishioners during the Mass and encourages them to purchase a copy. After Mass our Southern Cross ushers make themselves heard and ensure that the newspaper gets sold,” Fr Collins said. “We also from time to time allow a few copies to be handed out free of charge with the intention to encourage further readership. The sick of the parish are handed free copies which are funded by two parishioners,” Mr Collins explained.

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The Southern Cross, May 16 to May 22, 2012

CLASSIFIEDS

Pope: Poverty could spark rebellion BY CAROL GLATZ

AWS and government policies should not make economic inequality worse; rather they should help people live more decent lives, Pope Benedict has told diplomats. “The quality of human relationships and the sharing of resources are the foundation of society, allowing everyone to have a role and to live in dignity in accordance with their aspirations,” he said. The pope spoke to five new ambassadors to the Vatican, who were presenting their letters of credential. In his speech, the pope said today’s modern means of communication make it very quick and easy to know what is happening around world—both good

and bad. Being much more aware of people’s material and spiritual suffering should lead to a new call to action “to respond, with justice and solidarity, to anything that threatens humanity, society and the environment”, he said. Armed conflict, famine, pandemics and people flocking to cities have exacerbated both old and new forms of poverty, and the global economic crisis has caused an increasing number of families to face growing financial insecurity, he said. When poverty and extreme wealth exist side-by-side in society, it gives rise to a sense of injustice, which can spark rebellion, he said. “It is, therefore, appropriate

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: St Paul’s parish in Somerset West: Fundraising cheese and wine event on May 19 at 6:30 in the church hall plus auction of a painting of The Crucifixion. (www.stpaul-somer setwest.co.za) Cost: R 50 (single) or R90 (double). Contact: Monique Rolando on 082 5555 610 or stpaulsw@netactive.co.za 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: Rosary at Marie Stopes clinic, Peter Place, Sandton. First Saturday of every month, 10:30-12:00. Also Gandhi Square, Main Rd, third Saturday of every month, 10:30-12:00. Tel: Joan 011 782-4331 PRETORIA: First Saturday: Devotion to Divine Mercy. St Martin de Porres, Sunnyside, 16:30. Tel Shirley-Anne 012 361 4545. NELSPRUIT: Adoration of the blessed sacrement at St Peter’s parish. Every Tuesday from 8am to 4 45pm followed by Rosary/ Divine Mercy prayers, then a Mass/Communion service at 5 30pm.

that nations ensure that social laws do not worsen inequalities”, but help people to live decently. True human development respects human dignity and lets people take control of their lives, he said. Initiatives using microcredit or “equitable partnerships”, for example, “show that it is possible to harmonize economic goals with social needs, democratic governance and respect for nature”. Pope Benedict said the problem of spiritual poverty also must be addressed. When people have lost all reference to God and spiritual values, it makes it very difficult to distinguish between good and evil and to overcome personal interests for the sake of the common good, he said.—CNS

Word of the Week

Thaumaturgus: Miracle worker. Application: A title given to certain saints outstanding for having performed miracles during their own lifetime or since their death.

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO #498. ACROSS: 1 Veiled, 4 Purple, 9 Supreme courts, 10 Thunder, 11 Issue, 12 Deify, 14 Snide, 18 Altar, 19 Brocade, 21 Bachelorhoods, 22 Ensure, 23 Nelson. DOWN:1 Visits, 2 Imprudent acts, 3 Emend, 5 Utopian, 6 Parish deacons, 7 Ensued, 8 Pearl, 13 Forbear, 15 Rabble, 16 Abbot, 17 Reason, 20 Ochre.

Liturgical Calendar Year B Weekdays Year 2

Sunday, May 20, Seventh Sunday of Easter Acts 1: 15-17, 20-26, Psalms 103: 1-2, 11-12, 19-20, 1 John 4: 11-16, John 17: 11-19 Monday, May 21, feria Acts 19:1-8, Psalm 68:2-7, John 16:29-33 Tuesday, May 22, feria Acts 20:17-27, Psalm 68:10-11, 20-21, John 17:1-11 Wednesday, May 23, feria Acts 20:28-38, Psalm 68:29-30, 33-36, John 17:11-19 Thursday, May 24, feria Revelation 21:1-5, Psalm 95:1-7, John 10:22-30 Friday, May 25, feria Acts 25:13-21, Psalm 103:1-2, 11-12, 19-20, John 21:15-19 Saturday, May 26, St Philip Neri Acts 28:16-20, 30-31, Psalm 11:4, 5, 7, John 21:2025 Sunday, May 27, Pentecost Acts 2:1-11, Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-31, 34, Galatians 5:16-25, John 15:26-27,16:12-15;

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

DEATH

BENDALL—Stephen Charles. Our beloved son and brother, Stephen died peacefully in the presence of his family at Fairhavens Hospice, Southend-onSea, England on April 16, 2012 at the age of 53. He will always be loved and remembered by his parents, Ron and Sheila and his sisters, Barbara and Valerie and all his family in South Africa and Canada. We will miss him so much.

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PRAYERS

IN MEMORIAM

FERNANDES—Debbie. 9/6/1970 to 20/5/2001. Dearest mother, sister and daughter, you left us memories we are proud to own. Thank you Lord she was the best, a mother so dear, a sister beyond compare, a daughter with a great big loving heart, always ready to give a helping hand to all in need. Treasure her Lord in your garden of rest and let the light of her life shine on in our hearts, till we meet again R.I.P. Your son Paulo, ssters Belinda and Cynthia and mom Maureen. POTHIER—Bernard. Died May 24, 2011. Still present for us in spirit, greatly missed and forever loved by his wife Margaret, children Dominic and Siobhain, Nicholas and Heide, Rosanne and Tiernan, all his grandchildren and extended family. May he always stay by our side. Rest in peace. POTHIER—Bernard. Former director of the Catholic Newspaper & Publishing Company, manager of the Associates’ Campaign and good friend to all at The Southern Cross. Still deeply missed a year after his passing by the directors, editor, manager and staff of The Southern Cross. SETSUBI—Eugene Themba. Slipped into eternity seven years ago in this rosary month. Sorely missed but lovingly and prayerfully remembered, till we meet again. Your family. VAN SCHOOR —Fr Lawrence left us in 2007 for his just rewards. Will always be remembered for his kind and gentle ways and great support to our dear Debbie during her last few months with us. Gone but not forgotten. Rest in peace. The Fernandes family.

PERSONAL

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

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RETREATS

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ACCOMMODATION

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Pentecost Sunday: May 27 Readings: Acts 2:1-11, Psalm 104: 1, 24, 2931, 34, Galatians 5:16-25, John 15:26-27; 16:12-15

HAT difference does God make? That is a good question to be asking next Sunday, as we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, which is sometimes seen as the birthday of the Church. The answer is, of course, nothing less than everything. The first reading is, inevitably, Luke’s account of the “filling” of that first group of Christians with the gift of the Spirit, with the powerful symbols of wind and fire, filling the whole house; it is an individual gift as well as one for the entire church, since each one has their own “tongue of fire, as it were”. And what is the effect? Quite simply that these frightened disciples (all of them, except for the women, had run abjectly away when the chips were down, not many days before) are electrified into proclaiming in different tongues “as the Spirit gave them to utter”. This is clearly something that has not come from them, and if you are thinking, as you contemplate these words, that you don’t really feel like standing up in the middle of town and preaching the Gospel, then you have to remember that it is not your doing, but the gift of the Spirit, in every language known to this country. Some, of course, will be impressed with your preaching (“aren’t these people Galileans?”); others will laugh

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The Spirit of Truth Nicholas King SJ

Sunday Reflections

at you, supposing you to be drunk. But that is not your problem. Your task this week, under the Spirit’s guidance, is to proclaim, in a language that ordinary people can understand, “the great things of God”. The psalm for next Sunday gives us an idea of how to go about this task: “Lord my God, you are very great!” the poet shouts, “how many are your works, the earth is full of your creatures”. There is, that is to say, only one God, and, he goes on, “when you take away your breath [or ‘Spirit’], they perish, and go back to their dust”. When, on the other hand, “you send your breath [or ‘Spirit’], they shall be created, and you renew the face of the soil.” And the song ends, triumphantly: “I shall rejoice in the Lord.” That might usefully be our motto this week as we go about our Church-mission. But what is this “Spirit”, whose coming

we celebrate on this day? In the sec o nd reading, Paul explores the mystery by way of a contrast with the “flesh”, which is its adversary; he talks of the “works” of the flesh, things like “adultery, impurity, impiety, worship-of-false-gods...” in a very long list of very unattractive activities into which we can all too easily slip, lazily supposing them to be the fulfilment for which we yearn, unless we are careful. The “Spirit”, however, does not have “works”, but “fruits”; and it is a very attractive list that Paul puts before us: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindliness [which would have sounded in Greek as ‘Christ-likeness’], goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, continence”. It is a lovely picture, and all we have to do is agree to live by it: “If we live by the Spirit, then let us also conduct ourselves by the Spirit.” And what does that mean? Here next Sunday’s gospel can help, for it consists of two passages taken from Jesus’ great “farewell discourse” at the Last Supper, when he speaks of the “Paraclete”, John’s gospel’s most precious gift to us. And what does this “Paraclete” do? The name probably means something like “counsel for the defence”, the one who stands at your side to cope with all threats

The power of powerlessness T

HERE are different kinds of power and different kinds of authority. There is military power, muscle power, political power, economic power, moral power, charismatic power, and psychological power, among other things. There are different kinds of authority too. We can be bitterly forced into acquiescing to certain demands or we can be gently persuaded into accepting them. Power and authority are not all of a kind. Imagine four persons in a room. The first is a powerful dictator who rules a country. His word commands armies and his shifting moods intimidate subordinates. He wields a brutal power. Next to him sits a gifted athlete at the peak of his physical prowess, a man whose quickness and strength have few equals. His skills are a graceful power for which he is much admired and envied. The third person is a rock star whose music and charisma can electrify an audience and fill a room with a soulful energy. Her face is on billboards and she is a household name. That’s still another kind of power. Finally, we have too in the room a newborn, a baby, lying in its crib, seemingly without any power or strength whatsoever, unable to even ask for what it needs. Which of these is ultimately the most powerful? The irony is that the baby ultimately wields the greatest power. The athlete could crush it, the dictator could kill it, and the rock star could out-glow it in sheer

Classic Conrad

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

dynamism, but the baby has a different kind of power. It can touch hearts in a way that a dictator, an athlete, or a rock star cannot. Its innocent, wordless presence, without physical strength, can transform a room and a heart in a way that guns, muscle, and charisma cannot. We watch our language and actions around a baby, less so around athletes and rock stars. The powerlessness of a baby touches us at a deeper moral place. And this is the way we find and experience God’s power here on earth, sometimes to our great frustration, and this is the way that Jesus was deemed powerful during his lifetime. The entire Gospel make this clear, from beginning to end. Jesus was born as a baby, powerless, and he died hanging helplessly on a cross with bystanders mocking his powerlessness. Yet both his birth and his death manifest the kind of power upon which we can ultimately build our lives. The gospels describe Jesus’ power and authority in exactly this way. In Greek, the original language of the gospels, we find three words for power or authority. We easily recognise the first two: energy and dynamic. There is a power in energy, in

I can see religion becoming a lifestyle accessory for some

physical health and muscle, just as there is a power in being dynamic, in dynamite, in having the power to generate energy; but when the gospels speak of Jesus as “having great power” and as having a power beyond that of other religious figures, they do not use the words energetic or dynamic. They use a third word, exousia, which might be best rendered as “vulnerability”. Jesus’ real power was rooted in a certain vulnerability, like the powerlessness of a child. This isn’t an easy concept to grasp since our idea of power is normally rooted in the opposite, namely the notion that power lies in the ability to overwhelm, not underwhelm, others. And yet we understand this, at least somewhat, in our experience of babies, who can overpower us precisely by their powerlessness. Around a baby, as most every mother and father has learned, we not only watch our language and try not to have bitter arguments; we also try to be better, more loving persons. Metaphorically, a baby has the power to do an exorcism. It can cast out the demons of self-absorption and selfishness in us. That’s why Jesus could cast out certain demons that others could not. And that’s how God’s power forever lies within our world and within our lives, asking for our patience. Christ, as the author Annie Dillard says, is always found in our lives just as he was originally found, a helpless baby in the straw who must be picked up and nurtured into maturity. But we are forever wanting something else, namely a God who would come and clean up the world and satisfy our thirst for justice by showing some raw muscle power and banging some heads here and now. We are impatient with quiet, moral power that demands infinite patience and a long-term perspective. We want a hero, someone with the blazing guns of a Hollywood superhero but the heart of a Mother Theresa. The guns of the world blasting away evil, that’s what we want from our God, not the power of a baby lying mute and helpless against the cruel powers of our time. Like the Israelites facing the Philistines, we are reluctant to send a shepherd boy against an ironclad giant. We want divine power in iron, muscles, guns, and charisma. But that’s not the way in which intimacy, peace and God are found.

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against life and liberty. According to the reading, this “Paraclete” is sent by Jesus “from the Father”, and it is described as “the Spirit of truth”, a very important notion in this fourth Gospel, and “will bear witness about me”. We are pleased to hear that, because the next thing that we are told is that we also have a task: “You lot are also to bear witness, because you were with me from the beginning.” We may shift uncomfortably at this idea, but there is more to come: “I have much to tell you, but you can’t cope with it now.” Instead, Jesus points ahead to something new that God is going to do in our lives: “When that one comes, the Spirit of Truth, then he is going to guide you in all the truth. The reason is that he does not speak on his own account; instead he will speak whatever he hears, and will declare to you what is coming.” The Spirit’s function, like ours (only the Spirit is rather better at it than we are) is to glorify Jesus: “He is going to glorify me, because he takes what is mine, and will declare it to you.” And it all goes back to the Father: “Everything that the Father has is mine.” So there is the difference that God makes: the world has suddenly become new, and we are invited to proclaim its newness; but we don’t have to do it on our own, since the “Counsel for the Defence” will be at our side.

Southern Crossword #498

ACROSS

1. Concealed like the bride (6) 4. Bishop’s liturgical colour (6) 9. Excellent grounds for judges to play tennis (7,6) 10. You may hear it in a flash (7) 11. Sue is about children (5) 12. Treat like a god I defy (5) 14. Dines out and is derogatory (5) 18. The bridal path may end here (5) 19. Rich fabric coming from bad core (7) 21. Degrees of unmarried men (13) 22. Make certain (6) 23. Royal Navy hero having his own column (6)

DOWN 1. People pay them to the Blessed Sacrament (6) 2. I cramp student about rash deeds (9,4) 3. Revise the text (5) 5. A pin out of place in ideal kind of place (7) 6. They minister to priest and people (6,7) 7. Followed on to need us around (6) 8. Fifty come after fruit found in oyster (5) 13. Refrain from being in favour of teddy (7) 15. Crowd that cried for Christ's death (6) 16. Bob at religious superior (5) 17. Logic (6) 20. First five of orchestra turn into earthy pigment (5) Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

N exasperated mother, whose son was always getting into mischief, finally asked him: “How do you expect to get into Heaven?” The boy thought it over and said: “Well, I’ll run in and out and in and out and keep slamming the door until St Peter says: “For Heaven’s sake, Dylan, come in or stay out!” Send us your favourite Catholic joke, preferably clean and brief, to The Southern Cross, Church Chuckle, PO Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000.