www.scross.co.za
June 6 to June 12, 2012
Freedom and liberty: What’s the difference
Page 23
16-Page Focus on Catholic Education
R5,50 (incl VAT RSA)
Reg No. 1920/002058/06
No 4778
Interview with SA-born TV star nun
Page 26
Justice & Peace visit forced school action BY CLAIRE MATHIESON
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HE work of the newly established Land Desk of Justice and Peace (J&P) has already produced a positive result when one community was assisted following the National People’s Summit on Land Rights, which the desk sponsored. The J&P Department of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference brought together roleplayers to address the issues of land and service delivery in rural South Africa. “This formed part of J&P’s commitment, as Church, to strengthen social movements and to foster unity amongst them to enable people struggling for basic rights to speak for themselves,” said Land Desk coordinator Philani Mkhize. The event took place at eNkwalini, some 30km north-west of Eshowe in KwaZuluNatal. There were 73 participants from various movements, particularly Rural Network and Landless People’s Movement. Mr Mkhize said the highlight of the meeting was a visit to a neighbouring farm to witness the conditions under which the community is living. “They experience great tenure insecurity, their houses having been bulldozed twice in the past in an attempt to evict them,” he said. What particularly shocked the delegates was the conditions of the schooling of the community’s children, Mr Mkhize recalled. “The school is located in the farm workers’ hostel with children of different grades cramming into one room facing different directions. For others, their classroom is an outside structure with only a roof above and no walls. The children are also exposed to adult hostel life, which sometimes is not appropriate.” Despite efforts to build their own school on the farm, the owner would not permit the new structure. The school’s principal said her efforts to get help had been “fruitless”. While on site, one of the delegates got in touch with a local radio station, calling on the authorities to rescue the children. Three days later, parliamentarian Nomalungelo Gina, in whose constituency the school is, visited the school and undertook to take the matter up with the Department of Education and other relevant authorities. “It seems that she kept her word, because, soon thereafter, the local municipality called the community leaders to assure them that the school matter was receiving attention from them,” said Mr Mkhize. New desks have since been delivered to the school. “Although this was not what people asked for, it is a sign that the issue of
Pupils from St Mary’s Primary School in Cape Town show their exuberance in the playground of the Dominican-owned and state-funded school. See pages 7-22 for our annual Catholic Education supplement. (Photo: Claire Mathieson)
the school is receiving some attention,” Mr Mkhize said. Mrs Gina also took the issue up with the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform about the tenure insecurity experienced by the community on the farm. As a result, the department in the province is scheduled to visit the area “to see things for themselves and listen to community’s concerns”, Mr Mkhize said. One of the follow-up activities from this summit has been an explicit request for training of the leadership of movements, which, it is hoped will take place in the near future. He said the experience and impact of this summit affirm the value and the commitment that J&P made to assist the social movements to share their experiences and thus motivate one another. Mr Mkhize said the department will continue working with the movements offering support and solidarity where necessary.
New Doctors of the Church in October
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OPE Benedict has announced that he will proclaim St John of Avila, a 16thcentury Spanish priest, and St Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th-century German abbess, as Doctors of the Universal Church on October 7 in Rome. The Doctors of the Church, saints honoured for particularly important contributions to theology and spirituality, come from both the Eastern and Western Church traditions. The first Doctors of the Church were named in 1298. The current list of 33 doctors include early Church Fathers such as Ss Jerome, John Chrysostom and Augustine, as well as major
theologians such as Ss Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventure and John of the Cross. The last saint named a Doctor of the Church was St Thérèse of Lisieux, who was honoured by Pope John Paul II in 1997. St Hildegard will become the fourth woman Doctor of the Church, joining Ss Thérèse, Catherine of Siena and Teresa of Avila. Pope Benedict announced his intention to name St John of Avila a Doctor of the Church last August while in Madrid for World Youth Day. Last month he ordered that St Hildegard, who was never formally canonised, be added to the Catholic Church’s list of saints.
Digital Southern Cross ranks fifth in SA audit STAFF REPORTER
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ATEST figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) show that The Southern Cross is among the market leaders in digital subscriptions among South African weeklies. Of all weekly newspapers audited by the ABC, 14 included digital sales in their circulation. Among these, The Southern Cross ranked in fifth place, behind the Saturday Dispatch, Weekend Post, Saturday Star, and Rapport. According to the ABC figures, which covered the months January to March, The Southern Cross had more digital subscribers than newspapers such as the Sunday Times, Sunday Independent, and the Saturday editions of Pretoria News, Weekend Argus, Beeld and Die Burger. Ranked by percentage of total circulation, The Southern Cross comes third (with 0,82%) behind the Saturday Dispatch (1,14%) and the Weekend Post (0,96%). Günther Simmermacher, editor of The Southern Cross, said he was pleased with the ABC figures. “We have attracted a significant subscriber base for our digital edition in a relatively short space of time and with little promotion. The fact that we are presently outperforming titles with a much larger circulation suggests that our readers are open to using new technologies when reading their favourite newspaper,” he said.
“It puts The Southern Cross and South Africa’s Catholic community at the cutting edge of new publishing technology.” Mr Simmermacher said that the response to the digital Southern Cross has been very positive. “Readers like that it looks exactly like the print edition—but with crisper colours which is something that newsprint cannot achieve. The digital edition also looks fantastic on tablets, which are becoming increasingly widespread in South Africa. It’s one way to connect with younger Catholics in particular,” the editor said. Part of the digital Southern Cross subscription is free access to past issues going back to early 2010. According to Mr Simmermacher, the digital team is looking to expand these archives. The Southern Cross is presently investigating ways of making expatriate South Africans aware of The Southern Cross’ digital edition. “We believe that many South African Catholics who have gone to live in Australia, New Zealand, Canada or Britain would love to have a connection with the Church back home. Now we need to find a way of telling them that they can have that connection through our digital edition,” Mr Simmermacher said. n An annual subscription to the digital edition of The Southern Cross costs R291,50. Visit www.scross.co.za/subscribe or e-mail Avril at subscriptions@scross.co.za