The Southern Cross - 120808

www.scross.co.za

August 8 to August 14, 2012

The man who speaks for the Church

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R6,00 (incl VAT RSA)

Reg No. 1920/002058/06

To Kill A Mockingbird: 50 years later

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No 4787

Good matric advice from a bishop

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Around the world in 80-year-old car

BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

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HAT had started as a road trip for a young married couple has turned into an international family adventure, inspiring thousands around the world—including a local bishop whom they met along the way.

Candelaria and Herman Zapp of Argentina set out on their journey in 2000 in their 1928 Graham Paige vintage car. The couple began driving across South and North America, Australia, New Zealand, Asia and now Africa.

Along the way the Catholic couple gained new passengers, namely Pampa, Tehue, Paloma and Wallaby—their four children, each of whom was born in a different country on the journey.

Pampa, 10, was born in the United States; Tehue, 7, in Argentina; Paloma, 5, in Canada; and Wallaby 3, in Australia.

When they arrived in South Africa, which they have described as “spectacular”, Bishop José Luis Ponce de León of Ingwavuma in KwaZulu-Natal made it his mission to meet with the travellers.

Through the help of the Argentinian ambassador, the bishop, who is originally from Argentina, got in touch with the family. The Zapps were travelling from Mkuse to Durban, a journey that would take the 84year-old car two days to complete—a distance covered in about four hours in an average contemporary car.

Bishop Ponce de León offered hospitality in St Lucia to help break the journey. “I promised to introduce them to our famous hippos. They came for a night but decided to stay two nights. It was great. I was spoiled with an Argentinian homemade breakfast,” the bishop told The Southern Cross.

Bishop Ponce de León said he was amazed at the Zapps’ story. “I could not believe it.

Not only the fact that they have been doing this for the last 12 years, but the fact that

Bishop José Luis Ponce de León of Ingwavuma (far left) with Herman and Candelaria Zapp and their children (from left) Wallaby, Pampa, Paloma and Tehue, each of whom was born in different countries on the family’s 12-year-long world journey in their 1928 Graham Paige vintage car. they are having the children with them.”

The Zapp children are home-schooled on the road, following the Argentinian schooling system. Mrs Zapp said her children “are doing very well” with the system, but added that they were receiving lessons most others do not. “They are learning so much from the world itself,” she said.

“They saw a shuttle taking off in Orlando, they visited the Smithsonian in Washington and hundreds of other museums around the world. They scuba dived on a wreck of the Second World War in the Philippines, the children have even seen Everest from its base camp, and they have

Catholic centre wins court case against Dept of Home Affairs

BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

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HE Scalabrini Centre in Cape Town, Catholic refugee rights organisation, has won an appeal against a decision made by Department of Home Affairs to close the Cape Town Refugee Reception Office (RRO).

The decision to close the office was made

by Home Affairs in an attempt to move all refugee reception services to the country's borders. However, no such facilities have yet been built at the borders and the pressure on the remaining RROs has meant that asylum seekers and refugees are regularly turned away without accessing services.

Maitland RRO in Cape Town was the third office to be closed by Home Affairs in two years, leaving just three offices in Durban, Pretoria and Musina near the Zimbabwean border, where refugees can apply for asylum.

The Scalabrini Centre said in a statement that the decision to close the office was “unlawful and unjust”. The centre and other refugee organisations said the move was part of a broader strategy by the government to restrict migration and reduce the country's caseload of asylum seekers which is one of the world's largest.

In addition, the centre said there was a concern of violence that could erupt due to the fact that “many asylum seekers have

tried in vain to submit their applications at the centre”.

Asylum seekers are given two weeks to report to an RRO on entering the country, where they can apply for an asylum seeker permit. Those who are unable to apply for the permit are considered undocumented migrants and subject to arrest, detention and deportation.

Judge Dennis Davis found that the decision by the Department of Home Affairs was taken without the legally required consultation with the Standing Committee for Refugee Affairs and that the decision itself was “neither rational nor reasonable”. The court issued an interim order requiring the department to accept new applicants for asylum pending a full review.

Justice Davis additionally concluded that the decision to close the Maitland RRO was unreasonable and irrational as it would exacerbate the admitted backlog and impinge on the rights of a particularly vulnerable group of people.

The judgment in Cape Town follows two similar judgments in Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth, both of which found that the closure of RROs had been implemented unlawfully and without public consultation.

Rebecca Chennells, the centre’s advocacy officer, said the Scalabrini Centre was assisted Continued on page 2

been hosted in more than 2 500 homes— homes of every kind,” Mrs Zapp told The Southern Cross.

“You should see those kids—they relate with everyone, they are free, relaxed,” said Bishop Ponce de León.

In fact, meeting people is the highlight of the family’s journey. “People—there is nothing more than special and incredible than people,” said Mrs Zapp.

The family sleeps in or around a tent set up next to their car, but more often than not they find a friendly local who will put them up for the night. “There is no routine,” said Mrs Zapp.

Said Bishop Ponce de León: “I think they believe in the goodness of every person in any part of the world, and they are not afraid of moving from one place to another. They also travel light, as you can imagine. They do not need much and they follow a very simple lifestyle. Most of the things are in a trunk at the back of the car.”

The family earns money through the sales of their book, Spark Your Dream, which is used to fund their travels.

Mrs Zapp calls the experience the “12 most wonderful years of our life”.

The time on the road is not only an education and an adventure, but also an exercise in spirituality.

“In our 12 years of travelling, [the car] never broke down in the middle of nowhere, and when we did break down, it was at the right place at the right time. We never were hungry and we have never been robbed. Many said that we are lucky. We know,” said Mrs Zapp about her family.

“We believe and put our faith into practice every day. We believe that [God] will be there.”

Next, the Zapp family will be travelling across Africa to Egypt—in their vintage car, “the most simple, stylish and secure car around. We need something slow and safe, and if you are going to do something has to be with style,” Mrs Zapp said.

But there is no rush. They have no deadline, no specific plan, just a direction along which they will travel. When asked where they are going, the answer is simply: “Around the world.”

“We have the gift to dream, and God the work to provide,” Mrs Zapp said. The family wants to see as much as possible along the way, but, she said, the best of God’s creations has so far been: “humanity”. n Visit the family’s website at www.sparkyourdream.net and watch a video of their 1928 car at http://alturl.com/kuzxa A Brazilian football fan is seen wearing a hat with a statue of Christ during the football tournament of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Rio De Janeiro will host the next Summer Olympic Games in 2016.

Brazil will also host the 32nations football World Cup in 2014.

Next year Brazil will also host Catholic World Youth Day, which is expected to bring hundreds of thousands of young Catholics to Rio de Janeiro, and before that to dioceses across South America’s largest country.

(Photo: François Lenoir, Reuters/CNS)

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The Southern Cross, August 8 to August 14, 2012

LOCAL

Mariannhill celebrates SA programme three jubilees changes US views

BY MAURICIO LANGA

BY BRONWEN DACHS

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OUNG members of the Congregation of the Missionaries of Mariannhill have been urged to learn from the senior members who have led life of commitment and tireless service to the community That was the message from Fr Henry Ratering CMM during the jubilee celebration of religious profession of three senior members of the congregation at the Mariannhill monastery church.

Br George von Aarburg celebrated 60 years of religious profession and Brs Herman Krausert and Rudibert Wieser celebrated 50 years of their profession.

The celebration was attended by Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban, Bishop Pius Dlungwane of Mariannhill and Bishop Barry Wood, auxiliary of Durban.

In his homily, Fr Ratering said the three members of the congregation have over the years displayed excellent service to the community and the Church at large.

Fr Ratering said all the members of the congregation have a lot to learn from the three senior confrères, adding that the trio have led a life of utter commitment and zeal to the tasks entrusted to them.

“They are not allergic to work, they have treated the motto, ‘Better fields, better homes, better hearts’, not as a slogan, but they have made it a living reality,” he said.

Br Aarburg, who is 87, has been stationed in Mariazell mission in Mthatha diocese for more than 50 years. Apart from being a technical manager of the domestic hydroelec-

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Brs George von Aaburg, Rudibert Wieser and Herman Krausert who celebrated jubilees of religious professions as Mariannhill Missionaries. (Photo: Mauricio Langa) tric mill that supplies electricity to the entire mission he also oversees the overall maintenance of Mariazell.

Br Wieser is a wizard with electricity and security while Br Krausert, 75, manages the monastery blacksmith workshop.

He played an instrumental role in helping to build decent housing for people around Mariannhill in the 1980s, and in building churches and schools in KwaZulu-Natal and Mthata.

SPRINGFIELD CONVENT SENIOR SCHOOL TEACHING POSITIONS COMMENCING JANUARY 2013

We invite applicants for the following two teaching positions with effect from January 2013:

POST 1: MATHEMATICS (Grades 8 – 12) (full-time post)

POST 2: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (Grade 8 – 12) (part-time post)

Springfield is a Day School for girls from pre-school to Matric and is set in beautiful gardens on Wynberg Hill in Cape Town. The school has a caring, Catholic atmosphere, a proud academic record, vibrant music, art and drama departments, as well as excellent facilities for sport Applicants must be SACE registered.

Please forward your application, curriculum vitae and contactable references to: The Principal, Springfield Convent Senior School, St John’s Road, Wynberg, 7800, email postmaster@sfc.wcape.school.za or fax 021-762 7930.

Closing date for applications: 31 August 2012.

The school reserves the right not to proceed with the filling of this post.

An application will not in itself entitle the applicant to an interview or appointment, and failure to meet the minimum requirements of the advertised post will result in applicants automatically disqualifying themselves from consideration.

Springfield is a member of the Independent Schools’ Association of Southern Africa

MERICAN student Mark Legare didn’t expect it, but a two-week leadership programme he completed in South Africa in July got him thinking differently about the world.

Mr Legare, who studies at Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachussets, now holds a wider view, he said, one that recognises that people around the world have a lot to share with people in developed countries such as the United States.

“We gained a different perspective on how we live, not just on how others live,” Mr Legare said.

He admitted that he shared the common American perception that “people in the US have better lives than those living elsewhere”.

After the programme at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, which focused on leadership, diversity and racial reconciliation in higher

education, Mr Legare said: “I know that we have global struggles and I think I see these more clearly.”

The programme drew 220 students and academic leaders from universities in the US, Belgium, Netherlands and Japan.

The students were between the ages of 19 and 22, “and because we were all the same age we had certain similarities, despite interesting differences, in our reactions to and understanding of global events, such as the popular uprisings in Egypt last year, 9/11 and the war in Iraq,” Mr Legare said.

“We talked a lot about these perspectives, as well as about the importance of being bold and courageous,” he added, noting that all participants had “a passionate engagement with and investment in research and learning”.

In an address to participants, Jonathan Jansen, vice-chancellor at University of the Free State, challenged students to examine what it means to be a

“transformational leader in a wounded country and troubled world”.

Mr Legare said one of the highlights of his time in Bloemfontein was a conversation he and his friend Mendoza, from the Bronx in New York, had with Prof Jansen about their interests and concerns.

“We didn’t realise what a big name he has become in South Africa and so we were able to have a long, relaxed chat,” he said.

Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu also addressed to the students during the programme. Mr Legare said the archbishop “inspired us with his wisdom and humour”.

Holy Cross College was one of nine US colleges where University of the Free State students were placed in 2010 as part of the Study Abroad Leaders for Change initiative.

Another group of South African students visited Holy Cross in 2011.—CNS

Kroonstad priest leaves SA after 48 years service

BY EMIL BLASER OP

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OME 200 people gathered at Bronville parish near Welkom with Bishop Peter Holiday of Kroonstad and about 20 Dominican friars to celebrate the golden jubilee of Fr Kees Keijsper OP who had spent 48 years working in South Africa, mainly in the diocese of Kroonstad.

Fr Keijsper is retiring to the Netherlands this month, and so this was also a farewell.

After the joyful celebratory Mass in Bronville, where Fr Keijsper had ministered, a reception was held at the Dominican School hall where a feast had been prepared by members of the parish and the Knights of da Gama.

Several tributes were paid to Fr Keijsper by speakers who highlighted his many activities.

A big man in every way, his life has been marked by commitment and hard work. In the Kroonstad diocese he worked in many parishes and did much in the training of deacons and lay ministers. He encouraged initiative and leadership.

Fr Keijsper had spearheaded a resource centre in Welkom and also the Thabiso Skills Training Centre.

A man of ideas, he was a consultant in the diocese and a

Bishop Peter Holiday of Kroonstad blesses Fr Kees Keijsper OP who will return to the Netherlands after 48 years in South Africa. counsellor to several bishops over the years.

In a written tribute, Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town, the former bishop of the diocese, praised Fr Keijsper for the accompaniment and assistance shown him as a young priest being introduced to the diocesan ministry.

Fr Keijsper was a tireless fundraiser in and for the diocese where he also promoted the Brenninkmeijer Trust Fund which would provide some of the funds needed for the education of priests in the diocese and the Dominican Order.

He always had a concern that the diocese be self-sustaining in the future. He played a leading role in the editing and publishing of the book on the late Bishop Johannes Brenninkmeijer of Kroonstad, titled The Bridge Builder.

Fr Keijsper, also spent some years working as the parish priest of Springs and did much pioneering work in the Dominican Order. He played a leading role in the building of EmaPhethelweni priory in Pietermaritzburg which also houses a conference centre and public chapel.

Refugee centre wins court case continued from page 1 by the University of Cape Town Refugee Rights Project and attorneys from the Legal Resource centre.

“We tried to engage the department but they were unprepared to consider the legal and ethical implications of removing a vital life giving services with no reasonable alternatives in place—so we had to approach the court for an urgent interdict to re-open the office.”

Ms Chennells said asylum seekers are “extremely vulnerable persons who are entitled to international protection”. But, she added, these people are routinely denied the means to that

protection.

Without the corrected documentation, refugees face arrest or deportation—to their home countries where their lives were at risk in the first place, she told The Southern Cross.

“The importance of the judgment is that it re-affirms once again the vulnerable position of asylum seekers and the obligations of the Department of Home Affairs towards them in respect of domestic and international law,” said Ms Chennells.

The Scalabrini Centre, which receives around 2000 people each month, works to strengthen the legal protection of asylum seekers, refugees and migrants.

The centre also offers programmes dealing with welfare, training and assistance with access to local services through referrals to schooling, bank accounts, health care, legal representation, qualification accreditation and social assistance.

“We want to ensure their rights are respected,” said Ms Chennells.

The centre has a particular focus on the needs and protection of persons affected by xenophobic violence, disabled refugees and protection of unaccompanied refugee and migrant children—all of whom would have been affected by the closure of the local RRO.

LOCAL

The Southern Cross, August 8 to August 14, 2012

Bishops call for fair elections in Zim STAFF REPORTER

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HE bishops from across Southern Africa have called on Zimbabwe to assure free and fair elections when citizens go to the polls later this year, as these elections have the potential to “make or break the country, depending on how leaders choose to deal with their ideological differences”.

“Our interactions with the people of Zimbabwe revealed both a sense of hope and concerns,” said the bishops of the Inter-regional Meeting of Catholic Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA) in a statement to the prime minister of Zimbabwe, Morgan Tsvangirai.

The message was signed by IMBISA president Bishop Frank Nubuasah of Francistown, Botswana. It said the bishops were aware of a constant heard cry among Zimbabweans for the need to move away from partisan politics

Bishops of IMBISA with Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. which “polarises society which makes it difficult for the building of genuine sustainable peace and a true sense of national solidarity”.

“Without squashing the right of individuals to belong to the party of their choice, leaders are to work towards building a common identi-

ty of people as Zimbabweans with one future,” Bishop Nubuash said.

The bishops said it was imperative Zimbabwe improve on the previous elections which were fraught with disputes and disagreements that nearly saw the country plunging into civil war.

Matric advice from bishop STAFF REPORTER

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ISHOP Michael Wüstenberg of Aliwal North has called on parents and communities to show support to those approaching their final exams at school, where learners “lay the foundation of [their] futures”.

In a pastoral letter to his diocese, the bishop said it was not only a commitment from communities that would be required for academic success, but also commitment and support from the learners themselves.

The bishop said that despite frustrations in the education system, he is filled with joy when he sees people with “courage, people who can counsel, people with wisdom. I am happy when I see how quite a number succeeded already at school. They continue with further education. I am happy to see young people who contribute to the quality of life.”

But, he said, for others to continue down the same path it would take lots of commitment from all involved, adding that this would make the difference between succeeding and not. “It needs your commitment to your studies. It needs your commitment to your home-work. It needs your charity with your fellow learners who may have diffi-

culties with learning and concentrating. Please assist the weaker learners. Don’t leave them alone.”

Bishop Wüstenberg said he was especially praying for those in matric as these learners have to prepare for both the examinations and life after their finals.

Giving some advice, Bishop Wüstenberg said planning was important. “You must also plan for rest. Some say you should only sleep for three to four hours.

Your body needs more sleep, rather seven to eight hours. After a good rest you will study much better. And don’t forget physical exercise.”

Drugs don’t help. “They bring you down instead. So please take care of your body. After all, it is the temple of the Holy Spirit and it needs proper care.”

The bishop called on parents to take interest in their child’s progress at school and for governing bodies to ensure preparations were done on the school’s side. “I also ask our communities to support you with their prayer.”

But equally important was that learners look after each other.

“Please take care of one another.

As a fellow learner you are much more aware of changes in the behaviour of your peers than teachers may be. Observe one another. Some may get depressed

Do you feel called to the Franciscan way of life?

and suicidal. If you think that one of your peers is in trouble try to get assistance for instance through a social worker.”

Bishop Wüstenberg said while the pass-rates were still cause for concern, Christians can make a difference. “If all of us take our responsibility, learners, parents, teachers and communities, things can turn out much better than they did previously. What we need is mutual respect, attending to the needs, not just the wants, of the others.”

He told the diocese’s learners: “We need young people with a good character. We need young people with a good education.

You need a good education.”

He urged students to prepare well for their examinations. “I wish that you can be proud after the exam by saying: ‘I achieved it on my own, I did not cheat’.”

Bishop Wüstenberg referred to St Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, who said: “Pray as if everything depends on God, work as if everything depends on you.”

“So I pray to the Lord that he may grant you serenity and strength, perseverance and vigilance, joy and unwavering hope so that you can make best use of your gifts at school,” Bishop Wüstenberg said.

The bishop said the ability of the three major political parties to sit down and engage each other is an encouraging step. It is largely responsible for the general, though still delicate, atmosphere of peace in Zimbabwe.

“It would benefit the preparation for elections enormously if the president [Robert Mugabe], the prime minister and other political leaders could repeat this message more often so that it is not seen as a once off politically correct utterance, but an agenda for the country,” the message said.

“As IMBISA, inspired by the imperative to uphold and defend human life and dignity, we seek to engage the major political players in creating peaceful conditions conducive to free and fair elections. We urge them to take advantage of the general pervasive optimism and a sense of hope among Zimbabweans

resulting from the gains of the government of national unity and from the experience of a stabilising economy.”

The bishops have called on the international community to support initiatives to create adequate conditions for free and fair elections and to commit to the full implementation of the Global Political Agreement; for conditions of freedom for and access to media— including radio and television; for a proper and transparent registration procedure and the voters’ roll; and for guaranteed security from all forms of intimidation.

“Zimbabwe is a sovereign state with a right to determine its affairs without interference from outside.

However, it is also part of the global community, and therefore an affiliate to commonly held universal principles,” said the bishops.

Diamond jubilee of South Africa’s patroness STAFF REPORTER

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UGUST 15 marks the 60th anniversary of Pope Pius XII declaring Mary Assumed into Heaven the patronal feast of South Africa, two years after the Assumption was declared a dogma of the Church. Mary’s patronage of South Africa has been celebrated annually since 2002, the 50th anniversary.

The archdiocese of Cape Town will be honouring the occasion with a liturgical celebration under the theme “dignity”. Organiser Francis Boulle said the theme will highlight just “some of the realities confronting us, especially the absence of dignity and the denial of dignity”.

The announcement of the patronal feast was made at the National Marian Congress organised by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Durban in May 1952.

“It ran over a number of days and was centred mostly on the Greyville Racecourse,” Mr Boulle said.

“It was widely anticipated that Our Blessed Mother would be announced as the patroness of the then Union of South Africa—but under which title? ‘Mediatrix of all graces’ was a favourite for some, and ‘Assumed into Heaven’ for others. On May 4, 1952 the announce-

ment was made, in Albert Park, that our patroness was to be Mary Assumed into Heaven.”

Eight organisations will be involved in the Cape Town celebration of the jubilee by “presenting our patroness with petitions reflecting some of the needs which they know as very real”, Mr Boulle said.

“By way of preparation, it has been suggested that a novena be prayed over nine consecutive days petitioning our patroness for her intercession in the needs of our country,” Mr Boulle said. “There is a patronal prayer which is used each time we gather and there is a prayer of dedication which originated at the 1952 Marian Congress.

Either or both of these could be prayed,” he said. The text of the prayers can be obtained by e-mailing franjuneb@isat.co.za.

Mr Boulle said all are welcome to attend the celebration, where praying, singing, petitioning and being joyful will be encouraged.

Mass will not be celebrated and Communion not distributed.

The celebration will take place on Sunday, August 19 at 14:45 at Our Lady Help of Christians in Lansdowne, Cape Town. n For more information contact the Schoenstatt Community in Cape Town on 021 712 1771

The Catholic Theological Society of Southern Africa Annual Conference And General Meeting

THE COUNCIL’S LEGACY

Presenters

Who are the Norbertines?

To misquote William Shakespeare: “A rose by any other name smells just as sweet”

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

Email: evenieturner63@gmail.com

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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

September 10-12, 2012 Venue: Koinonia, Johannesburg

Denis Hurley & Keeping Alive the Dream of Vatican II • Mr Paddy Kearney Catholic Social Thought on Two Inseparable Rights: Life and Private Property • Prof Mogabe Ben Ramose Women, they too have their story: Women's Role in the Church.

• Ms Puleng Segalo A Protestant Perspective on Vatican II + 50 years: An engagement with Dissent • Prof Graham Duncan Climate Justice for All • Ms Elizabeth Mokotong The Challenges and Contributions of Black Theology • Mr Itumeleng Mothoagae Challenges for the Church Today: a South African Reformed Perspective • Dr Jaco Kruger Conference Fee: The Church: A Safety net?

• Dr Anselm Prior OFM • Two days R325 Interpreting the Council • One day R200 • Dr Judy Coyle IHM For cost of meals, accomodation etc contact: Fr Anselm : 073 220 0234, email:prior.laurence@gmail.com or Nicky Luyckx on Tel/Fax (011) 463 9093 or e-mail nluyckx@icon.co.za

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The Southern Cross, August 8 to August 14, 2012

INTERNATIONAL

China cracks down on priests who oppose illicit bishop C HINESE government officials have forced seven priests in Heilongjiang province who resisted the illicit episcopal ordination of Fr Joseph Yue Fusheng of Harbin to leave their parishes, local Catholic Church sources said.

The action was taken, the sources said, to force the priests to “repent for their wrongdoing”, reported the Asian Church news agency UCA News.

The priests are either staying with parishioners, returned to their hometowns or have fled to other provinces, according to the sources.

Prior to the July 6 ordination of the priest as a bishop in the government-approved Catholic association, religious officials within the Chinese government warned that “disobedient” priests would face dire consequences. In recent weeks, they ordered priests with “dissatisfactory performances” to take three months of leave for selfexamination, sources said.

The seven priests were either absent from the ordination or

openly expressed their opposition to Fr Yue, who did not receive a papal mandate and is seen as being too close to the government.

The Vatican declared that Fr Yue incurred automatic excommunication for participating in the illicit ceremony. He continues to celebrate Mass in bishop’s garb.

Since the ordination, according to the sources, some priests are avoiding concelebrating Mass with Fr Yue, while the number of Massgoers at the Sacred Heart of Jesus church in Harbin—the so-called cathedral—has dropped significantly.

The government is requiring the priests to submit a letter of repentance to Fr Yue and concelebrate Mass with him within three months or face expulsion from the Church in Harbin, the sources said.

One of the priests already has concelebrated Mass with Fr Yue at the consecration of a new church.

Meanwhile, Bishop Joseph Wei Jingyi of Qiqihar in north-eastern China, who is not recognised by the government, said he expects political pressure on the unregis-

tered Catholic community in Heilongjiang to increase.

“In past decades, the unregistered community in Hebei province has been a major target of suppression.

After Bishop Paul Meng Qinglu of Hohhot was ordained in 2010, the unregistered community in Inner Mongolia suffered a strong blow last year. We can anticipate Heilongjiang would be the next after Fr Yue’s ordination,” he told UCA News.

The only Catholic church in Ordos, in China’s autonomous region of Inner Mongolia, was destroyed June 7, 2010, and the priest and a lay leader were detained by police.

Although local Catholics clearly know Church principles, Church sources said, they are concerned that religious life would be negatively affected by any government incursion.

Several Catholics also expressed disappointment that Fr Yue, who could not be reached for comment, had taken no action to protect the priests.

Americans want civility in debate

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EARLY 80% Americans say they are “frustrated with the tone in politics today”, and nearly three-quarters of Americans say that campaigns have become more negative over the years, according to a poll by the US Knights of Columbus.

In response, the Knights of Columbus have launched a national, nonpartisan initiative “to give voice to Americans’ desire for civility in public discourse”.

“The American people want and deserve civility and a conversation on the issues rather than personal attacks,” Supreme Knight Carl Anderson said in a statement.

The initiative includes a series of full-page national newspaper ads— the first one appeared in the July 26 issue of USA Today—to encour-

age readers to sign an online petition at CivilityinAmerica.org.

Facebook users can show support for the effort by “liking” the petition at Facebook.com/Civility inAmerica.

The petition reads: “We, the undersigned citizens of the United States of America, respectfully request that candidates, the media and other advocates and commentators involved in the public policy arena employ a more civil tone in public discourse on political and social issues, focusing on policies rather than on individual personalities. For our part, we pledge to make these principles our own.”

In announcing the initiative, Mr Anderson said: “Since our elected officials work for and rep-

resent the American people, this petition is a step forward in making our voice heard and in making clear to our public servants how we would like them to conduct themselves.”

He noted that “all of us have friends with whom we disagree, and we long ago learned how to have civil relationships despite our differences.”

Other poll results showed that 56% believe that campaigns are mostly uncivil and disrespectful, and nearly two-thirds say that negative campaigning harms the political process a great deal or a significant amount.

The survey of 1 010 adults was conducted by telephone. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.—CNS

The Pre-school to Grade 12

INDEPENDENT SCHOOL FOR BOYS AND GIRLS YOUR CHILD CAN:

* be educated in an English-medium Christian school * receive affordable private education * mix with boys and girls in small classes * never need to change schools * enjoy school life in an atmosphere of love, care and mutual respect

Melinda Gates, wife of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, speaks at the London Summit on Family Planning in London in July. Under the headline “birth control and disinformation”, the Vatican newspaper criticised Mrs Gates for her recent comments about artificial contraception. (Photo: Suzanne Plunkett, Reuters/CNS)

Vatican newspaper slams Gates over contraception

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NDER the headline “birth control and disinformation,” the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano took to task Melinda Gates—wife of billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates— who announced in July that the couple’s foundation would give $560 million in the next eight years to increase women’s access to artificial contraception.

Written by Giulia Galeotti, a frequent contributor on life issues, the front page article said Mrs Gates is free to make charitable donations to whomever she wants, but not to spread incorrect information.

In an interview with the British daily The Guardian, Mrs Gates identified herself as a practising Catholic who “struggled” with the idea of publicly opposing Church teaching to promote a project aimed at giving 120 million women in developing countries access to contraceptives by 2020.

Mrs Gates said she felt compelled to act to “keep women alive.

I believe in not letting women die, I believe in not letting babies die.”

In the Vatican newspaper piece, Ms Galeotti wrote that Mrs Gates is a victim of “bad information and persistent stereotypes on this

theme. To still believe that by opposing the use of condoms, the Catholic Church leaves women and children to die because of misogynist intransigence is a baseless and shoddy reading” of reality.

Mrs Gates told The Guardian that the Catholic Church allows natural family planning, but “for our foundation, well, we promote modern tools because these have the most impact”. At the same time the Church can and should continue to teach women how to space births naturally. “Let a woman choose what it is she would like to use.”

Ms Galeotti said the comment reflected the widespread, but mistaken notion of the ineffectiveness of natural family planning (NFP) methods that involve teaching couples to recognise the natural signs of a woman’s fertility and act accordingly.

The “smile of condescension” and descriptions of NFP as unscientific or primitive probably are not completely accidental, Ms Galeotti wrote.

No one is getting rich off NFP methods that “do not cost anything, do not damage a woman’s health and are considered 98% effective,” she said.—CNS

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INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, August 8 to August 14, 2012

5

Britain set for gay marriage law

BY SIMON CALDWELL

I

A girl receives Communion from an Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest during the annual gathering and pilgrimage to the miraculous icon of “Halytska” (the Mother of God) in the village of Krylos, Ukraine. Nearly a thousand children from all regions of Ukraine arrived in Krylos to receive first Communion this year, age ranging from six to eight. (Photo: Gleb Garanich, Reuters/CNS)

N spite of widespread opposition from the Catholic Church and mainline Protestant denominations, the general public and his own party, British Prime Minister David Cameron has promised to legalise same-sex marriage in England and Wales.

Mr Cameron’s declaration came during a meeting with gay, lesbian and transsexual communities at his Downing Street residence in London. He said he wanted to introduce legislation before the next general election, which must be called by 2015.

The prime minister also implied that he would attempt to force the churches to accept the legislation, saying they should not be “locking out people who are gay”.

Religious leaders have opposed any recognition of same-sex marriage and are expected to mount a

Vatican spokesman: If press got things right, I could go on leave

BY CAROL GLATZ

deluge of what gets written about the pope and the Vatican.

One of his jobs, in fact, is to decide when to call out absurd or untrue stories.

He said his style is to hold back and not give added attention to something that doesn’t deserve it.

and help reporters get correct information.

He also had a Vatican judge give a 90-minute briefing on the complex workings of the Vatican court system and explain what could or might happen to the papal butler accused of aggravated theft of confidential documents.

Also on his own initiative, Fr Lombardi started holding almost daily briefings. He said they were not part of a new communications strategy as much as a response to the nonsense and inaccuracies being written in the press in the wake of the “VatiLeaks” scandal.

“I wouldn’t have had to hold so many briefings, and everyone could have gone on vacation,” if so many false and unsubstantiated stories hadn’t been coming out every day. The nature of the so-called news reports—many bordering on libel—also prompted him to intervene often and firmly, he said.

O

T

T

HROUGHOUT history, the Vatican has dealt with so many accusations and scandals, one would expect the Holy See to have a well-oiled PR machine primed to deal with the constant media onslaught.

Well, better late than never.

Recent changes—some official, some done on-the-fly—demonstrate the Vatican is taking seriously its need to face the media clearly and directly both on offence and defence.

The first pivotal indication was the hiring of a seasoned lay journalist at the Vatican Secretariat of State to help “manage” the message.

The Vatican created the new adviser position in June and handpicked US journalist Greg Burke, a member of Opus Dei and long-time Rome correspondent for Fox News.

The idea was to get someone knowledgeable about the Church, yet culled from far enough outside the Vatican bubble to be able to see if any train wrecks were coming.

The Regensburg controversy is an example of one derailment that could have been avoided, many journalists have said, including Mr Burke.

A deeply intellectual and nuanced speech citing a controversial 14th-century Byzantine emperor on the evils of a faith disconnected from reason may not present problems in a lecture to a group of theology students, “but in a sound-bite, headline culture, it’s a whole different thing”, Mr Burke said.

S

omeone, in fact, who understood and sated the media’s hunger for quick concise sound bites was Joaquin Navarro-Valls, another Opus Dei member and lay journalist who headed the Vatican press office for 22 years.

Some have said, in fact, that the Vatican’s tailspin into the media maelstrom began not long after Dr Navarro-Valls’ retirement in July 2006—just two months prior to the pope’s speech in Regensburg.

He was replaced by a much more understated and paternal figure—Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, a northern Italian mathematician, who learned to compute the media equation as head of Vatican Radio and the Vatican television station.

Measured, frank and open, F Lombardi always answers journalists’ questions patiently and in a timely way; he also tries to keep up with monitoring the

Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi SJ at a news conference at the Vatican in late July.

(Photo: Alessandro Bianchi, Reuters/CNS)

ne example was when an Italian scent maker created, on her own initiative, a cologne for Pope Benedict; it morphed into headlines such as “Pope orders his own custom-made cologne”.

When the Vatican was asked at the time if it were true, one journalist was met with an arched eyebrow and a shake of a head. Not even “no comment” was uttered.

Fr Lombardi said prudence is key because making any kind of comment, including saying a story is false, often is taken as an “official” position statement from the Vatican and gives a baseless story even stronger legs to walk on.

He said he has had journalists respond to denials with “See! You are just defending so-and-so!” when the problem was that the claim was unfounded and no one bothered to verify it or back it up.

Part of the problem is media outlets competing to be the first out with the story or the first to repeat it to their own audience, he said. Writers may blindly rely on a shaky source, skip verifying or double-checking the facts “because they’re afraid of being behind”.

Fr Lombardi went on the offence this year in an effort to preempt the preposterous.

He organised a landmark tour for journalists of the Vatican bank, which included a Q&A session and two-hour long presentation by the bank’s director, as a way to bust its “secretive” image

he “VatiLeaks” scandal, which saw private correspondence between the pope and Vatican officials published in the press, erupted in January. The leaked letters, revealing allegations of corruption and infighting, fuelled an already sensationalist-minded press.

In criticising poor journalism, Father Lombardi hasn’t gone as far as Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, who recently blamed the ongoing scandal on unethical journalists “imitating Dan Brown”, and continuing “to invent fables or repeat legends”.

Fr Lombardi has taken a more pastoral approach, peppering his statements and briefings with reminders that distortions and mistruths not only are not journalism, they are not in the public interest.

At a time when the press is clamouring for the Vatican to be more transparent, Fr Lombardi said he agrees, but he added that truth, honesty and high standards also should apply to journalism.

Recognising the pressure some writers are under from editors or management to favour fast over facts, he said he’s tried “to get journalists to reflect on their real duty and a sense of serious professionalism.”

Writers need to strive to “understand things more and better, to have a critical eye towards information”, which will benefit their audiences as well, he said.—CNS

massive effort to block any legislative effort to change the definition of marriage.

In June, the Catholic bishops’ of England and Wales said a gay marriage law would leave the Church permanently vulnerable to legal action.

In a press statement, the bishops’ conference reiterated its position, saying: “The bishops... remain opposed to any attempt to redefine the institution of marriage in this country.”

Mr Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party that governs in coalition with the Liberal Democrat Party, began by praising former Prime Minister Tony Blair, a convert to Catholicism, for allowing homosexuals to enter into legally recognised civil partnerships.

“Of course this is a very, very complicated and difficult issue for all the different churches, but I passionately believe that all insti-

tutions need to wake up to the case for equality, and the church shouldn’t be locking out people who are gay, or are bisexual or are transgender from being full members of that church because many people with deeply held Christian views are also gay.”

Meanwhile the Scottish parliament has announced that next year it will introduce a law to redefine marriage, with the first gay marriages expected to be held in 2015.

Speaking to STV News in Scotland, Archbishop Philip Tartaglia, the newly named leader of the Glasgow archdiocese, said he believed that gay marriage would lead to criminalisation of the expression of orthodox Christian beliefs about marriage and sexuality.

“I could see myself going to jail possibly at some point over the next 15 years, if God spares me, if I speak out,” he said.—CNS

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6

The Southern Cross, August 8 to August 14, 2012

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

Getting back the lapsed

F

OR Catholic parents the question is an enduring concern: will the children continue practising the faith beyond their day of confirmation?

By all accounts, many do not.

In Britain and many parts of Europe, some observers speak of Christianity in terms of erosion and even demise. Indeed, some have argued that the Church’s evangelisation efforts, at least in Europe, should no longer focus on the so-called “un-churched”, but on those baptised Catholics who have become detached from their Christian beliefs.

In other words, our efforts should be targeted at those who have heard the Good News, but reject them in favour of atheism, agnosticism or the vague “spiritual but not religious” philosophies.

Many dioceses and parishes in the United States especially are investing great resources in reaching out to lapsed Catholics. Such campaigns may include advertising in the press and on radio, distribution of Catholic media, direct marketing by way of letters, and the use of modern means of communication, especially the social media and cellphones.

The mission field of the 21st century no longer is in distant lands, but right on the doorsteps of many Catholics. And the missionaries today are found not only in the consecrated life—we are all called to contribute to the Church’s evangelising mission in many different ways.

Even in South Africa, where the secularisation of society has not yet reached such alarming proportions as in Europe, the question of how to “win back” inactive Catholics is becoming increasingly urgent.

As in many countries, the Catholic Church in Southern Africa has no articulated programme to win back so-called “lapsed” Catholics. Indeed, research into why Catholics lapse and how they can be persuaded to return remains largely unexplored.

Some of those who take an interest in the question suggest that re-evangelisation should not focus on the 18-35 age group.

Instead, they argue, the time to reach out to lapsed Catholics is when such people are about to enter the middle years of their lives, when they are matured and possibly more open to settle for

answers in the human quest for spiritual nourishment. This approach has some merit, and it seems to find expression especially in programmes such as Catholic Alpha.

The Church must also reach out to Catholics who, for whatever reason, have joined other churches, especially of the evangelical type. They have heard the Good News and believe, but they have abandoned the Catholicism of their youth—and with it their attachment to the sacraments.

What is lacking in the Catholic Church that they are finding in other churches? Are the reasons for leaving the Catholic Church predicated on theological, doctrinal or liturgical differences?

The Year of Faith, which begins in October, is a wonderful opportunity to address the reasons for the exodus of young people especially from the Catholic Church to other churches or no church at all.

It is a time when the Catholic Church must introspect, with complete honesty, and identify the reasons why Catholics become alienated from the Church they grew up in. The answers will reveal how this can be addressed.

At the same time, it isn’t good enough to give up on our youth.

Their energy can be expressed and channelled towards a relationship with Christ with and through the sacraments. Occasions such as World Youth Day are a good example of how this can be done, as are Facebook and other social media initiatives, a field which Durban’s former archdiocesan youth chaplain, Fr Thembelani Ngcobo, pioneered so fruitfully.

In reaching the youth and others who have moved from the Catholic faith, we must find and encounter them where they are and speak their language.

We must know their challenges and acknowledge the conflicts they experience with faith in a sometimes hostile world, and provide appropriate guidance to introduce them to Jesus in a concrete way that transcends the formulas of catechism class.

The Year of Faith must be a time when we, as a Church, learn how to reach out to those who struggle with having faith. It is an opportunity that must not pass us by.

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.

Love what God found ‘good’ I ALWAYS believed that religion was primarily about being concerned with pleasing God. Is our Creator pleased with the state of the earth in our present time? I am sure there can be no pleasure with the fact that we are killing the place humanity calls home, at an ever-increasing pace.

What has the Catholic Church done to create a sense of awareness in the cultures of nations who are, at the root, proving to be anti-life?

Is there a religion that has appreciated that the Earth is the primary sacred community; that the human species is only one of many species?

It seems that the whole of the Western world is in denial.

From the Hebrew Scriptures and prophecies of those speaking God’s mind, I get the message that God is primarily concerned with justice and love. Again and again, God repeats the refrain showing a connection between the Land flourish-

The Church, science and evolution

ing if people act justly.

Why did Christianity not seem to make the connection that being just, being righteous, was not only how we interacted with one another but that our Earth depended on our just actions—act justly with the fruits of God’s garden? Do we love what God found “good”?

Does the wisdom of our Catholic Social Action include emphasis on the sacredness of the Earth?

I think if the purpose of religion is only to bring “good” people (read: obedient to Church teachings) to Heaven then it is largely missing the purpose of Christ’s passion and resurrection.

Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry write in their book The Universe Story: “The human community becomes sacred through its participation in the larger planetary community”.

For me this is far healthier than enforcing doctrine around human behavioural issues which hardly

I

VIEWED part of a recent televised debate between atheist Richard Dawkins and Cardinal George Pell of Sydney.

I was astonished at Cardinal Pell’s support for the belief that we, and thus also our Lord Jesus Christ, are descended from animals. He denied the existence of Adam and Eve and thus undermined the doctrine of original sin as expounded in Pope Paul VI’s “Credo of the People of God” and elsewhere.

At Holy Mass, we mention God’s acceptance of “the gifts of Thy just servant Abel” (the son of Adam and Eve).

Much comment about evolution has appeared in The Southern Cross, but nowhere have we read the Church’s dogmatic teaching against evolution as decreed by the Lateran Council IV of 1215.

This doctrine states that Almighty God, by his own omnipotent power, created each creature from nothing, spiritual and corporal. By “his own omnipotent power” means that Almighty God created alone. He did not give his creative power to material things.

Vatican I (1870) stated that “Almighty God produced from nothing, the world and all things which are contained therein, both spiritual and material, as regards their whole substance”.

The phrase “their whole substance” precludes evolution, including theistic evolution. This dogma is also supported in sections 296-298

of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The death-blow to evolution theory comes from science itself, in particular, the sciences of molecular biology and genetics. A vast array of data has been analysed and documented across a range of scientific disciplines. Their arguments point away from evolution theory.

DNA has been designed so that only variety within kind can occur.

The proper term for this is not micro-evolution but genetic variation.

But even before this, the fossil record (palaeontology) proved hostile to the very theory it was supposed to prove. When Darwin issued his Origin of Species in 1859, he asked: “Why do we not find innumerable transitional forms embedded in the crust of the earth?”

Today, 150 years later, we know the answer. These missing links have not been found because they never existed. This explains why

make for the necessary rise in consciousness to see what we really have to die to.

Matthew 16:26 has our Lord Jesus asking: “What does it profit to gain the whole world (material gain) and suffer the loss of soul?”

More pertinent to the present point is Mark 8:36 where the loss is that of life and in Luke 9 the loss of self.

God through all the prophets, including Jesus, was not calling us to use band-aids towards God’s beloved anawim [vulnerable]: the poor, the oppressed, the marginalised but to rid ourselves of whatever is the cause (greed, avarice, plain unjust wielding of power, control, the need for progress, etc) of people being at the bottom of the pile.

I am praying that the Year of Faith will bring a raising of consciousness to declare the next Church year a Year of Planet Earth, putting Christ back into all things, so that humanity can start to love and appreciate the generous gift of a generous God. Rosemary Gravenor, Durban

there has been so much fraud by evolutionists. The Piltdown Man fraud, the Peking Man fraud, Haeckel’s photographic fakes of embryos and so on—all done to supply the missing links in support of a theory in crisis.

Why do evolutionists still persist in supporting evolution? That answer is given by one of their number, “We dare not let a Divine footstep enter the door way.” Darwinian theory broke man’s link with God and, sadly, Darwin became atheistic.

Regarding scripture, and in particular Genesis, the Church instructs us that scripture texts must be taken as meant literally, unless reason, or necessity, demands that we understand it otherwise.

St Augustine tells us that if there is an apparent contradiction between scripture and proven science fact (there are precious few), then we must examine to see if we have understood scripture correctly.

God made Adam as an adult. He gave us an “adult” universe with the light from the stars already with us.

Scripture, with God as it’s author, is free from error and has nothing to fear from science, as you quoted Pope Benedict in the issue of May 2.

Franko Sokolic, Cape Town 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.

PERSPECTIVES

The ‘other half’ of the Church A S you may have guessed from the headline this article addresses the subject of women and Vatican II. If Church statistics are reliable, it should in fact more accurately say, “The majority of the Church”, since it seems that in almost all places the vast majority of active Catholic laity are women.

While it is important, particularly in these times, to celebrate Vatican II, it would be remiss of me not to point out its gaps.

These gaps are not surprising, given that while a few women were observers at the Council after the first session, there were no women periti advising the bishops—let alone, of course, women priests or bishops. Despite this, I suggest, the Council was, within its limitations, good news for women.

We have mentioned already the Council’s universal call to holiness (chapter 5 of Lumen Gentium), which emphasised that all are called to holiness, and implied that this was something universal: priest or lay, man or woman, important or unimportant, advantaged or disadvantaged.

Women, who are in the vast majority lay, disadvantaged and unimportant (at least according to those who hold power in our thoroughly unequal world) are seen by the Council as equally called to holiness, equally able, in theory at least, to be saints.

In its teaching on the laity, too, the Council implicitly affirmed women.

Sacrosanctum Consilium, in affirming that all the people of God participated in the liturgy, did not distinguish between lay men and women in its claim. It is normal today for women to serve as ushers, lectors and extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist at Mass, and increasingly we see female altar servers.

That this has become more or less normal practice is illustrated by the following story.

I recall with delight an incident I observed in a London parish where the altar boys told the parish priest that if the visiting conservative celebrant objected to altar girls, they would be unavoidably unavailable to serve his Mass. To his credit, the visitor graciously acceded to the norms of the parish.

With regard to public life and the role of the laity, the Council (particularly in

Gaudium et Spes) makes no gender distinctions. It simply says that the proper role of the laity in politics and business is to bring the moral insights of their faith into these sectors.

This goes even further: in Apostolicam Actuositatem lay people without regard to gender were called to be evangelisers in the “apostolate of like towards like”.

Indeed, given that this decree calls on laity to actively preach the Gospel in their contexts, one might infer that women are called to preach the Word to other women and men wherever and whenever the opportunity arises.

O

f course, the most frequent references we think of with regard to women and the Church come in the parts of Gaudium et Spes relating to the family (47-52). Here the idea of the family as the basic unit of the Church is emphasised, as is the care of children and their nurturance in the faith.

Though this may seem quite “traditional” and even patriarchal, we should note that the vision of the Council regarding husband and wife is one primarily of partnership in rearing children.

While the issue of artificial birth control was removed from the Council’s deliberations, even the most ardent defender of the Pill would be at least a little dishonest to say that the Church’s subsequent teaching was wholly antiwomen.

The availability of such birth control has given many men the idea that women are “fair game”, sexual objects rather than human subjects in their own right, and shifted the “responsibility” for managing conception unjustly on to women alone.

Perhaps the greatest weakness of the

My big moving experience

T

HE due date for my column was the day I was supposed to move. I had every intention of writing before that stressful event, now I have to do so in the middle of it. Many readers will know pretty well what this is all about.

Moving from a house that was a family home for nearly 20 years to a granny doll house, as I tend to see it, has its moments. How would I experience this pretty traumatic event in my life? Would I love it or hate it?

So far, I feel more exhausted than anything else. It would have been a lot worse, almost impossible, to do without family support—especially my daughter who put aside her own work and duties to give a great deal of her time to this moving project of mine.

She and some of the grandchildren packed and carried not just my stuff, but also 17 years worth of MARFAM material, much of which has to be sorted and some scrapped.

“Are you excited?” someone had asked a few days before. Quite frankly, no, I wasn’t ever really excited about this move. I was more concerned about the practicalities, and at times more than a little anxious.

I am told this “over 55s village”—I don’t see it as retirement just yet—has 71 units and 63 or so women, many of them widows. But the first person I met as he came walking by was an old business contact of my late husband’s who, in his 80s now, proceeded to tell me he has a girlfriend.

“What about your pets? How do you feel about them?” That was frankly my greatest concern and sadness. I want the freedom to be able to lock up and go, but the prospect of not having a welcoming bark and kiss, and not having my “fosterchild” cat sharing my bed, was making

me feel abandoned and, of course, worried.

The cat could stay, but the dogs could not. Finding homes for older or middleaged dogs proved difficult. Everyone feels sorry but offers no solution. So in the end I decided to approach the SPCA for adoption.

The kind lady there suggested it would be traumatic for them too, to be separated and go to strange places. They had been our children all their lives, and maybe the kindest thing would be to put them to sleep.

Floods of tears, ambivalence and feelings of guilt marked my inner struggle.

Eventually I reconciled myself and made an appointment with the vet. And then, a last ditch attempt in a casual conversation changed it all.

A widowed friend whose dog had died needed a biggish dog, but her worry was the cat’s reaction to an invader. After some persuasion the dog got a new home, and then my daughter’s family decided to

Anthony Egan SJ

A Church of Hope and Joy

Council is that it did not devote a decree to women, though given the lack of women at the Council one suspects that it would not have been a particularly insightful document.

Subsequent papal and Church documents on women have affirmed most of what the Council taught implicitly about women, but they have been frequently criticised for what many women perceive as a kind of “essentialism”: women are primarily wives and mothers, nurturers of children, no matter how much the Church affirms their leadership roles in society.

One area never discussed at the Council, and currently prohibited from debate in Church circles, is the ordination of women. While there were rumblings over it before and after the Council— from the St Joan’s International Alliance and in some of the writings of St Thérèse of Liseux (who deeply desired to be a priest, so much so that she is a “patron” of women’s ordination movements)—it became a “hot issue” only from the 1970s onwards.

Currently the official debate has been suppressed. The official line is: it’s theologically impossible (though this was disputed by many theologians) and not to be discussed (which means, it seems, that everyone has an opinion, however ill-informed, but does not express it).

Critics of the Vatican see this as a sign that the official line lacks substance— which, ironically, we can neither affirm nor refute.

This issue casts a damper over the many good things the Church has to say about women. Despite the fact that the majority of active Catholics are women—many of whom have no strong feelings on women’s ordination or in fact oppose it—and despite the good things the Council said about women, the Catholic Church is frequently perceived as hopelessly patriarchal and irredeemably sexist.

Our challenge is to discern what can we do about that.

Toni Rowland

Family Friendly

adopt the little old Jack Russell.

So in a day, in between sorting and packing and more sorting and packing, my problem was solved, in a more compassionate way.

Is it more compassionate to rehouse older creatures, take us out of our comfort zone and present new challenges as well as possibilities?

Life must be nurtured and cherished in the best possible way and here there are 71 units with older people as possible companions. I hope that no one will consider putting me to sleep when I become a redundant nuisance, much as I may be loved.

But that is some time in the future and for now, on the work side, I am grateful for the granny care I received while I am beginning to focus on the Marriage Awareness campaign of the Family Life Desk which will be starting soon and for which I have been working on resources in between all this moving.

The Family Matters magazine and part 4 of the booklets, “Day by Day with God and Family” elaborate extensively on the “Marriage and You” theme, which makes the point that marriage is for everyone, whether one has a spouse or not.

With 63 women in 71 units I don’t stand much of a chance of acquiring a spouse, even if I was open to it, but I still live out of a vision of marital spirituality: two becoming one, an invitation to total self-giving and receiving, in love for, from God and with God .

Life goes on for the old who have our memories and for the young who are in the thick of making them. I have moving memories that I will hopefully continue to cherish in my new home, with or without pets.

The Southern Cross, August 8 to August 14, 2012

Raymond M Mwangala OMI

7

Point of Reflection

Jesus’ seven essential questions

A

SKING the right question is often seen as a sign of wisdom. However, those who ask profound questions usually suffer persecution and harassment.

During his life on earth Jesus raised many questions which today may rightly be described as philosophical. They made people uncomfortable. But these are questions which always lead to the deeper truths of life. In fact, Jesus’ whole life can be seen as a series of questions raised about the world.

John’s gospel has Jesus asking many questions which, taken together, make up the most important questions of life. Fr Gerald O’Collins, in Jesus: A Portrait (2008), offers an interesting perspective on Jesus the questioner.

Here are seven questions from John’s gospel which we need to hear asked again.

What are you looking for? (Jn 1:38). At one level this question of Jesus seems straightforward and easy to answer; the two disciples of John want to know where he stays. But then, is this what they really want? Is this what they are really looking for in life? Is this their most fundamental aspiration and intention? The question points to something deeper and more profound.

Indeed, where does the Lord stay? Do you want to know where he stays? “Come and see” (1:39).

Will you also go away? Confronted with the difficult teaching on the bread of life, some of his followers abandon Jesus. He turns to the disciples and asks: “Will you also go away?” (6:67).

Will you run away from the difficult truth which confronts you? This question goes beyond simply physically walking away. It points to betrayal, as would eventually happen to Jesus. Jesus asks: Will you betray me as well? When the going gets tough, to whom do you go?

Do you believe this? Jesus asks Martha and Mary: Do you believe that I can raise your brother from the dead? (11:25-26). Rising from the dead! Do you really believe in the resurrection?

Do you believe that God can do this for you?

There is a deeper meaning to the question: Do you believe that I am God? What is the most significant value in your life? Is there anything God cannot do for you? Is there a limit beyond which God is not welcome?

Do you know what I have done to you? At the Last Supper, Jesus gets up from table, pours water into a basin and washes the disciples’ feet. Then he asks: Do you know what I have done to you?

(13:12).What has he done? It is more than the physical act of washing feet or an example of servant leadership. It points to what Jesus has done and is doing for those who have a relationship with him—to salvation. Do you really understand what he has done for you? He died for you!

Have I been with you this long, and yet you do not know me? To the question, show us the Father, Jesus responds with another question (14:8-9): Do you not know me yet? Who am I? Who am I to you?

Why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?

Why does Mary weep at the tomb? (20:15).

What has she lost? Why look among the dead for the living? Why do we weep? Why do you laugh? What is life all about?

Do you love me? (21:15-17). What is the meaning of love? Are human beings capable of love?

Does it mean warm feelings of affection or sacrifice, pain and the cross? Why should love cause so much suffering and pain? Is love the cause of suffering and pain? Do you love me? Will you lay down your life for me?

Fr O’Collins wrote: “Taken together, these questions make up a list of the truly great questions of life; not only for followers of Jesus but also for others”. They merit closer reading and deep reflection.

NEW FOR 2013 27 SEPT TO 7 OCT THE EMMANUEL CATHEDRAL DURBAN PILGRIMAGE Visiting Fatima, Santarem, Lisbon, Paris and Lourdes

Organised and led by Rev. Fr Stephen Tully Cost from R17380 Tel: (031) 266 7702 Fax: (031) 266 8982 Email: judyeichhorst@telkomsa.net Kindly note our offices will be closed from 21 July to 10 Aug, 2012 inclusive

8

The Southern Cross, August 8 to August 14, 2012

COMMUNITY

The Salesians of the Southern African province had their annual retreat at Holy Cross Retreat Centre, Cape Town. It was preached by Fr Neville Louis, administrator of Utume Theologate, Nairobi. The retreat was based on the gospel of St John with links to Salesian life. In the picture are some of the Salesians with Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town, who had lunch with them on the last day of the retreat.

Youth graduates from the eight-month Don Bosco School of Life Programme at the Salesian Institute, Cape Town. The programme included lifeskills, welding, woodwork and panelbeating. With the group are (far left) Justice Nyenyeku and on the other side (from right) are Mildrett Stevens, Br Clarence Watts and Nondima Magazi and (front right) Gavin Wessels.

Mr and Mrs Godfrey Thomson, parishioners of Holy Spirit parish, Port Elizabeth, celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary.

SPRINGFIELD CONVENT JUNIOR SCHOOL WYNBERG Applicants are invited for the following post

SCHOOL SECRETARY From 1 January 2013

Catholic Womens League members from St Patrick’s parish, East London, held a morning tea and reflection and were addressed by Dominican Sister Ceslaus Mecking on the “Role of Mary in modern times”.

(Back from left) Colleen Wampach, Nella Henry and Debbie Hoar, (front) Shirley Solomon, Merle Thompson, Janet Johnson and Moine Haddad.

The pupils of St Patrick’s Christian Brothers College in Kimberley collected tinned food for a charity drive. Pupils handed over their gifts to Malcolm Wong-Fatt, the representitive of the St Vincent de Paul Society of St Mary’s parish in Kimberley.

Mgr Marc de Mûelanaere and altar server Dominic Rubin before Mass at St John Fisher church, Pretoria

We wish to employ an experienced, confident, energetic and well-organised person in our Junior School Office. The ideal candidate should:

• • • • •

•

• •

have a minimum of five years’ secretarial experience; have excellent interpersonal skills; have a good telephone manner; be able to work under pressure; be fully literate in Microsoft Office 2010 suite of programs as well as Windows 7 Operating System have a recognised IT certificate (e.g. ICDL, Microsoft Office Specialist) be willing and able to promote the school's Catholic ethos; be willing to become fully involved in the life of a dynamic, independent school.

Apply in writing, giving details of qualifications, experience and the names of three contactable referees to: The Principal Springfield Convent Junior School St. John’s Road WYNBERG, 7800

Email applications accepted: postmaster@sfc.wcape.school.za (For email please add: Reference: School Secretary post) No faxed applications accepted.

The school reserves the right not to proceed with the filling of this post.

An application will not in itself entitle the applicant to an interview or appointment, and failure to meet the minimum requirements of the advertised post will result in applicants automatically disqualifying themselves from consideration.

Closing date for applications: Friday 31 August 2012

Bishop Dabula Anthony Mpako toured the Queenstown diocese, meeting with the parish pastoral council members to explain the diocesan mission statement. He met the different leaders of Cathcart town church, Katikati parish council and Balfour parish council. Bishop Mpako is pictured with members of Cathcart town church.

The children and youths of Holy Trinity parish in Midrand, Johannesburg dramatised the Stations of the Cross.

We apologise for the delay in publishing photos due to a backlog

The Kraaifontein Kolping family had their annual spiritual retreat at CBC Stellenbosch. The retreat was led by Fr Nkululeko Qokolo.

CULTURE

The Southern Cross, August 8 to August 14, 2012

9

Seeds of tolerance were sown by a 50-year-old film This year sees the 50th anniversary of the release of the film To Kill A Mockingbird, based on Harper Lee’s celebrated novel, with the Catholic actor Gregory Peck in the lead role. JOHN McCARTHY looks back at a classic film.

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F the many exceptional movies released in 1962— Lawrence Of Arabia, The Miracle Worker, The Trial Of Joan Of Arc, to name just three—perhaps none is more beloved than To Kill A Mockingbird.

In fact, a case can be made for this adaptation of Harper Lee’s 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel as the most admired American film of all time.

Not only is it a sterling artistic achievement, its nuanced look at race relations is revelatory. And audiences continue to find a dual paragon in the character of Atticus Finch—among the greatest fathers and lawyers ever depicted on screen.

Universal Pictures has released 50th-anniversary editions of To Kill a Mockingbird on DVD and Bluray containing a remastered print and numerous extra features. The latter include an ambitious documentary about the making of the film, a track featuring running commentary by director Robert Mulligan and producer Alan J Pakula, plus material on the career of star Gregory Peck.

In the most general terms, and while treating numerous other expansive themes, To Kill A Mockingbird deals with the power of love to conquer hatred. It illustrates how frightening yet ulti-

mately liberating it can be when we embrace those whom we consider to be irredeemably different.

In Depression-era Maycomb, Alabama (modelled on Lee’s hometown of Monroeville), widower Atticus is raising two children—outspoken tomboy Scout (Mary Badham), and her older brother Jem (Phillip Alford)—aided by his black housekeeper Calpurnia (Estelle Evans).

While the children reckon with neighbourhood eccentrics, most notably the spooky Radley family, Atticus is appointed to defend Tom Robinson (Brock Peters), a black man accused of raping a white woman. Over the course of a year, these two plotlines converge, with the youngsters’ urge to demonise the unknown paralleling the quest for justice in a community in which racial prejudice is institutionalised.

Part ghost story, part comingof-age tale, part courtroom drama, To Kill A Mockingbird considers the ways in which we try to overcome, in Atticus’ words, “the ugly things in this world” like fear, poverty and ignorance. On the one hand, it offers an idealised view of the South; on the other, it exposes the harsh reality of that society with a transformative artistic vision.

Shot in black-and-white, and proceeding at a laconic pace matching the tempo of small-town life, the production feels rooted in a particular time and place while simultaneously possessing a timeless, almost fairytale quality. This concretely dreamlike atmosphere was conjured on Universal’s Hollywood back lot, reportedly using frame houses displaced by the construction of Dodger Stadium.

Horton Foote’s intuitive screenplay and Elmer Bernstein’s music score are key ingredients; and director Mulligan’s staging has a

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Gregory Peck and Brock Peters star in a scene from the 1962 film To Kill A Mockingbird based on the novel

by Harper Lee. Peck won the Oscar for his embodiment of Lee’s fictional attorney Atticus Finch. Right: Mary Badham as Scout. (Photo: Universal Studios) theatrical immediacy that’s enhanced by inventive camerawork.

Peck won the Oscar for his embodiment of Atticus Finch, and the performance represents the perfect melding of actor and character.

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n a documentary on the bonus DVD, Peck—who died in 2003 at the age of 86—describes the role as “a blessing and gift from Harper Lee”. He made the most of it, transmitting Atticus’s affection and firm sense of justice with an entertaining purity. It’s also touching to hear about the close bond Peck forged with Badham and Alford, as the young Alabamans were making their excellent screen debuts.

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Badham, then ten years old, became the youngest actress ever at the time to be nominated for a Best Supporting Oscar (another young actress, 16-year-old Patty Duke, won for The Miracle Worker).

She kept in touch with Peck until his death, always calling him Atticus.

Fifty years later, some may find the movie’s handling of race to be too indirect. For instance, there’s a public-private split in the behaviour of two authority figures. The sheriff and judge each indicate their frustration, if not quite disgust, with the way African-Americans are treated; and their behindthe-scenes actions confirm their relatively enlightened attitudes. Yet neither dares speak out publicly.

Only Atticus has the courage to

express his view in an open forum, both by agreeing to defend Robinson and in his stirring closing argument.

Silence enabled the injustice of segregation to endure for as long as it did. And though Lee was clearly challenging the status quo regarding race in the book, the catch-all lessons about tolerance that Atticus imparts to Scout may sound faint to contemporary ears.

From our perspective, after the progress engendered by the civil rights movement, fervently protesting against the instruments of discrimination can appear to be the only valid means of dismantling them. Besides which, we’re become accustomed to blunter, less subtle modes of expression in our art and popular entertainment.

But the genius of To Kill A Mockingbird is that the narrative itself, and the gentle way in which it is realised, are sufficient to convey a strong message against racial injustice. Rather than offer a shrill manifesto, the book and movie exemplify truths on an aesthetic plane using symbols, allegory and metaphor.

When the story ends, outwardly little has changed in Maycomb.

Yet momentous change has been wrought in the hearts and minds of Scout and Jem, within members of the black community who stand to salute Atticus as he leaves the courtroom, and possibly within the silent white citizenry.

Likewise, To Kill A Mockingbird remains in the literary and cinematic canons because it broadens our sensibilities and sympathies.

Few works of art, popular or otherwise, genuinely do that.

Rather than lament their scarcity in recent years, perhaps we should interpret it positively, as a sign of progress in our collective morality.—CNS

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10

The Southern Cross, August 8 to August 14, 2012

BOOK REVIEWS

The Shroud and the Resurrection THE SIGN: The Shroud of Turin and the Secret of the Resurrection, by Thomas de Wesselow.

Penguin, 2012. 448 pp. ISBN: 9780525953654 Reviewed by Günther Simmermacher NE hot summer morning in 2004 the self-described agnostic Cambridge art historian Thomas de Wesselow read Ian Wilson’s book The Turin Shroud and had an epiphany.

What if, as Wilson forcefully argues, the Shroud was in fact not a medieval forgery and what if “the Gospels contain descriptions of the Shroud that no one has recognised as such since the days of the apostles, because it appears in their legendary narratives not as an image but as a supernatural person”?

Eight years later, the front shelves of book stores are stacked with his book, The Sign, which promises on its back cover to solve “the mystery behind the birth of a faith”—the Resurrection, no less.

De Wesselow’s premise hinges on three key points: firstly, that the Shroud of Turin is the genuine burial cloth of Christ and that the image on it was not made by human hand; secondly, the idea that the Gospel accounts are unreliable; thirdly that those who reported to have seen the risen Christ actually saw the Shroud and interpreted what they saw as a physical manifestation of Jesus’ soul, not his physical body.

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The third point suggests that those who supposedly saw the Shroud formed an empathy with it, much in line with what the art historian suggests was a cultural bias of the times.

According to de Wesselow, they interpreted the Shroud as representing not a physical resurrection nor a supernatural apparition, but a spiritual resurrection that coincided with Jewish expectations of the time.

The Shroud, he writes, “would have assured Jesus’s followers that it revealed him to be once again alive. The shroud figure was not a ghost…but a glorious, transfigured, re-embodied person”.

As an art historian, de Wesselow makes a strong case that the image on the Shroud cannot have been transferred by human hand.

He echoes Wilson’s persuasive assertion that no medieval forger could have had the physiological, anthropological and historical knowledge to recreate the image of a crucified man with such an unerring authenticity.

In his narrative on the history and study of the Shroud, De Wesselow retreads ground already covered in greater detail by Ian Wilson.

Radiocarbon test results in 1988 dated the origin of the cloth to between 1260 and 1390, but these tests have been challenged even by experts in the field. Other evidence—such as pollen and lime-

stone dust found on the shroud as well as its distinctive weave and seams—suggest a much older provenance in Palestine. The notion of it as a medieval forgery is by no means an inevitable conclusion.

Departing from Wilson, De Wesselow seems to subscribe to the theory, proposed by the late scientist Raymond Rogers, that the image on the shroud is a vaporgraph, formed when carbohydrates from the cloth’s white dye came into contact with the amines a corpse releases.

As a summary of arguments in support of the Shroud’s authenticity, The Sign could be recommended, though not as confidently as one might Wilson’s books.

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e Wesselow is also insightful when he outlines the development of Jewish resurrection theology, but he loses the plot when he confronts the New Testament, the writings that relate directly to his hypothesis.

His summary dismissal of the Acts of the Apostles as a reliable source will be contested by many scripture scholars and Church historians, as will his suggestion that the Acts date to about 100 AD. An argument can be made that since Acts makes no mention of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD or of the temporary exile of the city’s Christians in (probably) Pella, it must have

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selow uses the literary device of posing leading questions and promising the revelation of a rational explanation which, we are assured, solves the mystery of Easter, as if he was scripting the inevitable Discovery Channel documentary.

The idea that the core of the Christian faith is predicated on a series of shroud parades is bizarre and unconvincing; it makes for entertaining conjecture, but fails to add to serious scholarship.

And yet, if the Turin Shroud is indeed the genuine burial cloth of Christ, then it might well have been used as one means of evangelisation after the first Pentecost, perhaps even in some of the ways which de Wesselow describes.

It is an intriguing thought.

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been written before that event. De Wesselow does not even acknowledge such objections.

As one would expect, De Wesselow spends much time on the post-Resurrection accounts in the gospels. Much of it is cookie-cutter scholarship, with the arguments shaped to suit a hypothesis.

And the author does not adequately address the elephant in the room: why does not a single literary reference explicitly support the notion that what is clearly described as a man who had risen from the dead, was in fact a piece of cloth? Wouldn’t the enemies of the messianic sect have used just that kind of claim to mock and discredit the nascent movement?

Catholics in particular will also disagree with De Wesselow’s categorical but thinly supported assertion that James the Just, first bishop of Jerusalem, was born of Mary, or that the story of Peter’s presence (and death) in Rome is “dubious”.

The author frequently overextends himself. For example, he casually insists that “Jesus is likely to have had a wife”, as was customary in his culture. He concedes that celibates existed in Jesus’ time, “but there is no evidence that Jesus was one of them”.

Other, one might respond, than every credible literary reference to Jesus, none of which mentions a wife or even a romantic liaison.

Building up to his conclusion, which we know already, De Wes-

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TED ROGERS: Jesuit, Social Pioneer and AIDS Activist in Zimbabwe. Cluster Publications, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

324pp. ISBN: 978 187505391 9 Reviewed by Kudzai Taruona N this amazing memoir by one of Zimbabwe’s most famous priests, Jesuit Father Edward “Ted” Rogers recalls his mother whom he describes as “always kind, thoughtful, very devoted to her religion and a family saint”.

He gives a lengthy account of the difficult life that he and his family lived in the 1930s and expresses his disappointment on not being able to go to university after high school. However his stint with the merchant navy during World War II marked the turning point of his life.

Off the West African coast German U-boats torpedoed and sank his ship, the MV Alfred Jones. By chance Ted survived.

The ship’s sinking and his survival—by rowing a lifeboat for four days—strongly influenced his desire to become a priest: God must have saved his life for a purpose. With the end of the war, he chose the seminary instead of continuing with the navy.

As Rogers charts the journey of his life, he reveals his great knowledge and memory of events, people and places. If he mentions a building or institution, he will explain its background, who built it, where they got the money, from whom they bought it, and what became of the place later.

He can’t hide his admiration for heroic figures he meets on his journey, among them Archbishop Denis Hurley whom he describes as a “star” of IMBISA— the Inter-Regional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa, of which Fr Rogers was the director for several years.

In fact, Fr Rogers shared a birthday with Archbishop Hurley. Like the archbishop, he also became a follower of Teilhard de Chardin. Ted’s own grandfather, like Archbishop Hurley’s father, was a lighthouse keeper.

This book shows Ted to be a Jesuit to the core. It is clear that

I

he is forever grateful to the order for having given him the chance to travel the globe, rub shoulders with the bishops of Southern Africa and cardinals from the Roman curia, meet Pope John Paul II and heads of state.

But it is for founding the School of Social Work at the University of Zimbabwe, for being the IMBISA director and for his pioneering Aids activism that Fr Rogers will be specially remembered.

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herever he went his great strength was in identifying competent and skilled people who could make things happen.

Trusted by foreign and local donors he was able to raise the funds needed to establish a multitude of projects during his 51 years in Zimbabwe. His philosophy was always that, if it was good work and needed by the people, the money would come—and it always did.

He admits in retrospect that white Rhodesians (himself included) were taking advantage of the colonial system in Rhodesia and participated to some extent in the privileges of being white in the face of the African population’s grinding poverty, without being sufficiently aware of this.

However, he cautions that there were white people who disagreed with Ian Smith’s poli-

cies and tried to help lift the educational standards of the local black population.

Fr Rogers was an activist, not a parish priest. So while others were busy with normal pastoral duties, he was empowering the African population to address the social problems that bedevilled them. He feels that his work was not always well understood by some of his colleagues.

With the coming of Independence, he was approached by the then President Canaan Banana to help establish training for ex-combatants from the liberation war to help them return to civilian life, as many had not completed their education. His response was to help start the Kushinga-Phikelela Agricultural Institute.

As the HIV and Aids pandemic was wreaking havoc, he was asked by the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ZCBC) to develop a programme. This led to the founding of the Aids Counselling Trust (ACT) being started. His presentations on HIV/Aids to the Southern African bishops were well received and inspired Archbishop Hurley to immediately start an Aids office in his archdiocese.

While admitting that he missed the intimate relationship of marriage and family, he says this choice was necessary for religious life and gave him a certain freedom of action for his work.

But he believes that diocesan priests should have the option of marriage before their ordination, as in the Eastern Catholic rites.

At the advanced age of 80 and now living at the Boscombe Jesuit retirement house near Bournemouth, England, Fr Rogers looks back on a life filled with activity, interest and hope.

As he reaches the ninth decade of his life, he is not “fit as a fiddle”. In fact, he writes, he looks forward to seeing his late mother again—and “I don’t think it will be long before that time comes”.

n Ted Rogers: Jesuit, Social Activist and AIDS Pioneer in Zimbabwe is available at R150 per copy from Cluster Publications. cluster@clusterpublications.co.za

The Southern Cross, August 8 to August 14, 2012

Dr Manuel Bareiro

D

OCTOR Manuel Maria Bareiro Duarte of Johannesburg died on July 6 from cancer. He was 57.

At his funeral in St Charles church in Victory Park, Dr Bareiro was described as a man dedicated with utmost devotion to two responsibilities: his family and his work.

Dr Bareiro’s other great love was rugby. It was thanks to his zeal for the game that he came to South Africa in 1982 as a member of the Curda rugby club from Asuncion, Paraguay.

He decided to return to complete his medical training as an obstetrician and gynaecologist at Edendale Hospital in Pietermaritzburg.

He fell in love with more than just South Africa. The glamorous Nickey van Zijl stole his heart and hundreds of South African children and their

mothers now have Nickey to thank for keeping a devoted obstetrician and gynaecologist in the country for a career that has spanned 30 years.

Being a devout Catholic and a gynaecologist is a challenging combination, given the ethical sensitivities surrounding female

Family Reflections August 12, Father who draws us to himself by feeding us. Fr Peter began, “Is it necessary to look at God as father, as the one who feeds us? Could it be God as parent, or mother, as they do most of the feeding and even produce some of the most heavenly food? We do agree that there is competition between the sexes. Why is there a “Take a girl child to work” day and not a “take a boy child?”

My nephew Bruce was quite angry knowing that his sister was doing really well at school and had been offered a bursary already. Maybe she was the brains in the family but he and his friends were starting to get resentful that girls seemed to be getting more opportunities than boys. “We try harder, that’s why, it’s not only that we are formerly disadvantaged,” Priscilla told him. “And they even want to play soccer,” Bruce said to himself. So, what do you think?

The Church has the duty to contribute to the recog nition and liberation of women, following the example of Christ’s own esteem for them. Giving opportunities to make their voice heard and to express their talents through initiatives which reinfo rc e their w o rth, their self-esteem and their uniqueness would enable them to occupy a place in society equal to that of men—without confusing or conflating the specific character of each—since b o th m e n an d w o m e n are th e “ im ag e ” o f the Creator.

reproductive health and modern secular constitutional rights and freedoms.

To offer his patients more than just his medico-biological expertise, he was registered for a Masters degree in ethics at St Augustine, the Catholic university, when he died.

Fr James Ralston OMI in his homily spoke of the massive hole that Dr Bareiro’s passing will leave in the lives of his family: Nickey and children Ale, Moia, Pancha and Beata.

“We simply cannot find the words to describe the void that the passing of a loved one leaves,” Fr Ralston said. A void that nothing and no-one will be able to fill. All we can do, with the healing passage of time, is to learn to live with that pain and to cherish the good times we had when they were alive.”

John Clarke

Liturgical Calendar Year B Weekdays Year 2

Sunday, August 12, 19th Sunday 1 Kings 19:4-8, Psalm 34:2-9, Ephesians 4:30-5:2, John 6:41-51 Monday, August 13, Ss Pontian and Hippolytus Ezekiel 1:2-5, 24-28, Psalm 148:1-2, 11-14, Matthew 17:22-27 Tuesday, August 14, St Maximilian Mary Kolbe 1 John 3:13-18, Psalm 116:10-13, 16-17, John 15:12-17 Wednesday, August 15, Assumption of the BVM Revelation 11:19; 12:1-6, 10, Psalm 45:10-12, 16, 1 Corinthians 15:20-27, Luke 1:39-56 Thursday, August 16, St Stephen of Hungary Ezekiel 12:1-2, Psalm 78:56-59, 61-62, Matthew 18:21-19:1 Friday, August 17 Ezekiel 16:1-15, 60, 63 or Ezekiel 16:59-63, Isaiah 12:2-6, Matthew 19:3-12 Saturday, August 18, Saturday Memorial of the BVM Ezekiel 18:1-10, 13, 30-32, Psalm 51:12-15, 1819, Matthew 19:13-15 Sunday, August 19, 20th Sunday Proverbs 9:1-6, Psalm 34:2-7, Ephesians 5:15-20, John 6:51-58

Southern CrossWord solutions

SOLUTIONS TO 510.

ACROSS: 2 Standstill, 8 Hierarchical, 10 Doubt, 11 Angrier, 12 Losers, 13 Drinks, 16 Narthex, 18 Viola, 19 Stockmarkets, 20 Masssitter. DOWN: 1 Scheduling, 3 Traitor, 4 Nectar, 5 Sling, 6 Italian popes, 7 Sequestrates, 9 Trespasses, 14 Reverie, 15 Exempt, 17 Hacks.

Word of the Week

Laicisation: The act of reducing an ecclesiastical person or thing to a lay status. In the laicisation of clerics, the Holy See, for extraordinary reasons and the greater good of the Church, may laicise a bishop, priest, or deacon.

In spite of the term, however, the person does not lose his sacramental powers and remains an ordained person. But he is legitimately dispensed from the ordinary duties attached to his office and, generally also, of his vow of celibacy, giving him the right to marry.

In an emergency, a laicised priest can validly administer the sacraments of anointing and penance.

CLASSIFIEDS

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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.

BIRTH

BAILEY—(née Burton) Liam and Lesley-Anne are excited to welcome their first born Jude Luke on July 30, 2012 at St Vincent Pallotti Hospital. First grandchild to Brian and Rhoda Bailey and second grandchild to Allan and Zelda Burton. Dio Gracias.

I promise to make your name known and publish this prayer. Amen. RB SAINT MICHAEL, the

IN MEMORIAM

PAGE—Noel Bernard 24/12/1930 to 1/8/2011. A loving husband and father whose memory and love still remains in our hearts on the anniversary of his death.

PERSONAL

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PRAYERS

O MOST beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendour of Heaven, blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity.

O Star of the Sea, help me and show me where you are, Mother of God. Queen of heaven and earth I

Archangel, defend us in battle, be our defence against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into Hell Satan and the other evil spirits who prowl about the worldfor the ruin of souls. Amen.

HAIL, HOLY Queen, Mother of Mercy! our life, our sweetness, and our hope!

To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley, of tears.

Turn, then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us; and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus; O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

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humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to succour me in my necessity. There is none who can withstand your power, O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands. “Say this prayer for 3 consecutive days and then prayer must be published. Joy/MBG/LL. 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

NAPIER: South Western Cape. Two cosy separate homes sharing a large enclosed courtyard.

House: three bedrooms, (one upstairs) open plan living/dining room, open plan kitchen, bathroom with bath. Cottage: One bedroom, open plan kitchen, living/dining area, shower/loo/hand-basin, knotty pine ceilings throughout. Large double garage. Large storeroom.

Property walled on three sides, wooden picket fence in front. Neat established gardens. Price: R980,000, Phone: 072 196 6108.

Single per night R300, twin R480. Self-catering, busses and underground nearby.

Phone Peter 0044 208 7484834.

BALLITO: Up-market penthouse on beach, self-catering. 084 790 6562.

BETTY'S BAY: (Western Cape) Holiday home sleeps six, three bathrooms, close to beach, R800/night. 021 794 4293 marialouise@ mweb.co.za FISH HOEK: Self-catering accommodation, sleeps 4.

Secure parking. Tel: 021 785 1247.

GORDON’S BAY: Beautiful en-suite rooms available at reasonable rates. Magnificent views, breakfast on request. Tel: 082 774 7140. bzhive@telkomsa.net KNYSNA: Self-catering accommodation for 2 in Old Belvidere with wonderful Lagoon views. 044 387 1052.

KZN SOUTH COAST: Honeywood: Luxury chalets & The Cellar boutique restaurant. 7 x 4-sleeper luxury chalets. Quiet urban forest retreat opposite Sea Park Catholic Church. Ideal for retreats & holidays www.honeywoodsa.co.za honeywood@honeywood sa.co.za Tel 039 695 1036 Fax 086 585 0746.

MARIANELLA: Guest House, Simon’s Town: “Come experience the peace and beauty of God with us.” Fully equipped with amazing sea views.

Secure parking, ideal for rest and relaxation. Special rates for pensioners and clergy. Tel: Malcolm Salida 082 784 5675 or mjsal ida@mweb.co.za SEDGEFIELD: Beautiful self-catering garden flat sleeps four, two bedrooms, open-plan lounge, kitchen, fully equipped. 5min walk to lagoon. Contact 082 900 6282.

STRAND: Beachfront flat to let. Stunning views, fully equipped. Garage, one bedroom, sleeps 3-4. R450 p/night for 2 people-low season. Phone Brenda 082 822 0607

RETREATS

PLETTENBERG BAY: Sat Chit Anand Interfaith Spiritual Retreat Centre. Make space in your life for Spirit.

Enjoy a peaceful holiday with optional meditation, Mass, theology classes, yoga. Interfaith chapel, library, and healing centre.

Self-catering cottages.

Priests stay free.

See www.satchitanand.co. za for more info, Phone 044 533 0453 or email satchitanand@global.co.za

ACCOMMODATION

CAPE TOWN: Cape Peninsula Beautiful homes to buy or rent.

Maggi-Mae 082 892 4502, AIDA Cape Lifestyle Homes, 021 782 9263 maggimae@ aidacapelifestyle.co.za

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

LONDON: Protea House:

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We can use your old clothing, bric-a-brac, furniture and books for our shop which is opening soon.

Help us to create an avenue to generate much needed funds for our work with the elderly.

Contact Ian Veary on 021 447 6334 www.noah.org.za

20th Sunday: August 19 Readings: Proverbs 9:1-6, Psalm 34:2-3, 1015, Ephesians 5:15-20, John 6:51-58

Gain life at God’s great banquet

O

Nicholas King SJ

NE profoundly biblical metaphor for what God has done for us is the splendid image, redolent of Arab culture, of the banquet. That is an idea that we can explore in the readings for next Sunday.

In the first reading, we hear an invitation from “Lady Wisdom”, who has set up her tent, and constructed the “seven tent-poles”, and prepared a meal, “cooked her meat and mixed her wine” (the ancients thought it disgraceful to take wine unmixed with water), and sent out her young ladies with invitations, not all of which we can translate satisfactorily, although the gist is clear: “Come and eat of my food and drink the wine that I have mixed.”

But we should notice that this invitation is rather unusual, in that it is directed towards the “simple of heart”, which, presumably, includes you and me.

The psalm invites us to “bless the Lord”, presumably in gratitude for the invitation, which is, once again, directed to those at the bottom end of the heap: “The poor shall hear and rejoice” (there is a Hebrew pun here which defeats the translator). And once again, the idea of a banquet is there, but it is for those who do not normally get invited to such festivities: “Young lions grow poor and

Sunday Reflections

hungry, but those who seek the Lord do not lack any good thing.”

And the response to the psalm is also a metaphor from banqueting: “Taste and see how good the Lord is, happy the one who takes refuge in God.” The second reading, continuing our journey through the lovely letter to the Ephesians, does have what might be a reference to banqueting, in that it suggests that we should “not get drunk on wine”, but be intoxicated on a rather different diet, “be filled with the Spirit”.

Unlike in the first reading, which is open to the “simple”, here we are to “be very careful not to walk like the unwise, but like the wise”, and “don’t be foolish, but understand what is God’s will”.

Then we hear what the musical entertainment is to be at our banquet: “Talking to ourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and playing the guitar in our heart to the Lord, always giving thanks for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to our God and Father.” This is a very promising banquet.

The gospel for next Sunday continues the idea of God’s banquet, but with the uncomfortable addition that it is Jesus himself who is the food: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven,” it starts alarmingly. But it is a decidedly sustaining banquet: “Anyone who eats of this food is going to live for ever,” and then we come back to the idea of devouring Jesus: “The food that I am going to give is my flesh, on behalf of the light of the world.”

Not surprisingly, this causes a good deal of argumentation on the part of his opponents: “How can this fellow give us his flesh to eat?”

Jesus makes it clear that they have to take the banquet extremely seriously: “Amen, amen I’m telling you: unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life in you.”

If only… Lesson from a theft I F only! How often we feel those bitter words of regret: If only! If only I had noticed earlier! If only I had been more attentive! If only I could see that person again, even for five minutes!

If only I hadn’t been there just then! If only the storm hadn’t happened just as I was on the highway! If only I hadn’t had that extra drink! If only I had left the party ten minutes earlier! If only!

We all live with certain regrets and the bitter knowledge that if only we had been more attentive or patient or courageous or loving at a given moment our lives would now be very different. If only we could have certain moments of our lives back, to do over differently.

I had such one such moment recently.

It wasn’t one that in the grand scheme of things was very huge, but it did in its own small way contain all the dynamics of the bitter regret that we feel when we say: If only!

What happened? I had my briefcase— containing passport, work permit, laptop, two years of personal diaries and planned agendas, and numerous other personal papers and photos—stolen from me as I was buying a ticket in the London Underground.

I’m an experienced traveller and tend to be paranoid in terms of keeping vigilance on my luggage but, as anyone who has ever lost a purse or a briefcase (or, infinitely more tragic, a child) in a public place

Conrad

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

knows, it only takes a few seconds of inattention for disaster to strike.

In my case, it happened this way: I had just got off a train after speaking at a conference and, shepherding three pieces of luggage, made my way down an escalator to the Underground. I was trying to purchase a ticket for the subway and the selfservice machine was not being particularly cooperative and that little distraction, for a period of perhaps one minute, was all it took: I briefly forgot about my luggage.

When I looked down to pick it up, my briefcase was gone. It took an instant to realise what had happened and as I ran to get a security guard my heart sank in the sick recognition that it was too late, I would never see the contents of that briefcase again.

As I sat with the police, making a report of the incident, I kept involuntarily repeating to myself: If only! If only I hadn’t lost my concentration! If only I had kept my passport and green-card on my person! If only I could rewind the last ten minutes of

my life! If only!

We’ve all been there, in ways big and small!

What’s the lesson? What might I—or anyone else—learn from moments like these?

First of all, we need to learn to keep things in perspective. Sometimes a moment of carelessness has huge, irrevocable consequences, as in the loss of a child or a serious accident that causes a death; but for me it meant only the loss of some personal effects, some money, and the loss of the better part of two days (spent in embassies recouping my passport and residence permit).

It was an irritating inconvenience which in the grand scheme of things is, in essence, a mosquito-bite. When I come to die, I doubt this incident will be remembered. But that isn’t easy to see at the time.

In the moment it’s easy to lose perspective.

Second, incidents like this are meant to teach patience. Haste makes waste! It also makes for momentary carelessness and accidents. This happened to me because I was in a hurry. I had wanted to buy my ticket at the customer-counter, but there was a queue, and, although I had no pressing agenda, I was too impatient to wait in the line.

I was trying to save five minutes and that impatience ended up costing me, among other things, the better part of two days of lining up at embassies and immigration offices. Hopefully the lesson will be learned.

Finally, incidents like this are meant to teach us to recognise and forgive contingency. Philosophically, contingency means that, unlike God who is self-sufficient and perfect, we live with limit and imperfection. For us, every one of us, there will be moments of inattention, carelessness, accidents, stupid impatience, and moral lapses.

The philosopher, Leibnitz, famously stated that we don’t live in the best of all possible universes.

Thus, there will always be lost purses, stolen briefcases, broken heirlooms, and, much worse, tragic accidents that result in lost children and lost lives. Sometimes too there will be moments of moral carelessness that we will also bitterly regret. We aren’t God. We’re contingent.

So the next time someone accidently drops and breaks your priceless vase, don’t respond with that chastising frown that says: “How can you be so clumsy! What an awful thing you’ve done!”

Instead, make old Leibnitz proud, give off a knowing smile that says: Now there’s contingency for you.

Then he uses an extremely crude word for “eating”, more like what animals do than what human beings do: “The one who munches my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I am going to raise them up on the last day. For my flesh is real food, and my blood is real drink.”

We are meant to feel slightly queasy at this suggestion, and he makes no concessions: “The one who munches my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in them” (that idea of “remaining” is one of immense importance throughout this gospel).

And Jesus sketches a symmetry between his relationship to the one whom he calls “Father” and our relationship to Jesus: “Just as the Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so the one who munches me will also live because of me.”

And the continuity of this banquet with the one that God gave in the desert is emphasised once more: “This is the Food that came down from heaven, not like [what] the ancestors ate—and they died—the one who munches this food will live for ever.”

This is a banquet with a difference.

Southern Crossword #510

ACROSS 2. Complete stop in procession (10) 8. Ranking system of Church authority (12) 10. Be not certain about the faith (5) 11. Ranger I find even crosser (7) 12. They do not win the reward (6) 13. Imbibes (6) 16. Nth axer into church porch (7) 18. Plant the musical instrument (5) 19. Where cattle are sold in shares? (12) 20. One in the pew on Sunday (4-6)

DOWN 1. Chide, slung out for making timetable (10) 3. He’s guilty of treason (7) 4. The gods lapped it up (6) 5. Young David’s missile launcher (5) 6. They’ve been in majority in Peter’s chair (7,5) 7. Legally takes squarest tees (12) 9. Transgressions we ask pardon for (10) 14. Daydream (7) 15. Free from obligation (6) 17. Cuts roughly from the shack (5) Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

T

HERE was an elderly man at home, upstairs, dying in bed. He smelled the aroma of his favourite chocolate chip cookies baking. He wanted one last biscuit before he died. He crawled down the stairs and into the kitchen where his wife was busily baking biscuits.

With his last remaining strength he crawled to the table and was just barely able to lift his withered arm to the baking tray. As he grasped a warm, moist chocolate chip cookie, his favourite kind, his wife suddenly whacked his hand with a spatula.

Gasping for breath, he asked her: “Why did you do that?”

“Those are for the funeral,” she replied.

Send us your favourite Catholic joke, preferably clean and brief, to The Southern Cross, Church Chuckle, PO Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000.