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Brislin: Silence ‘an accomplice in corruption’ BY CLAIRE MATHIESON
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Jodie Moment and Catherine Roland are leading the cheering at Catholicare’s stall, “Pirates & Treasure”, at the 32nd annual One to One Fun Day for cognitively challenged children and adults at the Good Hope Centre in Cape Town. Catholicare is an initiative of the Milnerton/Brooklyn parish of the Assumption. (Photo: Lucy Walsh)
Nuncio to future priests: Witness the Gospel BY MATHIBELA SEBOTHOMA
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O be agents of change, “you must be like St John Vianney who was a great witness of fidelity to the Gospel and Christ and shining example of priestly life”, Archbishop Mario Roberto Cassari, apostolic nuncio to Southern Africa, told seminarians. In his first visit to St John Vianney National Seminary in Pretoria, Archbishop Cassari pledged to the seminarians that he will be “closer to you because of the service entrusted to me by Pope Benedict XVI”. “You know the love and the affection of the Holy Father for all seminarians. He is following your progress and places his deep trust in you.” He revealed that in his private audience with the pope, “he asked me to convey to you his greetings and blessings”, adding that the pope “is well acquainted with the situation of this major seminary”. Archbishop Cassari reminded the future priests not to be limited by their diocese or religious order but to remember they are members of the universal Church. Being a priest always involves sacrifice and renunciation, he said. “Expect moments of darkness and inner difficulty. That is why you must ‘turn your gaze to Christ’.” He encouraged the seminarians “to maintain a personal relationship with Jesus”, and to start a life of holiness now, and not when they are priests. “Do not seek public applause,” he advised, and challenged the students to prioritise the sacrament of confession. Giving testimony about his own life, he said confession “teaches me to see myself as God sees me, and it forces me to be honest with myself. It leads me to humility. By letting myself be forgiven, I learn to forgive others. In recognising my own weakness, I grow more tolerant and understanding of
ILENCE is an accomplice in corruption,” and corruption is a “symptom of a lack of ethics and morality”, said Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town. He spoke at the launch of the Call to End Corruption campaign, an initiative of religious leaders to take on the issue which has “horrific consequences on society”. “Silence is not the solution,” said Archbishop Brislin. “We need to call on leaders on all levels to be accountable and to see the importance of values. As church leaders we must take to this practice of good governance.” The archbishop said the sense of cynicism will only increase if the religious leaders themselves don’t keep their “own houses in order”. The campaign was launched in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, where five faith leaders and many more representatives of faith communities pledged to stand up and speak out against corruption. This followed the first Religious Leaders Anti-Corruption Summit held in June, when the faith leaders heard testimonies from community witnesses, social justice activists, and the Public Protector CEO on the mounting cost of corruption, and pledged to join the fight against corruption on behalf of all South Africans. “What struck me in particular was what corruption does to the very social fabric in our lives. There is an underlying unhealthy attitude in our lives,” said Archbishop Brislin following the summit. He said the recent events at the Lonmin mine in Marikana were “symptomatic of what is happening in our country. There is an anger which bursts out in cases of road rage and protests. The country is in need of healing.”
A Papal nuncio Archbishop Mario Cassari receives the offertory from Napo Swayi of Kokstad during a Mass at St John Vianney Seminary in Pretoria. (Photo: Mathibela Sebothoma) the failings of my neighbours.” The nuncio said the future pastors must have maturity in sexuality. Referring to the sex abuse scandal in the Church, he said: “Instead of guiding people to great human maturity and setting them an example, [guilty priests’] abusive behaviour caused great damage for which we feel profound shame and regret”. In the world dominated by the rat race and individualism, Archbishop Cassari insisted that seminarians must learn to live with other people, even if that is difficult. “You should learn generosity and tolerance, not only bearing with, but also enriching one another. This school of tolerance— indeed, of mutual acceptance and mutual understanding in the unity of Christ’s Body—is an important part of your years in the seminary.” Fr Molewe Machingoane, rector of the seminary, thanked the archbishop for emphasising the message that seminarians must “learn to live in constant intimacy with God”.
rchbishop Brislin said corruption is a selfish act because “whether one is paying or receiving the bribe, it is about ‘me’—you are not concerned about others”. He said this is the underlying uncaring attitude and a lack of compassion that a corrupt society is breeding, and an “uncompassionate attitude breaks down trust”. “Corruption breaks down trust. With no faith in leadership, people start to perceive that the only way to survive is to be corrupt themselves,” the archbishop said. The campaign will culminate in a national “preach and teach” against corruption on International Anti-Corruption Day, December 9, when all places of worship will focus on educating and encouraging their communities to act against corruption. “We call upon ourselves and society to speak up and engender a sense of morality, listening to those who have been left out. If we don’t, the underlying anger and violence seen in the country today will only increase,” the archbishop told the crowd at Lookout Hill in South Africa’s second largest township—a place which bears the brunt of corruption, the crowd heard. Also present at the campaign launch was Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein who referred to the Bible where “the moral foundation of society has to be firm if that society is going to succeed”. “As South Africans we need to confront corruption” with moral and practical reason, the chief rabbi said. “Morally we cannot live in a corrupt soci-
Rabbi Warren Goldstein, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, Archbishop Stephen Brislin and Guru Krishna. (Photo: Claire Mathieson) ety, and practically a corrupt society is an unsustainable one because corruption eats away at everything,” he said. “We need to embrace the fundamental moral principles which are universal: do not steal, do not murder—these are the bedrock of society,” Chief Rabbi Goldstein said.
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e proposed two practical ways forward. Firstly, to encourage the learning of the Bill of Responsibilities, a document compiled by the Department of Education, with the backing of government and religious organisations and based on universal morals which “could transform society”. Secondly, he encouraged the religious leaders to use the Corruption Watch SMS line. Corrupt incidences can be reported to the number 45142. “Religion is one of the most powerful forces in this country. The silent majority is not corrupt,” but in order to beat corruption, the majority must not be silent, he said. Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba of Cape Town said that because corruption is damaging at every level in society, the burden of its effects is vast. “We need to say ‘no’ to corruption at every level, call on ourselves and every South African to pledge to being part of the solution. Corruption in whatever form is wrong.” South Africa has too much potential and promise to let corruption take over, he said. The religious leaders have committed themselves to encouraging education in their respective communities and will lead from the front through advocacy work and taking joint responsibility for the malaise of society, said Imam Rashied Omar. This, he said, is an important act if the faith leaders are to have any credibility in their actions. “We need to constantly remind ourselves of the systematic nature of corruption. We need to turn greed to altruism or else our bill of rights will be an unrealised dream,” said Imam Omar. While the campaign was launched by the Western Cape Religious Leaders Forum, the leaders all agreed that the initiative needs to be taken up by all provinces. Archbishop Brislin said the August plenary session of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference saw the bishops reflecting on the state of the country. Corruption “is something we will deal with, but it shouldn’t stop at the Catholic Church—this is something for everyone to take on,” the archbishop told The Southern Cross.