The Southern Cross - 120919

www.scross.co.za

September 19 to September 25, 2012

A super-pilgrim on domestic’s salary

Why devotion to Mary has declined

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Reg No. 1920/002058/06

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The Catholic links of US candidates

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African laity: We are all disciples STAFF REPORTER

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FTER attending the Pan African Congress of Catholic Laity in Yaoundé, Cameroun, a South African bishop said: “New Evangelisation will work only through the laity by taking up work as disciples of Christ. That is the crucial thing.”

Bishop Michael Wüstenberg of Aliwal North was a member of the Southern African region’s delegation to the congress, organised by the Pontifical Council for the Laity and held at the Catholic University of Central Africa.

He was joined by Rose Molatelo Manamela, president of St Anne’s Sodality, Madela Paulos Mbovu of Aliwal North, Carlos Alberto Camara of Pretoria, and Thomas Jele of Manzini, Swaziland.

Bishop Wüstenberg said that the experience of participating in the continental congress was “exciting” for the local delegation.

The bishop mentioned that one of the local delegates noted that the word “disciple” must be applied not only to the leadership, but to all Catholics, saying: “We all have arole to play”.

Bishop Wüstenberg said that at the congress “people from all walks of life, from peasants to academics, tried to find a common language”.

He noted that Catholic professionals are longing for support as they try “to do their work in the light of faith”. This could be addressed by the formation of Catholic professional associations in which members could offer mutual support and share their experiences.

Bishop Wüstenberg said that “delegates recognised the fundamental need for the formation of the laity”.

Mr Camara said that he returned to South Africa “inspired to share my experience” at the congress.

“I learnt so much about the Church in one week that I am yearning to learn so much more. And it will start with the Year of Faith—it’s not just about having faith, but knowing the Faith of the Church,” he said.

Reflecting on the congress, Mr Camara said: “The talks were very inspiring, but when the cardinals took questions from the floor the wisdom of the Church really blossomed.”

He said the laity has a crucial role to play in evangelisation. “We are called to be witnesses of Christ in Africa today, because it’s all about Jesus and all the love he has for us.”

Mr Camara described the mood at the congress as “amazing”, especially after the opening Mass. “Upon leaving the church, it became quite festive as we had local dancers and drummers”.

He said the South African delegation noted that a representative of Cameroon’s government addressed the congress. “It

showed that religion is still important in Cameroon, unlike South Africa.”

The congress was called in the wake of Pope Benedict’s 2011 apostolic exhortation Africae Munus. According to a statement from the Vatican’s laity council, it was intended to serve “as an event of hope in the evangelising mission and a help in rediscovering the beauty of being Christians in the African continent, in the midst of several challenges the lay faithful face in the witness of Christ in the various fields of society”.

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t was only the third lay congress in Africa.

The last one took place in 1982, also in Yaoundé, and before that in 1971 in Accra, Ghana.

This year’s congress ran under the theme, “Being witnesses of Jesus Christ in Africa today: Salt of the earth…light of the world”.

Cardinal Stanisław Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, described the experience of the continental congress of the laity as a moment of particular epiphany of the Church in Africa.

“We discovered her numerous spiritual resources, her great religious and human vitality, and the strong missionary dynamism of her laity,” he said in his closing address.

He also emphasised that the formation of a mature laity is not a privilege but a right and a duty in the Church, and a matter of great urgency.

Cardinal Rylko said that the Church in Africa can benefit greatly from the charisms, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and signs of hope given to those in great need.

“Being witnesses of Christ in the heart of the world is not an easy duty because it requires a lot of courage to go against” the dominant cultural tendencies”, he told participants.

Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, told the congress that Christian social commitment and social action flow from the spirituality of discipleship.

The Ghanaian cardinal also emphasised the need for lay commitment to social action especially in places where only they can be the salt and light of the world.

“To all who are suffering, we want to say: You are not alone and abandoned! Christ is with you! The Church is with you!”

Other speakers included Professor Marie Thérèse Megue; Cardinalk John Njue of Nairobi, Kenya; Cardinal Robert Sarah, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum; Bishop Barthélemy Adoukonou, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture; and Mgr Josef Clemens, secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity Cardinal Christian Tumi, retired archbishop of Douala in Cameroon, presided over the closing Mass at Mvolye basilica.

THE SCENIC ROUTE: Pope Benedict sits inside one of two all-electric minivans presented by French automaker Renault at the Vatican this month as his personal secretary Mgr Georg Gänswein prepares to climb in. One of the two custom-made editions of the Kangoo Maxi ZE model is for use by the pope and the other by the Vatican police force. The roof over the back seats of the pope’s white car opens and the side windows are removable, so it can be used as a popemobile; it also has a retractable step to make it easier to get in and out of the vehicle. On a full charge, they said, the pope’s car can cover 170km. (Photo from Renault)

The Holy See goes iPope

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HE Vatican has teamed up with technology giant Apple to develop new hitech methods for communicating the works of Pope Benedict to the world.

“It represents an enormous step on the international stage because, as you know, Internet goes beyond space and time,” said Fr Giuseppe Costa, the director of the Vatican’s publishing house Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

“The message of the Holy Father will now be received in every part of the world,” he added.

Apple will now work alongside the Vatican to produce eBooks and iTunes tracks of Pope Benedict’s weekly general audience, the Catholic News Agency reported.

In recent months the pontiff has used his

weekly address to explore the theme of prayer in the story of salvation. His latest volume, “Prayer in the New Testament”, is already available in print form. The new eBook format will be accompanied by illustrations from the Vatican’s art collections.

“The illustrations are of great value also in the electronic version as readers can access the book as they like. They can zoom in and out to examine the images and compare them with the texts for their own personal meditation,” Fr Costa said.

Initially the commercial agreement with Apple will focus only on the pope’s weekly catechesis. But the Vatican publishing house says that if the project proves popular, more of Pope Benedict’s extensive catalogue of writings could be offered electronically.

Pope’s image problem on the web

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OPE Benedict is having a hard time getting his message across—even on the web, and even in Italy, reports Vatican Insider.

Using a software programme to analyse data relating to Italian websites, including social media, Italian company Reputation Manager compared the digital identities of Pope Benedict and the Dalai Lama.

The research was carried out using three elements: personal image, religious life and communication.

Results showed that the web, videos and social networks all appear to give a “balanced” image of the Dalai Lama, whereas

descriptions of the pope were “emotional and negative”.

Almost half of online content relating to the pope (48,74%) has a negative tone and a prejudicial impact; only 7% of the content is positive though generally lukewarm and lacking enthusiasm; the rest of the content is neutral.

The Dalai Lama on the other hand, is significantly more popular on the web, with 26% of online content positive. Only 8% is negative but not prejudicial, “because the emotional impact of the words used are generally balanced, both in terms of positive comments and in terms of negative ones,” the researchers said.—cathnews

Your favourite Catholic newspaper was seen outside St Peter’s basilica in the Vatican when Southern Cross news editor Claire Mathieson held a recent issue on St Peter’s Square and at a papal audience in the Paul VI Hall. Ms Mathieson was in Rome for a conference on social communication hosted by the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross.

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The Southern Cross, September 19 to September 25, 2012

LOCAL

Zuma hails Christian role in struggle

BY MATHIBELA SEBOTHOMA

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St Kizito children’s programme in Bethlehem, Free State, handed over the keys to newly constructed houses for child-headed families across Tseseng village in QwaQwa. The houses, built with funding from the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference’s Aids Office, were handed over to the most needy families in the community. The children’s programme also provides services to orphans and vulnerable children in the area including HIV/Aids education, general and psychological health care, child protection, vocational training and household economic strengthening. For more information on the project contact: stkizitocp@gmail.com

Baptism at Fatima shrine filmed

BY VUSI TUKAKHOMO

T

HE baptism of a dozen infants at Kimberley’s Fatima shrine was filmed for possible inclusion in a documentary on Catholic services in the Northern Cape.

Fr Sebogodi Jabetla baptised 12 babies and also officiated in the renewing of pledges of 49 young people in the Fatima Chiro Youth movement. He also introduced nine newly inducted mothers to the Order of the Franciscan Secular Sodality of Francis of Assisi.

The event was livened up by enthusiastic singing, dancing, swaying and prayer recitals by a large gathering of Catholic congregants.

Fr Jabetla preached a homily based on humility. He admonished people who neglect individuals of low standing at the expense of those who own flashy motor vehicles and have high social standing.

“Trust in God without any fear or doubt. We all have wrong tendencies. That is the way of the world which we should strive to overcome,” he said.

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RESIDENT Jacob Zuma paid tribute to Sr Bernard Ncube, a former member of parliament, hailing her as a “highly regarded heroine and veteran of our struggle for freedom and democracy”.

The 77 year-old former Companion of St Angela nun, who was born May Zellie Benedict Ncube, died on September 7 in Johannesburg. She had joined religious life in 1955.

Sr Ncube’s memorial service and requiem Mass was held at Regina Mundi in Moroka, Soweto, a church that is synonymous with the liberation struggle.

“She gave her life to the Church in 1955 when she entered the Companions of Angela religious community.

In joining the convent, she demonstrated that she was destined to serve humanity,” said Mr Zuma in his eulogy.

“When she later joined the struggle for liberation, her family would have realised that their loved one had a calling that was far greater than anything they had imagined,” he said.

Mr Zuma cited a long list of religious leaders who contributed significantly in the struggle, including Archbishop Dennis Hurley, Fr Smangaliso Mkhatshwa and Fr Albert Nolan OP. “These progressive clerics realised that we needed a new theology that took into account the deplorable living conditions of the majority and the need for their total liberation from colonial oppression and apartheid,” Mr Zuma said.

“One of their significant interventions was the production of the Kairos Document.

This call to churches emphatically rejected the system of apartheid on biblical grounds, and mobilised many of our people to join the struggle on the side of the oppressed.”

Mr Zuma noted that Christian anti-apartheid activists “were castigated by conservative peers who thought differently and were persecuted by the apartheid state machinery”.

Companions of Saint Angela bid farewell to Sr Bernard Ncube who died September 7 in Johannesburg.

“Sr Bernard felt more pressure as she was a woman and a nun, which brought about its own additional stereotypes and expectations of behaviour.

She defied those stereotypes and became a formidable leader in her own right,” Mr Zuma said.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Sr Ncube was instrumental in the formation of local women’s organisations in the then Transvaal province. She founded the Federation of Transvaal Women, and in 1984 became its president. The federation was later affiliated to the United Democratic Front.

She was able to link up with the ANC in exile, to relay messages and ensure synergy between what was happening inside the country and externally.

Sr Ncube was detained six times, including a threemonth period in solitary confinement under the emergency regulations of 1986. Her case came to international attention, along with that of other detainees Fr Mkhatshwa and Zwelakhe Sisulu, former editor of the SACBC-sponsored New Nation newspaper.

She was later arrested with a number of others and charged with sedition and subversion; the state withdrew the charges when they could not be

substantiated.

In March 1986, three petrol bombs were hurled at the convent of Our Lady of Peace at Kagiso near Krugersdorp, where Sr Ncube lived with other members of her religious order.

Despite constant threats and numerous attempts on her life, she poured her heart and energy into her Christian and political work. She continued providing shelter, fighting for quality education for black children in townships, and fighting for the recognition of the rights of black people, and black women in particular.

She continued leading and mentoring many younger women leaders in the liberation struggle, including Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane, mineral resources minister Susan Shabangu, and ANC stalwart Jessie Duarte.

After 1994 Sr Ncube served as a member of parliament, and also as mayor of West Rand municipality. As a parliamentarian she stirred controversy in the Catholic Church when she voted in favour of the legalisation of abortion.

Yet, previously she noted her opposition to family planning, saying it was “a strategy to destroy our family fabric. It is a safe way of murdering the nation.”

Marriage day to be celebrated in churches O

BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

CTOBER will see a special focus on marriage in the local Church as the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference Life Desk launches a new campaign to foster support for marriage in the wider Church.

Family Life Desk’s Toni Rowland said the campaign will culminate on October 7. It was originally suggested by the bishops of Africa following the 1994 Synod as an appropriate day to reflect on the sacrament of marriage. The 2012 theme is “Marriage and You”.

Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria said the project is a “moment of grace for us all, a time for renewal of our commitment to being family in the Church as Family of God in Africa”.

The archbishop said he encourages dioceses, parishes

and couples to use the opportunity well.

“As we together celebrate the sacrament of marriage and then enter the Year of Faith, may your love for one another and for God deepen,” he said.

Mrs Rowland said the Family Life Desk had made many resources available for parishes and couples on topics such as marriage preparation; marriage enrichment; and faith sharing for couples, widowed, divorced, young and older couples.

Parishes are encouraged to embrace the theme but to keep the programme as “simple but as comprehensive as possible, being conscious of the fact that marriage is for everyone, not just couples”. Mrs Rowland said parishes should invite all groups to participate and to be conscious of the different types of marriage situations which may include interdenominational,

remarriage and the possible need for convalidation where couples have not been married in church.

Parishes are encouraged to incorporate the theme into the liturgy as the celebration day approaches and on October 7, to invite those not yet married in church to exchange vows for validation of marriages.

“A renewal of vows and baptismal promises and praying a Family Commitment Prayer is a way to include everyone,” said Mrs Rowland. “Give a special marriage blessing to the couples and possibly a small token like a prayer card,” she suggested. n For more information on resources available and ideas, contact Toni Rowland on 011 462 7472 or e-mail info@marfam.org.za. Additional material will also be posted on www.marfam.org.za/blog for downloading.

LOCAL

Cancer survivor acts for the poor

Band together for the Year of Faith

BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

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OCAL Catholics are encouraged to embrace the Year of Faith with wrist bands representing the Catholic faith as every diocese, parish and Catholic school prepares to renew the faith.

“Wrist bands are extremely popular and a wonderful symbol of identifying who we are. To this end I designed a band for the Year of Faith to remind us of our commitment to our Catholic faith, and as a visible symbol of this New Evangelisation—a symbol to remind us that as Catholic Christians we must be witnesses to the presence of Christ in our lives,” said Fr Desmond Royappen of St Joseph’s parish in Durban.

The Year of Faith will be run from October 11, 2012 to November 24, 2013.

The special bands are yellow, emulating the Vatican flag colour, and feature the words “Credo Domine” meaning “Lord, I believe”.

The bands also feature the symbol of the fish—a symbol used to denote the Christian faith during difficult times of the early Church.

“Another reason why I have chosen the symbol of the fish is because the Greek word for fish, Ichthus, is an acronym for “Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Saviour”.

Fr Royappen said during the Roman persecution, the symbol of the fish was a sign of recognition between Christians. “If two strangers met and were unsure whether the other was a Christian, one would draw an arc in the ground and if the other were a Christian, they would complete the symbol with a reverse arc, forming the outline of a fish.”

The bands also come with a special prayer and commitment card.

“The special prayer card is blessed

by Cardinal Wilfrid Napier,” said Fr Royappen.

“Our hope is that every Catholic wears this special Year of Faith band as a symbol of commitment to their faith. Let us remember what St Peter tells us: ‘Stand up…strong in faith.’

This would be an awesome witness and a powerful symbol of Catholic unity,” he said.

n The bands cost R10 each and can be ordered through the local dioceses and parishes.

BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

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CANCER survivor has dedicated his life to helping others through the establishment of an organisation that assists families in Cape Town.

“A few years ago I was diagnosed with a stomach cancer. I thought that my life was over, especially since my mother died of cancer. But I decided to fight and not give up,” said Janusz Zukowski. “Because of my strong beliefs, my prayers were answered.”

The cancer survivor said he believes strongly in helping others, and in 2006 he and his family created “The Family Uplift Programme” to support poor communities in Cape Town.

“In our community, we took a part in cleaning streets, collecting recycling materials for the children

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OR more than 18 years, the Care Ministry has been answering the call to support those infected and affected by HIV/Aids in the Eastern Cape. But with the recent withdrawal of finances from local funders, the ministry has been unable to offer the much-needed assistance required in the area.

The work of the Care Ministry is conducted by 95 volunteer caregivers and the funding helps provide on-going training, mobilisation, mentoring, supervision, healthcare kits, stipends, stress relief and wellness management programs.

This enables at least 900 infected patients and orphan and vulnerable children to receive homebased care and psycho-social sup-

port monthly in 17 communities in the Eastern Cape.

But due to a R1,3 million shortfall, at least 50 volunteer care-givers will be unable to receive their monthly support, including their training, stipends and health care kits, said the ministry’s finance director, Moira Boshoff. In addition, “approximately 500 patients, including orphans and vulnerable children, will not receive care and support and approximately 2 000 people will not be assisted with referrals to health clinics and social services”.

Ms Boshoff said when poor people in the Eastern Cape become infected with Aids, “more often than not they receive little or no support from their community which, in itself, suffers from deprivation, insufficient health

of Masiphumelele Primary School, organising a soup kitchen, standing against crime by taking our members and marching to the local police station, helping job seekers, teaching children to swim, collecting clothing and delivering it to poor people,” said Mr Zukowski.

“For the last two years I have asked the Polish community of Cape Town to collect clothes, blankets and other useful materials to help survive a cold, wet and windy winter. The response was fantastic and we managed to collect many bags.”

This year the organisation delivered the goods to St Norbert’s church in Kommetjie, where parish priest Fr Vijil Joseph O. Praem passed them on to the most needy in the community.

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Fr Vijil Joseph stands with items for the poor, collected by the Polish community in Cape Town.

Mr Zukowski said it is important that both local and foreign visitors to the country support the poor. “Especially as Christians, we should give more attention to those in need.”

Zoo walk planned for Little Eden

BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

For more information contact 031 303 1890 or stjosephdbn@iafrica.com

Care needed for Eastern Cape

BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

The Southern Cross, September 19 to September 25, 2012

care facilities, high rates of unemployment, poverty and crime”.

She said the Care Ministry addresses this dire situation.

Ms Boshoff said the ministry was in need of funds that would help continue this “vital care and support work in our communities by sponsoring a volunteer each month,” which amounts to between R800 and R1 250 per month.

Donations would be greatly appreciated and “we will even introduce you to the volunteer that you have chosen to support, if you wish,” said Ms Boshoff. n To donate: Standard Bank account number 08 039 5082, Port Elizabeth branch 05001700, account holder: Care Ministry. For more information visit www.careministry.org.za or contact 041 365 1135.

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ITTLE Eden, the home for intellectually disabled children in Edenvale, Johannesburg, is hosting its second annual Happy Feet Fun Walk at the Johannesburg Zoo on Saturday, October 6.

The 5km-walk is suitable for the whole family. “We want you to put on your brightest shoes and socks and come walk for children who can’t,” said the home’s Hanneli Esterhuysen.

Little Eden cares for 300 children and adults, most of whom were abandoned or come from indigent families who are unable to provide any support—financial or otherwise. They are completely dependent on the home to provide their every need.

“Most of our residents stay with us until they die. Some residents have been with us for over 40 years and for many, Little Eden is the only home they will ever know,” said Ms Esterhuysen.

She said the work Little Eden

Dowerglen Primary School students during the Little Eden walk last year. does, and events such as these “develop and enhance the quality of life for persons with intellectual disability of all races and creeds entrusted to us”.

The event starts at 9am and costs R80 per person which includes entry to the zoo. There are prizes for the most original footwear. n For more information call Kathy Horn on 011 609 7246 or email fete@littleeden.org.za

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The Southern Cross, September 19 to September 25, 2012

INTERNATIONAL

Whole Church still must heal the wounds of abuse T

BY CINDY WOODEN

HE “most tragic wound” of clerical sexual abuse will not heal without a response from the entire Catholic Church—hierarchy and laity together—according to the chief Vatican investigator of abuse cases.

“I think that slowly, slowly, slowly we are getting toward a response that is truly ecclesial—it’s not hierarchical, it’s the Church.

We are in this together, in suffering [from] the wound and trying to respond to it,” Mgr Charles Scicluna told Vatican Radio.

The monsignor, whose formal title is promoter of justice in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, spoke to Vatican Radio during a conference in England titled “Redeeming Power: Overcoming Abuse in Church and Society”.

Mgr Scicluna told Vatican Radio the conference was an important part of the ongoing conversation about how to empower all members of the Church to prevent abuse and promote accountability.

“We are accountable not only to God, but to each other and to our peers in how we respond to difficult questions, including sin and crime,” he said.

The monsignor said Pope Benedict is setting an example for the whole Church when he discusses the abuse crisis, repentance and reform of Church norms with bishops, priests and laity.

Marie Keenan, a social worker and psychotherapist who has worked with perpetrators and survivors of clerical sexual abuse, told Vatican Radio that the Church has been slow in responding to the abuse crisis, “but I think that we’re moving in the right direction and I

think this conference is part of that”.

Ms Keenan, who lectures at University College Dublin, said she is concerned that clerical sexual abuse is sometimes seen as “a problem of individuals, either individual perpetrators who were devious and managed to get through the doors” of the seminary undetected, “or bad or erring bishops who didn’t have the right heart or spirit or intellect or knowledge or something”.

She said that without addressing broader issues—such as at relationships and structures of power within the church and determine how they may have contributed to the crisis—the Church risks placing too much trust in the important psychological tests designed to “screen out deviants”.

Relying exclusively on the tests is dangerous, she said, because “some of these men chose an abusive road not because they were deviants to begin with, but because something happened to them in the course of their life, either in formation or priesthood or living their life that wasn’t picked up on and with which they weren’t helped adequately”.

At the same time, “even with the same formation and the same lifestyle, many, many men don’t turn to abuse”, so there must be a recognition that Church culture hasn’t caused everyone “to use their power position in an abusive way”.

Sr Nuala Patricia Kenny, a pediatrician and retired professor of bioethics in Canada, said recent cases of abuse and sexual scandal convinced her that “we had not finished the job” of addressing clerical sexual abuse.

“The Church, in the area of

policies and protocols, surely now has become a world leader,” she said, but “we have been a slow learner on this one”.

Catholics, she said, need to reflect on the question: “How does power and our sense of Church, how has the inactivity of the laity, our inability to have good, positive, loving experiences between priest and people in our Church that would make us a healthy Church—how has all of that made us continue to deny, to fail to accept the difficult challenges” posed by the abuse crisis?

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eanwhile, US Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City-St Joseph, Missouri, was convicted of one count of failing to report suspected child abuse and acquitted on another count.

Judge John Torrence issued a suspended a sentence of two years’ probation. The charges carried a possible maximum sentence of one year in jail and a fine of up to $1 000.

“I will pledge, both personally and in my capacity as bishop, to take every reasonable step to protect children from any abuse or misconduct perpetrated by clergy, diocesan employees or volunteers,” Bishop Finn said in a statement after the verdict. “I regret and am sorry for the hurt that these events have caused.”

He is the highest ranking US Catholic official to face criminal charges related to child sex abuse.

Bishop Finn, 59, was indicted last October on the misdemeanour charges of failing to report suspected child abuse to state authorities after a computer technician discovered child pornography on a computer used by a priest.—CNS

Bishop Fabio Colindres Abarca of the military ordinariate of El Salvador celebrates Mass with members of a gang at the prison of Izalco. Bishop Colindres helped broker a truce in March that is putting an end to the violence carried out by two notorious rival gangs. (Photo/Ulises Rodriguez, Reuters/CNS)

Vatican hires crime expert to fight money laundering

BY CAROL GLATZ

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N an effort to comply more fully with international standards against financial criminal activity, the Vatican has hired an outside expert in combating money laundering and financing terrorism.

René Brulhart, a 40-year-old Swiss international lawyer, started working as a consultant to the Vatican in September on “all matters related to anti-money laundering and financing of terrorism”, Vatican Radio reported. Mr Brulhart’s “role is to assist the Holy See in strengthening its framework to fight financial crimes”.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said in a written statement that the appointment is “a powerful sign of [the Vatican’s] commitment to work in this direction”.

A report by European finance experts released in July said the Vatican had passed its first major test in becoming more financially transparent and compliant with international norms. But the report

by Moneyval said there were still critical loopholes that needed tightening and other “important issues” to be addressed.

Finding an experienced professional was critical because Moneyval’s recommendations “are highly technical elements that require someone with highly technical knowledge”, said a source familiar with the situation.

Mr Brulhart is vice-chair of the global Egmont Group network, which brings together national Financial Intelligence Units that collect and analyse information on suspicious or unusual financial activity.—CNS

Terrorists aim to ‘split Nigeria’

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HE Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria has warned that the Islamic Boko Haram sect is probably planning to split Nigeria.

“The patience of Christians especially in the North has been tried and tested for too long now through the unprovoked and senseless killing of Christians” by Boko Haram, said Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, the bishops’ conference president. He called on the gov-

ernment to curb the sect’s actvities “through the proper use of intelligence and expertise available to government and security agencies both within and beyond Nigeria”.

He said that the major motive behind the Boko Haram attacks is to cause sectarian violence and ultimately disintegrate Nigeria. He called for a collaborative effort of Nigerians to resist that agenda.

“We must collectively resist the attempt to pitch Northern

Nigeria against Southern Nigeria, Christians against Muslims,” said Archbishop Kaigama.

“As spiritual leaders, we will continue to supplicate God for peace, reconciliation and justice in Nigeria,’’ he said.

The archbishop Jos, in a region affected by sectarian violence, noted that the escalating violence in Nigeria is due to the proliferation of dangerous weapons through porous land and sea borders.

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HE Ten Commandments are a gift from God to help people live a correct relationship with God and with others, Pope Benedict has said.

“God gave us the commandments to educate us about true freedom and authentic love so that we could be truly happy,” he said in a video message played in Rome’s Piazza del Popolo.

The big public square in Italy’s capital was the site of the launch of “Ten Piazzas for the Ten Commandments”, a project of the Italian charismatic renewal movement, the Italian bishops’ conference and the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelisation.

The project—evenings of reflection, music and dance— will focus on a different commandment in a different city each month.

Pope Benedict said people may ask what sense the Ten Commandments have today in cultures heavily marked by secularism and relativism.

The answer, he said, is that

the commandments are “a sign of the love of God the Father [and] his desire to teach us the correct discernment between good and evil, true and false, just and unjust”.

Those who ignore the precepts taught in the Ten Commandments not only move away from God, but they move away from lasting happiness.

“Man left to himself, indiffer-

ent to God [and] proud of his absolute autonomy, ends up following the idols of selfishness, power [and] domination,” which in turn poison relationships with others, he said.

On the other hand, he said, “accepting the infinite love of God”, trusting him and obeying the Ten Commandments “gives deep meaning to one’s life and opens a future of hope”.—CNS

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, September 19 to September 25, 2012

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Why Marian devotion collapsed in many places after Vatican II

BY CAROL GLATZ

D

EVOTION to Mary “collapsed” in some parts of the United States and elsewhere after the Second Vatican Council even though the council fathers had upheld her critical place within the Catholic faith, according to a leading US expert in Marian studies.

The council’s decision to integrate a draft text on Mary into a larger dogmatic text, Lumen Gentium, rather than publish it as a separate document, sent an unintended message to the rest of the Church, Holy Cross Father James Phalan, president of the Mariological Society of America, said in a presentation at an academic conference in Rome.

Even though bishops felt Mariology, like the Church as a whole, needed to be renewed in light of tradition, liturgy and the Bible, later an “overly rationalist” historical approach reduced the role of the Holy Spirit and marginalised most forms of devotion, he said.

Worsening the problem, he said, was the timing: post-Vatican II coincided with the upheaval of the 1970s when religious traditions and beliefs were being intensely questioned or completely dismissed by

society. Marian devotion “was caught up in this confusion” and there was a drop-off in practice and study, he said.

“The apparent change in emphasis on the Blessed Virgin contributed to a full-scale collapse of Mariology that has had very notable effects on the life of the Church,” he said.

Fr Phalan, who is also director of Family Rosary International, was one of the scholars, experts and theologians speaking at the 23rd Mariological Marian International Congress held in Rome this month.

In light of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, the talks focused on “Mariology since the Second Vatican Council: Reception, Results and Perspectives”. More than 300 people from 37 countries attended the meeting, which was sponsored by the Pontifical Marian International Academy.

The council fathers had drawn up what Fr Phalan called “the most complete and conclusive doctrinal statement about the Blessed Virgin Mary ever written” and made it the final chapter of Lumen Gentium, the 1964 Dogmatic Constitution on the Church.

Its placement within a docu-

A statue of Mary on the roof of the Wedding Church in Cana, Israel.

(Photo: Günther Simmermacher) ment about the Church as the body of Christ underlines the council fathers’ vision of Mary “in relation to Christ and the Church”, not as someone separate or independent of Christ and the Church, he said.

“The council fathers wanted us to see Mary as identified with the

Church,” a notion Pope Benedict has often repeated, saying that Mary, as a personification of the Church, should be appreciated and imitated in her contemplative and personal relationship with Christ, Fr Phalan said.

Cardinal Angelo Amato, president of the congress and prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, said Vatican II was a “momentous watershed moment for Marian discourse”—steering it away from “every undeserved doctrinal and devotional exaggeration”, which would put Mary on equal ground with the Lord.

Rather, it upheld her unique, yet human role in God’s plan of salvation; she is “the living vessel who, in receiving, transmits the salvation of Christ”, he said.

The Church teaches that salvation only comes from God in Jesus Christ, he said, but the human being must still be open and receptive to that grace. Any sense of Mary being “co-redeemer” must be understood as cooperating “with”, not being “equal to” Jesus, because God the Father generates salvation and Mary, the mother, is the recipient of that gift.

“This is the theological reason to affirm the reality of Mary and the

‘Marian principle’ in the Church,” the Italian cardinal said.

While popular piety may have suffered in some parts of the West, Cardinal Amato said Popes Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict did much to enrich and invigorate Marian reflection and tradition.

Pope Benedict has promoted attachment to Mary as a way for the faithful to draw closer to Christ.

While Catholics must not exaggerate or over-sentimentalise her role, he told pilgrims at the Mariazell shrine in Austria in 2007, Mary “is a creature of courage and of obedience...an example to which every Christian—man and woman—can and should look”.

In light of the upcoming Year of Faith and the call for new evangelisation, Mary can again play a critical role, Fr Phalan said.

“She was the first evangelist,” showing Jesus to the world, starting with the shepherds and wise men.

And she is a model for all Christians in understanding what faith is and how to accept and participate in salvation, Fr Phalan said.

Given the troubled world of today, he said, “the love and mercy of God that flow through Mary” must be “even more present as part of evangelisation today”.—CNS

Pope: Know the Gospel to spread it

BY CINDY WOODEN

C

HRISTIANS must trust in the power of the Gospel to awaken people’s consciences and promote reconciliation—but that can happen only if they hear the Gospel first, Pope Benedict has said.

“Faith is the most important gift that we have been given in life; we cannot keep it just for ourselves,” the pope said during a meeting with 92 bishops ordained in the past year and named to dioceses in the Church’s mission territories.

The new bishops were participating in a seminar, ending on September 15, often referred to as “New Bishops’ School”, sponsored by the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.

Of the 92 missionary bishops, 63 were from Africa, 17 from Asia, six from Latin America and six from Oceania.

Meeting the bishops in his summer villa at Castel Gandolfo, Pope Benedict said he prayed that their trust in the Lord always would be rock solid; “the Church is his and he is the one who will guide it in times of difficulty and in times of serenity.”

The people and countries in the Church’s mission lands are

Pope Benedict greets pilgrims after praying the Angelus from the balcony of the courtyard of the papal villa at Castel Gandolfo.

(Photo: Paul Haring, CNS) feeling the brunt of the global social and economic crises, the pope said, and the Church in those areas is particularly involved in responding to the emergencies caused by rising food prices, famine, and poor access to health care and education.

In addition to dealing with

natural disasters, he said, many of their people face “cultural and religious discrimination, intolerance and bias, which are the fruit of fundamentalisms... that lead to undervaluing, if not denying, the right to religious freedom and respect for the weakest.”

Despite all the challenges, the pope said, the Church must continue to live and share the Gospel, offering salvation to others and trusting in faith’s power to renew society, to awaken consciences and to promote reconciliation and unity.

The missionary bishops’ gathering was designed to be a mix of prayer, reflection on the spiritual and pastoral responsibilities of a bishop, and advice on practical matters ranging from their relationship with various Vatican offices and congregations, to guidance in upholding Church norms and laws.

Other topics on the agenda included missionary work, communications, interreligious dialogue, defending family life, Catholic social teaching, a bishop’s relationship with his priests and promoting collaboration with laity.—CNS

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6

The Southern Cross, September 19 to September 25, 2012

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

The leadership battle

T

HE next few weeks will be of long-term importance for the future of South Africa as local branches and regions of the African National Congress deliberate and then vote on the future leadership of their party at its elective conference in Mangaung in December.

It is a process that concerns every South African, regardless of political affiliation.

Because of the ANC’s electoral strength, its president is virtually guaranteed to lead South Africa after the next general election, scheduled for 2014.

Five years ago a bitter contest between the factions aligned to Jacob Zuma and Thabo Mbeki respectively tore the ANC apart.

Many of Mr Mbeki’s supporters, after the president’s unceremonious dismissal, went on to found the Congress of the People.

The supporters of Mr Zuma in 2008 are now deeply divided, with the tone of the contest threatening to again destabilise the party—and thereby the country.

The method of electing the organisation’s top office-bearers on a pre-nominated slate contributes to a sense of virtual parties within the ANC campaigning for state power, to the exclusion of non-members.

Lately some ANC leaders have argued against the slate process, evidently aware that this method exacerbates divisions and limits the flexibility that is necessary in assembling a talented team.

Moreover, the slate system also invites the abuse of power that rewards factional loyalty and political favour over competence and personal ethics.

It is in the interests of their party and the nation that ANC branches and regions reject the slate system and demand to elect their leaders on merit.

And in choosing these leaders, the grassroots must insist on weeding out the mediocre and the corrupt.

Unlike US voters, Catholics in these structures will not face a contest between policies of life issues and social justice as they elect their political leadership; there is no likelihood that the ANC will relax the abortion law.

On policy questions, however,

such members should state their opposition to euthanasia and demand that government make available funding for organisations that offer alternatives to abortion.

The primary policy focus, however, will be on the question of social justice.

The key area of debate will be the extent to which the Zuma government has succeeded in aiding the poor and delivering the infrastructural and social services which formed a core of the Zuma slate’s platform in 2008.

At the same time, it is necessary to establish whether there has been a relationship between the party’s leadership contest and the recent surge in service delivery protests.

Should it be the case that a faction of the ANC has incited or exploited public discontent as a campaign strategy, then the party’s membership should consider whether such a grouping can be trusted with providing sound and selfless leadership.

In many ways the ANC has lost its sense of public service and instead has become a party of self-aggrandisement and entitlement, a sense that has permeated both the eras of Mbeki and Zuma.

Whether or not Mr Zuma is re-elected, the ANC membership must sound a clear warning that the present levels of corruption, incompetence and dishonesty in government will no longer be tolerated.

The grassroots must know that their power resides not only in public protests but also at the polls.

When a party fails to serve the people, then that party does not merit the people’s votes.

Few things speak as eloquently to politicians as the prospect of losing elections.

In the coming weeks a great responsibility will rest on the ANC, from the branches that meet in rudimentary structures to the air-conditioned offices in Luthuli House.

The way the party’s members vote, and the manner in which the contest for these votes is conducted, will have an impact on the whole country.

May the ANC membership arrive at an informed decision for the benefit of the greater good.

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.

High-speed cars meet alcohol RCHBISHOP Salvadore lessly permit the licensing of highACordileone, who was caught for speed vehicles on public roads, and accessibility to drive them by perdriving under the influence of alcohol (September 5), is just the latest victim of the scandalously illogical behaviour of every government I know of.

They all mischievously impose speed limits and blood-alcohol limits on the one hand, and then reck-

Never a dogma

R

EFERRING to the letter of Franko Sokolic (August 8), the issue of evolution was never a dogma.

Darwin developed his theory of evolution while on the Beagle expedition of 1831-1836. His work was presented to the Linnean Society in Oxford, together with a similar work by Alfred Wallace, in 1858.

These works were heavily criticised by Bishop Samuel Wilberforce of Oxford. Darwin’s book On the Origin of Species hit the bookstores of London in November 1859. It was not written for experts but for anyone who reads, thinks and wonders.

It may surprise many that in 1893 Pope Leo XIII published his encyclical Providentissimus Deus in which he said, in relation to the theory of evolution: “...God, the Creator and ruler of all things, is also the author of the Scriptures and, therefore, nothing can be proved, either by physical science or archaeology, that is really contradictory to the Scriptures. If then, apparent contradictions be met with, every effort should be made to remove them...Even if the difficulty is not finally cleared up and the discrepancy seems to remain, the contest must not be abandoned: Truth cannot contradict truth.”

In 1950, Pope Pius XII, in Humanis Generis, said: “The magisterium of the Church does not forbid the doctrine of evolution, in so far as it investigates the question of the origin of the human body from already existing and living matter…”

Deacon Tony de Freitas, Durban

Own beliefs aired

I

N their replies to Franko Sokolic, both Anthony Sturges and Frank Bompas (August 29) make interesting comments regarding evolution.

However, both gentleman add in their own particular beliefs—“far from being a blind force, I believe…” and “…nor is creation the result of some chance mixing of chemical compounds as a Darwinist would have you believe”.

One can deduce that, once again, Darwin (the “atheist” as many have branded him), is under fire from

The solution is very simple and cheap: limit the maximum mechanically possible speed of all vehicles to that which accords with the legal speed limits and with the ability of the average driver to handle a vehicle when somewhat intoxicated.

The benefits to other citizens, both social and economic, would far outweigh the frustrations of drunk or ambitious drivers.

Chris Shelmerdine, Tretower, Wales

sons, drunk or sober, emerging from pubs and their own drink cabinets aiming to get home or to the next party as fast as possible.

Until this lunacy is exposed and halted, the number of offences and frequent carnage can only continue—or, indeed, increase.

been sure of its facts and the veracity of the rehabilitation!

The mantra of Vatican II was aggiornamento—the metaphoric opening of the windows, letting the light of knowledge into the Church, effectively dispelling ignorance.

In this sense, the Church has moved forward together with society; in rehabilitating Galileo, acknowledging she was wrong with regard to the veracity of the heliocentric model. Like it or not, we are in an average solar system, on an average star on the outer fringes of an average galaxy—one of billions.

Does this mean that we are insignificant to creation? Absolutely not, we are a very special part of creation made in the image and likeness of God but as I said in my last response—can we know the mind of the Creator or his reasons for the way in which the Creation was carried out? I think not!

To propose a model which has proven so patently wrong is absurd, as irrational as acknowledging the “Flat Earth” society—it’s ludicrous!

Mr Sokolic’s debate is high on rhetoric but rather sparing on tangible proof. Evolution (not Darwinism) does not conflict with the Father as Creator of all; the Church recognises this and it is about time you did as well, Mr Sokolic!

Tony Sturges, Johannesburg

those who have set ideas as to “how God did it”.

Darwin based his observations on “natural selection” which is in contrast to “chance mixing” or “a blind force” as mentioned above, but rather “the basic method of evolution, along with mutation, migration and genetic drift”. Please see Wikipedia’s “natural selection” on the net for a simple explanation.

Trying to figure out God’s methodology is really quite presumptuous and this is exactly Richard Dawkins’ argument which has rubbed many people up the wrong way. In Moses and St Paul, God chose two murderers to do his work on earth. Therefore, would it not be possible for God to have chosen Darwin to outline the method of how life flourished on earth?

Patrick Dacey, Johannesburg

Folly of literalism

‘T

HERE are none so deaf as those who will not hear.”

By focusing attention on some factual inaccuracies, Franko Sokolic diverts attention away from an untenable position!

The point being made by Patrick Dacey (August 22), I believe, is that reliance on an ancient theory taken out of context, and without cognisance of modern fact, is unwise to say the least.

And why shouldn’t Galileo Galilei be rehabilitated? A commission of the Catholic Church established by Pope John Paul II laboured for 11 years (1981-92) before releasing its findings and pronouncing on the rehabilitation of Galileo.

I would venture to say, given the lack of substantiation by Mr Sokolic, that this is his personal and, dare I say, biased viewpoint.

I doubt that the Church under John Paul II would have made this profound renunciation, had it not

No conflict at all

R

ACHEL Carson, the author of Silent Spring, was accused of “ignoring God”. Her reply?

“As far as I am concerned, there is absolutely no conflict between a belief in evolution and a belief in God as the Creator. Believing as I do in evolution, I merely believe that is the method by which God created, and is still creating, life on earth.

“And it is a method so marvellously conceived that to study it in detail is to increase—and certainly never to diminish—one’s reverence and awe both for the Creator and the process.”

Paul Goller, Ekurhuleni

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.

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PERSPECTIVES

The Southern Cross, September 19 to September 25, 2012

The Holy Spirit, the giver of life Mphuthumi Ntabeni A LMOST everyone, other than hard-line atheists, agrees that there is some sort of Spirit that creates and governs the universe.

The Judeo-Christian faith goes beyond this vague realisation by personalising this creative force, and calling it the Holy Spirit. Christ further revealed that the Holy Spirit is part of the Godhead, and is the third Person of a triune nature of God. The Holy Spirit creates, gives and renews life. I like it when St Paul says that the Holy Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. It is through the Holy Spirit that humanity gets an idea of God’s plans in creation. Christ refers to the Holy Spirit by titles such as the Advocate, the Comforter, the Teacher, and so on. Not only that, it is the Holy Spirit that convinces us about the futility of sin; that is, how things can never work out outside God’s plan.

The Church gives special attention to the Holy Spirit during Pentecost. That feast has its origins in Judaism.

The Festival of Weeks, also known as the Day of First Fruits, was a festival of joy and thanksgiving, celebrating the completion of the harvest season.

Known as Shavuot, it was the second major feast of the Shalosh Regalim, the Three Pilgrimage Festivals, for which all able-bodied Jewish males were required to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem (Passover is the first one, Sukkot, or the Feast of the Tabernacles, the third).

The Festival of Weeks was, and still is, celebrated as a Sabbath, a rest day from ordinary labours and the calling of a holy convocation.

The feast took its name from the Lord’s specific command to the sons of Jacob that they were to count seven sevens of weeks (49 days) from the second

day after Passover, and then on the “morrow”, a feast was to be observed (Leviticus 23:16). That brings the total number of days between the feasts to fifty—hence “Pentecost”, which in Greek means “fiftieth day”. And that is what Hellenistic Jews called the feast: Pentecost.

On the occasion of the feast, the children of Israel would bring the first fruits of wheat to the Temple. They would wave sheaves back and forth, creating a loud noise like that of a mighty, rushing wind.

Jewish prophets, Jeremiah in particular, always promised that there would come a time when the Lord would give the people his Spirit to dwell in their hearts.

A painting at an old Franciscan convent in Copacabana, Bolivia, shows the Holy Spirit descending upon disciples in native Bolivian dress. (Photo: Octavio Duran, CNS)

Reflection on the Apostles Creed – Pt 9

The Feast of Weeks, the Pentecost, of the Old Testament then is the festival which foreshadows the giving of the Holy Spirit. On Pentecost, fifty days after Jesus rose from the grave as the First Fruits of all who die, the Holy Spirit is given.

At the end of Luke’s gospel, Jesus tells the apostles to wait in Jerusalem until they were clothed with power from on high—the Holy Spirit.

But we must not forget that every Divine Service is a Pentecost. Mass is a Divine Service instituted by Christ to share with us his divine nature, hence the Word of God is preached and the Holy Spirit is given. When the Body and Blood of Christ is distributed, the Holy Spirit is given. And in the giving of the Holy Spirit, you have been made one with the Father and the Son for all eternity.

The Holy Spirit is probably the most hidden, most ordinary, of God’s gifts to creation. We hardly recognise its working in our lives, choosing to talk about luck or coincidences.

The Holy Spirit is at the centre of everything: driving, directing, renewing and fulfilling all things according to the plan of God in Christ. This is why Christ could tell his followers that when the Holy Spirit would come, it would “teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 4:26).

In his eternal wisdom God left a crack in everything for the Holy Spirit to get in and unite all according to the purpose of God in Christ.

Patriarchy is not the source of all evil Cardinal Wilfrid Napier OFM

T

HE question is almost daily on our lips: “What has happened to modern man?” Why has he become so violent, so brutal in his treatment of other men, let alone his callous violation of woman, the very one in whose hands he drew his first breath and from whom he sucked his first nourishment?

It’s a question that cannot be answered without reference to today’s “in” philosophy of life—“political correctness”.

I can hear the protests already: “What?

Political correctness? What has PC got to do with male violence, brutality and callousness?” My answer is brief and pointed: “Everything!”

And this is how I justify my answer.

Just look at what man is being subjected to today. At every turn he is being told he is responsible for everything that is wrong in society, from “exclusive language” to “male domination” to “the oppression of woman by giving her too many children” to “forcing her to stay at home to look after ‘his’ brood” to “denying her the opportunity to lead the family and indeed society” to “keeping her out of key decision-making processes affecting the nation and country”, and so on. At every turn he is being told he is nothing but trouble.

Of course this is not the fault of every single man, but of manhood as such, because they and they alone invented “patriarchy” and have forced it on woman from day one! It’s no wonder that modern man is but a pale shadow of the magnificent creature, who after his creation by God together with woman was approved of and admired in the words: “...and God saw all that he had created and indeed it was very good”.

In God’s plan it was together with woman that man was given his purpose for being. And a big part of that reason for being was for him to have a partner who would complement and complete him in his very being as man, just as he would complement and complete her in her being as a woman. “Be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth and have dominion over it.”

It was in this partnership of being one flesh joined together by God that man was to manifest the image and likeness of God in him and in the woman. Together they were to participate in every aspect of life.

In particular they were destined to enjoy God’s regular company: “In the cool of the

Talking Frankly

Men at prayer. In the first of his monthly column, Cardinal Napier argues that men should not be blamed for all the ills in the world. (Photo: Paul Haring, CNS) day God came into the garden to be with the man and the woman. When he did not find them he called out: ‘Where are you?’”

I

t was the answer to this question by God, that revealed to us the deeper reason for the continual conflict between man and woman.

In the Genesis story that conflict begins with the man blaming the woman, and the woman blaming the serpent. That was the beginning of a very long history of man and woman seeking to exonerate themselves of all responsibility by blaming someone or something else. From a faith perspective that was and still is the effect that sin has on every aspect of human life.

And as long as we don’t acknowledge that basic fact, we will continue to be blind and unable to discover the answer to what our sinful and selfish nature drives us to do to each other.

When President Jacob Zuma blamed HF Verwoerd for the failure of the Education Department, he was playing out a modern version of the Genesis story. When Julius Malema blames Mr Zuma, he is taking the blame game to another level.

The end result is that we have a whole nation of people who are completely incapable of accepting the first truth, namely that every human being, male and female, is subject to sin, as well as the second, that the only way to freedom from sin is acknowledging and confessing our responsibility for the sins we commit.

In the course of history that blaming has taken on many different forms. In the case of our region of Africa, the dominant forms have been slavery, colonialism,

imperialism, racism, apartheid. Today it is taking the form of comrade deployment, cronyism, nepotism, and so on.

But when it comes to male-female relations, the current predominant form of blaming is patriarchy. This nebulous, illdefined concept is used to paint man as utterly soulless, heartless, all out to dominate, to brutalise and to exploit woman, at every opportunity and in every possible way. It is assumed to be true, and to be man’s evil design to make life as easy and carefree for himself as possible. All responsibility has been shifted over to woman, while he enjoys the life of Riley! Something has to be done to restore the order of things. So patriarchy has to be eradicated once and for all. Woman must be equal to man in everything and in every way possible! That’s the bottom line!

But is that the truth?

The truth revealed by God is that although man and woman were created in his image and likeness, that image and likeness was tarnished and even destroyed by their original sin of disobedience, which they committed by eating of the forbidden fruit.

That act of disobedience destroyed not only their relationship of friendship and familiarity with God, but also the harmony and peace of their life together. From that moment forward everything between man and woman was, and continues to be, fraught with misunderstanding, mistrust, tension and conflict.

Their sin was henceforth to dominate and dictate every aspect of their life, until such time as they would respond positively to God’s act of compassion, mercy and love in sending his Son Jesus as the Saviour who would bring them back into a loving and caring relationship with each other and a filial love and closeness with him.

That’s the challenging project of life facing every person. And until we embrace it with faith and commitment, we will continue to flounder hopelessly, still blaming everyone and everything other than ourselves.

Raymond M Mwangala OMI

7

Point of Reflection

Only dialogue can bring transformation

C

LOSE to 20 years after the fall of apartheid, transformation of economic and social structures has been painfully slow and has not yet begun to bear fruit.

Millions who were poor and marginalised under the former system find themselves excluded from the benefits of society and are treated badly with impunity by former comrades.

Patience has all but run out.

The perspective from the side of the poor and marginalised is very different from that on the side of those who have made it economically.

The poor are fighting for survival. The wealthy are concerned about image, reputation and profit. The two sides must be helped to reconcile. But there can be no reconciliation without justice.

In Rerum Novarum (1891), the first social encyclical of the Church, Pope Leo XIII protested strongly against the harsh conditions which industrial workers had to endure. The content of this document remains relevant today, especially when one listens to the plight of mine workers.

What has happened at Marikana is the result of the exploitation of poor workers. And as long as conditions do not improve, we will continue to see such violent protests by workers.

The Church today needs to intervene in this volatile situation before more life is lost. It needs to stand with the poor and exploited. This represents a moral stand.

We need to reject the notion that labour is a commodity to be bought at market prices determined by the law of supply and demand, rather than by the human needs of workers. Human labour cannot be reduced to a commodity because to do so is a denial of human dignity and a reduction of the worker to the status of a thing.

This is shameful and inhuman.

The poor are not mere numbers, statistics; they are human beings. The state and organs of the state should protect workers and not oppress them by suppressing legitimate protest.

The Church must also be ready to remind the poor of their duties and obligations. Not every action can be justified even if the desired end is just. Violence and destruction of property does not serve to transform conflict situations. As has been experienced before in this country and elsewhere, violence only breeds more violence with the poor being the worst affected by lawlessness and chaos.

What must be done? Dialogue between parties. Only honest and open dialogue can lead to agreement and transformation. Both workers and employers must be encouraged to sit down and openly discuss matters.

The state must ensure that policies are developed which ensure justice for all. Receiving a just wage must not be dependent on the benevolence of employers. It is right for every employee.

Structures must be created that ensure that this is implemented otherwise opportunistic politicians will take advantage of the existing void for selfish personal interests.

Dialogue is not easy, but we must not tire of it.

The Church must promote dialogue that leads to social transformation at the structural level. This way the poor will be empowered and a better future for all will be made possible.

8

The Southern Cross, September 19 to September 25, 2012

Fr Mari Joseph OCD and the men from Lady of Loreto parish in Kempton Park, Johannesburg, at Good Shepherd Retreat Centre in Hartbeespoort, Johannesburg.

The youth from Don Bosco hostel assisted with cleaning at Langa Shelter, Cape Town. The young men are taught various life skills at the Salesian Institute Youth Projects and are guided towards becoming productive citizens in their communities.

Seven young Catholics received Holy Communion at Martyrs of Uganda parish in De Aar diocese. They are with Fr Douglas Sumaili (left), Sr Mary Kewute OP and catechist Margaret Belu.

COMMUNITY

The faithful venerate the relics of St John Bosco at St John Bosco church in Robertsham, Johannesburg. The relics toured South Africa in June/July this year. St John Bosco is the founder of the Salesian order.

The temporal professed brothers and sisters from different congregations and orders at a formation workshop at Red Acres Centre, Pietermaritzburg.

38 altar servers, including six new members, of St Clare’s parish in Elsies River, Cape Town, with parish priest Fr Job Kaleekaparampil.

Members of the CWL Roodepoort, Johannesburg, got together to make baby blankets for Divine Mercy Home on the West Rand. (From left) Sue Hamilton, Roan Reeks, Peggy Proctor and Marlene Botha.

Spiritan Father Anthony Igbokwe Amadi celebrated his silver jubilee of ordination at St Anthony’s church in Randfontein, Johannesburg. The chief celebrant was retired Archbishop George Francis Daniel with 17 priests concelebrating the Mass.

Fr Amadi’s new book, A 21st Century Priestly Message: My Silver Jubilee Reflection, was launched.

A new branch of the Catholic Women’s League was established in Nongoma, Eshowe. The new recruits are pictured with CWL diocesan chaplain Fr Boniface Kamushishi OSB.

Bishop Patrick Mvemve anointing a confirmation candidate with Chrism oil during confirmation at St Peter’s parish in Christiana, Klerksdorp diocese.

27 candidates were confirmed.

Six new members were initiated into St Annes’s Sodality at St Anne’s mission in Mpophomedi, Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal. (Back centre) Fr Jude Fernando TOR, Deacon Seraficus Nzimande TOR, president and vice-president of St Anne’s sodality.

Catechist Lesley-Ann Alexander, parish priest Fr Joseph Puliyilakat MSFS, catechist Ryan Ravells and Deacon John Sheraton with the children of Queen of Peace church in Grassy Park, Cape Town, who made their First Holy Communion.

Thoko Mulungwana of the Catholic Womens League at St Michael's church in Meadowlands, Johannesburg (left), celebrating with fellow league member Ida Steyn, who won a prize for coming first in the 65-year category for 15km distance, in the annual 702 Walk The Talk.

ST GERARD’S HOLY TOURS

PILGRIMAGE TO PORTUGAL, SPAIN & FRANCE JULY 2013 9 nights’ accommodation in 3-star centrally-located hotels as follows:- (Transport through Portugal, Spain and France via private bus)- 2 nights Fatima (Portugal); 1 night in Central Spain; 3 nights in Lourdes; 1 night Central France; Nevers (St Bernadette); 2 nights in Paris - Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, St Vincent de Paul and Church of Miraculous Medal.

Spiritual Leader Father Job MSFS

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Youth confirmed

by Bishop Thaddeus Kumalo at St Benedict’s cathedral in Eshowe.

Fr David Mthiyane, parish priest, and the First Holy communicants of St Benedict’s cathedral in Eshowe.

FAITH

The Southern Cross, September 19 to September 25, 2012

9

The domestic pilgrim: a soul provider Against the odds, an exceptional Durban Catholic woman has saved up to go on several pilgrimages, joyously strengthening her faith, as CLAIRE MATHIESON reports.

W

ITH just a Standard Two education and a career as a domestic, the odds were against Olga Sidudla Simelane becoming a well-known name in the archdiocese of Durban—but that is where her faith and her journey in life have become an inspiration to many women as she shares her stories of pilgrimage, self-fulfilment and spiritual growth.

The Catholic Women’s League in Durban described Ms Simelane as a woman of faith and courage, as she has seen personal tragedy and hardship, yet has risen above her circumstances and sought to enrich her life through her faith and travel.

She lost her first-born, Vincent, at an early age and spent all her earnings on giving her second son, Innocent, a good education. He was tragically killed in Cape Town at the age of 25. “I paid for his body to be flown back to Durban and gave him a full funeral and burial,” she said.

It is here in the 60-year-old’s journey that one learns how important self-sufficiency is, how handouts, donations and contributions have only served as inspiration to Ms Simelane to achieve by herself.

“I have no other family at all,” she said, but Ms Simelane is more interested in providing for the soul than being a sole provider. From her humble work as a domestic to the same family for 29 years, Ms Simelane has travelled to some of the world’s most famous pilgrimage sites.

Ms Simelane is a proud woman.

She owns her house in Chesterville and pays for everything from the

Pilgrim Olga Sidudla Simelane, centre, with colleagues Brenda Servitius and Nikki Wells of the Holy Trinity Catholic Women’s League in Durban. The image on her T-shirt is of Our Lady of Guadalupe. wage she earns. She admits to not being “too proud to wear my employer’s second-hand clothing”, but this motivates her to save a portion of her wage every month to afford exactly what she wants.

And what she wanted in 2008, after hearing of a trip to Egypt by her employers, was to travel the lands of the Bible. “My employers suggested that I find out if my church was going on anything soon.” She did, and was soon saving to join a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Egypt led by Emmanuel cathedral administrator Fr Stephen Tully.

“It was my first plane trip, my first holiday outside the country, my first stay in beautiful hotels and I learnt so much about Jesus, his birth and my Catholic faith,” Ms Simelane recalled. “From then

on I saved, worked and prepared for the other trips.”

Since then, Ms Simelane has travelled to the Vatican and Assisi in 2011, and to Mexico and Our Lady of Guadalupe this year. Next year, she will travel to Fatima, Paris and Lourdes.

M

s Simelane says the pilgrimages have been life-changing.

“Going on a pilgrimage has healing powers and has given me hope, faith and love. I have been healed and am a stronger person for it. I can now face life every day,” she said.

There have been many highlights for the Emmanuel cathedral parishioner, from renewing her baptism in the River Jordan where Jesus was baptised, to seeing the cave in Bethlehem where Mary,

Joseph and baby Jesus hid from King Herod before their flight to Egypt. She says she has been profoundly moved by them all.

“In the Holy Land I put my hand in the hole where Jesus’ cross was placed when he was crucified.

I felt disbelief that it was me doing this,” Ms Simelane told The Southern Cross. “The Garden of Gethsemane left me feeling sad because this is where Jesus prayed and sweated blood.”

In Assisi, a place she described as the “most peaceful and tranquil place I have ever been to”, she knelt and prayed at St Francis’ tomb holding her St Francis cord.

In the Vatican she saw the tombs of Paul and Peter, and the pope in an open-top car. And in Mexico she found wonderment in the fact that the “country is so poor yet

the people never give up hope as the Catholic faith is so strong”.

Pilgrimages have become an important part of the 60-year-old’s life. She learns, makes new friends and grows in her faith.

And with the help of her employer, the memories have been recorded. “My employer lent me a camera for my first trip and then when I returned and had saved enough, he told me where to get the best price for a good digital camera and that is how I have so many wonderful memories of my trips, with three photo albums of all the places I have visited.”

Ms Simelane is very careful with her money. She lives by the rule that it is better to save and buy with cash, often getting a better deal because of it.

“My employer helped me by telling me how and where to invest my money so I watched my money work for me. Once you start then it becomes a habit and not difficult.”

She sets goals and works hard towards achieving them. When she’s not plotting her trips to pilgrimage sites, Ms Simelane can be found busying herself in bible study, in the St Francis Sodality of the cathedral parish and, most recently, delivering motivational talks to members of the Catholic Women’s League in Durban.

Her knowledge of the Bible is “unbelievable, and that is what made her story even more exciting”, said CWL member Cynthia Jones.

Ms Simelane told the group about her experience following the path Jesus had walked in the Holy Land. “Here I was, a nobody, walking with my black feet exactly where Jesus walked—I was shocked!” She realised that “if I can do it, me a simple housekeeper, anyone can”.

Ms Simelane has found spiritual fulfilment, personal experience and joy in her travels and recommends anyone who is interested in “feeding your soul” to start saving and go on a pilgrimage. “Anyone can do it!”

A JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME!

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10

The Southern Cross, September 19 to September 25, 2012

FOCUS

Religion and the American presidency The election campaign for the US presidency is now in full swing, with Mormon Mitt Romney’s religion being one issue.

PAUL SANCHEZ looks at the religion of past US presidents, including Barack Obama’s Catholic connection.

A

LTHOUGH 24% of the US population is Catholic, John F Kennedy, who was elected in 1960, has been the only Catholic president.

Incredibly, the Disciples of Christ—a small denomination also known as “The Christian Church” whose 910 000 members in the US constitute only 0,33% of the American population— have had three presidents: James Garfield, Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan.

Two other Catholics have earned the nomination of a major party.

New York Governor Alfred E Smith was the Democratic nominee in 1928 (he was defeated by Herbert Hoover), and Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts won the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination and was defeated by President George W Bush.

Current Vice-President Joe Biden is the first Catholic to serve in that position. With this year’s Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney having selected Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as his running mate, for the first time in US history there is a Catholic on both presidential tickets.

Catholic vice-presidential candidates have in the past been on the losing ticket.

The first Catholic to be selected for the vice-presidential slot by one of the major two parties was former New York congressman William E Miller who was chosen as Barry Goldwater’s running mate on the 1964 Republican ticket.

Four years later 1968 Democratic nominee Hubert Humphrey selected Edmund Muskie, a Catholic, to be his running mate.

R Sargent Shriver, a brother-inlaw of President Kennedy and a Catholic, was on a ticket with George McGovern, the 1972 Democratic presidential nominee.

Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro of New York City, also a Catholic and the first woman

From left: First Catholic presidential candidate Alfred E Smith, John Kerry (Catholic), John F Kennedy (Catholic), Joe Biden (Catholic), Barack Obama (went to Catholic primary school), Paul Ryan (Catholic), Geraldine Ferraro (Catholic), Ronald Reagan (Catholic father), Edmund Muskie (Catholic), Sarah Palin (baptised Catholic, now Protestant) ever to be selected as vice-presidential nominee by a major party, ran with Walter Mondale in 1984.

Sarah Palin, selected as John McCain’s running mate on the 2008 Republican ticket, was actually baptised a Catholic, but shortly thereafter her family left the Catholic Church and began to attend non-denominational Christian churches.

The number of Catholics who have sought unsuccessfully the presidential nominations of the Democratic and Republican parties in the last 50 years is far too numerous to list.

President Barack Obama, who attended the Santo Fransiskus Asisi Catholic School for two years in Indonesia, is not a Catholic. However, his grandfather, Onyango Obama, was raised a Catholic in Kenya and was a practising Catholic before he converted to Islam while serving in foreign destinations during a stint in the British armed forces.

President Obama’s father was raised a Muslim, but converted to Christianity and changed his name from Baraka to Barack when he was six. He later became an atheist.

Although both his parents were atheists, President Obama himself is a believer, belonging to the Trinity United Church of Christ.

our small numbers into consideration. My family was definitely proud of both Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan.”

Lyndon Johnson, the 36th president of the United States who served from 1963-1969, was a Disciple of Christ for all of his adult life. Originally raised a Baptist, at age 15 he became a Disciple of Christ after being baptised in 1923 after attending a summertime revival meeting at a Disciples of Christ church in Johnson City, Texas.

The teenage Johnson felt that the beliefs of the Disciples were more in accordance with his own views than was the Baptist faith of his family. Though a devoted Disciple of Christ from his late teen years to his death, Johnson and his wife, the former Claudia “Lady Bird” Taylor, were married in an Episcopal (Anglican) church

T

he fact that there have been three presidents who were members of the Disciples of Christ is a sense of pride for many of the denomination’s faithful.

Elizabeth Ann Raymond, who lives in New York and grew up in Virginia, has been a Disciple of Christ for her entire life. “I know we are a small group compared to other Christian denominations, but to have three of our members elected president of the United States is a great and quite unique accomplishment when you take

Lyndon B Johnson, US president from 1963-69, and Lady Bird Johnson pose with daughter Luci, a convert to Catholicism, before her August 6, 1966, wedding at the basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. (Photo: Reni Newsphotos, courtesy of Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception)

in 1934; throughout their 49-year marriage, Johnson would occasionally accompany his wife to services at Episcopal churches.

S

imilarly, when Luci, one of his two daughters, converted to Catholicism at age 18 in preparation for marriage to her Catholic fiancé, President Johnson was known to frequently accompany his daughter to Catholic Mass on Sundays.

Johnson frequently made unreported nocturnal visits to St Dominic’s Church in Washington; after Johnson’s death there were reports that his daughter Luci had urged him to pray to her “little monks” at St Dominic’s for guidance in his handling of the Vietnam War. Luci Johnson and Patrick Nugent were married in a highprofile ceremony during her father’s presidency at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, later made a Basilica in 1990, in Washington, DC. The wedding marked the first time that a president had ever visited the Shrine. The couple had four children, were divorced, and their marriage was annulled by the Catholic Church in August 1979.

While at his Texas ranch both during his presidency and afterwards, Johnson would occasionally attend Sunday mass at St Francis Xavier Catholic church in his hometown of Stonewall and then attend a Disciples of Christ service on the same day.

The priest at St Francis Xavier was German-born Fr Wunibald Schneider who is reported to have been a close confidant and adviser to President Johnson, both on personal and political matters, during his presidency and afterwards.

Twelve years after Lyndon Johnson left office another Disciple of Christ, Ronald Reagan, was sworn in as the nation’s 40th president in January 1981.

Reagan was the product of a

mother who was a Disciple of Christ and a father who was Catholic. Reagan was baptised in his mother’s faith and remained a Disciple of Christ throughout his adult life, though he attended services at a Presbyterian church in the final 12 years of his life and became a dues-paying member of the Bel Air Presbyterian Church in California. with his funeral service held at that church.

Reagan’s older brother, Neil, was baptised a Catholic and although he attended a few Disciples services with his mother early on, he affirmed his Catholic faith in his youth and was a lifelong practising Catholic who was active in the Church.

Ronald Reagan’s first wife, actress Jane Wyman, from whom he was divorced in 1949, converted to Catholicism in 1953 and later became a Third Order Dominican and was buried in a nun’s habit in 2007.

Passionist Father Paul Fagan of Westchester County, New York, feels that the question of there being only one Catholic president has to be examined in both a historical and modern perspective.

“For a long time the culture of our country was suspicious of the Catholic Church. I think there was a fear that if a Catholic were made president then he and the pope would have too much power together,” he said.

“I also think that Catholic politicians remained more local in their work, perhaps feeling more comfortable in a smaller setting rather than the national stage. I think our, the Church’s, struggle to be accepted is not unlike other groups that have been represented by a president, whether it be women, AfricanAmericans, Jewish people or others.”

He added: “Sometimes it is just fear about someone or something that we do not understand.”

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BLIND READERS OF

A group of readers is preparing audio tapes of excerpts from The Southern Cross, including editorials, selected articles, and regular features, as well current affairs in the Church. Anyone wanting to receive tapes as part of this service, available for an annual subscription fee of only R50, is invited to contact Mr Len Pothier, ‘High Timbers’, 13 Bisschop Road, Hout Bay 7806 or phone 021-790 1317.

The Post Office will deliver and return tapes without charge. Should you know of any interested blind person, please inform them of this service.

The Southern Cross, September 19 to September 25, 2012

Fr George Purves OMI

F

ATHER George Purves was born on January 29, 1931, in Pietermaritzburg. He attended St Charles College where he matriculated and where his love of sports was nurtured. He was very good in running marathons and later on as a priest, golf was his main sport.

He joined the Oblate novitiate in 1952 and made his first vows in 1953. He then went to St Joseph’s Scholasticate, Cedara, for his philosophy and theology studies. He made his perpetual vows in 1959 and was ordained a priest on December 6, 1957.

Word of the Week

SENSUS FIDEI: “sense of the faithful”. A supernatural appreciation of the faith (sensus fidei) shown by the universal consent in matters of faith and morals manifested by the whole body of the faithful under the guidance of the Magisterium (92). Application: The dogma of the Immaculate Conception came about due to a sensus fidelium shared by the faithful and the Magisterium.

Fr Purves worked in various parishes in the archdiocese of Durban and the diocese of Umzimkulu, namely St Mary’s, Pietermaritzburg, Maphumalo, Ntshongweni, Stanger Bellair-Queensburgh, Lamontville, Port Shepstone, Emmanuel cathedral, Umbilo, Bergville, Inchanga and Woodlands-Montclair. He also served as provincial superior in the province and as superior of Sabon House.

When he retired he endured ill-health for a number of years. He died on the eve of the Assumption of Our Lady, August 14. His requiem Mass was celebrated in Assumption parish, Umbilo.

Liturgical Calendar Year B Weekdays Year 2

Sunday, September 23, 25th Sunday Wisdom 2:12, 17-20, Psalm 54: 3-6,8, James 3:164,3, Mark 9:30-37 Monday, September 24, St Stephanie Proverbs 3:27-34, Psalm 15:2-5, Luke 8:16-18 Tuesday, September 25, feria Proverbs 21:1-6, 10-13, Psalm 119:1, 27, 30, 34-35, 44, Luke 8:19-21 Wednesday, September 26, Ss Cosmas & Damien Proverbs 30:5-9, Psalm 119:29, 72, 89, 101, 104, 163, Luke 9:1-6 Thursday, September 27, St Vincent de Paul Ecclesiastes 1:2-11, Psalm 90:3-6, 1214, 17, Luke 9:7-9 Friday, September 28, St Wenceslaus Ecclesiastes 3:1-11, Psalm 144:1-4, Luke 9:18-22 Saturday, September 29, Ss Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 or Revelation 12:7-12, Psalm 138:1-5, John 1:47-51 Sunday, September 30, 26th Sunday Numbers 11:25-29, Psalm 19:8, 10, 12-14, James 5:1-6, Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

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Southern CrossWord solutions

SOLUTIONS TO 516.

ACROSS: 4 Spirits, 8 At noon, 9 Angelic, 10 Athens, 11 Amends, 12 Monastic, 18 Lies down, 20 Deluge, 21 Trader, 22 Austral, 23 Pedant, 24 Majesty. DOWN: 1 Mahatma, 2 Anthony, 3 Points, 5 Pinnacle, 6 Reeled, 7 Triads, 13 Telecast, 14 Cordial, 15 Ingrate, 16 Medusa, 17 Subtle, 19 Street.

Pray that AFRICA may draw closer to the HEART OF CHRIST 2 Chron 7:14 Matthew 7:7-12

CLASSIFIEDS

11

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 (R1,25 a word) with small advertisements for promptest publication.

DEATH

JONES— In loving memory of Llew who passed away peacefully on 3rd September 2012. You will always be remembered by your loving wife Pat and all the family.

IN MEMORIAM

ANTHONY—In loving memory of Mrs Leah who passed away September 18. A loving mother gone to rest, for all of us she did her best. Rest on dear mother.

Your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, sons-in-law, daughters-inlaw, all other families and friends. Psalm23. Mary da Silva.

BLAND—Anne Patricia. In loving memory of my dear wife, our mother and grandmother who Our Lord called home eight years ago on September 26, 2004. Time passes but the ache never goes away. We love and miss you and Tracy each and every day and you are both in our hearts and thoughts continually. Rest in peace and may Our Lord and His Beloved Mother Mary hold you always close.

Love Ken, Carol, Jennifer, Mathew, Paul, grandchildren, family and friends.

WIENAND—John. In loving memory of our dear brother who passed away September 10, 2004. Always in our thoughts and prayers. Lovingly remembered by your sisters Dolly and Joan. Rest in peace.

PERSONAL

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PRAYERS

HOLY SPIRIT beloved of my soul, you who solves all problems, lights all roads so that I can obtain my goal.

You who gave me the divine gift to forgive and forget all evil against me and that in all instances of my life, you are with me. I want this prayer to thank you for

all things as you confirm once and again that I never want to be separated from you ever in spite of all material illusion. I wish to be with you in eternity. Thank you for your mercy towards me and mine. Amen. VC (name request) then 3 Our fathers, 3 Hail Mary’s, 3 Glory be’s.

Say this prayer for three consecutive days after which the prayer will be granted, even if it may be difficult. Publication promised, without mentioning the favour. DR

THANKS

GRATEFUL thanks to St Anthony for much help received, always. Publication promised. PVE.

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ACCOMMODATION

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 CAPE TOWN: Fully equipped self-catering, 2bedroom apartment with parking, in Strandfontein R400 or R480 (low/high season) (4 persons per night) Paul 021 393 2503, 083 553 9856, vivilla@ telkomsa.net FISH HOEK: Self-catering accommodation, sleeps 4.

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GORDON’S BAY: Beautiful en-suite rooms available at reasonable rates. Magnificent views, breakfast on request. Tel: 082 774 7140. bzhive@telkomsa.net KOLBE HOUSE is the Catholic Centre and residence for the University of Cape Town. Beautiful estate in Rondebosch near the university. From mid November, December and January, the students’ rooms are available for holiday guests. We offer self-catering accommodation, parking in secure premises. Short walks to shops, transport etc. Contact Jock 021 685 7370, fax 021 686 2342 or 082 308 0080 or kolbe.house@telkomsa.net KNYSNA: Self-catering accommodation for 2 in Old Belvidere with wonderful Lagoon views. 044 387 1052.

LONDON, Protea House: Single per night R300, twin R480. Self-catering, busses and underground nearby.

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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 MONTAGU: Victorian selfcatering cottage for families.

Fully equipped 3 bedrooms, sleeps 5-7 people, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, T.V. lounge, braai patio with stunning views, garden for dogs and kiddies. Secure parking and central. Reasonable rates.

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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.

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Published by the proprietors, The Catholic Newspaper & Publishing Co Ltd, at the company’s registered office, 10 Tuin Plein, Cape Town, 8001.

The Southern Cross is published independently by the Catholic Newspaper & Publishing Company Ltd. Address: PO Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000. Tel: (021) 465 5007 Fax: (021) 465 3850 www.scross.co.za Editor: Günther Simmermacher (editor@scross.co.za), Business Manager: Pamela Davids (admin@scross.co.za), Advisory Editor: Michael Shackleton, News Editor: Claire Mathieson (c.mathieson@scross.co.za), Editorial: Claire Allen (c.allen@scross.co.za), Mary Leveson (m.leveson@scross.co.za) Advertising: Elizabeth Hutton (advertising@scross.co.za), Subscriptions: Avril Hanslo (subscriptions@scross.co.za), Dispatch: Joan King (dispatch@scross.co.za), Accounts: Desirée Chanquin (accounts@scross.co.za).

Directors: C Moerdyk (Chairman), C Brooke, P Davids, S Duval, E Jackson, B Jordan, M Lack (UK), Sr H Makoro CPS, M Salida, G Simmermacher, Archbishop B Tlhagale OMI, Z Tom

Opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect those of the editor, staff or directors of The Southern Cross.

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26th Sunday: September 30 Readings: Numbers 11:25-29; Psalm 19: 8, 10, 12-15; James 5:1-6; Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48 E have this dangerous tendency to think we know it all, and we can control God’s agenda; so we have to stop and listen to what God is actually saying to us.

Consider, for example, your reaction to next Sunday’s first reading. The story is that God has generously offered his spirit to 70 of Moses’ companions, with the result that they “prophesied”, which presumably means some kind of ecstatic activity.

A congregation of the small-minded then ensues, culminating in Joshua saying to Moses: “Lord, Moses, stop them!”

Moses shows a grandpaternal wisdom in his reply: “Is it for me that you are showing jealousy? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets! Would that the Lord would give his spirit to them all!”

You do not get God’s gifts because you have deserved them; you get them because God is God and because God’s middle name is generosity.

W

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God, not us, is truly the one in charge Nicholas King SJ

Sunday Reflections

That is the point the psalm is making: “YHWH’s Law is perfect,” it sings, “it restores the soul; the decree of the Lord has integrity, it gives wisdom to the simple.” It is, quite simply, a generous and unconditional gift, as is the grace of being kept free of “heedless failings...unknown faults”.

We long to be in control, and to feel that we have earned God’s gifts; but that luxury is not given us. Our task, this week, is to exclaim with the psalmist, “O Lord, my rock and my redeemer,” and leave it at that.

The standard example of those who think they are in control is, of course, the wealthy¸ who have the illusion that they can buy all the things that matter.

And in the second reading for next Sunday, James follows his by now familiar social justice agenda, exhorting the rich to “weep and wail over the humiliations that are coming upon you”.

Then he takes their symbols of being in control, their bank balances and their smart clothes, and declares: “Your affluence has gone putrid; your suits have been eaten by moths; your gold and your silver have gone rusty, and their rustiness is evidence against you and will eat up your flesh like fire.”

And why is this? Because they were so convinced that they were in control that they robbed their own employees: “Look!

The wages of those who mowed your lawns, of which you deprived them, are shouting against you; and the cries of your harvesters have entered the ears of the Lord of hosts.”

They are publicly denounced: “You have condemned and murdered the just.” What is the answer? The same as for all of us: we have to realise that God is in charge.

The three levels of discipleship N IKOS Kazantzakis, the author of Zorba the Greek, once suggested that there are three kinds of souls and three kinds of prayers: • I am a bow in your hands, Lord, draw me, lest I rot.

• Do not overdraw me, Lord, I shall break.

• Overdraw me, Lord, and who cares if I break!

When I look at life, I also see three great struggles, not unlike those so poetically named by Kazantzakis. And each of these has a corresponding level of Christian discipleship.

What are those great struggles and those levels of discipleship? There are three major phases in our human and spiritual journey: • Essential discipleship: the struggle to get our lives together.

• Generative discipleship: the struggle to give our lives away.

• Radical discipleship: the struggle to give our deaths away.

Essential discipleship and the struggle to get our lives together is our initial task in life. Beginning with our first breath, we struggle to find an identity and to find fulfillment and peace there.

We are born in a hospital and soon taken home to where we have parents, a family, and a place that’s ours. This period of our lives, childhood, is intended by God and nature to be a secure time.

As a child, our major struggles have not yet begun. But that will change dramatically at puberty.

Simply put, puberty is designed by God and nature to drive us out of our

Conrad

Donations and volunteers and prayers always welcome

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

homes in search of a home that we ourselves build.

And it generally does its job well! It hits us with a tumult and violence that overthrows our childhood and sends us out, restless, sexually-driven, full of grandiose dreams, but confused and insecure, in search of a new home, one that we build for ourselves.

This struggle, from being restlessly driven out of our first home to finding a place to call home again, is the journey of essential discipleship.

Normally we do find our way home again. At a certain point, we land. We find ourselves “at home” again, namely, with a place to live that’s our own, a job, a career, a vocation, a spouse, children, a mortgage, a series of responsibilities, and a certain status and identity.

At that point, the fundamental struggle in our life changes, though it may take years for us to consciously realise and accept this. Our question then is no longer: “How do I get my life together?”

Rather it becomes: “How do I give my life away more deeply, more generously, and more meaningfully?” At that stage, we enter the second phase of discipleship.

Generative discipleship and the struggle to give our lives away is a stage most people reach sometime during their twenties or thirties, though some

take longer to cross that threshold.

Moreover, the crossover is never pure and complete, the struggle for self-identity and private fulfillment never completely goes away; but, at a certain point, we begin to live more for others than for ourselves.

Generative discipleship begins then and, for most of us, this will constitute the longest period of our lives. During all those years, our task in life is clear: How do I give my life away more purely, more generously, more generatively?

But being the responsible adults who run the homes, schools, churches and businesses of the world is not the final stage of our lives. We still must die; the most daunting task of all.

And so our default line must shift yet again. There comes a point in our lives, when our real question is no longer: “What can I still do so that my life makes a contribution?” Rather the question becomes: “How can I now live so that my death will be an optimal blessing for my family, my Church, and the world?”

Radical discipleship and the struggle to give our deaths away is the final stage of life. As Christians, we believe Jesus lived for us and died for us, that he gave us both his life and his death.

But we often fail to distinguish that there are two clear and separate movements here: Jesus gave his life for us in one movement, and he gave his death for us in another. He gave his life for us through his activity, through his generative actions for us; and he gave his death through his passivity, through absorbing in love the helplessness, diminutions, humiliations, and loneliness of dying.

Like Jesus, we too are meant to give our lives away in generosity and selflessness, but we are also meant to leave this planet in such a way that our diminishment and death is our final, and perhaps greatest, gift to the world.

Needless to say, that’s not easy.

Walking in discipleship behind the master will require that we too will eventually sweat blood and feel “a stone’s throw” from everybody. This struggle, to give our deaths away, as we once gave our lives away, constitutes radical discipleship.

When we look at the demands of discipleship, we see that one size does not fit all.

In the gospel it is John who is grabbing for control. Like Joshua in the first reading, he thinks he knows who should be allowed to cast out demons, and complacently tells Jesus: “Teacher, we saw someone exorcising demons in your name, and we stopped him, because he was not one of our disciples.”

Gently but firmly, this firebrand has to be told: “Don’t stop him; no one who performs an act of power in my name is going to be able quickly to badmouth me.” What counts is not power or control, but the simple act of giving a cup of water in Christ’s name.

Jesus exhorts his doubtless astonished disciples that if they find they are using their eyes or feet or hands to exercise power or control, they are to cut them off: “It is better to go maimed into life than to go with two hands into Gehenna, into the inextinguishable fire.”

There must have been a terrible silence among the disciples at the end of this tirade; but we are not in charge.

Southern Crossword #516

ACROSS 4. Cheerful in good alcoholic liquors (7) 8. Time when sun is highest (2,4) 9. Aquinas’ doctoral title (7) 10. Greek capitalist’s home town (6) 11. Make these in compensation (6) 12. Most I can do to be like a monk (8) 18. What wild animal does with the kid (Is 11) (4,4) 20. The Flood (6) 21. One of those Jesus drove from the Temple (6) 22. Kind of wind from Down Under? (7) 23. Panted about one concerned with detail (6) 24. His, her or your royal title (7)

DOWN 1. Holy man of India (7) 2. Saint for the lost (7) 3. Four arguments on the compass (6) 5. A clean pin at the top (8) 6. Danced and staggered (6) 7. Trinities (6) 13. Means of seeing pope on home TV (8) 14. Some concord I allowed is friendly (7) 15. No thanks from him (7) 16. Mythological woman made us, having snakes as locks (6) 17. Delicate bustle (6) 19. It was named Straight (Ac 9) (6)

Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

O

NE summer, a drought threatened the crop in a small town. The village priest told his congregation: “There isn’t anything that will save us except to pray for rain. Go home, pray, believe, and come back next Sunday ready to thank God for sending rain.”

The people did as they were told and returned to church the following Sunday. But as soon as the priest saw them, he was furious.

“We can't worship today. You do not yet believe,” he said. “But,” they protested, “we prayed, and we do believe.”

“Do you?” he asked.

“Then where are your umbrellas?”

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