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C.S. Lewis’ influence still felt today
Exorcisms in SA: Fighting off evil spirits
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Bishops: Secrecy Bill fails the country BY BRONWYN DACHS & CLAIRE MATHIESON
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A mother and her child enjoy a day in the park. All mothers are honoured in special ways on Mother’s Day, which is on May 12 this year.
Bishops approve new translations for Afrikaans Eucharistic prayers BY STEPH JORDAN
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HE Afrikaans translations of the Eucharistic Prayers I-IV have been made available after having been approved by the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) in January. According to Fr Vernon Meyer, generalsecretary of the Afrikaans Language Pastoral Region, a subsidiary of the SACBC, the revised Afrikaans prayers form part of a process to integrate the use of “people’s home language”. “Instead of discouraging people from worshipping in their home language, others should see that Afrikaans can be a worship language,” said the priest, a member of the Oratory of St Philip Neri. The use of Afrikaans in the liturgy has been a gradual process, he said. Afrikaans is mainly spoken in South Africa and Namibia, and the community of Catholic Afrikaans-speakers is not very big, Fr Meyer noted. The use of the language in the liturgy “depends on the priest of the parish and whether he is willing to allow the parish the right to be ministered to in their home language”.
He stated that Afrikaans Masses are most common in places such as Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape, Upington in the Northern Cape, Lichtenburg in the North West province, and Windhoek in Namibia. Fr Meyer noted the contribution of many people in the translations, in particular Bishop Edward Risi of Keimoes-Upington, who chairs the Afrikaans Language Pastoral Region, and Fr Martin Badenhorst OP. “The Afrikaans Language Pastoral Region meets four to six times a year to discuss and debate about the texts that we have been working on throughout the year,” Fr Meyer explained. “The translations we decide on are then sent to the Executive Afrikaans Pastoral Region where the bishops make the decision to send these translations for approval,” he said. “Because we work in increments of years, we are planning on not only finishing translations of the opening prayers, prayers over the gifts and the closing prayers but would like to translate the entire altar missal.” The prayer translations come in a 54page booklet, in large print, in either black or red at R80 each.
HE Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference has expressed regret that parliament has passed the Protection of State Information Bill—popularly known as the Secrecy Bill—which expands protection for state secrets. The bishops noted that South Africa needs greater openness, not more secrecy, to fight corruption. The bishops urged President Jacob Zuma, who must sign the Protection of State Information Bill before it becomes law, to refer it to the Constitutional Court for deliberation in order to “protect the democracy which we all cherish”. The Bill “lacks a full public interest defence and will thus make the fight against corruption more difficult”, the bishops said in a statement, signed by conference president Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town. Referring the Bill to the Constitutional Court will help to avoid “a prolonged and expensive court battle”, the bishops said. Section 79 of the Constitution allows for the president to refer a Bill to the Constitutional Court for a decision, if he has doubts about a bill’s constitutionality. Last year Mike Pothier, research director of the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office, said that Mr Zuma should avoid the extreme expense, time and effort by sending the Bill to the Constitutional Court. Mr Pothier added at the time that it would also save the government from the potential embarrassment of having the Court overturn the Act. Opposition parties and civil society organisations have said they intend to launch a legal challenge should Zuma sign the Bill.
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he controversial Bill was first passed by lawmakers in November 2011 and returned this time after amendments were made by the National Council of Provinces. The bishops objected to the revised Bill on four main counts, saying: • It lacks a full public interest defence and will thus make the fight against corruption more difficult. To fight corruption we need more openness not more secrecy; • The Bill allows for the decision to classify information to be delegated to a staff member of a sufficiently senior level without indicating what such level may be. This risks a situation in which classification decisions are taken by fairly low-ranked officials. • The definition of “national security” is
A banner opposing the Secrecy Bill hangs on the facade of St Mary’s cathedral in Cape Town, opposite parliament. It reads: “The Truth will set you free (Jn 8:32). Say NO to the Secrecy Bill”. (Photo: Günther Simmermacher) still too wide. • The penalty clauses provide that severe punishment (up to 25 years in prison) can be imposed if someone discloses a secret which the person “knows or ought reasonably to have known” would benefit a foreign state. This, in effect, creates an excessive penalty for a possible negligence crime. The bishops welcomed some amendments to the Bill, saying that in the new Bill “it is more difficult for minor state functionaries and departments to classify information as secret”. They also welcomed that a limited public defence has been included on the basis of a revelation of any criminal activity and that the clause empowering the Bill to override the Promotion of Access to Information Act has been dropped. While the Bill remains an “unsatisfactory piece of legislation”, its journey has been an object lesson in cooperation and engagement between civil society and parliament, the bishops said.
Israel’s president to pope: Visit Holy Land, the sooner the better BY CINDY WOODEN
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SRAELI President Shimon Peres has officially invited Pope Francis to Israel, telling the pope “the sooner you visit the better, as in these days a new opportunity is being created for peace, and your arrival could contribute significantly to increasing the trust and belief in peace”. The Israeli president’s remarks were reported in a statement released by the Israeli embassy to the Vatican after Mr Peres met Pope Francis. Mr Peres left the meeting at the Vatican telling the pope: “I am expecting you in
Jerusalem—and not just me, but all the people of Israel.” Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi SJ told reporters: “The pope would be happy to go to the Holy Land,” although there are no concrete plans for the trip. The Vatican said that during their halfhour private conversation, the pope and the president discussed “the political and social situation in the Middle East, where more than a few conflicts persist”. Pope Francis and Peres expressed hopes for a resumption of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians so that “with
courageous decisions and availability on both sides, as well as with the support of the international community, an agreement that respects the legitimate aspirations of the two peoples can be reached,” the statement said. Mr Peres met the pope in the library of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace; with the assistance of an interpreter the two spoke privately for about half an hour before the Israeli president introduced members of his entourage to the pope and the two leaders exchanged gifts. Talk about a possible papal trip to the
Holy Land already circulated in March after Pope Francis met Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. Several news reports said the Orthodox patriarch had suggested that he and the pope meet in Jerusalem in 2014 to mark the 50th anniversary of the historic first step in Catholic-Orthodox rapprochement: the 1964 meeting there between Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras. Three modern popes have made pilgrimage to the Holy Land: Paul VI in 1964, John Paul II in 2000, and Benedict XVI in 2009.—CNS