130612 by The Southern Cross

The

S outher n C ross www.scross.co.za

June 12 to June 18, 2013

Communication: Keeping up with Pope Francis

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Special Catholic Education issue: June 19 Next week The Southern Cross will publish its annual

16-page CatholiC eduCation Supplement

It will look at issues such as education in the year of Faith, teacher formation, alternative measures of school discipline, teaching in a rural Catholic school, education for refugees, the world of after-care and much more...

No 4827

Introducing Catholic singer Audrey Assad

The many ways of healing

Page 4

R6,00 (incl VAT RSA)

Reg No. 1920/002058/06

SA priest named to post at the United Nations By eMIl BlASeR OP

The girls of Holy Rosary Primary School in edenvale, Johannesburg, with the help of family members, collected knitted squares which were made into blankets to be donated to edenvale Hospice to assist them keep their patients warm this winter.

Executions, rape, plunder in CAR

BISHOP in the Central African Republic (CAR) has denounced the plundering and profanations of Church missions in the country, as well as the sexual assaults carried out by Islamists in the rebel militia Séléka. “They have burned down the paediatric hospital, the Internet centre and the pharmacy. Outside of Bangassou there have been summary executions of adults and children,” said Bishop Juan José Aguirre of Bangassou. “Women are constantly being raped,” he said, adding that at least three different churches “have been plundered and profaned”. “They have stolen all of our means of transportation for visiting churches and the faithful—more than 20 cars,” Bishop Aguirre said. “I have to walk everywhere and carry my

backpack.” In an effort to respond to the situation, Aid to the Church in Need has launched an urgent campaign to raise money for the four most affected dioceses—Alindao, Bangassou, Bambari and Kaga-Bandoro. The organisation warned that militants supporting the new government being imposed by force are “extremely armed” and “smother all efforts to resist in the country”, with Christians being “their primary target”. The country has seen a widespread exodus of families, the group added, and it is primarily only priests, religious and the bishops that have chosen to stay. Séléka, an alliance of rebels, displaced the government of President François Bozizé in March. South African troops have been sent to the CAR to reinstate Mr Bozizé.—CISA

HE coordinator of the Southern African bishops’ Justice & Peace Department (J&P) has been appointed the Dominican Order’s permanent delegate at the United Nations. Fr Mike Deeb OP, who has directed the J&P department since 2008, will assume the UN delegate position as of January 1, 2014, for a term of six years. Fr Deeb will take over from French Dominican Father Olivier Poquillon who will complete his six-year term at the end of the year. He will be based at the Dominican headquarters in Rome and will work mainly in Geneva, where most UN agencies are based. He will also be required to travel to other UN centres, such as New York, Vienna, Nairobi and Bangkok. Fr Deeb, 60, described his new job as “challenging and focused”. He will be reporting to the master of the Dominicans and the order’s general council. The job involves spearheading the order’s preaching to governments, lobbying in the background and working together with other Catholic non-governmental organisations. A main focus will be on human rights issues and taking up issues being felt and dealt with on the ground by Dominicans around the world. Much effort will be put into advocacy work, networking and lobbying. A big challenge for Fr Deeb will be to put in place communication mechanisms downwards so that the Dominican family around the world can be informed about what is happening at the UN level. Fr Deeb comes to his new job with a wealth of experience. He was the international chaplain to the International Movement for Catholic Students and the international Young Catholic Students, and was based in Paris for eight years. Prior to that he worked in the diocese of Kroonstad and then served as the superior of

Fr Mike Deeb OP, who has been named the Dominicans’ permanent delegate at the UN. the Dominican study house in Cedara as well as the chaplain of the Pietermaritzburg university. The priest, who holds a degree in psychology from the University of the Witwatersrand, and an honours degree in religious studies from the University of Cape Town, was born in 1953 in Welkom. While teaching at Groenvlei High on the Cape Flats he was detained for two months in 1985 for anti-apartheid activities. He entered the Dominican Order the following year and was ordained in 1991. Fr Deeb said he has mixed feelings about his new ministry, saying he was initially “dismayed” when he heard about the appointment, because work at the United Nations often shows no visible results, joy or excitement. But, he added, it is an honour and a call. He said he is sad to be leaving South Africa at this challenging time after a fulfilling ministry in the J&P Department. Fr Deeb said he will leave behind in South Africa many connections and friends with whom he will now have to engage from a distance, noting that this is the life of an itinerant preacher in the Dominican vocation.

Syrian Jesuit shocked by extent of civil war By CINDy WOODeN

F The basilica of St Francis of Assisi is seen from the Rocca Maggiore, a fortress on top of the hill above the town of Assisi, Italy. Pope Francis will visit the birthplace of his namesake on the saint’s feast day, October 4. The Southern Cross pilgrimage, led by Bishop Joe Sandri of Witbank, is scheduled to walk in the pope’s footsteps six days later, a day after attending the papal audience in St Peter’s Square in the Vatican. (Photo: Octavio Duran, CNS)

OR Jesuit Father Nawras Sammour, the ongoing conflict in Syria is a professional challenge and a personal heartache. Fr Sammour is the Jesuit Refugee Service’s regional director for the Middle East and lives in Damascus. He was born in Aleppo, and his mother, brother and sister still live there, but his nieces and nephews “have all left”. Tens of thousands of Syrians have died and millions have been displaced in more than two years of fighting between President Bashar Assad’s government and rebels seeking his resignation. “Sometimes I can’t believe we Syrians have reached that level of violence,” Fr Sammour said. “I’m shocked. Shocked. We need to step back and realise that we went too far,” he said during an interview at JRS headquarters near the Vatican. In a situation that is so tense and so divided, particularly among different Muslim groups, Fr Sammour said Syria’s small Chris-

tian communities may be frightened. But with Christian aid programmes and partnerships with others providing assistance, they also enjoy a certain respect as non-partisans looking only to help others. With the help of funding from a variety of agencies, JRS has about 250 paid employees in Syria and another 300 volunteers. They visit displaced families living in shelters, abandoned buildings, mosques, churches and monasteries and provide food and basic necessities. JRS runs field kitchens that serve 20 000 meals a day. They provide medicine to the chronically ill, operate a clinic in Aleppo and provide psycho-social support to almost 5 000 children, offering them a safe environment where they can play and try to keep up with their school work. Fr Sammour said the situation in Syria “is not calming down at all. The tension is worse. People are nervous. Syria is much more fragmented, and fear is much more established in the hearts of people.” The work with the children, though, may

be the seedbed of a better future. The children come from Christian as well as Sunni Muslim and Alawite Muslim families, and the JRS team is earning the trust of their parents. “That will help with long-term reconciliation,” Fr Sammour said. The Jesuit said he and other staff members have become “more prudent” when moving around the country because of the increased risk of kidnapping. Two Orthodox bishops were kidnapped in April, as well as two priests in February, apart from hundreds of civilians. Kidnappings are committed both by “professional kidnappers” looking to make money with ransoms and by those kidnapping for political reasons, he said. According to Mgr Giampietro Dal Toso, secretary of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, which promotes and coordinates Catholic charitable giving, “some 7 million people [in Syria] are requesting help; 4,5 million are internally displaced, while the number of refugees is approaching 2 million”.—CNS

The Southern Cross, June 12 to June 18, 2013

CLC head visits SA Focus on social teaching

HE world ecclesiastical assistant of the Christian Life Community (CLC), Fr Luke Rodrigues SJ, visited South Africa where he met and inspired CLC members in Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Johannesburg. CLC is an Ignatian lay movement within the Church which welcomes all who would like to utilise the spiritual gifts and insights that St Ignatius discerned in his own spiritual journey nearly 500 years ago. Fr Rodrigues started his visit with a public meeting at Kolbe House in Cape Town where he spoke about being in Rome when Pope Francis was elected. “Those present agreed it was a special experience hearing firsthand how people reacted and especially those Jesuits living in Rome,” said one of the attendees, Veronica Wellburn. “As all CLC members follow Ignatian spirituality—we were excited to have a Jesuit as our new Pope. It was hearing from someone first-hand the process and run-up to the election...it brought the experience to us.” “It was a chance to get to

know the community better,” said Ms Wellburn. The Jesuits also conducted a workshop for members, and spent time with the national executive committee of CLC, discussing the group’s progress. “I was fortunate to spend several days in Fr Luke’s company and was struck by his ease with people, his humility and ability to explain without one feeling you were being lectured. He has a wonderful sense of humour and that was evident in his talk on the Wednesday evening and also during meetings,” Mrs Wellburn said. The international movement celebrates its 450th anniversary this year. CLC members practise a daily examen. They meet within small groups on a weekly basis, reflect and share their discernment and then set goals for the week ahead. There are opportunities for spiritual direction, and directed silent retreats and spiritual formation. n For more information about CLC contact national coordinator, Kaye Hendricks on kayeh@worl donline.co.za

Medjugorje film for SA

By RAyMOND PeRRIeR

GATHERING of leading Catholic theologians from ten African countries, met at the Jesuit Institute in Johannesburg. The focus of the meeting was to ask the question: “How is Catholic social teaching affecting the social, political and economic life of the continent?” On the first day the visitors met with South African Catholic theologians and practitioners working in various pastoral settings. Together they reflected on the impact of Catholic Social Teaching and how we can learn from each other. They broadly examined many areas of concern on the continent, from the role of women and genderbased violence, the prevalence of issues of corruption, through to the disturbing statistics of long term land rentals by Western and Eastern powers. The day ended with a celebratory Mass for Africa presided at by Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town and with Bishop Method Kilaini from Tanzania preaching. The Mass celebrated 50 years since the beginning of the Second Vatican Council and the founding of the Organisation for African Unity. In its character it was an African Mass, with readings in languages from across the continent. The chil-

FEATURE-length documentary film about the reported daily apparitions in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, is being screened in Johannesburg until June 18. The film, titled The Triumph, is shown in The Auditorium at St Augustine College in Victory Park. According to promotional material, “The Triumph investigates a modern-day miracle that has global implications. Director Sean Bloomfield and producer Zaid Jazrawi have devoted the past several years of their lives to The Triumph.” The film is set to be released on DVD later this year. The Triumph will be screened at St Augustine College at the following times: June 12-15 and June 18 at 12:00 and 18:00; June 1617 at 15:00. n To book tickets call Michele at 082 448 6606.

Franciscan Sisters Servants of the Holy Childhood of Jesus

Frances Correia between Frs elias Omondi from Kenya and Anthony egan from South Africa. dren of the Sacred Heart 326 School (a school for refugee children) prayed the bidding prayers and reflected the many differing African nationalities in our midst. On the second day the theologians met with leaders of civil society, including Prince Buthelezi and Justice Albie Sachs. With representatives of different religious traditions present, there was a free and frank discussion amongst the group. The participants stressed the significance of the role religion has and can continue to play in civil society, and the importance of theological reflection in forming and informing conscience. Fr Elias Omondi, a Jesuit from Kenya, quoted from Gaudium et Spes. “The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of

Well known Kimberley teacher retires By VUSI TUKAKHOMO

FTER more than 25 years of service in South Africa, Dominican Sister Ingrid Clarissa Weber, formerly of St Boniface High School in Kimberley, has been invited to spend her retirement years at the Pietermaritzburg retirement home. Born in Cologne in 1934, Sr Weber entered the order of the Oakford Dominican nuns in Neustadt, Germany, in August 1951. Sr Weber said she made her postulancy and novitiate, learning the laws of the congregation, and profession in 1961, before she was sent to California where she spent three years studying at the Dominican College of San Rafael. Sr Weber received her teacher’s certificate and made her final vows in June 1964.

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For ten years, Sr Weber dedicated her mornings to teaching and her afternoons to taking children to catechism lessons, before becoming the religious education teacher at St Boniface High School in Kimberley. Serving schools on two different continents means that Sr Weber has made an impact in many different lives. She said that she has “very faithful friends in California” who have kept in touch since leaving the country more than two decades ago. “In the more than 25 years I spent in South Africa, I have been very happy in Oakford as well as in Kimberley,” said Sr Weber. The teacher retired from her post at the beginning of this year and this month will leave Kimberley for Pietermaritzburg. “My school community principal, Nomvula Dondolo and staff gave me a grand send-off, and so did my friends of St Vincent de Paul recently. The people in Kimberley are friendly and open to religion,” she said. The nun said she will miss Kimberley, but was looking forward to her retirement.

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this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ.”’ With these words he defined the focus of Catholic Social Teaching. “We ordinary Catholics, we are the followers of Christ. Our faith calls us to act with justice and to work for peace. Our Church provides us with the great wealth of Catholic Social Teaching to help us to form our conscience, and to engage in the fundamental work of the Church, the redemption of the world. We are all challenged by Jesus in the gospels to love one another.” As Bishop Kilaini noted, “At the core of Catholic Social Teaching this divine invitation stands, to love my neighbour as myself.”

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ST. KIZITO CHILDREN’S PROGRAMME St. Kizito Children’s Programme (SKCP) is a community-based response to the needs of orphans and vulnerable children, established through the Good Hope Development Fund in 2004 in response to the Church’s call to reach out to those in need. Operating as a movement within the Archdiocese of Cape Town, SKCP empowers volunteers from the target communities to respond to the needs of orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) living in their areas. The SKCP volunteers belong to Parish Groups that are established at Parishes in target communities. Through the St. Kizito Movement, the physical, intellectual, emotional and psycho-social needs of OVCs are met in an holistic way. Parish Groups provide children and families with a variety of essential services, while the SKCP office provides the groups with comprehensive training and on-going support. In order to continue its work, SKCP requires on-going support from generous donors. Funds are needed to cover costs such as volunteer training and support, emergency relief, school uniforms and children’s excursions. Grants and donations of any size are always appreciated. We are also grateful to receive donations of toys, clothes and blankets that can be distributed to needy children and families.

If you would like to find out more about St. Kizito Children’s Programme, or if you would like to make a donation, please contact Shirley Dunn on (021) 782 2792 email info@stkizito.org.za. Donations can also be deposited into our bank account: ABSA Branch: Claremont, 632005; Account Name: Good Hope Development Fund; Account Number: 4059820320 This advertisement has been kindly sponsored

The Southern Cross, June 12 to June 18, 2013

Catholic men at a crossroads By JAMeS MATONDO

RCHBISHOP Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg has said it is time for men to stand up and become responsible people for both their families and society. This was the message delivered to more than 1 000 men who gathered at Christ the King cathedral in Johannesburg for a Gauteng men’s conference—an opportunity for the region’s men to discuss their faith and their challenges. According to the event’s directors, Craig Fointuin and Odihom Molapo of the archdiocese of Johannesburg, the conference was “tremendously successful with an incredible turnout” and a “new vision” widely welcomed to revive Catholic men amidst socio-economic and political challenges cur-

rently being faced. Archbishop Buti Tlhagale, said that Catholic men were in the midst of a “moral dilemma”. He cited the moral landscape in South Africa which had given rise to “abject poverty, sacrificing of ethics, enrichment, corruption and individualism”. Discussing the scenarios men face today, Archbishop Tlhagale said there was a disappearance of the African value of togetherness. “The new community is a society of mobility from rural to urban, lifestyle resulting in a influx of different cultures and immigrants into South Africa,” he said, adding that consumer culture has become a moral culture. “Consumer society has developed around us men— busy on Saturdays and Sundays in shopping malls, in and out of casi-

Archbishop Buti Tlhagale nos throwing away money.” The archbishop called on men to make prudent choices in their lives, urging them to be disciplined financially. He questioned where their sense of belonging had gone. The human rights culture which we are living

in today, he said, which tolerates abortion, homosexuality, gay union, use of condoms, pornographic materials, polygamy and the pursuit of lifestyle pleasure, had been damaging to men today. ‘’Why can’t men make decisions like men? What kind of a moral society are we committing ourselves into?’’ the archbishop asked, citing the country’s cities being full of beggars and children skipping school. “Where are the fathers for discipline?” Archbishop Tlhagale called on men in the Church to share and participate in the mission of Christ. Their faith must be demonstrated in lifestyle and behaviour characteristics, he added. “Men are supposed to be leaders with qualities of compassion.” The archbishop spoke of the Good

Samaritan, Good Shepherd and the Prodigal Son and the Father. “Catholic men must be real fathers, as shown by St Joseph.” The outcome of the conference included the proposition that there should be a Men’s Forum at each parish whereby all men at various centres can meet regularly to “advance, share and uphold the honour of men”. “There is a need for a continued platform where men should share with their respective communities the challenges affecting them.” The archbishop commissioned a working committee comprising two representatives from each deanary. The chosen people were mandated to build a structure, draw a constitution, set up an organisation and roll out the organisation umbrella body in the archdiocese.

Jhb home making a difference in handicapped lives Sunnyside STAFF RePORTeR

AN Salvador Home for intellectually disabled women is not a “fashionable charity,” but it does offer a protected care and a loving environment to 60 women in Johannesburg—a service that will never go out of fashion, said the home’s Margy Langschmidt. “The special people at San Salvador are incredibly brave. They have overcome their handicaps with awe-inspiring courage and fortitude. Despite their considerable challenges—physical, mental, emotional and social—they love life as much as we do. It’s not just that easy,” Ms Langschmidt told The Southern Cross. The home, which was established in 1936 by the King William Town Dominican Sisters, was initially used as a residential home and centre for children. “As the children grew older [the sisters] realised the need for a home for women,” said Ms Langschmidt “The women were kept busy by making and selling arts, crafts and knitting. This led to the introduction of a protected work environ-

ment in 1991, created an employment and skills training centrecalled ‘Sally’s Workshop’.” Sally’s Workshop is an outreach programme for the upliftment, job creation and education of the underprivileged handicapped people, and residents living within the home. “We operate in the field of care and work provision to a very vulnerable group of two and three mentally impaired individuals— people who are completely incapable of functioning independently in society at large.” Ms Langschmidt said with 70 year’s experience, the San Salvadore Home is well equipped in handling this particular aspect of welfare work. At Sally’s Workshop, 110 handicapped workers from Alexandra, the home and surrounding areas make and sell handicrafts, do light assembly work and services for local business, and more recently work in the “Garden for Growth” project. This project supplies the home and locals with fresh vegetables. Produce is also sold to local shops and restaurants. “We have two tun-

parish turns 50 STAFF RePORTeR

nels where we grow cucumbers and tomatoes and outdoors we grow lettuce, potatoes, spinach, beans and cabbage to mention a few. “We have two full-time gardeners, and provide employment for three to five disabled workers whom we train with all the various gardening skills.” The handicapped are provided with transport, food, clothing and a small weekly wage and are educated and trained. “This work enables the people to

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build up a positive self-image as well as gain a sense of pride and importance,” said Ms Langschmidt. The home also runs special projects over the festive season. Ms Langschmidt said the work done in the home is vital and timeless. “There’s always love and hope of improvement, no matter how handicapped a person might be.” n For more information on the home and to get involved, contact Margie Langschmidt on 082 570 7674 or 011 788 4646

FEAST OF OUR MOTHER OF PERPETUAL HELP: JUNE 27th

Novena Prayer (begins 19th June): Mother of Perpetual Help, You comforted Jesus your Son as He faced His passion. Comfort us too and help us to discover the power of His Spirit, that we may build up His kingdom among us. When He comes again in glory, May we celebrate with joy the fullness of life With all God’s family. For ever and ever. Amen Solemn Triduum:Tues 25th - Thurs 27th June 19h30, St MARY’S Church, Retreat Road, Retreat, Cape Town 7945 Post petitions and Thanksgivings and order Novena Booklets at R30: above or olphretreat@telkomsa.net

HE parish of St Martin de Porres in Sunnyside, Pretoria, will be celebrating its Golden Jubilee on July 7. As part of the festivities and in recognition of the Year of Faith, event organisers have called local Catholics to join in on the celebration. The Sunnyside parish is well known for its vibrant choirs and has become a home to Catholics from many African countries. The day will start with an anniversary Mass celebrated by Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria. The Mass will be followed by a lunch provided for all guests. Parishioner Mpedi Madue said there will also be a special reception at 15:00pm with a keynote address by the archbishop. He will be joined by a live band and the parish choirs. n For more information on the event and to RSVP, please contact Refilwe Mononyane on 082 808 5809 or Mag gie.mononyane@nhls.ac.za before June 20.

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The Southern Cross, June 12 to June 18, 2013

INTERNATIONAL

Communication: Keeping up with Francis By FRANCIS X ROCCA

F the various innovations that Pope Francis has already introduced into the way a pontiff lives and works, one of the most significant is his celebration of week-day morning Masses with invited guests. The practice is revealing of the new pope’s character and of how he understands his role as leader of the universal Church, and it exemplifies the challenge he presents to the Vatican apparatus surrounding him. Pope Francis is not the first pope to include outsiders at his morning Masses. The gregarious Bl John Paul II was regularly joined by as many as two dozen people, including visiting bishops and laypeople, in his private chapel in the Apostolic Palace. But Pope Francis, who has chosen to live in the Vatican guesthouse, has been celebrating Mass there with more than 50 people each morning, systematically working through the ranks of personnel of the Roman curia and Vatican City State, high officials and maintenance workers alike. And while Bl John Paul typically followed the reading of the Gospel in his private Masses with a period of silent reflection, not a homily, Pope Francis has been delivering short sermons in the folksy style that has become his trademark. These morning homilies, excerpts from which usually appear the same day in the Vatican newspaper and on Vatican Radio, have been the occasion of some of the pope’s most quotable remarks. In

recent weeks, he has told his congregation that “Satan always rips us off” and that a Christian should reflect joy rather than showing the “face of a pickled pepper”. At times, the identity of those attending a given Mass has seemed to lend a special significance to the pope’s words. When he told a group of staff members from the Vatican bank that “offices are necessary, but they are necessary only up to a certain point”, many observers took it as a sign of imminent change at the controversial financial institution. While some may be reading unwarranted meaning into the pope’s words, he clearly intends his sermons to affect how his collaborators see their roles and obligations. “When a bishop, a priest goes on the road to vanity, he enters into the spirit of careerism and...ends up being ridiculous,” the pope said last month. Such frankness, so uncustomary for the office, has naturally piqued the public’s (or at least the press’) desire for more, in the form of complete transcripts. But the Vatican spokesman has announced that this desire will remain unsatisfied. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi explained that, because the pope gives his off-the-cuff morning homilies in Italian, not his native Spanish, the Vatican would never release a full transcript without “rewriting of the text on several points, given that the written form is different from the oral”. Such treatment would be inappropriate in this case, Fr Lombardi added, because the more formal character of the result-

Pope Francis celebrates Mass in the chapel of Domus Sanctae Marthae at the Vatican. (Photo: l’Osservatore Romano via Catholic Press Photo/CNS) ing document would not be true to the “familiar” atmosphere that Pope Francis desires for his morning Masses.

he statement was puzzling, since the extensive textual excerpts and audio clips of the homilies already available do nothing to disguise the unpolished nature of the pope’s words. Why would such imperfections become unacceptable only when quoted at full length? “In the whole of the pope’s activity,” the spokesman continued, “the difference is carefully preserved between the various situations and celebrations, as well as the different levels of commitment

of his pronouncements.” Public “homilies or addresses are transcribed and published in full”, Fr Lombardi said, but not the pope’s words on “more familiar and private” occasions. The Jesuit might have added that officials in the Secretariat of State ordinarily read the pope’s public statements ahead of time and approve the texts and translations that the Vatican officially releases to the press. Such review is obviously not possible when the pope ad-libs. That the Vatican has declined to publish full transcripts of the morning homilies is less significant than the decision to relegate publication of excerpts and summaries to its in-

house journalists, rather than the pope’s official spokesman. Using less prestigious vehicles to transmit some of the pope’s words is evidently meant to convey a lower “level of commitment” on the part of the pope himself. Such distinctions are likely to be lost on most readers and listeners, if the experience of Pope Francis’ predecessor is any guide. Pope Benedict XVI published his bestselling trilogy of Jesus of Nazareth books under the name Joseph Ratzinger, to make clear that they did not form part of his papal magisterium. Yet when the second volume of the series reiterated and elaborated on the Second Vatican Council’s teaching that the Jewish people have no collective responsibility for the death of Jesus, Jewish leaders directed their thanks and praise not to an elderly German theologian but to the leader of the Catholic Church. Likewise, after Pope Benedict speculated in an interview on the ethical nuances of condom use for disease prevention, the ensuing controversy could hardly have been greater had he done so in an encyclical or other papal document. In the age of smartphones and social media, the border between public and private has practically vanished, even for a pope, especially one as outgoing and spontaneous as Pope Francis. Communications is thus one area—almost certainly not the only one—in which the Vatican bureaucracy will be struggling to keep up with its new boss.—CNS

Polish cardinal, close friend of Pope John Paul II, dies at 91

DRC is ‘losing a generation to war’

OLISH Cardinal StanisInternational Theological law Nagy—a close Commission, which adfriend, theological advises the Congregation viser to and skiing partner for the Doctrine of the of Blessed John Paul II— Faith. died on June 5 in Krakow at Born on September 30, the age of 91. 1921, at Bierun, near KaLike the late pope, Carditowice, he joined the nal Nagy studied at JagielPriests of the Sacred Heart lonian University in Krakow of Jesus, also known as and taught at the Catholic the Dehonians, at age 16, University of Lublin. He professed permanent used to ski with the future vows under Nazi occupaCardinal Nagy, pope near Zakopane in the who has died at 91 tion in 1941, and was orTatra Mountains and served dained a priest in 1945. the then-archbishop of Krakow as a Pope John Paul named him a cartheological consultant in the late dinal in 2003. The Polish theologian 1960s and early ’70s. was already over 80 at the time, so He began teaching at Lublin in did not participate in the conclaves 1958 and in the 1970s became the that elected Popes Benedict XVI or first director of the faculty of com- Francis. parative and ecumenical theology. His death leaves the College of He was a Vatican-appointed member Cardinals with 204 members, 112 of of the Catholic-Lutheran interna- whom are under the age of 80 and tional dialogue and a papally-ap- therefore eligible to vote in a conpointed member of the clave.—CNS

By MARK PATTISON

HE Democratic Republic of Congo is losing a generation to war over diamonds and other minerals in the country’s eastern regions, said the president of the nation’s bishops’ conference. “A lot of children have not gone to school because of that. It’s terrible,” Bishop Nicolas Djomo Lola of Tshumbe said in an interview with Catholic News Service. However, while peace is being sought for the eastern DRC, Bishop Djomo said he prefers a non-traditional approach. “We don’t think that negotiating directly with the rebels right now is something which is useful,” he said. “We are asking to negotiate also with the neighbouring countries. Some of them are backing the rebels. It’s very important. The rebels are instrumented [supplied] by some countries.” The bishop did not name those countries, but Rwanda and Uganda

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Bishop Nicolas Djomo lola (Photo: Nancy Phelan Wiechec, CNS) have denied international charges that they supported the rebels. In the past, Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe have backed the government of President Joseph Kabila. Bishop Djomo toured Western nations in the hope of generating support for a peaceful resolution to the conflict, which began in 1996. “We have 2 million displaced people. Two million people fled the villages without any possibility to cultivate [land]. And the international community is not able to feed all of them. People in camps don’t have [enough] food,” he said. “At the same time, the education system doesn’t work. Imagine the children in this area. They are not able to go to school. That’s terrible for us. For the last 15 years, women [have been] raped and they are not able to be in security.” Issues of human rights and poverty are connected to the war. “The Catholic Church is ques-

tioning the government so that human rights will be respected, and we spoke to the government ... asking to make things more transparent,” Bishop Djomo said. “We have even met with [President Kabila] over that. So we know that without respecting human rights, it’s very difficult to end the war, the instability.” He added: “We need our military to be more respectful of human rights and [of] the justice against the corruption. That is a very, very important issue for the Church and we are working hard.” Poverty, according to Bishop Djomo, is “a huge challenge. Fighting the armed groups, it’s absolutely necessary to work for development—to support development in that area, because poverty is dangerous. And it’s engendering the violence.” While the DRC needs the development money that overseas investment can provide, foreign firms have shied away because of the ongoing war. “Without investment, there’s no way to create jobs. Most of the people are unemployed.” About half of Congo’s 72 million population is Catholic. “The Catholic Church is playing a very important role in the Congo because we are running 40% of the schools and 45% of the medical facilities. So we are working with the grassroots, the population. Our parishes and our Christian communities are scattered everywhere in the Congo. We have the possibility to work for peace for that.”—CNS

The Southern Cross, June 12 to June 18, 2013

INTERNATIONAL

New Vatican Bank boss wants to fix bad reputation By CINDy WOODeN

N the popular imagination, the Vatican Bank is so shady that even the German businessman appointed its president in February thought his task would be “cleaning out and dealing with improper deposits”. But Ernst von Freyberg, president of the Institute for the Works of Religion—the formal title of the bank—told Vatican Radio and several other news outlets that it turns out “our biggest issue is our reputation”. “We haven’t rendered a good service to the Holy Father with the

reputation we have,” Mr von Freyberg told Vatican Radio in an English-language interview. “My dream is that our reputation is such that people don’t think of us any more when they think about the Vatican, but that they listen to what the pope says,” he said. “When I came here I thought I would need to focus on what is normally described as cleaning out and dealing with improper deposits. There is—until now—nothing I can detect. We are a well-managed, clean financial institution,” Mr von Freyberg said. “It is the right of every member

of the Catholic Church around the world to be well informed about this institution,” which is why the Vatican bank has decided to publish an annual report beginning on October 1. While the institute accepts the deposits of Church personnel, religious orders and institutions, invests their money in conservative bonds, pays them interest and will transfer their funds to projects around the world, it does not lend money and so is not technically a bank, he said. The Institute for the Works of Religion has 19 000 customers—all of which are being reviewed—and

makes a profit of 50 million-70 million euros (R650 million-R900 million) each year, he said. The institute’s annual operating cost is about 25 million euros. “The IOR is highly capitalised; it has an equity of roughly 800 million (euros) on a balance sheet of 5 billion (euros),” he said. “During the financial crisis we were never in trouble. No government had to bail us out. We are very, very safe,” Mr von Freyberg said. He said that 15 years ago the institute was “probably very normal” with its policy on secrecy and on monitoring account activity. But

after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States and the more recent global financial crisis, international banking standards have become more rigorous to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing and tax evasion. “That process started naturally with the biggest banks in the world and now has reached the tiniest bank or institute in the tiniest state”—the Vatican, he said. “We were late in adapting to this new world; now we are running to catch up and to be where we were 15 years ago—relatively normal compared to other financial institutions.”—CNS

Help the poor, G-8 told By DeNNIS SADOWSKI

A displaced woman carries home food in Agok, in the contested Abyei region of South Sudan. Catholic leaders have reminded G-8 leaders to protect poor people when they meet next week. (Photo: Paul Jeffrey/CNS)

ATHOLIC leaders have reminded the leaders of the Group of Eight industrialised nations to protect poor people and assist developing countries when they meet from June 17-18 at Lough Erne resort in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. Quoting Pope Francis’ inaugural homily, Church leaders from the G8 nations—the presidents of the local bishops’ conferences and five cardinals—in a letter urged the heads of those countries to “do no less” than “embrace with tender affection the whole of humanity, especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important”. In their letter, the Church leaders commended the G-8 officials for focusing on agriculture and nutrition ahead of the summit and

Best-selling author priest dies By MICHelle MARTIN

ATHER Andrew Greeley, a sometimes controversial US priest and well-known novelist, journalist and sociologist, died on May 29 in Chicago. He was 85 years old. Fr Greeley was perhaps most widely recognised for the more than 60 novels he wrote, some considered scandalous with their portraits of hypocritical and sinful clerics. But he also wrote more than 70 works of non-fiction, often on the sociology of religion, including 2004’s Priests: A Calling in Crisis. The title notwithstanding, the research he presented in that book found that priests are among the happiest men in the United States—a conclusion that mirrored his own experience. Ordained a priest for the archdiocese of Chicago in 1954, Fr Greeley was released from archdiocesan duties to pursue his academic interests in 1965, and he remained a priest in good standing.

Fr Andrew Greeley, who has died. He taught sociology both at the University of Chicago and the University of Arizona in Tucson. He published his first novel, The Magic Cup, in 1975, although his most popular books may have been The Cardinal Sins (1981) and Thy Brother’s Wife (1982). He maintained a relationship with the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago from 1982 until he stopped working following a

2008 accident in which his coat caught on the door of a taxicab, leading to a fall that caused a traumatic brain injury. While he returned home after a long hospitalisation and rehabilitation, and enjoyed visitors, he no longer appeared in public. His final book, Chicago Catholics and the Struggles Within Their Church, was published in 2010. Opening a lecture series at Loyola University in 2003, Fr Greeley said: “Catholics remain Catholic not because of anything the bishops do, but simply because they like being Catholic—despite the best efforts of some ‘intellectuals’ to destroy ‘the sense of story and mystery’ that has always made the Church the Church.” About women in the Church he said: “It also doesn’t help that so many Church leaders have been downplaying the role of Mary. I don’t think the Church as an institution or most of us who are priests respect and reverence women the way we ought to.”—CNS

Czech Church to get billions in restitution By JONATHAN lUXMOORe

CZECH cardinal has welcomed final court approval of government plans to pay billions to churches in compensation for their losses under communist rule. This month the Constitutional Court cleared the way for the implementation of a 2012 law that says 56% of assets, valued at R38 billion, will be returned to Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox and Jewish communities, with R30 billion paid out over a 30-year period as compensation for the rest of the properties. During that same period, annual government grants to churches will also be phased out. “This ruling on the law for property settlements closes one of the infamous chapters in our

history,” said Cardinal Dominik Duka of Prague. “Our society can congratulate itself [that] it has finally resolved this problem and remedied the damage done to churches under communism.” In a statement, he said the “compromise solution” would benefit society, despite rival claims “that churches have given up too many assets which rightfully belong to them, and voices saying just the opposite”. “The Constitutional Court has reached its decision with substantial factual arguments, not theatrical performances,” said the cardinal, who is president of the Czech bishops’ conference. “Churches and religious communities will now be able to devote themselves to more substantial issues and to their true

role of strengthening society’s spiritual dimension, defending human dignity and serving the needy.” The fate of thousands of Church lands and properties seized after the 1948 imposition of communist rule has been a point of dispute in the Czech Republic since the 1989 Velvet Revolution. The law was narrowly adopted in November but was challenged by some members of parliament, who appealed to the Constitutional Court. In its ruling, the court rejected legal and procedural complaints and “general historical objections” and said claims that “Church property was subject to the public domain” were incorrect.—CNS

called for particular emphasis to be placed on Africa, where the need to improve local agriculture is great and, according to the World Food Program, 23 million primaryschool-age children attend classes hungry. The Church leaders cited G-8 plans to address tax evasion by wealthy individuals and large corporations in a world facing severe financial shortfalls to address poverty. Citing the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, the prelates wrote that “it is a moral obligation for citizens to pay their fair share of taxes for the common good, including the good of poor and vulnerable communities”. The letter stressed that eco-

nomic trade and trade rules “must serve the universal common good of the whole human family and the special needs of the most vulnerable nations. It is counterproductive to provide agricultural development assistance on the one hand and then to use unfair agricultural trade policies that harm the agricultural economics of poorer nations on the other.” The letter also emphasised that the G-8’s emphasis on transparency in government and financial affairs is critical to ensure that resources help reduce poverty and improve health across all of society. The Church leaders concluded by saying that they would be praying that summit participants would be “blessed by a spirit of collaboration” in addressing the challenges facing the world.—CNS

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The Southern Cross, June 12 to June 18, 2013

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

e-tolling is the best way forward

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

Let the priests be human

OES the laity expect too much from its priests? Conversely, do some priests expect too little from lay people? For many Catholics, a priest’s misdemeanour—trivial or severe—is magnified in relation to those of practitioners of non-sacred professions. For sure, by virtue of their consecration, priests and religious assume an expectation that they should conduct their lives with a greater awareness of decorum and ethics than those who have followed more temporal vocations. Many priests do, many others try and fail. All, of course, have the capacity for sin. That is the priesthood: a truly sacred calling, but also a mixed bag of individuals and experiences. Priests stand to be criticised if they are perceived to be too liberal or too conservative; if they state a political view or state none; if they dress too casually or too formally; if they are thought to be too close to parishioners or if they keep a distance; if they are believed to be too uninhibited or too introverted. They are walking a perpetual tightrope of frequently conflicting expectations. Sometimes these expectations are informed by an idealised picture of the priest, one that sees him not as a fallible human being but as some kind of holy superhero. No doubt, a few priests come close to that ideal; for most clergy, however, the expectations of a romanticised priesthood is bound to be a burden—perhaps more so in the age of social communications, where discretion tends to be trumped by the impulse to make one’s opinion known instantly. We dehumanise our priests when we expect perfection from them, when our idea of the priesthood belongs in the world of black-and-white Hollywood movies rather than of the real world. Two millennia ago in Galilee, our Lord knew what he was doing when he assembled his inner cabinet of twelve men. Among them was the

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.

fisherman Simon Peter, an anxious man of wavering faith and ferocious temper; Thomas, a suspicious rationalist; Matthew, a man of disreputable credentials; and, of course Judas, who went on to betray Jesus. The apostles bickered over who should be promoted and which of them would be the greatest. They thoroughly tended to misunderstand their Master, suggesting that the hungry not be fed, trying to turn away those they deemed to be unworthy of being in the Lord’s presence, hoping to talk him out of his salvific sacrifice. Yet, we venerate the apostles—except, of course, Judas— with all their flaws and foibles. Should priests be held to higher standards than the wholly human motley crew that Christ conscripted to evangelise the nations? The proverbial pedestal is not the right place for our clergy. Our priests have a right to be treated as real human beings: men who by virtue of their position command respect, but also need understanding, compassion and sound counsel. Give them a strong drink instead of tea, if they are so inclined. Let them wear shorts and T-shirts in the summer if they prefer it to traditional clerical dress. Should they be given to occasional strong language, one should not view this as a deficiency in sanctity, but as a sign that imperfection is not alien to the consecrated state. At the same time, some priests have yet to acknowledge the vast array of skill, experience and talent that many lay people have to offer. It is a positive sign that the clergy is increasingly soliciting the input of the laity by providing them positions of leadership in the parishes and in the Church. The fruitful collaboration between priests and laity (and, where applicable, religious) must be encouraged. The old adage of “Father knows best” belongs on the scrapheap of clichés. Sometimes he certainly does, sometimes he does not. After all, priests are only human.

T is extremely disappointing that the Justice & Peace Department of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference has called on the Catholic community not to collaborate with the e-tolling procedures (May 29). Why on earth is the J&P jumping on the ill-informed, anti-tolling bandwagon when there are far more worthy causes for which it might promote civil disobedience? The Gauteng freeways improvement project has been in the public domain since around 2007, if not earlier. There have been extensive public participation exercises and press releases, while the construction work on the freeways over a four- or five-year period surely did not escape the J&P’s notice. Or perhaps it did, judging from the Southern Cross article. It should be obvious by now that the Gauteng freeways project will not cost R20,63 billion—it has already cost R20,63 billion. It should also be obvious that

Porn no ‘option’

N his letter “Watching porn is a moral choice”, Wade Seale (May 22) argues that those who are opposed to the granting of a licence to TopTV to broadcast three adult-controlled channels deny people their moral agency to decide whether to watch porn. Though sophistry makes it possible to prove any number of assumptions, the spirit of the Commandments extends beyond the literal meaning of the words in which they are expressed. Jesus said: “Let your yea be yea and your nay be nay.” We have no moral agency over an issue that flies in the face of what we have been taught. We must avoid not only sin, but also the occasion of sin. The Catechism of the Catholic Church spells out that pornography ”offends against chastity because it perverts the marriage act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other. It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, the public), since each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others…It is a grave offence” (2354). Luky Whittle, Kroonstad

Homosexuality a ‘mental disorder’

INCENT Couling’s claim (May 22) that God creates a gay Steve for a gay Adam, and likewise a gay Adamina for gay Eve, is ludicrous. Yes, Sacred Scripture states it is not good for man to live alone, but it also

the cost of the project has to come from somewhere. Either, the funds have to come from the general fiscus (which would mean an increase in general taxation), or a specific levy would have to be added to the cost of fuel, or the principle of “user pays” can be applied in the form of tolling. Contrary to the arguments being bandied about by the e-toll opponents, the tolling option probably has the least impact on the poor. It also carries the best chance that the funds so raised will actually be spent on the roads. As far as I’m aware, public transport, including taxis, receive generous toll concessions. It is also an inconvenient truth that the poor, in general, don’t own cars. So, how will the implementation of e-tolls impact negatively on the poor? Meanwhile, there is never any mention of the employment opportunities created via the construction of infrastructure such as roads. For example, could the J&P enlighten

clearly indicates that God therefore made woman for man, and commanded them to be “fruitful and multiply”. Such a command is easily fulfilled with the structure of the male and female anatomies being so obviously complementary—but it is logical that this is not true for homosexuals. I major in psychology, and would like to point out that homosexuality was considered a mental disorder and listed as such in the DSM (the official manual that all mental health professionals refer to when diagnosing patients) up until 1973. It was omitted from the DSM thereon; not due to scientific reasons, but rather political motives, as a result of intense activism by the gay community in the form of picketing and other disturbances in protest against the compilers of the DSM, the American Psychiatric Association. The APA buckled and did the “politically correct” thing, which has been criticised by many in the scientific community. Nobody is born gay. The prestigious Human Genome Project proved as much when maps of both the X and Y chromosomes firmly established that there is no “gay gene”. Dr Couling, the authors of the epigenetics study in the link you refer to simply state that their sexually antagonistic epi-marks theory is a plausible explanation for the phenomenon of homosexuality—it does not overturn the Human Genome Project's conclusions that there is no underlying genetic cause. A plausible explanation is not conclusive evidence. Michelle Evert, Gordon’s Bay

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us as to the value of wages injected into local communities via road construction projects? The principle of tolling certain roads in South Africa is but one part of the government’s strategy with regard to the transportation of freight and commuters. Massive investment is also earmarked in heavy rail for the transportation of bulk freight, while public transport initiatives have been embarked on in major cities. Sadly, the latter have also run into misguided opposition and a lack of political will to see them through. The stalled bus system in Nelson Mandela Bay is a case in point. The J&P Department should engage with the national roads agency before openly criticising one of the better functioning organs of state. There are far more worthy causes whereby the Church can campaign on behalf of the poor. How about a boycott of vineyards seen to be paying poverty trap wages? Rosemary Robertson, Port Elizabeth

Let everybody sing

ARMEN Smith (May 29) wrote about the “quiet Mass” at St Paul's church in Somerset West on Saturday evenings, making reference to a an out-of-tune singer. You should hear the deaf sing even worse. No music, very far offtune, without rhythm and terrible voices. But—God loves it all. I have been deaf from early age and remember only traditional songs and Christmas carols. For the rest I am off-tune. Dini Wright, Benoni

Mass CD in works

READ with sympathy of churches that do not have any form of music for their celebration of Mass. I have for some time now been in a studio with members of C.I.R.C.U.S. which produced a CD about five years ago. The idea is that there are about 50 Mass related Glorias, Alleluias and Holy Holies etc, which form part of Mass. We will have the CD in two parts with singing and for those who would like to play with just music. It is contemporary with a modern feel for the younger people (below 90). I hope it will not be too long before it is complete. For more information, I can be contacted at 082 546 7649. Tom Dooley, Johannesburg 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.letters must not be understood to necessarily reflect the teachings, disciplines or policies of the Church accurately.

The Southern Cross, June 12 to June 18, 2013

PERSPECTIVES

What the Church means by ‘freedom’ Evans K T Chama M.Afr HE important place of freedom in the identity and dignity of a human person in Catholic Social Teachings explains why the Church is concerned when human freedom is violated—because it is the entire person who is violated. But then, what is this freedom that the Church promotes and defends? What does it consist in? Vatican II’s pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes refers to freedom in this way: “For God has willed that man remain under the control of his own decisions…so that he can seek his Creator spontaneously, and come freely to utter and blissful perfection through loyalty to him. Hence, man’s dignity demands that he act according to a knowing and free choice that is personally motivated and prompted from within neither under blind internal impulse nor by mere external pressure” (1037). In other words, true freedom encourages the growth of a person through the choices he makes that are consistent with the true good. It is with this understanding that the Church Father Gregory of Nyassa appreciates the responsibility in such personal choices by saying: “Man generates himself, he is father of his own being.” Hence, when someone is robbed of his freedom it is his entire means of growing and realising himself that is robbed. He is dehumanised. But this freedom is not absolute. A human person has to exercise his freedom by accepting his position as creature. As John Paul II put it in his 1993 encyclical Veritatis Splendour: “Human freedom finds its authentic and complete fulfilment in accepting the moral law of God.” Consequently, in the true expression of freedom, a person acts in a moral and constructive manner when he is obedient to truth, without pretending to be the master over his life or moral laws.

Pope John Paul continued: “Human freedom belongs to us as creatures; it is a freedom which is given as a gift, one to be received like a seed and to be cultivated responsibly.” That is why freedom is not a libertinage, since the maturity of human freedom does not lie in “the liberation of the conscience from objective truth, in favour of an alleged autonomy in personal decisions but, on the contrary, by an insistent search for truth and by allowing oneself to be guided by that truth in one’s actions” (Veritatis Splendour). Natural moral law, the light of the intellect by which we know the good thing to do and the bad thing to avoid, is common to all people—believers and unbelievers equally—and thus relevant to the people of any culture, time and place. There we find true human unity. Unfortunately, it often happens that in the name of freedom some people impoverish themselves by being closed to the truth.

n the contrary, true freedom is open to truth by which a person comes to appreciate the equal dignity of all people as created in God’s image, thus ruling out any form of discrimination despite whatever differences there may be among people. They all form one single body since in every person radiates the image of God. That is, as the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (CSDC) puts it, “the ultimate foundation of the radical equality and brotherhood among all people, regardless of their race, nation, sex, origin, culture”. Given the social nature of human beings, it means also that the exercise of freedom must take into account others. So it is regrettable that this inborn character of being with others “does not automatically lead to communion among persons [...] be-

The many ways of healing

HERE is no doubt about it: healing is in vogue. But who, what, where, when, how and why are all questions that can be asked. Do George and Prudence and their two teenagers living in upmarket Sandton need healing? She goes to the monthly healing Mass at the parish. Does Rose need healing? She is a single mom abandoned by her latest boyfriend by whom she was infected with HIV. She goes to the archdiocesan healing Mass with 1000 others. Does Norman need healing? It is three months since his estranged wife shot and killed their two children. He hasn’t been to church since the funeral. So many more examples can be given of all kinds of family situations, relationship issues, medical or psychological issues with addictions being a major concern too. What is the role of spiritual healing from situations that involve the devil and evil spirits in these cases? Out of interest, and also because of a personal concern, I attended some seminars and did some reading up on the subject. Healing is clearly provided through western medicine and—some believe while others are sceptical—through traditional healing using herbs too. Psychological conditions like depression, anxiety as well as psychosomatic pain can be treated by professionals of various kinds, hopefully resulting in healing too. I have never been quite sure what to expect at a healing Mass or service. We go because we somehow feel a need. When having been prayed over, I have felt good, but I can’t say that I have experienced healing in some very specific way. I think many people would say the same. There are others who do report genuine experiences of physical healing after prayer and laying on of hands at a Mass or

other healing service. Others experience a sense of consolation. Healing of relationships is part of family ministry, and probably a fairly neglected part. It is recognised that most marriages experience pain and conflict at least some of the time. A programme that can address issues, teach communication, relationship skills, and promote the spiritual life—like taking medicine—can lead to healing. With a particular youth focus for the month of June, it is recognised that parentteen relationships often require attention. The stresses and strains of normal development are often exacerbated by the complexity of modern living with issues of rebelliousness, bad friends, intolerance, abuse and violence and poor communication skills. Regular faith-sharing in families around the more minor issues is a simple start towards healing. Counselling with a family focus, as is described in the current issue of Family Matters magazine, is a valuable resource. Satanism, satanic worship and rituals by young people at schools and universities have featured in the news quite prominently and their families are

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Catholic Social Teachings

cause of pride, and selfishness, man discovers in himself the seeds of asocial behaviour , impulses leading him to close himself within his own individuality and to dominate his neighbour” (CSDC). Therefore we would say with Gaudium et Spes, that “freedom is the highest sign in man of his being made in the divine image and, consequently, is a sign of the sublime dignity of every human person” (17). However, this freedom is not to be conceived solely in the individualistic view like an “arbitrary and uncontrolled exercise of one’s own personal autonomy”. True freedom always exists in reciprocal relationships with others. Within the limits of common good, freedom permits a person to be able to fulfil himself according to his or her vocation, seek the truth, profess religion, cultural and political ideas and express opinions. This includes also being able to say no to what one judges to be morally wrong. This is how the Church conceives human freedom. It is inborn and based on the truth of who man really is, according to the will of the Creator. This is contrary to the notion of freedom as we see it in the world today, where everything is reduced to mere rule of the majority, often without reference whatsoever to the fundamental truth of human existence. It is here that Christians are called to be prophetic in the way they understand and live certain values so as to avoid a mediocre manner of living that feeds on popular notions that are often devoid of meaning.

Toni Rowland

Family Friendly

right to have a concern there. Release from an involvement in the occult might require some intervention by those with the necessary competence in such a ministry. Most Catholics are not well informed on this whole question, something to be addressed urgently, too. Healing or deliverance ministries exist, some in charismatic prayer groups where lay people are more involved than priests. These should be overseen by the local priest but be allowed to grow and be recognised. Exorcism on a deeper level must be done by a priest designated by the bishop. The gospels have many accounts of Jesus healing people. These are often associated with forgiving sins and are a sign of the Kingdom of God. Healing doubtless still happens today, but what is required too is faith in the power of God to heal, as well as commitment to the process, prayer and sacrifice. As was well expressed in the Healing and Deliverance seminar I attended, the healing ministry is a ministry of love. Healing of families in any form is a work of love too. It may be “Healing the Family Tree” from inherited weaknesses and faults, or healing of current relationships within the nuclear or extended family or personal physical, psychological or spiritual healing. Whatever form this healing process takes, if it is supported by the love inherent in family life and if through prayer the needs are brought to God, it can be a powerful way to build up the Body of Christ, the Church as Family of God.

Michael Shackleton

Open Door

Are exorcisms still relevant today? Several articles in The Southern Cross over the last months have discussed demonic possessions and exorcisms. Does demonic possession really exist and isn’t exorcism an outdated idea?

N a document presented as recently as 1999, the Congregation for Divine Worship revised the Church’s rite of exorcism, that is, the ritual for expelling demons from persons who are judged to be possessed by them. The document mentions that people who dabble in occult practices, seances, fortune telling, tarot cards and the like, have been known to fall victim to demonic possession, and also those who abandon Christ and excessively indulge in drugs, illicit sex and pornography. However, the modern upsurge of satanism in the Western world has increased the incidence of alleged satanic possession. This situation has become so grave, that in 2004 the Vatican developed a specialist course to train priests and seminarians to grasp exactly what satanism involves, how it is practised and how it can be countered by the Church. It is clear from Scripture that Satan exists and his chief objective is to undermine the saving work of Christ. It is also clear that Christ and his Church will triumph over Satan and his evil designs. Under the direction of the local bishop, the Church permits only approved priests to attempt to exorcise evil spirits. The priest must be certain that the allegedly possessed person is not suffering from a physical or psychological disorder. He must consult spiritual, medical and psychological experts before he makes a decision. Signs of likely possession are the previously absent ability to speak in foreign languages, to know distant or hidden things and abnormal physical strength. These are usually combined with an aversion for the names of God, Jesus and the saints, as well as of holy objects such as the crucifix. In 1907 a famous South African case of demonic or satanic possession occurred at St Michael's mission near Mariannhill. Bishop Henri Delalle was sceptical when he heard that two uneducated and untravelled Zulu girls had begun to speak German and Latin and to levitate. Then he came face to face with them. He and some priests began the rite of exorcism on one girl at a time. Each could argue theologically, verbally abused the bishop, tried to attack him and smashed furniture. After many hours of exorcism, the prayers were successful, and the mission began to progress. The rite of exorcism includes the sign of the cross, sprinkling with holy water, the litany of the saints, psalms, gospel readings and prayers. In Christ’s name the exorcist commands the demon to go and is urged to be confident that Christ will drive him out, even after many attempts.

tony Wyllie & Co. Catholic Funeral Home

Personal and Digniﬁed 24-hour service 469 Voortrekker Rd, Maitland Tel: 021 593 8820 48 Main Rd, Muizenberg Tel: 021 788 3728 member of the nFda

We accommodate small Conferences, Retreats and workshops

We are 5mins from Howick Falls, 10min from Midmar Dam, 20 mins from Pietermaritzburg. Contact Veronica 083 784 7455, Email redacres@omi.org.za Regrettable due to stolen telephone cables, we do not have a landline anymore.

The Southern Cross, June 12 to June 18, 2013

COMMUNITY

Calvary parish in Ikageng, Potchefstroom celebrated Pentecost. Pictured are members of the parish’s Catholic Women’s Association.

The ethiopian Catholic community came together for an event in Rustenburg

Bishop Frank De Gouveia of Oudtshoorn recommissioned four deacons at St Anthony’s parish in Sedgefield, Oudtshoorn diocese. (From left) Deacons Patrick Schalkwyk from George, lucas Timmers from Sedgefield (who was also celebrating his 20th anniversary), Bishop De Gouveia, Deacons Jacobus lewis from Mossel Bay and Benito Botha from George.

Brigitte Brink of St Mary Magdalene parish in lentegeur in Mitchell’s Plein, Cape Town received a blessing on her 100th birthday from Fr Brandon West. Behind Mrs Brink is her son.

Send your photos to pics@scross.co.za along with names of the people in the picture and the event at which it was taken.

Loreto School Queenswood, an Independent Catholic School, wishes to make the following appointments with eﬀect from 1 August 2013. eleven confirmation candidates from St Anthony of Padua parish in Kraaifontein, Cape Town, attended a weekend retreat at Goedgedacht Centre, Malmesbury. Br Clarence Watts conducted the Saturday retreat programme for them which included sessions and reflections on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, different images of Jesus, and a guided meditation on aspects of our faith. This group will be confirmed on June 29. Pictured with the group are confirmation teacher Portia Hendricks (far left), Br Watts (right) and Salesian aspirant Craig Plaatjies (front right), who assisted on the retreat.

Holy Cross Sisters Committing ourselves to Respect, Promote and Protect Life

In the Cross is Salvation

P.O.Box 911 Rygersdal, Atlantis 7949 Tel: 021 572 7092 Cell: 072 871 7641

P.O.Box 19564 Mitchell's Plein 7785 Tel: 021 374 3486 Cell: 084 490 5557

• • • • • • • •

Be suitably qualiﬁed Have at least ﬁve years teaching experience Understand and identify with the Catholic Ethos of the school Have an understanding of CAPS Possess strong leadership, inter-personal and organisational skills Be able to manage the school’s discipline programme Be computer literate Be able to teach Gr7 mathematics

GRADE 5 CLASS TEACHER

The successful applicant must meet the following criteria:

Believing in the mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Believing that life is stronger than death. Challenged and moved to make a diﬀerence in the lives of others. Called to follow Jesus Called to be a sign of contradiction The Vocation PromotionTeam (Holy Cross Sisters) P.O.Box 1405 Parow 7499 Tel: 021 934 6006 Cell: 082 974 7370

HOD – INTERMEDIATE AND GRADE 7

The successful applicant must meet the following criteria:

P.O.Box 165 Vredenburg 7380 Tel: 022 713 3455 Cell: 076 514 4597

• • • • •

Be suitably qualiﬁed Have at least ﬁve years teaching experience Understand and identify with the Catholic Ethos of the school Be able to do class teaching Have an understanding of CAPS

Applications, including a CV and the names of at least three referees should be submitted no later than 12:00 on the 21 June 2013 to The Principal: Loreto School Queenswood, Mr M Pallozzi, P.O. Box 11101, Queenswood, 0121 Tel: (012) 333 4384 Fax: (012) 333 2529, e-mail: tanias@sagateway.com or mail to P O Box 11101, Queenswood, 0121

Only suitably qualiﬁed applicants will be considered. An application will not in itself entitle the applicant to an interview or appointment. Only those candidates who are short listed for the position will be notiﬁed.

The Southern Cross, June 12 to June 18, 2013

CHURCH

Catholic NGOs feel the rand’s drop

The sinking rand and economic malaise in South Africa is hitting Catholic non-governmental organisations hard, as STePH JORDAN found.

OST South Africans who watch the exchange rate will have been alarmed when a couple of weeks ago the South African rand hit the $10 mark, for the first time since March 2009. While the economic knock-on effects of the low value of the rand will hit all sectors of society, for Catholic non-governmental organisations the economic malaise is particularly distressing. Malcolm Salida is the director of Catholic Welfare and Development (CWD), the charitable arm of the archdiocese of Cape Town which is running a portfolio of projects. CWD’s mission, Mr Salida said, is “to develop people to rise out of poverty, with the major focus being on development work”. The organisation has nine community development centres and a wide range of programmes which focus mainly on engaging with communities to build capacity and solve problems; women, children and youth development; health and food security; and economic empowerment. It also works with local and provincial governments when they are able to refine services which are offered to the poor, homeless and children. CWD will see a defining effect on their work due to the decline in the value of the rand, Mr Salida said.

“Our work becomes even more challenging each day, as we already have to struggle with the effects of the country-wide labour strikes and the drastic increase in the price of electricity, which have already negatively affected the South African economy as a whole,” said Mr Salida. “Already it has become more expensive providing a poor person with a wholesome plate of food because of the increase in both food and transport costs, and with the decline of the rand it will inevitably become even more so. This will ultimately mean that we will be unable to feed as many people as we have in the past, leaving many more to go hungry and uncared for.” In their efforts to raise funds, organisations like CWD will have to work even harder than they have before—and that will be tougher within South Africa as residents feel the economic pinch. “Although it will be tougher now, we have to keep fighting the good fight in the hope that many more good individuals, trusts and organisations will come forward to support our work by making a donation of some sort so that we can continue to look after the most abandoned and poor in society, who will be most affected by the economic situation right now,” Mr Salida said. The CWD director emphasised his concern for ordinary South Africans who will be hit by the inevitable price hikes. “As an example, the price of a monthly train ticket [in Cape Town] has increased by almost 20%. This means that the average person can barely afford to get to work now, while many will also have to go without basic essentials such as elec-

Catholic NGOs will see a defining effect on their work due to the decline in the value of the rand, Malcolm Salida of Catholic Welfare Development said. tricity and hot water for days. These may be comforts to some, but to many these will become too expensive to maintain,” he said. “In the case of food, some people will not even be able to purchase a whole loaf of bread, they will have to settle for a half a loaf to feed their families or even none at all,” Mr Salida said. In the domain of international funding, “while the weakening rand may appear positive on the surface, as, yes, we would receive more rands, some of the funders peg the exchange rate in the contracts so as to protect recipient-partners from problems which would be experienced should the rand significantly strengthen”, said Felicity Harrison of the Goedgedacht Forum for Social Reflection, a Catholic-led organisation which promotes active citizenship and accountable government through dialogue. “The larger problem is with the trend in international, and for that matter local, funding. For a while now the funding environment has

been moving away from South Africa, as it is seen as being relatively stable, and moving towards other areas which are seen as in crisis,” Ms Harrison said. “Within the sector in which the Goedgedacht Forum works, the last year has seen the decline in funding resulting in the scaling down and even closing of a number of organisations, such as the Harold Wolpe Memorial Trust, the Black Sash, the ISS Cape Town Office and IDASA,” Ms Harrison said. “The implications of this for our society are potentially greater in the long run than just the weakening of the rand, and this is because, in my opinion, the space for debate, dialogue and discussion has been reduced, yet these are vital areas for a vibrant and healthy democracy,” she said. “International sponsors have long funding process cycles lasting sometimes for more than one year. This has put a lot of pressure on proposals, budgets or quotations sent at the beginning of a cycle,” said Lucie

Broechler, the capacity building coordinator for the Siyabhabha Trust, the development agency of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference. She said that, like other NGOs, the Siyabhabha Trust has to monitor inflation and foreign exchange rate fluctuation to safeguard the work of its projects and to meet contractual obligations with funders. The decline of the rand has not been all bad news for the trust. “For the past six months, the steadily declining rand has definitely been in our favour as we receive fixed amounts in foreign currency—yet more in rands than we had budgeted for,” Ms Boechler explained. “The margin created, which is extremely enclosed by foreign financial partners with a strict financial monitoring system, is generally an opportunity to re-negotiate support for new funding development cycle. But it’s not necessarily good news. Because the decline in the rand has also had an impact on price increases, Ms Boechler explained, some funders might be tempted to “play a zero-sum game” which will incline them to put less and less foreign currency into supporting civil society and developmental projects in Southern Africa. “In this regard, the decline of the rand can be used by external funders as an element of their exit strategy from Southern Africa,” she said. “The combination of the decline of the rand, the increases in inflation and the withdrawal of international funders is then putting more insecurity in a field that is already fighting to balance instability and sustainability.”

The Nine First Fridays of Reparation to The Sacred Heart of Jesus Reparation for the outrages and offenses against the Sacred Heart of Jesus and against Him in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar! The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was officially recognized and approved by Pope Clement XIII in 1765, seventy-five years after the death of Saint margaret mary alacoque to whom Christ appeared and revealed His Sacred Heart as a symbol of His love for mankind. In 1794, Pope Pius VI issued a decree approving the devotion and granting indulgences to those who practice it. On June 11, 1899, in what he referred to as "the great act" of his pontificate, Pope leo XIII solemnly consecrated all mankind to the Sacred heart of Jesus.

The Nine First Friday Devotion: The First Friday of each month was

designated by Our Blessed lord Himself as a day to be consecrated to honouring his most Sacred heart. The object of this devotion is to make the Sacred Heart more ardently and more perfectly loved, and to make proper reparation for the outrages, indifference, and neglect against Him in the most Blessed Sacrament of the altar.

The Great Promise: Is simply one blessing beyond compare, a death in a state of grace, in god’s friendship.(*see the 12th promise below)

“Behold this Heart which has loved mankind so much… and in return, I receive nothing but ingratitude from the greater number through the contempt, the irreverence, the sacrileges and the coldness shown towards Me in the Sacrament of love…”

Just TWO conditions are necessary to fulfill Our Lord’s request: 1. Confession – to ensure one is in a State of Grace. 2. holy Communion – to receive worthily on nine consecutive First Fridays with the intention of making Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The following First Friday devotions are efficacious in honouring the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: 1. Adoration of the Most BlessedSacrament. 2. Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 3. litany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The Twelve Promises of The Sacred Heart of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque: 1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life. 2. I will give peace in their families. 3. I will console them in all their troubles. 4. I will be their refuge in life, and especially in death. 5. I will abundantly bless all their undertakings. 6. Sinners will find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy. 7. Tepid souls will become fervent. 8. Fervent souls will rise speedily to great perfection. 9. I will bless those places where the Image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated.

10. I will give Priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts. 11. Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names eternally written in My Heart, never to be blotted out. 12.  In the abundant mercy of My Heart, I promise that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance; they will not die in My displeasure nor without receiving the Sacraments; My Divine Heart shall be their secure refuge in that last hour.

NB*** The Promise is not a substitute for living the Commandments, for carrying out one’s duties in life, from prayer or from the Sacraments.

The Southern Cross, June 12 to June 18, 2013

PERSONALITY

Singer: Church deserves my best work Few performers in Catholic music cross over to the Christian Contemporary market. Singersongwriter Audrey Assad is an exception. JOSePH AUSTIN spoke to the 28year-old artist.

INGER-SONGWRITER Audrey Assad seeks to bring a message of Pope Francis about building bridges to the music business. At a Mass in May, the pope spoke about the apostle St Paul: “Paul is a pontifex, a builder of bridges. He doesn’t want to become a builder of walls. This is the attitude of Paul in Athens: Build a bridge to their heart, in order then to take another step and announce Jesus Christ.” Assad sees her mission reflected in that statement: “As a musician, a unique way I live that out, being Catholic in an industry full of evangelicals and Protestants” is to “establish bridges [to] be Catholic in the presence of people [who have] never encountered a Catholic before”. A New Jersey native, Assad grew up in a a conservative, evangelical home. Her family—her father is Syrian, her mother American— were Plymouth Brethrens, and Assad never encountered a Catholic until she was 21. Then she met a high school student who changed her life. A Catholic involved in LifeTeen ministries, he knew his faith really well, and he “asked me questions that challenged my faith”, Assad recalled. She said she was already considering entering the Catholic Church because she liked the reverence and the incense, but that his words really challenged her to come to a deeper understanding of her faith. She became a Catholic in 2007, realising that the “sacraments were real and I needed them, and that the only place to really get them was in a Catholic Church”, she recalled. Both of her parents came to her confirmation, and she describes them as being supportive of her decision after they had seen her growing in her faith for two years. Assad, whose mother is musically inclined, started playing

The covers of Audrey Assad’s two critically acclaimed CD releases, 2010’s The House You're Building (left) and 2012’s Heart. piano at age 2. After attending college for a few months, she left and supported her musical career with odd jobs for several years before moving to Nashville, Tennessee, at the promising age of 24 with $7 000 she had raised for the venture. She said she was just putting it all out there and then seeing what happened. She thought: “This is the time. I’m not married. I feel this was obedience” to God’s plan.” It was not easy, however. “One afternoon me and my roommate [were] looking under couches for quarters to go eat at [fast food franchise] Wendy’s,” she recalled, explaining that she often rolled change because she just was not making enough money to eat. “I trusted that God will provide, and he did over and over. I just held on and believed that God had called me to it,” she said. The experience is reflected in her music. In her song “The Way You Move”, from her 2012 album Heart, she sings: “All my pride, you know it doesn’t stand a chance against the way you move. You’re tearing up roots and breaking down walls.” After working at a record company for several years, she spent some time going on tour with Christian Contemporary artists Matt Maher (her mentor, who is also a Catholic), Chris Tomlin, Jars of Clay, Tenth Avenue North, Michael W Smith and many others. Over time, the now 29-yearold has cut two studio albums, a live collection as well as an EP, and has built a reputation for herself in the music industry. Her husband,

William Price III, whom she married in 2011, is her publicist.

big fan of the teaching and mystical insights of Bl John Paul II, Assad takes composing lyrics and music of her songs quite seriously. “I don’t want to just write what I’m feeling,” she said. “Am I feeling desolate, joyful? Now let me read some Scriptures and teachings so I can write a song that is helpful to people, [and] not just me venting,” she said, describing her music ministry as “pastoral”. “These songs are true to the teachings of the Church...with richness of orthodoxy,” she said. At the same time, though, she gives a huge effort to making them artistically beautiful because the “Church deserves my best work”, she said. “The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it,” Flannery O’Connor once said. O’Connor, a Southern Catholic writer from the 1950s and ’60s, is one of Assad’s literary favourites. An avid reader, the singer-songwriter is on a mission to encourage people to read and write. She says her current favourite books are Anna Karenina by Tolstoy and anything by Jane Austen. She does not like, however, the Twilight series of young-adult vampire-romance novels that have been made into a series of movies “I hate Twilight. I don’t have a problem with fantasy. I like zombie shows. I’m not against those things, but I think I just don’t like the idea that teenagers are reading things that aren’t challenging to read. Twilight sells them short on

Singer-songwriter Audrey Assad describes her musical efforts as “pastoral”, bringing a Catholic presence to the world of Christian music. (Photo: ellie Arciaga, courtesy of Audrey Assad) what their brains are capable of taking,” she said. Assad draws much of her inspiration for her music from just living life. “I’ve never been a musician who sits down” and plays a lot because “I have to be in a certain headspace to really feel the desire to do that”, she explained. “I like to read or cook and then if I’m writing, then I’m writing.” Musically, she is “super-influenced” by Paul Simon. “He’s just not selfish about performing. He sees it as an exchange between himself and the audience,” she said. “When I go to a place and sing, that is an experience we’re all having together”, she added, explaining that her concerts are not the same every night. Among her other inspirations is the English poet-priest Jesuit Father Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-89). “For Christ plays in 10 000 places,” the priest once wrote in his poem “As Kingfishers Catch Fire”. “To the Father through the features of men’s faces,” the poet wrote. That line inspired Assad to write the song “For Love of You”, the opening track on her 2010 debut album, The House You’re Building: “You live in a million places. Your fingerprints can be seen on a million faces. There is a trace of you in every hallelujah. Every song that I sing.”—CNS

Audrey Assad in her own words

ere are a few sample lyrics from Audrey Assad’s songs:

Why should I be lonely, long for heaven and home When Jesus is my portion and a constant Friend I know I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free For His eye is on the sparrow, His eye is on the sparrow And I know He’s watching me. (From “Sparrow”, 2012) All this time like a vagabond A homeless stranger I’ve been wandering All my life you’ve been calling me To a home you know I’ve been needing (From “The House That You’re Building”, 2010) Rivers and stones and the trees of the field, They sing in the night And a thousand tongues lay deep in your lungs to raise to the sky don’t lie to yourself, o my soul — love your God. (From “O My Soul”, 2012)

n Visit www.audreyassad.com or follow Assad on facebook.com/audreyassadmusic or twitter.com/ audreyassad

JACOB’S WELL

HOLY LAND • ROME PADRE PIO

HOLY LAND & CAIRO YOUTH PILGRIMAGE

11 – 23 May 2014

5 – 14 July 2014

with

ARCHBISHOP STEPHEN BRISLIN

and Holy Land Trek author Günther Simmermacher Join The Southern Cross and the Archbishop of Cape Town (right) on a special pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Meet with local Christians before travelling to Italy to see the Pope in Rome and to pray at the places of Padre Pio.

with

FATHER SAMMY MABUSELA

and Claire Mathieson of The Southern Cross A special pilgrimage designed specifically for young Catholics from 16-36, with Fr Sammy Mabusela, national youth chaplain, as spiritual director. The programme includes holy sites, outdoor Masses, hikes in the footsteps of Jesus, encounters with local Christians and much more. A time of faith, friendship and fun!

holY land: Jerusalem (with Via Dolorosa, church of the Holy Sepulchre, Mary’s tomb). Bethlehem. Nazareth. Cana (with an opportunity to renew marriage vows). Mount of Beatitudes. CaperholY land: Jerusalem (with Via Dolorosa, church of the Holy naum. Boatride on the Sea of Galilee. Mount Tabor. Jordan River Sepulchre, Mary’s tomb). Bethlehem. Nazareth (with visit to a Baptismal Site. ein Kerem. Dead Sea. And much more. recreation of 1st century life). Cana. Mount of Beatitudes. Capernaum. Boatride on the Sea of Galilee. Mount Tabor. Jordan italY: Rome with papal audienCe, the River Baptismal Site. Armageddon. Caesarea. Mt Carmel. Dead four major basilicas (including Mass in St Sea. And much more. Peter’s), catacombs, ancient sites. Monte Cassino. San Giovanni Rotondo (where Padre CaiRo: as a bonus, enjoy a visit to Cairo with the pyramids, Pio spent almost all of his life). lanciano (site sphinx and a Nile Cruise. of the first eucharistic Miracle recognised by the Catholic Church). iStanBul: as a bonus, enjoy a day-long excursion of sightseeing in the capital of Turkey, Phone Gail at 076 352 3809 or 021 551 3923 or the ancient Constantinople. e-mail info@fowlertours.co.za www.fowlertours.co.za

FOR FULL ILLUSTRATED ITINERARY OR TO BOOK:

Retreats 2013 THE YEAR OF FAITH

Directed Retreats:

Fr Frank Doyle OSA June 30 to July 9 Sept 21 to 30

Nov 28 to Dec 7

8 Day Directed Retreat: R1600 Bookings

The Secretary: Sister Benignus, PO Box 41, Botha’s Hill, 3660 Phone: 031 765 1959 Fax: 031 765 8199 Jabobswell@ibound.co.za All retreats are from Supper (6 pm) on the ﬁrst day to after Breakfast on the last day

People wishing to make retreats outside these dates are welcome to do so

Preached Retreats:

June 30 to July 9 Fr John Lewis Dimba CSSP Theme Finding Freedom from my Five Worst Enemies

Sept 21 to 30 Fr Scott Davidson CssR Theme Following in the Footsteps of the Redeemer – Becoming a Living Memory of Jesus Nov 28 to Dec 7 Fr Elphas Khoza OMI Theme Rejuvenating My Religious Vocation

"You have been told, O man, what is good and what is required of you: to do justice; to love mercy; and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8)

8 Day Preached Retreat: R1500

The Southern Cross, June 12 to June 18, 2013

Fr Fritz Clemens

allottine Father Clemens died on April 12 at the Pallottine Mission house in Limburg an der Lahn in Germany. He was 90 years old, 63 years a Pallottine and 59 years a priest. Fritz Clemens was born on September 28, 1922 in Marburg, Hesse. He was one of the seven sons of Joseph and Katharina Clemens. Fr Clemens went to primary school in Marburg and Koblenz, did his first years of high school in Koblenz and the final years in Oberlahnstein where he left in 1942 for obligatory conscription in the military. During the war he was mainly used as a paramedic till he was taken prisoner of war by the Americans in November 1944. He remained a prisoner of war till May 1946. Upon his release, he worked from August 1946 till Easter 1947 in the secretariat of the theological faculty in Vallendar and he started his novitiate in Olpe in October 1947. He made his first consecration a year later and was ordained in 1953 in Vallendar by Pallottine Bishop Bruno Augustinus Hippel Some months later the provincial curia sent Fr Clemens to the diocese of Oudtshoorn. Fr Clemens worked mainly in pastoral care at a parochial level in Swellendam, Victoria West, Avontuur, Mossel Bay, Dysselsdorp, at the cathedral of Oudtshoorn and finally again in Swellendam as the chaplain of the Capuchin Adoration Convent, which was founded in 1953 by the Capuchin Sisters of KoblenzPfaffendorf. He spoke English and Afrikaans and had some knowledge of Xhosa. During the years of his pastoral work, he vigorously supported the professional formation of young people. Working with youngsters was always a source of joy and he spent many special days in the Don Bosco Youth Camp at Dysselsdorp, where he

liturgical Calendar Year C Weekdays Cycle Year 1 Sunday, June 16, 11th Sunday 2 Samuel 12:7-10, 13, Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 7, 11, Galatians 2:16, 19-21, Luke 7:36 Monday, June 17 2 Corinthians 6:1-10, Psalm 98:1-4, Matthew 5:38-42 Tuesday, June 18 2 Corinthians 8:1-9, Psalm 146:2, 5-9, Matthew 5:4348 Wednesday, June 19 2 Corinthians 9:6-11, Psalm 112:1-4, 9, Matthew 6:16, 16-18 Thursday, June 20 2 Corinthians 11:1-11, Psalm 111:1-4, 7-8, Matthew 6:7-15 Friday, June 21, St Aloysius Gonzaga 2 Corinthians 11:18, 21-30, Psalm 34:2-7, Matthew 6:19-23 Saturday, June 22, St John Fisher 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, Psalm 34:8-13, Matthew 6:2434 Sunday, June 23, 12th Sunday Zechariah 12:10-11; 13:1, Psalm 63:2-6, 8-9, Galatians 3:26-29, Luke 9:18-24

Southern CrossWord solutions

SOLUTIONS TO 554. ACROSS: 3 Marriages, 8 Eros, 9 Cremation, 10 Empire, 11 Sodom, 14 Risen, 15 Noel, 16 Knave, 18 Nora, 20 Drear, 21 Ephod, 24 Acetic, 25 Well meant, 26 Dual, 27 Holocaust. DOWN: 1 Celebrant, 2 Composure, 4 Acre, 5 Romeo, 6 Action, 7 Edom, 9 Crank, 11 Staid, 12 Momentous, 13 Clericals, 17 Edict, 19 Apollo, 22 Omega, 23 Nebo, 24 Ants.

did his best to give them the experience of community in daily life and the experience of faith during his catechetical sessions. Fr Clemens was the vice-regional superior of the Pallottines in South Africa for many years and in 1993, Bishop Edward Adams of Oudtshoorn appointed him as his vicar general. Fr Clemens cherished the friendship with Bishop Adams even after he had left the country. When his health started to deteriorate in 2002, he was called back to Germany, where he lived in the Mission House of the Pallottines in Limburg. He never lost contact with his family, and once back in Germany, he renewed these relationships especially with his brother who lived in Lahnstein. He liked to help out in the Christ the King parish in Mühlheim an der Ruhr which had assisted him during his stay in South Africa. He often visited this parish and spoke about his mission work in South Africa. Fr Clemens had contact with many parishes in Germany and in Austria who had helped him generously— especially his home parish of St Elisabeth. He celebrated his first Mass at this parish on August 23, 1953, on the sport grounds because the church was still heavily damaged by the bombardments during the war. Together with the parishioners he was in Rome and in Assisi where he met Mother Teresa who impressed him very deeply. 25 years later, on the occasion of his silver jubilee of priestly ordination, Fr Wilhelm Poiess, who was the preacher for the occasion, started his sermon with the words of Mother Teresa: “We need Jesus, the Eucharist, the Adoration—two hands to help—the poor and one heart to love them.” This was also the attitude of Fr Clemens. The celebration of the Eucharist and the Adoration were substantial parts of his life in South Africa and in Germany. Fr Clemens was a missionary who wholeheartily realised what the reading on the day of his death told about the young Church in Jerusalem where the apostles, in spite of all adversities, continued to proclaim the risen Christ. He was buried at the Pallottines cemetery in Limburg after a Requiem Mass celebrated on April 16 in St Mary’s church. By Fr Edward Tratsaert SAC

ClaSSiFiedS

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.

deathS

Kane—Pauline (née lopes) Beloved mother, grandmother and great grandmother passed away peacefully June 4. We will miss you, Mary Athol, Bridget Brent Mackenzie and Alexander, Bryan and Francesca, Patrick Jeanette Warren & Alison, Sr Charbel (Veronica) & Peter. R I P

peRSonal

aBoRtion WaRning: The pill can abort (chemical abortion) Catholics must be told, for their eternal welfare and the survival of their unborn infants. nothing is politically right if it is morally wrong. Abortion is evil. Value life!

pRaYeRS

Community Calendar

To place your event, call Claire Allen at 021 465 5007 or e-mail c.allen@scross.co.za (publication subject to space) Cape toWn: Redeemer parish in Bergvliet. mimosa Shrine, Bellville (Place of pilgrimage for the helpers of god’s precious year of Faith) Tel: 076 323 infants meet the last Satur8043. July 13: 9:00amday of the month except in 10:00am. Holy Hour and December, starting with Benediction. Confessions Mass at 9:30 am at the Saavailable during Holy Hour. cred Heart church in SomerJuly 25: Feast of St James, set Road, Cape Town. Mass 7:00pm Rosary, 7:30pm is followed by a vigil and Holy Mass. august 1: procession to Marie Stopes 7:30pm Rosary august 10: abortion clinic in Bree Feast of St lawrence, Street. For information con9:00am-10:00am Holy hour tact Colette Thomas on 083 and benediction. Confes412 4836 or 021 593 9875 sions available during Holy or Br Daniel Manuel on 083 hour. august 15: The As544 3375 sumption of our lady KwaZulu-natal 7:00pm Rosary, 7:30pm youth of marianhill diocese Holy Mass will have a youth day on padre pio: Holy hour 15:30 June 17 at St Timothy pm every 3rd Sunday of the Hamarsdale, near Pinemonth at Holy town. Tel: 031 700 2704

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o moSt beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendour of Heaven, blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. O Star of the Sea, help me and show me where you are, Mother of God.

Queen of heaven and earth I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to succour me in my necessity. There is none who can withstand your power, O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands. Thank you for your mercy to me and mine. Se. maY the Sacred Heart of Jesus be praised, adored and glorified throughout the world now and forever. Praise and thanks to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and for-

ever. Amen. Se. holY St Jude, apostle and martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke you, special patron in time of need. To you I have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg you to come to my assistance. Help me now in my urgent need and grant my petitions. In return I promise to make your name known and publish this prayer. Amen. RCP You, O eternal Trinity, are a deep sea into which, the more I enter, the more I find. And the more I find, the more I seek. O abyss, O eternal Godhead, O sea profound, what more could you give me than yourself? Prayer of Awe—St Catherine of Siena. holY SpiRit, you who make me see everything and who shows me the way to reach my ideal. you have given me the divine gift to forgive and forget all that is done to me, and you are in all the instincts of my life with me. I want to thank you for everything and confirm once more that I never want to be separated from you, no matter how great the material desire may be. I want to be with you and my loved ones in your perpetual glory. Amen. Say this prayer for three consecutive days and without continuing to ask; no matter how difficult it may be and you promise to publish this dialogue as soon as your favour has been granted. D.S. o moSt beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendour of Heaven, blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. O Star of the Sea, help me and show me where you are, Mother of God. Queen of heaven and earth I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to succour me in my necessity. There is none who can withstand your power, O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands. Say this prayer for 3 consecutive days and then publish. FoR You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my

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mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139 St miChael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the malice and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.

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london, Protea House: Single per/night R300, twin R480. Self-catering, busses and underground nearby. Phone Peter 0044 208 748 4834. Ballito: Up-market penthouse on beach, selfcatering, 084 790 6562 FiSh hoeK: Self-catering accommodation, sleeps 4. Secure parking. Tel: 021 785 1247. KnYSna: Self-catering accommodation for 2 in Old Belvidere with wonderful lagoon views. 044 387 1052. 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 mjsalida@mweb.co.za SedgeField: Beautiful self-catering garden holiday flat, sleeps four, two bedrooms, open-plan lounge, kitchen, fully equipped. 5 min walk to lagoon. Out of season specials. Contact les or Bernadette 044 343 3242, 082 900 6282. StRand: Beachfront flat to let. Stunning views, fully equipped. One bedroom, sleeps 3. Seasonal rates. From R525 p/night for 2 people—low season. Garage. Ph Brenda 082 822 0607.

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12th Sunday: June 23 Readings: Zechariah 12:10-11, 13:1, Psalm 63:2-6, 8-9, Galatians 3:26-29, Luke 9:18-24

T is not a comfortable business, responding to God’s invitation, and next Sunday’s readings remind us of the discomfort. The first reading is in the context of what God is going to do to save Jerusalem and Judah from all their enemies: “I shall pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace...and they shall look on the one whom they have pierced.” We do not know who the “pierced one” is, but much later Christians saw it as a reference to Jesus. Clearly there is some profound emotion involved: “They shall mourn as they mourn for a beloved son, and grieve as they grieve for a first-born.” The psalm, as so often, is about the human longing for God: “God, my God, I am longing for you...I look to you in the Temple to see your strength and your glory, for your steadfast love is better than life...so I shall bless you all my life.” This is the song of one who is obsessed with God, and it concludes: “My soul clings

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Surrendering our artificial divisions

Nicholas King SJ

Sunday Reflections

to you...your right hand lifts me up.” In the second reading, Paul is continuing his argument with the Galatians; here he is reminding them of what their baptism implies: “You are all children of God, through the faith in Jesus Christ.” Then we learn of the discomfort, for it involves “putting on” Christ, rather as an actor in a Greek tragedy “puts on” the costume of the part he is playing. And as a result, in Christianity we have to surrender all the artificial divisions that human beings use to classify one another: “There is no such thing as Jew or Greek” (so no more ethnic or religious distinctions),

“no such thing as slave or free” (no more social or economic discrimination), “no such thing as male and female” (gender divisions are abolished), and the bottom line is “you are all one in Christ Jesus”. That is a great gift, but it does not come easily. The gospel for next Sunday is Luke’s version of Peter’s confession of Jesus’ identity. Since it is Luke’s gospel, it starts with Jesus at prayer; from that beginning he goes on to ask the disciples what “the crowds” think of him; they give various somewhat conventional answers: “John the Baptist...Elijah...a prophet”. Doubtless to their acute discomfort Jesus now insists that they give their answer to the question; and in the name of all of us Peter pronounces him to be “the Messiah of God”. That sounds fine, but then we notice immediately that there is an unexpected (and far from comfortable) follow-up: “He rebuked them and told them not to tell anybody.”

Always in a terrible hurry H

ASTE is our enemy. It puts us under stress, raises our blood pressure, makes us impatient, renders us more vulnerable to accidents and, most seriously of all, blinds us to the needs of others. Haste is normally not a virtue, irrespective of the goodness of the thing towards which we are hurrying. In 1970, Princeton University did some research with seminary students to determine whether being committed to helping others in fact made a real difference in a practical situation. They set up this scenario: they would interview a seminarian in an office and, as the interview was ending, ask that seminarian to immediately walk over to a designated classroom across the campus to give a talk. But they always put a tight timeline between when the interview ended and when the seminarian was supposed to appear in the classroom, forcing the seminarian to hurry. On the way to the talk, each seminarian encountered an actor playing a distressed person (akin to the Good Samaritan scene in the gospels). The test was to see whether or not the seminarian would stop and help. What was the result? One would guess that, being seminarians committed to service, these individuals might be more likely to stop than most other people. But that wasn’t the case. Being seminarians seemed to have no effect on their behaviour in

Conrad

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Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

this situation. Only one thing did: They were prone to stop and help or to not stop and help mostly on the basis of whether they were in a hurry or not. If they were pressured for time, they didn’t stop; if they were not pressured for time, they were more likely to stop. From this experiment its authors drew several conclusions. First, that morality becomes a luxury as the speed of our daily lives increases; and second, that because of time pressures we tend not to see a given situation as a moral one. In essence, the more in a hurry we are, the less likely we are to stop and help someone else in need. Haste and hurry, perhaps more than anything else, prevent us from being Good Samaritans. We know this from our own experience. Our struggle to give proper time to family, prayer, and helping others has mainly to do with time. We’re invariably too busy, too pressured, too hurried, too driven, to stop and help. A writer that I know confesses that when she comes to die what she will re-

gret most about her life is not the times she broke a commandment, but the many times she stepped over her own children on her way to her den to write. Along similar lines, we tend to blame secular ideology for so much of the breakdown of the family in our society today when, in fact, perhaps the biggest strain of all on the family is the pressure that comes from the workplace that has us under constant pressure, forever in a hurry, and daily stepping over our children because of the pressures of work. I know this all too well, of course, from my own experience. I am forever pressured, forever in a hurry, forever over-extended, and forever stepping over all kinds of things that call for my attention on my way to work. As a priest, I can rationalise this by pointing to the importance of the ministry. Ministry is meant to conscript us beyond our own agenda, but deeper down, I know that much of this is a rationalisation. Sometimes, too, I rationalise my busyness and hurry by taking consolation in the fact that I came to be this way legitimately. It’s in my genes. Both my father and my mother exhibited a similar struggle. They were wonderful, moral, and loving parents, but they were often over-extended. Responding to too many demands is a mixed virtue. It’s no accident that virtually all of the classical spiritual writers, writing without the benefit of the Princeton study, warn about the dangers of overwork. Indeed, the dangers of haste and hurry are already written into the very first page of scripture where God invites us to make sure to keep proper Sabbath. When we are in a hurry we see little beyond our own agenda. The positive side to haste and hurry is that they are, perhaps, the opposite of acedia. The driven-person who is always in a hurry at least isn’t constantly struggling to get through the morning to the lunch hour. She always has a purpose. As well, haste and hurry can help make for a productive individual who is affirmed and admired for what he does, even as he is stepping over his own children to get to his workplace. I know this too: I get a lot of affirmation for my work, even as I have to admit that pressure and hurry prevent me much of the time from being a Good Samaritan. Haste makes waste, so goes the saying. It also makes for a spiritual and a human blindness that can severely limit our compassion.

Then it gets very painful indeed, as Jesus continues: “The Son of Man has to suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised on the third day.” Luke omits the uncomfortable little spat with Peter that you will find in Mark’s gospel at CaesareaPhilippi; instead he goes straight on to spell out the implications for his followers: “If someone wants to come after me, they must deny themselves and take up their cross, every day, and follow me.” Then we are invited to meditate on one of Jesus’ uncomfortable paradoxes: “Anyone who wants to preserve their life will lose it; but anyone who loses their life for my sake, that person is going to preserve it.” The point, it seems, is that if we really do want to be disciples of Jesus, then what is asked of us is nothing less than a generous self-surrender to the point of giving up our lives. There is something to reflect on in the coming week; and it will not be comfortable.

Southern Crossword #554

ACROSS 3. Nuptials (9) 8. Greek god seen in pure rose colour (4) 9. It’s needed to fill the urn (9) 10. It was Roman in Jesus’ time (6) 11. Town in which Lot settled (Gn 13) (5) 14. The angel told the women Jesus had done so (5) 15. One learner for the Nativity (4) 16. He’s also known as Jack (5) 18. You see, she’s in ignorance (4) 20. Bleak (5) 21. Hoped to discover high priest’s vestment (5) 24. Acid of vinegar (6) 25. Having had a good intention (4,5) 26. Laud about two parts (4) 27. Sacrificial burnt offering (9)

DOWN 1. He stands at the altar (9) 2. Peacefulness (9) 4. Care about a piece of land (4) 5. City with nothing for the great lover (5) 6. Lawsuit in wartime? (6) 7. God’s sword slashes through this place (Is 34) (4) 9. Kind of handle for the eccentric person (5) 11. Reserved and remained, we hear (5) 12. Some mount is of great significance (9) 13. Garments for those in holy orders (9) 17. Official proclamation (5) 19. Greek god (6) 22. Last Greek letter (5) 23. Moses climbed this mount (Dt 32) (4) 24. Hill colonists (4) Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

MAN who infrequently attended church was in the line to shake the priest’s hand at the end of Mass. As the man’s turn came the priest grabbed the his and pulled him aside. The priest said to him: “You need to join the army of the Lord!” The man replied: “I’m already in the army of the Lord father.” The priest questioned: “Then how come I don’t see you except at Christmas and Easter?” He whispered back: “I’m in the secret service.” Send us your favourite Catholic joke, preferably clean and brief, to The Southern Cross, Church Chuckle, PO Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000.