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Giving back to society now By CLAiRE MATHiESOn

ORALITY and ethics must be part of the economy of South Africa and Catholic social teaching in business is “vitally important”. These were the words of Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria who has called for successful business men and women to give back to society. The call came shortly after one of South Africa’s richest people, Patrice Motsepe, committed at least R120 million in the last two months for sustainable development and upliftment projects in various communities in the nine provinces of the country. The commitments were made as the first contribution by the Motsepe family who pledged to make R500 million available over the next three to five years for projects in education, women’s co-operatives and businesses, youth co-operatives and partnerships with religious organisations and workers’ organisations, traditional authorities, charitable organisations, and for sports, music and arts. Mr Motsepe, a Catholic, “lives with his eyes open to the world around him” and is an “excellent example” of what Catholic businessmen should be doing. Archbishop Slattery spoke of Mr Motsepe’s past where he grew up learning basic business skills in his father’s spaza shop. He attended Tsogo High School, a Sisters of Mercy school in the North West, before going on to study law. “While some start poor and become rich, it is important to not forget where one has come from. Many people believe they don’t owe anything to anyone, and they live purely for themselves. This is not Christian,” said Archbishop Slattery, adding that Mr Motsepe, who is the chairman of African Rainbow Minerals, sits on the board of Harmony and Sanlam and is the owner of football club Mamelodi Sundowns, is “certainly a great example” of what successful people need to be doing today. “Giving back is of supreme importance. It is not only an option but it is a necessity. We all need to be involved in the development of people,” Archbishop Slattery told The Southern Cross.

“We need to recognise the human race as a family unit—that we are all the same. People are not just economic units. We are dealing with whole people. The businessman does not just hire a labourer. He hires a fellow human being whose life must be dignified.” The archbishop said while we should live like Jesus, a man of prayer, we should also remember that Jesus was a man for the people. “He spent a lot of time easing people’s troubles and giving of the spirit and healing. “People in the Church have responsibility to the social life around them—notice that people are poor, notice that old people have no one to visit them, notice the children who are lacking. But beyond noticing, we can do something about it,” said Archbishop Slattery. Similarly, in Cape Town, Archbishop Stephen Brislin has called for the faithful to take up a stewardship challenge where time, money and effort are donated to the upliftment of poorer communities. Mr Motsepe believes government alone could not deal with the challenges facing many South Africans. “We can only change this if business, civil society and the government work together,” he said. And there are benefits for all, said Archbishop Slattery. “Humans are made to be social and we are made to deeply touch and uplift and benefit each other. Those who give up something for others experience joy.” Mr Motsepe’s wealth is estimated to be R24 billion, half of which he plans to donate as part of the Giving Pledge—a campaign to encourage the wealthiest people in the world to make a commitment to give most of their wealth to philanthropic causes. The campaign specifically focuses on billionaires— to date 105 have signed the pledge. Archbishop Slattery said while the Giving Pledge was admirable, overall the rich continue to get richer and the poor, poorer. “The growing gap between the rich and the poor in South Africa is a scandal. You don’t need to be a billionaire to make a difference. You can start now.”

Canonisation of Blessed John Paul II is another step closer By Cindy WOOdEn

LTHOUGH the process is not complete and is supposed to be secret at this point, Italian media are reporting that the canonisation of Blessed John Paul II is another step closer. The Italian news agency ANSA and many Italian papers say Vatican sources confirmed that the theological consultants to the Congregation for Saints’ Causes affirmed that the description of prayers and events surrounding an alleged miracle provides evidence that the healing was accomplished through the intercession of the late pope. The congregation’s board of physicians had said in April that there was no natural, medical explanation for the healing, which involves a woman from Latin America healed on May 1, 2011, just hours after Blessed John Paul was beatified. Even if the news about the theological consultants is true, the cardinals who are

members of the congregation still must vote on whether to recommend that the pope recognise the healing as a miracle. The papal decree is needed before a canonisation date can be set. Polish Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow, Blessed John Paul’s longtime secretary, and many others are hoping the canonisation can be celebrated in October around the 35th anniversary of Pope John Paul’s election on October 16, 1978.—CNS

Holy Rosary high school led a protest and fundraising drive for the protection of the rhino. They managed to raise R700 in less than half an hour for the “African unicorn”.

Help Holy Rosary save our rhino

OLY Rosary School has pledged their assistance to Rock ‘n Ride 4 Rhino, an organisation conceived by Jason Hartman (founding director of Men of the Trees), and Dave Estment (founding trustee of the Wild Imaging Trust) in partnership with Damien Mander (founding director of the In-

ternational Anti-Poaching Foundation). The organisation is dedicated to helping rescue the endangered Rhino, and to date Holy Rosary School has collected R40 000. n To support this initiative please look for Rock ‘n Ride 4 Rhino on all major social networking sites. www.facebook.com/RocknRide4rhino

Fr Axelrod: OBE a “lovely surprise” By CLAiRE MATHiESOn

OUTH African-born Redemptorist Father Cyril Axelrod is to be awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth for his work as a consultant around the world in training sighted people to guide and communicate with deaf-blind people. Fr Axelrod was born deaf and diagnosed with progressive blindness in his forties due to Ushers Syndrome. He was one of the first deaf people in the world to train to become a Catholic priest. He is the only deaf-blind Catholic priest in the world. “When I received the notice from the Chancellor of Knighthood of St James in London, it came to me with a disbelief and overwhelming emotion,” Fr Axelrod told The Southern Cross. Fr Axelrod will be officially awarded the OBE in the next three to six months. “I will be sent an invitation to attend an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace.” The award will recognise the work Fr Axelrod has done not only working with deaf and visually impaired people in London, where he lives today, but also for his work as a consultant to the Hong Kong Society for the Blind where he developed programmes and social services for sighted people to guide and communicate with deaf-blind people. During apartheid, Fr Axelrod established a multi-racial school for deaf children in Soweto, a hostel for deaf homeless people in Pretoria, and an employment centre in Cape Town. Today, he visits South Africa to lead retreats with his Redemptorist community in Cape Town.

Fr Cyril Axelrod is to be awarded the Order of the British Empire for his outstanding work with the deaf-blind. (Photo: Claire Mathieson) Fr Axelrod encourages able-bodied people to empower and learn from disabled people. He sees his deaf-blindness as a blessing and a powerful teaching tool to help others. He believes disability teaches us valuable lessons of unconditional love, trust, hope, faith and inner peace. The Redemptorist priest is a published author in multiple languages. At the time of this interview, he was on his way to South Korea for the book launch of his autobiography in Korean. The 71-year-old priest said he was excited about the award. “I could hardly believe it!” said Fr Axelrod. “I am deeply honoured by the lovely surprise.”

The Southern Cross, June 26 to July 2, 2013

LOCAL

Fatima statues Parish celebrates diamond jubilee are awarded H STAFF REPORTER

STAFF REPORTER

TOTAL of 52 statues of Our Lady of Fatima have been dispatched this year to churches around South Africa by a Portuguese businessman. One shipment has already been delivered; the other two will arrive in South Africa by sea in the coming weeks. The statues will be delivered to the parishes’ diocesan chancery, from where they can be collected. The businessman, who asks not to be named, has undertaken to present a 75cm-tall statue to every newly built church in Southern Africa—and a metre-high replica of the statue of Fatima for churches that are dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima. Parishes that qualify are asked to give six-months’ notice before dedication. The donor said the feedback he has received suggests that parish priests find the statues a great aid in motivating parishioners to pray. He had been told that in parishes that have already received statues, prayer groups have been formed. The leading causes for prayers were drugs, violence (especially domestic), abortion, rape (especially of children), robberies and other forms of crime. The businessman suggested that even those parishes that do not have a statue of Our Lady of Fatima might pray the rosary on the 13th of every month, because, he said, “Our Lady has never let anyone down”.

The statues were donated on the condition that the recipient parish as a community recites the rosary once a month, particularly during the period from May 13 through to October. A second condition is that the donated statue be placed at an altar in the main church or in a side chapel or shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima. The following parishes were awarded statues in the second offer, made in the May 1 issue of The Southern Cross: Our Lady of Fatima, Franklin, Kokstad; Uganda Martyrs, Kokstad; St Peter Claver, Kroonstad; Maria Assumpta, Middelberg, De Aar; Fatima Convent, Glencowie, Witbank; Our Lady of Peace of Fatima, Bophelong, Johannesburg; Our Lady of Fatima, Dube, Johannesburg; Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Krugersdorp, Johannesburg; St Matthew’s, Bonteheuwel, Cape Town; St Martin De Porres, Lavistown, Cape Town; St Luke’s, Facreton, Cape Town; Nazareth House Convent, Port Elizabeth; St Peter’s Point, Durban; St Francis Xavier, Stampriet, Namibia; St Augustine, Upington; St Elizabeth, Mashaeng, Bethlehem; Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Krugersdorp; St Paul’s, Ngcobo, Mthatha; St Anthony’s, Greyville, Durban; St Theresa’s, Inchanga, Durban; Sacred Heart, Camperdown, Durban. n New churches can apply for a statue by e-mailing jjvcamara@gmail.com

OLY Trinity parish in Durban has celebrated its diamond jubilee with a special Mass. “The diamond jubilee was a celebration, not only of the legacy of architecture and design of the church, but also of a vibrant congregation past and present, whose dedication has stood the test of time,” said parishioner Veronica Christian. The jubilee saw former parish priest Fr Rodney Moss and current parish priest Fr Massimo Biancalani assisting in the Mass, which was celebrated by Bishop Barry Wood of Durban. “The Durban Chamber Choir together with the parish choir set the deeply spiritual atmosphere for the liturgy, followed by the parish’s contemporary folk ensemble which concluded the celebration with a modern upbeat rhythm and uplifting melody,” said Ms Christian. The parish was first established at Maris Stella Convent in 1951, to serve the needs of a handful of Catholics from Musgrave, Essenwood and Springfield roads. Between 1953 and 1958 the congregation purchased the land and built the present church, designed by architects Allan Woodrow and Fr Austin Collingwood. “Fr Collingwood was a professional architect at the time. He later entered the priesthood and was ordained at Holy Trinity in April 1976. He then served as parish priest from 1982-1993,” Ms Christian told The Southern Cross. The sandstone building was to be named Our Lady of Victories, but “the late Archbishop Dennis Hurley felt the name was inappropriate, as World War II was long over and such

The interior ready for the celebratory diamond jubilee Mass at Holy Trinity in durban. (Photo: Melita Vurden) a name sounded one-sided. He suggested that the parish ‘go straight to the top and call it after the Blessed Trinity’. Holy Trinity opened its doors on December 14, 1958, and the building was blessed by the archbishop,” said Ms Christian. The parishioners are today very proud of their building. The architecture features marble imported from Italy, oak panels that were carved in Scotland and Stations of the Cross that were carved in Oberammergau in Germany. But the building is also very personal. “A piece of a teacup belonging to the mother of Allan Woodrow can be seen embedded in one of the marble pillars near the altar,” said Ms Christian, adding that Fr Collingwood, through his many travels abroad, collected little stones from St Peter’s in Rome, Our Lady’s grotto at Lourdes, the Catacomb of St Stephen near Rome, and the mountains of Lesotho. He placed

some of these stones in the wall behind the altar. Today, Holy Trinity is home to about 2 500 parishioners. Ms Christian said the parish was “vibrant” and parishioners active in outreach. “The parish gives full support to Fr Massimo in his work as director of the archdiocesan Right to Live Campaign.” Fr Biancalani is also the founder of eight Mater Homes in the province which give hope and dignity to women in a pregnancy crisis, abused women and children, and those affected by HIV/Aids. The Mass was followed by a commemorative dinner for special guests and parishioners—with 430 parishioners accommodated in both the parish hall and the enclosed parking area where “eager, lively and efficient parish youth served as waiters and waitresses for the evening,” Ms Christian said. Cardinal Wilfrid Napier attended the dinner.

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The Southern Cross, June 26 to July 2, 2013

LOCAL

Keimos-Upington launches pilgrimage By CLAiRE MATHiESOn

HE diocese of Keimoes-Upington is to launch its very first official pilgrimage this August. The pilgrimage will take place at St Joseph’s Mission on an island surrounded by the Orange River known as Kanoneiland, which is about 30km from the city of Upington and about 12km from Keimoes. “We find that, with a vast diocese, our people have been having to look for this kind of spiritual renewal elsewhere. The time has come for a pilgrimage centre to nourish not only the faithful of our diocese, but also interested Catholics all over South Africa, who are seeking renewal, strength and God’s special touch in their lives,” said Fr Phumlani Ndlovu OMI. The pilgrimage is aimed at at-

tracting the faithful of the diocese of Keimoes-Upington, but “we have extended invitations to others in and around South Africa,” said Fr Ndlovu. “We hope people will get to know about the pilgrimage and thus take part yearly.” The pilgrimage will consist of a walk from Klipeiland across to Kanoneiland which is “a prayerful walk of about three to four hours through beautiful typically Northern Cape scenes of vast landscape, vineyards, and the Orange River,” Fr Ndlovu told The Southern Cross. The Oblate priest said pilgrims can expect spiritual renewal and “a very warm embrace from Our Lady, Assumed into Heaven. The friendly people of the Northern Cape will bless them with a welcome they will never forget. Local pilgrims will also have a new look at the diocese

after this experience of faith!” Fr Ndlovu said South Africans were used to taking to the streets— walking, jogging, and even striking. But “if we can use our roads for such activities in South Africa, why can’t we use them also for prayer and the sanctification of South Africa? So, this pilgrimage begins as a way of pleading for the sanctification of, not only our diocese, but South Africa as a whole through the intercession of Our Lady, Assumed into Heaven, who is proclaimed patroness of Catholics in South Africa.” The pilgrimage, on August 17, will run under the theme “Faith is a Journey—Walk in the Light”. n For more information on the pilgrimage,contact Fr Ndlovu on 073 2096 146, pndlovu@gmail.com or post St Joseph’s Mission, PO Box 34, Kanoneiland.

Radio Veritas off air for two-week repair By CLAiRE MATHiESOn

OUTH Africa’s Catholic radio station, Radio Veritas, will not broadcast on medium-wave 567AM from June 24-July 8 due to “urgent maintenance on our mast at Meyerton,” station director Fr Emil Blaser OP said. However, listeners can still tune in on the Internet or through their satellite connections. “We will still be broadcasting on DStv 870 and streaming live on

www.radioveritas.co.za,” said Fr Blaser. He said the maintenance being done will include the replacement of insulators within the guy cables supporting the 300m-tall antenna. “This is a very dangerous and delicate operation which is being done in winter when the likelihood of lightning is reduced,” he explained. Fr Blaser ensured radio listeners that the station will “definitely be back again”, adding that if the job

is finished earlier than the anticipated two weeks, broadcasts will resume immediately. In the meantime, Fr Blaser said, listeners will be able to tune in on DStv and on the station’s website. All interviews will still be available as podcasts on the website. “There will be no change in programmes—only the shutting down of the medium-wave transmitter.” Radio Veritas celebrated over Easter the one-year anniversary of its medium-wave broadcasting.

Children of The Love of Christ children’s home dance at the annual fundraising ball.

TLC has a ball fundraising By CLAiRE MATHiESOn

HE annual fundraising ball for the Love of Christ (TLC) children’s home in EIkenhof, Johannesburg has resulted in a positive yield which will help the home continue to assist the “tiniest victims of a society in turmoil”. Belinda Peters has been raising funds and awareness for TLC since 2001 by hosting an annual dinner dance at the Italian club in Bedfordview. “These events are themed and filled to the brim with entertainment which has included Irish dancers, drummers, singers, pianists and a show by the kids from TLC.” This year’s event included a raffle and an auction which, Ms Peters said, was “followed by dancing until the wee hours of the morning”. Two black and white pictures

of the handprints of the home’s oldest resident, Joshua Jarvis, collected R10 000 in the auction. TLC was established by the Jarvis family who, since rescuing two children in 1993, have played a part in changing the lives of more than 780 babies who have been abandoned or orphaned, as our nation continues to be plagued by HIV-Aids, unemployment and high crime levels. Today, it cares for up to 30 small babies at any time, for whom “we are seeking forever families”. Over the years a total of almost R1 million has been raised. Ms Peters said the home was doing “great things” and fundraising would continue to support the “necessary role” TLC plays in so many lives. n For more information on TLC and to donate visit http://www.tlc.org.za or 083 704 2909

Brescia House school was yarn bombed in support of international World yarn Bombing day and South African Wool Week. All blankets, squares, beanies and scarves that were made for this project will be donated to charity by the school’s Serviam committee. Shown are Serviam committee members Amy Wardle and Stephanie Le Roy, along with Mrs iacoviitti (HS Serviam) and Mrs Maclachlan (HS Bus Ed Teacher) on the yarn-bombed steps.

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The Southern Cross, June 26 to July 2, 2013

INTERNATIONAL

Pope, Anglican leader pledge to search for unity By Cindy WOOdEn

OPE Francis and Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury, spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, pledged to support each other with their prayers and to continue the search for full unity between their communities. Meeting at the Vatican, praying together in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel in the Apostolic Palace and eating lunch together in the papal residence, both remarked on the fact that Pope Francis’ inaugural Mass was celebrated on March 19 and Archbishop Welby's installation was March 21. “Since we began our respective ministries within days of each other, I think we will always have a particular reason to support one another in prayer,” Pope Francis said. He also thanked the new Anglican leader for praying for him during his installation at Canterbury Cathedral. Archbishop Welby told him, “I pray that the nearness of our two inaugurations may serve the reconciliation of the world and the church.” The two spent more than 30 minutes meeting privately, with an interpreter, before giving their speeches, exchanging gifts and joining about 100 Catholics and Anglicans from Rome for the prayer in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel. In their speeches, the two Christian leaders did not ignore the issues that have stalled hopes for unity in

recent years. “The history of relations between the Church of England and the Catholic Church is long and complex and not without pain,” Pope Francis told Archbishop Welby. However, he said, “firm bonds of friendship have enabled us to remain on course even when difficulties have arisen in our theological dialogue that were greater than we could have foreseen at the start of our journey”. In recent years, the Catholic-Anglican dialogue—like the Anglican Communion itself—has had to deal with differences over the ordination of women as priests and bishops, with the blessing of homosexual unions in some Anglican communities and with questions regarding the ordination of openly gay bishops. In response to requests from Anglicans who wanted to join the Catholic Church, but also wanted to preserve their Anglican spiritual and liturgical heritage, Pope Benedict, in 2009, established Anglican ordinariates, jurisdictions similar to dioceses. Pope Francis thanked the Anglicans for making “sincere efforts” to understand Pope Benedict’s provisions. The Anglican ordinariates, he said, “will enable the spiritual, liturgical and pastoral traditions that form the Anglican patrimony to be better known and appreciated in the Catholic world”. Despite new challenges, the pope said, Catholics and Anglicans recognise their shared obligations to work

Pope Francis exchanges gifts with the Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury, England, during a private audience at the Vatican. (Photo: Stefano Spaziani, pool/CnS) for the unity Christ desired, to proclaim the Gospel, to defend Christian values and to serve the poor and speak on their behalf. Pope Francis said the joint witness of Christian values is especially important today “in a world that seems at times to call into question some of the foundations of society, such as respect for the sacredness of human life or the importance of the institution of the family built on marriage, a value that you yourself have had occasion to recall recently,” the pope told the archbishop. In early June, Archbishop Welby

Holocaust martyr’s wedding ring used as official relic By CLARE MyERS

ITH the body of the recently beatified Italian martyr Odoardo Focherini consumed by the fires of a concentration camp’s crematorium, his home diocese of Carpi needed to find an alternative relic. They chose his wedding ring. “The life of Odoardo was a love song,” said Bishop Francesco Cavina of Carpi, Bl Focherini’s hometown. Focherini, an Italian journalist and father of seven, saved more than a hundred Jews during the Holocaust. His beatification on June 15 was praised by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) in a press release. “Odoardo Focherini acted selflessly in accordance with the highest moral principles shared by our two

italian martyr Bl Odoardo Focherini. religions,” said Lisa Palmieri-Billig, representative of AJC in Italy and liaison to the Holy See. “This act will create yet another bond between Christians and Jews.” Focherini was declared “Righteous Among the Nations” in 1969 by the Jewish memorial organisation Yad Vashem. The distinction is given to those who risked their lives to

help Jews during the Holocaust. Focherini helped orchestrate escapes from Italy into Switzerland with forged identity cards. He was arrested by the Nazis while organising another rescue at a hospital in Carpi in 1944 and taken to a prison in Bologna. He was transferred to several camps before arriving at a camp in Hersbruck, Germany, where he was said to be an inspiration to other prisoners. “Even in the prison camps, he spread optimism and hope,” said Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, who presided over the beatification ceremony. Before he died of a leg wound in the camp in 1944, Focherini managed to send more than 150 letters to his family and friends. His wife, Maria Marchesi, gave her support to his heroic work when he asked for her consent in risking his life to help those persecuted by the Nazis. —CNS

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criticised a proposed bill in the British Parliament to recognise gay marriage. The archbishop said with the bill, “the concept of marriage as a normative place for procreation is lost. The idea of marriage as covenant is diminished. The family in its normal sense predating the state and as our base community of society is weakened.” Like Pope Francis, Archbishop Welby has been an outspoken critic of the way modern financial and economic structures place profit above the good of persons. “We share many ideas” on the

topics of economics, social justice and peace, Pope Francis told him. “As you yourself have observed, we Christians bring peace and grace as a treasure to be offered to the world, but these gifts can bear fruit only when Christians live and work together in harmony.” Archbishop Welby told the pope that for many years he has “found inspiration in the great corpus of Catholic social teaching and worked on its implications with Catholic groups”. “We must love those who seek to oppose us,” the archbishop said, “and love above all those tossed aside—even whole nations—by the present crises around the world.” “Even as we speak,” he said, “our brothers and sisters in Christ suffer terribly from violence, oppression and war, from bad government and unjust economic systems. If we are not their advocates in the name of Christ, who will be?” The ecumenical journey “is testing and we cannot be unaware that differences exist about how we bring the Christian faith to bear on the challenges thrown up by modern society”, Archbishop Welby said. However, friendship makes it possible to discuss the differences and “to be open to sharing the discernment of a way forward that is faithful to the mind of Christ”. —CNS

Flash flood closes Lourdes shrine for second time in 8 months

LASH flooding created by heavy rains have forced officials to close the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes. Authorities evacuated about 200 people, most of them from campgrounds near the shrine, after water levels rose quickly following heavy rain and unseasonal snowfall in the area a day earlier. The Lourdes grotto, where Mary is reported to have appeared to St Bernadette Soubirous in 1858, was under as much as 1,5 metres of water, Mathias Terrier, who is in charge of communications at the shrine, told AFP. The nearby Gave de Pau River was flowing about 3 metres above its normal level, Terrier said. He said the floods posed a greater threat to the shrine than those of last October that caused damage amounting to more than R10 million. “It’s very serious, the water is still rising. There is nothing we can do. We just have to wait and cross our fingers and hope,” he said. “We have taken preventative

A worker shovels mud from the grotto at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes (Photo: Caroline Blumberg, Reuters/CnS) measures to evacuate everyone. At the moment, we are most concerned with trying to rehouse people and once that is done we will look at any damage caused. People are the priority at the moment,” he added. —CNS

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INTERNATIONAL

St Joseph included in eucharistic prayers By Cindy WOOdEn

Catholics, Orthodox launch online-safety website C

St Joseph is depicted in a mosaic at Galway Cathedral in ireland. Pope Francis confirmed a decision originally made by Pope Benedict to include St Joseph permanently in the eucharistic prayers used at most Masses in the Latin rite. (Photo: Crosiers, CnS) In his homily at the Mass, Pope Francis said that in the Gospels, “St Joseph appears as a strong and courageous man, a working man, yet in his heart we see great tenderness, which is not the virtue of the weak, but rather a sign of strength of spirit and a capacity for concern, for compassion, for genuine openness to others, for love.” The new pope said exercising the role of protector as St Joseph means doing so “discreetly, humbly and silently, but with an unfailing presence and utter fidelity, even when he finds it hard to understand”. St Joseph responded to his call to be a protector “by being constantly attentive to God, open to the signs of God’s presence and receptive to God’s plans, and not simply his own,” the new pope said. Pope Benedict, who was born Joseph Ratzinger and celebrated the March 19 feast of St Joseph as his name day, told a crowd in Cameroon in 2009 that he had “received the grace of bearing this beautiful name”. “Throughout all of history, Joseph is the man who gives God the greatest display of trust,” even in the face of the astonishing news that Mary was to bear a child, Pope Benedict told the crowd.—CNS

ATHOLICS and Greek Orthodox in the United States have collaborated on a new website to instruct Web users, primarily parents, on how youths can navigate the online world, taking advantage of its promise while steering away from its pitfalls. The site, www.faithand safety.org, was activated in the middle of June, which is Internet Safety Month. The site’s subtitle is “Technology Safety Through the Eyes of Faith”. Even in its first days, it is loaded with news about sites that teens use, eyebrow-raising details about children’s first exposure to online pornography, suggestions on how to use technology safely at home, and tips on negotiating the mobile-app scene. The site was two years in the making. Its genesis was during a brainstorming session as part of a summit meeting of the Religious Alliance Against Pornography attended by Catholic and Greek Orthodox leaders. “We were challenged to come up with actionable items as a result of the summit,” said Theo Nicolakis, chief information officer for the Greek Orthodox Church in the United States. “One of the items I proposed was that we were going to come up with an initiative that would give the voice of faith in regard to online and technological safety.” “It’s primary audience is intended to be parents and others who are concerned about children’s digital safety,” said Helen Osman, secretary of communications for the US bishops, adding the Catholic Communication Campaign helped bring FaithAndSafety to launch with grant funding. “It’s intended to honour the idea that parents are probably the best ones to understand new areas. It focuses a lot on helping them understand this world where their kids are more comfortable that they are but they really need to be there to help their children understand the potential and also the risk: how you deal

The child as a person and patient By CAROL GLATz

By MARk PATTiSOn

OPE Francis and retired Pope Benedict XVI have a special devotion to St Joseph and have assured that devotion regularly will be shared at Mass by Catholics around the world. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments said Pope Francis confirmed a decision originally made by Pope Benedict to include St Joseph permanently in the eucharistic prayers used at most Masses in the Latin rite. A decree signed by Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, congregation prefect, and Archbishop Arthur Roche, congregation secretary, said Pope Benedict had received petitions from Catholics around the world and approved adding after the name of the Virgin Mary, the words “with blessed Joseph, her spouse”. Blessed John XXIII had added the name of St Joseph to the first eucharistic prayer, known as the Roman Canon, in the 1960s. The new decree inserts his name into eucharistic prayers II, III and IV. A congregation official told Catholic News Service that national bishops’ conferences could set a date for the changes to begin if they believe that is necessary, “but because it is a matter of only adding five words, priests can begin immediately”. The decree described St Joseph as “an exemplary model of the kindness and humility that the Christian faith raises to a great destiny, and demonstrates the ordinary and simple virtues necessary for men to be good and genuine followers of Christ”. St Joseph, “caring most lovingly for the Mother of God and happily dedicating himself to the upbringing of Jesus”, has been the subject of deep Catholic devotion around the world for centuries, the decree said. The congregation provided bishops around the world with the exact wording to use for Masses in Latin, English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French, German and Polish. Pope Francis, who has a flower used as a symbol of St Joseph on his coat-of-arms, also chose the March 19 feast of St Joseph as the date for his inaugural Mass.

The Southern Cross, June 26 to July 2, 2013

HEN children exhibit behavioural problems, doctors and families should consider social and psychological support and not immediately try to address the difficulty with prescription drugs, said a number of speakers at a Vatican conference. Caution should be used not only because many prescribed medications can cause serious side effects, but because often the child’s behavioural problems are rooted in anxiety, stress and other psychological, not biological, causes, many speakers said. Paediatricians, pharmacologists, psychotherapists, psychiatrists, social workers, counsellors, ethicists and members of religious orders were among the dozens of speakers at an international meeting hosted by the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry. Speakers at the conference, “The Child as a Person and as a Patient: Therapeutic Approaches Compared”, presented their findings and preferred practices for dealing with disturbed, distressed or troubled children and adolescents. Several speakers noted an increase, especially in North America and parts of Europe, in the use of anti-depressants and so-called psychotropic medications for children who have been diagnosed with depression or who exhibit hyperactive, anti-social or aggressive behaviour. Findings included the fact that depression in children has increased in part because demands are heavier both on children and families and because social realtions seem to be more precarious in individualistic societies.—CNS

The

The Communications department of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Greek Orthodox archdiocese of America have launched www.faithandsafety.org, a resource for adults to help children safely navigate online. The website and complementary social media channels offer advice for safe use of the internet, mobile devices and other technology, while emphasising the positive use of technology to support faith. (CnS) with bullying, how you deal with pornography.” Ms Osman said, “We try to provide some of the technical advice but also provide it through the understanding that Catholic teaching and Greek Orthodox teaching is that all of creation is good.” Mr Nicolakis said the process of launching FaithAndSafety was “a herculean effort that took almost two years from the point of conception until today: identifying what the hot-button topics are going to be, finding strategic partners with common areas of interest, being able to build out the technology on the web and allow the platform to move forward”. FaithAndSafety is also on Facebook and Twitter. To keep the site fresh, “we’re trying right now to expand our partnerships,” he said. “We don’t pretend that we’re going to be experts in every area. We want to be a good clearinghouse of info for experts in particular areas.” The site has also engaged a slew of bloggers and commenta-

tors to weigh in on current events. Among them are Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City, chairman of the bishops’ Communications Committee, and Auxiliary Bishop Christopher Coyne of Indianapolis, another committee member. FaithAndSafety will be shown to audiences at the Catholic Media Convention in Denver, and at the “Theology and Communication in Dialogue” conference in Santa Clara, California, jointly sponsored by the US bishops and the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. Mr Nicolakis said he would be happy if other denominations wanted to join with the Catholic and Orthodox churches in building up the website. The current collaboration, though, has been “wonderful”, he added. “I don’t think I’ve ever been in a partnership that’s ever been so open and wonderful.”— CNS n The Southern Cross online: www.scross.co.za, Twitter: @ScrossZA, Facebook: www.facebook.com/thescross

S outher n C ross

Youth Pilgrimage 2014 HOLY LAND & CAIRO 5 – 14 July 2014

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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, hikes in the footsteps of Jesus, outdoor Masses, 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, Mount of Olives, Mt zion etc). Bethlehem. nazareth (with visit to a recreation of 1st century life). Cana. Capernaum. Boatride on the Sea of Galilee. Mount Tabor. Jordan River,. Armageddon. Caesarea. Mt Carmel. dead Sea. And much more. CAIRO: as a bonus, enjoy a visit to Cairo with the pyramids, sphinx and a nile Cruise.

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The Southern Cross, June 26 to July 2, 2013

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günter Simmermacher Guest editorial: Michael Shackleton

The problem of atheism

T matters to the Church and its beliefs that there are professed and unprofessed atheists in large numbers in the modern world. An ideology that totally contradicts the fundamental tenet of our faith, that God exists and is our Lord, Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier, cannot be brushed aside as inconsequential to Christian living. If the reality or concept of a transcendent God is rejected, then so are Christ’s divinity and the substance of the Christian faith. Vatican II pointed out that atheism is one of the most serious problems of our time, and atheistic humanism falsely considers man to be “an end in himself and the sole maker, with supreme control, of his own history” (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, 19,20). It may be easy to define atheism as the rejection of the existence of God but it is far less simple to declare who in particular does so absolutely or conditionally. St Paul wrote that what can be known about God is perfectly plain since God himself has made it plain, and ever since God created the world, his power and deity, however invisible, have been there for the mind to see in the things he has made (Rom 1:20-32). For St Paul the evidence of God’s creative power is right there, in the created things we all experience. He finds no excuse for those who cannot acknowledge this. Of course, psychologists know that there are degrees of perception, and not everyone will immediately react to the experience of the real world by inferring that it has a superior creator god as its source and origin. There are individuals who may resist the idea of a god, yet of a god they have never known or

Born gay

VIDENCE that biological factors influence sexual orientation comes from a variety of scientific studies. Levels of sex hormones in the pregnant mother influence sexual organisation of the foetal brain. Genetic influences on sexual orientation have been demonstrated in a number of studies of twins, where one twin was gay. There is evidence, albeit limited, that differences in certain areas of the brain are linked to sexual orientation. There is no scientific evidence that psychologi-

tried to understand. Some may get the idea of a vindictive god who is responsible for all the evil in the world. Others will want to be free from any restraints imposed by an unknown god. Many will be more agnostic than atheist yet lack the intellectual honesty to know and commit themselves to being one or the other. The French theologian Henri de Lubac remarked that there are no atheists, simply those who think they do not believe in God. Here we can consider the comment made by Pope Francis in which he apparently said non-believers could be saved through Christ if they do good. A Vatican spokesman, Fr Thomas Rosica, reaffirmed the Church’s teaching: those who can clearly see that Jesus Christ is the only way, truth and life in relation to God, yet stubbornly refuse to embrace this fact in their hearts, are not destined to eternal happiness. This was not in contradiction of the pope’s words. Rather, it laid stress on the Church’s belief that God wants all humans to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth, and it is only those who have the faculties to absorb this with commitment yet do not use them, who will be lost to Christ and his Church. Not everyone is going to concur on who or what God is. The question is: Does a transcendent God exist? This is a vital question for Christians and it is one that we must answer by the way we live and practise our creed: I believe in God the Father Almighty... One example may highlight this: Those who perform Catholic baptisms, marriages and funerals that often dwell excessively on human feelings and reminiscences, must never be tempted to let God be elbowed out of the sanctuary where he is forever present. cal or social factors will determine if someone will become gay or not. Moreover, it has been shown that the sexual orientation of their parents has no effect on the gender development of the children. For instance, the vast majority of adolescents raised by lesbian parents identify as heterosexual. Scientific studies demonstrating the healthy, adaptive functioning of the great majority of gay and lesbian adults paved the way toward removal of homosexuality as an illness from the psychiatric diagnostic manual in 1973. Brian Robertson, Cape Town

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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.

Retaining our Catholic youth

‘R

ETAINING young Catholics” (January 16) must be one of the best articles written for The Southern Cross. Those who do not appreciate our Mass now would not appreciate the possible changed version. To attract and hold people, young and old, parishioners need to have some social life that draws them to the parish to meet and enjoy the company of other Catholics. This I saw in a Bulawayo parish some years ago. The biggest drain on Catholic

youth is mixed marriages, marriages between Catholics and nonCatholics. When the non-Catholic does not take the Catholic faith seriously, the influence on the Catholic spouse and children is considerable and detrimental. Good intention is not enough. This does not mean the young will grow up to be poor individuals. They may be very good people, but not Catholics who will influence the world for good the Catholic way.

basic spiritual direction and counselling. We need to move away from a Church that largely focuses on ritual to one that is much more concerned about the spiritual and temporal needs of its members. Frank Bompas, Johannesburg

Pastoral care

GREAT deal has been written about the new evangelistion: unfortunately there is little evidence that much is actually happening, in spite of the many letters The Southern Cross correspondents have written on the issue. However, it is interesting that we have a new pope who was elected fundamentally because he has a wonderful reputation as a pastor, not an evangelist. And I believe pastoral care is the second pillar upon which the practical implementation of the mission of the Church depends. Those of us who are older may rememberthe old-style parish priests who used to visit all their parishioners periodically with the object of bringing back the lapsed and the doubters and strengthening the faith of the steadfast. This ministry, which involves quite a lot of dedication and hard work, has largely fallen into abeyance and desperately needs to be revived. There will be complaints that priests are fewer and no longer have the time to do this. However, this is a wonderful opportunity for the laity to get involved in rewarding and effective work for the Church. Every parish should have a pastoral team that visits not only the sick and house-bound but all members of the congregation. It is important, though, that suitable training should be given to those involved as well as guidance and supervision. Pastoral care of course involves a lot more than parish visiting. Those doing it should be trained to identify both spiritual needs and situations where support and counselling are needed. Obviously lay people involved will not be able to provide all the support needed and will need to be able to refer people to a spiritual director or professional counsellor when needed. Finally, we need to note that a lot of inspiration and support can be given in the context of the small parish groups that are present in most churches. Leaders of these groups need to be trained in giving

Keep out of e-toll case

HE article “Why the Church opposes e-tolls” (May 29) refers. I am addressing this letter to you as a concerned Catholic. Let me at the outset disclose that I am a consultant with the law firm representing SANRAL in the court proceedings initiated by OUTA against SANRAL, notwithstanding that such disclosure is irrelevant in that it has not influenced me and as I do not deal with the merits of the case or the arguments of the Justice & Peace Department and Mike Pothier, all of which have been exhaustively dealt with in the numerous court proceedings. I record my disappointment and disapproval of the involvement by the Church in this matter, simply because it falls outside the jurisdiction of the Church. To argue that “this is certainly a justice issue as it affects the poor” is spurious and without merit. Etolling is not a justice issue as it does not affect the poor. The poor are people who do not own cars. The poor who wish to use the freeway system will not be financially prejudiced in that the taxis are exempt from e-tolling. There are genuine justice issues which affect the poor, such as the Opinions expressed in The Southern Cross, especially in Letters to the Editor, do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor or staff of the newspaper, or of the Catholic hierarchy. The letters page in particular is a forum in which readers may exchange opinions on matters of debate. Letters must not be understood to necessarily reflect the teachings, disciplines or policies of the Church accurately. Letters can be sent to PO Box 2372, Cape Town 8000 or editor@scross.co.za or faxed to 021 465-3850

I have seen this in my family dating back to the early last century, a series of mixed marriages with few really active Catholics and some without any faith. My wife and I, because of old age, are no longer able to drive and, without practising Catholics in the vicinity, are unable to go to Mass. Instead we go to a Protestant church nearby, with the help of a lift. This service, while good, is completely without the sense of the presence of Christ. But as my former parish priest said: it is better than nothing. R Auret, Thornville, KwaZulu-Natal limits on social grants, VAT on essential foodstuffs and school books, and so on, which are a far cry from the “user-pay” concept employed in e-tolling, with which one may disagree, but is hardly unjust. This move is not reminiscent of the “old days when on occasion the Church would endorse a strike if it was deemed justifiable at a time when it was illegal for black workers to strike”, as Mr Pothier suggests. The legislation introduced by the apartheid government debarring black workers from striking was racist, discriminatory, clearly immoral and the black miners had no redress to the courts. Therefore it was just for the Church to support the illegal strike action even though the Church was encouraging the black miners to act illegally. In the present case, OUTA is exercising its right to seek redress from our courts. Our Constitutional Court held that the Transport Law General Amendment Act (“the Act”) is valid and upheld the government’s right to impose e-tolling to fund the construction of roads, which is the responsibility of government. Render unto Caesar. The only remaining issue is whether there was adequate notice given to the public for comment first, which issue is the subject of the appeal by OUTA to the Supreme Court of Appeal, as pointed out in the article. The support for OUTA by Cosatu, other bodies, and now the Church, is without merit. The case concerns legal and not political issues. The law must take its course and, if OUTA is successful, so be it. I am appalled in that to compound matters, the Church is calling on Catholics “not to collaborate with e-tolling proceedings”, that is, not to abide by the law. We live in a constitutional democracy subject to the rule of law. To encourage the Catholic community to act unlawfully and in defiance of the law is irresponsible, unacceptable and unfortunate. Alick Costa, Johannesburg

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The Southern Cross, June 26 to July 2, 2013

PERSPECTIVES

Seek out role-models in the Church Cardinal Wilfrid T Napier OFM O discover what is needed from each and every one who wishes to be a committed Christian, we cannot do better than look at what Christ demanded of his Apostles. He is very clear in his final instruction to them. First he orders them: “Go! Make disciples of all the nations.” Then, he adds: “Baptise them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” And finally he says: “Teach them.” How do we make disciples of others? There is really only one sure way, and that is to show how life in Christ needs to be lived. It is our way of life and lifestyle more than anything else that will encourage others to want to become Christians. That’s why Jesus starts by saying, “Show them”, that is, “Be their role models”. Of course this is a real challenge, because most of us don’t consider ourselves material for “role models”. So, it is helpful to consider where we can find such people. Where do we find role models in the Catholic Church? The saints are definitely role models, as are Church leaders. In fact, we need look no further than the three most recent popes to find challenging role models for ourselves. Pope John Paul II had a special calling to serve the youth. He saw their needs, was touched by their sometimes aimless searching, recognised that they had no one

to offer them leadership at world level, and so decided to take the gap himself, saying to himself: “This is what Jesus would do”. This is what made the World Youth Days such a resounding success—that the pope saw the need to give leadership, and the leaderless generation who responded to the unambiguous leadership offered. That’s why after each World Youth Day hundreds of thousands of young people went home committed to living according to what they had been given to reflect and act on. Pope Benedict XVI offered the Church and the world many speeches and writings which are logical and clear. They teach us about Jesus Christ, about who he is, what

Popes Francis (left) and Benedict XVi are two great role-models for Catholics today. (Photo: L’Osservatore Romano)

The Church in the modern world

VER the centuries the Church has contributed to the enlightenment of humanity in various ways: spiritually, through crucial social problems and by inspiring just public institutions of governance. With the publication of Pope John XXIII’s encyclical Pacem In Terris, and the Second Vatican Council papers, the Church put her direct footprint on modern world affairs, because it had become clear that the question of justice is first and foremost a theological question. So she began reminding humanity how the early encounter with the God of Jesus Christ awakened in many a thirst for love and solidarity towards one’s neighbour, and can still do. This is what gave birth to Christian society and in turn forged a large part of Western civilisation we predominantly live by today. It is the Church that humanised social and political structures of the world; gave life to a tradition of humanitarian and educational works as well as social promotion initiatives that today are taken for granted in countries that practise human rights and governments of democratic dispensation. Pacem in Terris was the last encyclical published by Pope John XXIII on April 11, 1963, less than two months before his death. Here the pope addressed all men of goodwill, believers and non-believers alike, for he said the Church must look to a world without boundaries. The novelty of the Vatican II documents lies in the fact that they established

a reciprocity between what the Church gives to the world and what she receives from it: “Whoever contributes to the development of the community of mankind on the level of family, culture, economic and social life, and national and international politics, according to the plan of God, is also contributing in no small way to the community of the Church.” Henceforth the Church emphasised its contribution in advocating for the defence of the dignity of the human person. This is seen most in John Paul II’s teachings in the encyclical Centessimus Annus. Here the Church, once again, after criticising the failures of authoritarianism in communism, reminds us that market economics too is doomed if “business as a moral enterprise” does not rise above radical neo-liberal economics. Economic freedom is only one element of human freedom. When it becomes autonomous, when man is seen more as a producer or consumer of goods than as a subject who produces and consumes in order to live, then economic freedom loses its necessary relationship to the human person and ends up by oppressing him. The advantage of the Church, what makes her even more relevant today, is that it has never cared much about labels and isms, but rather concentrated on working against the mechanistic vision of man. Pope John Paul II rejected the Marxist narrative, including the term “capitalism”, which he said focused on structures, labour and capital. Instead he placed emphasis on the per-

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Talking Frankly

he did and said in his teachings, and how he lived as the Son of God, and the Son of Man. His three volumes on the life of Jesus of Nazareth are a roadmap that leads us to know Jesus personally through an intimate encounter with him in the scriptures, in Christian life and in prayer. Pope Francis by his life and the way he practises his faith is setting us a huge challenge. During the week of discussions among the congregations of cardinals which preceded the conclave, numerous areas of life and practice that needed to be reformed had been identified. By his actions since his election, Pope Francis is showing us how well he had listened to the reports from various parts in the world, describing the state of the world and the Church’s response to it. What is surprisingly fresh is that he has responded not by telling others what they need to do, but rather by showing us how to begin with ourselves first, if we want to reform the Church and the world.

Mphuthumi Ntabeni

Pushing the Boundaries

son: “If capitalism means ‘an economic system which recognises the fundamental and positive role of business, the market, private property...as well as free human creativity in the economic sector’, then it should be defended and adopted as an economic system.” But if capitalism does not put economic freedom “at the service of human freedom in its totality”, then it is a distorting system. With the advance of technology, the Church is going to have to hone her “sentinel” prophetic power to speak against the growing mechanisation of humanity; against the world that threatens to be run through drones, and against everything that does not promote positive human freedom. In our country she will have to speak more and more against the deferment of freedom for the majority; against liberators turned oppressors; against corrupt collusion of business with the elites or politically connected; against the endemic violence on women and children; and against the violence of poverty. The Church will have to adopt an astute vigilance at a time in which the threats to humankind are not external but actually come from within man and are in his/her very heart. The Church has always been an expert in humanity and has always been on man’s side. Because of this she will always be relevant, unto the end of time.

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Pray with the Pope

Catholic youth mission General Intention: That World Youth Day in Brazil may encourage all young Christians to become disciples and missionaries of the Gospel.

N practice, it is now more than just a single day. It’s more like a week. According to its website, World Youth Day—or WYD—“started with a meeting hosted by Pope John Paul II in 1984. It was an encounter of love, dreamed of by God and embraced by the youth”. This year in Rio the theme will be “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19), and young people from all points of the compass will once again experience an intensive catechesis and formation to deepen their faith and so enable them to bear more faithful witness to the Gospel back in their home countries. The fact that we now have a South American pope will certainly give this South American WYD a considerable boost. For those who like statistics, it was the WYD in Manila in the Philippines in 1995 that pulled in the highest number of people so far—4 million in all. For this coming WYD, the unique combination of a Latin American pontiff coming to the most populous Latin American country—indeed, the largest Catholic country in the world—should again attract large numbers. Around 2 million are expected, according to one estimate. Our prayers are surely with those handling the organisation of the event. Just to house, feed, and move these youthful multitudes is a daunting logistical task as evidenced by some of the difficulties encountered at the last WYD in Spain. The organisers naturally tried to pack in as many events as possible for the young people, which necessitated their spending many hours daily on public transport. This meant a series of early mornings and late nights and some young people and their youth leaders returned home inspired but exhausted. Our prayers are also with the young people themselves and those who will speak to them, especially the pope himself.

Let faith grow in Asia Missionary Intention: That throughout Asia doors may open to messengers of the Gospel. E haven’t done too well at spreading the Gospel in Asia. It’s always been a “tough neighbourhood”. Missionaries encountered ancient and well established religious and spiritual traditions. Vast areas of Asia were populated by Muslims, for whom the memory of the Crusades counted against missionary work. The European inculturation of the faith, or lack of it, clearly did not overly impress some Asians. The fact that the Chinese referred to Europeans as “outer barbarians” gives one a sense of their attitude. Experiments in inculturation, such as that conducted by the Jesuit Matteo Ricci, who became a kind of missionary Mandarin, were viewed by some in Rome with suspicion and eventually stopped. These closed doors often seem as closed as ever and today an additional contemporary difficulty is the consumerism that seems part and parcel of the modern economic system. However, the Church in the Philippines, South Korea, and the faithful Christian minorities in India, China, Indonesia and Japan have shown that Asia and Christianity are not incompatible. Since doors have opened in the past, we can dare to believe that they can open in our time too. For example, there is the intriguing history of the coming of the faith to Korea. In a providential way the Koreans did their own “pre-evangelisation”. This was thanks to a Korean diplomat who brought some of the books of Mateo Ricci into the country in 1603, and circulated them. So when missionaries arrived, some people recognised their message and the Church was born there. In more recent times the growth in Christianity, particularly Catholicism, has been rapid. According one statistic the Catholic Church has grown by 70% in the last ten years. We pray that the Holy Spirit might continue to present the Church with such doors of opportunity and teach us how to open them with a sensitivity based on our understanding of the history and culture of these ancient peoples.

The Southern Cross, June 26 to July 2, 2013

COMMUNITY

The nolungile seniors club of Langa in Cape Town held mother’s and family day celebrations.

The RCiA group from St Anne’s parish in Sydenham, durban attended a retreat conducted by (centre) Fr Jude Fernando TOR at Red Acreas retreat centre.

19 children from St Matthew’s parish in Bonteheuwel, Cape Town received first Holy Communion. Pictured with them is (left) Monique Fortuin, deacon Andrew Siljeur, Fr Mari Joe and Levona Schoun.

The catechism children of St Theresa’s parish in Phiritona, Heilbron, in the diocese of kroonstad. They are pictured with (left) chairman of the parish pastoral council, Mr Molibeli Motebang and (right) parish priest Fr Anthony ndichia MHM.

Tsoaeli Adrian Lelimo was ordained to the diaconate at Christ the Redeemer cathedral in klerksdorp. The ordination was presided over by Bishop zithulele Patrick Mvemve.

The Soldiers of Christ sodality attended a retreat at Holy Trinity parish in Matatiele, diocese of kokstad.

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The First Profession of Sr nostar Musinachirevo, Sr Jenifer Makanda and Sr Sesha Lorraine Phetolo took place at St Charles parish in Victory Park, Johannesburg.

The Southern Cross, June 26 to July 2, 2013

CHURCH

Priest in the service of the world’s displaced A priest who once mediated between the ANC and Inkatha is living his life in the service of the world’s displaced.CLARE MyERS spoke to Fr Frans Thoolen.

dutch Father Frans Thoolen, a member of the Society of African Missions, has dedicated much of his life to working directly with uprooted people, often far from public view. At one point he mediated in conflict in South Africa. now at the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travellers, he helps lay the foundation for the Holy See's response to the international refugee crisis. (Photo: Paul Haring, CnS)

ATHER Frans Thoolen has travelled to Sierra Leone to collect testimony from child soldiers, and to South Africa to help make peace between the African National Congress and the Inkatha Freedom Party. He once went on a two-week hunger strike in support of Moroccan immigrants seeking legal documentation in the Netherlands. The Dutch priest, a member of the Society of African Missions, has dedicated much of his life to working directly with uprooted people, often far from public view. “Taking up their cause... it’s not something you develop in a chair. You have to be touched by it,” he said, then quoted an African proverb: “What the eye has seen, the heart never forgets.” Yet after years of service in the field, Fr Thoolen left the frontlines to continue his struggle from, of all places, an office chair. In 2001, he brought his passion for his mission to the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Travellers. Now Fr Thoolen finally has the world’s attention. Working with his colleagues behind the scenes, he has helped provide the foundation of the Holy See’s response to the international refugee crisis. As world leaders grow increasingly aware of the plight of displaced people, including victims of trafficking, the Holy See has become a pre-eminent moral authority on the matter. At the council’s recent plenary assembly, Pope Francis appealed to the global community to treat migrants and refugees with dignity and respect.

Syrian refugees rest after they crossed into Jordan with their families from Syria near Al Mafraq. Some 500 000 Syrian refugees have sought shelter in Jordan from the civil war which Fr Thoolen calls “a disaster”. (Photo: Muhammad Hamed, Reuters/CnS) “Their condition cannot leave us indifferent,” the pope said. “Their flesh is that of Christ.” The urgency of the pope’s appeal is reflected in the council’s latest document, “Welcoming Christ in Refugees and Forcibly Displaced Persons,” released earlier this month, which places a new focus on trafficking and argues that internally displaced persons (IDPs) deserve the same protections as refugees who have fled to a new country. The document focuses on the very people Fr Thoolen has spent more than 40 years serving, starting even before he was ordained a priest in 1983, and continues to serve at the Vatican today. The priest laughingly recalls the brevity of his interview for his current post. “They said, ‘We have one question: If you are chosen, are you prepared to take the job?’” The council, established by Pope Paul VI in 1970, focuses on the needs of a wide range of “people on the move”, including migrants, refugees, IDPs, victims of human trafficking, international students,

pilgrims, tourists, sailors, civil aviation workers, nomads (including the Sinti and Roma peoples), and circus and carnival workers. Fr Thoolen and his colleague Francesca Dona head the section for refugees and IDPs, defined as those forced to leave their homes but remaining within the borders of their own countries. The priest frequently travels to the United Nations in Geneva and visits refugees across the globe. But most of his days are spent in his office, compiling news and data, analysing information and preparing reports.

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He says his agenda is always varied. One day the focus may be on raising awareness of the consumer’s responsibility for ending forced labour. The next may involve drafting a proposal for requiring bishops to report their anti-trafficking efforts during their periodic ad limina visits to Rome. Fr Thoolen emphasises that a Vatican council does not have the authority of a congregation, which can impose policies on local churches. “We can start a dialogue with [local churches],” he said, but “we cannot force our views on them.” The council’s most recent document comes at a critical moment for refugees, especially those from the two-year civil war in Syria, whose plight has recently caught the international community’s attention.

COORDINATOR

of SACBC Justice and Peace Department

The Justice and Peace department of the Southern African Bishops Conference (SACBC) wishes to employ a Coordinator based in Pretoria.

ACCOUNTABILITY The Coordinator reports to: • The Chairperson and Executive of the SACBC Justice and Peace department • The Secretary General of the SACBC KEY RESPONSIBILITIES 1. Strategic leadership of the Justice and Peace Department • Strategic planning and visioning of Justice and Peace in the Catholic Church • Assist the Catholic Church to make meaningful interventions to promote Justice and Peace in society • influence and advance the participation of all the bishops and their dioceses in Justice and Peace issues • Monitor the policy environment and identify issues to be responded to • Formulate the lobbying and advocacy agenda of the Justice and Peace department • develop and maintain an overall fundraising strategy 2. Fundraising and financial planning • Manage the fundraising including the compilation of budgets, submission of proposals, writing progress reports and liaison with funders • To monitor and approve budgets linked to project/ programme plans • Ensure that the funds are raised for both core and programme costs • Oversee cash flow, financial reporting to the Executive, and the departmental audit. 3. Human Resources Management • Ensure that all staff have job descriptions and that these are updated as necessary • Ensure the implementation of the organisation’s policies and procedures, such as induction, supervision, performance management, grievance, disciplinary as well as staff training

• Facilitate overall teamwork and organisational development 4. Stakeholder Relationships Management • donor management • Liaison and networking with other strategic partner organisations • Serve as official spokesperson for the department • Lobby key stakeholders 5. Governance • Convene meetings with the Executive, including agenda preparation, documentation and overseeing logistics • Strategy formulation with the Executive 6. Facilitation of Key Stakeholder Workshops

QUALIFICATIONS Have an appropriate degree or equivalent. A theological qualification will be an advantage.

COMPETENCIES • decision making, problem solving and co-ordination skills • Ability to work with key stakeholders within and outside the Church • Strategic change management skills • Fundraising and financial management skills • Lobbying and advocacy skills • Ability to mediate difficult situations • Participatory people management style

EXPERIENCE • 5-years or more working experience and management experience, within the nGO/development sector, particularly within the Catholic Church environment • Understanding of the socio-political and economic realities of South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland.

Preparedness to work long hours at times and to travel frequently. Salary package is commensurate with working in a church organisation. Please send

Corner: Cussonia Ave & Pretoria Street, Pretoria Tel 012 804 1801 Fax 012 804 8781 Email admissions@cbcpretoria.co.za

Addressing Catholic aid agencies this month, Pope Francis said: “We see Jesus suffering in the inhabitants of the beloved Syria. We cannot turn our backs.” “It is a disaster,” Fr Thoolen said of Syria. Yet he observed that it is only one of many countries in desperate need: “Is it much different from the situation in Congo?” Despite the range of global crises that his job requires him to think about every day, Fr Thoolen remains optimistic. He points to the wall of his office, covered with photos of refugees from all over the world. “The most important thing is not the information,” he said. “The most important thing is to see the faces of the people, to look into their eyes and to see, to hear, their hope.”—CNS

• your curriculum vitae • A covering letter motivating your application for the position and stating your last salary. • The contact details of three contactable referees to Fr Mike Deeb by 12 July 2013 at mdeeb@sacbc.org.za or PO Box 941 Pretoria 0001. Or hand deliver to 399 Paul Kruger Street, Pretoria. Faxes to: 012 325 6125 Only short-listed candidates will be contacted in early July 2012. Short-listed candidates will be expected to demonstrate their capacity to meet some of these requirements through written submissions and a short presentation. The Justice and Peace Department reserves the right not to make an appointment.

The Southern Cross, June 26 to July 2, 2013

PERSONALITY

For Mother Dolores, it’s time for her close-up – again The nun who as actress once kissed Elvis Presley before trading Hollywood for the convent has published her memoirs. MARk PATTiSOn spoke with her.

ON’T look now, but Dolores Hart is about to become a star again, 50 years after her last movie. Hart—that’s Mother Dolores, the prioress of a Benedictine women’s monastery in Bethlehem, Connecticut—has just had her memoir published a year after a documentary featuring her life as a cloistered nun picked up an Oscar nomination for best documentary short subject. She is now crisscrossing the US to promote the book, The Ear of the Heart: An Actress’ Journey From Hollywood to Holy Vows. The latest rush of celebrity is

“amazing”, Mother Dolores said in an interview. “It makes me realise that time is the illusion. We do things in our life, and we constantly do them. It’s only separated by time,” said the 74year-old nun. Mother Dolores, in her Hollywood days, made only ten movies— but she made them count. She was cast twice opposite Elvis Presley, in 1957’s Loving You and 1958’s King Creole. She starred in the first film celebrating the annual American ritual of spring break in 1960’s Where the Boys Are. She even did a star turn as St Clare in the 1961 religious biopic Francis of Assisi. But she’s most proud of playing the title character in the 1962 drama Lisa, as a Jewish girl who survived the Nazis’ Auschwitz death camp only to be pursued by traitors after World War II intending to force her into prostitution. “[Actor] Stephen Boyd was the man who rescued Lisa and told her

dolores Hart and Elvis Presley in the 1957 movie Loving You.

he would take her back to Palestine. And, of course, she had a very hard time hearing him and believing in him and actually getting there. And that relationship with Lisa was for me a relationship with the Jewish women who had undergone that experience,” Mother Dolores said. After hearing first-hand the death camp experience from one Auschwitz survivor, “I wanted to do that picture. I wanted somehow to be identified with the best possible rescue of these people,” she said. “And I loved working with Stephen. I fell in love with Stephen in the middle of it. I was hoping he’d ask me to marry him.” “Maybe someday,” Mother Dolores mused, “we’ll work it out. We’ll meet and say, ‘What a good thing we did’.”

orn in Chicago, she said her grandfather had a motion picture operator’s licence and she’d go into the booth with him and spend days as a youngster watching movies. She said she had always wanted to be an actress but after her successes on screen, she began to think life “had a bigger meaning”, that “every human being has a mission”, and maybe making movies was not the “be-all and end-all”. When she knew Elvis, she said, “he wanted to do something with his career. He wanted to get rich and interesting parts. They never gave him that. They just kept putting him in one girlie film after the other.” Mother Dolores was never nominated for her film roles, but she was the focus of the Oscar-nominated HBO documentary God Is the Bigger Elvis. Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the late papal nuncio to the United States, summoned her to his office one day and told her: “You are to make a movie about consecrated life.” Mother Dolores protested, saying all her Hollywood contacts were dead. “And he said, ‘No, no, no, no. God will help you do this, because this has to be done,’” she recalled. Four days later, representatives of HBO—none of whom had ever heard of Archbishop Sambi—called to ask permission to film at her convent, Regina Laudis Monastery, for a documentary. The film was originally set to be two hours long, but an HBO execu-

Benedictine Mother dolores Hart talks about her life as an actress and woman religious. As a young starlet her acting career was gaining momentum when she left it all behind to join a monastery. She appeared in films alongside Elvis Presley, Stephen Boyd, Montgomery Clift and others between 1957 and 1963. Her autobiography, The Ear of the Heart: An Actress’ Journey From Hollywood to Holy Vows (below), was released in May. (Photo: nancy Phelan Wiechec, CnS) tive, smelling an Oscar, decided to chop the documentary in half. “And that’s when my heart began to sink and I began to think, ‘Oh, no, it’s going to be about me’, because what [else] are they going to do to cut a two-hour film down to one hour?”, she said. God Is the Bigger Elvis was nominated, although it did not win. “I thought to myself, I hope this film will be of value. That’s all I hope,” Mother Dolores said. One might think The Ear of the Heart was written to capitalise on the documentary’s high profile. Not so. “Dick DeNeut, who wrote the book with me, asked me ten years ago if I should do a story of my life,” Mother Dolores said. She resisted the idea initially, but eventually consented. Originally she wasn’t thrilled with the title either: “I thought it would be a medical journal. But he [DeNeut] said, ‘That’s the first line in the Rule of St Benedict: “Listen, my son with the ear of the heart to the voice of the master.” Mother Dolores is the only nun to be accredited as a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (colloquially, the folks who choose the Oscar win-

ners). And it comes in handy for the occasional movie night at the monastery. Sisters “will put up [notes] on the board saying, ‘Can we see this?’ ‘Can we see that?’ ‘Could anybody bring this?’ We’re in the monastery, but they know,” Mother Dolores said, laughing. “We do have our special movie nights. I think the last was Les Misérables. Everybody wanted to see that.”—CNS

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REMEMBERING OUR DEAD

Tel: (031) 266 7702 Fax: (031) 266 8982 Email: judyeichhorst@telkomsa.net

“It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins” (II Macc XII,46) Holy Mass will be celebrated on the first Sunday of each month in the All Souls’ chapel, Maitland, Cape Town at 2:30pm for all souls in purgatory and for all those buried in the Woltemade cemetery.

For further information, please contact St Jude Society, Box 22230, Fish Hoek, 7975 Telephone (021) 552-3850

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The Southern Cross, June 26 to July 2, 2013

Fr Michael Hulgraine

ATHER Michael Francis Patrick Hulgraine died on June 2. The fourth of seven children, he was born in Dublin on February 5, 1927 to Charles and Josephine Hulgraine. After attending the Our Lady Star of the Sea parish primary school, he went to the Technical High School in Dublin. His schooling was cut short with the sudden death of his father, and at the age of 14 Fr Hulgraine began a four-year stint working in a hardware store. At the age of 18 he entered the Juniorate of the Holy Ghost Fathers, where he completed his studies and matriculated. He then spent a year at the novitiate of the Holy Ghost Fathers before leaving for health reasons. Bedridden for a year, and a convalescent for two more, Michael continued his studies at University College, Dublin, before entering the All Hallows Missionary College in Dublin, run by the Vincentian Fa-

thers. It was here that a priest referred him to Cardinal McCann of the Archdiocese of Cape Town, so that after his priestly ordination on June 17, 1956, Fr Hulgraine left for South Africa with nine other priests, arriving in Table Bay on the Edinburgh Castle on October 18, 1956. Fr Hulgraine recalled with great fondness his being met when he arrived by Fs McMorrow and Rooney, who showed him around the peninsula in a battered Volkswagen Beetle and took him for his first South African meal at the Blue Peter Hotel in Bloubergstrand. His first appointment was as an assistant to Mgr Tom Gill at Rondebosch. He served Pinelands, Holy Cross in Nile Street (with Fr Seamus Peart), Observatory (as Groote Schuur hospital chaplain), and Vincent Pallotti, from where he served Groote Schuur, Vincent Pallotti and Valkenberg hospitals. In 1965, Fr Hulgraine was appointed parish priest of Holy Trinity, Matroosfontein, which at that time encompassed Matroosfontein, Lavistown and St Clare’s, Elsies River. It was while he was here that Fr Hulgraine and his parish assisted

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: Infants meet the last Saturday of the month except in Mimosa Shrine, Bellville december, starting with (Place of pilgrimage for the Mass at 9:30 am at the Sayear of Faith) Tel: 076 323 cred Heart church in Somer8043. July 13: 9:00amset Road, Cape Town. Mass 10:00am. Holy Hour and is followed by a vigil and Benediction. Confessions procession to Marie Stopes available during Holy Hour. abortion clinic in Bree July 25: Feast of St James, Street. For information con7:00pm Rosary, 7:30pm tact Colette Thomas on 083 Holy Mass. August 1: 412 4836 or 021 593 9875 7:30pm Rosary August 10: or Br daniel Manuel on 083 Feast of St Lawrence, 544 3375 9:00am-10:00am Holy hour and benediction. ConfesKWAZULU-NATAL sions available during Holy youth of Marianhill diocese hour. August 15: The Aswill have a youth day on sumption of our Lady June 17 at St Timothy 7:00pm Rosary, 7:30pm Hamarsdale, near PineHoly Mass town. Tel: 031 700 2704 Padre Pio: Holy hour 15:30 Couples conference at pm every 3rd Sunday of the Holy Family College in month at Holy Glenmore, durban - July 26, Redeemer parish in 27 & 28. R330 per couple. Bergvliet. Contact zee or Sharon on Helpers of God’s Precious 031 207 1843.

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with the building of St Martin de Porres in Lavistown. In 1970 he was appointed to St Patrick’s, Mowbray, where he would spend the next 17 years of his life, followed by nearly four years in Green Point and a further 17 years in the parish of the Resurrection, Tableview. Over the years Fr Hulgraine returned regularly to Ireland for his annual holiday, and kept close contact with the Holy Ghost Fathers and his classmates from All Hallows. He was a dedicated golfer, a devoted pastor and a gentle friend to countless families down through the years—he noted often that a priest is reflected in his people and his people in their priest. All through his life Fr Hulgraine maintained great devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to St Therese of Lisieux. After 52 years of active ministry, he retired in 2009 and went to live in the Archbishop Henry Retirement Centre in the grounds of Nazareth House. On the morning of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, after some months of deteriorating health, Fr Hulgraine died and was buried, fittingly, from the parish of the Resurrection, Tableview on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart. Fr Christopher Clohessy

Liturgical Calendar Year C Weekdays Cycle Year 1 Sunday, June 30, 13th Sunday 1 Kings 19:16, 19-21, Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-11, Galatians 5:1, 13-18, Luke 9:51-62 Monday, July 01, Bl Junipero Serra Genesis 18:16-33, Psalm 103:1-4, 8-11, Matthew 8:18-22 Tuesday, July 2 Genesis 19:15-29, Psalm 26:2-3, 9-12, Matthew 8:2327 Wednesday, July 3, St Thomas Ephesians 2:19-22, Psalm 117:1-2, John 20:24-29 Thursday, July 4 Isaiah 58:6-11, Psalm 107:2-9, Matthew 25:31-46 Friday, July 5, Mass of the Sacred Heart Genesis 23:1-4, 19; 24:1-8, 62-67, Psalm 106:1-5, Matthew 9:9-13 Saturday, July 6, St Maria Goretti Genesis 27:1-5, 15-29, Psalm 135:1-6, Matthew 9:1417 Sunday, July 7, 14th Sunday Isaiah 66:10-14, Psalm 66:1-7, 16, 20, Galatians 6:1418, Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

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Births • First Communion • Confirmation • Engagement/Marriage • Wedding anniversary • Ordination jubilee • Congratulations • deaths • in memoriam • Thanks • Prayers • Accommodation • Holiday Accommodation • Personal • Services • Employment • Property • Others Please include payment (R1,25 a word) with small advertisements for promptest publication.

DEATH

LONERGAN—Fr Pat. We offer our condolences to the family of Fr Pat and the Salesian Community. We will always be grateful for the time you were our parish priest, giving us so much guidance and your generosity towards the catechists of our children and parishioners will always be treasured. From St Margaret Mary and Sacred Heart parishioners and Parish Council.

IN MEMORIAM

LEO—damascene damian. Passed away June 26, 2000. (kuilsriver). Always lovingly remembered by your mother, brother, sisters, families and friends. Rest in peace. MEIRING: At 4.25am on Thursday, June 30, 2011 our youngest son STEPHEn JOHn stepped into eternity and entered the joys of our masters’ house. you are a brave heart, a joy to remember. God love you. Mom and dad.

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

Southern CrossWord solutions

SOLUTIONS TO 556. ACROSS: 5 Alto, 7 Betrothals, 8 Aged, 10 Soldiers, 11 Clings, 12 Wonder, 14 Deceit, 16 Pagoda, 17 Scythian, 19 Earn, 21 Choirstall, 22 Efts. DOWN: 1 Abba, 2 Credence, 3 Stasis, 4 Tallow, 5 Asti, 6 Tour leader, 9 Golden calf, 13 Neglects, 15 Tripod, 16 Penury, 18 Tics, 20 Null.

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.

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. O CREATOR past all telling, you have appointed from the treasures of your wisdom the hierarchies of angels, disposing them in wondrous order above the bright heavens, and have so beautifully set out all parts of the universe. you we call the true fount of wisdom and the noble origin of all things. Be pleased to shed on the darkness of mind in which i was

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born, The twofold beam of your light and warmth to dispel my ignorance and sin. you make eloquent the tongues of children. Then instruct my speech and touch my lips with graciousness. Make me keen to understand, quick to learn, able to remember; make me delicate to interpret and ready to speak. Guide my going in and going forward, lead home my going forth. you are true God and true man, and live forever and ever. St Thomas Aquinas

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

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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God comforts Jerusalem and turns pain into joy 14th Sunday: July Readings: Isaiah 66:10-14, Psalm 66:1-7, 16, 20, Galatians 6:14-18, Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

HERE is joy in our Christian faith, but it is a subtle, not a mindless joy. This important truth comes out very clearly in our readings for next Sunday. The message of the first reading is one of immense joy, but we need to realise that it is delivered to the inhabitants of Jerusalem who are feeling utterly discouraged, and feel that God has let them down. Those are the ones who are told: “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad about her, all you who love her”. Then he uses an unforgettable image: “That you may suck and be satisfied from her consoling breast, that you may nurse with joy from her glorious breasts”. Then we are given God’s promise: “Look—I am spreading peace over her like a river, the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream.” This is expressed in a wonderful image: “As a man is comforted by his mother, so I am comforting you, and you will be comforted in Jerusalem. You will see this, and

Nicholas King SJ

Sunday Reflections

your hearts rejoice.” Notice that there is no pretence here: the prophet is well aware of Jerusalem’s pain, but God is there even when we are in pain, working to bring us joy. The psalm for next Sunday is well aware of this: “Make a joyful noise to God all the earth, sing to the glory of his name...say to God: how awesome are your deeds!” As always, the psalmist focuses entirely on God: “Let all the earth worship you, sing to you and sing to your name.” Then he reflects on another cause for joy as he remembers what God did for Israel in the Exodus: “He changed the sea into dry land, they passed through the river on foot!”, and it ends cheerfully, “Blessed be God who did not refuse my prayer or remove his steadfast love from me.” In the second reading, although Paul is well aware of the joy that comes with faith

in Jesus, it is not primarily that quality that he is emphasising, as he begins our section of the letter determined not to have any boasting “except in the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world is crucified to me and I to the world”. There is not much cause for joy here, you may think, unless you understand the absolute centrality for Paul of the cross; without that, there is no room at all for joy, in his new way of seeing the world. The key thing is to realise how things have changed: “Neither circumcision is anything nor uncircumcision—no; it is a new creation.” And you can feel Paul’s irritation with the Galatians as he says, wearily moving towards the end of the letter, “Let no one give me any hassle in the future—for I am carrying the stigmata of Jesus in my body.” Our reading, and indeed the entire letter, ends with at least the wish of joy for his correspondents: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.” In the gospel we read the account of the 70 (or 72) disciples being sent out on a mission, and at first sight there is not a great deal of joy about it.

Struggling for Father’s blessing W

hen I was in elementary school, we were made to memorise a number of poems by William Blake. We didn't understand them, but they had a wonderful jingle to them, were easy to commit to memory, and remain branded inside me to this day. One of those was a piece entitled “Infant Sorrow”: My mother groaned! my father wept. Into this dangerous world I leapt: Helpless, naked, piping loud: Life a fiend hid in a cloud. Struggling in my father’s hands, Striving against my swaddling bands, bound and weary I thought it best To sulk upon my mother’s breast. Whole books on anthropology, psychology, and spirituality could be written on this poem: our struggle for our father's blessing, our ambivalence in separating from our mothers, the constriction this creates in our hearts, our inevitable slide into depression as adults, and the impact this has on our spiritual lives. Blake captures a lot in very few words, hidden inside some simple rhymes; but, as already confessed; I didn't have a clue about any of this when I memorised this poem as a child.

he poem came back to me several years ago, after preaching a homily in a church. The Gospel for that Sunday was the story of Jesus’ baptism. The text runs like this: Jesus goes to the Jordan River to be baptised by John. John

Conrad

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

immerses him in the water, as Jesus reemerges, his head breaks the water (an image of birth), the heavens open, and the Father’s voice is heard to say: “This is my beloved, in whom I am well-pleased!” The point I made in my homily was pretty straightforward: I simply told the congregation that, when we were baptised, the Father spoke the same words over each of us: “This is my beloved, in whom I am well-pleased!” Those should have been safe words; they weren’t. Immediately after the service a young man affronted me, agitated and upset about my homily. He said he was out of prison on bail, awaiting sentencing. He had come to Mass that Sunday to try to ready himself, but the service had spurred his anger, particularly my homily. Here's how he expressed his frustration: “I hated your homily because it wasn’t true! Nobody has ever been pleased by what I have done—least of all my own father!" It’s no accident that this young man was going to prison; he had not been blessed by his own father. Like the narra-

tor in the Blake poem, he was “struggling” in his father's hands. His own father, unlike God, the Father, had never blessed him, that is, either his father had never been present enough for him and truly interested in him or he had been unable to take delight in his son’s person and energy so as to give him the assurance that he was neither a threat nor a disappointment to his father. In essence, this son had never been a major source of joy to his father, and that is a real absence that wounds. Hunger for our father's blessing is perhaps the deepest hunger in our world today. That’s an adage inside certain spirituality and anthropological circles today and the evidence for its truth is found in the body language in a room whenever the phrase is spoken aloud to a group, especially to a group of men.

nd what happens when we aren't sufficiently blessed by our own fathers? Mostly the effects are under the surface, unless we reach a certain level of conscious realisation of how we are wounded. The absence of the father's blessing is mostly felt inchoately, a thirst, a constriction of the heart, an absence of delight, and a sense of never quite measuring-up. This often finds expression in anger, distrust of authority, and in a low-grade depression that often drives persons into various combinations of acedia, obsession for achievement, and sex as a panacea. It can also have a very negative impact on people religiously. There's an axiom in Freudian thought that suggests that most anger directed at institutionalised religion is anger directed at your own father or the father-figures in your life. That helps explain why so many people who have had little or no meaningful relationship to organised religion are angry at religion and the churches. What’s the solution? How do we get this constriction off our hearts, if we haven’t been blessed by our own fathers? Christian spirituality teaches us that we receive by giving. We attain things by giving them away, as the famous Prayer of St Francis puts it. We cannot make ourselves happy, but we can help make others happy. Thus, we cannot force anyone to bless us—but we can bless others. Wholeness and happiness lie there. Simply put, when we act like God, we get to feel like God—and God never suffers from anger and low-grade depression.

First of all, they are told that there are not enough of them (does that remind you of today?): “The harvest is great, but the workers are few.” Worse than that, they are being sent out “as lambs in the midst of wolves”; and they are to travel light: “No wallet, no rucksack, no sandals—and don’t greet anyone on the way.” So it is not going to be precisely a barrel of laughs; and they may or may not meet up with any “people of peace”. They also have a slightly daunting job to do: to cure those who are sick. Then they are warned that they may not be universally welcomed; and if that is not the case, then they have to “shake the dust from your feet”. However, the 70 (or 72) actually had a marvellous time of it, and came back wagging their tails, and full of how the “demons are subordinated to us in your name”, and Jesus responds, possibly with a twinkle in his eye, “I saw Satan falling like lightning from heaven”. Then he gives them a real reason for rejoicing: “Rejoice because your names are written in Heaven.” That is the joy that lies before us, this week.

Southern Crossword #556

ACROSS 5. Voice in the choir having vocal tone (4) 7. Tale throbs with them getting affianced (9) 8. Dated from early days (4) 10. One of them pierced Jesus’ side (8) 11. Clasps (6) 12. Ask yourself, is it a miraculous event? (6) 14. Satan’s duplicity (6) 16. Buddhist temple (6) 17. No distinction between barbarian and him (Col 3) (8) 19. Merit your salary (4) 21. Torch is all that’s needed where the monk chants (10) 22. Some of the effects contain newts (4)

DOWN 1. Father! (Mk 14) 2. Belief in the sanctuary table (8) 3. Is Tass in a condition of immobility? (6) 4. It’s used to make candles 5. Last in, there’ some wine (4) 6. He’s in charge of the pilgrimage (4,6) 9. Aaron’s effigy (Ex 32) (6,4) 13. Disregard (8) 15. The cameraman’s support (6) 16. Destitution (6) 18. Nervous twitches (4) 20. Invalid (4) Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

PRIEST and a taxi driver both died and went to heaven. St Peter was at the Pearly Gates waiting for them. “Come with me,” said St Peter to the taxi driver. The taxi driver did as he was told and followed St Peter to an enormous mansion. “Wow, thank you,” said the taxi driver. Next, St Peter led the priest to a rugged old shack with a bunk bed and a tiny old television set. “Wait, I think you are a little mixed up,” said the priest. “Shouldn't I be the one who gets the mansion? After all I was a priest, went to church every day, and preached God’s word.” “Yes, that’s true. But during your sermons people slept. When the taxi driver drove, everyone prayed.” Send us your favourite Catholic joke, preferably clean and brief, to The Southern Cross, Church Chuckle, PO Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000.