The
S outher n C ross www.scross.co.za
July 10 to July 16, 2013
A visit to Mthatha’s cathedral
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Why Church must invest in the youth
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R6,00 (incl VAT RSA)
Reg No. 1920/002058/06
No 4831
Pope might visit Africa next year
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2014 election ‘most important yet’ BY CLAIRE MATHIESON
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EXT year’s election could be the most important election since 1994—and it’s not because of the introduction of two new political parties, according to a Catholic political analyst. “I actually don’t think we need new political parties,” said Mike Pothier, research coordinator of the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO) on the recent launch of Agang and the proposed launch of Julius Malema’s political party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). “In principle, it’s a sign of a healthy democracy when new parties can be formed. However, our electorate is not starved for choice,” Mr Pothier told The Southern Cross. The fact that the new parties have no new policy contestation means the parties are bringing nothing new to the table. “The problem comes down to the weakness of implementation, not the intention to do something,” Mr Pothier said. “If either of these parties come to power, will we see a change? I don’t think so.” Far more likely to have an impact in the 2014 elections is the Democratic Alliance’s performance, he said. If it does significantly better than in 2009, then we will see an overall improvement—not necessarily because the DA is a better party, but because the threat of an encroaching DA “really scares the ANC”, Mr Pothier said. This results in the ruling party giving better service delivery in an attempt to hang on to voters. He said the improvement of service delivery in Gauteng over the past five years could be a direct correlation to the gains the
DA has made in the province. “If polls and statistics show that the DA could take the province, the ANC’s service delivery in Gauteng would immediately improve.” New parties to the country’s political scene are nothing new, Mr Pothier noted. The emergence of Cope was a reaction to the defeat of Thabo Mbeki at the ANC’s Polokwane conference in 2007. “People jumped ship,” Mr Pothier said. The formation of Cope had nothing to do with siding with the opposition and if “a more ‘acceptable’ person, without the baggage of Julius Malema and Schabir Shaik had taken over, Cope wouldn’t have happened”. Mamphela Rampele’s reason for launching Agang is a result of the deterioration of South Africa due to corruption and “this government’s complete inability to stop corruption”, Mr Pothier said. He likened the current administration’s management of corruption to the way the Catholic Church initially handled the sex abuse scandal—through coverups and re-designations. Dr Rampele, he said, looks at it from a different background. As a former managing director of the World Bank, a former vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Town, she comes with “a justifiable attitude that she has what it takes” to make a difference. Mr Pothier said it was positive that Dr Rampele has little baggage and has had no political affiliation with either the DA or the ANC. “But again, there are no new policies or ideologies. It’s very aspirational and so far Continued on page 3
Veritas raises funds with pilgrimage STAFF REPORTER
Catholics, Jews gather at Auschwitz for concert
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ADIO VERITAS is currently on a fundraising drive which will see one lucky donor take a place on the station’s pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Jordan in October. The pilgrimage, which is already fully booked, will be led by station director Fr Emil Blaser OP. It is priced at around R25 000, plus R5 000 spending money. It includes all travel and accommodation costs, entrance fees, and three meals a day. Entry into the draw for the place on the pilgrimage is R200, which will go to support the South Africa’’s only radio station. “It’s very easy to enter,” Fr Blaser said. Send an SMS to 41809; begin with the word HOLY; give the age of Pope Francis and your name. “You will receive back an SMS from Radio Veritas indicating the bank account into which you should deposit your R200, and then just follow the simple instructions,” he said. “Those who wish to enter the draw must act quickly, because entries close at the end of July,” the priest urged. Fr Blaser said that the campaign is attractive to sodalities, parish groups or congregations which might wish to use a winning ticket to send a member who otherwise could not afford it on the Holy Land pilgrimage. The pilgrimage programme includes such highlights as Jerusalem’s Via Dolorosa and church of the Holy Sepulchre, Bethlehem, Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee (with a boat ride), the River Jordan and the Dead Sea, as well as sites in the kingdom of Jordan such as Mount
An audience of 15 000, including cardinals, bishops and rabbis, listen to a concert of a symphony composed by Kiko Argüello, co-founder of the Neocatechumenal Way, whose orchestra and choir performed, in front of the “Door of Death”, the entrance to the concentration camp of AuschwitzBirkenau. (Photo: Catholic Church of England and Wales)
S The church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem, which covers Calvary, is on the itinerary of the Radio Veritas pilgrimage in October. (Photo: Debbie Hill, CNS) Nebo and Petra. There will also be an excursion to the pyramids and Sphinx in Cairo. “In today’s world, R200 is not a lot of money. We spend that on a couple of fast food meals, or on the Lotto, or on some or other little luxury,” Fr Blaser said. “But for us it is a small way of helping Radio Veritas, which is desperately in need of financial assistance.” Radio Veritas broadcasts on 576AM in Gauteng and on DStv audio channel 870. The draw for the winning pilgrimage ticket will be made live on air on July 31, adjudicated by auditors Ernst & Young. n For more information on how to help Radio Veritas visit www.radioveritas.co.za or phone 011 663-4700.
IX cardinals, 50 bishops, 35 rabbis and some 15 000 people gathered in front of the so-called “Door of Death”, the entrance to the concentration camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, to attend a symphoniccatechetical celebration. Entitled “The Suffering of the Innocent”, the musical work was composed by Kiko Argüello, co-founder of the Neocatechumenal Way. It was performed by the Symphonic Orchestra and the Choir of the Neocatechumenal Way. It presents the Virgin Mary, subjected to the scandal of the suffering of the innocent in her own flesh. Mary is portrayed in a profound union with all the many mothers who have seen their own children die as innocent victims, and who, while crying, sang the “Shema Israel”, the sacred Jewish prayer which Jesus presented as the synthesis of all the Law: ”Listen Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one”. Rabbi Bryan Opert from the Milnerton shul in Cape Town was present at the event. “The highlight of the event for me has been the singing of the Shema,”, he said. ”At the invitation of the orchestra director, all the 15 000 people gathered in front of the
Door of Death joined the choir in this holy Jewish prayer. This has been for me something unprecedented, something that goes beyond mere emotions of joy or sadness, something truly transcendent.” Looking at the crowd walking away from the camp, Rabbi Opert noted: “It is incredible to experience this love and this unity here, in this same European context where less than 70 years ago the Shoah took place”. Rabbi Opert was accompanied by Marco Cavagnaro, a missionary for the Neocatechumenal Way in South Africa. “One of the greatest gifts of this experience has been the chance to deepen the dialogue with the representatives of the Jewish community,” he said. He notes that ”it has been truly surprising to discover, in our dialogue with Rabbi Opert, how much the Catholic and Jewish communities have in common. We are both religious minorities in the midst of a secular world, facing the same challenges of transmitting the faith to the next generations and of forming a mature adult laity that may render our testimony more and more authentic”.