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The

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

July 31 to August 6, 2013

SA deacon elected to world body

Page 3

NEXT WEEK: WYD 2013 supplement

R6,00 (incl vAT RsA)

Reg No. 1920/002058/06

No 4834

Church and women: Where are we at?

Page 7

Initiation: ‘Church must be involved’

By CLAiRe MATHiesON

M

Fr Michael Foley OMi of st Anne’s parish in sydenham, Durban, and assistant parish priest Fr siyabonga Dube OMi stand tall in their glittering footwear in support of abused women in their community. They will lead all the men in their community in the “Walking a Mile in Her shoes” initiative as courageous men wearing women’s shoes take to the streets in a march of support and empathy for all women who find themselves in abusive situations. All are welcome to join the fight against abuse and participate in this community initiative led by st Anne’s Catholic Women’s League on Women’s Day, August 9 at Barnes Road sports grounds starting at 10:00. The event, organisers said, is intended to be a day of grace and forgiveness and also of fun with various entertainment planned. For further information contact Wendy Daniels on 083 292 0444.

ORE than 50 deaths have occurred since the start of this year’s initiation season. While some prominent Xhosa leaders have called for an end to the ritual—which involves circumcision in the outdoors—the Church has committed itself to pastoral care of initiates and their families.

“There are a worrying number of boys dying and the Church is taking this quite seriously,” said Fr Mluleki Mnyaka of Port Elizabeth’s Holy Spirit parish in Arcadia and Holy Family parish in KwaNobuhle.

The Catholic Church, he said, is working closely with traditional leaders and society to help curb any dangers.

The Church has also hailed government’s initiatives to educate and prevent circumcision-related deaths.

“There is legislation that ensures an initiate is 18, that they are medically fit for initiation, and that they attend registered initiation schools,” Fr Mnyaka told The Southern Cross. “Government has gone out of its way to campaign at schools and to make sure illegal initiation schools are closed.”

Had government not intervened, the number of deaths would surely have been higher than it is today—though the number is still higher than in previous decades.

“Society is not the same today. We live in communities of single mothers and no fathers to guide their sons. The [young men] are not prepared,” said Fr Mnyaka. His pastoral duty today includes advising initiates on what they can expect and families on the dangers if initiation rites are not followed carefully.

A Xhosa cannot reach manhood without being initiated, a ritual which involves a period of seclusion, a range of food taboos, education, circumcision and finally a celebratory feast. The initiates live in isolation for several weeks, often in the mountains, while the circumcision wounds heal.

By law, a boy must be 18 to participate, how-

ever, fly-by-night initiation schools and social pressure have seen boys far younger participate.

The high rate of unemployment has also been blamed as a factor in the number of deaths. Entrepreneurial traditionalists have exploited the cultural shame and pressure placed upon uncircumcised boys.

The Church is aware of these activities and warns against these fly-by-night schools.

But Fr Mnyaka said there is a further complication to the matter.

“Historically in those areas where it was not compulsory to attend circumcision schools, there is no tradition or regulation.

Fathers and grandfathers do not know the procedure. The tradition south of the Kei river has been happening for generations,” Fr Mnyaka said.

Initiation has been popularised and today communities that did not subscribe to initiation are now demanding it for their boys.

“That’s why government and the Church has had to get involved. We need to ensure young people understand the importance of following the requirements.”

Fr Mnyaka said a recent meeting of the Xhosa pastoral region highlighted the importance of involving lay societies in initiation-related pastoral work. Xhosa initiation, he said, does not go against Church teaching but it is imperative the Church be involved as part of its pastoral care.

“It is an opportunity to assist society. We must be involved,” said Fr Mnyaka.

“Through the Men’s Societies the Church is able to have an active role in campaigning for safe initiation practices. We can take the lead to address any issues.”

The Port Elizabeth priest said the Church respects the tradition and works closely with traditional leaders and on forums to address challenges and will continue to promote safe initiation practices.

“Initiation is meant to be a celebration of a certain passage in life. We should be involved in this in whatever way we can.”

WYD like Mecca: ‘Every Catholic should do it at least once’

By Lise ALves

T

HE mosaic of hundreds of national flags waving in the cold wind on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach was symbolic, as pilgrims from all backgrounds, driven by a single faith, participated in the opening Mass for World Youth Day. “We come from different cultures, speak different languages, but we sing the same songs and have the same faith,” said Nancy Issa of Ramallah, West Bank. She and 20 other Palestinians came to Brazil for the WYD events.

More than 400 000 pilgrims braved the rain to gather on the beach. Some reacted with joy and tears when young people made their way up on the main stage carrying the Pilgrim’s Cross.

“Emotions are very high,” said José Leonardo Chacin, 27, an accountant from Maracaibo, Venezuela. “Especially since the pope is Latin American.”

Archbishop Orani João Tempesta of Rio de Janeiro remembered that Pope Benedict XVI, had been responsible for choosing the city to

host WYD 2013. When he said that “this World Youth Day was destined to be...the first apostolic trip of the first Latin American pope in history”, thousands of Argentinian pilgrims in the crowd cheered.

Nearby, a small group of Canadians were ecstatic with the whole celebration.

“This is so great. The enthusiasm, the passion, it is all incredible,” said J P Martelino, 18, of Vancouver.

When asked what he would take from the week, he replied: “Definitely the energy. I will take that to Canada with me and try to reproduce it so it may attract more young people to church.”

“I believe that World Youth Day is similar to going to Mecca for Muslims,” said Venezuela’s Mr Chacin.

“Every Catholic, no matter what age, should do it at least once in his or her lifetime.”

n Don’t miss our 4-page World Youth Day 2013 supplement next week with many photos and feedback from South African pilgrims.

The shadows of the World youth Day cross and pilgrims are seen on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach. (Photo: Paul Haring, CNs)

2

The southern Cross, July 31 to August 6, 2013

LOCAL

New book to honour cardinal T

By CLAiRe MATHiesON

O honour the work of Durban’s archbishop, Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) has produced a book entitled A Story Worth Telling: Essays in Honour of Cardinal Napier.

The collection of essays was an initiative of Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg, who wished to express the bishops’ gratitude for and acknowledgement of the cardinal for the work done—and to recognise the cardinal’s 2011 milestones including his 70th birthday, 50 years as a Franciscan, 41 years as a priest, 30 years as a bishop and ten years as a cardinal.

The book reflects the work of the Catholic Church in Southern Africa over the last decade. “Together in this festschrift, bishops, religious and laity paint a picture of the Church, making aspects of it more widely known,” said communica-

tions officer Fr S’milo Mngadi.

The book—edited by Frs Anthony Egan SJ and Stuart Bate OMI—brings together essays on a wide range of topics including evangelisation, priestly formation, the Roman missal, dealing with sexual abuse, migration, Catholic Social Teaching, health care, education, bishops’ collaboration with religious, work for peace, rural development, inter-religious dialogue and more.

Contributors include Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town, Archbishop Emeritus George Daniel of Pretoria, Bishops Graham Rose of Dundee, Mlungisi Dlungwane of Mariannhill, Edward Risi of Keimoes-Upington, Michael Wüstenberg of Aliwal North, Sithembele Sipuka of Mthatha, Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg and Abel Gabuza of Kimberley.

The book also includes essays by lay Catholics heavily involved in

the local Church: Toni Rowland writes about building a familyfriendly Church, Yvonne Morgan and Loek Goemans tell the Cathca story, and there is an essay on finances and the Church by Keith Glass.

There are also key contributions by priests and sisters at the various SACBC offices.

G

eneral editor Fr Bate said the book is not just a list of events but an “unfolding of a life involving many others who share a deep faith in Christ and who are themselves committed to God’s mission through the mission of the Church in the world.”

“The story of this man is also a story of groups and organisations making a difference in the world through the manifestation of faith in action. It is a story of the Spirit of God sanctifying the world though his people.”

Fr Bate said the story in the essays is one of activities and reflections of men and women of faith who have set up groups and ministries which are connected “in one way or another with the leadership role of Wilfrid Napier in the Church”.

In his foreword, Archbishop Brislin said few people are aware of the extent of the Church’s involvement in society. “Although Catholicism is relatively small in the three countries making up the SACBC area— Botswana, South Africa and Swaziland—an enormous amount of work is being done in many areas and thus affecting the lives of the people we serve.”

Archbishop Brislin said the book records in an interesting and stimulating way how “the Church in our region has tried to be faithful to that mission given by Christ and how we will continue to meet the challenges of the future—in com-

munion with the universal Church—bringing Christ’s light into every sector of society”. n A Story Worth Telling: Essays in Honour of Cardinal Napier will be launched at St Anne’s chapel, next to the Monastery Church, Mariannhill, on August 6 at 19:00.

Call to become missionaries

By ATTA MAGADLA siBeTTA

T The Port elizabeth series of the “Faith Delusion” lectures by Jesuit Father John Moffatt saw about 50 people attending over three days at st Luke’s Retreat Centre. The group was made up of priests, religious and laity, and included Bishop Frank De Gouveia of Oudtshoorn. The series has already taken place in Johannesburg, and now moves to Bloemfontein (August 1315), Cape Town (August 20-22) and Durban (August 27 -29). For more information contact the Jesuit institute in Johannesburg on 011 482 4237 or by e-mail admin@jesuit.org.za

HE Comboni Missionaries have put out their call in the archdiocese of Pretoria, encouraging people to become missionaries and to continue to spread the word of God. Fr Ivan Paucar MCCJ visited Maria Regina in Centurion, where he reminded the parishioners that they are in fact missionaries.

Fr Paucar, who is originally from Ecuador, spoke on the devotion of prayer, and shared with parishioners the missionary rosary.

“The purpose of praying the missionary rosary is to enrich our daily prayer with a missionary dimension,” he said. “Each decade on the missionary rosary is marked with a colour representing a continent.

Green for Africa, red for the Ameri-

SPRINGFIELD CONVENT SCHOOL, WYNBERG Applicants are invited for the following post

GRADE ONE CLASS TEACHER To commence 1 January 2014

Springfield is a day school for girls from Pre-School to Matriculation, set in beautiful gardens on Wynberg Hill in the southern suburbs of Cape Town.

Founded by Irish Dominican Sisters in 1871, Springfield has a caring, Catholic atmosphere, a proud academic record, vibrant Music and Art Departments and excellent facilities for Sport.

The successful applicant will: • Be a fully qualified, enthusiastic teacher, experiences in teaching in the Foundation Phase; • Understand, identify with and contribute to the Catholic ethos and values of the school; • Be willing and able to teach the Catholic religious education syllabus; • Have a proven record of innovation, commitment and professionalism; • Be well versed in curriculum and assessment for the Foundation Phase; • Have a sound understanding of the Foundation Phase learner, in particular Grade One; • Have effective organisational and administrative skills; • Be available in afternoons, evenings and at other times to attend workshops, courses, school functions and educational outings and tours; • Have good computer skills; • Be registered with SACE; • Be willing to become fully involved in the school's curricular and co-curricular programme.

Apply in writing, giving details of qualifications, experience and the names of three contactable referees, including your Parish priest or Minister, to: The Principal, Springfield Convent Junior School, St. John's Road, Wynberg, 7800 Or email: postmaster@sfc.wcape.school.za

Closing date for applications: Friday 30 August 2013

The school reserves the right not to proceed with the filling of this post. An application will not in itself entitle the applicant to an interview or appointment, and failure to meet the minimum requirements of the advertised post will result in applicants automatically disqualifying themselves from consideration.

No faxed applications accepted.

Candidates not contacted shall consider their application unsuccessful.

cas, white for Europe, blue for Australia and Oceania, and yellow for Asia.”

Fr Paucar added that it was timely to pray for people in Egypt, Syria, Pakistan and where they were in particular need of prayer.

The Comboni Missionaries were founded by Italian St Daniel Comboni. During his lifetime, he was a dedicated missionary who gave his life to Africa and its people.

His motto, “Africa, or death”, showed his commitment to the continent.

St Comboni died of fever, circa 1881 at age 50 in Khartoum. He was canonised by Pope John Paul II on October 5, 2003, and hailed as a model of Christian life and missionary commitment.

Today, the Comboni Missionar-

ies, made up of priests and brothers, are present in 41 countries throughout Africa, Europe, the Americas and Asia. In South Africa, they carry out pastoral work in 11 rural and urban areas, with Bishop Joe Sandri heading the diocese of Witbank.

Fr Paucar also called on the youth to consider joining missionary work and to continue to spread the word of God, a call that received great support from the Maria Regina parishioners.

The missionaries have a successful formation programme to prepare South African missionaries in their ministry.

A number of publications—such as Worldwide magazine, a missionary rosary booklet, and a book on St Daniel—are also put out by the missionaries.

The St Boniface Community

FRIENDS FOR EVER PILGRIMAGE

NEW FOR 2014 9 TO18 NOv

Formerly Ngome Friends Pilgrimage Visiting the Vatican city, Rome and Assisi for the 9th time and also Istanbul (Old Constantinople)

is presenting its annual Church Bazaar on Sunday 1 September 2013.

Starting with an open-air Mass at 9.00am at the St Boniface Community Centre, Cnr Puttick Ave and Kowie Road, Sundowner Ext 8, Randburg.

Tel 011 795 3651

with Rev Fr Bongani Sithole Cost from R16500

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

CONSOLATA MISSIONARIES SOUTH AFRICA “Console, console my people” Is 40:1 We are a Religious International Congregation of Priests, Brothers, Sisters and Lay missionaries who are consecrated for the Mission, to see to it that all have a chance to hear the word of God and encounter Jesus Christ, God’s True Consolation.

God may be calling you to witness His Consolation with the Consolata Missionaries.

Don’t say no, or it is not yet time! Make it happen! Come and see!

Our Contacts: Vocation Director Consolata Missionaries P. O BOX 31072 0135 Pretoria South Africa Email: vocatio@consolata.net Website: www.consolata.org

The southern Cross, July 31 to August 6, 2013

LOCAL

3

SA deacon elected to world body By sTAFF RePORTeR

A

DEACON from Johannesburg has been elected as vice-president of the International Diaconate Centre (IDC) during the organisation’s general assembly in Velehrad, Czech Republic, which saw 130 deacons from 30 countries participate.

Deacon Greg Garnie of St Dominic’s parish in Boksburg was appointed to the board which will serve the interests and development of deacons around the world for the next four years. He is the first deacon from Africa to become a board member and hold this position.

“The IDC represents the most universally organised and recognised association of the Catholic permanent diaconate,” Dcn Garnie said.

“It is an honour and privilege to have been elected by my peers to work in this capacity for the greater good of our order and of the whole Church. I share the vision and conviction that the IDC, the work of which is a ministry to the diaconate, contributes to the holistic

understanding and more complete identity of the permanent deacon as well as proactively motivates vocations to the order,” he said.

“With regard to the latter, the IDC is at the service of our bishops, especially where the diaconate is yet to be restored and at the service of aspirants, candidates and ordained deacons in their formation and ongoing formation programmes.”

D

eacon Garnie said the IDC was well placed to contribute meaningfully to the New Evangelisation mission of the Church through such initiatives as its international study conferences, Diaconia Christi journal and regional affiliates such as IDC-NEC (Northern Europe), CIDAL (South America) and IDC IMBISA (Southern Africa).

“I am looking forward to working with and being of service to my brother deacons in our ministry,” he said.

The other board members elected are Prof Klaus Kiessling of Germany; Fr Gilbert de Lima of

India; and Montserrat diaconate. This body Martinez of Spain, who was named the Interrepresents spouses of national Diaconate deacons.

Centre (IDC) and was The general assemeventually headquarbly also elected eight tered in Rottenburg, delegates who will asGermany. sist the board wherever This year’s confernecessary. Dcn Charles ence was open to all Dube of Bulawayo, deacons and any perZimbabwe, was elected son or group interested a delegate. in the Catholic permaBoth Dcns Garnie nent diaconate. The and Dube were ortheme of the study dained to the permaconference was “Diaconent diaconate in 2005 nia in an Intercultural Deacon Greg Garnie in the archdiocese of Context”.

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

“The image of a diaDcn Garnie has been based in the conal Church was proposed in archdiocese of Johannesburg since which deacons, emboldened by the 2008. They have both been in- Social Teachings of the Church, volved with the IDC for a number needed to be proactive,” said Dcn of years.

Garnie.

In 1965, with the order of permanent deaconate restored by Vatihile it is the first time Africa is can II, some of the council fathers represented on the IDC undertook to establish a body that board, initiatives on the continent would promote, research, study and were set up in 2009 to help stimucontribute to the overall develop- late the permanent diaconate in ment of the order of the permanent Africa.

W

Bishop Phillip Pöllitzer of Keetmanshoop, Namibia, is the president and protector of IDC IMBISA, which facilitates the building of a sacramental fraternity among the deacons of Southern Africa so as to “share in the universal diaconate experience and continue to develop the identity and role of the permanent deacon,” Dcn Garnie told The Southern Cross.

He said the IDC IMBISA working committee would meet in Johannesburg at Mazenod Retreat Centre in Germiston in September, to map the way forward. Deacons are invited to submit their contributions or queries through any of the committee members in the following areas: Johannesburg: Dcn Greg Garnie or Dcn Wally Adams; Cape Town: Dcn Eugene Tito; Durban: Dcn Tony de Freitas; Gaborone, Botswana: Dcn Joseph Matsheng; Bulawayo, Zimbabwe: Dcn Charles Dube; Keetmanshoop, Namibia: Bishop Phillip Pöllitzer OMI. n For more information e-mail idc imbisa@gmail.com

in our caption for the photo on the golden jubilee Mass for Mgr Brendan Deenihan in Port elizabeth in the issue of July 10, the monsignor was inadvertently misidentified as being part of a procession of bishops and others.

Mgr Deenihan, who serves as the apostolic administrator of the diocese of Port elizabeth, is seen here with a floral arrangement on the occasion of his jubilee.

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Special Interest Tours Sacred Heart Pilgrimage

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7 – 18 November 2013 Led by: Fr Gabriel Muyenga ================

St Martin de Porres LY Pilgrimage

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ED K FUBernard Led By Fr O Madiba 20 October –B1O November 2013.

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St Francis of Assisi Pilgrimage

Holy Land. Istanbul. Ephesus. Kusadasi.

St Paul’s Amphitheatre. St John’s Tomb.

28 April – 9 May 2014 Led by Fr Jonathan Vermaak CO Escorted by : Glynn Brown ================

Regina Mundi Pilgrimage

Contact: Brother Evenie Turner O.F.M. 082 599 7718, PO Box 914-1192, Wingate Park, 0153, 082 409-1457/ 012 345-1172

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Holy Land & Cairo.

13 – 23 May 2014 Led by: Fr Ben Mahlangu ================

Tel: (021) 683 0300 Fax: 086 691 9308 P O Box 273, Rondebosch, 7701 email: karis@tangneytours.co.za

For information or a registration form, e-mail admin@jesuitinstitute.org.za or call 011 482 4237 / 076 420 9856 The following post has become available from 15 January 2014

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION TEACHER Maris Stella School is seeking a suitably qualified teacher who has proven leadership qualities and a calling to the development of faith, spirituality, morals and values in young people.

The successful applicant should:

•Be a practicing Catholic with a commitment to his/her own spiritual and personal growth •Have a good understanding of the Catholic Ethos and an ability to promote this ethos within our school •Be willing to develop the Holy Family Spirituality within our school community •Have a sound knowledge of Catholic teaching and Scripture •Have an ability to plan and facilitate our school liturgies and retreats •Be respectful of other denominations and faiths and encourage a spirit of ecumenism •Have a good knowledge of the RE Curriculum promoted by the Catholic Institute of Education •Be able to teach Religion to Grades 8 to 12

Interested persons are invited to obtain an application form from the school at 558 Stephen Dlamini Road (Essenwood Road), Durban or from the website www. marisstella.co.za

Completed application forms together with a CV must be returned to the school on, or before Monday 19 August 2013 for the attention of: The Principal, Maris Stella School, 558 Essenwood Road (Stephen Dlamini Road), Durban, 4001. OR Email: jreddy@marisstella.co.za.

If you have not been contacted within 21 days after the closing date of this advertisement please accept that your application has been unsuccessful.

Maris Stella reserves the right not to proceed with filling the post. An application in itself will not entitle the applicant to an interview or appointment and failure to meet the minimum requirements of the advertised post will result in applicants automatically disqualifying themselves from consideration.

4

The southern Cross, July 31 to August 6, 2013

INTERNATIONAL

Pope Francis: Let Mary help us help the youth

By CiNDy WOODeN

By CLAiRe MATHiesON

W

C

OMFORTABLE in the presence of Mary and at a shrine that symbolises one of his most important experiences as a member of the Latin American bishops’ council, Pope Francis visited the basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida in Brazil.

The pope began his homily during Mass at the world’s largest Marian shrine by recalling the month he spent in Aparecida in 2007 as part of the Latin American bishops’ council (CELAM), and his role as head of the committee that drafted the gathering’s final document on evangelising the continent anew.

Pope Francis said the thousands of lay Catholics who continued to come to the shrine each day to pay homage to Mary and ask her help during the meeting served as a witness to the bishops and helped them with their work.

“The Aparecida document was born of this interplay between the labours of the bishops and the simple faith of the pilgrims,” he said.

Tens of thousands of pilgrims had gathered in the rain outside the shrine, hoping for a glimpse of the pope, who travelled most of the way by plane instead of helicopter because of bad weather.

As soon as the pope arrived, he greeted the superior of the Redemptorist community that staffs the shrine, then he got into the popemobile to greet the crowd and kiss babies.

Before Mass, Pope Francis prayed

From Pretoria nunciature to Edinburgh archbishop

Pope Francis kisses the statue of Our Lady of Aparecida presented to him by Cardinal Raymundo Damasceno Assis of Aparecida. (Photo: Paul Haring, CNs) before the image of Our Lady of Aparecida, a dark wooden sculpture that was caught in the nets of three local fishermen in 1717.

In 1929, Pope Pius XI declared Our Lady of Aparecida the “queen and patron of Brazil”.

In his homily at Mass inside the basilica, Pope Francis prayed that Mary “may help all of us, pastors of God’s people, parents and educators, to pass on to our young people the values that can help them build a nation and a world which are more just, united and fraternal”.

Hope is one key to that future, he said, even in the face of difficulties and the reality of evil.

“Always know in your hearts that God is by your side; he never abandons you,” Pope Francis said. “Let us never lose hope. Let us never allow it to die in our hearts.”

Like the fishermen who found in the nets the body of the Marian statue, then the head, then an abundance of fish, Christians need to be ready to be surprised by God, the pope said. “Even in the midst of difficulties, God acts and he surprises us.”

“Christians are joyful, they are never gloomy,” he said. “Christians cannot be pessimists. They do not look like someone in constant mourning.”—CNS

HEN he worked in the nunciature in Pretoria, he was known as Mgr Leo Cushley. Now he is the archbishopelect of St Andrews and Edinburgh, Scotland, a position that will be a “great challenge”.

The 52-year-old Scot served as counsellor to Archbishop James Green, nuncio to South Africa from 2006-2011. During this time, Archbishop-elect Cushley became known as a “good listener”, said Fr Chris Townsend, former communications officer for the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

The new archbishop, originally from the diocese of Motherwell, will take over from Cardinal Keith O’Brien, who resigned in February this year amid sexual misconduct allegations.

“Mgr Leo, as we knew him, was a very gentle man. He was also a gentleman. He struck me as a good listener and that’s something he’s going to need in his new archdiocese. He’ll be dealing with a very hurt diocese but I believe he is more than up to it,” Fr Townsend told The Southern Cross.

The archbishop-elect joined the Holy See’s diplomatic service in 1992. He has worked in Egypt, Burundi and Portugal before joining the Vatican's diplomatic team at the United Nations in New York. He then served as Archbishop Green’s “right hand man” in South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland.

Most recently, he has been head of English language section of the

Vatican’s secretariat of state, acting as interpreter for Pope Benedict XVI. In 2012, he was also named “prelate of the anticamera” of the apostolic palace—a ceremonial post that includes assisting the pope when he receives high-profile visitors and heads of state.

“I know it’s a delicate moment and that there is a lot to be done, but with God’s grace and the kind support of the clergy and people of Edinburgh, I will work cheerfully and willingly with all the energy I can muster,” Archbishop-designate Cushley said in a statement following his appointment.

“There are certain important questions that I will also have to familiarise myself with,” but he said he could not yet “take stock of what has happened and see what can be done” before his ordination on September 21 in Edinburgh’s St Mary’s cathedral.

“It is my sincere hope to do this always in truth and in charity, with a view to reconciliation and healing among the Catholics of Edinburgh.

My first task is to preach the good news, Christ crucified and risen from the dead, to confirm my brother priests in their Catholic faith and ministry, and to be a loving, simple, wise shepherd to the flock that has been entrusted to me.”

The Five First Saturdays - Mary's Great Promise at Fatima!

• With additional reporting from Catholic News Service

On 10 December, 1925 Lucia received a visit from Mary with the Child Jesus, who said, "Have compassion on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother, surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce Her at every moment, without there being anyone to make an act of reparation in order to take them away." Our Lady then promised sr. Lucia that she would assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all those who on the first Saturdays of five consecutive months:1. go to Confession (within eight days before or after ) 2. receive Holy Communion (obviously in a state of grace) 3. say 5 decades of the Rosary (ie one mystery)

4. keep Her company for 15 minutes whilst meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary 5. all this with the intention of consoling and offering reparation to Her Immaculate Heart

The Reasons for this Devotion:

On May 29, 1930, Our Lord explained to sr. Lucia why five First saturdays: “My daughter the reason is simple.

Against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, five kinds of offenses and blasphemies are committed: ♦ against the immaculate Conception. ♦ against the virginity of Our Lady. ♦ against Her Divine Maternity - the refusal to accept her as Mother of all mankind. ♦ those who publicly seek to sow in children’s hearts indifference, contempt and even hatred for our immaculate Mother. ♦ those who insult Her directly in Her holy images/statues.”

The Origin of the Five First Saturdays:

On July 13, 1917, Our Lady appeared at Fatima to the three seers Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco and revealed a three part secret to them. The first part was a vision of hell, which was so terrible that Lucia later declared that if it were not for Our Lady’s presence, they would have died of fright. After the vision was over, Our Lady spoke thus: “You saw Hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them God wishes to establish devotion to my Immaculate Heart in the world. If they do what I shall tell you, many souls will be saved, and there will be peace.” “i will come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my immaculate Heart (MMP 351e; 356e; 437k) and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays (MMP180). if they listen to my requests, Russia will be converted and there will be peace. if not, it will spread its errors throughout the world, promoting wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, and many nations will be annihilated……”

"...in the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph!"

Act of Consecration to The Immaculate Heart of Mary

“My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the sure way that will lead you to God” (MMP 572)

“O Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of Heaven and earth, and tender Mother of all, in accordance with your ardent wish made known at Fatima, I consecrate to you myself/my family/my parish/my diocese/my country, and all those I love and pray for.

Reign over us and teach us how to make the Heart of Jesus reign and triumph in us, and around us, as it triumphed in You. Reign over us dearest Mother, that we may be yours in prosperity and in adversity, in joy and in sorrow, in health and in sickness, in life and in death.

O Most compassionate Heart of Mary, Queen of Virgins, watch over our minds and hearts. Preserve and heal them from the deluge of impurity which You lamented so sorrowfully at Fatima. We want to atone for the many crimes committed against Jesus and Yourself.

We want to call upon our country, and the whole world, the peace of God, in justice and charity. We want to be pure like You.” Amen.

The southern Cross, July 31 to August 6, 2013

INTERNATIONAL

5

Pakistan’s religious minorities Priest’s smartphone app aimed at young parents are under constant threat F By zOey Di MAuRO

I

N June alone, 47 members of religious minorities were killed in Pakistan, according to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

The victims included an 18-year old Christian man tortured to death by police after he was suspected of kidnapping a Muslim woman, the commission said.

“Basic law enforcement and legal reform are desperately needed,” Knox Thames, director of policy and research at the commission, said at a hearing about the state of religious freedom in Pakistan in Washington, DC. Panelists echoed Mr Thames’ sentiment that the situation for religious freedom there is dire.

Representatives of the primary minorities in Muslim-majority Pakistan—Christians, Hindis, Ahmadiyya Muslims and Shiite Muslims—spoke out about the horrors their peers have suffered.

Peter Bhatti of International Christian Voice told how he was personally affected by religious intolerance in Pakistan—his brother, Shabaz Bhatti, a federal minister, was murdered for his work on behalf of religious minorities.

Peter Bhatti said homes and churches have been vandalised or destroyed, and men and women have been attacked and even burnt alive.

As recently as June 3, three Christian women were beaten and forced to walk around their town naked.

“Christians are fearful in their own motherland,” said Mr Bhatti.

“They are seen as Westerners because they share the same religion.”

More than a million Catholics make up part of the Christian minority in Pakistan. In the past year, two Catholic churches and a Catholic hospital have been attacked.

Children whose house was burnt by a mob take refuge in a tent in Lahore, Pakistan, in March. A Christian neighbourhood was attacked by a Muslim mob, leaving hundreds of people homeless. The attack was connected to Pakistan's controversial anti-blasphemy law. (Photo: Mohsin Raza, Reuters) Many non-Muslim women are kidnapped, raped, then forced to marry their abusers in an effort to convert them to Islam, said Jay Kansara of the Hindu American Foundation. Hindus, as the largest religious minority in Pakistan, are especially targeted, he said.

In addition to physical acts of violence, numerous government policies, such as the blasphemy laws, target minorities by making it illegal to say anything against Islam or to harm a copy of the Qur’an. Many people are jailed for life even when they recant allegedly making such statements.

Many public school textbooks, especially history books, show only the Muslim perspective and demonise other groups, according to the commission, and such a bias deeply affects a student’s mindset.

“A large portion of public school students could not correctly identify religious minorities as citizens, and many were sceptical about the potential for religious minorities to as-

Indian cardinal dead at 93

By CAROL GLATz

I

NDIAN Cardinal Simon Pimenta, who led the archdiocese of Bombay for more than 18 years, died on July 19 at the age of 93.

He was known for trying to keep his sprawling and diverse archdiocese united and active, establishing parishes in the city’s slums and trying to counter widespread contraception campaigns by promoting natural family planning.

He served as a papally appointed synod president during the 1990 Synod of Bishops on priestly formation and led the Indian bishops’ conference for six years.

Cardinal Pimenta was born in Marol, India, on March 1, 1920.

He was ordained a priest of Bombay in 1949.

Pope Paul VI named him an auxiliary bishop for the archdiocese in 1971 and coadjutor of Bombay in 1977. He became archbishop in 1978 and was named a cardinal ten years later by Pope John Paul II. He retired in 1996 at the age of 76.—CNS

Prayers for new prince

T

HE birth of the royal prince is a “source of joy” for people around the world, said the president of the English and Welsh bishops’ conference.

Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster issued a statement of congratulations to Prince William and his wife Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, on the birth of their first son, who is third in line for the British throne.

“The birth of the new prince will be a source of joy not only for the royal family but for the peoples of the United Kingdom and beyond,” said Archbishop Nichols in a stratement.

“May Our Lord Jesus Christ bless and protect them, and may the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Joseph intercede for them,” he added.—CNS

sist in the development of Pakistan,” reported the commission’s executive summary on religious discrimination in Pakistan.

“Like their teachers, the majority of public school students viewed non-Muslims as enemies of Islam.”

The panelists stressed that religious minorities are too terrified and bullied to act against the persecution, so international pressure to make top-down changes could be the most powerful catalyst for change within the country, according to the speakers.

The commission is eager to have Pakistan designated as a country of particular concern by the US State Department, but so far those efforts have been unsuccessful.

Despite the violence of their countrymen and the seeming indifference of their government, Mr Bhatti spoke with great patriotism and a hope.

“We will remain loyal to Pakistan, and we will be willing to sacrifice our lives for our country,” he said.—CNS

OR FO RD

CONSTRUCTION

ATHER John Belmonte noticed two things about the millennial generation: they were scarce in the pews, and they were always on their smartphones.

Since many millennials—people in the 18-34 age-group—are now young parents, Fr Belmonte had an idea to bridge the gap by “evangelising, education, and re-engaging” this demographic through the “We Parent More” app.

“We wanted to make it a technological piece in the New Evangelisation,” said Fr Belmonte, of Joliet in Illinois.

The app has six different buttons which include information on the Catholic faith, blogs from young Catholic parents, games for kids as well as Mass and confession times for parishes across the United States.

Parishes can also subscribe to the app and use it as “an electronic, updated bulletin” to provide parents with information about church happenings at the local level.

“We’re not reading parish bulletins anymore,” Fr Belmonte said.

“This generation is really living on their smartphones. We need to reach out to them at this really key moment in life.”

Users of the app started locally in the diocese of Joliet. Numbers quickly grew to 1 200 users, from parishes across the US. So far, the app has received positive reviews.

“Our analysis of the usership shows our users are on the app an average of 18 minutes a day, which is a significant amount of time,” Fr Belmonte said. “People see the need for it and understand the need for the application.”

As the word gets out, Fr Belmonte hopes more and more parishes and pastors take advantage of the app with the goal of keeping parents connected and most importantly keep them coming to Mass.

“One of the taglines is, ‘Get off your app and go to Mass’,” Fr Belmonte said. “We’d really like to see more of this demographic” at church.—CNA n Visit www.weparentmore.org

New group set up to oversee the Vatican’s spending

By CAROL GLATz

P

OPE Francis has named a new commission to investigate current accounting practices among all Vatican offices and bodies and to help devise new strategies for greater fiscal responsibility.

The new pontifical commission of business and legal experts will “offer technical support” and “develop strategic solutions” to help the Vatican simplify and better coordinate its scattered resources, budgets, properties and assets, and create “a more careful organisation of the economic activities of all Vat-

ican administrative offices”.

The Vatican said the goal of the Pontifical Commission for Reference on the Economic-Administrative Structure of the Holy See is to find ways that help the Vatican “to avoid the misuse of economic resources; to improve transparency in the process of purchasing goods and services; to refine the administration of goods and real estate; to work with ever greater prudence in the financial sphere; to ensure correct application of accounting principles; and to guarantee health care and social security benefits to all those eligible”.—CNS

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The southern Cross, July 31 to August 6, 2013

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

Mirrors of joy

I

N May the Southern Cross pilgrims travelling in the Holy Land and Italy with Archbishop William Slattery attracted attention from other visitors to holy shrines when they sang the hymns at their Masses in exuberant African harmonies.

Pilgrims and tourists would stop to watch the liturgy being celebrated not with solemn gravity but with an energetic joy which was unfamiliar to these observers, who likely were used to more reserved hymn-singing at Mass and at holy sites.

We have also witnessed jubilant enthusiasm at successive World Youth Days as young people showed their joy in being Catholics, in loud cheering as well as in quiet prayer.

This is the image which Pope Francis keeps asking us to project to the world, echoing the challenge St Paul posed in his letter to the Christian community of Philippi: “Be joyful always” (4:4).

Pope Francis, who has a way with vivid language, recently asked those in the consecrated life to not wear “the face of a pickled pepper” but instead to be visibly joyful, because joy, he said, is contagious.

It is a message that is also directed at those who are not in the consecrated life.

Joy, Pope Francis has said, “springs from an encounter, a relation with others; it comes from feeling accepted, understood and loved, and from accepting, understanding and loving others”.

This is why, he said on another occasion, God expects us to be merciful and loving towards others.

According to Pope Francis, “God always wants this: mercy and not [people] going around condemning everyone.”

Indeed, there can be no true Christian joy in locating the sins of others to judge them.

There can be no Christian joy in the act of judging and condemning others when one is, inevitably, also burdened by sin—indeed, the act of judging others is an occasion for sin.

What hypocrisy resides in us when we presume to judge without first revealing our own sins?

Where is the Christian joy in Catholics making severe pronouncements about the lives of other people, as if the final judg-

ment falls under their jurisdiction?

Where is the Christian joy in doctrinal grand-standing, that contest for asserting greater adherence to orthodoxy, where matters of doctrine and discipline seem to trump Christ-like love?

Where is the Christian joy in angrily denouncing those with whom one disagrees, instead of engaging with them in the spirit of a shared faith?

There is no visible joy in doctrinal contest, in condemnation, in anger towards others.

Doctrinal contest, condemnation and anger give the Church a contorted face, like the pickled pepper of Pope Francis’ simile.

How can such a Church communicate the Good News? How can it evangelise?

Of course, we are not called to pretend to be happy when we are not, to grin absurdly when we are feeling sad. Our joys and our hopes are the flip side of the sorrows and despair that frequently accompany us on our life’s pilgrimage.

But even in our grief, suffering and powerlessness we have the interior joy of consolation in Christ through prayer, the sacraments, Scripture and the promise of salvation which provide us with God’s gift of the life-giving waters of hope.

Pope Francis put it like this on Palm Sunday: “A Christian can never be sad. […] Ours is not a joy that comes from having many possessions, but from having encountered a Person: Jesus, from knowing that with him we are never alone, even at difficult moments, even when our life’s journey comes up against problems and obstacles that seem insurmountable.”

Our faith—including its network of teachings—gives our lives purpose and meaning. This is why Catholics must present their faith to others not as something restrictive, but liberating.

In talking about their faith and in celebrating it, Catholics must show the world that their faith brings joy, as the South African pilgrims in the Holy Land and the young people at World Youth Day did with such an attractive passion.

This is the key to the New Evangelisation: all Catholics are called to be mirrors of joy.

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.

Great wealth and philanthropy N the front-page leading article, age of his gross wealth to be 0,5%. I I(June “Giving back to society now” remember when 10% of one’s earn26), Archbishop William Slat- ings was considered reasonable. tery states that “morality and ethics must be part of the economy of South Africa and Catholic social teaching in business is ‘vitally important’,” and calls for successful businessmen and women to give back to society.

The report continues to laud and applaud Patrice Motsepe for his commitment to donate R120 million for sustainable development and upliftment projects in various communities.

Although Mr Motsepe’s wealth is estimated to be R24 billion, R120 million is a large sum of money. However, to put this into context, simple arithmetic calculates this figure to reflect a percent-

Bishops’ book was overdue

I

WANT to express my gratitude to the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference for their excellent book, God, Love, Life and Sex. We, as lay Catholics, have struggled firstly to discover the Church’s teaching in the area of sexuality.

We then had the lonely task of trying to apply it in our own lives in a world which ridiculed our attempt, and we have been very aware of the tangible supernatural assistance we received.

The bishops have now produced this book which is so easy to read and understand, yet is profound.

We thank God for our bishops, for their awareness of our difficulties and their demonstration of their care for us.

It is just another reason for me to thank God that I am a Catholic.

Michelle Joseph, Johannesburg

We do exist

M

ERVYN Pollit’s letter (July 17) refers.

I am a member of We Are All Church South Africa (WAACSA) with the same motivation of seeing that our beloved Church fulfils its destined role in a troubled “modern” world, hopefully by following the Spirit-led edicts of Vatican ll.

However, it seems that some of our Church authoritarians are less concerned and do not even want to take the trouble to investigate and understand the lay point of view.

It is a sad fact that our archbishop has forbidden us to use Catholic premises for our meetings, despite receiving the minutes of each meeting which prove that we are not a militant group of reactionaries but are concerned about the issues raised and wish to contribute positively to-

The article also tells of Mr Motsepe learning his business skills by working in his father’s spaza shop before going on to study law. This is commendable. More so, to then go out and earn a figure of R24 billion must be seen as a great achievement.

Once again, simple arithmetic can be used to calculate the general accumulation of such wealth. If you had to work for eight hours a day, 12 months a year, you would need to earn R40 million a month for 50 years to reach R24 billion. The mind boggles.

Having said all of the above, one wonders where the Church’s recently introduced deadly sin of “obscene and/or excessive wealth” wards their resolution.

When I look around at our membership, I am proud to be associated with them—they are the pillars of the Church, with many, many years of dedicated service behind their grey heads.

They are not a bunch of “yobbos” seeking power and/or glory.

One and all, they love the Church and frankly have dedicated their lives to Catholicism in various capacities over countless years.

As Mr Pollit points out, Pope Benedict’s “smaller Church of quality” statement is unacceptable.

Does Christ’s own definition of his Church not include the word “universal” and thus command that we “spread the word” as far and wide as possible—as opposed to shrinking slowly and ignominiously into an “also ran” position?

We, the people, are the Church and have much to contribute—if only we are allowed to.

But to pretend we do not exist is pure folly. The Church needs us all and that is why WAACSA exists.

Geoff Harris, Rooi Els, Western Cape

Missing disciples

W

ITH regard to the gospel of St Luke (10:1-12;17-20) read on the 14th Sunday of the year C, I notice that my Sunday missal (copyright 1969) is at variance with that preached from the pulpit—not only because of various alterations to the wording of the text but also because the former refers to “72 others” as disciples whereas the latter is 70.

What happened to the other two guys? Seventy-two would seem to be a more logical number, as Dr Spock would say, bearing in mind there were 12 apostles, 12 tribes of Israel and so on, and 72 is, of course, divisible by twelve.

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features in such cases?

Archbishop Slattery says that Mr Motsepe “is an excellent example of what Catholic businessmen should be doing”.

In spite of accruing such “obscene” wealth, he is reported to be planning to donate R12 billion to a campaign to encourage the wealthiest people in the world to make a commitment to give most of their wealth to philanthropic causes.

This generosity of his should certainly not go unrewarded or unappreciated.

However, having parted with such a vast sum of money, would the Church regard the leftover amount of R12 billion as no longer being “obscene” or “excessive”; and would it be cynical to suggest that a plenary indulgence may apply in such cases of committing one of the “new” deadly sins?

Tony Meehan, Cape Town

Cure for gays

I

N the abortion industry, the word “abortion” is never used. Instead, they talk about “termination of pregnancy” and being “pro-choice”, to soften the baseness of their cause.

Similarly, in the homosexual world, the misuse of the beautiful word “gay” has almost destroyed its true meaning, as is shown in Brian Robertson’s letter (June 26).

He puts forward the argument that one can be born homosexual, thereby supporting that condition.

His argument was convincingly countered in Michelle Evert’s letter (June 12).

I have been present when a young man “witnessed” how he escaped from the homosexual condition.

Therapy is available to homosexuals to change, but wickedly, in some countries, this offer of therapeutic treatment is banned!

Almighty God would not have destroyed Sodom and Gomorroh if homosexuals were born that way and could not help themselves. It is the activity that is to be condemed, not the inclination.

A person who has a propensity for promiscuity, but does not engage in fornication or adultery, is not promiscuous.

Our attitude must be one of compassion but we must not support the activity in any way. Otherwise, we oppose the will of Almighty God. Franko Sokolic, Cape Town 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

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The southern Cross, July 31 to August 6, 2013

PERSPECTIVES

The Church and women F ROM the headline, some readers might fear—and others might hope— that this is going to be a liberal tract about the second-class role of women in the Church. That is not my intention.

Instead I would like to use the marking of National Women’s Day as a chance to try and understand what can be done to bridge the gap that there is now between the way in which the role of women is seen by the Church and by most of the rest of society.

I say “now” because this is, I think, a recent phenomenon. The Women’s Liberation Movement—a term which now seems outdated and quaint—dates with force from the 1960s. Since that time the world has seen, in country after country, the rise of 51% of the population in so many spheres of life: universities, politics, business, medicine, the professions, the arts.

British universities often now see more women than men qualify as doctors and as lawyers (and incidentally as Anglican priests).

Meantime, the charge goes, the role of women in the Church has stagnated or even gone backwards. Many outside the Church would dismiss it as an organisation that is always opposed to the fulfilment of women’s potential. But is this really true?

For centuries in Europe it was actually the Church that provided a place of empowerment for women. When it was almost unheard of for women outside the nobility to learn to read and write, or to take on positions of public responsibility, it was Catholic convents which provided a haven. Women were encouraged to study and were ruled by other women not by men.

We might look back on pictures of cloistered nuns in habits as prisons for sexually frustrated maidens; another interpretation is that they were liberating spaces in which it was safe for women to be themselves away from the rule of fathers, husbands or brothers.

It was in turn these women’s religious congregations who started many of the

first schools for girls in Europe, and then later in the Americas and in Africa.

Those schools then provided the foundation of a professional training for women, albeit initially as nurses and teachers, which enabled women to earn a living outside the home and gain status based on their own and not their husband’s position in society.

But now, the Church is often seen as set against the empowerment and equality of women, rather than leading it.

In reality the life of the Church remains as indebted as ever to resourceful, talented, visionary, hard-working, spiritual, educated and educating women. I suspect each one of us can list with ease several women in the Church who have personally inspired not only our faith lives but also our sense of mission. Yet the institutional Church seems reluctant to acknowledge this or to give space to the voices of women in its ranks.

T

hose who believe in Freudian conspiracies might charge that this is all tied up with attitudes towards sex and fear of what might be unleashed by women’s bodies. They claim that the Church offers women only one of two models to follow: Eve or Mary, temptress or virgin.

But the Church’s anxiety may stem less from Freud and more from the free mar-

Pope Paul vi: “The hour...has come, when the vocation of women is being fully recognised, the hour in which women acquire in the world an influence, an effect and a power never previously achieved.”

Raymond Perrier

Michael Shackleton

Faith and society

Open Door

ket. The drive to benefit from the skills of the whole breadth of the talent pool has seen every previously “male” profession become successfully unisex. This has even resulted in many religious groups shifting their stance on female ordination.

Meanwhile, as we know, the Catholic Church has remained absolutely committed to an exclusively male priesthood, invoking strongly-held theological and traditional arguments. But while this reserves sacramental duties to one gender, that need not mean that men have a monopoly or a preference in all roles in the Church.

I fear, though, that many Catholic leaders have been unable to recognise the opportunities they do have, within their own theology, to empower women in the Church and to be seen as leading liberation rather than opposing it.

Fifty years ago, when women were metaphorically burning what constrained them, the Fathers of the Vatican Council stressed the importance of women participating more widely in the various fields of the Church’s apostolate (Apostolicam Actuositatem 9).

But the leadership contribution that women could make in the Church as community leaders, theologians, administrators, catechists, charity directors and so much else still gets marginalised out of a misplaced fear that this will open the floodgates and bring about calls for women priests.

Right at the end of the Council, Pope Paul VI spoke presciently: “The hour is coming, in fact it has come, when the vocation of women is being fully recognised, the hour in which women acquire in the world an influence, an effect and a power never previously achieved.”

We have certainly seen this in the last 50 years and especially the last 20 years in South Africa. The South African Church has begun this long walk to freedom, but perhaps still has some way to go.

Flying high on the wings of poetry

D

O you enjoy reading poetry? I recently received a copy of a poetry collection called On Poetic Wings as a gift from a friend.

This collection of poems, put together and published by Fr Ralph de Hahn, a semi-retired priest in the archdiocese of Cape Town, is an expression of his life of faith over many years.

In the Year of Faith especially, this book is a great help for us to deepen our faith and to express it in the words of these beautiful poems.

But back to my question, do you enjoy reading poetry?

I must confess that poetry was never my strongest motivation to go to my English classes. In primary school, as some of you may recall, we had to learn poems by heart, and I am able even today to recite “Daffodils” by William Wordsworth and “The Donkey”

by G K Chesterton by heart.

I enjoyed poetry in primary school because of the collective sound that was created by the whole class reciting the poem together with a certain tempo.

I remember how my friends and I used

to love shouting out the word “host” in “Daffodils”: “I wandered lonely as a cloud, that floats on high o’er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils...”

And that was the extent of my appreciation of poetry in primary school.

In high school, however, it was a different story. I remember how our teacher made us read wellknown poems in class, none of which I can remember, and then discuss our interpretations of the piece. I was floored. I didn’t know how I felt about the poem because I was trying to figure out what the author meant, and reading it seven more times wasn’t making things any clearer.

Today, many, many years later, after being introduced to poetry on retreats and days of recollection, I have come to realise that poetry can be used as a form of reflection and prayer.

It is not something “up there” that can be analysed and interpreted only by those who study literature. The singersongwriter Leonard Cohen expresses it beautifully when he says: “Poetry is just evidence of life. If your life is burning

Judith Turner

Faith and Life

well, poetry is just the ash.”

And this evidence of life, produced by Fr de Hahn in On Poetic Wings, is able to speak to our lives. Poetry becomes appealing when it speaks to our lives, when the understanding of the poem makes us want to do something or not do something, or when it makes us want to be alone or not alone.

Poetry must be for everyone. And so, I believe, is On Poetic Wings. It can be used by people of all ages—by catechists, prayer group leaders, youth leaders, men’s and women’s groups—as a guide for prayer and reflection.

On Poetic Wings has five themes: Creation, Mary, Christmas, The Crucified, The Eucharist and Insights. So it is a collection of reflections for all seasons of the year.

Today poetry is not a foreign language to me; I now actively search for poems that I can read and love. Maybe I was not quite ready in high school to appreciate the beauty of poetry.

I really wish my high school English teacher might read this article to see that not everything he taught us fell on deaf ears.

Heresy vs schism What is the difference between a schism and a heresy? If the Eastern Church is in schism with the Catholic Church, are Protestant churches heretical churches?

M D Pienaar

L

ET’S get started with a clear idea of the difference between a schism and a heresy. A schism is a state of being in disagreement with an accepted Christian belief or practice, usually a refusal of obedience to the authority of pope and bishops.

Being in such a state does not break one away from the unity of the Church because one remains within the fellowship of the faithful.

St Paul had to contend with such disagreements among his Corinthian converts, for example in I Cor 1:10 and I Cor 11:18.

A heresy is not primarily a state of being in disagreement but a wilful deviation from accepted doctrine. St Peter refers to false prophets who bring the Way of Truth into disrepute by presenting heretical teachings as true (2 Pet 1:1-2).

Schisms are generally caused by personal conflicts. Heresies are generated by the deliberate adherence to a teaching or opinion that directly contradicts true doctrine as understood and preached by the Church. Persons who obstinately adhere to heretical views in spite of being reproved by the Church, might be called heretics.

Having started with definitions that were applied in the past, let us move into the 21st century.

Especially since Vatican II the Church has avoided attaching the terms schism or heretic to any Christian body that disagrees with its beliefs and customs. Vatican II avoided the word heresy altogether.

Today Christians of other traditions cannot be held responsible for conditions deriving from historical events. It would therefore be presumptuous to label their communities as being in schism or heresy.

Vatican II’s Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (15) took an optimistic view of Christianity’s divided condition and recognised that the Church is linked in many ways with those who, being baptised, are honoured with the name of Christian. Though not professing the faith in its entirety or preserving unity of communion with Rome, they share with us in prayer and other spiritual benefits.

The Eastern Church is not in full communion with the Catholic Church but its structure and sacramental system are identical with those of the Church, and there are continuing efforts to bring the two totally together in accordance with Christ’s will. Protestants and Catholics are increasingly striving towards cooperation in prayer and good works.

These are the hopeful signs of things to come, so that there will be one flock and one shepherd.

n Send your queries to Open Door, Box 2372, Cape Town,

8000; or e-mail: opendoor@scross.co.za; or fax (021) 465 3850.

021 531 0550 086 628 4499

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7

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The southern Cross, July 31 to August 6, 2013

COMMUNITY

67 minutes for Mandela Day

Holy Rosary High school in edenvale, Johannesburg, held hands in unity for 67 seconds as part of 5fm’s #HandsAcrosssA initiative. They wore scarves with the colours of the south African flag, singing the national anthem and Happy Birthday to Madiba during assembly.

Grade 10 learners from Brescia House in Bryanston, Johannesburg, hosted a cake sale for the Nelson Mandela Children’s Trust Hospital Development. (From left) Jessie Magaya, shanel Mouat, samukelisiwe sibiya, Alexis Madonsela, Kopanong Moripe, Tebogo Ndlovu, Akhona Khumalo and (inset) Grade 4 learners made cards for pupils of other schools.

Learners and staff from McAuley House in Parktown West, Johannesburg, collected socks and wrote letters of thanks to Mr Mandela for his contribution to south Africa.

staff and pupils of Dominican Convent school in Belgravia, Johannesburg took to the streets with bin bags to pick up litter in the suburb surrounding the school. The pre-school collected bags of clothing which were donated, with tinned food collected by the senior primary school, to a school in Tembisa. Tins of food were also donated to Wings of Hope Pre-school. Foundation phase learners visited Cotlands in Turffontein to donate second hand clothes and 200 cans of food.

Holy Rosary Primary school undertook the challenge of making 1 050 sandwiches to be donated with chocolates to the edenvale Methodist church’s soup kitchen. Holy Rosary Grade 7 learners are pictured with some of the sandwiches they made.

Radio veritas youth Camp members visited TLC home, south of Johannesburg where they planted trees and played with the children. Pictured are (from left) Tony Wilson, Kani Buthelezi of youth Wise on Radio veritas and Nhlanhla Mdlalose.

Prison chaplain Fr Jordan Ngondo took time for reflection with other correctional service officers as part of his 67 minutes for Mandela Day.

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CHURCH

The southern Cross, July 31 to August 6, 2013

9

Healing ministry, the Catholic way It’s a ministry highly criticised and little understood. CLAIRE MATHIESON learns more about the healing ministry and how the bishops hope it will contrast with that of televangelists.

W

HILE the two Ugandan priests were praying at the altar, invoking the Holy Spirit, “a shuffling was heard from the back of the chapel. Distraught cries started to emerge from some people,” Colleen Constable recalled from a training session on deliverance and healing. The cries were not planned.

As the congregation sang, a woman fell down to her seat, mumbling, which soon turned to distraught cries. Similar situations took place around the chapel; the congregation sang louder.

“The priest came from the altar to the woman behind me. He prayed over her and she became quiet. He walked towards the pews at the back from where the croaking voice and hysterical cries came,” Ms Constable said.

He then returned to the altar and the people at the back experienced significant calm. “The priest informed the congregation that they would now proceed with the anointing of the oils for the sick. He emphasised that anyone who comes forward, do so out of free will.”

But there was more animation in the queue to the altar as one woman screamed that she could not take the oil. She attempted to run away. “Four people close to her surrounded her in a circle. They started to pray over her, their hands raised above her head. She was hysterical and continued jumping up and down. The priest came to her and anointed her with the oil. Her reaction was worse than before the anointing. She shrieked, her arms moving uncontrollably, she jumped up and down and clearly had lost total control of her emotions and reactions,” Ms Constable recalled.

Invocations of the Holy Spirit in song were sung, some congregants invoked the name of Jesus, and others invoked the Most Precious Blood of Jesus. The woman became calm and fell down. She remained in a quiet, sleepy state on the floor for about 15 minutes.

“I guess everyone was shocked, especially hearing an evil croaking voice speak...it was simply that one knows there are evils in the world, but direct exposure always becomes unnerving,” said Ms Constable.

This was the experience of a group of laity, religious and clergy who attended healing seminars organised by the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference earlier this year. The intention was to develop a deeper understanding of the healing and deliverance. For many, it was clear how important the often frowned-upon ministry was.

“It is a ministry that requires prayerful, spirit-filled and courageous individuals, who are also rational thinkers, have an awareness of other disciplines or sciences, are able to observe and discern the situation, even in the midst of intense prayer,” said Ms Constable, one of the attendees at a Cape Town training session with Ugandan facilitators. She pointed out that the ministry was “clearly not a ministry everyone is called to”.

For Ms Constable, the healing and deliverance ministry has to be approached with “great caution and enthusiasm”.

“The latter because it is a healing ministry based on the teachings and example of Jesus Christ during his life on earth. The former, because of the legislative, psychological and medical issues that directly and indirectly influence and impact on execution of such a ministry in

Participants pray at a healing and deliverance training seminar organised by the southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference. modern times.”

The ministry of healing and deliverance is often misunderstood and is one that has been abused in the past. Critics have legitimate arguments; healing and deliverance ministries, incorrectly informed and trained, have resulted in death and injury. Accordingly there is a need to approach the ministry correctly and to ensure procedure is followed.

T

he bishops’ department of Christian Formation, Liturgy and Culture, under the leadership of Bishop Edward Risi of KeimoesUpington, is writing a compendium of healing prayers and rituals for the conference area and has promoted proper training for a select few.

The officiating of the ministry has been a result of consultations organised by the bishops over the past seven years and a recognition of the need to be convinced about the healing ministry of Jesus today in Africa.

“From this conviction we need to lead people to a deepening of their faith in the love and the healing compassion of the Lord Jesus in his Church,” he said.

“Let us lead people to have a deep and personal relationship with the Lord and also to acknowledge the role of the Holy Spirit,” said Fr Victor Phalana of Sacred Heart cathedral in Pretoria. “It is time for us as the Church in Africa to be open to and to encourage charismatic gifts of the Spirit during this inculturation period. Our approach to healing must be integral.”

Fr Phalana said the ministry was inspired by the work of Jesus to give life and to proclaim the Kingdom of God—the kingdom of justice and peace.

“We are committed to the advancement of the kingdom through proclamation, dialogue, healing, deliverance and action on behalf of the Justice and Peace department. It is our understanding that healing is God’s gift; his grace, and the manifestation of his loving presence in the world.”

For Fr Phalana and the bishops’ conference, the project to compile a compendium on healing and deliverance is of utmost importance.

“This project is meant to assist the Church of Southern Africa to collect healing prayers and Christian healing rituals from various sources, both local and international.” The department is now calling on clergy and laity to submit relevant prayers for healing and Catholic healing rituals which can form part of the compendium, he said.

“Our healing prayers and rituals must be Catholic in the real sense of the word,” said Fr Phalana.

“Catholics believe that God wills us to heal people today as in the times of the Lord. This being the case, not all people are healed and for us this is the mystery of the will of God.” Fr Phalana said a healthy attitude would help avoid the abuses and scandals many television evan-

gelists had encountered.

“The compendium must faithfully portray the Catholic understanding of healing. Healing is God’s gift, it is his grace. We see healing as the manifestation of God’s loving presence in the world.

Catholics do not claim or demand healing from God. This is an absurd pentecostal mentality. Healing is a process that happens in God’s time and according to the divine plan.”

The compendium will also become an instrument through which Catholics can express themselves to God and through which Christ comes to sanctify his people.

“It will be a prayer book, yes, but

The healing and deliverance training seminars, given by ugandan facilitators, were a precursor to a project by the bishops’ conference to compile a compendium of healing prayers and rituals. it must show the Church on earth, united with the saints, proclaiming Jesus, united with the Lord through the Spirit, giving glory to God the Father,” Fr Phalana said.

It is hoped prayers submitted by members of the Church will be approved for liturgical use or for personal prayer life. It will be the task of the department to seek copyright permission for approved and published prayers and rituals.

Locally composed prayers and rituals will still be submitted to the competent authorities for the nihil obstat and imprimatur, to declare that those prayers are free from doc-

trinal error, superstitions and idolatry.

“This compendium will be useful for parish healing ministry teams in their work,” said Fr Phalana. “It will address areas of physical healing, spiritual healing, emotional healing, relational healing, deliverance, prayers for the healing of the nation, prayers for the healing of the environment, prayers for protection and prayers catering for various stages of human life: from the womb to the tomb. n To contribute to the compendium, please contact Sr Catherine Siyali at the SACBC CSiyali@sacbc.org.za

HEAD OF SCHOOLS

10

The southern Cross, July 31 to August 6, 2013

FOCUS

A minority lives its faith Small acts of Catholic faith are vital, Christian families living in a predominantly Muslim village in Israel tell JUDITH SUDILOVLKY.

E

VERY evening, Suhad Shunnara, 32, reads the Bible to her three sons and kneels with them to say the rosary. On Friday, she and her husband Fuad, 40, send the children to religion class, and on Saturday, after Mass, they all watch a Christian TV channel together.

Muqeibleh is a small, mostly Muslim village in Israel. Of its 4 000 inhabitants, all classified Arabs, the Christian community totals 135.

These acts of faith by the Shunnara family are not only a statement of their own beliefs but also an important way to instil in their children a love and understanding of the importance of their religious traditions to their own identities.

“There are a lot of things which we do differently to our Muslim neighbours,” Fuad said, noting that most of his friends are Muslim. “But the atmosphere here is very good; there is a lot of Muslim-Christian respect as well as Christian-Christian respect.”

The village’s Christian community includes 14 Greek Orthodox and 25 Melkite Catholics, all of whom are served by the Latin-rite church of the Transfiguration, the only church in the village. All the Christians belong to three large extended families: the Shunnara, Saed, and Sahouri clans.

“We are all a close family in this community. We know everyone from the youngest to the oldest,” said Suhad, a schoolteacher who moved to Muqeibleh when she married. There are pros and cons to living in such a small community, she added.

“We celebrate all the holidays together, but there are not enough

girls [for the boys to marry]. All the Muslims love us; I teach in a Muslim school and they come to us on our holidays, but they don’t know anything about our religion. They think we pray to a statue,” she said.

Ramez Saed, 39, said there is mutual respect among the residents. For example, he said, during the month of Ramadan, Christians do not eat outside their homes during fast times, and also do not drink alcohol outdoors.

“It is not out of fear; we do it out of respect,” he said. “Fear does not exist.”

The first priest came to the village 30 years ago and Mariam Saed, 62, remembers how, as a young mother from a different village, she helped gather the community together to teach them the correct way of praying. Every night she would read Bible stories to her nine children.

Her husband, Tawfik, 64, who was born in the village, said the first time he stepped into a church was on their wedding day. In those days, he said, people were Christian only in name. “Now we have a church, thank God,” Mariam said.

T image: Google Maps

he parish’s church was built in 2006 with international financial assistance, and Muslim religious leaders and neighbours came to celebrate with the community.

Muqeibleh is the only village with a Christian presence between the city of Lod, in the centre of the country, and Nazareth, Fuad Shunnara noted proudly.

Fr Marco Riva has been serving the community for the past seven years, dividing his time between Nazareth as director of Holy Family

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Fuad shunnara and his wife suhad kneel and read the Bible and pray with their sons in their living room in Muqeibleh, israel. The family belong to the parish of the Transfiguration in the village and pray with their children every night at home. (Photo: Debbie Hill, CNs) Centre for Special Education and the parish in the village at the foot of the Gilboa mountains.

Fr Riva said he hopes the eldest Saed son, Julian, 12, who plays the piano, will become the church organist when he installs a new organ next year.

Two years ago Fr Riva began arranging for the community children to be taken to a Catholic summer camp in Nazareth. Next, he wants to turn a barren field behind the church into a football pitch for the community’s 50 youngsters.

It is important to create a sense of community among Christians, while at the same time not isolating them from the rest of the village, he said.

Isahk Sahouri, 43, called the Italian priest a force to be reckoned with. “He loves us and we love him and he wants to give to this community.”

Living in such a small community gives a different meaning to attending Mass and holiday services, said his Nazareth-born wife Lilach, 37.

“Here I feel the faith more. In Nazareth people go to church more for show, but here people really just

come to pray,” she said.

“The church in Nazareth may be bigger. But here the faith is much greater. Everybody comes to all the events. They invest a lot in the church,” said Isahk.

“As Christians living here, you have to have faith, but you can’t live separately. You are part of the entire community. We are here and we live respectfully.”

He said some of the young Christian families are considering leaving for Nazareth because of a lack of educational options for their children as they reach high school age. Parents must decide between sending them to the local public high school, which offers only Muslim religion class, and driving them to a private Catholic school in Nazareth.

“It is a matter of time before the Christians leave this village,” Isahk said, noting the many hours he spends driving his sons to school in Nazareth and after-school activities.

His son, Amir, 12, said that although he likes being with other Christian children in his school, he loves his home in the village.

“I have friends here,” he said. “I don’t feel different.”—CNS

DIRECTOR

Applications are invited for the following post

Catholic Schools’ Office: Cape Town

The Catholic Schools’ Office in Cape Town is the administrative and working arm of the Catholic Schools’ Board, servicing the needs of the Catholic schools in the Western and Southern Cape.

Due to the retirement of the present incumbent, the Catholic Schools’ Board invites applications for the post of Director, which becomes vacant from 1 January 2014.

The Board is seeking to appoint a suitably-qualified and motivated person who will:  be a practising Catholic and will understand, identify with and contribute to the Catholic ethos and values of our schools;  be a qualified and experienced teacher with recent school management experience;  be qualified and experienced in the area of Catholic Religious Education;  have the necessary expertise and knowledge of educational developments, especially in the area of Catholic Education;  have energy, perseverance and a creative approach to dealing with challenges;  have the capacity to work both in a team and independently;  demonstrate proven leadership, interpersonal and organisational skills.

The post will be demanding, challenging and exciting. The successful applicant will need a valid driver’s license, and be willing to travel and visit schools throughout the Western Cape Province. Competency in English and another language of the Western Cape is a recommendation.

Applications should be submitted to: The Chairperson: Catholic Schools’ Board, P.O. Box 19018, Wynberg, 7824 Or Email: kmgaylor@mweb.co.za The application should include a full CV and the names of three contactable referees, one of whom should be your parish priest.

Closing date for applications: 31 August 2013

The Board reserves the right not to proceed with the filling of this post. An application will not in itself entitle the applicant to an interview or appointment, and failure to meet the minimum requirements of the advertised post will result in applicants automatically disqualifying themselves from consideration.

No faxed applications accepted.

Candidates not contacted shall consider their application unsuccessful.

The southern Cross, July 31 to August 6, 2013

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: Padre Pio: Holy hour 15:30 pm every 3rd sunday of the Mimosa Shrine, Bellville month at Holy Redeemer (Place of pilgrimage for the year of Faith) Tel: 076 323 parish in Bergvliet.

8043. August 10: Feast of Helpers of God’s Precious st Lawrence, 9:00amInfants meet the last satur10:00am Holy hour and day of the month except in Benediction. Confession December, starting with available. August 15: The Mass at 9:30 am at the saAssumption of our Lady cred Heart church in somer7:00pm Rosary, 7:30pm set Road, Cape Town. Mass Holy Mass. September 12: is followed by a vigil and Most Holy Name of Mary, procession to Marie stopes 7.00pm Rosary, 7.30pm abortion clinic in Bree Mass. September 14: exalstreet. For information contation of the Holy Cross, tact Colette Thomas on 083 9.00-10.00am Holy hour 412 4836 or 021 593 9875 and Benediction, confession or Br Daniel Manuel on 083 available. September 26: 544 3375.

7.30pm Rosary.

Liturgical Calendar Year C Weekdays Cycle Year 1 Sunday, August 4, 18th Sunday Ecclesiastes 1:2, 2:21-23, Psalm 90:3-6, 12-14, 17, Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11, Luke 12:13-21 Monday, August 5 Numbers 11:4-15, Psalm 81:12-17, Matthew 14:1321 Tuesday, August 6, Transfiguration of the Lord Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14, Psalm 97:1-2, 5-6, 9, 2 Peter 1:16-19, Luke 9:28-36 Wednesday, August 7 Numbers 13:1-2, 25, 14:1, 26-29, 34-35, Psalm 106:6-7, 13-14, 21-23, Matthew 15:21-28 Thursday, August 8, St Dominic 2 Timothy 4:1-5, Psalm 37:3-6, 30-31, Matthew 5:13-16 Friday, August 9, St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross Deuteronomy 4:32-40, Psalm 77:12-16, 21, Matthew 16:24-28 Saturday, August 10, St Lawrence 2 Corinthians 9:6-10, Psalm 112:1-2, 5-9, John 12:24-26 Sunday, August 11, 19th Sunday Wisdom 18:6-9, Psalm 33:1, 12, 18-22, Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19 or 11:1-2, 8-12, Luke 12:32-48 or 12:35-40

Our bishops’ anniversaries This week we congratulate: August 6: Bishop Pius Mlungisi Dlungwane of Mariannhill on the 13th anniversary of his episcopal ordination.

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PILGRIMAGE TO PORTUGAL (Fatima), SPAIN & FRANCE (Lourdes) - JULY 2014

10 nights’ accommodation in 3-star centrally-located hotels as follows:- 2 nights Fatima (Portugal); 1 night in Central Spain; 3 nights in Lourdes; 1 night Avignon (Palace of the Popes); 1 night in Nevers (St Bernadette); 2 nights in Paris - Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, St Vincent de Paul and Church of Miraculous Medal.

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Bookings via:

St Gerards Holy Tours Deacon John Sheraton - 021 705 5131 or 083 277 7999 Elise Petesen : 084 584 2695 or 021 529 2365 Email: stgholytours@gmail.com

St Joseph’s Theological Institute

(Association incorporated under section 21) Registered with the Department of education as a Private Higher education institution under the Higher education Act, 1997.

Registration Certificate Number 2003/He08/003

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Development Studies Department

The Development Studies Department through its two academic programmes: Higher Certificate in Human and Social Development and Advanced Certificate in Human and Social Development seeks to provide a service to the Church and Society in general through the formation and training of leaders guided by a Christian ethos.

The Two Academic Programmes aim at: (a) Providing students with the basic understanding of the main concepts and theories of human and social development, (b) Empowering students with the basic understanding of how societies develop and function, and (c) Providing the basic knowledge to enable students to continue with further studies in the areas of human and social development.

Two Key Areas of Focus (a) Leadership in Social development: the department provides training to men and women, religious and lay capable of working in organisations and agencies that deal with issues of social development and advocacy, and (b) Formation: the Department helps train men and women capable of working in Religious and Priestly formation programmes.

Admission Criteria (a) Students registering for the Higher Certificate in Human and Social Development must have a National Senior Certificate (NSC) or its equivalent, (b) Students registering for the Advanced Certificate in Human and Social Development must have a minimum of a Higher Certificate in Human and Social Development or its equivalent, (c) Both programmes require proficiency in English as this is the language of instruction at the Institute.

Registration Registration for the academic year 2014 is open from July to December 2013.

For more information contact: Academic Dean, e-mail: dean@sjti.ac.za or Head of Development Studies Department, e-mail: kinundapisilah@hotmail.com

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 561.

ACROSS: 5 Aims, 7 Vine-grower, 8 Life, 10 Apologia, 11 Assert, 12 Simian, 14 Trader, 16 Instil, 17 Scorch it, 19 Rank, 21 Blackfriar, 22 Dray. DOWN: 1 Oval, 2 Reverend, 3 Breast, 4 Swoons, 5 Arno, 6 Meditation, 9 Instructor, 13 Miserere, 15 Reheat, 16 Intake, 18 Ruby, 20 Kirk.

Word of the Week

IMPRIMATUR: “Let it be printed”. An official declaration by a bishop that a book or pamphlet is free of doctrinal or moral error. There is no implication that those who have granted the Imprimatur agree with the content, opinions or statements expressed.

To advertise in this section please contact Elizabeth Hutton on 021 465 5007or email advertising @scross.co.za

CLASSIFIEDS

11

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

BIRTHDAY

ARENDSE—Jacoba, July 30. "May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord let His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his face and bring you peace" (Numbers 6:2326). Happy 80th birthday Mom, Ma Coba and may you continue to be an inspiration to our family.

With lots of love from your sons, daughters, sons and daughters-in-law, grandchildren, greatgrandchildren and extended family.

LANGLEY, Tina—August 4th. Happy birthday to you and may you have an awesome, spirit filled day.

God's richest blessing upon you today and always. Love you, Basil, Taryn and Bronwyn.

IN MEMORIAM

WILLIAMS—Rita. in loving memory of my dear daughter and our sister Rita who passed away August1, 1999. Always in our thoughts and prayers.

We who love her will never forget. eternal rest grant unto her O Lord. still deeply missed by her mother, sisters, brothers and their families.

PERSONAL

ABORTION WARNING: The pill can abort (chemical abortion) Catholics must be told, for their eternal welfare and the survival of their unborn infants.

NEEDED please: gift of large outdoor statue of Our Lady (+-1m high) for grotto for Barcelona Catholics, etwatwa, Benoni of Our Lady of all Consolation. Please contact: sr Margaret 011 421 3056 or 072 985 1000, knobel.margaret9@gmail. com NOTHING is politically right if it is morally wrong.

Abortion is evil. value life!

PRAYERS

O MOST Holy virgin BLAIS—Andrê Joseph, very Rev Father OMi. Our Father and Founder of the religious Congregation of the Handmaids and the secular institute of the servants of Christ the Priest. Called to rest August 7, 1992 at Bosco House, Hammanskraal, Archdiocese of Pretoria.

Will always be fondly remembered in our prayers and daily Mass. From your beloved servants and Handmaids of Christ the Priest.

PAGE—Noel. in loving memory of my devoted husband and father of Claire, Niki, Bernard and Patrick who passed away two years ago on August 1st, 2011. Always in our thoughts and prayers.

Rest in peace.

SANVIDO—Tony. in loving memory of my dear husband, our father and grandfather who passed away August 1, 1998. Always loved and missed by his wife Nancy, his children and their families.

May he always rest in peace.

GOD BLESS AFRICA Guard our people, guide our leaders and give us peace.

Luke 11:1-13

Mary, who chose to appear on the sierra de Aire, in the Cova de iria, to three young shepherds to reveal the treasures of grace held in the recitation of the Rosary, impress upon our souls a fervent love for this devotion. By meditating on the mysteries of our redemption, may we learn how to use the teachings which lie therein and obtain the graces we ask in this prayer. For the Glory of God and the redeeming of our souls. Amen. www.santuario-fatima.pt HOLY ST JUDE, apostle and martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke you, special patron in time of need. To you i have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg you to come to my assistance. Help me now in my urgent need and grant my petitions. in return i promise to make your name known and publish this prayer. Amen. RCP. O MOST beautiful flower

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of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendour of Heaven, blessed Mother of the son of God, immaculate virgin, assist me in my necessity. O star of the sea, help me and show me where you are, Mother of God. Queen of heaven and earth i humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to succour me in my necessity. There is none who can withstand your power, O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Holy Mary, i place this cause in your hands. “say this prayer for 3 consecutive days and then publish. special thanks to the sacred Heart of Jesus and ss Jude and Daniel for prayers answered. Anna.

THANKS

GRATEFUL thanks to the sacred Heart of Jesus, Our Mother Mary, ss Joseph, Anthony, Jude and Martin de Porres for prayers answered. RCP.

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

LONDON, Protea House: single per/night R300, twin R480. self-catering, busses and underground nearby. Phone Peter 021 851 5200.

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@gmail.com 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.

STELLENBOSCH: Five simple private suites (2 beds, fridge, micro-wave).

Countryside vineyard/forest/mountain walks; beach 20 minute drive. Affordable. Christian Brothers Tel 021 880 0242, cbcstel@gmail.com 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.

The Southern Cross is a member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations of South Africa. Printed by Paarl Coldset (Pty) Ltd, 10 Freedom Way, Milnerton.

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19th Sunday: August 11 Readings: Wisdom 18:6-9, Psalm 33:1, 12, 18-20, 22, Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19, Luke 12:32-48

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HE heart and source of our Christian faith is not an intellectual argument; it is a relationship with the One who created the universe, rather than something that has been logically proved to us; and the name of that relationship is “faith”. That is the message of next Sunday’s readings.

The first reading comes from the book of Wisdom, written in Egypt, at the other end of this continent of Africa, a hundred years or so before Jesus was born, to convince loyal Jews that the God to whom they gave their faith and with whom they had this profound and loving relationship had not been “rendered obsolete” by the exciting scientific discoveries of the age in which they lived (sounds familiar? The book of Wisdom is written for our time, too).

In this excerpt, the chosen people are invited to reflect on what God has done for them, in particular on the night of the Exodus, which “was foreknown to our ancestors, that with certain knowledge of the promises in which they had put their faith, salvation might be received by your people”.

They recall how God “glorified us whom

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Receive the gift of faith Nicholas King SJ

sunday Reflections

you had invited”, and how it was part of being the People of God, who “unanimously put into practice the Law of God, to share alike the same good fortune and the same risks, singing beforehand the holy praise of [our] ancestors”.

It is perhaps not absolutely clear, but you get the sense of the faith of God’s people at this crisis in their affairs.

The psalm for next Sunday is more from the same stable: “Rejoice you just in the Lord...happy the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he has chosen as an inheritance for himself.”

God, they proclaim, is watching over them: “Look! The Lord’s eye is on those who fear him, who hope in his steadfast love, to

deliver their souls from death.”

The psalm ends in beautiful confidence: “Let your love O Lord be upon us, just as we have put our hope in you.”

In the second reading we are looking at the last part of that great work of theology that is the Letter to the Hebrews; and, once more, it is the relationship with God to which we give the name of “faith” that is the issue here, by way of a series of examples from the Old Testament: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah (Mrs Abraham to you), but pointing out that all these “died without receiving [God’s] promises, but seeing them from a long way off”.

The author sees this as evidence that “they were looking for their homeland...the heavenly one”. He even reflects on the terrible story of Abraham’s “sacrifice of Isaac”, and comments that Abraham “calculated that God was able even to raise from the dead”. So the story of God’s people comes right down to the present moment.

How then are disciples to live out their faithful membership of God’s people? The gospel reading shows us: First, by not worry-

Crying is OK, whining isn’t T

HE psychologist Carl Rogers once suggested that what’s most private within us is also most universal.

His belief was that many of the private feelings that we would be ashamed to admit in public are, ironically, the very feelings which, if expressed, would resonate most deeply inside the experience of others.

But this isn’t always true in terms of our tears. Sometimes our private tears are only that, private tears; tears which are ours alone and which don’t resonate with the feelings of others but rather cause them an unhealthy discomfort.

Why don’t all of our tears draw empathy?

Because not all tears are alike; there’s a difference between weeping and whining. The former is healthy, the latter isn’t.

Weeping is healthy. It’s a wholesome expression in the face of loss.

Moreover, when we weep we are giving expression to a sorrow that speaks not just of some private loss and pain, but somehow too of that same sadness within the entire world.

The loss we are mourning may seem a private thing, like the death of a loved one, but if the focus of our grief is on the one lost rather than on ourselves, our weeping is essentially empathic. Our deep sadness then mourns a universal condition and connects us more deeply to the world, where death and loss spare no one. Everyone, ultimately, carries that same sadness.

Whining, on the other hand, is mostly self-pity. Unlike weeping, its focus is not on what has been lost to tragedy but is

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Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

primarily upon ourselves, our hurt, and our plea for sympathy.

To whine is to hold a private wound up for public viewing in order to look for sympathy, like a child showing a bruised knee to his mother. We can feel sorry for a bruised child—the propriety there is not offensive—but the scenario is not nearly as palatable when we are adults.

We cry tears for different reasons and we cry tears in different ways. In all tears, the question is: “Whom am I crying for, for someone else or for myself? What is causing my tears, sympathy for someone, sympathy for something, or self-pity?”

That’s not an easy question to answer because our tears are invariably a mix of both altruism and selfishness. Rarely are our tears pure, without self-pity, like the tears that Jesus wept over Jerusalem or the ones Mary wept under the cross of Jesus.

Our tears can indict us just as much as they can exhibit empathy. For instance, St Thérèse of Lisieux suggests that when we cry tears over a broken heart, it is generally because we were seeking ourselves, rather than the other, inside that relationship. The tears are real, but they’re

hardly noble.

In a similar vein, Fr Antoine Vergote, the renowned Belgian psychologist and theologian, suggests that the tears we cry when we feel guilty about doing something wrong are generally tears of selfpity rather than a sign of actual contrition.

True contrition, he contends, evokes something else inside of us: sorrow. What distinguishes sorrow from guilt is that in sorrow we weep because something we’ve done has hurt someone else. With tears of guilt, we’re crying because we’re feeling badly.

The difference between whining and weeping is often seen too in their aesthetics. Whining is invariably exhibitionistic, over-sentimental, and causes discomfort to those witnessing it. It fails to keep a respectful aesthetic distance. In essence, it’s bad art!

We’ve all experienced this at times, at a funeral perhaps, where, however tragic or sad the occasion, someone’s tears were simply so raw and so exhibitionistic that we experienced them as somehow violating proper propriety. We felt uncomfortable for the person shedding those tears.

We experience this occasionally too to a lesser extent in bad popular art, where, in some song or film or novel, the sadness expressed is simply too raw, too sentimental or too juvenile to leave us a safe space within which to view it and digest it.

Again, the fault is in the aesthetics, bad propriety. Bad art leaves us wanting to shield our eyes so as not to embarrass someone else or it leaves us feeling like we have ingested too much sugar. That’s a second feature of whining; beyond being self-pitying, it’s bad art.

And so we need to be careful about the tears we shed in public and the frustrations we express out loud.

Of course, none of our tears are pure, we’re always crying too for ourselves. The same is true for our protests; there’s always some self-interest involved.

But, with that being admitted, we should strive to do more weeping and less whining; that is, to insure that when we express sadness or indignation in public our tears and our anger are expressing more empathy than self-pity.

Carl Rogers is right: What’s most private inside us is also what’s most universal. That’s true too for our deep sadness, for our chronic heartaches, for a good number of our frustrations, and for many of the tears we cry.

But it’s less true for our whining.

ing: “Your Father is able to give you the kingdom.”

Secondly, by not being weighed down by possessions; thirdly, they are to “have their track-suits on and their torches alight”. Above all, they must “wait for the Lord...congratulations to those slaves whom the Lord will find wide awake when he arrives”.

Peter wants to know if this is a special teaching, just for the in-crowd, but doesn’t get much of an answer, except that he is to be a “faithful and intelligent servant, whom the Lord will find doing his job when he comes; truly I’m telling you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions”.

It is a very intimate relationship, between God and the People of God, that we are invited to enter.

It is not without its risks, of course, as we notice, uncomfortably enough, the threats that we shall be “cut in two” and subjected to corporal punishment.

It is not, however, the sanctions that should engage our attention next week, but the inestimable privilege of being part of God’s people, living with the gift of faith.

Southern Crossword #561

ACROSS 5. Objectives (4) 7. I veer wrong way to one who provides Mass wine (46) 8. Shepherd lays it down for his sheep (Jn 10) (4) 10. Cardinal Newman’s written defence (8) 11. State as factual (6) 12. Resembling an ape; sounds like holy man in Lk 2 (6) 14. He’s a buyer and seller (6) 16. Put a drop in your eye (6) 17. Don’t do this when ironing the altar cloth (6,2) 19. Social standing of taxi driver? (4) 21. Dominican priest or brother (10) 22. Cart back from yard (4)

DOWN 1. Egg-shaped cricket ground (4) 2. Minister of religion (8) 3. Be sorry for sin, and beat it (6) 4. So snow is about when one faints (6) 5. Florentine river (4) 6. Practice of contemplatives (10) 9. One who shows you the way (10) 13. Psalm or prayer for mercy (8) 15. Make hot once more (6) 16. Quantity admitted to seminary (6) 18. She’s like a gemstone (4) 20. Church of Scotland (4) solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

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NE day a group of scientists got together and decided that man had come a long way and no longer needed God. So they picked one scientist to go and tell God that they were done with him.

The scientist walked up to God and said: “God, we’ve decided that we no longer need you. We’re at the point where we can clone people and do many miraculous things, so why don’t you just go on and get lost.”

God listened very patiently and kindly to the man.

After the scientist was done talking, God said: “Very well, how about this? Let’s say we have a man-making contest.” To which the scientist replied: “Okay, great!”

But God added: “Now, we’re going to do this just like I did back in the old days with Adam.”

The scientist said: “Sure, no problem,” then bent down and grabbed a handful of dirt.

God looked at him and said: “No, no, no. You get your own dirt!” send us your favourite Catholic joke, preferably clean and brief, to The southern Cross, Church Chuckle, PO Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000.