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Legal threat to Catholic schools By STUART GRAHAM

N application for a high court interdict to prevent public schools from practising any form of religion could open the door to a range of legal challenges against Catholic schools, the Catholic Institute of Education (CIE) has warned. Paul Faller, the national coordinator for religious education at the CIE, said Catholic schools in South Africa would be wise to take seriously the court action by the Organisasie vir Godsdienste-onderrig en Demokrasie (Organisation of Religious Education and Democracy, or Ogod). “This interdict is a wake-up call to Catholic schools to make sure their policies and practices are in line,” he said. “If it is successful, I expect a challenge against Catholic schools,” he said, voicing particular concern for those that are privately owned but publicly funded. “There are some [religious] practices in Catholic schools that could be challenged by it,” Mr Faller warned. “In many instances education departments would love to see the demise of Catholic public schools [on private property]”, which constitute 70% of South Africa’s Catholic schools. Ogod indicated that it would ask the high court to impose an interdict forbidding the Christian practices and activities at six state schools and have them declared unconstitutional. Among the schools affected are the Oudtshoorn High School, Langenhoven Gimnasium and Linden High School. Mr Faller said that Catholic public schools on private property walk “a delicate tightrope” when it comes to remaining true to their Catholic character. “If this [court action] is successful, I think the education departments might challenge Catholic schools in that category. It could be a landmark case.”

e said schools have to differentiate between proselytising, which is “a conscious effort on the part of teachers to influence children in their religious beliefs and identity”, and catechesis, “a process where you encourage and nurture faith”. “Proselytising occurs when schools try to influence a child, when they make it their mission to turn these children into Catholics,” he said. “We are talking about direct actions or

words trying to influence children in terms of their religious choice,” Mr Faller explained. “The purpose of Catholic schools, however, is to make a Muslim a better Muslim, a Hindu a better Hindu and a Presbyterian a better Presbyterian,” he said. To “push one faith against another...would be in direct conflict with the vision of Catholic schooling”. While Catholic schools are protected by the law, he said, “they are protected only so far as their policies and practices are in line”. Mr Faller said he was working on a response to the interdict. But he warned that it is important that Catholic schools get their house in order rather than challenging a court case or interdict, he said.

nne Baker, the CIE’s deputy-director of operations, said South Africa has chosen the cooperative model of religion and the state, which provides “constitutional separation”. “In other words, the Constitution holds that everyone’s belief or non-belief is acknowledged and may not be damaged or imposed upon,” she explained. Section 61 of the Religion and Education Policy tasks the governing body of a school with determining “the nature and content of religious observances”. “In other words if there are Hindus or Muslims in a school they must also be given the opportunity to practise [their] religious observances. In any school no-one can be forced to take part in religious observances,” Ms Baker said. Catholics should be wary of aligning themselves against the interdict, she warned. “Catholic public schools on private property are legally protected under an agreement with provinces to be Catholic schools,” she said. Rev Andre Orffer, a Dutch Reformed Church minister in Oudtshoorn West, told Die Burger newspaper that the interdict to have various Christian practices at schools declared unconstitutional is an opportunity for Christians to bear witness to their faith. Since the nature of the case had become known, Rev Orffer said he had had contact with people from both sides who are trying to find sensible responses. Rev Orffer said that in the past parents often relied on schools to provide their children with religious education. But, he pointed out, the family is the primary source of spiritual education for children.

Holy Rosary High School in Edenvale, Johannesburg, held its annual Debutantes Ball to celebrate its Grade 10 girls’ fundraising efforts. This year R970 560 was raised. A portion of the funds raised will go towards various charities including the Holy Rosary Sisters, CHOC, Love of Christ, St Anne’s Old Age Home, Holy Rosary’s outreach programme Phumulela, and Little Eden. The debutantes are seen modelling their dresses in the school’s yard.

Feasts of Ss John Paul II, John XXIII put on universal calendar By CAROL GLATz

N light of “countless requests from every part of the world”, Pope Francis has approved putting Ss John XXIII and John Paul II on the Church’s universal calendar of feast days. Called the General Roman Calendar, it is the universal schedule of holy days and feast days for the Latin rite of the Catholic Church. The two saints’ feast days, both of which have the ranking of an optional memorial, are on October 11 for St John XXIII—the anniversary of the opening of the first session of the Second Vatican Council, which he had called—and October 22 for St John Paul II, the date of his papal inauguration in 1978. The pope determines who makes the universal calendar based on recommendations from the congregation for worship. In 2007, Pope Benedict approved stricter guidelines for determining which saints will be remembered with mandatory feast days. The new norms were necessary, the congregation had said, because the year does not have enough days to include all the saints in the universal calendar, particularly when Sundays and holy days are subtracted. Pope Francis, who canonised the two saints in April, approved the optional memorials “given the extraordinary nature of these

Dominican Fathers Emil Blaser and Brian Mhlanga of Johannesburg celebrate Mass this month at the tomb of St John XXIII in St Peter’s basilica. The feast days of Ss John XXIII and John Paul II have been put on the Church’s universal calendar. (Photo: Gail Fowler) pontiffs in offering the clergy and the faithful a unique model of virtue and in promoting the life of Christ”, his decree said. “Taking into consideration the countless requests from every part of the world,” the pope took “as his own the unanimous wishes of the people of God,” it said.—CNS

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The Southern Cross, September 24 to September 30, 2014

LOCAL

Home for ill children gets major facelift STAFF REPORTER

N official sod-turning ceremony marked the start of a three year multi-million-rand building and renovations project at St Joseph’s Home for chronically ill children in Montana, Cape Town. The home’s director, Thea Patterson, said the renovation took two years of intense planning, working with a wide range of experts defining the scope of the project, refining the design of the upgrade, and still keeping within budget. The R36 million project has been made possible through a generous overseas donation and will take three years to complete. The renovations will consist of the modernisation of the existing five wards; the establishment of a therapeutic hub and a family/visitors’ area; and the upgrading of the nurses’ home and the reception/ admin area. Provision is also made for the landscaping of the ward gardens and certain outside areas. “We were fortunate to have had excellent input from architects, engineers, quantity surveyors and consultants. After a year of preparatory work, the renovations have now officially started and will be completed by 2016,” Ms Patterson said. “We are confident that this will contribute considerably to the improvement of our current facilities which are nearly 50 years old.” She said that St Joseph’s Home is ideally positioned to take on the new challenge of intermediate care

Board member Sr Boscona Schämann SAC (left) and director Thea Patterson mark the start to the R36 million renovations project to start at St Joseph’s Home in Montana, Cape Town. service, based on a proven record of looking after children with lifethreatening conditions. The home is a unique in-patient facility in South Africa that provides a wide range of paediatric, intermediate health care and related services. This holistic approach includes among others, a rehabilitation project (pilot), a nursing school, St Joseph’s Primary School, a crèche and logistical and pastoral support to families.

Children at the home have all been diagnosed with life-threatening and life-limiting illnesses and are mostly from disadvantaged communities. Last year more than 252 patients were treated through intensive rehabilitation programmes at St Joseph’s. Patients are mainly referred from state hospitals such as the Red Cross Children’s, Tygerberg and Groote Schuur hospitals.

New head takes over the reins at Jesuit Institute STAFF REPORTER

N September 20 Fr Russell Pollitt SJ formally took over as head of the Jesuit Institute of South Africa from Raymond Perrier, who has been the director since January 2010. Fr Pollitt has a keen interest and understanding of the media and a great belief in a faith that does justice. He wrote his masters thesis on theology and communication. Ordained a priest in February 2006, he was parish priest of Holy Trinity in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, for seven years. Over that period he was chaplain to both the University of Witwatersrand and the University of Johannesburg. Fr Pollitt has for several years presented shows for Radio Veritas, and has been interviewed by many secular radio stations, as well as by Vatican Radio. He has also been a pundit on SABC TV and eNCA News. He writes regularly for the internet news site Daily Maverick, and has had articles published in the secular media as well as Catholic publications such as The Southern Cross and, in the US, America and the National Catholic Reporter. Privately, Fr Pollitt is a keen sportsman, having run the ProNutro AfricanX 90km trail race twice. “I would like to ensure that the Jesuit Institute and its work continues to be at the service of the Church and broader society,” Fr Pollitt said. He praised the “excellent work” of his predecessor at the Jesuit Institute and expressed his gratitude to him for his hard work. “One of the strengths of the Jesuit

Fr Russell Pollitt SJ Institute is how it models clergy-lay collaboration. Raymond has been very good at ensuring, in the spirit of recent general congregations of the Society of Jesus, that this is a core component of the institute. I look forward to meeting and getting to know all our collaborators—both clergy and lay,” Fr Pollitt said. Mr Perrier, a Southern Cross columnist who came to South Africa from England, plans to return to Britain next year. “I have been overwhelmed by the support given to the Jesuit Institute during my time here—from lay people, priests, bishops and Catholic organisations. It has been a great privilege to be part of and contribute to such a vibrant Catholic community. South Africa will always be on my heart and in my prayers,” Mr Perrier said.

The Southern Cross,September 24 to September 30, 2014

LOCAL

Catholics called to back Madonsela By STUART GRAHAM

ATHOLICS are being called on to show their support for Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s “courageous” fight against corruption. Criticism of Ms Madonsela, after she wrote a letter to President Jacob Zuma wanting to know when he’ll respond to her report about the money spent in the upgrade of his Nkandla home, was “diabolical”, said Fr Stanley Botha of Milnerton/Brooklyn in Cape Town. “She is not in your face; she is unassuming and she speaks with respect about everyone she meets,”

said Fr Botha, who knows the public protector. “She is not only brilliant but also extremely courageous,” the priest said. Fr Botha said he was extremely concerned after deputy defence minister Kebby Maphatsoe accused Ms Madonsela of being a CIA plant earlier this month. “That was diabolical. I just don’t know how to react,” he said. Fr Botha said he had backed Ms Madonsela many times before. “I’ve even put a picture of me with my arm around her on Facebook.” Fr Anthony Egan SJ of the Johannesburg-based Jesuit Institute has

also backed Ms Madonsela. “Most thinking South Africans, I hope, side with Ms Madonsela in her current spat with the African National Congress leadership,” he wrote in an article for the institute’s website. Ms Madonsela has recently reiterated that she is still a loyal member of the ANC. In issuing the Nkandla Report, which detailed misallocation of funds in the upgrade of President Jacob Zuma’s private residence in rural KwaZulu-Natal, and in the aftermath of the report, Ms Madonsela “has dutifully carried out her

mandate in terms of the Constitution and the Public Protector Act”, Fr Egan said. “She is also, most believe, correct in nudging the president to act in accordance with the law.” Fr Egan said the reaction from the ANC, which “many consider a political denial of her authority”, is disturbing “because it suggests a certain contempt for her constitutional role and duty to see that her task as public protector is carried out without fear nor favour”. In contrast, the priest said, “Ms Madonsela’s dogged pursuit of the truth, the proper execution of her

job, and her willingness to see that her report is properly followed up according to the established norms, makes her an attractive public figure”. Fr Egan said it would be easy for Ms Madonsela to avoid confrontations with the establishment and guarantee her professional advancement in the future once her term of office has ended. “But she sees herself, it seems, as serving the office, the public and the Constitution,” Fr Egan said. “Contrary to claims that she’s an opposition flunky, she is an exemplary public servant.”

KZN parish to move from hall to church By DyLAN APPOLIS

FTER nine years of having Mass in a hall, St Anne’s parish in Mpophomeni, near Howick in the archdiocese of Durban, is building a church. “We celebrate Mass on small grounds in a small hall with big numbers of people attending,” said Constance Mdladla, chair of the parish’s financial committee. “We started getting donations and have collected funds from June 2011. We have raised R1 million of the R1,2 million needed,” she said.

In the past the parish has struggled to find enough seats for everybody. Most children have to sit on the hall floor during Mass. “With the expansion of our parish we hope to gather enough funds to buy more benches, so that children and adults have a place to sit while celebrating Mass, like it should be in a Catholic church,” Ms Mdladla said. On September 25, Auxiliary Bishop Barry Wood of Durban will bless the foundation of the new church. “We started from the streets and

didn’t have a church to celebrate Mass,” said parish priest Fr Jude Fernando TOR. “I have asked the parish to collect R900 000 and I have collected R100 000. I am very happy that we can turn the hall into a proper Catholic church.” Noting that the parish’s motto is “With God nothing shall be impossible”, he said the engineers and architects had offered to do their jobs free of charge. St Anne’s parish aims to finish construction of the church in January 2015.

War and peace for St Francis Week By DyLAN APPOLIS

OSEBANK parish in Johannesburg will celebrate its annual St Francis Week by hosting a concert on the theme “War and Peace”, marking the centenary of the outbreak of World War I. The concert celebrates St Francis of Assisi as a peacemaker. The Chanticleer Singers, conducted by Richard Cock, will provide a mix of music, poetry and readings, read by Alan Swerdlow and Peter James Smith, to commemorate “the war to end all wars”, on October 9 at Rosebank parish. All proceeds from the concert will go to the Franciscan Damietta

Peace Initiative, a community-driven, proactive interfaith peace project in Africa. The initiative centres on non-violence, reconciliation, care for creation, and strengthening Muslim-Christian relations. Tickets are R150 and include a light supper. Bookings are essential. St Francis Week is organised by the parish’s Justice and Peace group, starting the week by celebrating Mass on the eve of the saint’s feast day, October 3 at 19:00. It incorporates the Transitus, an interactive reflection on the joyful death of St Francis. The weekend Masses on October 4 and 5 will include “Clothing the

Naked” as part of the annual offertory collection. Good-quality new and used clothing or money donations will be collected, and distributed to the poor through the Mercy Sisters’ shelters, Rosebank Immaculata shelter and the St Vincent de Paul Society. St Francis Week will end off with a workshop for all parishioners on “Pope Francis: Evangelisation, justice & peace—developing a parish agenda”. n To book for the concert, phone 011 447 9264 or e-mail rcock@ iafrica.com. For more information on St Francis Week, contact Prof Douglas Irvine on 082 330 3043 or e-mail dmirvine@mweb.co.za

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Our Lady of the Rosary parish in Thabong-Welkom saw history in the making with the ordination of Thabo David Chomane, the first son of the parish to be ordained in the 50 years since it was established. Bishop Peter Holiday of Kroonstad diocese ordained Mr Chomane to the order of the diaconate, and he will later on be ordained as a priest. Deacon Chomane is seen with parish priest Fr Michael Rasello.

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The Southern Cross, September 24 to September 30, 2014

INTERNATIONAL

Church steps up its focus on the family By FRANCIS X ROCCA

HE World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia in September 2015 will serve as a forum for debating issues on the agenda for the world Synod of Bishops at the Vatican the following month, said the two archbishops responsible for planning the Philadelphia event. At a briefing, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, described the world meeting as one of several related events to follow the October 2014 extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family, which will prepare an agenda for the worldwide synod one year later.

Such events, including a January 2015 meeting in Rome with family and pro-life groups, will enable a debate on the synod’s agenda “at the international, global level”, Archbishop Paglia said. “It is important that this text not remain an abstract text reserved to some specialists,” the archbishop said. “In this way, the debate at the ordinary synod will be enriched.” Pope Francis has said both synods will consider, among other topics, the eligibility of divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive Communion, whose predicament he has said exemplifies a general need for mercy in

the Church today. “We’re bringing up all the issues that would have appeared in the preparation documents for the synod as part of our reflection,” said Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia, regarding plans for the world meeting. “I can’t imagine that any of the presenters won’t pay close attention to what’s happening” in Rome. Archbishop Chaput said as many as 15 000 people are expected to take part in the meeting, whose programme will be kept flexible to allow for topics that emerge from the bishops’ discussions at the Vatican this October. “But we haven’t approached this as a part of the synod,” Archbishop

Chaput said. “It’s a celebration of family life, the Catholic Church’s commitment to support families.” Pope Francis is widely expected to attend the Philadelphia event, although Archbishop Chaput noted that an official announcement in that regard might not come until well into 2015. If the pope does attend, he said, a “papal Mass could easily draw more than a million people”. Among the other family-related events planned for the coming year, Pope Francis will meet on September 28 will thousands of grandparents and other elderly people, including a married couple who have fled Islamic State terrorism in northern Iraq.

The pope will give the elderly a large-print edition of the Gospel of Matthew and bless the group, which will also include about 100 priests. The extraordinary synod will meet at the Vatican from October 5-19, bringing together the presidents of national bishops’ conferences, the heads of Eastern Catholic churches, Vatican officials and papally appointed delegates, including laypeople. The world Synod of Bishops, which will include more bishops— many elected by their peers—will meet at the Vatican from October 4-25, 2015, to continue the discussion on pastoral approaches to the challenges facing families.—CNS

Pope: Kind of World War III going on By CAROL GLATz

Pope Francis walks through the Austro-Hungarian cemetery for soldiers of World War I in Fogliano di Redipuglia, Italy. The pope prayed for the fallen of all wars and also celebrated an outdoor Mass in front of the nearby Redipuglia war memorial, which honours the 100 000 Italian soldiers who died during World War I. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS)

HEN will people ever learn that war is madness and conflicts are only resolved by forgiveness, Pope Francis asked. The pope said it is believed that more than 8 million soldiers and 7 million civilians died during the First World War, a four-year-long conflict that began 100 years ago. The number of so many lost lives “lets us see how much war is insanity”, Pope Francis said after praying the Angelus with those gathered in St Peter’s Square. The pope’s remarks came the day after a morning visit to Italy’s largest war memorial—Redipuglia, a town in northeast Italy near the border with Slovenia. Giovanni Bergoglio, the pope’s Italian grandfather who later immigrated to Argentina, fought nearby during the Italian campaign against the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The memorial, made of enormous stone steps leading to three

bronze crosses, pays homage to more than 100 000 Italian soldiers. while a nearby military cemetery is the final resting place for some 15 000 Austro-Hungarian soldiers—all of whom lost their lives in nearby battlefields. The pope laid a floral wreath at the cemetery, celebrated Mass at the memorial, and prayed for all victims of all wars. “Greed, intolerance, a lust for power, these are the reasons that incite decisions to go to war,” the pope said. Also, “behind the scenes, there are special interests, geopolitical plots, lust for money”, he said, as well as the powerful arms industry. But the most shocking aspect of so much bloodshed is the continued legacy of indifference, the pope said. Being indifferent began with Cain murdering his brother Abel and then rebuking God for asking where his now dead brother was, replying, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Above the tombs of so many

dead, Pope Francis said, “hovers the sneering motto of war”— Cain’s complaint of “What do I care?” “All these people, here in eternal rest, they had plans, had dreams, but their lives were broken. Why? Because humanity said, ‘What do I care?’” Today the world is still up in arms with a kind of “World War III [waged] ‘in bits and pieces’ with criminal acts, massacres and destruction,” he said. “To be honest, the newspaper front page should have the headline: ‘What do I care?’,” Pope Francis said. “Those who plot terror, organisations fuelling conflict, as well as arms manufacturers, all have ‘What do I care?’ engraved in their hearts,” he said. And like Cain, their hearts have become so corrupt, “they’ve lost the ability to cry,” much less do what Jesus asks—to help the sick, the wounded and the hungry, the pope said.—CNS

Ukraine bishops to the West: Don’t be accomplices in murder

KRAINE’S Catholic bishops have warned their country is now “flowing in blood”, and urged Western governments not to become “accomplices in the sin of murder” by failing to support it. “This peaceful sovereign nation has been subjected to a direct military intervention by a northern neighbour—hundreds of units of

heavy weaponry and technology, thousands of armed mercenaries and soldiers of Russia’s standing army are crossing the borders of Ukraine, sowing death and destruction, in disregard for the terms of the ceasefire and recent diplomatic efforts,” the bishops said. “If these crimes are not stopped immediately, with the onset of the

winter cold the death toll will increase tenfold. Those who kill people in Ukraine today will not hesitate tomorrow to turn their weaponry against anyone in their own country and beyond its borders, or to attack any other nation in the world,” they said. The statement said the “real state of affairs” in Ukraine was being distorted by propaganda,

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which had reached an “unprecedented level of hatred” and proved “no less damaging than weapons of mass destruction”. “In the face of such grave crimes, we call out to the consciences of believers of all religions and faiths, and we appeal to all people of good will, to heads of state and members of the international community: Stop the blood-

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shed in Ukraine,” the bishops said. “Silence or inaction and reluctance to recognise the gravity of the situation in our country can turn everyone not only into a mute or indifferent witness, but also into an accomplice to the sin of murder, which cries to heaven for justice.” Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on September 10 that he believed most of Russia’s estimated 3 000 combat troops had been withdrawn under a September 5 ceasefire, after entering Ukraine with tanks and heavy artillery to support separatist forces around the eastern cities of Donetsk and Luhansk. However, European Union officials said they would press ahead with new economic sanctions, including denial of access to European financial markets for Russian oil and gas companies. The Ukrainian bishops said many people had been kidnapped, tortured and publicly humiliated, while hundreds of thousands of refugees were being “forced to flee their homes due to threats against their lives”. “The entire world has been able to witness how, over the last months, the aggressor commits crimes against humanity on the territory of Ukraine,” said the bishops. “We especially call for responsible action from those whom the Lord has given authority, to take the necessary decisions... to restore peace and security in Europe,” they said. “And once again we call all believers and people of good will to urgent prayers for the end of aggression and the restoration of a lasting and comprehensive peace.” —CNS

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, September 24 to September 30, 2014

Church plea to West: Keep Christians in Middle East U By MARK zIMMERMANN

Newly married couples Giorgio Bacci and Daniela Cascone, and Sandro Milioto and Ada Gallotta, join hands to pray the Lord’s Prayer as Pope Francis celebrates the marriage rite for 20 couples during a Mass in St Peter’s basilica. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS)

Cohabitating couples among those married as pope presides

RESIDING over the wedding of 20 couples in St Peter’s basilica, Pope Francis celebrated marriage as the union of a man and woman playing complementary roles during their common journey through life. “This is what marriage is all about: man and woman walking together, wherein the husband helps his wife to become ever more a woman, and wherein the woman has the task of helping her husband to become ever more a man,” the pope said. “Here we see the reciprocity of differences.” The newlyweds, all from the diocese of Rome, ranged in age from 25 to 56 and represented a variety of situations, with some already having children or having lived together before marriage. Cohabitation, though not a canonical impediment to marriage, violates the Catholic Church’s teaching on marriage and sexual love. Pastoral ministers helping Catholic couples prepare for the sacrament are urged to encourage them to regularise such situations prior to marrying. At the start of the papal wedding Mass, the brides, wearing traditional white gowns, were accompanied up the aisle of the basilica by their fathers or other male relatives. The grooms entered with their mothers. The pope called out each couple’s names as he read the rite and then each couple, groom and bride, separately, responded “si”. In typically frank style, Pope Francis admitted married life can be tiring, “burdensome, and often,

even nauseating”. But the pope assured the brides and grooms that Christ’s redemptive sacrifice would enable them to resist the “dangerous temptation of discouragement, infidelity, weakness, abandonment”. “The love of Christ, which has blessed and sanctified the union of husband and wife, is able to sustain their love and to renew it when, humanly speaking, it becomes lost, wounded or worn out,” he said. Pope Francis also offered practical advice for dealing with marital discord. “It is normal for a husband and wife to argue,” he said. “It always happens. But my advice is this: never let the day end without having first made peace. Never. A small gesture is sufficient. Thus the journey may continue.” A US moral theologian has stressed that Pope Francis’ presiding over marriages between Catholics who cohabited is not a change, but is part of the Church’s effort to bring people to Jesus Christ. “I think there is a perception out there...that Pope Francis is trying to undermine what the Church has taught and what the Church has practised,” Prof John Grabowski said. “I see absolutely no evidence of that. When he’s pressed on issues concerning the Church’s teaching on marriage, on sexuality, he is very firm,” Prof Grabowski said. “What he wants to do is simply put the Church’s focus on mercy, on an encounter with Christ as the heart of its life.”—CNS/CNA

NITED in the suffering of their people, five Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs from the Middle East urged Westerners to take action to help ensure that Christians and other minorities can remain in the Middle East. “Christians are not [just] looking for humanitarian aid. They are looking for humanitarian action, to save Christianity in the Middle East,” said Catholicos Aram of Cilicia, patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The Armenian patriarch said a comprehensive strategy is needed to defeat the Islamic State extremism that “threatens the very survival of Christianity” in places like Iraq and Syria. He said it was essential to promote human rights, pluralism and religious freedom. In a keynote address to the inaugural summit of the US-based In Defense of Christians organisation, Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II of Antioch said: “Is there no place for Christians in the land of their ancestors?” The patriarch noted that he and other religious leaders have written to the United Nations and the European Union seeking help. During the panel discussion, Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, the Maronite patriarch, encouraged the international community to take steps to support development proj-

Lebanese Shiite and Sunni Muslim sheiks, along with Christian and Druze clerics, carry a banner during a protest in July to express solidarity with Iraqi Christians of Mosul and against Israel’s military action in Gaza. The banner reads, “Together, against injustice and terrorism.” (Photo: Sharif Karim, Reuters/CNS) ects to help ensure Christians’ ongoing presence in the cradle of Christianity. “The future is in the hands of those who sow seeds of hope in the hearts of young people and future generations,” he said. Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan called on Muslim leaders to issue a statement “to condemn the atrocities committed against Christians and other minorities” in the Middle East. He also called on “the family of nations” to support religious freedom and the separation of Church and state in the region. Patriarch Younan called for the

Pope’s busy November By FRANCIS X ROCCA

HE Vatican has confirmed that Pope Francis is planning to visit Turkey “in the last days of November”. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, considered first among equals among Orthodox bishops, had invited Pope Francis to visit Istanbul on November 30, feast of St Andrew, patron saint of Constantinople. As things now stand, the trip will be Pope Francis’ sixth outside of Italy since his election in March 2013. Pope Francis will be the fourth pope to visit Turkey, after Pope Paul VI in 1967, St John Paul II in 1979 and Pope Benedict XVI in 2006. A few days before that, Pope Francis will address the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on November 25. According to Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi SJ, Pope Francis will travel to Strasbourg and back to Rome the same day, and his brief trip should not be considered a pastoral visit to France. In visiting the parliament, the

pope will be accepting an invitation made by the EU parliament’s president, Martin Schultz, during a visit to the Vatican in October 2013. “The decision to come to Strasbourg before visiting any individual EU member state as such gives a strong signal that the pope supports and encourages the pursuit of European integration and unity,” said a statement by German Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising, president of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community. Pope Francis will be the second pope to speak before the European Parliament. When St John Paul II addressed the body in October 1988, the event was disrupted by the Rev Ian Paisley, leader of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, who unfurled a large orange banner branding the pope “Antichrist’’ and shouted: “I renounce you. I renounce you and all your cults and creeds.” After a brief scuffle, Rev Paisley, who died this month, was forcibly ejected from the hall.—CNS

Pilgrimage Highlights HOLY LAND: Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Sea of Galilee, Jordan River and much more... ROME: Papal Audience, Mass in St Peter’s Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Catacombs, Major Basilicas, Ancient and Baroque Rome... FLORENCE: Dumo cathedral, Church of the Holy Cross with the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo, Renaissance Florence... TURIN: Reserved viewing of the Shroud of Turin in the Cathedral of St John the Baptist, plus sites of Don Bosco on his bicentennial: Pinardi Chapel and Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians...

international community to help find a solution that would allow thousands of Christian refugees to return to their homes in northern Iraq and Syria. “We have the right to live in our own land, the land of our ancestors for millennia. Our forefathers endured persecution and even martyrdom because they were faithful to the Lord Jesus,” he said. “We keep hope in the Lord, who repeated many times in the Bible, ‘Don’t be afraid.’” Melkite Catholic Patriarch Gregorios III Laham urged that a peaceful solution be found. “We call on America to be peacemakers, not war-makers,” he said. “It’s time for the world to realise that no one wins a war.” Bishop Angaelos, general bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, decried the “persecution, genocide, religious and ethnic cleansing we’re seeing today” in the Middle East, but said that the worst outcome would be for Christians to respond with hate. Rather, Christians are called to reflect Christ’s love and light amid that darkness, and to remain a reconciling presence in the region as they have for 2 000 years, he said. Christians, who early in the 20th century constituted about 20% of the population of the Middle East, are now only 5% of its people.— CNS

The Southern Cross, September 24 to September 30, 2014

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

The Daswa cause

HEN the Vatican examines the sainthood cause of Benedict Daswa on October 9, many in the South African Church will be praying intently for a favourable judgment. Should the Congregation for Sainthood Causes recommend the cause and send it to Pope Francis for approval, the Holy Father may at some point announce that South Africa’s first beatification may go ahead. For the Church in South Africa, this naturally would be a source of great joy. The closest the local Church has come to a beatification—the final stage before canonisation to the sainthood—was when in 1988 Pope John Paul II beatified Bl Joseph Gérard, the French Oblate apostle of Lesotho and the Free State. That was for the Church in Lesotho; Daswa’s beatification would be for South Africa. Those who knew the man and those who have worked on his cause have no doubt about Daswa’s personal holiness and fidelity to Catholic doctrine. The crucial question facing the Vatican congregation is whether Daswa can be considered a martyr, a category that is exempt from the recognised miracle which is usually required before a beatification can be approved. Martyrdom, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, is “the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith: it means bearing witness even unto death” (2473). In the words of the late moral theologian Fr Benedict Ashley OP, martyrdom demands that the person “died in witness of faith in Christ which is directly expressed in words, or implicitly in acts done or sins refused because of faith” and that “the victim accepts death voluntarily”. Moreover, the killers of the putative martyr must have acted in odium fidei, or contempt for the faith. If this definition is applied by the Congregation for Sainthood Causes, then the chances of Benedict Daswa being declared a martyr would seem to give his devotees grounds for hope. Daswa was killed by a mob in 1990 after refusing to take part in, and financially contribute to, a witchhunt ritual. He had explained his refusal to participate by an unambiguous reference to

his faith, pointing out that a witchhunt is contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church. This notwithstanding, the mob decided that Daswa had to die—as he did, for “sins refused because of faith”. While he naturally tried to preserve his life by running for safety when set upon by the mob, Daswa’s dying words, “God, into your hands receive my spirit”, indicate a willingness to die for his faith. Had he renounced his opposition to the witchcraft ritual in a bid to placate his attackers, an important requirement for martyrdom could be excluded. In the event, the defenders of his cause will argue, he chose death voluntarily. Many South Africans already have a devotion to Benedict Daswa. While some critics charge that Daswa abandoned African cultural traditions for a Western ideology, there are many others who believe that he is a good example of an inculturated African Catholicism, one that values and preserves what is good in African culture and rejects what is incompatible with our faith and Gospel values. In this way, Benedict Daswa might one day even be held up as a patron of the Church in Africa, as well as a concrete example of servant leadership. No doubt, the Catholic Church in South Africa, which faces political and social hostility as well as a growing indifference and disengagement within, would be galvanised by the beatification of Benedict Daswa. Indeed, the joy would radiate across the continent, especially in regions of the Church that are themselves contending with issues of witchcraft. As a way of animating the Church and providing the potential for evangelisation, a possible beatification would be a matter not only for the diocese of Tzaneen, but for all the Church throughout the Southern African region. The cost of staging such a beatification, should Pope Francis approve it, therefore would be a concern for the entire local Church. At the moment, these considerations are for the future. Right now, our task must be to pray for the cause of Benedict Daswa and for those who next month will decide on it.

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.

Remarkable nun lights up prisons

WISH to praise a very dear soul: Sr Rita Carey of the Sisters of Mercy in Winterveld is a religious worker at Losperfontein Correctional Centre where she gives a selfless service to needy souls. Even though she is always dressed in her Roman Catholic attire, she touches not only those from her own denomination, but considers all souls as children of God, irrespective of their religious inclination or even the lack thereof. She always has a kind word and a smile to light up sombre days, and I can say without hesitation that she is much loved by the majority of members and offenders alike. Sr Carey visits our centre every second Sunday, when she adminis-

Scapular healing

Y wife underwent a knee replacement operation which was delicate and complicated. This resulted in terrible pain in the days that followed. She was introduced to the green scapular, a way of spreading the love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. She wears it around her neck and under her pillow when she sleeps. On her discharge from hospital, she had to have constant care. One morning she proudly said: “I went to the bathroom without waking anyone.” Then she decided she would shower by herself. Rails were fitted in the shower for support. Later one crutch was discarded. Early one morning, while it was still dark, movement on the bed woke me up. Half asleep, I watched her silhouette moving towards the bathroom crutchless. I pressed the green scapular and said the prayer “Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at the hour of our death.” Now at home she is crutchless, and only uses one crutch when going out. She still goes for therapy. It has been decided to buy the green scapular and give it away to someone, with the proviso that that person buys one and gives it to someone with the same request. In some small way, we can contribute to spreading the love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. C Roberts, Cape Town

Bishop problem

IKE many others I was most disturbed to read B Jones’s letter (September 3), the contents of which is thankfully not the general experience. Having been involved with many parishes, I have never witnessed a bishop attending the welcoming of a new parish priest. Thank heavens, as we could not

ters the Word of God, accompanied by the singing of hymns. She also comes every Monday to conduct the two courses which she teaches to offenders: the Alpha course, and the Six Steps course. These courses assist offenders hugely in personal growth on both religious and personal levels. Sr Carey, however, not only conducts these courses here, but also in the Odi Correctional Centre. Apart from this, she has permission to assist offenders with materials such as pens, pencils and books (for school purposes) and jigsaw puzzles as well as magazines for leisure time. When needy offenders, upon their release, are in need of civilian clothes, she assists them, irrespective have afforded such “fees”. Why, may I ask, did your parish invite the bishop, it is a parish affair? What rule governs the payment of such a fee? Very few priests have remained in parishes for such short durations as in B Jones’ experience, but in the few cases I know of, they were taken ill or died. I feel strongly that the contents of B Jones’s letter should be addressed, and that a full explanation offered. Omitting full details will certainly compound more lack of confidence. Diana Lensen, Strand, W Cape

Abortion violence

LL forms of violence inevitably beget more violence, and the present state of the world forcibly illustrates the following basic truth stated by Mother Teresa of Calcutta: “There can never be peace in the world while there is violence in the womb.” Thus, as long as the violence of legalised abortion is allowed to continue with no effort to halt it, any prayers and efforts for peace will be futile for the following reason. Our Creator is the ultimate source of all goodness in our world, and thus cannot and will not cooperate or come to terms with any system which perpetuates world evils like abortion, without any signs of repentence for this activity. Accordingly, if any prayers or efforts for peace in the world are to be effective, it is essential that they 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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of whether they are Catholic or not. Offenders from outside our borders are even assisted by her to get in contact with their families. It is an absolute blessing to have a rose such as this nun in a sometimes very unpleasant place like a correctional centre. She brightens up the place with her presence; her altruistic outlook is to be admired, and we love her so much. It is because of this that I wish to thank her in an open letter, for the unselfish sacrifices she makes for us, and for all the lives she has knowingly and unknowingly touched during all the years. People like Sr Carey change the world through their actions, for the better. She truly walks the proverbial talk. Gert Louw, Brits, NW also be accompanied by sincere prayers and efforts to achieve peace in the womb. GB Elisio, Jukskei Park, Gauteng

Liberal views

OPEFULLY this is my last correspondence on the issue of who ordered the crucifixion of Jesus and the messages contained in the Good News—the Gospels. It is unfortunate that some carry their liberal views of the Gospels to the point of ridiculousness. Patrick Dacey (September 10) vividly shows up this liberalism by asking if Lazarus was really dead or just suffering from depression. Likewise his assessment that the deaf man story should be taken “figuratively”. Jesus did not do things for them to be taken figuratively nor was he a magician fooling people. I get the impression people like Mr Dacey do not take seriously the Church’s dictum that the Gospels were inspired by the Holy Spirit. I for one would not be so naive as to think that the writers could remember things exactly as they happened, years later. In our Catholic faith the Gospels are the word of God. D Charlton Andrews, Cape Town

Church dress

AM writing regarding the lack of respect when people come to church. The young girls wear shorts, and low tops. The young men wear shirts with offensive logos. When we go to church should we not dress as if we were going to a banquet or wedding—it is only one hour on a Sunday or Saturday. Remember this is God’s house. In days gone by we never entered a church withour a hat or scarf. So please let us show our love of God. Veronica Dundee, Durban

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PERSPECTIVES

The Southern Cross, September 24 to September 30, 2014

Let’s meet the saints of Christian Unity

EAR reader, we begin a journey of encounter with Saints of Christian Unity. Perhaps you wonder, is there such a thing as Saints of Christian Unity? And for what use? I have been inspired by St John Paul II in coming up with this series. It is said one of the things that marked his pontificate was the abundance of canonisations, jokingly spoken of as “inflation of saints.” And it is true. In a 2006 interview with the Roman Zenit news agency, Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, then the prefect of the Congregation for Sainthood Causes, said: “The number of saints and blessed increased in John Paul II's pontificate. He alone proclaimed more saints and blessed than all his predecessors together since 1588, the year this dicastery was founded.” Why such abundance? It was both theological and pedagogical. St John Paul brought home the teaching of Vatican II of the universal call to holiness as something not reserved to the privileged few. He did not create saints, but recognised the holiness shown in the exemplary lives of some persons as God’s gift. Thus, he proposed models of holiness to other Christians. Cardinal Saraiva explained that for St John Paul, “the holiness of the saints, blessed and martyrs is perhaps the most convincing ecumenism…because holiness… has its ultimate foundation in Christ, in whom the Church is not divided”. In the aim of giving many models, St John Paul made some reforms in the rules governing sainthood causes. For instance, as his biographer George Weigel observed, St John Paul “took a lot of the

process out of Rome into the local diocese where a cause originated, making local churches an integral part of the process. Finding the saints that God has made is no longer just a Roman affair. The reforms made the process faster, less costly, more collegial.”

o St John Paul’s many pilgrimages to local Churches often included beatifications and even canonisations, which previously had been celebrated in Rome. St John Paul canonised 482 saints, and of 52 celebrations, 38 took place in the Vatican and 14 in other countries. He wanted to remind people that sanctity is, in fact, all around us through the virtuous examples of the local saints. We may say that it was his means of evangelisa-

St John Paul II is canonised with Pope St John XXIII in St Peter’s Square in the Vatican in April. The late pope’s “inflation of saints” had a teaching value. (Photo: Stefano Rellandini, Reuters/CNS)

Fr Evans Chama M.Afr

Saints of Christian Unity tion, not so much by doctrine but by showing—giving models of Christian life to emulate. It works, and it is still working today. It is the importance and the potency that lies in this pedagogy that inspired me to propose a series, to provide examples of people who tried to live the true image of the church—koinonia, the communion—that went beyond the boundaries of a particular denomination. It is these people, Catholics and nonCatholics, who lived an exemplary life in the steps towards unity of Christian churches whom I collectively call “Saints of Christian Unity”. They may not be canonised or beatified, but their legacy is too significant to overlook. There were theologies, attitudes, practices of the time regarding the whole concept of unity and the means to realise it. Yet, such men and women, in their earnest search for the unity which Jesus demands of us, were ready to tread beyond beaten paths, despite all sorts of challenges and obstacles they had to face. It is their prophetic stance that has inspired new teaching and practice in the search for unity among Christian denominations today. Let’s meet these holy men and women, the “Saints of Christian Unity”, their way of life and their ecumenical gestures, every month in this place.

How to be channels of God’s peace Judith Turner ‘M

AKE me a channel of your peace.” I think when we sing the words of this beautiful prayer attributed to St Francis of Assisi, we do not realise what we are asking of ourselves. “Where there is hatred, let me bring love.” We ask that we be love and that we be peace. Then we will be able to bring peace where there is hatred. Peace is the opposite of violence. So, to be an instrument of peace means to be non-violent ourselves and to use non-violent ways to bring about peace. The Mahatma Gandhi is well known for his non-violent approach to bringing justice and peace to the world. His philosophy was that for our own peace-making efforts to be successful , we must remain non-violent. He said: “My religion is based on truth and non-violence. Truth is my God. Non-violence is the means of realising him.” That is far easier said than done and it implies the following: Whenever there is a conflict in our homes, organisations or churches, our actions towards peace-building must be rooted in the power of love and the power of truth. This peace-building action of ours should be for the purpose of making God’s power of love known, not for making ourselves known. Our motivation must always be to open people to the truth and not to show ourselves as right and them as wrong. This is most probably the most difficult part, because when there is conflict, we

Faith and Life

Indian police pay homage to Mohandas Gandhi near Mumbai. Judith Turner holds up Gandhi as an example of non-violent conflict resolution. (Photo: Punit Paranjpe, Reuters/CNS) want to point out how wrong our opponents are. To shame them. To defeat and humiliate them. To publicly declare how wrong they are, how bad they are. Those are all violent ways of bringing about peace. Non-violent ways of peace-building would include sitting down in a spirit of peace and listening to each other. Trying to understand our opponent. What are their fears? What are their needs? Trying to understand ourselves. What is my fear? What is my need? Being compassionate towards their needs and assertive with our own. Using non-violence is a slow process.

It is not instant, so to be able to use non-violent methods of building peace, we need patience and endurance. We need to be patient with ourselves and patient with others. We are already assured of the victory of God over death. When we apply nonviolent ways of peace-building we are simply revealing this fact. We must demonstrate that we live in this hope. That we live with this trust. We must never forget that there is a God. And he rules over all the earth. And so we can gladly sing: Make me a channel of your peace, Where there is hatred, let me bring Your love, Where there is injury, Your pardon Lord, And where there’s doubt, true faith in You Make me a channel of your peace, Where there’s despair in life let me bring hope, Where there is darkness—only light, And where there’s sadness, ever joy Oh Master, grant that I may never seek, So much to be consoled as to console, To be understood, as to understand, To be loved, as to love with all my soul Make me a channel of your peace, It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, In giving to all men that we receive, And in dying that we’re born to eternal life.

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Pray with the Pope

Our cry for peace General Intention: That the Lord may grant peace to those parts of the world most battered by war and violence. S we recall the outbreak of the First World War a century ago, it’s salutary to recall that back in 1914 people could not believe that the European nations would actually start to slaughter each other. It was manifestly not in their best interests. Apart from the obvious horrors of modern industrial scale warfare, they were closely linked economically. Why would you go to war with your business partners? But they did, and they fought what they called the “Great War” and the “war to end all wars”. The same complacency seems to be around today. People ask why the West and Russia would go to war when the two sides rely on each other commercially? Why would the West risk its winter gas supplies? An attitude of “It won’t happen this time” is very dangerous. Every age thinks it is more enlightened, more advanced and wiser than previous ones. But we are still subject to original sin and the violent mark of Cain is still upon us. Except that our weapons are far more powerful than Cain’s. History suggests that in every generation illusions about having outgrown war are shattered. We forget that Russia and the West still possess huge stocks of nuclear weapons with “overkill” capacity, that is, the theoretical power to kill us all several times over. Then we have the spectre of a regional war in the Middle East. A political commentator said on TV recently that in his gloomier moments he felt that the Middle East was a place where a nuclear war might start. Certainly the prospect of the socalled Islamic State terrorist group acquiring nuclear weapons is beyond being too ghastly to contemplate. Lest we forget about our own continent, those who have charted the course of the conflict in Congo and the Great Lakes area, sometimes call this a “world war” because of the number of countries that have been involved and the millions of people killed. That was a war that went mostly unnoticed, even by people living on the same continent. It seems that we are entering into a phase of global political instability. Some believe that it’s driven by climate change which has affected economies particularly in the drier regions. If that is so then what this may be telling us is that we will have to learn to share better. If not the have-nots will continue to do what desperate people have always done to get what they need— they raid others.

Be a missionary Missionary Intention: That World Mission Day may rekindle in every believer zeal for carrying the Gospel into all the world. HEN I was at primary school, the Dominican Sister in charge of the class used to allot each child in the class the soul of a little African baby for whom one had to raise money. As the money came in, so the paper baby moved up the steps in the book in which it was kept. Eventually the infant would arrive in Heaven—mission accomplished! I was vaguely aware that these children were somewhere out there in the rural areas, well outside the town (Ndola, on the Copperbelt of what is now Zambia). Looking back, it all seems a little strange and theologically naïve. However, to do it justice, it was a genuine attempt to make very small children aware of how lucky they were and of the missionary dimension of the Church. I may have outgrown the way it was put across, but the fact is that I have remembered the lessons—that we in the Catholic Church have missions, they are not well off and need support, and that we can all participate in the mission of the Church even if we are only five or six years old. Who knows what long-term influence such a pious but practical exercise might have? We pray for our missions, at home and abroad.

The Southern Cross, September 24 to September 30, 2014

COMMUNITY

Couples for Christ held a peaceful protest against persecution outside St Joseph’s church in Morningside, Durban.

Pupils from St Dominic’s Priory School in Port Elizabeth celebrated Spring Day by bringing flowers and cupcakes to the Sisters at the Dominican Priory convent.

Members of the Durbanville parish choir are pictured with parish priest Fr Michael van Heerden. (From left) Ed Benjamin, Dave van Rensburg, Margaret van Rensburg, Ilse van Beulen, Nicole de Waal, Liz Heinen, Frank Marra, Gordon Nicol, Mary Anne Murray. (Front) Fr Van Heerden and Nicholas Benjamin. Kenny Blumeris and Mercy Obi are absent. (Photo: Anne Silva Photography). The Dominican pilgrimage group led by Fr Emil Blaser OP is seen in the Garden of Gethsemane on the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Tour guide Rimon Makhlouf, who delivered a series of lectures in South Africa in April, is seated right in front. Also in the group was Dominican Father Brian Mhlanga of Springs (centre back). The group visited all the important sites of the Holy Land, which they found to be very peaceful. In Rome they saw the pope at his general audience, had Mass in St Peter’s as well as in the Dominican basilica of Santa Sabina, where they were given special access to areas usually not open to visitors, such as the chapel in which St Dominic and St Francis of Assisi celebrated Mass together.

The Sacred Heart parish youth council of Qoqodala in Queenstown diocese, together with the youth, adult supporters and their parish priest Fr Matthias Nsamba held a meeting to prepare for Heritage Day. Under their parish motto: “It’s our faith let’s live it", they had songs, dances and drama and a talk on faith and culture.

Archbishop Stephen Brislin congratulates Marcello Minen and Genevieve Gonsalves were married August 9 with Fr Sister Valentine of the Little Sisters of Children of St Lawrence parish in Delft, Cape Town, celebrated their first Holy Mark Foster presiding, at Queen of Peace church in Grassy Park, Cape Jesus community in Manenberg, Cape Communion. They are pictured with parish priest Fr Louis Padua and catechists. Town on her 90th birthday. Town.

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CHURCH

The Southern Cross, September 24 to September 30, 2014

Daswa: Family man, leader, martyr In October the Vatican will examine the sainthood cause for Benedict Daswa, the Limpopo man who was beaten to death for refusing to take part in witchcraft in his village in rural Limpopo. STUART GRAHAM travelled to the area and spoke to people associated with the man and his cause. In the second of three articles, he speaks to Benedict’s family who recall a doting father and husband who was never afraid to take on tasks “reserved for women”.

N a field among the naartjie, orange and avocado orchards, Tanyane Daswa’s hands are in the soil harvesting a crop of lettuce and spinach. He is hesitant to leave his work to answer questions about his brother Benedict who was killed by a mob less than a kilometre away nearly 24 years ago, but with a smile and a shrug he agrees. “There’s always work to do when you’re a farmer,” Mr Daswa says as he dusts off his hands. Mr Daswa’s love of farming and reluctance to break from his work is reminiscent of Benedict who was a hard taskmaster and loved nothing more than tending to his garden. “I was born after him. He reared me,” Mr Daswa says. He pauses before he adds: “You are opening wounds, asking me to look back like this.” Still, he continues: “We stayed together until we started working. We were at the University of Venda. We studied together.” It was Mr Daswa who found Benedict’s mutilated body in Mbahe village on the night of February 2, 1990. He arrived after his mother, who had fainted when she saw Benedict lying dead and bloodied on the dirt. Earlier in the day a mob had blocked Benedict’s road home with the branch of a fig tree. They chased him into Mbahe where he took shelter in a house, before dragging him into the open and breaking his skull with knobkierrie and rocks. After killing Benedict, the killers poured boiling water over his head. A witness remembers Mr Daswa being silent before falling to his knees beside his brother and calling out: “You people who have killed my brother, come and kill me, because without my brother I’ll be nothing.” Mr Daswa is reluctant to talk about the events of that night. He prefers to remember his brother’s contribution to his people and his family. “In the Christian sphere, the social sphere and in our family, he was considered to be a leader,” says Mr Daswa. “When he passed away, I didn’t only lose a brother. I lost my father.” His brother provided a great example, as a man and as a Christian. “As far as humanity is concerned, I could say he was much better than me. He had humanity or buthu.

Obana buthu—to care for other people. To put yourself in others people’s shoes and try to help wherever you can,” Mr Daswa recalls. “I couldn’t understand him when he used his new bakkie to carry stones to build the church. I thought maybe it would be another old car, or maybe somebody else, but he did that. He was fond of going to church and working for the Church.” There is little hint of bitterness and anger from Benedict’s family over the death of their brother and father.

enedict’s son, Lufunwo Daswa, was 14 when he last saw his father alive. “I remember my final conversation with my father. I was going into the second year of secondary school. He drove me to St Brendan’s and we chatted for a long time,” he recalls. “He was teaching me some words in Sepedi, about how to greet my mother. We prayed and then we hugged and then he closed the door, then I had to close my door, and then he drove off. “I think it was the 22nd of January. Just over a week before his passing.” Lufunwo, who is training to be a teacher at the University of Venda in Thohoyandou, says his father insisted that he study at St Brendan’s, a Catholic school which was considered the best in the area at the time. “The whole family was focused because of him. He was a hard worker. He was a visionary. He had future plans. He planned for our family, for our education,” Lufunwo says. “It was the 1980s, but he sent us to the best school” in what was then the Northern Transvaal region. Lufonwo describes his father as “a natural leader” in the family and the Church. “We could go to him. He was friendly. He was everything you could ask for in a father,” he recalls. “He would get us to go to the veld to collect wood for my mother on a Saturday morning, which was not done. It was unthinkable for a man during those times, in the ’80s, in that village,” Lufunwo tells The Southern Cross. “During that era there was no electricity. The road to there was meandering like nobody’s business. He would insist that we go to the veld and cut wood for my mother. He would also take a big basin of laundry to actually go and wash [clothes and even nappies] in the river,” Lufonwo recalls. “I was young when he died. I only managed to live with him for 14 years. My memories are getting a little bit faint. I am now approaching 40, but as far I can remember he was the best father.” Benedict’s critics have accused him of turning his back on his Venda culture to embrace western traditions. Lufunwo disagrees. “We are Lembas. There is a saying that we are ‘black Jews’, or something. We cannot say he did something wrong according to the Lemba culture, because we are business people. We are tradesmen and that is what he was about.” Lufunwo, like his brother and his uncle Tanyane, is a keen farmer. He remembers that Benedict would often give away vegetables to those in need. “He was open to life, to goodness.

(Main) Benedict Daswa pictured at a school braai in Lupepe. (Below left) Benedict’s son Lufunwo Daswa who was 14 when his father was murdered. (Below right) Tanyane Daswa, who found his brother’s body.

He was a helper, a people’s helper. The whole village depended on his small garden for vegetables. Tomatoes, onions. You name them. Some of them were even so poor that he would let them have vegetables without money.” Today some of the same people who killed Benedict come to Lufunwo for help when they are in need. He believes his father would have forgiven his killers and so he never turns them away. “We help them. It is what my father would have done,” he says. “You cannot let the darkness overcome you. Once you let it go and you forgive and embrace love and kindness, you are free,” Benedict’s son concludes. n Part 3 in the series on the life of Benedict Daswa will run in the edition of October 15. The Vatican is scheduled to examine Benedict Daswa’s case on October 9. On September 25 a group of Southern Cross pilgrims, led by Bishop João Rodrigues of Tzaneen, are leaving on a pilgrimage of prayer for Benedict’s cause to Fatima, Avila, Zaragoza, Lourdes, Paris and other places associated with Our Lady.

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The Southern Cross, September 24 to September 30, 2014

BOOK REVIEWS

Preaching in Hitler’s shadow PREACHING IN HITLER’S SHADOW: Sermons of Resistance in the Third Reich, Edited by Dean G Stroud. Williams & Eerdemans. 2013. 203pp Reviewed by Paddy Kearney HIS inspiring book is a collection of sermons by ten pastors, including the well known clerics Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Karl Barth, Martin Niemöller, and Rudolf Bultmann, as well as Cardnal Clens von Galen. Editor Dean G Stroud’s magisterial essay on the “Historical context of preaching in the Third Reich” is an excellent preparation for reading the sermons, together with his informative introduction to each of the preachers in which he details the price they paid for their extraordinary courage. The author says very simply of these ten men: “Each preacher in this collection...deserves our respect and gratitude for his Christian witness and courage in the face of terrible evil. Some of these preachers died because of these sermons; all risked their lives.” Stroud’s historical essay gives remarkable examples of the lengths to which the Nazis went in their attempt to distort the Christian faith so that it could support their poisonous ideology. They even rewrote that most

German of Christmas carols, “Silent Night” to read: Silent Night! Holy night! All is calm, all is bright/Only the Chancellor steadfast in fight/Watches o’er Germany by day and by night/Always caring for us. They didn’t allow the fact that Jesus was a Jew to deter them from asserting that he was an Aryan. Some went even further, delighting in presenting Adolf Hitler as a Christ-like figure. They worked hard to ensure that “ideas, views, beliefs and actions”, in fact everyone and everything in the Third Reich would conform to Nazi principles or be destroyed. A small number of Lutheran pastors publicly rejected this distortion of Christian belief and practice in what became known as the “confessional movement”. The preachers whose sermons are published in this book painstakingly revealed the truth about Nazi distortions. But the price for such adherence to true Christianity was that: “Every ‘confessional’ sermon left the pastor open to arrest or worse.” All the sermons selected are moving in the light of Stroud’s historical context, but I found myself more moved by the sermons of less well-known pastors in this book, such as Helmut Gollwitzer and Gerhard Ebeling, perhaps because of

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their less academic and more direct and blunt approach. Gollwitzer, preaching after the dreadful events of Kristallnacht when Jews and their synagogues were publicly attacked right across Germany, challenged his congregants: “Now just outside this church our neighbour is waiting for us— waiting for us in his need and lack of protection, disgraced, hungry, hunted and driven by fear for his very existence. That is the one who is waiting to see if today this Christian congregation has really observed this national day of penance. Jesus Christ himself is waiting to see.”

beling’s sermon is about Aktion T4, a Nazi programme to get rid of people who were regarded as “unproductive” or “useless”—mental patients, cripples, wounded soldiers, feeble elderly people. They were transported to killing facilities and gassed in showers. He uses the text of Matthew 18:10, “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones”. Germans should take heed, said Ebeling: “Jesus stands for the little ones of our time, the weak, the sick and the vulnerable.” That is also the theme of the sermon by Bishop (later Cardinal) von

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MARY: VIRGIN, MOTHER AND QUEEN: A Bible Study Guide for Catholics, by Fr Mitch Pacwa SJ. Our Sunday Visitor (2014). 160 pp MARY: HELP IN HARD TIMES: Stories and Prayers, by Marianne Lorraine Trouve FSP. Pauline Books and Media (2014). 114 pp Reviewed by Allan F Wright ATHER Mitch Pacwa, a biblical scholar and host on the Eternal Word Television Network, provides a “hands-on” approach for those seeking a biblical understanding of Mary, the mother of Jesus, in his new book, Mary: Virgin, Mother and Queen. While the subtitle reads “A Bible Study for Catholics”, this book is a wonderful evangelisation tool for non-Catholic Christians who have reservations concerning Mary in the life of the Catholic Church and in the devotional life of individual Catholics. This book supplies biblically based references that provide the foundation for Catholic devotion to Mary and opens the reader up anew to devotional observances which have fallen out of practice in recent years. The book opens with a brief survey of the first three chapters of the Book of Genesis and then proceeds to examine specific incidents where Mary is mentioned

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or alluded to in the New Testament. Dispersed throughout each chapter is a call to, “consider, discuss, investigate and practise”, which invites readers to make their own discoveries and put faith into action. In the chapter titled “The Birth and Infancy of Jesus”, the Jesuit focuses on a familiar word, “ponder” and brings to light various meanings based on the word’s etymology which may enhance our understanding of the interior disposition of Mary when she pondered all these things in her heart. “The word ranges in meaning from ‘converse’ to ‘fall in with, engage or fight someone’,” Fr Pacwa writes. “This variety of meanings adds nuances to the word ‘ponder’ that includes interaction with a new idea and struggling with it.’” Important to the author is the connection between Scripture and the teaching tradition of the

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Catholic Church. The reader will find valuable the myriad short quotes from encyclicals, Church documents and saints that speak of Mary as virgin, mother and queen. The book concludes with a chapter on Marian intercession and various Marian prayers. Mary: Help in Hard Times, written and compiled by Sr Marianne Lorraine Trouve of the Daughters of St Paul, is a compact book on Mary that answers the questions: “What difference can Mary make in our lives of faith? Who is Mary, and how can she help us today?” This book follows four key moments in the life of Mary— her Immaculate Conception, the Annunciation, her divine motherhood and her Assumption— through the lens of Scripture, apparitions and the teachings of the Church that have developed through the centuries regarding the mother of God. For those who have a devotion to Mary already, this book will reinforce the beauty, gentleness and tender care of the mother of Jesus. For those who have ever wondered about the devotion to this first-century Middle Eastern Jewish woman, they won’t be disappointed in both the clarity of the writing and in the affection displayed toward this woman who continues to inspire action and love.

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Though Nazi leaders called for von Galen’s execution for “treason”, Hitler feared that this would spark outright revolt in Münster. Instead of execution von Galen was placed under house arrest for the next four years. In Preaching in Hitler’s Shadow, Stroud has produced a fine piece of scholarship on a most relevant topic. This book should be prescribed reading for every seminarian and every scholastic. If there are book clubs for priests, it would be a most suitable text for study and discussion. Here is no end to the need for prophetic preaching and witness.

Getting to know Our Lady

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Galen of Münster, the only Catholic included. He started his ministry off as a conservative pastor who hoped that Hitler would “be the leader a defeated and suffering nation needed”. Gradually he began to see the awful truth about Hitler’s programme. In three sermons preached in July and August 1941 he directly confronted particular crimes of Nazism. In the first he spoke about how no German could be safe from being summarily arrested by the Gestapo and taken to one of their concentration camps. In the second he encouraged Catholic Christians to stand firm knowing that in their faith and obedience to God they might have to give their very lives because they had become “the anvil, not the hammer”. In the third—the one included in this book—he addressed head-on the horrors of the Aktion T4 killings that were coming to his personal attention. He chose the great prophetic text, Luke 19:44: “Behold, the days will come when your enemy dashes you to the ground, you and your children, and no stone will be left on top of another, because you did not recognise the days of your visitation.”

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The Southern Cross, September 24 to September 30, 2014

CLASSIFIEDS

Two-state solution fast vanishing By JUDITH SUDILOVSKy

The group visited the sites of small Jewish enclaves being built in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah, which abuts the 1967 border with West Jerusalem. The bishops also viewed the desert corridor north-east of Jerusalem. The corridor, known as E1, has been designated by Israel for a Jewish settlement that would connect the largest settlement in the West Bank, the 30 000-resident city of Ma’aleh Adumim, with Jerusalem. That would, in effect, cut off that area of the Palestinian West Bank from any connection to Jerusalem, contributing to a further cantonisation of the West Bank and destroying the possibility of creating a contiguous Palestinian state, said Mr Seidemann.

S BISHOPS visiting the Holy Land said an on-theground tour and briefing about the situation in East Jerusalem have demonstrated how Israeli expansion in Palestinian territory is making a two-state solution impossible. “The expansion of settlements is quickly driving [the possibility of a two-state solution] off the drawing board,” said Bishop Richard Pates, chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace. Israeli attorney and activist Daniel Seidemann shared his concerns for the shrinking window of opportunity to push forward the two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Southern CrossWord solutions

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Community Calendar To place your event, call Mary Leveson at 021 465 5007 or e-mail m.leveson@scross.co.za (publication subject to space)

CAPE TOWN: Padre Pio: Holy Hour 15:30 every 3rd Sunday of the month at Holy Redeemer parish in Bergvliet.

Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration at Good Shepherd parish, Bothasig, in the chapel. All hours. All welcome.

DURBAN: Holy Mass and Novena to St Anthony at St Anthony’s parish every Tuesday at 9am. Holy Mass and Divine Mercy Devotion at 17:30pm on first Friday of every month. Sunday Mass at 9am. Phone 031 309 3496. JOHANNESBURG:

Life in the Spirit seminar, September 4 to October 30 presented by Charismatic Renewal at cathedral of Christ the King.

Contact Joseph Uga at 083 237 3745 or Boni Gumede at 072 274 3901.

NELSPRUIT: Adoration of the blessed sacrament at St Peter’s parish every Tuesday from 8:00 to 16:45, followed by Rosary, Divine Mercy prayers, then a Mass/Communion service at 17:30pm. KOKSTAD: Couples for Christ spiritual weekend for men themed: “Abba Father” on October 24, 25 and 26, at Centenary Hall, St Patrick’s cathedral, Kokstad, R150 registration. Contact Trevor Vetter 082 568 6843 or Warren Napier 083 778 4560 or e-mail vetter@ oaksauto.co.za

The next two to three years are critical if a peace agreement is to be reached, Mr Seidemann told the bishops. “Seven years ago in order to get to where the border needs to be [to reach an agreement], we would need to relocate 100 000 settlers. Today, we will need to relocate 150 000. If it continues to grow, at some point it will not be feasible for the national leaders to relocate hundreds of thousands of settlers. It will be so balkanised it won’t be possible,” said Mr Seidemann. Bishop Pates said the bishops’ visit was intended to support the peace process. The bishops also visited Christian, Muslim and Jewish holy sites in Jerusalem and Galilee, and met with Israeli and Palestinian political leaders.—CNS

Our bishops’ anniversaries

This week we congratulate: September 24: Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town on his 58th birthday. September 24: Bishop Adam Musialek of De Aar on the fifth anniversary of his episcopal ordination.

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DEATH

SWANSON—Josephine Eveline Winifred (Josie) née Shanley. My beloved wife and our mother passed away on September 9, 2014 aged 89 years. Deeply mourned by husband Jim, and Patrick, Lawrence, Rosemary, Felicity, Fiona, Kevin, Neil, Michael, Aidan, Colleen, and Martin and their families. May she rest in peace.

PRAYERS

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. RC.

Liturgical Calendar Year A Weekdays Cycle Year 2 Sunday, September 28, 26th Sunday Ezekiel 18:25-28, Psalm 25:4-9, Philippians 2:1-11 or Philippians 2:1-5, Matthew 21:28-32 Monday, September 29, Ss Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 or Revelation 12:7-12, Psalm 138:1-5, John 1:47-51 Tuesday, September 30, St Jerome Job 3:1-3, 11-17, 20-23, Psalm 88:2-8, Luke 9:51-56 Wednesday, October 1, St Thérèse of Lisieux Job 9:1-12, 14-16, Psalm 88:10-15, Luke 9:5762 Thursday, October 2 Exodus 23:20-23, Psalm 91:1-6, 10-11, Matthew 18:1-5, 10 Friday, October 3 Job 38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5, Psalm 139:1-3, 7-10, 13-14, Luke 10:13-16 Saturday, October 4, St Francis of Assisi Sirach 50:1, 3-4, 6-7, Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 11, Galatians 6:14-18, Matthew 11:25-30 Sunday, October 5, 27th Sunday Isaiah 5:1-7, Psalm 80:9, 12-16, 19-20, Philippians 4:6-9, Matthew 21:33-43

ST MICHAEL the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the malice and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen. HAVE mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my

sin is ever before me. Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment. Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me. you desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. Psalm 51 O MOST beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendour of Heaven, blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. O Star of the Sea, help me and show me herein that you are my Mother, O Holy Mary Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth, I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to secure me in my necessity. There are none who can withstand your power, O show me that you are my mother. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Thank you for your mercy towards me and mine. Amen.

PERSONAL

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The Southern Cross is published independently by the Catholic Newspaper & Publishing Company Ltd. Address: PO Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000. Tel: (021) 465 5007 Fax: (021) 465 3850 www.scross.co.za Editor: Günther Simmermacher (editor@scross.co.za), Business Manager: Pamela Davids (admin@scross.co.za), Advisory Editor: Michael Shackleton, News Editor: Stuart Graham (s.graham@scross.co.za), Editorial: Claire Allen (c.allen@scross.co.za), Mary Leveson (m.leveson@scross.co.za) Advertising: Elizabeth Hutton (advertising@scross.co.za), Subscriptions: Avril Hanslo (subscriptions@scross.co.za), Dispatch: Joan King (dispatch@scross.co.za), Accounts: Desirée Chanquin (accounts@scross.co.za). Directors: C Moerdyk (Chairman), Archbishop S Brislin, P Davids*, S Duval, E Jackson, B Jordan, Sr H Makoro CPS, R Riedlinger, M Salida, G Simmermacher*, R Shields, z Tom

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Website: www.scross.co.za 27th Sunday: October 5 Readings: Isaiah 5:1-7, Psalm 80:9, 12-16, 19-20, Philippians 4:6-9, Matthew 21:33-43

HE idea of a vineyard is a common enough one in the Holy Land (and, indeed, in certain parts of this country), and it is not surprising that it took on life as an image for the relationship of God with the people of God. That is what we see in the readings appointed for next Sunday. In the first reading Isaiah plays something of a trick on us, for he starts out, apparently singing a love-song, “for my beloved, my beloved’s song for his vineyard”; and although it does not so easily come out in translation, the metre the poet uses is precisely that of such a song. The tone soon turns a bit sharp, however, and when the “beloved” has done everything that he (or she) was supposed to do for the vineyard: “He waited for it to produce grapes, but instead it produced wild grapes.” In the context of the love-story of God and Israel, this is presented as a terrible betrayal. So the “inhabitant of Jerusalem, man of Judah” is invited to “judge between me and my vineyard”; and (without waiting for the verdict) the sentence is given: “Let me tell you what I am going to do with my vineyard: take away its hedge; it shall be for grazing. Break down its wall; it shall be for trampling.”

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Recognise who runs the vineyard Fr Nicholas King SJ

Sunday Reflections

Then comes the solution to the riddle (in case you had not guessed): “For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the House of Israel, and the man of Judah.” A series of Hebrew puns, untranslatable in English, make a devastating critique of God’s people and their failure to bear fruit. In the psalm for next Sunday, the story of God and the people is once more presented in terms of a “vine”: “you brought a vine out of Egypt”, it begins, and the meaning is plain: “It sent out its boughs as far as the sea, and its shoots as far as the river.” Then, however, the blame is put, not on the people, but on their God: “Why did you break down the walls?”, and then the “Lord of hosts” is urged to “turn again”: “Lord, God

of hosts, restore us. May your countenance shine upon us; and we shall be saved.” In the second reading, there is no reference to the vineyard; but there is some sensible advice about how the Philippians are to behave if God is to be with them: “Don’t be worried. Instead, in every respect, with prayer and petition and thanksgiving let your requests be known to God.” Then the word “peace” is twice mentioned, framing the last lines: “the peace of God” and then “the God of peace”; in between they are told the kind of thoughts they need to have, if God’s peace is to prevail in them: “Whatever is true… honourable… just… holy…lovely… attractive…if there is any virtue or any praise, think on these things.” The gospel brings together both themes, of being the People of God, and its representation as the “vineyard”. The context is that the religious authorities are reacting to the implicit claims in Jesus’ prophetic action in the Temple; and his death is looming. It starts very much like the love-song of our first reading, except that the owner of the vineyard “gave it to farmers, and went overseas”. Then the reaction starts, because the

Like bloodthirsty reptiles AVE you ever noticed how we spontaneously react to a perceived threat? Faced with a threat, our primal instincts tend to take over and we instantly freeze and begin to shut all the doors opening to warmth, gentleness, and empathy inside us. That’s a natural reaction, deeply rooted inside our nature. Biologists tell us that, whenever we perceive something or someone as threatening us, paranoia instinctually arises inside us and has the effect of driving us back towards a more primitive place inside our bodies, namely, the reptile part our brain, that remnant still inside us from our evolutionary origins millions of years ago. And reptiles are cold-blooded. So too, it seems, are we when we’re threatened. This, I believe, helps explain much of the paranoia and violence in our world today, as well as the bitter rhetoric that, almost universally, is blocking any real possibility of meaningful discussion on our tensions today within politics, economics, and our churches. We live in a bitterly polarised world. All of us recognise this, and all of us see a lot of cold-bloodedness inside world politics, inside the politics within our own countries and communities, and, sadly, not least, inside our churches. What we see in nearly every discussion today where there is disagreement is a cold, hard rhetoric that is not really open to gen-

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Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

uine dialogue and is, invariably, the antithesis of charity, graciousness, and respect. What we see instead is paranoia, demonisation of those who disagree with us, ridicule of our opponents’ sincerity and values, and blind self-defensiveness.

oreover, this bitterness and disrespect, so contrary to all that’s in the Gospels and to all that’s noble inside us, is invariably “sacralised”, that is, it is rationalised as demanded by “God” because we believe that what we are doing is for God, or for truth, or for country, or for the poor, or for mother-nature, or for art, or for something whose transcendent value, we believe, justifies our bracketing both Jesus and common courtesy. If you doubt this, simply turn on any radio or television station that does commentary on politics or religion or listen to any political or religious debate today. We are, as the theologian John Shea puts it, more skilled in justification than in self-ex-

amination; but, then, we can sacralise our disrespect and lack of elemental charity. But in doing this we are far from the Gospel, far from Jesus, and far from what’s best inside us. We’re meant to be more than the reptile part of our brains and more than the instincts we inherited from our ancient ancestors, the beasts of prey. We’re called to something higher, called to respond to a threat beyond the blind response of instinct. St Paul’s own reaction to threat can serve as a template for what our ideal response should be. He writes: “When we are ridiculed, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we respond gently” (1 Cor 4:12-13). Earlier, in the same epistle, he had already given another counsel in regard to dealing with opposition. His counsel: Live with enough patience inside opposition so as not to have to defend yourself, let God and history do that for you. “It does not concern me in the least that I be judged by you or any human tribunal; I do not even pass judgment on myself; I am not conscious of anything against me, but I do not hereby stand acquitted; the one who judges me is the Lord. Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time.” Admittedly, this is difficult. Our instinctual self is not easily subdued. Like everyone else, I struggle a lot with this. Every time I hear or read someone who dismisses my preaching and writing as heretical, or dangerous, or (even more biting) as lightweight fluff, the reptile part of my brain stirs and my natural instincts bitterly resist the high road St Paul so wisely counsels. Natural instinct does not want to try to understand the position of the one who has belittled us, nor does it want to bless and endure and respond gently. It wants blood. I suspect that everyone’s instincts work in the same way. Natural instinct doesn’t easily honour the Gospel. But that’s the test; indeed one of the litmus tests of Christian discipleship. When we look at the core of Jesus’ moral teachings and ask ourselves: What more than anything else sets Jesus apart from other moral teachers? I submit that at the core of Jesus’ teaching lies this challenge: Can I love an enemy? Can I bless someone who curses me? Can I wish good to someone who wishes me evil? Can I genuinely forgive someone who’s been unfair to me? And, perhaps even more importantly, can I live in patience when I’m in tension, not rushing to defend myself, but leaving that defence to history and to God?

tenant farmers regard their property as entirely their own, and, when he sends his servants to collect the profits, they “took his servants, and beat one and killed another, and stoned another”. This is repeated again; finally, the owner sent his son, saying (naively?): “They will respect my son.” Now it takes on a very sharp edge, since quite clearly we are talking about the one who addressed God as “Father”, and taught his disciples to do the same. We listen with horror to the dialogue among the tenants: “This is the heir. Come on—let’s kill him, and have his inheritance.” Then they suit the action to the words: “They took him, flung him out of the vineyard, and killed him.” In just a few days, of course, Jesus is to be killed, outside the city gates. Jesus forces his antagonists to admit what will happen to them: “He will badly destroy the bad people, and give the vineyard to other tenant-farmers, who will give him the profits at the right time.” It is a terrible threat, and our task this week is to make sure that we recognise who is in charge of the vineyard, and how it is appropriate for us to respond.

Southern Crossword #621

ACROSS 3. Tube to the womb (9) 8. Wickedness (4) 9. At the font she is responsible (9) 10. Charitable club that’s going round? (6) 11. Comedian (5) 14. Strayed from the path (5) 15. A kind of step to your house (4) 16. Old maid’s rack? (5) 18. Short test (4) 20. Christ ordered Peter to feed them (5) 21. One trained to be tender (5) 24. Captain Bligh’s ship (6) 25. Academic with a chair (9) 26. Venerable man hidden amid robed elders (4) 27. Unprejudiced brains (4,5)

DOWN 1. Cancelled the penance (9) 2. He studies your past (9) 4. Sailor’s cry (4) 5. Place that’s neither here nor there (5) 6. Rotten (6) 7. Name turned at the end (4) 9. Squares for you, the puzzler (5) 11. Suzette’s pancake (5) 12. One who may give orders (9) 13. Berry pest worried man in orders (9) 17. Storey (5) 19. A little cake (6) 22. A little Japanese dish (5) 23. Support in proportion (4) 24. The agreement of marriage (4)

Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

PRE-SCHOOL teacher was observing her classroom of children while they drew. As she came to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was. The girl replied: “I’m drawing God.” The teacher paused and said: “But no one knows what God looks like.” Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing the girl replied: “They will in a minute.” Send us your favourite Catholic joke, preferably clean and brief, to The Southern Cross, Church Chuckle, PO Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000.