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June 10 to June 16, 2015

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Church on Nkandla: Zuma must show ethical leadership

BY STUART GRAHAM

T

The parish of Don Bosco in Robertsham, Johannesburg, marked the feast of Mary Help Of Christians with a procession of the statue of Our Lady, followed by Mass. (Photo: Mark Kisogloo)

Veritas’ Fr Emil: Thanks for your prayers

BY STUART GRAHAM

R

ADIO Veritas director and morning show presenter Fr Emil Blaser OP (pictured) has expressed his gratitude for the prayers and goodwill shown to him during and after his week-long stay in hospital.

Fr Blaser returned to work at Radio Veritas after being treated for “chronic inflammation of the peripheral nerves” which required blood infusion for 12 hours a day.

“It was a depressing time,” Fr Blaser said.

“Initially my legs were wonky, but after three or four days they were firmer and steadier and feeling returned to my hands and feet.”

“I am feeling very positive. I am grateful for prayers, goodwill and thoughts that came through on Facebook and e-mail. People are

very encouraging. I am touched by the goodwill,” the Dominican said. “I have had a good rest. I have read and slept. It’s good to have been pampered for a change.”

Radio Veritas broadcasts on three platforms: 576AM in Gauteng, channel 870 on DStv’s audio bouquet, and streaming live on www.radioveritas.co.za.

Fr Blaser will lead the Saints of Italy pilgrimage, a joint project of Radio Veritas and The Southern Cross, in September. Places on this special pilgrimage are still available (see the advert on the back page for details).

HE Justice and Peace Commission of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference notes with “dismay” that President Jacob Zuma has been found not liable for paying for non-security upgrades to his home in KwaZulu-Natal.

A statement signed by commission chairman Bishop Abel Gabuza of Kimberley said that Mr Zuma should show “greater ethical leadership” and take some responsibility for the R246 million that was spent on his home in Nkandla.

A report by police minister Nathi Nhleko, prepared by a parliamentary committee and released at the end of May, found that Mr Zuma would not have to pay back any money spent on additions to his property as they are all “national assets”.

The upgrades at Mr Zuma’s rural residence include a new cattle kraal, a chicken coop, a “fire pool” which has the appearance of a recreational swimming pool, a visitors’ centre and an amphitheatre.

Earlier this year, a report by the Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela, found that Mr Zuma was liable for the upgrades. Reacting to Mr Nhleko’s report, she said it contained a number of misstatements, inaccuracies, incomplete information, innuendos and false accusations.

She said Mr Nhleko has not done what she had asked for, in terms of her office’s powers.

“He was only asked to determine the amount” which Mr Zuma was liable to repay in terms of her findings, Ms Madonsela said.

“He was never asked to make comments on my report.”

Justice and Peace noted that “there are a lot of legal and constitutional matters that

are being contested in relation to the Public Protector’s report on Nkandla”.

“As Church, our role is to remind our political leaders of their ethical responsibility,” the J&P statement said.

The statement said it is “morally unjustifiable” for the government to spend excessive amounts of money on one person.

“In this role, we wish to remind our political leaders that, at a time when millions of our people are struggling to make ends meet, it is morally unjustifiable for the government to spend excessive amounts of money—R246 million—on one person and on non-security items highlighted by the public protector’s report,” the statement said.

The commission is also concerned with the “far reaching” impact that the Nkandla upgrades would have on “the national efforts to end corruption and achieve moral regeneration”.

After releasing the report Minister Nhleko suggested to reporters that more improvements were needed for the fire safety aspects at the home and recommended a range of additional measures at the homestead.

He said Mr Zuma’s privacy had been violated in an “unprecedented” way since allegations that taxpayer money had been spent on non-security related aspects of the upgrades.

The J&P statement appealed to the government to respect the Public Protector’s findings.

“We strongly appeal to the government to make sure that the Nkandla saga does not diminish the capacity of the office of the Public Protector to fight corruption,” it said.

“We therefore urge the president to show ethical leadership and take some responsibility for the runaway expenditure on the

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2

The Southern Cross, June 10 to June 16, 2015

LOCAL

New book on Little Eden

BY DYLAN APPOLIS

L

ITTLE Eden is celebrating threefold, with extra funding from the SACBC Aids Office, a new home being established in Mpumalanga, and the launch of a new book on the Little Eden project.

The original home, situated in Edenglen, Ekurhuleni, has 180 severely handicapped residents.

The Aids Office—thanks to the legacy of a Johannesburg-born Jewish woman, who died in Britain, and left her estate to a British charity with the stipulation that it was to be used to the benefit of the poor in Johannesburg—has partnered with the charity to add funding to Little Eden for the past year.

Having visited the home, the Aids Office was impressed by the cleanliness, good management and the commitment of its staff, Aids Johan Viljoen noted.

Asna Bhana, the home’s fundraiser, says that there are normally limited expectations of what a handicapped person can hope to achieve. “However, almost across the board, Little Eden’s residents have exceeded expectations,” Mr Viljoen said.

Brazilian volunteer Elisangela de Oliveria, who is from São Paulo and has been working at the home for three years, said that it is love alone that makes the difference.

Little Eden’s public relations officer, Nichollette Muthige, said: “Every living human being has a soul. Each one is created in the image of God. And by caring for and loving them, we are given an opportunity to become better people. “ Following its satellite in Bapsfontein—on an agricultural smallholding where residents work the

A copy of Vuoti a Rendere by Italian journalist and author Daniela Taiocchi. fields—Little Eden is now in the process of opening a third satellite in Mpumalanga in the diocese of Dundee.

The SACBC Aids Office has contributed a truckload of furniture to furnish the growing Mpumalanga home.

T

he new book on Little Eden, written by Italian journalist and author Daniela Taiocchi, Vuoti a rendere (translated as Emptied for Filling) is the second on Little Eden and its late founders, Domitilla Rota Hyams and her husband Danny.

The first book, Il Piccolo Paradiso (A Little Paradise) recounted the back story of Little Eden’s founding.

In Vuoti a rendere, Ms Taiocchi “delves deeper into the anthropological and theological underpinnings of this incredible saga,” said Ms Muthige.

The book was launched at the

Italian Club in Bedfordview, Gauteng, with guests including Italian ambassador Giulio Terzi, Italian consul-general Dr Gabriele di Muzio, Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban, as well as the parish priest and mayor of Almenno San Bartolomeo, Mrs Hyams’ home town in northern Italy.

Gauteng health MEC Qedani Dorothy Mahlangu addressed the launch, emphasising the participation needed from government and civil society in helping worthy causes such as Little Eden.

“In her book, Daniela Taiocchi traces the stages of Domitilla and Danny’s lives, letting objects and places ‘speak’ and tell a story—a house, a fireplace, a rosary, bells, a forest, a book, a handkerchief, some flowers, a bridge—which leads to digressions on sanctity, beauty, madness, prayer and the war,” Ms Muthige of Little Eden said.

Writing on Facebook about his experience of visiting Little Eden, Ambassador Terzi said the story of the Hyams “has greatly and emotionally affected me”.

Referring to Domitilla’s home region in Lombardy, near Bergamo, he noted: “It is no coincidence that Little Eden took its first steps in that piece of land that connects Albenza, the birthplace of Domitilla Rota, to Sotto il Monte, the village of Pope John XXIII and to South Africa—and it is not a coincidence that so much support for this extraordinary humanitarian work continues to be guaranteed from Italy.” n To obtain a copy of Vuoti a Rendere or for more information, contact Nichollette Muthige or Lucy Slaviero on 011 609 7246 or visit www.littleeden. org.za

HOLY CROSS HIGH SCHOOL

PRINCIPAL

• The Board of Governors of Holy Cross High School, Maitland, Cape Town, invites applications for the position of principal commencing 1 January 2016 • Holy Cross High School, a Catholic school for girls, was founded in Maitland in 1910 by the Holy Cross Congregation.

• Applicants must subscribe to and promote the Catholic ethos of the school.

Duties and Responsibilities: • The ability to nourish and develop the Catholic character of the school and welcome those of other denominations and faiths • The education of girls and their development which will ensure that they will participate in service to their community • Ensuring the effective delivery of the academic curriculum • Monitoring the quality of teaching and learning through appraisal systems • Critically evaluating academic results and implementing intervention systems

Skills required: • Excellent interpersonal, organizational and conflict resolution skills • The ability to manage current trends and challenges in education and training • The candidate will be able to promote a strategic balance between academic, spiritual, cultural and sport activities • Financial management skills Qualifications: • A graduate with professional and teaching qualifications, at least ten years of High School teaching experience and three years in a school leadership position

Applications: The Chairperson, Board of Governors, Holy Cross High School, 161 Coronation Road, Maitland, 7405, Phone: 021 5119365, Fax: 021 5107991, email: principal@holycrosshigh.co.za Applications must include: • A letter which states his/her vision for the position • A comprehensive CV and recently certified copies of qualifications and SACE registration • the names of three contactable referees, including your Parish Priest or Minister of Religion Closing date for applications: Tuesday 30 June 2015

Only short-listed candidates will be notified for the purposes of an interview.

Our Lady of the Wayside, Maryvale, Johannesburg, celebrated Pentecost Sunday and the feast of Our Lady of the Wayside, holding a street procession followed by a Family Fun and Feast Day. During Holy Mass, a number of ushers were instituted as were two new extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion. The parish has a diverse population and food was prepared and provided by Italian, French, Nigerian, South African, Zimbabwean and Indian parishioners. Younger parishioners had activities, music and dancing, the Knights of da Gama provided drinks, and the Catholic Women’s League tea and cake.

Catholic Schools Week was brought to a close with a visit to De La Salle Holy Cross College Junior School by the superior-general of the Holy Cross Sisters, Sr Telma Manickanamparampil (right). Sr Telma, seen here with headmistress Mary Hyam, is based at the Mother House in Menzingen, Switzerland. She attended assembly at the junior school where she watched a play performed by the learners about the arrival of the Holy Cross Sisters in South Africa. Look out next week for our 16-page supplement of Catholic education.

Soup kitchen diners put hands up for Bible study group

BY DYLAN APPOLIS

W

HEN members of the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) asked those attending their soup kitchen in Braamfontein parish, Johannesburg, which additional services they would like to receive, the answer was unexpected: a Bible study and faith-sharing group.

It was at that moment when parish priest Fr Terry Mutesha SJ decided to gather a small group of volunteers in the parish, named facilitators, bought a large quantity of Bibles in different languages and started the weekly event, which was called the Come Home Bible Study.

As the numbers increased, the SVP gradually withdrew their control and the facilitators correspondingly increased their responsibility.

The study group operates every Monday at the parish’s Trinity Hall. “The attendees are grouped in cells according to their language groups. Presently, we operate the Zulu and English cells, and started the Sotho in March. We average about 100

Braamfontein Bible study groups are held in various languages.

(Photo Karen Callaway, Catolico/CNS) people per session, grouped into six cells of about 18 people each,” said Dr Philip Oladijo, the group’s chairman.

At sessions, the facilitator leads the group into vibrant discussions through questions or prompts. They correct misunderstandings from participants so that the cell is not misled, and guide the discussion to stay focused on the Bible passage under discussion.

Questions from attendees are discussed and opinions proffered by other members of the cell.

“Sessions end with each cell

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giving to the general assembly a summary of the issues they discussed and lessons they learnt, followed by a closing prayer,” Dr Oladijo said.

Facilitators meet at least once a month, “after a session to discuss the progress of the group and matters that might be affecting them”, he explained.

Once a quarter, the group invites the parish priest to deliver a talk on a topic chosen by the group and based on relevant faith-based issues, or as decided by the priest.

“The participants are mostly the homeless people living in poor shelters in the inner city region who also attend the SVP soup kitchen programme on Monday nights,” Dr Oladijo said.

“They comprise different Christian denominations and faiths. We rarely had women attendees when we started, but the number has dramatically increased to about 15 per session,” he said. n For more information e-mail comehomebiblestudy@ gmail.com or contact Holy Trinity parish at (011) 339 2826.

LOCAL

The Southern Cross, June 10 to June 16, 2015

3

Court ‘correct’ in mercy towards Hani killer

BY STUART GRAHAM

T

HE Pretoria High Court showed compassion and mercy in granting parole to terminally ill murder convict Clive Derby-Lewis, according to Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office researcher Mike Pothier.

Mr Derby-Lewis, 79, who was found guilty of orchestrating the murder of Communist Party leader Chris Hani in 1993, has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.

He has spent 21 years in prison for the crime.

“In terms of general Christian compassion, you would think such a person would be allowed to die at home and spend the last weeks of his

life with his family,” Mr Pothier said.

“It would be a normal response from a Catholic point of view if someone has a few weeks or months to live...someone of his age specifically.”

North Gauteng High Court Judge Selby Baqwa ruled that Mr Derby-Lewis’s medical parole was effective immediately. He said the former Conservative Party MP had shown remorse for the crime.

Mr Derby-Lewis had made numerous attempts at bail during his time in prison.

Justice and Correctional Services Minister Michael Masutha denied parole to Mr Derby-Lewis in January.

The minister claimed that Mr Derby-Lewis, who provided the gun

which Polish immigrant Janusz Walus used to murder Mr Hani outside his home in Dawn Park in Boksburg on April 10, 1993, had shown no remorse for the crime.

“Mr Derby-Lewis has made efforts to contact family and ask for forgiveness...some argue that these came late in the day,” said Mr Pothier.

A prisoner’s remorse, however, should not be a factor in whether they are granted medical parole, Mr Pothier, an advocate, said.

“At what point does advanced age and imminent death outweigh the fact that a prisoner has not taken responsibility for their crime?” he asked.

“If such a person has refused to take responsibility for what they did

or carry on denying it, the mere fact that they are dying is enough for parole.”

Prisoners are granted the right to parole when they turn 65 as they are deemed less likely to reoffend. The general rule is that a prisoner should have served two-thirds of their sentence before they are granted the right to apply for parole.

Judge Baqwa’s judgment contained “very sensitive and compassionate elements”, Mr Pothier said.

His reference to remorse, however, was confusing.

“The process of medical parole is supposed to be an objective question. It should be dealt with as a medical matter and not as a reference for what a prisoner did and

whether he or she was remorseful,” said Mr Pothier.

“If a prisoner is certified as terminally ill, then they qualify from a medical point of view to be released. Somewhere along line the question of whether he had remorse and wider questions of political sensitivities were confused.”

In his judgement, Judge Baqwa said Mr Masutha’s processes were “flawed” because the minister had failed to take into consideration the remorse expressed by Mr DerbyLewis.

Judge Baqwa said the principle of ubuntu should be exercised and Mr Derby-Lewis should be allowed to die in dignity.

Dedicated Comboni priest wished farewell FR HYACINTH ENNIS OFM

A

FAREWELL ceremony for Fr John Maneschg recently took place at the Comboni provincialate in Kensington, Johannesburg. The event took the form of a concelebrated Mass with Fr Maneschg himself as chief celebrant.

There were about 50 people celebrating with him: fellow Comboni missionaries, sisters, brothers and fathers from other religious communities and parishes.

Included also were some loyal lay friends of Fr Maneschg’s, from Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga.

At the end of Holy Mass, the Comboni provincial, Fr Jeremias

dos Santos Martins, gave a brief rundown on Fr Maneschg’s time in South Africa.

Fr Maneschg was born in 1941 in the Romansch-speaking part of northern Italy. He did his schooling through the medium of Romansch, German and Italian.

Finishing his school years, he joined the misssionary Comboni Congregation, underwent his formation and studies under them, and was ordained in 1967.

In 1974, he arrived in South Africa. He began a long teaching career at St Peter’s Seminary in Hammanskraal and later at the same seminary at Garsfontein, Pretoria, where he also began lecturing at St John Vianney Seminary in 1977.

Archbishop Buti Thlagale of Johannesburg ordained Franciscan Brothers Eboh Valentine and Keketso Mothuli into the order of the diaconate at La Verna Retreat Centre, in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng.

After a short spell in Pretoria he was sent to Innsbruck in Austria to act as a formator and also to prepare a doctoral thesis. His dissertation was entitled “The Narrative of the Brazen Serpent (Num 21: 4-9) in the Interpretation of Early Jewish Literature” (1981).

He returned to South Africa in 1984 and took up once more his teaching at the Pretoria seminaries as well as at the Franciscan Studium Philosophicum.

While living in Pretoria, he helped out in numerous local parishes, including Mamelodi, Silverton and Mahube Valley besides doing pastoral work with the German community.

Finally in 2012 he was sent to

the Comboni provincialate at Kensington in Johannesburg. While there he continued his teaching in Pretoria, as well as helping out at the Catholic Bible College and St Augustine College.

Fr Maneschg was a much-loved spiritual director and confessor.

Naturally he was a great help to those doing scriptural studies—the Old Testament was his forté.

Besides being an accomplished academic he was always keen to assist in various pastoral ministries, no matter where he was sent. He also produced some book reviews for local publications.

He will spend his retirement with his Comboni confrères at Brixen in the north of Italy.

Fr John Maneschg

4

The Southern Cross, June 10 to June 16, 2015

INTERNATIONAL

Archbishop: ‘I wouldn’t use Cardinal Burke’s language’

BY MICHAEL KELLY

T

HE head of the Irish bishops’ conference has distanced himself from comments made by US Cardinal Raymond Burke concerning Irish voters who backed same-sex marriage.

Reacting to the referendum, in which voters supported same-sex marriage by a margin of 62% to 38%, Cardinal Burke told the Newman Society, Oxford University’s Catholic Society: “It’s just incredible...pagans may have tolerated homosexual behaviours, they never dared say this was marriage.”

Asked about the comments during an interview with RTE Radio, Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, Northern Ireland, president of the bishops’ conference, said: “I wouldn’t use that language.”

He said: “Throughout the debate and the discussion, we did ask people to try to be respectful and inoffensive in language.”

The archbishop also referred to comments by the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, that the result represented a “defeat for humanity”.

“I think what Cardinal Parolin was expressing is our deeply held conviction about marriage...he was trying to express the loss that occurred here,” he said.

Asked whether the Church would baptise the children of same-sex couples, the archbishop said: “there’s no difficulty...whenever someone comes to bring their child for baptism, what we’re interested in is that child be raised as a member of the Church, and of course they are”.

He admitted that the Catholic Church is facing challenging times in the wake of the referendum result.

“The whole debate has helped us understand the great sense of alienation and isolation that many gay people have felt, perhaps even

Migrants are seen in a boat after being rescued in the Mediterranean Sea. Abortion, abandoning migrants at sea, unsafe working conditions, malnutrition, terrorism and euthanasia are all “attacks on life”, said Pope Francis. (Photo: Alessandro Di Meo, EPA/CNS)

Pope Francis decries all ‘attacks on human life’

BY LAURA IERACI

A

BORTION, abandoning migrants at sea, unsafe working conditions, malnutrition, terrorism and euthanasia are all “attacks on life”, said Pope Francis.

In an audience with members of the Italian Science & Life Association, the pope said “life is a gift” and urged more reflection on how people are treated throughout all stages of life.

“The degree of progress of a civilisation is measured precisely by its capacity to care for life, especially in its most fragile phases,” he told the association, which had gathered its members in Rome the previous day to mark its 10th anniversary.

“When we speak of humanity, let us never forget the attacks on the sacredness of human life,” he said.

“The plague of abortion is an attack on life. Allowing our brothers and sisters to die in boats in the Strait of Sicily is an attack on life. Death at the workplace, because minimum safety conditions are not respected, is an attack on life. Death because of malnutrition is an attack on life. Ter-

rorism, war, violence, euthanasia as well, is an attack on life,” he said “To love life is to care always for others, to want their good, to cultivate and respect their transcendent dignity,” he said.

Pope Francis told association members to be “unafraid of undertaking fruitful dialogue with the entire world of science, even with those who do not profess to be believers but who remain open to the mystery of human life”.

Underlining the vital link between science and life, the pope said “it is the miracle of life in its unfathomable depths that gives rise to and accompanies the scientific journey”.

“Christ, who is the light of humankind and of the world, illuminates the path so that science may always be knowledge at the service of life,” he said. “When this light ceases and when knowledge is no longer in touch with life, it becomes sterile.”

He urged scientists to maintain a high regard for the sacredness of human life, “so that science is really at the service of humankind and not humankind at the service of science”.—CNS

Prison Care and Support Network

People in Dublin react as Ireland voted in favour of allowing same-sex marriage. Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has distanced himself from US Cardinal Raymond Burke’s comments on the poll. (Photo:Cathal McNaughton, Reuters/CNS ) at the hands of the Church,” he said. “I think that one of the lessons in the Church that we have to learn from this debate is how do we reach out pastorally to people.”

The archbishop later told The Irish Catholic newspaper that he wanted to “affirm people who took a courageous decision to speak up for the union of marriage between a man and a woman in this country”.

“I am aware that people are trying to live the difficulties and challenges of the Christian way of life in the modern world. The only way to do that is with a heart full of the mercy of God. In this way, we are able to accompany people and encourage them to have a personal relationship, while at the same time be called to conversion and called to change in their lives,” he said.

Referring to the result of the referendum, Archbishop Martin said: “We have to remain courageous with our message. More people

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than we think do support the Church’s understanding of marriage. We have to be strong.”

He said that, despite the referendum result, “the task of witnessing to the family still remains”.

“In fact perhaps now it’s more important than ever that we continue to witness strongly, confidently and in a committed manner to what is such a core teaching for society,” the archbishop said.

He said one of the lessons of the referendum was that the Church must find a language to express Church teaching in a way that is not alienating.

“Sometimes language can be offensive to people, and we need to be aware of this. We [the bishops] have appealed for people not to use language that is offensive.”

He said that the problem was magnified by the fact that the Church often uses language that makes sense in a theological or philosophical context, but not in the context of public discourse.— CNS

OPE Francis is leading the Church in the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola and trying to help Catholics understand true discernment, especially when dealing with complex moral issues, said a Dominican theologian.

Fr Jean-Miguel Garrigues, professor of patristic and dogmatic theology in France, said Pope Francis is using the Ignatian approach to help “believers face the practical—that is, the evangelical and theological—requirements of their faith”, including in the way the Church approaches homosexuals, divorced and remarried Catholics, and cohabiting couples.

The Dominican priest spoke about Catholic morality, Pope Francis and the Synod of Bishops on the family in an interview with La Civiltà Cattolica, the Jesuit journal reviewed by the Vatican before publication.

“All Christians live under the law of Christ and the indissolubility of marriage applies to all,” Fr Garrigues said. That will not and cannot change, he said.

“Bending down with compassion to those persons wounded in their family lives, the pope is drawing on the ancient Roman tradition of ecclesial mercy toward sinners,” he said.

The popes always rejected the notion of a Church made up only of the “pure”, he said. Instead, they favoured a vision of the Church composed of the justified and of sinners seeking salvation.

“The Church is not a selective and closed club,” he said. “Nor is it a social scene for those who are Catholic

by tradition or even just for those capable of virtuous heroism.”

“Christ truly died for all people without exception”, he said. “The objective always has been to ‘help souls’ in the concrete situation in which the Lord calls them.”

Pope Francis’ desire to reach out to people who have experienced sin and brokenness, including in their relationships, is not a negation of the teaching of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, but relies on the fact that “the doctrinal and moral principles” on marriage and family “were reinforced by the two great popes”, Fr Garrigues said.

What Pope Francis is hoping for, he said, has nothing to do with “subjective relativism” or the acceptance of objectively sinful situations, but rather with finding a way that takes people where they are and points them along the path toward greater virtue and holiness of life.

Those who want to see the synod issue a blanket welcome back to Communion of divorced and civilly remarried Catholics are asking the Church to give in to “moral relativism”, he said, while those who want to see the Church reject all pastoral provisions for any of the couples, tend to have “very rigid opinions when judging others”.

“I don’t see how a more merciful pastoral approach toward the ‘weak’ can cause ‘strong’ and sometimes heroic couples to feel unappreciated,” Fr Garrigues said. “If this happens, it means their virtue is based too much on self-satisfaction and, consequently, is a ‘dead work’ because it is lacking charity,” he said.— CNS

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, June 10 to June 16, 2015

5

Vatican rejects accusations against leading cardinal

BY CINDY WOODEN

T

Benedictine monks perform chants at the monastery of St Benedict of Norcia, Italy. The community of monks have recorded a CD of sacred music titled BENEDICTA: Marian Chant From Norcia. (Photo: Christopher McLallen courtesy Universal Music/CNS)

Sacred music is ‘part of the air we breathe’

BY ABBEY JAROMA

O

NCE again the hills are filled with the sound of music, only this time the music soars from Benedictine monks rather than the Von Trapp Family.

In Norcia, Italy, about 112km northeast of Rome, there is an international community of monks who operate a craft brewery and spend hours a day chanting the Mass and the Divine Office.

“It’s part of the air we breathe,” said Fr Cassian Folsom, who founded the community. “There’s a lot of pollution in our world, and so the pure oxygen of Gregorian chant is like a breath of fresh air.”

Sacred music had not been sung by monks in Norcia in nearly 200 years, until 1998 when the community was brought back by Fr Cassian.

Norcia is the birthplace of St Benedict, the founder of the Benedictine Order.

“Living with people of different cultural and linguistic backgrounds is a living witness of the universality of the Church, and an opportunity for mutual enrichment,” Fr Cassian said.

The monks of Norcia are inviting their friends from around the world to participate in their prayer through their recording, BENEDICTA: Marian Chant From Norcia, a sacred music CD centred on the theme of the life of Mary—the various stages of her life as celebrated in the Catholic

Church’s liturgy.

“We decided to do a Marian CD, because our monastery is dedicated to Our Lady Seat of Wisdom, and we know that many of our friends share our devotion,” Fr Cassian explained.

The album includes 33 songs, one of which is an original composition titled Nos Qui Christi Lugum, composed by Fr Basil Nixen, the choirmaster.

The monks were contemplating recording an album for a while because “monastic time is slower than regular time”, when De Montfort Music approached them, and they “began a very fruitful collaboration”.

The monks teamed up with 11-time Grammy Award-winning producer Christopher Alder and Grammy-winning engineer Jonathan Stokes.

In a culture that more and more seems to favour pop songs and passing trends, one might wonder how a CD of sacred music will be received.

In Fr Cassian’s view, pop songs are “frosting on a cake, great for your sweet tooth, but you can’t eat frosting as a steady diet”.

“The chant is beautiful, and our souls need beauty in order to grow and thrive. The chant is the Church’s love song to her Lord; it expresses the love-longing of the monk’s heart,” he said. —CNS n More information about the monks’ CD can be found at www.demont fortmusic.com/artists and at the monastery’s website, www.osbnor cia.org.

HE views and opinions of a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors who criticised Australian Cardinal George Pell on an Australian television programme do not reflect the opinion of the commission nor its role, the Vatican spokesman said.

The commission “does not have the task of investigating and pronouncing judgment on individual cases”, said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi. Investigations are carried out by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The commission in a statement also said it “has no jurisdiction to comment on individual cases or inquiries. It is dedicated to helping the Church “protect minors and make certain that the interests of abuse survivors and victims’ are paramount.

To this end the commission considers it essential that those in positions of authority in the Church respond promptly, transparently and with the clear intent of enabling justice to be achieved.”

Commission member Peter Saunders, a British survivor of sexual abuse and co-founder of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood, appeared in a 60 Minutes segment.

Asked about Cardinal Pell and the way he handled allegations about abusive priests, Mr Saunders said: “I personally think his position is untenable, because he has now a catalogue of denials, he has a catalogue of denigrating people, of acting with

callousness, cold-heartedness, almost sociopathic, I would go so far as to say, this lack of care.”

Fr Lombardi said Mr Saunders spoke for himself and “not in the name of the commission”, which Pope Francis instituted to help the Church develop better policies and procedures for protecting minors and providing them with pastoral care.

(See page 9) The 60 Minutes segment focused on the ongoing government hearings about clerical sexual abuse in the diocese of Ballarat, Australia, the diocese in which Cardinal Pell was born and where he ministered until being named an auxiliary bishop of Melbourne in 1987.

T

he Australian government’s Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse said in a statement: “The chair has received a letter from Cardinal Pell indicating that he is prepared to come to Australia to give evidence. The Royal Commission will ask him to give evidence in the second of the Ballarat hearings.”

A statement from Cardinal Pell’s spokesman said the cardinal “has been informed of the contents of the 60 Minutes programme [and] the false and misleading claims made against His Eminence are outrageous.

“In the circumstances”, the statement said, “the cardinal is left no alternative but to consult with his legal advisers”.

Prior to the broadcast, the cardinal’s spokesman issued a statement saying: “Cardinal Pell knows of the

Vatican on FIFA scandal: ‘Is anyone surprised?’

BY ALVARO DE JUANA

R

ESPONDING to the corruption scandal surrounding FIFA, football’s governing body, a Vatican official asked: “Is anyone surprised by this news?”

“Every year around this time a new corruption scandal comes out in the world of sports, in soccer or the other sports,” said Mgr Melchor Sánchez de Toca, undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture and director of the council’s culture and sport division.

“Sports are troubled by great evils,” he added, emphasising the importance of different sectors of society helping to promote “clean soccer”.

On May 27, a string of senior officials from FIFA were arrested as part of an investigation into systemic corruption in the organisation. On June 2, FIFA president Joseph Blatter, who had newly been re-elected as head of the organisation days earlier, announced his resignation.

Mgr Sánchez de Toca noted that

there also have been other incidents of “corruption, victims of violence in the stands, athletes taking drugs, fixed games, the commercialisation of sports” and more.

He noted that sports “express what is most noble in humanity” but can also show “its degeneration”.

“I think it’s evident that the world of sports by itself is not capable of overcoming its problems but instead it needs to form alliances with different sectors of society,” he said.

As an example he cited “Italy’s network of 7 000 parish-based teams “that are genuine schools of clean soccer”.

Pope Francis has spoken repeatedly about the contribution of sports to society. In a May 7 address to the Lazio Sports Club, he said that true sports “encourages the building of a more fraternal and supportive world, helping to overcome situations of injustice and social and human distress”.— CNA

Pilgrimage Highlights

• Explore Krakow, the city of St John Paul’s student and priestly life, just two months before World Youth Day. • Wadowice, St John Paul’s birthplace, on his birthday!

• Czechostowa with Black Madonna • Divine Mercy Sanctuary with the tomb of St Faustina and the original painting of the Divine Mercy image • Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, with the miraculous icon of Our Lady of Calvary • Niepokalanow, the Franciscan monastery of St Maximilian Kolbe • Mass in a chapel carved out of rock in the Wieliczka Salt Mine • Zakopane, with wooden chapel of Our Lady of Fatima

important work Mr Saunders has done as a survivor of abuse to assist victims, including the establishment of a victims’ survivors group in the UK and more recently serving as a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors established by the Holy Father to develop policy to achieve this.”

However, the statement said, “it seems clear Mr Saunders is not well informed about the claims made against Cardinal Pell in the Ballarat hearings of the Royal Commission and the fact that no new material emerged during recent hearings”.

The statement said Cardinal Pell “has never condoned or protected offenders...or participated in moving known offenders and did not at any time attempt to bribe David Ridsdale, whose story has varied many times over the years”.

Gerald Ridsdale was a Ballarat priest whom Australian media describe as the country’s “most notorious paedophile priest”. Convicted of abusing more than 50 children, the former priest is in prison.

His victims included his nephew, David Ridsdale, who told the Royal Commission that he informed thenBishop Pell of the abuse in 1993 and that the bishop responded by asking what the nephew would want in exchange for his silence.

In a statement after David Ridsdale testified, Cardinal Pell said: “I was and remain extremely sympathetic to David Ridsdale, who because of his uncle suffered horrible abuse.

Continued on Page 11

6

The Southern Cross, June 10 to June 16, 2015

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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.

Debate needed on human dignity

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

Church on the right path I

A

FTER many years and several false starts, the Vatican is finally on the right track in addressing the difficult issue of sexual abuse of minors in the Catholic Church.

The publication of the statutes for the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors formalises, at least for the coming three years, the Holy See’s strategy on enforcing standards and regulations designed to keep children safe from predators in the Church, and governs how the Church is to act on cases of abuse and on failures in responding to reports of such abuse.

The composition of the pontifical commission is crucial: besides the president and the secretary, who must be clerics, all members are specialists in fields relating to sexual abuse. The inclusion of two abuse survivors is absolutely essential.

Their membership gives the commission a credibility which all previous Vatican efforts lacked.

Should the commission fail to move towards the objectives it has set, or otherwise act with compromised integrity, the two survivor members, Marie Collins and Peter Saunders, will no doubt raise their objections.

Should they resign from the commission in an act of protest, the commission’s credibility— and therefore the Church’s— would be fundamentally damaged.

There will be points of friction.

When one of them, Mr Saunders, publicly and forcefully voiced his suspicion that the powerful Cardinal George Pell was involved in the cover-up of abuse, the Vatican was visibly irritated.

This tension is always going to be an eventuality: Mr Saunders and Ms Collins are not serving on the commission as window dressing. They are willing to help the Church get things right, providing an indispensable service. The trade-off is that the Vatican has no authority over these commission members.

The commission reports directly to the pope, releasing it from interference from other bodies within the Roman curia. But that does not guarantee the cooperation of the departments concerned.

Nonetheless, it must be clearly understood: any act by Catholic officials, in the Vatican and in dioceses, which does not communicate that the Church is uncompromisingly on the side of the

survivors of abuse, the protection of children and justice, fails the Body of Christ.

Much progress has been made already in the Church’s response to the sexual abuse scandals and their cover-ups and mishandling which filled the headlines in the first decade of this century.

In the 13 years since the scandal first erupted in Boston, the Church has seen a profound change in attitudes. Initially many Church leaders, and many of the faithful, were often excessively defensive. Some even blamed the press for overplaying the scandal. But even then there were high-ranking Catholic voices who proposed to thank the media for uncovering the scandal.

Pope Benedict XVI did much to address the scandal, by introducing new regulations and by seeking personal contact with abuse survivors. The reforms he instituted led to the adoption of strict protocols by many bishops’ conferences (Southern Africa’s was a leading light in that process).

Benedict’s emotional encounters with abuse survivors did much to present them not as a problem but as people who were violated and betrayed. The pope emeritus is not given due credit for this, and has even been the target of much gratuitous slander.

But not all criticism has been unfair. Many critics saw Pope Benedict’s reforms as being too little and too late, weighed down by conflicting interests within the hierarchy. Indeed, it may be argued that something like Pope Francis’ Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors should have been instituted a decade ago.

While today the Church cannot be accused of tolerating sexual abuse and clearly is reforming itself on that issue, there is truth in the criticism that the Church has not accounted adequately for the past.

For the most part, bishops and other officials who engaged in cover-ups or otherwise failed to protect minors from predators have not been held to account, never mind having been removed from their positions.

The suggestion that the Church might set up something akin to a truth and reconciliation commission therefore merits further consideration—not as a device to punish and humiliate but as a means of healing.

N his column “Do liberal values represent SA?” (May 27) Mputhumi Ntabeni rightly questions the framework within which the Constitution is interpreted by the courts.

The impending national debate on assisted suicide is set to betray a number of inconsistencies in the way in which the concept of human dignity is interpreted. The inconsistencies result from the reluctance to deal with human dignity as a theological concept, which is what it is.

If human dignity was bestowed on human beings by other human beings through mechanisms like

Lethal injection akin to abortion

T

HE recent South African court decision that a terminally ill person could be killed by a lethal injection (the American method of executing death row inmates) is a cause for grave concern for the following reason: there will without doubt be more court applications for similar executions, which may well succeed, in terms of our stare decisis (“the decision stands”) legal precept although the judge in this case stated that his ruling was only applicable in this instance.

Certain media reports stated that the government was opposed to this decision because of its very serious implications.

It is, however, only an eminently logical extension of our Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act, which, by legalising abortion on demand, rendered meaningless the right to life guaranteed to all citizens by our nation’s Constitution.

It does, however, indicate the abyss of moral degeneration into which our nation appears to be rapidly sinking.

Damian McLeish, Johannesburg

Same-sex verdict

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HE 17th-century rabbi Sasportas said: “Denial is pushing something out of your awareness. Anything you hide in the basement has a way of burrowing under the house and showing up on the front lawn.”

Is the Emerald Isle the Catholic hierarchy’s front lawn?

In May the Catholic Irish voted overwhelmingly to legalise samesex civil marriage.

Here is a “synod questionnaire” response that cannot be squelched by dismissing the non-reception by the faithful of an official teaching as the result of poor catechesis: 90% of those who voted “yes” were

Fr Cyril Axelrod was born deaf in Johannesburg into a Jewish family. He converted to Catholicism at 23 and became a priest in 1970. As an adult he also lost his sight. He is now a worldwide activist for the deaf, author and missioner living on his own in London. Fr Larry recently published the book ‘Perhaps God’ on his friendship with Fr Cyril.

the law, then whether Person A has human dignity or not would be dependent on other human beings.

And our colourful history has demonstrated to us that this is untenable.

Instead, as the Constitution states, “Everyone has inherent human dignity…”, and the right extends merely to having that dignity respected. (Talk of “the right to human dignity” is therefore coarse.)

Our human dignity is pre-political.

But if it is pre-political, then it means its source must be a nonhuman intelligence.

Christians don’t have a problem with this: we know humans have Catholic schooled, and grew up in a quasi-theocracy!

Gays and lesbians are no longer a mythical chimera to be feared.

Rather, they are real flesh-andblood people known, respected and loved by many. The taboo is collapsing before our eyes, particularly rapidly in developed countries.

Sadly, the taboo is maintained in much of Africa, with chilling campaigns for “kill the gays” bills in the north, and too many instances of “corrective rape” locally.

The mainstream scientific consensus is that being gay or lesbian is not a mental illness but a normal human sexual orientation. Yet the hierarchy clings fast to the idea that a homosexual “inclination” is an “objective disorder”.

The Catechism declares that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered, they are contrary to the natural law. Under no circumstances can they be approved.”

For some inscrutable philosophical reason, the unitive and procreative dimensions of sex are inseparable— in spite of Canon 1084 §3: “Sterility neither prohibits nor nullifies marriage.”

Is this teaching sustainable? The very premise of “natural law” theory is of an essential human nature that is unconditionally normative.

In this view, there is no such thing as a constitutional homosexual, and all people are born inherently heterosexual.

Perhaps a better explanation is that God’s creation is spectacularly endowed with variety. Theologian 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

dignity not because they have capacity for reason or any other feature, but because they are created in the image and likeness of God. But atheists reject this. And the courts essentially do too because they are reluctant to give faith systems too prominent a role in the interpretation of the Constitution, precisely because of the liberalist framework which Mr Ntabeni refers to, where human dignity takes on a pluralist guise and becomes everything and anything. Human dignity is then used to justify everything and anything.

Starting at the source, we need to have a national debate on the concept of human dignity. What exactly does human dignity entitle us to?

Wade Seale, Cape Town Fr James Alison argues that homosexuality is a regularly occurring, non-pathological minority variant in the human condition, much like left-handedness. It seems the Irish find this explanation more convincing.

The Synod on the Family will be incomplete without a mature, frank discussion of our gay brothers and sisters, who are born into and grow up in particular families, as well as in the universal human family.

They often feel called to form new families by entering into monogamous love-relationships, sometimes bringing up children, and many wish to participate fully in the life of the Church. Dare we not welcome them?

Dr Vincent Couling, Pietermaritzburg

Why have faith?

I

WAS surprised by the opening paragraph in your editorial of May 27.

Is it really true that the central objective of our faith is the hope of salvation at the hour of our death?

And that the chief reason for living with Christ is to prepare for eternal life?

This surely puts too much focus on ourselves and our own needs.

I thought that the central objective of our faith and the chief reason for living with Christ is to love the God whom Jesus revealed to us, and to actively collaborate in God’s mission to bring justice to our world. Am I wrong?

Brian Robertson, Cape Town

Keep feast days

I

N response to Nicholas Mitchell’s letter “Feast days matter” (May 20) I say: Amen, my brother. Well written! I agree with you 100% and more.

Leo van der Sandt, Eshowe

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PERSPECTIVES

Looking into the face of hunger T HE United Nations recently observed “World Hunger Day”. Inevitably, the images that come to mind are of scrawny children with distended stomachs, suffering from the kind of famine that follows droughts, earthquakes, floods...and wars.

And certainly, this “face of hunger” is real and recurs regularly in some parts of the world.

But the real face of hunger—the hunger that affects 800 million people worldwide—is not so extreme, but is no less painful. It is the hunger of not having eaten for a few days, of not knowing where the next meal will come from, of sharing with a family of six the food provided for one school student, of trying to fill yourself with whatever comes to hand, even if it lacks nutrition or taste.

This face of hunger can be encountered without having to travel to the Third World, and even without having to drive into the CBD. You were almost certainly next to a hungry person the last time you stopped at the robots. Perhaps you noticed him or her, perhaps you did not.

According to an Oxfam report last year, one in four people in South Africa face hunger, even thiugh this is a food-secure nation which produces enough calories to feed everyone.

“Most people in South Africa have to buy food. But too many cannot afford it or don’t have access to it,” the report said.

Many people were shocked to hear about the hunger which is on our doorsteps—after all we are a middle-income country. We host World Cups and global conferences and celebrity pop stars. And we produce a lot of food.

Indeed we do. But even if South Africa is “food-secure”, that does not mean that all the families and individuals who live in South Africa can be secure about where their next meal is coming from. Many

great initiatives have been taken to tackle this—feeding schemes in schools (run by government, NGOs and churches), subsidised food for workers, systems for redistributing unwanted food from supermarkets and restaurants ( by organisations like the Muslim “Gift of the Giver” or the Catholic “Soul Food”). Incidentally, France has just had to pass legislation to force supermarkets to give unwanted food to the needy.

It is generous donations from organisations, parishes and individuals that mean people can feed the hungry, week in and week out.

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hat is the face of hunger that we encounter every day at the Denis Hurley Centre in Durban. Being located at Warwick Junction in the heart of the Durban CBD, we do not have to look far to find people who are hungry: the homeless, the poor, refugees, the unemployed. Each day that we open up our kitchen, we provide lunch to 300-400 people.

At our free clinic we encounter far too many children who are under-developed or malnourished, and far too many mothers who have sacrificed their meagre food so their children can at least eat something.

But this is all very unfashionable. I

Volunteer Eleanor ploughs through a mountain of washing up at the Denis Hurley Centre in Durban. (Photo: Kobus Faber)

What do the youth need?

B USINESS people tell me that they don’t have time to read, they skim through communications related to their work. When it comes to home and family they often don’t have any energy left for reflection, reading and study and sharing with one another.

This is sad, because as we know that the home is really the place where life begins and ends.

The same applies to the youth, who are up to their ears in study, sport, friends or social media.

Those who do have more time are possibly elderly and may have different interests to dealing with issues around youth or those who may be unemployed.

The family theme for June is “Committed to the Youth”, and like all family issues, this is a complex one, especially if one considers it from the perspective of “Youth and Family”.

Do they want to belong? Perhaps not, for any number of reasons. Do they want to marry some time in the future? Some do, many not, again for a number of reasons. Have they had positive experiences of observing marriage?

In South Africa, only one third of children live with both biological parents; the most common structure is a motherheaded household.

An interesting finding that emerged from the recent Jesuit questionnaire for the family synod was that in African culture in particular, with the extended family playing a stronger role, the specific attachment to a biological mother or father is more loose than it is in the Western nuclear family form, in spite of the fact that family ties are important.

At the same time research has found

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A father and daughter walk at a lake. Research has found that a father can be a very important role model for boys and girls and his presence promotes self-esteem, educational success and also positive behaviour. (Photo: Don Blake) that a father can be a very important role model for boys and girls and his presence promotes self-esteem, educational success and also positive behaviour.

A

finding that strong and positive relationships are created when fathers read to and with their children before the age of 7 has prompted a project called Father Story Week, to take place from June 15-21 and promoted by Front Page Fathers. I’ve also heard of parishes preparing for a fam-

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The Southern Cross, June 10 to June 16, 2015

7

Fr Billy Barnes

Point of Reflection

Faith and Society

have been feeding people in Durban, in rural Uganda, and even in London and New York, for many years. And I cannot count the number of times that people have repeated to me that wonderful old saw: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him how to fish and you feed him for life.”

I don’t disagree with the sentiment, and organisations like the Denis Hurley Centre are also involved with teaching skills. But you can’t teach a person to fish—or to sew, or to do plumbing, or to use a computer, or to get off whoonga— while they are still hungry.

Long ago this was understood in schools which is why South Africa has such well-developed student feeding programmes. But adults are hungry too.

Hunger prevents people from learning or looking for a job. And hunger can, sadly, drive people to theft or to scavenging or to begging if they feel that that is their only option.

An “unfashionable” feeding scheme like ours helps people by filling their stomachs. But it also helps in other ways.

Having attracted people with a hot meal we are then able to counsel them, refer them to other services, help them address their health issues, give them access to a shower and clean clothes.

All of these are necessary steps in raising a person’s self-esteem. If we treat each person as a human being with value, they can begin to see themselves in the same way. What matters is not whether you Continued on page 11

Toni Rowland

Family Friendly

ily fun walk or a dad’n’kids outing.

One can find research and evidence for almost any situation or relationship, but there is no doubt that one of the most valuable things to do in any type of families with youth, as they continue to mature into young adulthood, is to discuss, explore and share on current social and moral issues—not just to tell them but to listen to their views too.

Do they have views, and are they prepared to open up about them? That is a big part of the scenario whether they are considering joining ISIS or the priesthood, are afraid of being sucked into a drug or gang culture by peers, or are stressed out because of load shedding and dividing time between homework and housework.

Many young people are idealistic, but at the same time youth suicide is one of the most common causes of death among youth. Surely this should be prevented by every means.

Families clearly have a role to play and maybe resources like “Thoughts for the Day” can be of help as conversationstarters, leading to a moment of prayer.

For some comments on what young people say about their fathers, see the current issue of Family Matters magazine. It is both heart-warming and heart-breaking.

Having good, clean fun and building a lifelong friendship with Jesus should be high on the agenda for fathers and their children. And any time is good for that.

And in this spirit: Happy Youth Day and Happy Fathers’ Day to every young person and every dad of any age. Just be there!

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The painting of the raising of the widow’s son in the unused church at Nain in Galilee. (Photo: Günther Simmermacher)

A visit to place of Jesus’ miracle

W

E were lucky to find it. In fact, we were just about to give up when I looked to the left and saw a small village on the side of a hill.

I was sure I had seen it before on a previous visit to the Holy Land, when someone exclaimed: “That sign said ‘Nain’.”

So reluctantly our driver, who had never heard of the place—and, as it was getting late, wanted to go home—turned in and followed what looked like the main road of the village till he came to a tiny church opposite a small mosque.

There was a young woman there with a key the size of which could have opened St Peter’s in Rome, I’m sure! She was wearing no headscarf, was she Christian? No, it turned out she was Muslim, and her family had taken care of the unused church.

She opened the church for us without being asked, as if it was her duty. Was she recompensed in any way for performing this kindness? I don’t know.

There was a small plate in a prominent position in a very bare church. The plate contained a few scattered shekels. The church was small, barely the size of the sanctuary of most parish churches. It could have done with a good dusting, a coat of paint maybe, a little repair work here and there.

The altar was old-style, that is, the priest would have to offer Mass with his back to the congregation. There was no lighted sanctuary lamp, so we presumed that the Blessed Sacrament was not kept in the church.

No Mass in such a sacred place? The realisation provoked a little sadness, considering the stupendous miracle that the church commemorated: A young man raised from the dead while being carried to a specially prepared grave, his body moments away from being covered in earth, remembered till her death by a grieving widowed mother and then forgotten forever.

But no, this man was raised from the dead. His inert heart began to beat again. The blood pulsed through his veins again. Whatever caused his death was cured. And all of this had occurred because Jesus happened to be passing by.

Coincidence? Divine intervention? Godly compassion? The heart of Jesus melted at the sight of the broken heart of a mother.

Behind the altar was a large painting, artist unknown, depicting Jesus raising the young man, “the only son of his mother who was a widow”.

The painting was held in a beautiful frame that lent even more glory to the work of the artist. I am no expert when it comes to art but that painting, in my humble estimation, would have caused quite a flutter at Sotheby’s or Christies.

We experienced a multitude of emotions that late afternoon—God’s love, God’s power, God’s mercy, God’s compassion. All these deserve the genius of a Michelangelo or Da Vinci.

This was a place to glorify God, to praise him, to love him, to proclaim to the world his majesty, power, glory and, especially, his concern for us.

We prayed after this experience that whenever we are in trouble, his path will cross ours and that he will be moved to compassion for a son or a daughter of his in trouble.

Before we left the church we each lit a candle, increased the scattered shekels by a few more, and said: “Shukran” (Arabic for “thank you”) to the young lady with the big key.

She had been joined by quite a crowd of young children gaping at the foreigners who had come to visit their little church which said so much (and so little) about God’s love for us and how he shares in our lives so unexpectedly sometimes. Or maybe he is always “passing by” at the right moment.

8

The Southern Cross, June 10 to June 16, 2015

COMMUNITY

Deacons Audley Frankson, Patrick Lubbe and Raymond Napier celebrated their 16th anniversary to the permanent deaconate at the parish of Christ the King in Wentworth, Durban.

Lucinda Luiz, (bottom right) crowned the statue of Our Lady of Light as part of the May devotion in Hermanus parish, Cape Town.

Parish priest Fr Barry Matthews is pictured with altar servers of the church of the Martyrs of Africa in Zwelihle, Hermanus, who assisted at Mass.

Students were confirmed by Bishop Vincent Zungu at Eucharistic Heart of Jesus parish in Cambridge, East London. They are pictured with parish priest Fr Varghese Kannanaickal CMI and confirmation teachers.

St Timothy’s and St Mary Magdalene parishes of Tafelsig and Lentegeur, Cape Town, undertook a joint fundraising effort in the form of a four-ball golf day at Parow golf course. Parish priests Frs Raphael Thomas (left) and Fr Brandon West (second left) supported the event. They are pictured with organisers Paul and Elise Petersen.

The choir at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Durbanville, Cape Town was commissioned by Mgr Gerald Petersen. Choir member Mercy Obi is pictured in her Nigerian cultural dress.

Ethiopian deacon Woldeyesus Menedo visited the Ethiopian and Eritrean Catholic communities in the archdioceses of Pretoria and Johannesburg and the diocese of Rustenburg. During his visit he celebrated baptisms at Holy Rosary parish in Ivory Park, Midrand, and held two Ethiopian traditional wedding parties including his daughter’s in the archdiocese of Johannesburg.

The Malawian community celebrated Mass at Holy Trinity parish in Midrand, Johannesburg.

Our Lady of the Assumption parish in Durban held an Africa Day antixenophobia celebration.

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Claudio Sequeira with Bishop Adam Musialek on his confirmation at St Mary’s cathedral in De Aar.

St Joseph’s parish in Goodwood, Cape Town, celebrated the feast of St Joseph the Worker with a 5km Fun Walk.

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A group of 42 candidates received confirmation from Johannesburg vicar-general Fr Duncan Tsoke (centre front) at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary parish in Krugersdorp. They are pictured with parish priest Fr Ignatius Fidgeon (far left).

The Southern Cross, June 10 to June 16, 2015

CHURCH

9

Here’s why the pope is serious on fighting abuse The announcement that the Vatican has published the statutes for the commission on sexual abuse may sound mundane—but it’s a gamechanger in the fight against abuse, writes DR SIPHIWE F MKHIZE.

T

HE Vatican’s announcement might not have seemed to be earth-shattering, but it is, in fact, Church-shattering.

On May 8 the Holy See published the statutes for the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which is led by US Cardinal Sean O’Malley. It gives that body canonical and juridical status within the Roman curia.

Why is that significant?

First, there is the fact of a commission. One of the ways any bureaucratic body decides to highlight the significance of an issue is to create a section of the bureaucracy tasked specifically with addressing that issue.

For example, in 2014 President Jacob Zuma established the Department of Small Development, separating it from the Department of Trade and Industry. This gave the new department its own staff and budget and focus.

The new statutes do something similar for the Commission for the Protection of Minors. The members and staff of the commission do not have to focus on other issues, only on this one.

In the 1990s, part of the initial problem with getting the Vatican to address the problem of clergy sex abuse was that no one knew precisely which dicastery had authority to address the problem.

Eventually, it was decided to refer all cases to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith—then led by the über-competent Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI—rather than to the Congregation for Clergy, then led by Cardinal Darío

Castrillón Hoyos.

The latter congregation never got over the snub and, to this day, has resisted the efforts by the doctrinal congregation to remove paedophiles from the clerical state.

But the prefect, members and staff of the doctrinal congregation have many responsibilities, and while they will continue to handle issues relating to laicising sexual predators or meting out other judicial sentences, they had never been authorised to work with bishops’ conferences around the world to establish procedures and policies that help protect minors.

Here is the second major change: The new commission specifically has the task of working with local churches and coordinating efforts within the Roman curia to deal with the scourge of clergy sex abuse.

Third, and perhaps most significantly, the new statutes stipulate: “The Commission is an advisory body at the service of the Holy Father.”

As noted, there has been a tugof-war within the Roman curia about who should deal with these issues and how these issues should be dealt with.

The Congregation for Clergy was not alone in thinking the doctrinal congregation had too much authority over this issue. It is comparable to a minister of Home Affairs locking horns with a minister of Tourism— given the different perspectives and institutional biases. These tugs-ofwar can inhibit action and paralyse executive action.

Now footdraggers can be held to account by the commission

O

riginally, the Commission for the Protection of Minors was to be a part of the doctrinal congregation. The new statutes make clear that the commission answers directly to the pope.

This is the most important aspect of the statutes: If the organisational chart is a maze with ample opportunities to paralyse progress, it’s better not to place the commission anywhere on the organisational chart and have the

Cardinal Sean O’Malley and Irish abuse victim Marie Collins, who sit on the new Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. The statutes of the commission represent “fighting talk” against anybody who wants to interfer in the pope’s bid to prevent sexual abuse and the mishandling of allegations. (Photo: Alessandro Bianchi, Reuters/CNS) commission answerable directly to the pope. And Pope Francis is certainly not someone who will allow himself to be paralysed.

Fourth, apart from the chair and the secretary, there is no requirement that the commission members be clerics at all. Significantly, two members at present are survivors of sexual abuse. The others are experts in law, psychology, counselling, child protection and other related fields The secretary is Fr Robert Oliver, a canon lawyer who was the Vatican’s chief prosecutor of sex abuse crimes.

He will lead the day-in and dayout efforts in the curia, and needs to be a cleric so he is not sidelined.

But the statutes stipulate that all the members of the commission have an equal vote on any recommendations which are to be made to the pope.

It also outlines the processes by which the members decide how to proceed, even permitting a twothirds majority to require a plenary by video conference. That, I suspect, is a first in the annals of the Roman curia.

The statutes call for the president and secretary of the commission to work with other parts of

the Roman curia and the authorities in the local churches. Then it says: “The Commission may require an account of the effectiveness of work carried out by the competent bodies mentioned.”

This could be called the “no stonewalling” paragraph. Someone in the curia who might wish to drag his feet is given notice that a commission that reports directly to the Holy Father can “require an account” of his actions or inactions. On the page, these may not look like fighting words, but they are.

N

o statutes will be effective unless the personnel in place want those statutes to be effective.

I believe the Church is mightily blessed in this moment in time to have Cardinal O’Malley, the Capuchin who leads the archdiocese of Boston, as the point man on this issue.

He has much experience in the field: he replaced Cardinal Bernard Law, who was removed to Rome for exactly ignoring some of these serious cases of clergy sex abuse.

Three times in his career, Cardinal O’Malley was dispatched to dioceses that were reeling from the clergy sex abuse crisis: in Fall River,

Massachusetts; Palm Beach, Florida; and finally, Boston.

Cardinal O’Malley has the ear of the pope as a member of the Council of Cardinals, the group set up by Pope Francis to advise him on the governance of the universal Church.

Cardinal O’Malley is also a man of unquestioned integrity, determination and holiness. Some cardinals might intervene to protect a seminary classmate or to promote a friend up the ranks. Not Cardinal O’Malley.

Indeed, the rap on Cardinal O’Malley is that he is unpolitical and does not throw his weight around. On this issue of clergy sex abuse, and especially as the issue of episcopal accountability comes front and centre, it is a godsend to have someone who is known to be without guile leading this effort.

Legalese is dull and boring to read, but it is an essential ingredient in changing a culture. You can’t start dinner until someone sets the table.

The clerical culture that tolerated and excused clergy sex abuse has been changing slowly, too slowly, over the years. The statutes published on May 8 represent a significant step forward in the Church’s effort to confront the paramount need to protect children and to create a culture that helps the local churches and the universal Church weed out any resistance to efforts designed to meet that need.

Kudos to Cardinal O’Malley and his colleagues for getting these statutes through the labyrinth that is the Roman curia in record time.

Finally, I am glad that our local bishops’ conference with its statement “Safeguarding Our Children” document and the “Protocol for Church Personnel in Regard to the Sexual Abuse of Minors” will be strengthened by this commission.

This is important as we hate to see the Church being dragged to courts and through the media just because of clerical leaders who ignore these prescripts. n Dr Siphiwe F Mkhize is the author of And the Eyes of All Looked at Him: Understanding the Mystery of the Ministry of Permanent Diaconate. He is a member of St Dominic parish in Hillcrest, Durban.

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A group of readers is preparing audio tapes of excerpts from The Southern Cross for interested people who are blind, sight-impaired, unable to hold a newspaper or illiterate.

Anyone wanting to receive tapes as part of this service, available for an annual subscription fee of only R50, may contact Mr Len Pothier, 8 The Spinney Retirement Village, Main Rd, Hout Bay, 7806 or phone 021-790 1317.

The Post Office will deliver and return tapes without charge. Should you know of any interested blind or otherwise reading-impaired person, please inform them of this service.

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St Angela Merici founded the Ursulines in the 16th century, naming them after St Ursula, leader of a company of 4th century virgin martyrs.

“Let Jesus Christ be your one and only treasure – For there also will be love!”

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10

The Southern Cross, June 10 to June 16, 2015

BOOKS

Pastoral care for pastors LETTERS TO MY BROTHERS: Words of Hope and Challenge for Priests, by Stephen J Rosetti. Ave Maria Press, USA. 2013. 180pp.

Reviewed by Fr Oskar Wermter SJ HE first message the author has for the Church in general and for priests in particular is that “about 90% of priests report being happy as priests�. This may astound many who have been fed for years with “bad news� about priests.

The author should know. He has been dealing with priests “who fell off the wagon� for almost 20 years.

And he has been giving “pastoral care to pastors� for even longer.

Most priests are happy. But there are some who are desperately unhappy and have gone wrong altogether. And yet, one can and should be a happy priest. What is needed?

Perseverance in prayer and love.

Fr Rosetti talks to priests as his brothers. He speaks about life, not about the theory that goes with it.

This book is not a theological treatise, though the author is aware of current academic debate.

For him the foundations of the Catholic priesthood are not shaking;

T

he is not an intellectual who questions all. He sees the priesthood as a wonderful gift to the Church and to the individual chosen to be a priest.

The only question is how to live the priesthood at the present time. Much of the book is (auto)biographical.

The author is definitely one of the 90%, a happy priest, despite having to deal with those who have met with an “accident�, which cannot be much fun.

Fr Rosetti is not an idealist. He is fully aware of our faith, including the faith of priests, being questioned, even undermined, by the current wave of secularism. He is aware that priests, like all the truly faithful, often have to swim against the current.

Priests are no longer carried along by the general approval and support of the People of God and society in general. They are outsiders. This is why they need strong support from within the Christian community.

Priests are to be “faithful in little things�, Fr Rossetti writes. Little sins and insignificant bad habits can blow up into big things and derail us altogether. “No decision, however

small, is ever irrelevant.�

Among the “little things� priests ought to observe, Fr Rosetti writes, is the wearing of clerical dress. I agree with him that a priest should not hide his identity. But culture and climate vary, and a little cross may be sufficient in tropical Africa to let people know who you are.

F

r Rosetti speaks about the “harsh environment that you and I enter as celibate priests�. That is true of sex-obsessed America as of Africa.

Media in Southern Africa are feasting on sexual scandals involving celibate priests or religious. They denigrate celibacy; they also expose mercilessly and shame anyone vowed to it but failing to live it.

The author notes that sexuality can be a great creative power as well as a destructive force. The “sexual revolution� has removed all the stops. It acts like a “tsunami�. Therefore “in today’s climate, it seems to me that our priestly celibate commitment and witness are desperately needed�. Both marriage and celibacy have their difficulties. Both have to work at their particular vocation all

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Order from books@scross.co.za or www.books.scross.co.za or call 021 465-5007 or buy at 10 Tuin Plein, Cape Town

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tion of practical insights gained in a life of serving the people of God and his brother priests.

The author is American and writes in America for Americans. But even in the Southern Africa context, it contains much common wisdom with a universal appeal.

Maybe one day these “letters� will motivate a priest in Southern Africa to write similar reflections to his brothers.

Church, politics and economics ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE CHURCH, POLITICS AND ECONOMICS, by Fr Dr Nhlanhla T Mchunu. St John Vianney Seminary NPC, Pretoria. 16pp Reviewed by Fr S’milo Mngadi E often hear people saying that the Church has nothing to do with politics or it has something to do with economics only when the pew has to pay.

In this book, Fr Nhlanhla Mchunu argues not only that the Church has a lot to do in these spheres but also that there are specific Catholic principles of engagement with politics and economics. This is the Church’s “best kept secret�: Catholic Social Teaching (CST), which is part of moral theology.

The book stresses that CST is not a political or economic system but rather a tool to view, engage in and evaluate the politics and economics of the day.

CST is based on the eight basic principles of human dig-

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nity, common good, solidarity, subsidiarity, participation, universal destination, right to private property and preferential option for the poor.

Fr Mchunu is at pains to explain that these principles cannot be taken singlehandedly but are a complementary composite of the whole response to God who loved us.

Indeed, the Bible (including dogmas) tells us of what God has done and continues to do for us in love, and in moral theology we are taught principles to respond to that love in a loving manner.

The book is written in a simple language without betraying the systematic presentation any sound theology should have, and is laden with examples from our South African context.

The reflection questions at the

end of most chapters make it valuable for reflection sessions in sodalities, pastoral councils, religious communities, Small Christian Communities, and Justice & Peace groups.

The use of ubuntu as an ethics is an invaluable contribution to the inculturation beyond drum-beating and hand-clapping.

However, the picture on the cover of the book betrays the core of the book, namely, that faith is lived.

The Church is not the buildings but the people of God. Though the See of Rome is primal, it does not encompass the ecclesial reality which the book addresses.

Something more representative of the (South) African Church would have provided a better packaging for this great South African book.

Walking the Stations with Nouwen WALK WITH JESUS: Stations of the Cross, by Fr Henri Nouwen. Orbis Books, 2015, 98pp Reviewed by Paddy Kearney OBERT Ellsberg, the publisher of Orbis Books, says that throughout Henri Nouwen’s life, which ended in 1996 at the age of 64, he promoted one central and consistent theme: “that the Christian life is a matter of following in the footsteps of Jesus�.

Fr Nouwen’s own journey along that path brought him to many places, including Latin America where he lived for six months with missionaries among the poor of Bolivia, Peru and Central America.

That experience helped him to see Jesus’ suffering reflected in the contemporary sufferings of those living on the margins of society. He returned to North America with a commitment to help Christians in the North see how their faith must be linked to the experience of their sisters and brothers in the South.

One of the ways Nouwen did this was by writing Walk With Jesus, first published in 1990, but now available again in a 25th anniversary edition.

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the time and live it with integrity.

A celibate priestly life gives joy.

This “is our service and love for the people of God,� Fr Rosetti writes. “No priesthood can be fully alive without a dynamic, loving connection to the people.� The priesthood is about building relationship and community.

The other joy is “our relationship to our Loving God�, he writes. “It is the gold of his celibate commitment.� Those who take a negative view of celibacy and see it only as an onerous burden, find their “priesthood cannot really be fully alive and fruitful�.

The active pastoral priest must not leave prayer to monks and contemplatives. The author stresses again and again that we need prayer which is “our direct and explicit way of letting God take over our lives, our priesthood, and our hearts�. In prayer God “fills us with his presence�. The author’s “happy priest� is a prayerful priest.

Fr Rosetti’s letters to his brother priests do not answer all the questions scholars might have about the priesthood. But it gives a rich collec-

ulate Heart of Mary Sister Helen David’s drawings, Nouwen’s reflections link the traditional Stations of the Cross with the passion of Christ lived out in the sufferings of the poor.

Let me give three examples. Station II, �Jesus carries his Cross�, is based on a drawing of a young Guatemalan carrying a heavy load of wood for coffins to bury the Indian men who have been kidnapped, murdered and found dead on the side of the road, or to bury the children who could not survive the diseases that touched them as soon as they were born.

And Station VI, “Jesus meets Veronica�, is a reflection on the cry of a Filipino woman who holds in her hands a photograph of her “disappeared� husband, a face that pleads for compassion. She represents thousands of grief-stricken women whose husbands or sons suddenly disappear and are never seen again.

Station XI, “Jesus is nailed to the Cross�, is based on the drawing of a man dying in hospital

in Katmandu, alone and with no name—just the number, 42. He has lived a life of poverty, many battles and few victories and now all his strength is gone.

In a moving concluding prayer, Nouwen sums up the message of this inspiring book: “Dear Jesus, You once were condemned; you are still being condemned. You once carried your cross; you are still carrying your cross. You once died; you are dying still. You once rose from the dead; you are still rising from the dead.�

And he adds: “There is immense pain in the wide world around us; there is immense pain in the small world within us. But all pain belongs to Jesus and is transformed by him into glorious wounds that allow us to recognise him as our risen Lord�.

Both Sr Helen David’s drawings and Fr Nouwen’s reflections on them can give new and profound meaning to our own personal walk with Jesus.

The Southern Cross, June 3 to June 9, 2015

CLASSIFIEDS

Looking into the face of hunger Continued from page 7 give people food but how you give them food.

So we invite our guests to sit down, we serve them food on a plate with cutlery, we treat them with care and respect.

I do not think it is coincidental that, from this approach, the homeless people themselves have now elected a committee of area representatives and are manning an office at the Denis Hurley Centre so that homeless people can provide advice and support to

their peers.

There is an important side-effect as well. Most of the work of feeding schemes—and ours is no exception—is carried out by volunteers. That means that people who do have enough to eat give up their time and energy to help those who do not. Through this we begin to break down the barriers that divide us in this country.

First of all, among the volunteers themselves. We are proud that soon we will also be providing a place where Christians and

Muslims will come together to serve the hungry side by side.

And then over time we bring down the barriers between those feeding and those eating via that most basic of human skills: conversation. And that is when we discover that each one of us is both poor and rich, both needy and able to help those in need, that we all hunger for something and we can all offer something to those who are hungry.

Try it, the next time you are at the robots!

Row over accusation against Pell Continued from Page 5 “I continue to regret the misunderstanding between us. At no time did I attempt to bribe David Ridsdale or his family or offer any financial inducements for him to be silent,” Cardinal Pell said.

“At the time of our discussion the police were already aware of allegations against Gerald Ridsdale and were investigating.

Then, and now, I supported these police investigations,” he said.

“I have previously made a sworn denial of these allegations

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 658. ACROSS: 5 Apse, 7 Postulants, 8 Whet, 10 Colossus, 11 Spoons, 12 See-saw, 14 Clasps, 15 Cleric, 17 Ashkelon, 19 Tomb, 21 Necropolis, 22 Dyed. DOWN: : 1 Spew, 2 Stations, 3 Slices, 4 Ankles, 5 Asps, 6 Secularism, 9 Hopelessly, 13 Election, 15 Select, 16 Cannon, 18 Kind, 20 Bush.

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: Helpers of God’s Precious Infants. Mass on last Saturday of every month at 9:30 at Sacred Heart church in Somerset Road, Cape Town. Followed by vigil at Marie Stopes abortion clinic in Bree Street.

Contact Colette Thomas on 083 412 4836 or 021 593 9875 or Br Daniel SCP on 078 739 2988.

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.

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. 031 309 3496 Overport rosary group.

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and I reiterate that denial.”

Fr Lombardi told reporters the statements of the cardinal, who is now prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy, “must be considered reliable and deserving of respect and attention”.—CNS

Word of the Week

Pallium: Special stole made of lambswool worn over the chasuble by the pope and archbishops; it signifies communion of archbishops with the Holy See.

Liturgical Calendar Year B Weekdays Cycle Year 1 Sunday June 14 Ezekiel 17:22-24, Psalms 92:2-3, 13-16, 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, Mark 4:26-34 Monday June 15 2 Corinthians 6:1-10, Psalms 98:1-4, Matthew 5:38-42 Tuesday June 16 2 Corinthians 8:1-9, Psalms 146:2, 5-9, Matthew 5:43-48 Wednesday June 17 2 Corinthians 9:6-11, Psalms 112:1-4, 9, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 Thursday June 18 2 Corinthians 11:1-11, Psalms 111:1-4, 7-8, Matthew 6:7-15 Friday June 19 2 Corinthians 11:18, 21-30, Psalms 34:2-7, Matthew 6:19-23 Saturday June 20, Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, Psalms 34:8-13, Matthew 6:24-34 Sunday June 21 Job 38:1, 8-11, Psalms 107:23-26, 28-31, 2 Corinthians 5:14-17, Mark 4:35-41

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GRATEFUL THANKS to Jesus Christ and for the intercession of Our Lady, St Anthony, St Jude and the prayers of Fr Bohé, family and friends for the successful surgery and recovery of Rosie.

PERSONAL

ABORTION WARNING: The pill can abort (chemical abortion) Catholics must be told, for their eternal welfare and the survival of their unborn infants. See www.epm.org/ static/uploads/downloads/bcpill.pdf NOTHING is politically right if it is morally wrong.

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PRAYERS

ST MICHAEL the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the malice and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.

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CONSTRUCTION

ALMIGHTY eternal God, source of all compassion, the promise of your mercy and saving help fills our hearts with hope. Hear the cries of the people of Syria; bring healing to those suffering from the violence, and comfort to those mourning the dead. Empower and encourage Syria’s neighbours in their care and welcome for refugees. Convert the hearts of those who have taken up arms, and strengthen the resolve of those committed to peace.

O God of hope and Father of mercy, your Holy Spirit inspires us to look beyond ourselves and our own needs. Inspire leaders to choose peace over violence and to seek reconciliation with enemies. Inspire the Church around the world with compassion for the people of Syria, and fill us with hope for a future of peace built on justice for all.

We ask this through Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace and Light of the World, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Amen. Prayer courtesy of the USCCB. 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.

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12th Sunday: June 21 Readings: Job 38:1, 8-11, Psalm 107: 23-26, 28-31, 2 Corinthians 5:14-17, Mark 4:35-41

O

UR God is powerful: “Well, of course”, you say, “we knew that”. But then, you may go on to ask, “Why is the world in such a horrible mess?” That is the question to which the Book of Job is given over, and that is where we pick up the first reading for next Sunday.

Job has ranted, demanding to hear from God; and now we hear God’s answer. But we need to notice that it is not a bullying tirade from the Almighty, so much as a series of questions.

The first of these is missed out in our first reading, “Who is this that darkens counsel?”

But the point is clear, that God answers from out of the “storm”, so God has power even over the storms that beset Job (and us).

The questions that are put are intended to make it clear that Job does not know what he is talking about: “Who shut the sea within its doors?” It was God who “made clouds as its clothing…set limits for it…who said, ‘Up to here you shall go, and no further’.”

In the ancient world they could think of no greater metaphor for God’s power than his control over the sea. What is your image of that power?

S outher n C ross

Our God is all powerful The psalm uses the same Hebrew word for “storm” as it contemplates the dangers of those at sea (though we need to notice that this is a psalm of thanksgiving for God’s deliverance). “They saw God’s deeds, and his wonders in the deep.”

Then it pictures the effects of the waves: “They went up to heaven, went down into the deep”, and one or two other graphic depictions of a storm at sea, before revealing the resolution: “God calmed the storm to a whisper…let them give thanks to the Lord for his steadfast love, and the wonders he does for human beings.” God’s power is real, but subtly understated.

In the second reading, Paul contemplates the power of God from a very different, Christian, angle: a combination of the weakness of death, and the astonishing power of one death in particular: “One person died for all… that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for the one who died and was raised on their behalf.”

This power of God has an extraordinary effect: “with the result that if anyone is ‘in Christ’, they are a new creation: the old

things have passed away: look! New things have happened”.

The gospel brings all these themes together. Jesus has just finished his discourse with the parables, and remains in the boat which had been his mobile pulpit, as they set off “to the other side”, leaving the crowd behind.

Then, as quite often on the Sea of Galilee, because of temperature inversion (so I am reliably informed), there came “a great storm of wind”; now we are back in the world of our first reading and the psalm, and looking for God’s powerful intervention: “The waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already filling up.”

In their desperation, the disciples (professional fishermen from this very area, you may remember) turn to Jesus (a carpenter, for Heaven’s sake!), accusing him of not caring about their imminent death.

Jesus himself, presumably either exhausted from his teaching or calmly confident in God, is fast asleep “on a pillow”. They rouse him, but instead of irritably chiding them, he addresses the storm as you might talk to an

Jesus’ great open secret E

God, but to those outside everything is in parables.” Clearly here Jesus is distinguishing between two circles, one which grasps the secret and is then “inside”, and the other which does not grasp the secret and is then “outside”.

Jesus seems to be saying that in following him we can be either “in” or “out”, depending upon whether or not we grasp a certain secret.

Genuine disciples are those who (in today’s terminology) “get it”, and those who “don’t get it” remain outside. But what are we inside or outside of? More importantly, what is the secret?

For Jesus, the secret is the cross; that’s the deep wisdom we need to grasp. If we understand the cross, all the rest of what Jesus teaches will make sense.

Conversely, if we don’t understand the cross, all the rest of what Jesus teaches won’t make sense. Grasping the meaning of the cross is the secret to everything. But how, more concretely, should this be understood? What is the deep secret that lies inside the cross of Jesus? What, in essence, do we need to understand?

V

arious biblical commentators answer this in different, complementary ways.

For some, it means grasping the wisdom that’s revealed in the cross. For others, it means understanding the brokenness of Jesus on the cross. Still, for others, it means understanding the invitation that is inside the cross which invites us to live out the

Conrad

VERYONE longs to know something that’s secret, to know something that others don’t know but that you know, and the knowledge of which gives you some insight and advantage over others who are outside the inner circle of that secret.

It has always been so. Historically this is called “gnosticism”, which forever makes an appearance in one form or another.

Today we see this in society at large in the immense popularity of books like The Di Vinci Code and The Celestine Prophecy.

Their lure is precisely in the hint that there are secrets which a few elite persons know that contain important, life-altering information which we, the unenlightened, are ignorant of.

Our itch, of course, is to be inside these special circles. We see this paralleled sometimes in religious circles in the over-fascination people have with the private revelations of various self-acclaimed mystics, in special books claiming to disclose critical new revelations from the Blessed Virgin Mary, and in the undue interest shown in things like the Third Secret of Fatima. Gnosticism has many cloaks.

At first glance, Jesus, in Mark’s gospel, seems to be hinting at just this sort of secret. He tells us there is a secret that is open to us which, if known, puts us into a special circle of enlightenment and community.

In Mark 4:11, he tells his disciples: “To you is given the secret of the Kingdom of

Sunday Reflections

over-frisky dog: “Be quiet—be muzzled”. And, to our astonishment, the storm obeys: “The wind ceased, and there came an immense calm.”

That is an extraordinary moment in the gospel, of quiet power, unobtrusively exercised; and Jesus now rebukes those agitated disciples: “Why are you such cowards? Do you not yet have faith?” This is spoken to us, of course, each time we find ourselves reluctant to credit that God can manage anything; and then we need to ponder their reaction: “They feared a great fear”, which is a very good sign of the presence of God. Then they ask a very important question (and Mark’s gospel makes its way by a series of question-marks): “Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

That question is not answered in our reading; so I suggest that you stay with it, and see what answer you can give to it, and whether it solves the linked problems of our messy world, and the power of God.

Southern Crossword #658

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

demands of the cross.

Each of these, in its own way, points to the most profound secret of all inside human understanding, namely, that in giving love away in total self-sacrifice, at the cost of humiliation, brokenness, and death, we ourselves come to what’s deepest and fullest in life.

But, unlike all gnostic secrets, ancient or contemporary, this is an open secret, available to everybody and, paradoxically, more accessible to the “little ones”, the poor, and more hidden to “the wise and the clever”.

Jesus makes the point that he has no hidden secrets by emphasising again and again that he only speaks openly and in public, never in secret, but in synagogues and marketplaces. Jesus has no hidden secrets, only open secrets that we fail to grasp.

Interestingly, we see that, in the gospels, grasping the secret of the cross is not something we do once and for all. Sometimes we grasp it, and we are inside the circle of understanding; and sometimes we don’t grasp it, and we are outside the circle of understanding.

For example, after Peter denies Jesus during the passion, the gospels tell us that “Peter went outside”; and they are referring to much more than simply stepping outside through some courtyard door.

In denying that he knew Jesus and in not stepping forward to assume the weight of what would happen if he remained faithful, Peter was stepping outside the circle of both true discipleship and of a true understanding of life. His denial of Jesus took him “outside”.

We too, in our following of Jesus, sometimes step “outside” when we give in to temptation or adversity. But then, if we repent of our betrayal, like Peter, we can step back “inside”.

There are various ways that we can enter into an understanding of Jesus’ message and try to appropriate it for our lives, but few, perhaps none, take us so immediately to the centre as does the invitation from Jesus in the Gospel of Mark to grasp and accept the wisdom of the Cross.

ACROSS

5. Part of the church for the lapsed (4) 7. They want to join the order (10) 8. Stimulate your appetite (4) 10. The gigantic statue of Rhodes was a wonder (8) 11. Long utensils needed to eat with the devil (6) 12. Behold! Beheld in the playground (3-3) 14. Fastens warmly to your bosom? (6) 16. One in holy orders (6) 17. Sank hole about Philistine town (1 Sam 6) (7) 19. Burial site from the atom bomb (4) 21. Nicer pools around the burial site (10) 22. Some lady editor has been stained (4)

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DOWN

1. Vomit (4) 2. Places to pray on track (8) 3. Into which the bread is cut (6) 4. Ask Len about the joints (6) 5. Snakes from 14ac (4) 6. A cruel miss turns to unspiritual belief (10) 9. Despairingly (10) 13. It is done by voting (8) 15. Pick out (6) 16. Big gun sounds like a cleric (6) 18. Variety of something benevolent (4) 20. Shrub (4)

Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

A

YOUNG woman, frustrated by her many bad experiences with deadbeat boyfriends, prayed to God: “Please send me a good man, one who’ll treat me well, make me feel special and respect me for who I am.”

God answered her: “I did so years ago, but you kept telling him that you like him only as your friend.”

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Rome, Assisi, Florence, Siena, Padua, Milan, Venice and more 6 - 17 September 2015