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The

S outhern C ross

August 12 to August 18, 2015

When the bishop met the king

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No 4937

Focus on four women who inspire us

Fr Rolheiser: Obituaries for suicides

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Young leader calls on Catholics to speak out on politics

BY STUART GRAHAM

S Double ordination joy: (Left) Archbishop Buti Thlagale of Johannesburg ordained Fr Lawrence Mduduzi Ndlovu to the priesthood at the cathedral of Christ the King, and (right) Archbishop Stephen Brislin ordained Fr Godfrey Solomon in the church of Our Lady Help of Christians in Lansdowne. Fr Solomon, 63, had been a permanent deacon for 15 years.

Deacon, 63, becomes priest

BY DYLAN APPOLIS

A

FTER serving for 15 years as a deacon, Fr Godfrey Solomon was ordained by Archbishop Stephen Brislin as a priest for the archdiocese of Cape Town—at the age of 63.

He had served the parish of Table View as a permanent deacon, and celebrated his first Mass as a priest in its church of the Resurrection.

“At a young age I felt the calling of God, but could not pursue it. I heard the calling, but things happened and I got married. I decided to become a deacon instead,” said Fr Solomon.

The father of three adult sons—James, Neil and Steven—Fr Solomon was free to become a priest after his wife Frances passed away in November 2009, after 30 years of marriage.

But Fr Solomon emphasises that his call to the ordained priesthood was not sparked by his widowhood. “The reason for me becoming a priest at this age was not because of my wife passing, but because I had a strong calling from the Lord during my difficulties,” Fr Solomon said.

“I had a strong calling and I feel like I have the approval of my late wife. I had the backing of Archbishop Brislin and Fr Michael van Heerden [of Durbanville], as they said I would make a suitable candidate for priesthood,” Fr Solomon said.

His son James was present at his ordination ceremony in the church of Our Lady Help of Christians in Lansdowne; the other two sons couldn’t make it as they are living in Ireland.

“My family were very supportive and they kept me strong during my days leading up to my ordination,” Fr Solomon said.

Melanie Pisanello, office administrator of Table View parish, said the members of the community “cannot stop talking” about the ordination of their former deacon.

“As a lay person it was the most wonderful and moving experience to share with everybody. Fr Godfrey is the most humble person I have come across. He is gentle and kind,” Ms Pisanello said.

Fr Solomon has been appointed as assistant priest at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Durbanville.

OUTH Africa's Catholic laity has to be “far more active and organised” in ensuring that the Church's values are represented in public life, according to a Catholic who was recently named one of the Mail & Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans “who are shaping the country’s future”.

Gregory Solik, the 31 year old coordinator of the My Vote Counts Campaign, is leading a campaign to force political parties to reveal who their private funders are.

The My Vote Counts Campaign has asked the Constitutional Court to force Parliament to enact laws that will enforce parties to be more open about where their money comes from.

Mr Solik’s activism is informed by his Catholic faith.

“Being Catholic links to your participation in public life and there you encounter all sorts of issues, such as social justice and law, that are related to your religion,” Mr Solik said, adding: “I think the laity has to be far more active and organised.”

Mr Solik, who attends Mass in either Sea Point or Rondebosch, Cape Town, told The Southern Cross that Catholicism plays a “huge role” in his life and he feels that other lay Catholic leaders should have a stronger public voice imbibed with the Church's values.

“What we are seeing is an assault on those who are religious,” he said. “But many Catholics, both liberal and conservative, don't see public life as somewhere to be particularly vocal. They don't see it as part of Catholicism.

“To have a strong voice you need to be incredibly bold and have the support of your community,” Mr Solik said, noting that Catholicism is a culture rich in criticising and debating.

“Criticising and debating are a very rich part of the Catholic tradition. The Catholic Church has produced some of the world's

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greatest thinkers. It is absurd that we have almost forgotten 1 000 years of thinking,” he said.

“Now the public domain is dominated by modern secular thought based on individual egos. For example, I have seen hundreds of lawyers writing about euthanasia in different magazines, but very few Gregory Solik Catholic voices.”

Mr Solik said the Church needs more people like Fr Russell Pollitt, a Jesuit who writes a regular column on the “Daily Maverick” news site and is available to the media with thoughtful comment.

“The nature and manner of criticism out there is one of vitriol. We should be talking, criticising, debating. At the moment we are very much on the back foot.”

For now, however, the most important issue on the agenda for Mr Solik and My Vote Counts is making sure that political parties are held more accountable in revealing who is filling up their bank accounts.

Political parties either receive public or private money. For private donations there are no regulations at all.

“The number one goal for us is the political party funding reform,” Mr Solik said.

“Our concern is that this [unregulated private funding] sows the seeds for corruption and political inequality.”

Money buys access to influence, Mr Solik noted. For example, a wealthy businessman could buy access to the president by funding his party, and thereby influencing policy.

Mr Solik admits that controlling funding won't be easy, “even if we do get regulations in the next three to five years”.

My Vote Counts took the political party funding issue to the Constitutional Court on February 10. It is still waiting for a judgment.

2

The Southern Cross, August 12 to August 18, 2015

LOCAL

King to bishop: Preach the Word of God

BY STUART GRAHAM

S

WAZILAND’S King Mswati III has asked his country’s only Catholic bishop to spread the word of God in the country, which is being ravaged by Aids and poverty.

Bishop José Luis Ponce de León of Manzini said it was the first time he had met the king, who is regularly criticised for living a lavish lifestyle and having 15 wives.

“After my secretary introduced me, the king took the time to welcome me to Swaziland and encouraged me to preach the word of God,” said the bishop, who was installed in Manzini in January 2014.

“He insisted that the priests look after me so that Swaziland becomes my home.”

Swaziland is one of the poorest countries in the world, with 63% of its population living below the poverty line of less than US$1,25 (about R16) a day. It also has the world’s highest prevalence of HIV/Aids.

Bishop Ponce de León said Aids

is causing havoc among the country’s youth, with 40% of people in the 16-24 age group infected.

“When you have the type of percentage of HIV we have, the result is that we have a high percentage of orphans,” he said. “This is clearly seen in January when they come asking for support to pay school fees. There are also many single parents and child-headed families.”

The bishop said that the crisis requires “a holistic approach”, helping people build lives on different foundations for a different future.

“We need to prepare material used in schools to help journey with the youth to build their lives.”

Bishop Ponce de León said the meeting, which took place in King Mswati’s palace, was relaxed, and that the monarch wondered if Pope Francis would be coming “to this part of the world”.

“I haven’t mentioned Swaziland to the pope,” said the Argentineborn bishop, who knew the pontiff when he was still Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio in Buenos Aires.

King Mswati III and Bishop José Luis Ponce de León of Manzini.

“I did mention it to him jokingly after he became pope. I sent him a letter. I said, ‘Remember we have a room for you in this house’.”

A room at the bishop’s house in Manzini was used by St John Paul II when he visited Swaziland in 1988.

“He rested after lunch in one of the rooms of the house. Since then we have called it the ‘Pope’s Room’,” the bishop said. “So when someone comes to visit, I say, ‘Sleep in the Pope’s Room’. I told Pope Francis in the letter, ‘Your room is ready if you want to come to this part of world’.”

Bishop Ponce de León added: “Pope Francis is very much aware of Swaziland.”

The bishop said he had been trying to meet the king since last year.

King Mswati had been invited to Bishop Ponce de León’s installation in Manzini and had accepted. In the event, he was represented by Prince Simelane.

“According to Swazi culture, once the king is accepted in the programme, you don’t put ‘Prince Simelane’, but you put ‘King Mswati III’.

Prince Simelane spoke in the name of the king. Never in his own name,” the bishop explained.

“That is why we have been trying to make an appointment to say thank you for having accepted the

invitation and to thank him for his work,” he said.

“The second reason was to introduce myself as the new bishop of the diocese of Manzini.”

The bishop, who also administers the neighbouring vicariate of Ingwavuma in KwaZulu-Natal, said he had been trying to visit all the country’s parishes since his appointment 18 months ago.

“The last year and a half since I became bishop of Manzini has been a time for me to get in touch with our communities in Swaziland,” he said.

“Priests don’t tell the people that the bishop is coming. This gives me the chance to see a normal Sunday.

It gives me an idea of the situation.”

Despite the country’s problems, the bishop believes there is a strong spirit among the Swazi population.

“The first picture I had after my installation as bishop is that it is a diocese where you can count on the people. Any kind of initiative that is launched gets people involved.

That is very important.”

Holy Land gift for archbishop STAFF REPORTER

W

HEN Holy Land tour guide Rimon Makhlouf visited Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town in his chancery office this March, he noticed framed images of the Flight Into Egypt on papyrus on the walls.

“The archbishop explained to me that Our Lady of the Flight into Egypt is the patron of the archdiocese of Cape Town,” Mr Makhlouf said in an e-mail from Jerusalem.

Archbishop Brislin explained that he had brought the papyrus images from a pilgrimage to Egypt with Tangney Tours & Travel. Mr Makhlouf decided there and then to make the archdiocese a gift of a hand-carved olive-wood statue of the Flight into Egypt from Bethlehem.

“I wanted the archbishop’s office to also have a representation of the Flight into Egypt where it began—in Bethlehem,” Mr Makhlouf said.

He recently handed the carving in Bethlehem to Gail Fowler of Fowler Tours, and Ms Fowler presented it to the delighted archbishop on Mr Makhlouf’s behalf.

Mr Makhlouf said a photo of Ms Fowler handing the carving to the archbishop has been put up in the shop where he bought it, Nissan Bros in Bethlehem.

Archbishop Brislin had been guided by Mr Makhlouf on The Southern Cross’ pilgrimage to the

Teen members of the Salesians’ Life Choices programme will be wearing badges of Don Bosco, honouring Salesians’ founder St John Bosco.

Wear Don Bosco on your heart

C Archbishop Stephen Brislin with the statue donated by tour guide Rimon Makhlouf.

Holy Land in May 2014.

He will guide the archbishop again in February 2016 on the Pilgrimage of the Peacemakers, also headlined by The Southern Cross.

n For more information on the Pilgrimage of the Peacemakers to the Holy Land and Egypt see the advert on page 1 of this edition of The Southern Cross.

MONK?

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APE Town’s youngest Salesian organisation, Salesian Life Choices, is honouring the bicentenary of its founder, St John Bosco, by encouraging people to wear Don Bosco on their heart.

This month marks 200 years since the birth of Don Bosco, the saint who started the largest movement of youth workers in the world.

On August 16, Salesian Life Choices is launching the “Wear Don Bosco On Your Heart” campaign.

They will hand out 5 000 Don Bosco badges and bulletins telling the story of the Italian saint’s life.

Since St Bosco opened his first night school 170 years ago, “his life and work has inspired thousands of people around the world to serve the young”, said Sofia Neves, managing director of Salesian Life Choices.

Her organisation “furthers Don

Bosco’s mission by working with youths in the Cape Flats each year”, she said.

“We have decided to celebrate our founder’s birthday by gifting 5 000 Catholics—the same number of youth we work with—with a badge and a bulletin that honours Don Bosco’s life. The gifts will be distributed on August 16 in parishes around Cape Town,” Ms Neves said.

Salesian Life Choices operates from Our Lady Help of Christians church in Lansdowne, where the Salesians have been present since 1923, serving youths from previously disadvantaged communities with programmes in family stability, youth-friendly health services, academic tutoring and servant leadership trainings. n For more information call 021 696 4157 or visit www. lifechoices.co.za

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The Southern Cross, August 12 to August 18, 2015

LOCAL

3

Jesuits aid suffering refugees

BY DYLAN APPOLIS

I

N places of extreme suffering, Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) is walking with some of those at the furthest margins of our society.

“The early days of the Aids pandemic saw an exponential growth in home-based care organisations,” said JRS country director Johan Viljoen. “Since antiretroviral treatment became available in all government health care facilities, this is no longer the case.”

Furthermore, most indigent patients have access to government social grants, enabling them to afford transport to hospitals and clinics.

“With refugees this is not the case. They arrive in South Africa with a variety of health problems.

Despite government policy, they are often discriminated against at hospitals and clinics,” said Mr Viljoen.

“The dismal conditions they live in compound their health prob-

lems,” he said. “Their communities ostracise them because they are foreigners. Many are in shacks and squalid back rooms, with no food, no money to pay for transport to a clinic, nobody to clean them and cook for them—waiting for the end.”

With limited resources, JRS is trying to address this need. Its homebased care team consists of two Congolese professional nurses, Marcelline Sangara and Janine Kukasheta. They visit terminal patients in their homes, providing food and medical care.

Mr Viljoen told The Southern Cross about two refugees and the pain they are dealing with.

Peter Sithole (not his real name) comes from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

His brother was a councillor for the opposition party. In the run-up to the previous elections all family members received death threats and were harassed by the Zimbabwean Central Intelligence Organisation. In

fear of his life he fled to South Africa.

“He stayed at the Central Methodist church in Johannesburg until all residents were evicted by the City Council. Today he lives in a corrugated iron and cardboard shack in Lawley, an informal settlement south-east of Johannesburg.

He is HIV-positive, has suffered two bouts of TB as well as multiple organ failure,” said Mr Viljoen.

“His kidneys are hardly functioning and his blood pressure is 197 over 124. He has no money to reach a clinic. None of his neighbours even greet him because he is a foreigner.”

The only human contact Peter has is with the two JRS home-based caregivers. “They visit him weekly, clean his shack, wash him, bring him groceries and cook for him.

Clearly he does not have long to live. But Marcelline and Janine are accompanying him to the end.”

A second refugee being helped

by JRS is Prince Ike, from Nigeria.

“He suffers from spinal TB, causing his vertebrae to disintegrate. He is also diabetic, as a result of which he has lost his sight. He is blind and almost unable to walk, so he cannot go to Pretoria to renew his asylum seekers permit. It expired a year ago,” said Mr Viljoen.

“Without a valid permit he cannot seek treatment at a local clinic, even if he could see and manage to walk there. He lives in a filthy hovel at the back of a slum tenement in Rosettenville. With no windows, he fears the cold weather.”

Once again, the only human contact he has is with Marcelline and Janine. The only food he has is what they bring him. The only time he is clean is when they wash him.

“The work is harrowing, there appears to be no hope,” said Mr Viljoen. “But the JRS South Africa continues with its mission—to Serve, Accompany, Advocate—accompanying refugees to the end.”

Daniel Judge, a 13-year-old pupil at Star of the Sea Convent in St James, Cape Town, is currently in Nablus, Palestine, to take part in the International Jerusalem Karate Championship and training camp, one of only two South Africans invited. Daniel is the current KSI Boys World Heavyweight Champion (he will be defending this title in July 2016 in Berlin) and is also the Unicity, Western Cape and National Champion in all style karate.

Recently he competed as a Protea in the African Union Zone 6 Championship and won gold in his kumite (fighting) division. He is working towards representing South Africa at the Olympic Games in 2020 in Tokyo, the first year that karate will be a recognised Olympic sport.

Friends of Radio Veritas want to celebrate women STAFF REPORTER

T

HE women from the Friends of Radio Veritas, a group of men and women from various Catholic communities in Gauteng, will be celebrating its inauguration with a Women’s Month event on August 29 at the Bertoni Centre in Pretoria North.

The archdiocese of Pretoria has chosen to focus on the topic of “charm” this Women’s Month.

“It is impossible to take seriously a woman whose beauty is based on looks and not the heart,” said Kuki Mbatha of the Pretoria archdiocese Friends of Radio Veritas.

“With demanding careers, the essence of women becomes children, family and Church, and they end up becoming poor spiritual sisters to each other. These women want to make up that beauty of togetherness and family—with charm. Charm can be learned and given to whomever one chooses.

However, with inner peace and by

being rooted in the word of God, love for your neighbour flows freely and unconditionally,” the Friends of Radio Veritas said in statement.

“The event’s guest speaker will remind us that beauty comes from the heart. Women from all walks of life are invited to share and learn as we share a great meal and conversation,” the release said.

Tickets cost R250 per person.

“What a tremendous opportunity for women to work together to enrich one another spiritually as well as learn about innovation and life,” said Moira Mpama, one of the original members of the group.

Radio Veritas is very grateful to Jackie Mokwena, Jennifer Jacobs, Hannelie Khan, Gertrude Serage, Khatha Makhubela, Mavis Kok, Nontokozo Hlatshwayo, Ntsiuoa Mogomotsi and Thandi Maseko who spearheaded the establishment of the Pretoria Friends of Radio Veritas. n For details please contact Mahadi Buthelezi on mahadi@radioveritas. co.za or 011 663 4700.

Schools calls to reunion

F Holy Rosary School in Johannesburg held its 75th celebratory Carnival/Birthday Bash and Concert. Three of the main events were the Inter-Primary Cook-off (between Hurlyvale, Dunvegan, Edenglen Primary and Holy Rosary Primary), Battle of the Sexes Cook-off (Holy Rosary High School versus St Benedict’s College) and the concert featuring Highveld DJ/presenter Alex Caige, The Kiffness, and the Shaun Jacobs Band.

Seen here with The Kiffness are Gabriela Carvalho, Jenna Laubser, Alessandra de Gouveia, Ariana D’Alessio, Megan Helfrich, Hannah Koen, Danica Roppa, and Jordan du Preez, with Eliyah Di Blasio and Catherine Buffey in front.

Vocation director Fr Isaac Hlaledi Ramakgolo (middle), Fr Obed Ramoipone and Fr Peter Nganga MSC (from right) seen here with young men from the archdiocese of Pretoria who attended a vocation to the priesthood workshop held at St Camillus parish in Marokolong.

ORMER learners of St Peter Claver School in Marabastad, Kroonstad, are invited to attend a reunion on September 26.

The school was established in 1916 and operated up to 1970 in the old Marabastad.

The reunion will be held from 10:00 at St Albert Hall in Constantia, Maokeng.

The cost will be R100 for meals and attendees are asked to bring along their own drinks. n For further information, contact the chairman of the reunion, Musetsi Chopo on 072 0899 735.

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The Southern Cross, August 12 to August 18, 2015

INTERNATIONAL

Jewish scientist: Why the Shroud is real

BY ANN SCHNEIBLE

T

HE Shroud of Turin has different meanings for many people: some see it as an object of veneration, others a forgery, still others a medieval curiosity. For one Jewish scientist, however, the evidence has led him to see it as a meeting point between science and faith.

“The Shroud challenges [many people’s core beliefs] because there’s a strong implication that there is something beyond the basic science going on here,” said Barrie Schwortz, one of the leading scientific experts on the Shroud of Turin.

Admitting that he did not know whether there was something beyond science at play, he added: “That’s not what convinced me: it was the science that convinced me.”

The Shroud of Turin is among the most well-known relics believed to be connected with Christ’s Passion. Venerated for centuries by Christians as the burial shroud of Jesus, it has been subject to intense scientific study to ascertain its authenticity, and the origins of the image.

Dr Schwortz, now a retired technical photographer and frequent lecturer on the Shroud, was a member of the 1978 Shroud of Turin Research Project which brought prestigious scientists together to examine the ancient artifact.

As a non-practising Jew at the time, he was hesitant to be part of the team and sceptical as to the shroud’s authenticity, presuming it was nothing more than an elaborate painting. Nonetheless, he was

intrigued by the scientific questions raised by the image.

He explained that a specific instrument used for the project was designed for evaluating x-rays, which allowed the lights and darks of an image to be vertically stretched into space, based on the lights and darks proportionately.

For a normal photograph, the result would be a distorted image: with the shroud, however, the natural, 3-D relief of a human form came through. This means “there’s a correlation between image density—lights and darks on the image—and cloth to body distance,” he explained.

“The only way that can happen is by some interaction between cloth and body. It can’t be projected. It’s not a photograph—photographs don’t have that kind of information, artworks don’t.”

This evidence led him to believe that the image on the shroud was produced in a way that exceeds the capacities even of modern technology.

“There’s no way a medieval forger would have had the knowledge to create something like this, and to do so with a method that we can’t figure out today—the most image-oriented era of human history,” he said.

“The Shroud has become one of the most studied artifacts in human history itself, and modern science doesn’t have an explanation for how those chemical and physical properties can be made.”

While the image on the Shroud of Turin was the most convincing evidence for him, he said it was only a fraction of all the scientific

Dr Barrie Schwortz, a Jewish scientist who has examined the Shroud of Turin at length and rules out the possibility that it is a fake. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS) data which points to it being real.

“Really, it’s an accumulation of thousands of little tiny bits of evidence that, when put together, are overwhelming in favour of its authenticity.”

D

espite the evidence, many sceptics question the evidence without having seen the facts. For this reason, Dr Schwortz launched a website (www.shroud.com), which serves as a resource for the scientific data on the Shroud.

There are many who still question the evidence, believing it is nothing more than an elaborate

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medieval painting, he noted.

“I think the reason sceptics deny the science is, if they accept any of that, their core beliefs have been dramatically challenged, and they would have to go back and reconfigure who they are and what they believe in,” he said.

“It’s much easier to reject it out of hand, and not worry about it.

That way they don’t have to confront their own beliefs. I think some people would rather ignore it than be challenged.”

Dr Schwortz emphasised that the science points to the Shroud being the burial cloth belonging to a man, buried according to the Jewish tradition after having been crucified in a way consistent with the Gospel.

However, he said it is not proof of the resurrection—and this is where faith comes in.

“It’s a pre-resurrection image, because if it were a post-resurrection image, it would be a living man, not a dead man,” he said.

“The Shroud is a test of faith, not a test of science. There comes a point with the Shroud where the science stops, and people have to decide for themselves. The answer to faith isn’t going to be a piece of cloth. But, perhaps, the answer to faith is in the eyes and hearts of those who look upon it.”

When it comes to testifying to this meeting point between faith and science, Dr Schwortz is in a unique position: he has never converted to Christianity, but remains a practising Jew. And this, he says, makes his witness as a scientist all the more credible.

“I think I serve God better this way, in my involvement in the

A negative image of the Shroud of Turin, which is believed by many to be the burial cloth of Christ.

Shroud, by being the last person in the world people would expect to be lecturing on what is, effectively, the ultimate Christian relic,” he said.

“I think God in his infinite wisdom knew better than I did, and he put me there for a reason.”—CNA

Help from above: Priest’s exorcism from a helicopter A PRIEST has performed an aerial exorcism of the Italian seaside town of Castellammare di Stabia in response to a spree of church-targeted thefts and vandalism in the area.

At the urging of a local prayer group, a priest took to a helicopter to perform a minor exorcism over the entire town, according to Italian newspapers.

“If Satan exists, he has taken control of Castellammare di Stabia,” the group said in a statement. “There was nothing left but to try the exorcist.”

Carried out on July 9, the exorcism was announced by the prayer group later.

The area has long been plagued with violence from organised crime, but a series of thefts from churches, desecration of graves, crosses being turned upside down and statues of Mary being tossed over cliffs led locals to believe that something more sinister was at work.

Locals are hoping that this act, along with increased devotion will help turn around the town that has been in moral and economic decline for some time.

Although the help of the helicopter is unique, it’s not the first time an exorcism has been performed over an entire city— or country.

I

n May Catholics in Mexico gathered for a nationwide exorcism, carried out quietly in the cathedral of San Luis Potosí

by Cardinal Juan Sandoval Íñiguez, archbishop emeritus of Guadalajara.

High levels of violence, as well as drug cartels and abortion in the country, were the motivation behind the special rite of exorcism, known as “Exorcismo Magno”.

During the 12th annual conference for the International Association of Exorcists (AIE), held

in Rome last October, the organisation’s spokesman, Dr Valter Cascioli, explained that occult activity has been on the rise in recent years.

He said an increasing number of bishops and cardinals asked to participate in the conference due to an increase in demonic activity.

“It’s becoming a pastoral emergency,” Dr Cascioli said.

“At the moment the number of disturbances of extraordinary demonic activity is on the rise.”

The rise in demonic activity can be attributed to a decreasing faith among individuals, coupled with an increase in curiosity and participation in occult activity such as ouija boards and séances, he added.

“It usually starts out of ignorance, superficiality, stupidity or proselytising, actively participating or just watching,” he said, but “the consequences are always disastrous”.—CNA

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INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, August 12 to August 18, 2015

5

Death sentence for Christian suspended A

FTER Pakistan’s Supreme Court suspended the death sentence of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman charged with blasphemy, a Dominican priest in the country emphasised the importance of dialogue between Muslims and Christians.

Fr James Channan praised the court’s decision. “I firmly believe that justice will be done, that she will be proven innocent and that she will be released,” he told the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need.

“The blasphemy law was used [in Mrs Bibi’s case] to settle a personal score—the accusation was an act of revenge,” the priest said.

Asia Bibi had been on death row for nearly five years due to an accusation that she insulted Islam’s prophet Muhammad during an argument. Mrs Bibi denies the accusation, and has stated her accusers were acting out of a personal vendetta.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan will soon hear her appeal.

However, many Pakistanis have spoken out against the court’s de-

cision and have said they would carry out the execution even if she is judged innocent.

Fr Channan said that “fanatics are determined to kill once someone is accused, regardless of the legal outcome of a particular case… our people need to be educated and come to respect decisions of the courts of law”.

Mrs Bibi’s trial is one of many over charges of blasphemy in Pakistan. The nation’s blasphemy laws have often been misused for personal reasons or gain, and the accusations are often false, Fr Channan said.

He estimated some 130 Christians are currently being tried under Pakistan’s blasphemy law, and that 950 Muslims are being held under the law.

“The misuse of the law should be stopped, such as its use to settle personal scores or to further business purposes,” he said.

Fr Channan called for Pakistan’s government to revise its constitution, removing provisions that relegate Christians and other religious minorities to the status of second-

class citizens. He also called for provisions to be put into place to punish those who falsely accuse others of blasphemy—an idea which he said is “also being supported by a growing number of Muslims, including some top leaders”.

The priest said interreligious dialogue will also help prevent malicious accusations of blasphemy.

Fr Channan directs the Dominican-run Peace Centre in Lahore, which works to build ties with Pakistan’s Muslim majority.

He praised several key Muslim religious leaders who are taking part in Christian-Muslim dialogue.

“Without dialogue there is no future for the Church in Pakistan,” Fr Channan cautioned.

“Christians live in a state of fear because of all the recent violence.

We need to somehow find a way to work with the Muslim majority… building bridges between the communities is of vital importance, however long it takes.”

Pakistan’s Catholic Church is at “the forefront of this process”, he said.—CNA

New step in China-Church relations

BY ANDREA GAGLIARDUCCI

I

N a tiny victory for Vatican-Chinese rapprochement, China’s government now recognises seminary studies and allows seminarians to continue their education in a state university should they leave.

The Bachelor of Arts diploma young men receive in the seminary is now recognised as being a state title by the Chinese government.

With the recognition it is now possible for seminarians who decide to quit their priestly formation to continue their education in a state university.

In total, 79 seminarians earned their Bachelor of Arts degree in China’s six authorised seminaries last year, ending their first cycle of studies. They have now been sent to work in parishes and ecclesiastical communities.

Work for the future parish priests will prove difficult in China, where there are mixed signals that on one side suggest an improvement in relations between China and the Holy See, while on the other hand show that the topic of religious freedom is still crucial.

Diplomatic relations between the Holy See and China were cut in 1951.—CNA

Pope Francis goes to confession during a Lenten penance service in St Peter’s basilica at the Vatican in March. He has advised Catholics not to be afraid of going to confession where “they will not encounter a severe judge there, but the immensely merciful Father”. (Photo: Stefano Spaziani/CNS)

The main square of Krakow, Poland, and St Mary's basilica. The Polish bishop who is overseeing preparations for World Youth Day 2016 has urged priests to ensure no young people are excluded. (Photo: Marcin Mazur/CNS)

Bishop: Let no young person be excluded from WYD

BY JONATHAN LUxMOORE

T

HE Polish bishop overseeing preparations for World Youth Day 2016 has urged priests to ensure that no young people are excluded because of poverty.

Auxiliary Bishop Damian Muskus of Krakow, which is hosting the international celebration next July, said arranging for young people who might not be able to attend the event would be “our priestly gifts for youngsters in this Year of Mercy”.

“We’re well aware how much deprivation, unemployment and neglect there is, and this requires from us all sensitivity and solidarity with the poorest, so they won’t feel left out,” he said as preparations continued for the event set for July 26-31 in the southern Polish city.

Any assistance to young people should, Bishop Muskus explained, reflect “a compromise between awareness of youth possibilities and organisational needs and costs”, but also should adhere to the event’s theme, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy”.

Meanwhile, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow said he was counting on participation by young people from all over the world, “and not only young Christians”.

“We need a new view of the Church, which is the risen Christ’s gift to the world and all generations. But we also need enthusiasm in the faith, since this enthusiasm is often extinguished under the

ashes of daily hardships and weaknesses,” Cardinal Dziwisz said in a homily.

Pope Francis is scheduled to lead a televised Way of the Cross procession from Krakow’s Divine Mercy Sanctuary during World Youth Day, as well as a prayer vigil focusing on youth issues near the Wieliczka Salt Mine and a Mass in the city’s Blonia Park.

Organisers said in May they were seeking 20 000 volunteers from Poland and abroad to help with the event, which is expected to attract up to 2,5 million young people, as well as 20 000 priests and 1 200 bishops.

They also have asked Poland’s foreign ministry to reduce visa charges for young participants, including 300 000 expected from Russia, Ukraine and other former communist countries.

Participants should register via the multilingual website www. krakow2016.com to be guaranteed accommodation, food, transport and pilgrim materials, and to give organisers a clear idea of numbers.

A giant clock, counting down the minutes until the World Youth Day opening ceremony, has been installed on the facade of Krakow’s 14th-century St Mary’s basilica.— CNS n Two months before World Youth Day, in May 2016, The Southern Cross will lead a pilgrimage in honour of St John Paul II to Krakow and other sacred sites in Poland. See our advertisement on the back page for details.

Pope: Don’t fear confession

BY CINDY WOODEN

T

RUSTING in God’s infinite mercy, people should not be afraid or embarrassed to go to confession, Pope Francis said.

“There are people who are afraid to go to confession, forgetting that they will not encounter a severe judge there, but the im-

mensely merciful Father,” Pope Francis told thousands of people gathered in St Peter’s Square.

“When we go to confession, we feel a bit ashamed. That happens to all of us, but we must remember that this shame is a grace that prepares us for the embrace of the Father, who always forgives and always forgives everything,” the pope said.—CNS

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6

The Southern Cross, August 12 to August 18, 2015

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Youth unemployment: time bomb

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

Suicide: A pastoral response

T

HIS week’s column by Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI will resonate deeply with people who have encountered the tragedy of suicide, and also gives support to those who have been at the abyss of ending their lives.

Fr Rolheiser emphasises that most cases of suicide are caused by mental pathology and are not subject to free will. They are the consequence of factors that are beyond that person’s control, much like cancer or heart disease in people with physical pathologies. If the treatment lacks or fails, death may follow.

Suicide usually is not a voluntary act, even if the person planned it with meticulous care.

In most cases it is the culmination of emotional pain which those left behind cannot comprehend.

While some people end their lives to evade the consequences of a particular circumstance— such as in desperate situations of romance, finance or justice— most suicides are brought on by mental disorders. Almost all suicides occur when one’s pain exceeds one’s means of dealing with it.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church proscribes suicide as “contrary to love for the living God”, and therefore a sin. But the Catechism also shows compassion by explicitly acknowledging the diminished responsibility in suicide if there were “grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture” (2282). This applies to almost all suicides.

Many Catholics have been brought up to believe that suicide is a mortal sin, and that those who kill themselves are therefore precluded from attaining salvation. But this is not necessarily so.

Clearly, the Church differentiates between those whose suicides are motivated by selfishness, and the great majority of those who commit suicide because they are anguished: “We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance” (2283).

Nobody, not even priests, should feel qualified to presume God’s judgment in cases of suicide, never mind pronouncing publicly on it.

The salvation of the souls of those who end their lives is God’s

business; the Church, however, must take good pastoral care of the bereaved.

Those left behind in a suicide are faced not only with the grief that accompanies all bereavements, but they inevitably will inquire into the past to answer questions that cannot be answered.

Sometimes the lack of answers can lead to wounding secondguessing: feelings of guilt about actions and inactions, about having missed warning signs or being absent in times of need. Every person affected by suicide will return to the question: “What if…?”

They may also experience anger with the person for the pain that has been inflicted, and for breaking the bonds of love with others by perpetrating what often is misunderstood to be a thoroughly selfish act.

In most cases, neither response corresponds with reality, nor are they helpful.

It seems necessary that the Church, on any level, should formulate a pastoral response to suicide and the conditions that lead to it.

Firstly, the Church must work hard to diminish the stigma which is still attached to mental conditions, such as clinical depression. Mental illness needs to be understood, and those affected by it must be encouraged to seek treatment without fear of stigmatisation.

Parish initiatives, such as the workshop on mental health organised earlier this year by Queenswood parish in Pretoria, merit emulation.

Secondly, some common but outdated preconceptions attached to suicide, such as that its victims may not receive a Christian burial, require forthright correction.

Thirdly, the Church must offer appropriate spiritual care to those affected by suicide. This means that priests and others must be given the training to deal with the grief and trauma that follow the suicide of a loved one, giving emphasis to emotional support and healing, not to insensitivity and debatable reference to sin.

Fourthly, parish communities have a part to play. When a suicide occurs, pastors and community should offer a prayerful response for the repose of the deceased’s soul and for the healing of those who have been left behind.

CATHOLIC LITURGICAL ARTS 22A Valley Road, Robin Hills Randburg

I

HAD just been reading the Sunday gospel about Jesus having compassion on the crowd because they were like sheep without a shepherd (Mk 6:30-34), when on the radio there was a report about 36% of our young working-age adults—as against 16% 20 years ago—being without jobs. I wondered how Jesus would want you and me to handle this.

My first thought was that we should pray for shepherds who would go among them, and bring them a message of hope and encouragement centred on Jesus.

These need not be priests or ministers, but preferably love-filled

Tribute to Fr Stephen Tully

I

WOULD like to pay tribute to Fr Stephen Tully (pictured) who recently stepped down as administrator of Emmanuel cathedral in Durban after an outstanding 14year ministry.

Fr Stephen’s ministry has been remarkable in many ways: • He has built a strong and diverse parish pastoral council with a good gender balance and has encouraged lay leadership and initiative in every way possible, and given his full support to those who have leadership roles; • He has made the liturgy come alive for the people, and it is not surprising that over 2 000 people worship at the cathedral each weekend; • He has made great efforts to get to know his parishioners by name, meeting them outside the cathedral before and after Masses and drawing them into the networks of the more than 40 organisations in this dynamic parish; • He has successfully promoted vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and religious life; • He has given careful attention to the spiritual life of his flock through retreats, all-night vigils, and revivals preached by visiting clergy; • He has integrated refugees and migrants into all aspects of cathedral life and spared no effort in

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The Editor reserves the right to shorten or edit published letters. Letters below 300 words receive preference. Pseudonyms are acceptable only under special circumstances and at the Editor’s discretion.

Name and address of the writer must be supplied. No anonymous letter will be considered.

and believing people from their own communities.

We know that this unemployment crisis is partly owing to the lack of foreign investment due to constant labour unrest, partly because, as a recent issue of The Southern Cross told us, of the excessive and increasing gap between what the executives pay themselves compared to the workers’ wages.

How do our own salary increases compare with those of our domestic workers?

But the remedy goes further down the line. Some years ago one of the popes told Catholics to in-

promoting social cohesion in this highly diverse congregation; • He has been endlessly compassionate to those in any difficulty, and extended that compassion way beyond the boundaries of the parish through the Denis Hurley Centre and its projects for the homeless, unemployed, refugees, drug addicts and the sick; • He has reached out to the other Christian Churches through the Inner-City Network of Churches which meets monthly at the Denis Hurley Centre; • He has built close relationships with people of other faiths, especially the Juma Musjid mosque, our closest neighbour; • He has a very clear understanding of the role of a cathedral to reach out to the diocese but also to the city, and through his efforts Emmanuel cathedral has really been put on the map.

In sum one could say that Fr Stephen is one of the most zealous pastors in the archdiocese of Durban, and that he will be greatly missed at Emmanuel cathedral.

May God bless you, Fr Stephen.

Paddy Kearney, Durban

Purgatory is consoling belief

B

ELIEF in the existence of purgatory is one of the most consoling teachings of the Church, for the simple reason that very, very few of us might immediately attain heaven after death.

We can assist with the hastening of purgation of our loved ones and even our enemies. I believe we have a special duty to pray also for the souls of non-Catholics who have died since their loved ones on earth do not believe in a state of purification after death.

There are several Scripture verses supporting the existence of such a state: 2 Maccabees 12:43-46 (a book not in the Protestant Old Testament canon), as well as 1 Corinthians 15:29, Matthew 12:32, 1 Corinthians 3:15, 1 Hebrews 12:23, Luke 12:42-48, 1 Peter 3:1820, Luke 12:59, as also the testimony of the early Christians and the Fathers of the Church.

I would recommend, in particular, the four undermentioned publications, all of them excellent, which emphasise the reality of purgatory and the efficacy of our prayers for the release of souls from their suffering.

1. The Amazing Secret of Souls in

Retirement Home, Rivonia, Johannesburg Tel:011 803 1451 www.lourdeshouse.org

vest in labour-intensive rather than high-interest return undertakings. This would help create jobs, even though it may mean lowering one’s standard of living.

Pope Francis in his latest encyclical, Laudato Si’, has called on all of us to examine our standard of living in the light of growing poverty.

Apart from any Christian sympathy for this huge number of hopeless young people, it means that we are sitting on a time bomb which is going to explode one of these days, as it is already showing signs of doing in the crime rate.

Let us at least pray for shepherds to go among the jobless young people of our country.

Fr Bonaventure Hinwood OFM, Pretoria

Purgatory (Sr Emmanuel of Medjugorje, published by Queenship Publishing Co) 2. An Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory (by the Reparation Society of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Inc, Maryland) 3. Get Us Out of Here by Maria Simma (Angelus Communications) 4. My Discourse with Poor Souls

by Princess Eugenie von der Leyen (translated from the German by the House of Atonement in Mexico) I draw special attention to My Discourse with Poor Souls. Princess Eugenie had contact with poor souls almost on a daily basis from 1921-29.

As Christ explained to St Bridget of Sweden: “The spiritual appears to you, not as it really is, but in a physical form. They are shown in comparisons, so that the mind can understand.”

John Lee, Johannesburg

Holy St Joseph

M

ICHAEL Shackelton's Open Door of July 15 mentions St Joseph. Bl John Henry Newman’s observation is instructive: “He is Holy Joseph, because no other saint but he lived in such and so long intimacy and familiarity with the Source of All Holiness, Jesus, God Incarnate, and Mary, the holiest of creatures.”

Adrian Kettle, Cape Town

Wait for Synod

I

T was not nice of Ron Hancock (July 29) to compare Damien McLeish to Jewish high priests and elders of old (Pharisees?) because of his adherence to age-old traditional teachings regarding divorced and remarried Catholics.

May Mr Hancock humbly and graciously accept the outcome of the Synod in October if it appears that those old teachings remain fixed and unchanged.

JH Goossens, Dundee, KZN Opinions expressed in The Southern Cross, especially in Letters to the Editor, do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor or staff of the newspaper, or of the Catholic hierarchy. The letters page in particular is a forum in which readers may exchange opinions on matters of debate.

Letters must not be understood to necessarily reflect the teachings, disciplines or policies of the Church accurately.

Letters can be sent to PO Box 2372, Cape Town 8000 or editor@scross.co.za or faxed to 021 465-3850

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PERSPECTIVES

Holy Land can form future leaders Emmanuel Ngara M Y previous column ended with the words: “A pilgrimage to the Holy Land makes the Gospel more alive and the historical Jesus more real.”

This final part of my three reflections on my Holy Land pilgrimage in May, with The Southern Cross and Archbishop William Slattery, elaborates on this theme and explains how pilgrimages can be linked to the training of young Christian leaders.

A Christian may go into a Hindu or Buddhist temple, be fascinated by the statues and images in the temple, and go away not only spiritually unchanged but even unimpressed.

Similarly, an ordinary tourist may visit the Holy Land and be fascinated by the architecture and the history associated with some of the places, but return completely unchanged spiritually.

But when one visits the Holy Land as a pilgrim, with a receptive mind and eager to discover the roots of one’s faith, then it truly becomes holy ground from which one can hear the words of the Bible coming to one with a new freshness and a force that makes the Gospel stories truly real and convincing.

This is the feeling I had at the River Jordan, at the Sea of Galilee, the church of St Peter in Gallicantu and the church of the Holy Sepulchre, among other places.

At the Sea of Galilee, for example, I felt that Jesus was continuing with his mission of calling disciples to be fishers of people in a world that is plagued by secularism and other anti-Christian philosophies, tendencies and beliefs. In the church of St Peter in Gallicantu, the place of Jesus’ trial by the Sanhedrin, I had something of a real appreciation of how humiliated and despised Jesus was when he was forced to spend a night in a dungeon.

I can now understand why for nearly 2 000 years Christians have kept on flocking to the cradle of their faith. As pilgrims they get inspired and they can hear a fresh

voice delivering the message of the gospels and of the Old Testament.

They can more realistically visualise Abraham raising his hand with intention to slay his own son at the command of his God. They can more concretely see the Roman soldiers violently and mercilessly driving nails into Jesus’ feet and hands. They will have a sense of what Jesus felt when he was being scourged at the pillar and when he carried his cross to Calvary.

For this reason, the Holy Land is correctly referred to as “the Fifth Gospel”. It is the physical and visual Gospel that makes Bible narratives more immediate, more real and spiritually very uplifting.

I

have included my Holy Land reflections as part of my series on developing the leaders of the Church of tomorrow. I am convinced that visits to the Holy Land are one of the methods we can use to build strong leaders of the Church, especially lay leaders.

Emmanuel Ngara and a fellow pilgrim carry the cross on the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem during The Southern Cross’ pilgrimage in May.

Christian Leadership

If young Christian leaders are taken on a guided pilgrimage in the Holy Land, they should return to their countries more strengthened in their faith.

World Youth Day is an excellent initiative started by Pope St John Paul II. Young people really look forward to this world gathering, and it encourages them to be more actively involved in the life of the Church.

Similarly, pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to Rome, and other sacred places, can be a life-changing experience for our young Christian leaders.

A good time to send them is when they are preparing for Confirmation. They are then old enough to have a mature understanding of the Bible and to make a good connection between history and the message of the Bible.

Of course, it would be very expensive to try and send everybody in a confirmation class to the Holy Land from places like Southern Africa, South America, Australia and the Far East. But a few representatives could be sent regularly with some funds coming from fundraising activities.

Those who are afforded the opportunity to go on such pilgrimages would then be required to have the responsibility of giving talks, assisted by visual aids such as DVDs, photographs and maps. This could become part of training young lay preachers and religious instructors.

Let us use “the Fifth Gospel” of the Holy Land to strengthen the faith of our future leaders. n Read Emmanuel Ngara’s previous articles on his Holy Land pilgrimage, and other past columns at www.scross.co.za/category/ perspectives/ngara.

What would Jesus tell you at the well?

Sarah-Leah I Pimentel N August, Women’s Month, we celebrate women like Lilian Ngoyi and Helen Joseph who in their famous march in Pretoria on August 9, 1956 drew attention to the hidden plight of women’s struggles and the injustice of the pass system under apartheid.

Nearly 60 years later, however, we remain silent as women still face all forms of injustice.

Their struggles to run households single-handedly on meagre resources remain largely invisible. Equally ignored is the endemic violence that occurs within our homes and communities, such as physical and emotional abuse, rape and other forms of exploitation.

Even more shocking is that women have been so derided that they accept this ill-treatment as part of normal everyday life. As a result of this silent violence, we have ended up hiding deep within ourselves, surpassing the beauty of our souls.

Many female readers may relate to the story of the Samaritan woman—a pariah rejected for being on the wrong sides of the social and religious tracks—who meets Jesus at the well (Jn 4:4–26). He reveals the hidden parts of her soul, allowing her to encounter her innermost beauty. We witness her transformation from a bitter, hard woman to the confident woman who breathlessly runs back to town and calls the people to come and meet Jesus.

What would Jesus say to us if we were the Samaritan woman? Would we still accept this mistreatment or would we instead be moved to stand up and work towards the end of all forms of abuse against women?

Allow me the following meditation:

I

n the distance you see a man sitting at Jacob’s Well. For a moment you hesitate.

You don’t really want to speak with anyone. You are tired—a lifetime of toil, disappointment and bitterness have weighed you down, like the jar on your head. Yet, a hopeful curiosity attracts you almost unwillingly towards the man at the well.

As you walk, you feel the midday sun beating mercilessly upon you. You deliberately chose this time of day to fill your jar, avoiding the gossip-mongers who piously judge your choices in whispers on street corners. They think they know you. They mock your failed relationships.

The Mustard Seeds

Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman is depicted in an artwork from Cameroon.

But they don’t know the ache of deep loneliness inside you. Each time a relationship died, a piece of you died too. Each time it became harder to love, harder to give yourself entirely. Over the years, you built a stone wall around your heart, keeping others out, unable to respond in loving gentleness to the need around you.

Arriving at the well, the man sitting in the coolness of a small shade asks you for water and then starts talking about living water, water of eternal life, never being thirsty again. He sounds a crazy…except… he picks up your thoughts where you’d left them. Almost as if he were inside your head.

H

e begins to speak: "You began just going through the motions of your life—in your daily chores, in your relationships and in your friendships. Even your worship became simply another routine where you gave your time but not your soul.

As time wore on, even these perfunctory actions became too tiring and you began to shrink away from human contact. Your depleted soul made it difficult to commit even to your most intimate relationships. Already broken and afflicted by a deep loneliness you no longer know how to fill, you satisfy yourself with cheap, transitory pleasures, but each time they leave you emptier than before.

In your deep pain, every mocking voice, every untrue rumour became like a hand that strikes you down, leaving its marks not on your body, but in your soul.

You withdrew, imprisoned by the cold steel casing of your disillusions, each shattered dream and unfulfilled promise. You

no longer came to draw water, shying away from the company of others. You began to see only their own disillusions mocking yours.

This is why you have come here in the heat of the day, looking for water. It will satisfy you only momentarily. When you saw me today, you nearly turned back. But a small glimmer of hope deep in your soul brought you here.

Do not be afraid. I see what you have suffered and I weep with you. Look into my eyes and see that I have suffered too. I have borne the faults of all the people. Like you, I have been stripped of my dignity, hanging naked from that Cross. My body has been broken by the blows of men. My side has been pierced by infidelity. I’ve come to take away your pain.

I have the water of eternal life. Allow yourself to believe again. I sense your distrust and I take the blow of your cynicism.

You mockingly ask me if I am the Messiah. Yes. I am he. I am the Promised One. I know who I am and who I was created to be. I am Love. I am the Son of the loving Father. Know who you are. You are our Father’s daughter. He created you in joy and he delights in you every time you allow your spirit to be free. He knew you in the deepest intimacy of your soul before you were formed in your mother’s womb.

You are royalty, daughter of the King.

Re-conquer your dignity. Do not be ashamed of who you are. Do not allow others to pour shame upon you. You are woman. You are the life bearer. You are the life giver. You were not made for death, but for life. Drink from the well of eternal love and restore all that has been broken. That is your gift.

Go, live your life. Truly live it. Only this time, take me with you. Take me to others.

Take me into your relationships. Take me into your work. Take me into the depths of despair around you. Take the broken women of your world and allow my touch to heal them too.

Drink. Believe. Live. Eternally.

The Southern Cross, August 12 to August 18, 2015

7

Michael Shackleton

Open Door

How can we ‘judge’ ourselves?

In his column headed “Who am I to judge?”

(April 29), Fr Ron Rolheiser wrote that God and Jesus judge no one, we judge ourselves.

In the Apostles’ Creed it says that Jesus sits at the Father’s right hand and he will come to judge the living and the dead. How, then, can this be?

Yvonne Savy ERTAINLY, Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead. St Paul writes that “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body” (2 Cor 5:10).

Matthew 25 provides us with a vivid picture of what will happen on the last day. The Son of Man will separate the sheep from the goats and reward or punish each one, using a simple yet sobering evaluation of their track record of love and compassion for their fellow human beings.

Those who showed real care and concern for others will be invited to inherit the kingdom prepared for them. Those who refused or neglected the needs of their fellow human beings will be commanded to depart for ever.

Christ identifies himself in an extraordinary way with all who need our help, such as the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, the naked, the stranger and the prisoner.

With this in mind, you can get some idea of what Fr Rolheiser was emphasising. I understand him to mean that we all know exactly what we can expect when we stand before Christ the judge. Our conscience will cast the bright glare of awareness of our transgressions against our neighbour’s needs. We shall have already judged ourselves, reproached by our conscience.

Writing to the Romans, St Paul explained that what is required by the law is written on their hearts, “while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus” (2:15-16).

In his discourse on the Apostles’ Creed, St Thomas Aquinas wrote that, if our conscience finds us blameworthy due to our lack of Christian compassion, we must repent and confess our sin, do good works, give alms to the poor and go out of our way to show love and concern for all we come in contact with.

Quoting St Peter, he reminds us to love one another, since love covers a multitude of sins (1 Pet 4:8). He urges us to appreciate that God’s mercy is available now, but at the judgment it will yield to God’s justice.

C

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

8000; or e-mail: opendoor@scross.co.za; or fax (021) 465 3850. Anonymity can be preserved by arrangement, but questions must be signed, and may be edited for clarity. Only published questions will be answered.

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8

The Southern Cross, August 12 to August 18, 2015

COMMUNITY

Youth from Holy Trinity parish in Olifantsfontein, Kimberley, were guests on Radio Veritas’ “Ho Tseba Wena Morena” show, hosted by Fr S’milo Mngadi.

Benedict Ndlovo, an employee at St Benedict’s College in Bedforview, Johannesburg, has been recognised for his 35 years of service to the school and its community. Mr Ndlovu, who started working at the school in 1980, was awarded a long-service certificate to mark this outstanding achievement at the school’s Founders Day celebrations. Mr Ndlovo will be leaving at the end of the year and returning to his home in KwazuluNatal to enjoy his well-earned retirement.

St Peter’s parish in Swartkops, Port Elizabeth, celebrated the opening of their new classrooms after many years of hard work and generosity.

Bishop Vincent Mduduzi Zungu celebrated Mass and the blessing with Frs Joe Slattery and Ted Molyneaux. The architect and builders of the classrooms, major donors, children and their teachers were in attendance. St Peter’s choir and instrumentalists added to the occasion.

Mgr Jock Baird celebrated his golden jubilee of priesthood with Archbishop Stephen Brislin, Bishop Reginald Cawcutt and brother priests. Mgr Baird was ordained in St Mary’s cathedral in Cape Town on July 6, 1965

by Cardinal Owen McCann.

The St Vincent de Paul Society of St Mary’s cathedral in De Aar assisted the local Methodist church with their soup kitchen. (Back from left) SVP members Carol Smith, Anna Coenraad, Jumo Morar and Anna-Marie.

Send us your photos to pics@scross.co.za ...but please be patience: Sometimes we have an overflow of photos awaiting publication.

De La Salle Holy Cross College in Johannesburg bade farewell to Brendan O’Connor, chairman of the board of governors, following Mass at St Charles church in Victory Park. Mr O’Connor served as chairman for over 30 years.

The Oblate bishops of Southern Africa met in Mongu, Zambia, for their bi-yearly meeting.

During the meeting they met with the Barotse king and his indunas at the king's palace. Pictured are the bishops and the indunas."

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The youth group of St Martin de Porres parish in Lavistown, Cape Town, participated in an interparish sports event.

The Southern Cross, August 12 to August 18, 2015

FOCUS

9

The inspiring witness of four women What inspires the modern woman? To coincide with Woman’s Month, COLLEEN CONSTABLE looks at four female role models through the ages who may inspire Catholic women.

W

HAT inspires the 21st century woman? What inspires the savvy, technowise 20-year-old? What motivates the 40-something woman when she discovers that attitude matters, not age. What drives 70-80 year old wise women to continue their active contribution to society?

Some say it is a God-given energy; others say it is passion; some call it values; others say it is love and compassion; some call it wisdom.

Inspirational women are everywhere. Down the street, as she gathers her bunch of flowers and offers it to you with a trademark smile that needs no words. Next door where she feeds the hungry through her soup kitchen project funded with her own money.

A woman who adopts an orphaned child; the woman who takes care of her elderly parents without putting them in an old age home: she never complains. A woman who takes care of her sick husband, her children, manages her career, volunteers and still finds time to be a friend. And a woman who embraces her life journey with grace when ill health knocks on her door: she makes a difference from her bed.

An inspirational woman is the activist who sacrificed her youth to fight for freedom from oppression.

She is also the woman who surprises those around her when she enters consecrated life at a time when it has become outdated.

She is the woman who has learned to listen with the “ear of the heart”, going against the current tide. She holds steady: she found God from within. She knows that Scripture says, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path.” (Ps 119:105).

In Scripture, Proverbs pictures the ancient woman as someone with strong character and a great sense of industry. “She reaches out her hands to the poor and extends her arms to the needy”. (31:20).

“She is clothed with strength and dignity and she laughs at the days to come” (31:25). ”She opens her mouth in wisdom and on her tongue is kindly counsel” (31:26).

“Give her a reward for her labours and let her works praise her at the city gates” (31:31).

Let us look at the stories of some women who inspire.

Mary of Magdala

T

he most inspirational woman who has ever lived was the mother of Jesus: Mary. Next to her is the one who has been forgotten for her role as the first witness to the resurrection: Mary of Magdala.

She stood at the foot of the Cross with Our Lady. She is the woman who loved him with pure love.

Mary Magdalene is known as the world’s “most famous penitent”— though she was not a prostitute, nor the repentant sinner of Luke 7:3650)—rather than the woman who became “Apostle to the Apostles”.

Jesus chose Mary of Magdala to reveal his resurrected self. He gave her a new role when he said: “Go to my brothers and tell them. I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God” (Jn 20:17).

She was the woman who spoke the truth of the Resurrection to the Apostles, the men handpicked by Jesus for his ministry, the men who abandoned him and denied him at the most crucial hour of his ministry. Because of the attitude of the Apostles and men in general at the time, they did not believe her.

Today, Mary of Magdala symbolises the journey of many women who had roles assigned to them, who may have done amazing work and have their voices diminished.

She resembles women who should be recognised for their strength of character, their outstanding contributions and never get acknowledged. She represents women who get framed for who they are: she is wrongly remembered as a sinful woman, while her role throughout Jesus’ ministry and his resurrection has been ignored.

Mary of Magdala resembles a woman of great strength, courage, integrity, character and perseverance.

She also resembles equality between men and women. When the Lord commanded her to make an announcement of his resurrection to the Apostles, it was a gesture that wiped out the inequality that existed at the time between men and women.

Mary of Magdala is an icon of ancient time: from her we learn how to be a true Apostle when the going gets tough. And from her we learn how to love. We learn about loyalty: not even his death could deter her. Mary of Magdala is an icon of our own time.

Mother Angelica

B

usiness-savvy Mother Angelica, born as Rita Rizzo in 1923, is the founder and former CEO of the multimillion-dollar cable network, EWTN. This great Catholic entrepreneur and cloistered nun was once described by Time magazine as “the most influential catholic woman in America”.

According to her autobiography, Mother Angelica, she had only $200 when she started the world’s first Catholic cable network in a Birmingham, Alabama monastery in 1991. She relied on her entrepreneurial instincts and Divine Providence. Mother Angelica fought against opposition from both within and outside the Church.

Her autobiography captures her personality: a strong woman, courageous, upright, bold and daring, opinionated, with the ability to stand her ground. She employed a strategic and mission-based approach.

Her life experience remains relevant and her achievements outstanding. She stands as a business pioneer: an extraordinary Catholic woman who succeeded to create and integrate a highly successful professional life with a contemplative lifestyle. She gave new meaning to a vocational life in a modern world.

Dr Ruth Mompati

E

arlier this year we paid our respects to a lioness of Africa: a true daughter of the soil. Dr Ruth Mompati, affectionately known as “Mama Ruta” and “Aunty Ruth”: a woman of substance—a true servant leader—and a woman of great wisdom.

Born in Vryburg, North West Province, she died on May 12 in Cape Town, aged 89. A teacher, a liberation struggle icon, a women’s activist, former member of parliament, ambassador, mayor, mother, grandmother: a woman of great worth, a rare diamond. She played a significant role in democratic governance of our country.

On February 14 this year she received the OR Tambo Lifetime Achievement Award from President Jacob Zuma.

Having joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1954, she fulfilled many strategic leadership roles. She was also involved in the Defiance Campaign (the largest non-violent resistance campaign in the history of South Africa by all racial groups in a quest to end apartheid) in 1952.

She was a founding member of the Federation of South African Women. She was also one of the leaders of the Women’s March to

Inspiring women: (from left) Mary Magdalene, Mother Angelica, Ruth Mompati, Jenna Lowe the Union Buildings in Pretoria on August 9, 1956. She held prominent roles within a national and international context.

She was an extraordinary woman, known for her ability to love, respected for the strong values she held, and honoured for the selfless life she lived and the cause she fought.

Ms Mompati believed in women’s ability to succeed in life.

She was in favour of more participation of women in the affairs of the country. Having encountered discrimination firsthand as a black married teacher in apartheid South Africa, she was prohibited from continuing her career as result of apartheid laws that prevented black married women to participate as teachers.

She was a mother and grandmother to all. She had an interest in youth. She understood the depths of motherhood, the joy and the grief.

In her book Ruth Mompati: A Mother and a Daughter of Africa, she said: “I have a great love for children. The years I spent in exile without my children drew me to everyone else’s children. In relating to them I missed my own children in a manner that perhaps only a mother can understand.”

She was a woman of great faith.

It was her father, a man with “a very big heart”, who awakened a sense of Christianity in her. What sustained her, she said in her book, is that “each of us is endowed with an inner energy. This presence in us has its origin in God. Driven by this

divine force, human beings who are awakened by this presence within them cannot rest until the divine dignity of humankind is manifest in the entire community and society around them.”

Mama Ruta, a member of the United Congregational Church, said that she was touched by a Mother’s Day sermon that related to the divine energy within women: “To deny anybody the full expression of who she is, is to deny God” she said.

Jenna Lowe

A

n inspirational young woman of our time is South Africa’s donor hero and true advocate for the plight of the critically ill.

Jenna Lowe died on June 8 at the age of 20 from a rare lung disease, Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

On September 10 last year she had received a bilateral lung transplant which saved her life at the time. However, after the transplant she spent more than five months in hospital and eventually died from complications arising from the major surgery.

This young woman accepted her situation with grace. At the time of her death her father was quoted in online news articles to have said: “Jenna was the same in her last few days as she was always: calm, grateful and resilient to the end.”

Not only did she complete her schooling with seven distinctions and manage to get to university, moving around on her mobility scooter, she also initiated a lifechanging organ donor awareness

campaign.

Her “Get Me To 21” campaign three years ago raised awareness of the urgency for lung organ donors, and made a huge impact. At the time of her death more than 20 000 organ donors had registered on the Organ Donor Foundation website as a result of her campaign. More than 5 000 people registered on her campaign website. That is a huge achievement for a country with less than 0,3% of the population registered as donors.

At the time Jenna initiated her campaign, some 4 300 patients were awaiting lungs. She was awarded the active citizenry accolade of a Lead SA Youth leader in September 2014.

Her legacy is one of exceptional resilience, compassion, courage and grace. She inspires women of all ages who hear about her story. She managed to change the lives of others for the better and leaves a living legacy that reminds us of the importance of becoming an organ donor and save a life.

We learn from them

F

rom these remarkable women we learn what motivation and inspiration mean: selflessness. They travelled their journey with grace and faith. They loved. They served.

They lived their lives to the fullest.

Theirs is a legacy for other women: know your purpose in life. Theirs is a true celebration of womanhood for women of all ages.

And they serve as a reminder to be courageous and authentic—be true to yourself and to God.

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10

The Southern Cross, August 12 to August 18, 2015

RETREAT

From holiday palace to retreat house After the death of her husband, Phyllis Kalil was at a loose end. Prayer and a priest’s visit led her to open the Galilee Spiritual Growth and Healing Retreat House in Ballito, near Durban, in June. WINNIE GRAHAM reports.

A

LMOST 2 000 years ago, Christ told his followers: In my Father's house there are many mansions...I go to prepare a place for you.”

Phyllis Kalil, a devout Catholic from KwaZulu-Natal, has taken these words from the Gospel of St John to heart. They inspired Mrs Kalil to convert her son’s home at Ballito, north of Durban, into the Galilee Growth and Healing Retreat House, a Catholic facility that provides participants with a spiritually uplifting experience.

Five day retreats are held in the multi-roomed mansion overlooking the sea. The house was a popular holiday home for upcountry visitors. But when Mrs Kalil’s son, Jerome, learned of her plan, he

helped turn it into a place of retreat where all who are weary and overburdened can find rest.

The transformation of the luxury house into a haven for the spiritually weary is both an uplifting and moving story brought to fruition through the power of prayer. And Phyllis Kalil is the centrepiece.

Mrs Kalil felt lost and alone when her husband, Peter, died in January last year. They had been married for 45 years and had seven adult children. Now she found it difficult to envision life without Peter. She prayed for guidance.

The concept of a retreat came to her mind sometime last year. She dreamed of creating a place where the lonely, downhearted and spiritually weary could find consolation. In other words, when an answer to her prayer came, she knew she had to create a place of prayer and reflection.

But there were problems to overcome. How and where could she start?

Then Mrs Kalil heard of an ”ancestral healing day through forgiveness” at the Maronite Catholic church. She went along and found more than 800 people crowded into the church. The interest was obvious.

A retreatant relaxes in the elegant common area of the Galilee Spiritual Growth and Healing Retreat House in Ballito.

“It was there that I realised how many people are in need of healing,” she says. “I learned of abuse in the family, of young girls being raped by family members, of Aids, cancer, diabetes, drug and alcohol abuse, and parents battling to deal with their children,” she recalls.

“Some youngsters have even been involved in satanic murders. I heard of parents burying their children. Unemployment is a major issue. Some 90% are on antidepressants. People are angry with God. They no longer believe.”

As she always does, Mrs Kalil turned to prayer. “I kept asking Our Lord to guide me,” she says.

“Then, in August last year, Fr Colin Bowes [of De Aar] came to visit my son, Jerome, and his family. Fr Colin laid his hands on my son and prayed for him. A new person emerged,” Mrs Kalil said.

“Jerome had been renting his house out to holidaymakers, but [now] said I could take it over for God’s work,” she says.

“I spoke to many of my priest friends who were very excited at the prospect of a spiritual retreat.

They said they would help me.”

S

o it was that Mrs Kalil started working closely with a number of priests.

Among them were Ballito parish priest Fr Nkosinathi, Fr Allan Moss OMI of Pietermaritzburg, Fr Bowes, Fr Christopher Neville OFM of Durban, Fr Michal Wojciechowski of Umzimkulu, Fr Barney McAleer of the bishops’ Department for Evangelisation, Fr Graham Bouwer OFM of Pretoria, Fr Peter Switala of Pretoria, Fr Gerald Hattingh of Johannesburg, Fr Joseph Wilson MSC of Johannesburg, Fr Maurice Chidiac ML of Johannesburg as well as Fr Emil Blaser OP of Radio Veritas in Johannesburg.

Mrs Kalil opened the Galilee Spiritual Growth and Healing Retreat House in June this year. She has converted her son’s home into a place where people in need of spiritual reflection can come together in prayer, a retreat where

Phyllis Kalil at the Galilee Spiritual Growth and Healing Retreat House in Ballito, near Durban. After the death of her husband in January 2014, she was at a loose end. After prayer, she found her purpose: to open a retreat centre for people who need spiritual recharging. they can meditate and discuss issues that concern them with priests.

Her faith is based solidly on the New Testament. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus Christ said: “Come all you who are weary and are overburdened and I will give you rest.”

This is what Mrs Kalil says she is trying to do.

The subjects discussed are wide ranging. In June, for instance, Fr Moss addressed the issue of ”the family in crisis”, Fr McAleer handled “Drug and alcohol abuse in the family”. Other discussions have focused on “Abortion and adoption guilt”, “Thinking of leaving the Church?”, “Bereaved parents”, “Bereaved spouse”, “Abuse in the family”, “Depression”, Terminal illness” and “Dealing with spells, curses and witchcraft”.

Currently Fr Neville is present-

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ing a retreat on “Terminal illness”.

Afterwards, for the rest of August, Fr Bowes will lead separate retreats on “Healing of memories and curses”.

Masses are celebrated daily, and amid a rich spiritual programme, there are opportunities to take walks on the beach.

The Galilee Spiritual Growth and Healing Retreat House, comfortable as it is, may not contain as many mansions as God’s, but it has place for 12 who yearn for time to reassess their lives and spend time in prayer and reflection.

There is a modest charge to cover costs of meals and overheads. n For further information visit www.galileehealing.co.za. Bookings can be made through the website or by phoning Cheryl Kalil at 083 244 6628.

Prison Care and Support Network

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Any GiVen SunDAy

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or call 021 465-5007 or buy at 10 Tuin Plein, Cape Town

Contact: Brother Evenie Turner O.F.M. 082 599 7718, 012 345 3732, PO Box 914-1192, Wingate Park, 0153,

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Email: evenieturner63@gmail.com

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ASSOCIATE

www.scross.co.za/associates-campaign

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.

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.

9018 or 031 209 2536.

Overport rosary group.

At Emakhosini Hotel, 73 East Street every Wednesday at 6.30 pm.

Contact Keith at 083 372 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.

CLASSIFIEDS

CLASSIFIEDS

Word of the Week

Basilica: A church to which special privileges are attached. It is a title of honour given to various kinds of churches.

Dispensation: An exemption from Church law.

Mitre: A headdress worn at some liturgical functions by bishops, abbots and, in certain cases, other ecclesiastics.

Liturgical Calendar Year B Weekdays Cycle Year 1 Sunday August 16 Proverbs 9:1-6, Psalms 34:2-7, Ephesians 5:1520, John 6:51-58 Monday August 17 Judges 2:11-19, Psalm 106:34-35, 36-37, 39-40, 43AB & 44, Matthew 19:16-22 Tuesday August 18 Judges 6:11-24A, PS 85:9, 11-12, 13-14, Matthew 19:23-30 Wednesday August 19 Judges 9:6-15, Psalm 21:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, Matthew 20:1-16 Thursday August 20 Judges 11:29-39A, Psalm 40:5, 7-8A, 8B-9, 10, Matthew 22:1-14 Friday August 21 Ruth 1:1, 3-6, 14B-16, 22, Psalm 146:5-6AB, 6C7, 8-9A, 9BC-10, Matthew 22:34-40 Saturday August 22 Ruth 2:1-3, 8-11; 4:13-17, Psalm 128:1B-2, 3, 4, 5, Matthew 23:1-12 Sunday August 23 Joshua 24:1-2A, 15-17, 18B, Psalm 34:2-3, 16-17, 18-19, 20-21, Ephesians 5:21-32 or Ephesians 5:2A, 25-32, John 6:60-69

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 667. ACROSS: 1 Face, 3 Patronal, 9 Stipend, 10 Set-up, 11 Tape recorder, 13 Merits, 15 Seldom, 17 Unphonetical, 20 Rhoda, 21 Ghostly, 22 Sanctity, 23 Used. DOWN: 1 Fast time, 2 Crisp, 4 Addict, 5 Resurrection, 6 Not read, 7 Lips, 8 Heart to heart, 12 Employed, 14 Run down, 16 Knight, 18 Cites, 19 Urns.

11

Births • First Communion • Confirmation • Engagement/Marriage • Wedding anniversary • Ordination jubilee • Congratulations • Deaths • In memoriam • Thanks • Prayers • Accommodation • Holiday Accommodation • Personal • Services • Employment • Property • Others Please include payment (R1,50 a word) with small advertisements for promptest publication.

TRIBUTE

BOBB—Claré (Clara) Marinda. Born 5/10/1918.

Member of St Anne’s parish, Sydenham, Durban. Loving mother of Marie, xavier, Anita, Rosemarie, Colleen, Odette, Cornelia Pearl, Darrylyn and their descendants.

Worked tirelessly all her life to raise us. We salute you and we bless you Ma. May our good Lord continue to shower you with his blessings.

DEATH

Our bishops’ anniversaries This week we congratulate: August 25: Archbishop Jabulani Nxumalo of Bloemfontein on the 13th anniversary of his episcopal ordination as auxiliary in Durban.

August 26: Bishop Joe Sandri of Witbank on his 69th birthday.

The Southern Cross, August 12 to August 18, 2015

A LETTER TO MAMMA COETZEE—Reina Jane.

5/8/1934 to 23/6/2015.

Our dearest beloved Mamma. We are certainly aware of your wellbeing in heaven, in the presence of the Lord.

Do you remember Mamma? You always said that you wonder what it will be like, when you meet God face to face and you wonder how His presence will feel. Now dearest Mom, you experience it all.

And surely under the arms of Our Lady.

But Mamma, our world came to a halt, a dead stop, the day you passed away! We are heartbroken Mamma, we still cry a lot, we miss you tremendously.

It is inexplicable; words cannot describe our intense sadness. But do not worry dear Mamma, we will move on, we have to because you taught us to “climb mountains”.

You were all by yourself when the Lord came to fetch you. Mary was there that morning, you still gave her a blessing on her hands, asking how the night duty was, did she

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have something to eat.

Mary left and went to her place.

Bobby gave you early tea before leaving for school. But according to him you did not say anything to him and you always did.

Mamma, you loved God’s creation. Do you remember your favourite spot? Yes Mamma, on the stoep. There you said yourself, you can experience God’s creation best, the birds in the trees, the blue-blue sky, and the children playing outside your fence. All knew Ouma, because she was forever on the stoep. Your food burned to ashes on the stove Mamma.

You were so much at peace when Bobby found you, not reacting to his greetings and later when Willie came; he could see with his “doctor’s eye” that you were gone.

Yes Mamma, you had already passed on to a better life. You, sitting in your favourite chair, your daily tablets and a glass of water next to you. There on the stoep God and His angels and Our Blessed Mother Mary escorted you to eternal peace.

Mamma, you lived for the Lord! You dedicated your life to God and His Church.

As far as I know, you weren’t born a Catholic but converted to Catholicism at a very young age. At age 15 you joined the Legion of Mary, which means that at your death you had been an active member for 66 years! A lifetime!

Besides the Legion of Mary you taught the baptism classes in Upington for 47 years, and you ensured that parents got the message on how to raise their children in the faith, how to be strong Catholics.

Mamma, do you remember going to the local prison? I think for almost 14 years.

Yes Mamma, to spread God’s word among the imprisoned; you were also their shoulder to cry on.

“No, I cannot discuss what the prisoners tell me,” that

was always your answer when we enquired about people’s stories, why they got there.

Mamma, I did not forget. You joined the church choir, you were a member of the Pioneers, you were a reader, announcing and spreading the Gospel and you were a trained sacristan.

In that way Mamma, you could get closer to God, preparing the altar, looking after the sacred vessels, and smilingly enjoying those duties. What an amazing curriculum vitae you had, a CV you made sure to obtain; all to God’s glory!

Mamma, you must have been very excited when you got married to Dedda. You brought nine children into the world, three singles and three sets of twins.

You and Dedda raised us to the best of your abilities. Forever reminding us that with God first in our lives, everything else will fall in place. As from Riemvasmaak onwards, you and Dedda established many presidia of Mary, up until you relocated to Upington. Remember the stretches of gravel roads the two of you walked by foot to get to the gentiles, to tell them the Good News. People converted and turned their lives around, for the better.

You were secretly proud when Dedda was ordained the first married deacon in UpingtonKeimoes diocese back in the eighties; and the last one. When Dedda died 24 years ago, you kept going.

Sorry Mamma, the letter is a bit lengthy, but please bear with me, there is so much to tell. We know you did not like any fuss about your spiritual work, but Mamma, if this can lead to others taking your example, then we, your children, are happy.

To think of it, you did not like the idea of us celebrating two years ago when you resigned the baptism classes. We instead then celebrated it with holy Mass in the cathedral of Upington, and with that

you were okay Mamma.

Mamma, the priests and nuns also cried with you passing on. Your son Reverend Father Ebuka was broken, but like an elderly brother he took care of us, and so did your other priest “sons” and “daughters”, the sisters. I cannot call them all by name, otherwise The Southern Cross will surely shorten my letter to you, not enough space Mamma, that is what they will say.

But besides; you and Dedda taught us how to respect, how to address the priests, the sisters and other clergy. You taught us to always give them something to eat, even if it is only a dry piece of bread. We dearly hold onto that Mamma, and not just the priests, also the sisters.

And your son Fr Ebuka, who chose you to hand him over at his ordination and also to dress him as a priest, be assured, father is well looked after by Gina and Joey. Yes Mamma, not just Fr Ebuka, the other priests too!

Mamma I must really say goodbye now, but just one last note. I so dearly remember you especially during holy Mass. I always have the vision of you next to me, you Mamma, like another persona by my side. Your intense adoration during the Eucharist, the love on your face, the peace, I cannot forget that.

Recalling that image, tears follow down my cheeks… you left us a legacy behind, Mamma.

Lastly, do you remember how we argued with you to let go of the Legion of Mary? Because Mamma your health got frail and we were worried. But your happiness was great when Gina gave you a chauffeur to take you to and from the legion meetings and home visits.

Your words to Bobby two weeks prior to your passing: “Do not tell me when to stop with the Lord’s work. I will go sit when He tells me to do so.” Yes Mamma, He let you go sit on June 23, 2015. While your legion sister was waiting to visit you at home, you departed from this earth and from us.

We salute you Mamma…and Dedda. You were saints amongst us.

Much love and kisses from your grand and greatgrandchildren whom you so much influenced, only for their good! Bye Mamma.

From: Raymond, Ann, Joey, Bobby, Mary and Gina. NB: The whole of Upington is in mourning.

You Mamma, made such an impact on lives. We have been touched by an angel!

IN MEMORIAM

FALLER—EMIL died August 18, 1990. Now 25 years gone before us: lovingly remembered by his 14 sons and daughters and their families.

YOUNG—Berry. Thoughts of you still bring a smile to our lips, even after six

years. Fondly remembered

by Ramona, Virginia and Carlotta.

THANKS

GRATEFUL thanks to our dearest Lord Jesus, Mary, Ss Joseph, Jude, Therese, Anthony, Christopher, Angel Gabriel for prayers answered. PM.

PERSONAL

ABORTION is murder. Silence on this issue is not golden, it’s yellow! Avoid pro-abortion politicians.

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The

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the

21st Sunday: August 23 Readings: Joshua 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b, Psalm 34:2-3, 16-23, Ephesians 5:21-32, John 6:6069

W

E have to make a choice: for God always leaves us utterly free, to see how we shall decide. We can see this in the readings for next Sunday.

In the first reading, Joshua is presenting the children of Israel, newly arrived in the Promised Land, with the choice that lies before them, now that they have reached the place to which God has been leading them.

They must decide (and that means that you and I must decide) whether “it is evil in your sight to serve the Lord…or the gods whom your ancestors served across the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living; I and my household are going to serve the Lord”.

Put like that, of course, there is no choice, and the people opt to do the same, remembering what the Lord has done: “for the Lord our God was the one who brought us up from slavery, from the land of Egypt, who did signs and wonders in our sight”, and they conclude their impassioned speech: “We shall serve the Lord, for he is our God”.

We are invited to applaud this sentiment,

S outher n C ross

Call to make free choice while recognising that they (and we) do not always manage to live it out.

For the psalmist, there is no doubt at all; he knows what he is going to do (“I shall bless the Lord all the time”) and why (“the poor shall hear and be glad”).

There is a beautiful intimacy in the psalm’s understanding of God, which we shall do well to imitate: “The Lord is near to the broken of heart, and he saves those who are crushed in spirit…the Lord redeems the souls of his servants, those who take refuge in him shall not be condemned.” That could be our choice.

In the second reading, the author of the Letter to the Ephesians is trying to tell his audience how to live in the world; and the secret is that they must choose to be “subordinated to each other in reverence for Christ”.

Too often Christians have read this passage as inscribing the dominance of men over women; but that is missing the point. It is true that, like the rest of his culture, the author presumed that men acted as head of the household, but notice how they are to exer-

cise this role: “You men are to love your wives precisely as Christ loved the Church and handed himself over for her sake…so husbands ought to love their wives, like their very own bodies.”

If you make that choice, then you cannot possibly justify anything that suggests that women are inferior. Well might our author say: “This is a great mystery: I am speaking of Christ and of the Church.” We must each of us review our choices.

Not that the choice for Christ is an easy one. We see that in the gospel for next Sunday, which comes at the end of the long discourse on the “Bread of Life” that follows the feeding of the crowds.

It starts with “many of his disciples”, who decide that what Jesus is telling them is altogether too much: “This Word is harsh: who can listen to him?” Jesus does not soften his words at all, however, but insists on their importance: “The words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and Life.”

That sets some of the disciples free to make their choice: “After this, many of his disciples

Obituaries for suicides T

In the end, despite her courage and our best efforts to help her, the disease was incurable.

Her temperament was both her blessing and her curse. She was a gentle person, not given to ego and unhealthy self-assertion, always overly anxious not to hurt others or to claim too much space for herself. But her self-effacement was part of her disease as well. No amount of encouragement was able to ultimately take away this inchoate constriction that somehow deprived her of her full freedom.

In the end, she died, against her will; but her life, lived with such sensitivity, was a precious gift to all who knew her, even as it sometimes brought anxiety and heartbreak to those around her.

When a disease is terminal, all the love and concern in the world can still not bring a cure. But she died inside of our love even as we feel frustrated that our love could not do more to help her.

She lives now, still, inside our love and affection, and, God-willing, inside a peace and security that so much eluded her in this life.

In lieu of flowers please make donations to the Mental Health Association.

Or perhaps, in another situation, it might read like this: We are sad to report the death of John Doe who died unexpectedly of an emotional heart attack. His death came as a shock since those closest to him had no

Classic Conrad

HE more things change, the more they stay the same. That axiom still holds true for our understanding of suicide.

Despite all the advances in our understanding, there are still a number of stigmas around suicide, one of which pertains to how we write the obituary of a loved one who dies in this way.

In writing an obituary we still cannot bring ourselves to write the word, suicide: “He died by his own hand”. We still turn to euphemisms: “Her sudden death brings great sadness.”

Suicide, in many—perhaps most—cases is the result of a disease. It’s the emotional and psychological equivalent of cancer, stroke or heart attack.

If that is true—and it is—why then, when a loved one dies of suicide, might we not write this kind of an obituary?

We are sad to report the death of Jane Doe who died after a long and courageous struggle with emotional cancer.

Jane, as you know, was born into this world with a tortured sensitivity, a gift and an affliction she grappled with from her earliest youth. She found comfort and peace at times, but was never able to fully extricate herself from some inner chaos which was always partially hidden to those around her and which medicine could not cure, counsellors could not quiet, and our affection and solicitousness could not adequately soothe.

For further info or to book contact Michael or Gail at 076 352 3809 or 021 551 3923 info@fowlertours.co.za www.fowlertours.co.za/ poland-2016/

Sunday Reflections

went backwards and no longer went around with him.” And will all of them make that choice?

Jesus now turns to the Twelve, and with an unmistakable touch of sadness asks what their choice is to be: “You’re not going to go away as well, are you?”

In the name of all of them (and in our name too, of course, God bless him for his impetuosity) Simon Peter speaks up, and, like Joshua in the first reading, pronounces what he has chosen, regardless of what others may do: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And we have come to believe and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.” There is the choice, made by and on behalf of that tiny remnant of faithful followers; and it has persisted down the centuries, not always a majority, but enough to keep the message audible. What is your choice going to be, this week?

Southern Crossword #667

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

reason to suspect that he suffered from dangerously high emotional cholesterol or that he carried inside him some congenital heart disease that had not yet manifested itself clearly and had not been medically or psychologically diagnosed.

In the face of this, we question ourselves as to why we were not more alert or attentive to his person and did not pick up on any symptoms manifesting themselves.

Sometimes a potentially fatal disease can lurk beneath the surface and remain unobserved until it is too late. Such is the nature, often, of deadly heart attacks and strokes.

While his death leaves us feeling raw, struggling for understanding, at a loss to explain how this could happen, and needing to resist the temptation to project a certain anger at him for keeping his disease so private and hidden, we can also understand that much of his disease was hidden from him too. We understand that the anatomy of this particular kind of death has within itself a particularly pernicious pathology which demands of its victim precisely this propensity to hide what he is undergoing from those closest to him.

And this asks for our understanding: Everyone’s life is its own mystery, and not always open to outside understanding.

Moreover, emotional heart attacks and strokes, like their biological equivalents, are not willed and claim their victims against their will.

John was a gentle soul who wished no one any harm and tried to do no one any harm. He, no doubt, is as grieved as we are that his unwanted death has caused so much pain. But, no doubt too, he asks for our continued love and affection and, especially, for our understanding.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your local mental health association.

It is hard to lose loved ones to suicide, but we should not also lose the truth and warmth of their mystery and their memory.

St John Paul II Pilgrimage to Poland Southern Cross

Nicholas King SJ

ACRoSS

1. Countenance that’s less in value? (4) 3. Kind of saint in rota plan (8) 9. It’s paid for clerical services (7) 10. Establish something deceptive? (3-2) 11. Care reported about what you use at second hearing (4,8) 13. Remits what make you worthy (6) 15. Models infrequently (6) 17. Then Paul icon is not written as it sounds (12) 20. Is she the one to hoard?

(5) 21. Incorporeal and shadowy (7) 22. Odour of the dying incense? (8) 23. Employed (4)

DoWn

1. The sprinter may get it in Lent (4,4) 2. Deep and ... and even (carol) (5) 4. He has a bad habit (6) 5. Revival Sunday? (12) 6. Bible lesson undelivered?

(3,4) 7. The Lord be on my ...

(Liturgy) (4) 8. Confidential conversation with the cardiologist (5,2,5) 12. In an occupation (8) 14. Hasten below, being feeble (3,4) 16. He’s accepted into the brotherhood (6) 18. Quotes first person lost in cities (5) 19. Takes in turns to find vessels (4) Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

T

HE Sunday School teacher is telling her class the parable of the Prodigal Son. She especially emphasises the resentful attitude of the elder brother.

As she tells the class of the feast held to celebrate the return of the wayward bother, she notes that not everybody was celebrating. “And can anyone tell me who that was?”

Little Thabo raises his hand. “I know,” he says triumphantly. “It was the fatted calf!”

A journey to the places of St John Paul II’s life and devotions, led by a Bishop who knows Poland intimately.

Led by Bishop Stan Dziuba 13 - 21 May 2016

Kraków | Wadowice (on St john Paul ii’s birthday) | Black Madonna of Częstochowa | niepokalanów (St Maximilan Kolbe) | Divine Mercy Sanctuary | Warsaw | Kalwaria Zebrzydowska (with miraculous icon) | Zakopane | Wieliczka Salt Mine (with Mass!)