The
S outhern C ross
September 23 to September 29, 2015
Reg no. 1920/002058/06
no 4943
www.scross.co.za
Priest says daily Mass behind red tape
Page 5
R7,00 (incl VAT RSA)
Thoughts from the ‘wedding whisperer’
Daswa beatification round-up
Page 7
Pages 8-9
Benedict Daswa a new dawn for South Africa By STUART GRAHAM
T Bishop João Rodrigues of Tzaneen holds up the apostolic letter from Pope Francis declaring Benedict daswa a blessed, eliciting a resounding cheer from the crowds at the martyr’s beatification in his home town of Tshitanini, outside of Thohoyandou. The faithful may now implore the intercession of daswa in their prayers.
Pope: A shortcut to sainthood By Cindy Wooden
S
OMEONE who has never ever spoken ill of another could be declared a saint right away, Pope Francis said. The Catholic Church’s sainthood process is long, complicated and usually requires the recognition of a miracle attributed to the candidate’s intercession, Pope Francis said at Mass. “But if you find a person who [has] never, never, never spoken ill of another, you could canonise him or her immediately.” The pope’s homily focused on Jesus’ saying: “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?” In other passages of the Bible, he said, Jesus tells his disciples: “Judge not and you will not be judged; do not condemn and you will not be condemned.” The pope told the small congregation in the chapel of his residence that he could imagine them saying: “Father, that’s beautiful, but how do you do it, where do you start?” The first step, he said, is to learn how to
“accuse yourself”, to look honestly at your own faults, ask the Lord’s forgiveness and praise him for his mercy. “The Lord teaches us this with this image of the splinter in the eye of your brother and the beam in your own eye,” the pope said. “The first step is to accuse yourself” and not presume to be “the judge” pointing out the faults of others. In the day’s Gospel reading from St Luke, Jesus describes as “hypocrites” those who notice only the faults of others. “The man and woman who don’t learn to acknowledge their own failings become hypocrites. Everyone, eh? Everyone starting from the pope on down,” he said. Recognising one’s own faults and weaknesses, the pope said, is the first task in “this beautiful work of reconciliation, peace, tenderness, goodness, forgiveness, magnanimity and mercy that Jesus Christ brought”. Everyone, he said, needs to ask God for the grace and the strength to not speak ill of others, to stop when tempted to point out another’s faults.—CNS
HE beatification of Benedict Daswa is a new dawn against the dehumanisation caused by witchcraft and “magical shortcuts”. Pretoria Archbishop William Slattery, the spokesman for the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, said the beatification of Daswa on September 13 was a call for South Africans to work hard and to find meaning by caring for their families and communities. “The beatification is a call that we must get real in South Africa and that if we work hard, like Benedict Daswa, our country will become marvelleous,” Archbishop Slattery said. Daswa showed that there is no such thing as a magical shortcut. “We have to get away from witchcraft and ritual killings. The way forward is through work and not through muti. “His beatification is a new dawn against dehumanisation that comes with witchcraft and sorcery. “We must have the care and love for others that Benedict Daswa had. We must be resolute in that.” The beatification in a field in Tshitanini village outside Thohoyandou on September 13 took place in front a crowd of 35 000. Archbishop Slattery said the guests from Rome, who included Cardinal Angelo Amato, the pope’s Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, had told the Southern African bishops that the beatification was “the best that they had attended”. The singing at the event, which was attended by all Daswa’s eight children, his brother and mother, could be heard from kilometres away. Many took busses from round South Africa to attend the event. Fr Augustine O’Brien, who baptised Daswa in 1963, travelled from Ireland for the beatification. Fr John Finn, who performed Daswa’s funeral, also attended. “We have had thousands of saints, but in the whole of human history I doubt we have had present a mother, all children, his brother, sisters, the priest who baptised him and the priest who performed his funeral,” Archbishop Slattery said.
“The bishops were deeply touched by the turnout and the joyous reaction of the people. “Many say it was once in a lifetime event. The visitors from Rome thought it was one of best services they had taken part in. “There is a saying that one saint is worth a thousand sermons. We had 35 000 sermons. It was a wonderful experience,”Archbishop Slattery said. Daswa’s mother, Ida Daswa, who sat next to Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa during the ceremony, has kept her family together with her own hard work, Archbishop Slattery said. “She was silent during the ceremony. I think she was very close to Benedict yesterday.” Fr Finn recalled how Daswa had delivered a bakkie load of cabbage to him on the day he was killed. “The day before the beatification Fr Finn visited the church that Daswa built and where his new grave is. He told me that he cried the whole day. “He remembered 25 years ago with sadness, anger and frustration. At this ceremony he cried for joy,” the archbishop said. Archbishop Slattery said Daswa represented a challenge to young men in South Africa. “He is saying to young men in South Africa that they should take their lives seriously. Take care of your families. It is a man’s responsibility to take care of wives and children and to love them. “Take care of your community. Do your jobs with serious responsibility. “Daswa is a big challenge to all of us, especially men.” Daswa was a tremendous worker who rose from a poor family and through hard work, trained as teacher and became the principal of a school. “He had pity on children who came to school hungry and grew a vegetable garden which he used to feed those children. “He built a special church for our Lord. He formed a school around Christ. He formed a life around him guided by Christ. The peace, enthusiasm and joy at the beatification speak of something deeper, something more lasting, Archbishop Slattery said. “What happened yesterday touched the human heart. “We must keep alight the memory of our saints and witnesses to Christ.”
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