The
S outher n C ross
March 23 to March 29, 2016
Holy icon goes out from SA to the world
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reg No. 1920/002058/06
No 4969
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South Africa’s first cardinal remembered
Where we can find Jesus in Holy Land
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The editor and staff of The Southern Cross wish all readers, advertisers, Associates, pilgrims, supporters, contributors and friends a blessed Easter filled with the hope and joy of our Risen Lord.
Race debate must take place By MaNdla ZiBi
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T is still very difficult for whites in South Africa to accept what “white privilege” means, according to a Jesuit priest and commentator. Many whites attribute their success to hard work in the past, but the truth is that because of skin colour, they had more opportunities than blacks, Fr Russell Pollitt SJ, director of the Jesuit Institute, told a dialogue entitled “Continuing the Conversations that Matter— Racism in South Africa”. The meeting was co-hosted by the Jesuit Institute, the Goedgedacht Forum and the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation in Johannesburg. “It is important that these spaces are created so that genuine conversations can take place about an issue that will be critical to the future of this country,” Fr Pollitt told the gathering, which featured a number of educational staff from Catholic schools. “It is not about how hard you worked, but how, because of your skin colour, you had many more opportunities and open doors than black people. That’s what the [apartheid] system did, it gave some people a headstart in life—not on merit but on skin colour—and we cannot deny this,” said Fr Pollitt He argued that racism, and how we deal with it now, will determine our collective future much more than economics or politics. Fr Pollitt’s comments came after the bishops of Southern Africa issues a landmark pastoral letter on racism, titled “A Call to Overcome Racism”, which was reproduced in full in last week’s Southern Cross. In it, the bishops said that repentance, spiritual healing and hard conversations are necessary to respond to racism and racial divisions in South Africa. “In this Jubilee Year of Mercy, as Church in Southern Africa, we commit ourselves to a credible and comprehensive conversation on racism,” the bishops said. “We realise that this is not an easy conversation, one that many of us may prefer to avoid.” This means acknowledging racism in the Church before, during and after apartheid. The bishops noted that such conversations can evoke emotions such as self-justification, self-righteousness, guilt and denial, or anger and sadness. They called on “the faithful and all people of goodwill to do all in our power to address the problem of racism in our society and in the Church”. The bishops also encouraged South Africans to address the social trauma resulting from colonialism and apartheid. “We need to acknowledge the link between race, power and privilege,” they said. “We need to redress urgently the economic inequalities present in our society as a result of past racial discriminatory laws and practices; to allay unfounded fears and promote justice.” A participant in the Jesuit Institute/Goedgedacht meeting said that whites need to realise that they are not off the hook, and that they “must face South Africa’s racist past and take responsibility for a system they were part of perpetuating”. “Some white South Africans believe that we should all ‘just get on with it’, live as if we are colour-blind, and that will make everything
The finding of the empty tomb by the women is represented in this large relief cut into Mokattam mountain at the huge semi-cave church of st simon’s at the Coptic monastery of st simon the Tanner in Cairo, Egypt. reliefs are carved into the stone throughout the monastery complex by a Polish artist known as Mario. Easter, the feast of the resurrection of Christ, is celebrated this year on March 27 in the latin-rite. (Photo: Günther simmermacher) OK,” another speaker said. “It’s not OK! That just entrenches stereotypes and perpetuates the lie we are all living.” Many expressed their frustration with what they called the “lie of the Rainbow Nation”, saying it just makes things worse and is behind the current rage in society, especially at tertiary institutions. “We remain a divided and segregated society, and it is not all ‘living happily ever after’ as some would have us believe,” an educator added. Felicity Harrison, director of the Goedgedacht Forum, said these kinds of conversations “open up spaces for South Africans to talk about something which is highly sensitive yet fundamental in the country today”. Luke Spiropoulos of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation gave a talk on the foundation’s work, specifically about the launch of the Anti-Racism Network South Africa, of which the Jesuit Institute is a member.
Pope: New annulment rules ‘pastoral’ By ElisE Harris
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OPE Francis has reiterated that the streamlined annulment process is pastoral, and seeks to reach out to families suffering from a broken marriage. “These measures have an eminently pastoral goal: to show the Church’s concern for those faithful who are waiting for a quick verification on their marital status,” the pope told a Vatican workshop on the new norms which he introduced in August. It is out of both charity and mercy, as well as lived experience, that the Church decided to create the new, streamlined annulment process, which aims to grow closer to persons with a failed marriage, and to meet “their legitimate desire for justice”, the pope said.
Pope Francis stressed the new procedures were created with a pastoral intention, and that for divorced couples living in a second union, the “most important” concern of the Church is that they don’t feel ostracised, but continue to participate in the ecclesial community. In his speech, Pope Francis noted that many divorced couples seeking an annulment found the process overly complicated, and many encountered difficultly in accessing the appropriate ecclesial judicial structures. Because of this, he said, he decided to streamline the process, putting into place a new set of norms aimed at simplifying the procedures so couples aren’t left waiting for an answer, often harassed by doubt.—CNA