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Church gets taxis in antislavery drive By MAndLA ZiBi

PRIEST blessed taxis, drivers and owners in Hartebeespoort, North West, in aid of the fight against human trafficking in South Africa. The ceremony was organised by the Counter Trafficking in Persons (CTIP), a department of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference as part of its “Taxis Against Human Trafficking” initiative. It coincided with a three-day conference on human trafficking in the area hosted by CTIP with the Leadership of Consecrated Life. “Because it is one the biggest movers of people around the country and the whole Southern African region, the taxi industry is a very important link in the fight against human trafficking,” said Sr Melanie O’Connor of CTIP. “The taxi campaign is a good opportunity to spread the message about human trafficking and to make taxi drivers and owners our allies in the fight against this scourge.” Sr O’Connor told of a taxi driver who noticed that a woman who used his taxi almost daily was accompanied by a different child each time. “He realised that something was wrong and contacted the police. The investigation ended up with the National Prosecuting Authority which discovered that the woman was a trafficker. She was arrested and convicted, and is now serving time in prison.” At the ceremony, Mgr Barney McAcleer blessed a number of taxis at the local taxi rank. The taxis belong to the Brits Local and Long Distance Taxi Association. The taxi men also received free CTIP-branded T-shirts, caps and stickers for their taxis. Hartebeespoort community leader Mmoni More said both drivers and owners are very enthusiastic about their role in combating human trafficking. “They realise that they are transporting and putting people in danger without being aware of it. So they grabbed with both hands this opportunity to learn and also create community awareness themselves,” she said. “The campaign also empowers drivers on what to do in the event of an actual case of trafficking. They can now call the toll free number and not have to disclose their identity.”

Mgr Barney McAleer with taxi drivers and owners who are commited to fighting human trafficking. According to reports, South Africa is a favoured destination for trafficked women and children between ages 13-23. Sr O’Connor insisted the problem is prevalent in South Africa. “The number of cases being reported suggests it is on the increase. The situation may in fact be far more chronic and severe than we know,” she warned. Issues that came up at the conference included the need for more funding and creating awareness especially in rural areas. “There is an assumption that people now know enough about human trafficking. This is dangerous. We need to intensify our efforts educating the youth especially. They are vulnerable and easily duped by the recruiters,” Sr O’Connor said. Hinting that many victims of human trafficking did not even know that they are victims of a crime, Sr O’Connor said the conference also highlighted the issue of abuse of culture and of culture itself as a potential distorter of reality. “The issue of ukuthwala, for instance, came up quite strongly at the conference. Children are exploited in a distorted net of culture. This includes an aberrant form of a customary practice used to bypass extensive and lengthy marriage rituals, but now reduced to outright abduction of young girls,” she said. She identified the Eastern Cape and the Umzimkulu area in KwaZulu-Natal as the hotspots in this form of trafficking. Sr O’Connor said the CTIP would continue engaging with other taxi associations around the country on the issue of human trafficking.

Pope Francis shows a drawing given by a child as he answers questions from journalists on his flight from the Greek island of Lesbos. The drawing was given by a child at the Moria refugee camp in Lesbos where the pope met 250 people. The pope concluded his visit by bringing 12 refugees from Greece to italy with him. (Photo: Paul Haring/CnS)

Pope’s refugees want to go home By Cindy Wooden

HE word “dream” is the one used most often by the six Syrian adults Pope Francis brought back to Italy with him from a refugee camp in Greece. The couples—who asked to be identified by only their first names, Hasan and Nour, Ramy and Suhila, Osama and Wafa—and their six children have enrolled in Italian language classes. All three families saw their homes bombarded in Syria and all three arrived in Greece from Turkey on overloaded rubber boats months ago. Being chosen from among thousands of refugees to come to Italy felt like “a dream”, said Wafa. Osama is dreaming of peace in his homeland. “We want peace in Syria so we can go home,” he told reporters outside the language and culture school run by the Catholic Sant’Egidio Community. In agreement with the Italian government, the Rome-based lay community, along with the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy, has been operating a “humanitarian corridor” for vulnerable Syrian refugees—the elderly, families with sick children, women travelling alone with their children. The Vatican asked Sant’Egidio to help it screen refugees in Greece and choose families that both the Greek and Italian governments would provide with the necessary

travel papers in time for the papal flight. Asked if his gesture was not really so small as to be insignificant, Pope Francis told reporters that people used to tell Bl Teresa of Kolkata that what she was doing was meaningless when there was an ocean of need in the world. “And she responded, ‘It’s a drop in the ocean, but after this drop, the ocean won’t be the same,’” the pope said. “I’ll respond the same way. It’s a little gesture. But all of us, men and women, must make these little gestures in order to extend a hand to those in need.” When asked what he thought of the head of the Catholic Church sponsoring three Muslim refugee families, Osama said, “Peace has no religion. If you think about it, we are all human.” Nour, an engineer who studied in France and hopes eventually to go there, responded to a similar question by saying, “No other religious leader in the world helped us like the pope did.” Her husband Hasan said: “We are Muslim and, unfortunately, our people did not deal with us like the pope did,” he said. Hasan and Nour decided to take their 2year-old son Riad and flee after they were stopped by members of the Islamic State. Hasan said he was told he must fight, “make jihad,” but “I didn’t want to kill anyone. I am an engineer, not a soldier, so I must escape from Syria.”—CNS

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The Southern Cross, April 27 to May 3, 2016

LOCAL

Alpha moves into video series By MAndLA ZiBi

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HE world-famous Alpha programme is being updated for a new generation with the launch of a series of 16 new 30-minute documentary-style films which will be offered to churches as an alternative to the traditional version. The Alpha Film Series, produced at a cost of £1,5 million (just over R31 million), is presented by TV presenter Gemma Hunt and young Church of England clergyman Toby Flint. All the funding for the film was raised through donations from around the world. Alpha pioneer Nicky Gumbel features strongly, presenting some of the key material. Alpha is a series of sessions exploring the Christian faith, typically run over 11 weeks. Each session looks at a different question around faith and is designed to create conversation. 29 million people have tried Alpha in 169 countries and 112 languages. Anyone is free to participate. It runs in cafés, churches, universities, homes, bars—almost anywhere people can be found. The first episode of the Alpha Film Series became available free online on April 14, and

Renowned adventurer and television presenter Bear Grylls is among the contributors to the Alpha film series. new episodes will be released every week through April and May. It will later be available in DVD format and also in Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin and Hindi by the end of 2016. According to Mark ElsdonDew of Alpha International, the new series covers all the familiar Alpha topics including Who is Jesus?, How can we have faith?, Why and how do I pray?, How does God guide us?, and Who is the Holy Spirit? “The films feature inspiring stories and interviews from all around the world. Filming

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took place in Canada, Ireland, Austria, Italy, France, India, Britain, Hong Kong, Israel, USA, Chile and Kenya,” Mr Elsdon-Dew said. Contributors include: • Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, archbishop of Vienna. • Fr Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher to the papal household. • Bear Grylls, worldrenowned adventurer, writer and television presenter. • Julia Immonen, Sky Sports news presenter and double Guinness World Record At-

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Inspiring teacher offers a whole new world By MAndLA ZiBi

POOR community in Dysselsdorp, just outside Oudtshoorn, is starting to see signs of hope thanks to the work of an inspirational teacher. Johnny Claassen heads an aftercentre for children, is also the parish catechetical leader and the deanery chairman, all rolled into one—and he does all this on a volunteer basis. Dysselsdorp is a dry town 25km outside Oudtshoorn. It is plagued by all kinds of social problems, including unemployment, foetal alcohol syndrome and under-education. But ten years ago Mr Claassen, now a head of department at the local primary school, refused to give up. Together with the diocese of Oudtshoorn, he set up an aftercare centre for 350 children. “The parents had no time for the kids. Most of the time, in fact, kids were absent from school. The situation was just dire,” Mr Claassen recalled. It was then that he approached Bishop Edward Adams, now retired, for help. “Eventually we found the money for the aftercare and that is when the whole project started,” the soft-spoken educator said. The initial funding came from the Dutch Foundation and other private donors. The project is currently partly funded by the National Lottery. “We now have 25 remedial com-

Johnny Claassen puters, musical instruments, art and needlework classes. The girls have their own dance group. We also cater for lunch for the kids. You can see that we have made a difference in their lives,” Mr Claassen said. “We are also grateful to Bishop Frank de Gouveia, the present bishop, for his unwavering and precious support for the project,” he added.

The Southern Cross, April 27 to May 3, 2016

LOCAL

ZimCatholicSA plan August congress By FARAyi MATondo

T (From left) Lindiwe Maduna, head of emolweni Primary School, is presented with a cheque and educational kits by Tony Watkins of the Plymouth diocese in Britain. Mr Watkins is a patron of Cardinal Wilfrid napier’s (right) Zulu Missions initiative.

KZN and English schools twinned By MAndLA ZiBi

N innovative communication and twinning project is underway between the impoverished Emolweni parish community in the archdiocese of Durban and a counterpart in England. As part of this project, Grade 5 and 6 Emolweni Primary School learners will begin a conversation through Facebook and other electronic channels with those of Old Saints Primary School in Teignmouth, Plymouth diocese. This came out of a meeting between Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban and Tony Watkins, a patron of Cardinal Napier’s Zulu Missions initiative. At the meeting Mr Watkins handed over a donation of about R8 000 and educational materials to the Zulu Missions. “We are very excited about the idea,” he said. “The plan is for the South African kids to talk to their counterparts in the UK about all sorts of things they want to know about their lives. Once a conversation starts, we really don’t know what will come out of it. All kinds of positive spinoffs might ensue. “An official twinning of the two parishes will definitely benefit both sides but at the moment we are still feeling our way into this.” A recently retired maths professor at the University of Plymouth, Mr Watkins spent two days helping with teaching and other duties at Emolweni Primary School as part of his visit. He first came to South Africa in 2014. He had asked to meet Cardinal Napier and if possible visit a mission station or school. Within days of his arrival he met the cardinal on Christmas Eve, which led to him spending a “thrilling” time worshipping with locals at the different mission churches in Emolweni. “Through Fr David Sithole, the clergy head at Edwaleni-Emolweni mis-

sion, a visit was arranged for me to attend Mass at St Leo’s and St Helen’s, and see Emolweni Primary School,” he recollected. Emolweni encompasses the churches of St Helen and St Leo, and an outstation, St Aloysius. “I attended the 5:30 Mass on Christmas Eve at St Helen’s church and again, on Christmas Day the 8:30 Mass at St Leo’s, where the singing was glorious. I joined in with great gusto. Fr David asked me to speak to the congregation, which gave me an opportunity to share my experiences,” Mr Watkins said. He asked about the needs of the school. On being told about the great need for maths kits, he decided to make that a priority when he got back to England. In place of his retirement gift, he persuaded his university colleagues to help him buy maths kits. He returned to South Africa in June 2015, handing over the educational kits, including maths, literacy and life skills components, in the presence of Cardinal Napier, Deacon Lawrence Mthethwa and school principal Lindiwe Maduna. “I know it sounds clichéd, but sometimes you can really feel the hand of God on your shoulder. I am always grateful to be able to see the animated faces of the teachers and children as they work with these kits,” Mr Watkins said. He is also a trained Ignatian spiritual guide and with the Catholic chaplain of the University of Cape Town, is considering serving a term as a temporary assistant chaplain, to help with Ignatian formation among Catholic and other students. As part of his Durban visit, Mr Watkins was slated to lead a week of guided prayer at the community of Mother of Peace, which cares for HIV/Aids orphans as well sexually abused and abandoned children in the area.

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HE second ZimCatholicSA congress is to be held from August 26-28 at St Anne’s Retreat Centre in Krugersdorp. Thousands of Zimbabweans are expected to attend the gathering, under the theme, “In this Year of Mercy, a little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just”, drawing from a quote by Pope Francis. The congress follows the inaugural event in 2013, which was graced by the presence of archbishops Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg,

William Slattery of Pretoria, and Robert Ndlovu of Harare. “Congress preparations are proceeding well,” said congress task team chair Precious Moyo. “The task team is working tirelessly to ensure the event is adequately planned and shared responsibilities are executed well.” Speakers from South Africa and Zimbabwe are still to be finalised. Participants will learn, share and discuss on the theme of the Jubilee Year of Mercy. The programme will also include music, dance, men’s drama, social interaction, reflec-

tions, poetry, confessions, baptismal renewal, adoration, daily participation in the Eucharistic celebration and healing. Zimbabweans from all walks of life at the congress will have time to celebrate and enhance their faith, the organisers said. The congress fee, including cost for food and bedding for the three days, is R600 per adult and R200 for children up to 17 years. n For registrations and more information contact Desmond at 082 068 0931, Valeria at 082 507 3967 or Melania at 084 521 1160.

Radio Veritas’ head gets his Gogos’ Day By MAndLA ZiBi

VER 200 elderly filled a big hall at the cathedral of Christ the King in Berea, Johannesburg, to celebrate Radio Veritas’s annual Gogos’ Day. The event also coincided with the radio station’s AGM and a belated birthday celebration for the head of the station, Fr Emil Blaser OP. The gogos and others who attended enjoyed a three-course meal, live entertainment and body massages. “The day was made possible by an ongoing generous donation by Tshidi Ramogase, who is a Methodist but fervent listener of Radio Veritas,” said Lebo Wa Majahe of ADnews, the newspaper of the Johannesburg archdiocese. “She wanted to do something nice for callers to the station and that is how the idea of the annual Gogos’ Day came about,” said Ms Wa Majahe. The event is now in

elderly women enjoyed Radio Veritas’s annual Gogos’ day at Christ the King cathedral in Johannesburg. its third consecutive year. At the AGM, Fr Blaser reported on the successes of the year and outlined future plans for Radio Veritas. “Among the highlights was the revelation that the listenership of the radio station is continuing to grow and drawing new listeners daily both from the Catholic

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Church and other denominations alike,” Ms Wa Majahe said. Fr Blaser also reported that Icasa had renewed the station’s licence and they had another four years to “evangelise through radio”. Among the guests of honour were the Radio Veritas board and Ms Ramogase’s family.

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The Southern Cross, April 27 to May 3, 2016

INTERNATIONAL

How media’s anti-muslim campaign helps terrorists C HURCH officials in Pakistan have backed a government plea to the international community not to demonise all Muslims because of acts of terrorism committed by a few extremists, reported ucanews.com. A negative publicity campaign against Muslims by the Western media is helping extremists fuel hatred against Muslims worldwide, they said. Targeting the whole Muslim community because of acts of terrorism helps the aims of terrorists, Fr Aftab James Paul, former director of the Faisalabad Diocesan Commission for Interreligious Dialogue, said. “This is exactly what they want. The recent bombing of innocent people in a park of Lahore has proven that they do not care for either Christian or Muslims. So blaming Muslims for terrorism will further alienate innocent people from the rest of the world,” he said. “We are also witnessing an increase in the instances of physical and psychological violence against Muslim minorities and their busi-

Pakistani Muslims pray during Ramadan in Karachi. (Photo: Rehan Khan, ePA/CnS) nesses and places of worship. They are being alienated and marginalised. Many of them live in fear.” Mr Aziz said the Western media were to blame for the situation and that terrorists were exploiting this for political gain. “Western media’s ignorant portrayals of Muslims provide fuel to this campaign of hate and bigotry. We see the unfortunate rise of polit-

ical opportunism by spreading fear and xenophobia,” Mr Aziz said. “If left unchecked, such instances and political shortsightedness will grow rapidly in the years to come. It is our collective responsibility to reverse these trends,” Mr Aziz said. He called on the organisation to take a leading role in fostering interfaith dialogue. He said terrorism cannot and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilisation or ethnic group. Fr James Channan, director of the Dominican Peace Centre in Lahore, said all Muslims, wherever they are, face a backlash due to actions of a few extremist groups. “All the recent attacks in the West and in our country have been claimed by Muslim militants. They are responsible for defaming their community,” he said. “The media should stop demonising terrorists over their religious affiliation; terrorism is condemnable no matter who does it. All Muslims should not be punished for that, only those responsible must be apprehended and brought to justice.”—CNS

Global partnerships to end trafficking By BeTH GRiFFin

UMAN trafficking is a $150 billion annual business that affects every country on earth and its eradication requires both traditional and atypical partnerships, speakers at an United Nations conference said. The Holy See mission to the UN and the Santa Marta Group cosponsored the forum in which more than two dozen speakers addressed “Ending Human Trafficking by 2030: The Role of Global Partnerships in Eradicating Modern Slavery”. Human trafficking encompasses slavery and includes recruitment and transportation of vulnerable people using force, deception or coercion for the purposes of sexual exploitation, forced labour or service, servitude or the removal of organs. Currently, more than 21 million people are held in human slavery, said Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, England. The number compares to 10 million to 12 million people enslaved during the trans-Atlantic slave trade of the 19th century, according to Kevin Hyland, the United Kingdom’s Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner. Cardinal Nichols said people of goodwill must “rescue, protect, assist and serve the poorest of the Father’s children who have been sold

Cardinal Vincent nichols of Westminster, england, and actress Mira Sorvino at a conference on human trafficking at the un. (Photo: Gregory Shemitz/CnS) into slavery, even as Joseph was sold into slavery in the beginning”. Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Nichols to lead the Santa Marta Group, an alliance of international police chiefs and bishops from 36 countries working with civil society to eradicate human trafficking and modern-day slavery. Cardinal Nichols said women religious in London worked with Scotland Yard in an “unlikely partnership” aimed at rescuing trafficked individuals and prosecuting their traffickers. He said early concerns that police would prosecute the victims faded over time as trust grew between the two groups. Actress Mira Sorvino, a UN goodwill ambassador for the Global Fight Against Human Trafficking since 2009, said victims cannot wait

weeks or years for solutions. She contrasted the enormity of the problem with the paucity of the response. She said any tenable solution will require a combination of political will, increased funding, attention to the root causes, and holding perpetrators criminally liable for slavery and trafficking. The Santa Marta Group brings together the competence and duty of law enforcement, people with decision-making authority to implement strategic change, and the community and compassion of the Church, resulting in huge incremental efficiencies in the fight against modern-day slavery. He said the cooperation is an example of the global partnerships that are essential for the UN to achieve its Sustainable Development Goals. The 17 goals adopted in September 2015 commit nations to a 15-year effort to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. There are specific targets within the goals to eliminate violence against women, eradicate forced labour, and end modern slavery and human trafficking. Of his own awareness of the prevalence of slavery, Cadinal Nichols said: “So much is shocking, not the least of which, there is probably no town in the UK where slave labour is not being used… probably in the US, too.”—CNS

People demonstrate against the Austrian government’s planned reintroduction of border controls at the Brenner Pass in Austria. (Photo: Jan Hetfleisch, ePA/CnS)

Austrian Church decries Italy’s border barrier By JonATHAn LuxMooRe

USTRIAN church leaders criticised their government for rebuilding border controls in a bid to keep out refugees. Construction on road barriers and a registration hall at the Brenner Pass, the main route to Austria from Italy, are expected to be completed by late May. “We certainly face a significant challenge, but the answer cannot lie in saying goodbye to human rights,” said Bishop Benno Elbs of Feldkirch, who heads the Austrian Church’s Caritas agency. “Concerns and fears among parts of our population must be taken seriously and met with objective information. But people should fear the polarisation of society, not the refugees.” A spokesman for Austria’s Ecumenical Council, which includes the Catholic Church, said the frontier barriers risked becoming “a new symbol of division” in Europe. “Refugees aren’t enemies, but needy people seeking safety,” the spokesman, Erich Leitenberger, said. “It isn’t acceptable to leave the Euro-

pean Union’s southern memberstates, especially Greece and Italy, carrying this burden alone. The European project will fail if we don’t cooperate.” Church leaders on the Italian side of the pass also criticised the barriers. Archbishop Francesco Moraglia of Venice told Italy’s La Repubblica daily that he regretted “the elites are manifestly unable to act together” in protecting refugees. Bishop Ivo Muser of Bolzano-Bressanone, whose Italian diocese borders Austria, warned the refugee influx would last “not a few months, but years” and said a new assertion of national interests risked “building fences in heads and hearts”. “It’s understandable there are fears, uncertainties and difficulties with this issue, but they shouldn’t be used as a political tool,” Bishop Muser said. “When individual countries pull back, leaving the common responsibility to just a few, these few cannot cope,” he added. “Either we tackle this challenge as a community or we are doomed to fail.”—CNS

New Eucharistic miracle approved in Poland

BLEEDING host that “has the hallmarks of a Eucharistic miracle” has been approved for veneration in Poland. The announcement was made by Bishop Zbigniew Kiernikowski of Legnica. On Christmas Day 2013, a consecrated host fell to the floor, the bishop said. It was picked up and placed in a container with water. Soon after, red stains appeared on the host. Bishop Stefan Cichy of Legnica, Bishop Kiernikowski’s predecessor, created a commission to monitor the host. In February 2014, a small fragment was placed on a corporal and underwent testing by various research institutes.

The final medical statement by the Department of Forensic Medicine found: “In the histopathological image, the fragments were found containing the fragmented parts of the cross striated muscle. It is most similar to the heart muscle.” Tests also determined the tissue to be of human origin, and found that it bore signs of distress. Bishop Kiernikowski presented the matter to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In April, in accordance with the Holy See’s recommendations, he asked parish priest Fr Andrzej Ziombrze “to prepare a suitable place for the relics so that the faithful could venerate it”.—CNA

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The Southern Cross, April 27 to May 3, 2016

INTERNATIONAL

Pope, Orthodox leaders listen to cries of refugees A

By Cindy Wooden

LTHOUGH their speeches were punctuated with policy appeals, Pope Francis and Orthodox leaders focused their visit to the Greek island of Lesbos on the faces, stories and drawings of refugees. Pope Francis, Orthodox ecumenical patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens and all Greece spent more time greeting the refugees individually than they did giving speeches. The gratitude of those men, women and children was clear in their smiles, tears and sobbing pleas for help. The pope and Orthodox leaders visited Moria refugee camp, a facility that a year ago was an open centre when migrants and refugees could file requests for asylum. Archbishop Ieronymos, speaking at the refugee camp, said he hoped to never again “see children washing up on the shores of the Aegean”. The Orthodox archbishop spoke with pride of the Greek people who have opened their hearts and even their homes to the refugee. But Archbishop Ieronymos was not so appreciative of the European Union and the international community, which continue to pledge help in dealing with the massive influx of refugees, but also have closed more and more of their borders. For Patriarch Bartholomew, the

HIV fight impeded by stigma, fake drugs By CARoL GLATZ

Pope Francis, Patriarch Bartholomew and Archbishop ieronymos throw wreaths into the sea during a service in memory of migrants who have died trying to reach europe, on the island of Lesbos, Greece. (Photo: Paul Haring/CnS) visit to the camp was summarised as solidarity in tears. “We have wept as we witnessed the sympathy and sensitivity of the people of Lesbos and other islands. But we have also wept as we saw the hard-heartedness of our fellow brothers and sisters—your fellow brothers and sisters—close borders and turn away.” “The world will be judged by the way it has treated you,” said the patriarch, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians. Pope Francis told those interned at the camp that they wanted to call the world’s attention to the refugee

crisis in the hopes “that the world will heed these scenes of tragic and indeed desperate need, and respond in a way worthy of our common humanity.” The pope urged the refugees: “Do not lose hope!” He told the refugees, most of whom are Muslim, “We Christians love to tell the story of the good Samaritan, a foreigner who saw a man in need and immediately stopped to help. For us, it is a story about God’s mercy, which is meant for everyone, for God is the all-merciful,” he said, using a familiar Muslim description of God.—CNS

Young hero nun dies in quake

IX members of the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother, including a young nun from Northern Ireland, are among the dead in the strongest earthquake to strike Ecuador since 1979. Sr Clare Theresa Crockett, 33, of Londonderry, died while leading children to safety in a school at Playa Prieta, where she was teaching the youngsters to play the guitar, according to the Spain-based order. Her body was found under rubble about 36 hours after the magnitude 7,8 earthquake struck the Pacific Coast region of the country. Five Ecuadorean postulants also died in the collapse. The order identified them by their first names: Jazmina, Maria Augusta, Maira, Valeria and Catalina. The six women were among at least 272 people who died in the massive earthquake that struck com-

A man holds a sign promoting HiV/Aids awareness in Peshawar, Pakistan. (Photo: Arshad Arbab, ePA/CnS)

Sr Clare Theresa Crockett munities in the northern part of the country. Authorities reported that nearly 3 000 people were injured and

that an unknown number of buildings were destroyed or damaged. The Independent daily in London reported that Sr Crockett wanted to be an actress and wrote and acted in local theatre productions. She admitted to spending her weekends attending parties before joining the Sister Servants of the Home of the Mother. She discovered the religious order by accident when she signed on for a free 10-day trip to Spain, thinking it was a chance to party. After learning it was a pilgrimage with mostly middle-aged women to the order’s 16th-century monastery, she tried to back out, but ended up attending and discovered her religious vocation. The Sister Servants of the Home of the Mother order said in a statement that it mourned the loss of its six members, but realised that “death is not the end of the path”.—CNS

VIVA SAFARIS

HE fight against HIV/Aids is being hampered by continued stigma against those who are infected, a lack of access to appropriate medical care and fake antiretroviral drugs peddled on the black market, said activists taking part in a Caritas Internationalis conference. Caritas brought together representatives of faith-based groups from all over the world to hammer out a “road map” indicating the best ways to promote or provide early diagnosis and treatment for HIV, especially in children. Loretto Sister Mary Owens, executive director of Nyumbani, which provides care and support in Kenya for HIV/Aids survivors, said that despite awareness campaigns and action over the decades, stigma is still a huge problem in Kenya, she said. Having HIV “is purely a medical condition”, she said, and she wants

Pope: Fortune tellers can’t lead to eternal life By Junno ARoCHo eSTeVeS

ORTUNE tellers and seers cannot lead people to eternal life, and those who listen to such charlatans are not following Jesus, Pope Francis said. “Jesus warned us: ‘There will be others who will say the path of the Messiah is this or that’,” he said. ‘Do not listen! Do not hear them. I am the way!’ Jesus is the gate and the way; if we follow him, we will not be mistaken,” the pope said in his homily during Mass in the Domus Sanctae Marthae “Some people might say, ‘Yes, Father, but things are difficult. So many times I don’t see clearly what to do. I was told that there was a seer and I went here or I went there; I went to a fortune teller, who read the cards.’

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people to know “how unjust it is to stigmatise people, especially children, who are so vulnerable,” and who merely “inherited the virus”. Pope Francis would be the perfect advocate in persuading people to not be afraid of people with HIV/Aids, she said, pointing to how his appeals and gestures on behalf of migrants have alerted and mobilised people globally. Dr Win Tun Kyi, national director of Caritas Myanmar, said that with low drug supplies, doctors and clinics have to rely on cross-border purchases and the black market for many pharmaceuticals including basics like penicillin and vaccinations. These medications, he said, are “usually low quality and there are lots of fake drugs out there. I am a medical doctor and I don’t know if a drug is good” and where it really came from since there are no guaranteed controls.—CNS

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If you do this, you do not follow Jesus! You follow another who gives you another path, a different path,” the pope said. Pope Francis said there are three ways to distinguish Jesus’ voice from “the voice of those who are not Jesus, those who enter through the window, who are thieves, who destroy, who deceive”. “I will give you the simple recipe,” the pope said. Jesus’ voice is heard in the Beatitudes, in the command to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, and in the Lord’s Prayer. Those who teach anything contrary to the Beatitudes, the works of mercy and praying to God the father as Jesus taught is one who tries to sneak in through a different path, he explained.—CNS

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Let cantors lead psalm at Mass

Catholic media’s mission I

N April 13, just after a 2pm staff meeting, the editor of Catholic News Service (CNS) in Washington DC was escorted from his office and forced to resign his position. The reasons for the effective dismissal of Tony Spence, a prizewinning journalist with more than 30 years’ experience in the Catholic media, remain murky. Speculations centre on tweets posted by Mr Spence on the debate about legislated toilet etiquette for transgendered people in North Carolina. Reportedly, officials in the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, which owns CNS, acted on pressure from conservative groups in removing Mr Spence, even though his tweets did not contradict Church teachings (there are none on questions of who should be allowed to visit which restroom). It has been no secret that Mr Spence had long been under pressure from some quarters which wanted CNS articles to be more partisan on certain matters. The Southern Cross frequently reproduces material from CNS precisely because the news service’s content has been marked by the highest levels of journalistic integrity. With its excellent staff, we trust that these high standards will be maintained. It is of great concern, however, that a faithful servant of the Church like Mr Spence should have been treated so poorly by Catholic officials, without even being afforded a hearing—and in the Year of Mercy at that. He no doubt would have been treated with greater respect had he been a priest. Even more insidiously, the US bishops have dismissed a man of integrity who placed a high value on journalistic ethics, of which editorial balance is a crucial element, above the competing special interests of Catholics in a divided Church. Under Mr Spence, Catholic News Service did exactly what Catholic media is supposed to do: present the world through the lens of our faith. The Southern Cross defines itself along these lines. In presenting the world through the lens of our faith, we try to give a voice to the broad range in which Catholics live and understand their faith. Another mission of The Southern Cross is to communicate the

rich teachings of the Church, which are not just lifeless letters on a printed page but at work in all practising Catholics on a daily basis. But the teachings cannot be communicated simply by restating them. We must contextualise the teachings, giving them expression through the actions of the people we report on and through the thoughts of those who write in the newspaper. And sometimes this means that Catholics will exercise their right to appeal to the teaching authority of the Church, asking that a doctrine may find a new pastoral application or that a discipline be adapted to conform with present needs. The Catholic media is called to produce content through which the faithful can engage with their faith: by being edified, educated, evangelised and encouraged, by being challenged, and by being given a voice, even when that might ruffle feathers. The Southern Cross has the benefit and challenge of serving the whole Catholic community of South Africa in all its diversity. This newspaper is a meeting place in which competing points of view within Catholic thought must find accommodation. Our lively letters page is a testament to this public forum, bringing together fellow believers who otherwise might not encounter one another. Many faithful Catholics are battling with serious family issues, such as homosexuality, divorce, brokenness and so on. Pope Francis has called us to a deep understanding of these issues and to show mercy. The Southern Cross can show mercy by providing a forum for different viewpoints and for the reiteration of the reasons behind Church teaching. If an article brings clarity, shows how others carry a burden or provides enlightenment, then we are serving this important need. Invariably, a Catholic newspaper that seeks to do all this will attract some criticism. We are prepared to engage with well-reasoned critique. At the same time, it is our promise to our readers that The Southern Cross will remain the Catholic newspaper for all the faithful. And in this we are comforted to know that we do have the support of our bishops’ conference.

N many parishes in the country, the incorrect practice of reading the responsorial psalm together by the entire assembly takes place regularly. Psalms are meant to be sung by a cantor or one suitably musical, with the assembly coming in singing the antiphon. The practice of reading the psalm together encourages the bad habit of the congregation reading along, from the missal, with the one proclaiming, instead of listening to what is being proclaimed. One should familiarise oneself with the readings at home, from the missal, before coming to Mass. The congregation should not be burying their heads in the missal at Mass

Joy in Fr de Hahn’s stories

ITH reference to the letter “Spiritual food” (March 2) by Tlalane Manciya, like the eloquent writer I too have read and reread the writings of Fr Ralph de Hahn. The book Let Me Tell You a Story is especially relevant to everyday family life. All the stories, though simply written, have such a powerful message. They leave you refreshed, with renewed hope in yourself and your fellow man. I think all families should obtain a copy of this book to read to their children and teenagers, so that they may experience this spiritual food, Christ our Lord. Bravo, Fr Ralph, God has used you to reach people in a very special way. Irene Langeveld, Cape Town

Is clerical celibacy really necessary?

ELIBACY is not required in the Jewish faith in the service of God. Do we think that it makes us more holy not partaking of what God made good? Sexual intimacy is a gift of God, a first fruit. The Catholic priesthood denies it and it is a travesty of justice to make men abstain from the deepest love in service of the deepest God who sanctifies us all by his infinite grace. If we see someone in error, we should pray for them, not condemn them. We will see miracles when we do this. Pray too that the Catholic rule of celibacy does not anger God and embarrass us all because there is also a law that everything done in darkness will be exposed to his light, both the light of justice and of mercy. Romany Rubin, Pretoria

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SA reaction to the pope’s new family document BY MANDLA ZIBI

N the wake of Pope Francis’ exhortation on family life, Amoris Laetitia, Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria has urged the establishment of marriage and family desks in each diocese as part of a big campaign aimed at healthy marriages and a stable family life. “Pope Francis’ document exhales a spirit of the Gospel; it is concrete, full of mercy and seeks to strengthen marriage and family life,” Archbishop Slattery said in a statement. “Marriage is a joint project with God. The pope says: ‘No family drops down from heaven perfectly formed, families need to constantly grow and mature in the ability to love’.” Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban said the document requires local application. “Different cultural understandings of marriage within South Africa would give the Church here different challenges to those faced by churches in other parts of the world,” he told Catholic News Service. “What is new about this exhortation is its tone. It calls on all ministers to be warm and caring in the way they deal with people in difficult circumstances,” Cardinal Napier said. “There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Local churches are urged to adapt Church teachings from the synod to their particular circumstances.” In his final statement, Pope Francis suggested that divorced and civilly remarried Catholics could receive Communion from bishops and priests on a case-by-case basis. “Drawing from the discussion from the

Teketel Lobgicho Bulamo and Genet Yohannes Wolde were married in Sacred Heart church in Thohoyandou, Tzaneen diocese. Fr André Stephan MSC offfficiated. At their traditional wedding feast Fr Tekelmaiam Bulamo was the guest speaker. The couple is active in the Ethio-Eritrean Catholic Community, but also earned the praise of Sacred Heart parish council representative Mrs Tshilidzi who noted that they attend and support the parish as local Church members. Copies of Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation on the family, Amoris Laetitia, are displayed in English, German, Italian and Spanish. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS) in the nurturing of marriage and family life, he said that mostly it is the parish community that judged divorced people, rather than the priests themselves. He said the duty of marriage counselling is not only the priest’s but that of the whole Church community. He suggested that women should be part of the formation period of priests regarding family ministry. “Traditional teachings on marriage are affirmed but we should not burden people with unrealistic expectations,” Archbishop Slattery said. “The pope places a lot of emphasis in this exhortation on pastoral adaptation (the interl f l ti ) I f t h t t h

Bishop: ‘Devil worship a realitty y’ BY FRANCIS NJUGUNA

EVIL worship is a reality, affects Christians and non-Christians, and “young people are being lured into [it] t h r o ugh pr o m i sed ed uc at i o n al sch o l a rsh i p s” , a Kenyan bishop has warned. Bishop Emanuel Barbara of Malindi said he hopes the Year of Mercy will help Catholics remain strong. At a theological symposium on the occult and satanism, Bishop Barbara said devil worship is growing quickly in his countr y and that it has global implications. During the question-and-answer session afterward, some appealed to Kenya’s bishops to move from “talking about the issue to act-

Fr Clement Majawa, currently lecturing at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, s a i d t h e C h u rc h a n d g o v e r n m e n t h a v e t o sensitise the public to the reality of devil worship. He suggested introducing c r e t r e li g io u s s o c ie t i e s a n d t r a d religions. He also suggested C with the education ministr y t ricula on this issue and to h chaplains and counsellors on lenging situations. In 1999, a presidential inqu worship in Kenya, chaired by bishop Nicodemus Kirima o cluded that devil worship cou schools, churches and even g

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during the readings, so that people can see “how devout I am”. According to noted liturgist Sr Madge Karecki SSI-TOSF, if the gospel acclamation (and Alleluia) cannot be sung, it should be dispensed with entirely. The powers that be, in parishes, should audition suitable persons for the role of reader and proclaimer, and not just select them from those stalwarts involved in the parish in various societies and sodalities, or those with theatre training or “cultured” voices, or worse still, from among their friends. One should be able easily to discern whether a candidate is in love with the Lord and his Word, by the

way the text is read, the reverence and pace used, as well as a certain “style”, and the clearest enunciation and respect for the sacred text. It has nothing to do with a “pseudo Oxford accent”. Anyone who rushes through the readings (through nervousness) is not suitable as a candidate. The proclaimer should also raise his eyes from time to time to engage the congregation. Many Catholics are not familiar with the Bible. We should therefore be very selective, but fair, in our choice of proclaimers, to ensure our congregations “drink in the Word”. Gone are the days when we were told that we fulfilled our Sunday Mass obligation as long as we came into the church before the celebrant’s Communion! John Lee, Johannesburg

Church—is he just putting froth on the cappuccino to cover up a coffee that’s rapidly getting past its sell-by date? Michael Bouchier, Stanford, Western Cape

Christian voice needed in politics

DDED to the moral cowardice of the ANC leadership are the gutless Christians of South Africa who continue in helping to keep the status quo. South Africa is supposed to be a Christian country, with 70% professing to be Christian. There are more than two political parties in South Africa and Christians definitely need their voices to be heard this year in the municipal elections and again in 2019. Bernard Moat, Britannia Bay, Western Cape

Amoris Laetitia simply froth?

ERHAPS Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia does not provide the hoped-for clearcut answers to the debate on the hot doctrinal issues of same-sex marriage, Communion for remarried divorced Catholics, contraception et al. What Pope Francis does achieve, however, is a very clear focus on the huge gulf between Church doctrine and the reality of today’s world. Does a mature Catholic woman who has not used artificial means of contraception exist? Applying the pope’s suggested casuistical approach to the “hot” issues, like contraception, over time they will become non-issues in the 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

Bless all women

OTHER’S Day, coming up on May 8, can be a moment of wonderful celebration in parishes. However, I feel that some pastoral sensitivity needs to be applied. If a priest at the end of Mass on Mothering Sunday says, “Please will all the mothers in the congregation stand to receive a blessing,” there are bound to be a number of women sitting with heads bowed. Many may have longed for motherhood. Maybe it would be better to ask all women to stand for a blessing. In this way both physical and spiritual motherhood can be recognised Judith Leonard, Knysna

Seeking family in Zimbabwe

TTENTION Zimbabweans: I am looking for assistance with my research in finding the Griffin family. My grandfather, Michael Ignatius Griffin, went to Rhodesia in 1897, married, and had eight children. They lived in Bulawayo where he was well known. He built many of the landmarks and was on the municipal council. He died in 1940 and is buried in the Bulawayo cemetery (I’m not sure whether it is the Athlone or Town site). Most of my research would be on finding the department dealing with the above cemeteries, the Bulawayo Catholic Church baptismal records, and how to contact the Register of Marriage and Deaths in the Bulawayo/Harare areas. Google is not helpful at all! I can be contacted at thelensens @gmail.com Diana Lensen, Somerset West

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The Southern Cross, April 27 to May 3, 2016

PERSPECTIVES

Our problem was an opportunity A T the beginning of the year I offered the priests of the vicariate of Ingwavuma, which I serve as administrator, to celebrate confirmations on the Sundays when I am in the vicariate. Once a month I spend a week in the Ingwavuma vicariate—in rural KwaZuluNatal, bordering Swaziland, my pastoral area, and Mozambique—and it always includes a Sunday. Fr Sfiso Mchunu OSM was the first priest to ask and we agreed to do it on a Sunday this month at the Star of the Sea church in Ngwanase where those being from the parish’s 15 outstations were being prepared. As usual, I arrived the day before so that we could practise the celebration with the group. The priest welcomed me and said: “Bishop, we have a problem. There are at least 100 people to be confirmed!” To be honest, I was not expecting that. Neither was Fr Mchunu as he had become priestin-charge of that parish only last month. “They are all here so that we are sure tomorrow we start on time. The parish is putting up a tent as our church is not big enough,” he told me. It was getting late. The tent was already up but there was no electricity. We then placed three vehicles with their headlights on so that we could somehow see each other and practise—in the place—the different moments of the celebration. As we always request a clear commitment at the time of confirmation, I asked the candidates to meet their priest in the

coming two weeks and tell him what service they plan to do in their communities. Things seems to be pretty clear, so I went back to the house. Fr Mchunu remained with them. “I would like to have a session with them and see how prepared they are to be confirmed,” he said. Early in the morning he looked fresh, so the session must have been short. It was not. He had stayed with the confirmands until midnight and then made himself available to celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation.

ne by one they went to him for confession. He finished at 3:00 in the morning! He probably looked fresh not because he had slept enough but because he felt encouraged by the way the people had responded. The celebration went well. As expected, it lasted just under four hours.

Confirmands at Star of the Sea parish in ngwanase, KwaZulu-natal.

Roots of Xhosa struggle R EADING the history of black liberation in Southern Africa one is confronted by two things: how the people, under heightened political tensions, tend to appeal to numinous forces for solutions. And how “men of cloth”—religious leaders—stepped up to follow the path of that liberation. Times of national crises in our land are traditionally followed by the surge of the mystical. Everywhere you begin to see people wearing the regalia and trinkets of zobugqirha (witch-doctoring or divining), daubing their faces with white clay and such things done by those undergoing the process of becoming witch-doctors. This is usually a sign that people are under heightened tension of a tribal/national nature. In oral black history, or what began to be written during the start of the colonial era in the 19th century, the phenomenon plays itself over and over again in different guises. For instance, just before British colonialism took its toll on what is now the Eastern Cape, mystical prophets, like Ntsikana, rose to warn the Xhosa nation of impending trouble. As the offensive of white colonialism spread and tightened, so were the prophecies, taking a more militant tone from the likes of Nxele and Mlanjeni (River-One). It eventually spilled over under the influence of Mhlakaza who coached her niece, Nongqawuse, to drive the Xhosa people to national suicide by calling upon them to slaughter their cattle—and thereby the means of self-sustenance—in the vain hope of better times to be brought by the “river people”. In actual fact, the modern Xhosa spirit of resistance takes its modalities from the spirit of Ntsikana and Nxele. Ntsikana, though promoting independence and cultural self-assertiveness, was more conciliatory, progressive and accommodative of religious colonial influences. Nxele, on the other hand, was militant, aggressively independent and averse to foreign influences—even though he was trained by British missionaries around

early xhosa leaders ntsikana and nxele Grahamstown. Nxele’s spirit took its mode from the aloof ruts of traditional fundamentalism, so the colonial powers incarcerated him on Robben Island where he drowned trying to escape. Meanwhile, his contemporary Ntsikana died of natural causes without ever coming into violent conflict with the colonialists, though he sometimes criticised them in strong verbal terms.

tsikana’s counsel, more cautious and conciliatory, with religious undertones, became a more lasting solution; it welcomed progressive Western influences in prophesying about the coming of white people. He advised the Xhosa nation to adopt the Western civilisation’s spirit of enlightenment, recommending that his people “listen to the Book with a red mouth”, meaning the Bible. But he warned against the mercantile tendencies and greed: “Iqhosha elingenamgxuma”, meaning money in the form of coins, which he likened to buttons without holes. What is clear is that the people whom Ntsikana converted did not allow their traditional rootedness to blind the faculty of their progressive judgment, even as they understood the prejudice of the new spirit against their traditional ways. Those who fell in with Ntsikana’s pro-

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Bishop José Ponce de León

Point of Faith

Since I became bishop I have always laid my hands, together with those of the priest, over each one of those being confirmed. I make no exceptions. It must have taken us a long time. During the homily and taking from the gospel reading the image of being “fishers of people”, I asked the confirmands how they planned to do that in their lives. Two asked to talk. The first one said she hopes that by the way she lives, people will ask themselves what leads her and she will then be able to witness to her faith. The second one underlined the importance of “works of mercy”. They were both very confident in the way they said it and prompted everyone to applaud. Maybe, as it is sometimes said, we did not have a problem but an opportunity with the gift of those more than one hundred people who want to witness with their lives the presence of the Risen Lord among us. n Bishop José Ponce de León is the bishop of Manzini, Swaziland, and administrator of the vicariate of Ingwavuma, which he previously headed. This article is an edited version of his blog post on www.bhubesi.blogspot.co.za

Mphuthumi Ntabeni

Pushing the Boundaries

gressive thinking (there were many since he was a very charismatic preacher and artistically adept in music and drama) eventually became the first natives to be educated in the Eastern Cape, indeed in all of the southern tip of Africa. They had to make hard choices about what the newly-arrived Christians regarded as regressive traditional culture, beliefs and customs. Ntsikana’s group accepted the message of Christ but were suspicious of Western tendencies which they classified as narrowminded and vulgar. They fell under tremendous stress, being criticised by other Xhosas for being amagqobhoka (those who turn themselves inside out by adopting the ways of white people). But in the long run they were the people who kept the fire of the nation’s sense of dignity and liberation burning. They were among the first black educated class from missionary schools, like Lovedale, and what was to become the University of Fort Hare, where the likes of Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo were later educated. To find their proper political beginnings you have to go as far back as 1887, the year of the Thung’ umlomo (Stitch the mouth), that saw the start of the first black consumer boycott. The new movement became known as Ingqungquthela, or the South African Native Congress (SANNC). It was mostly driven by “men of the cloth”, like Rev WB Rubusana, G Sishuba, JT Jabavu, AK Soga, Rev Xaba, Rev Gabashe, Rev JL Dube and all. Most of them also occupied editorial posts on popular native newspapers such as Imvo Zabantu Abantsundu, Iso’ Lesizwe, Ipheph’ Lohlanga, Ilanga and so on. After the usual political shenanigans, elements of power mongering, jealousy, stupendous purging and rancour that saw the SANNC becoming the African National Congress (ANC) at Bloemfontein in 1914, Continued on page 11

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Pray with the Pope

Esteem for women General Intention: That in every country of the world, women may be honoured and respected and that their essential contribution to society may be highly esteemed.

OPEFULLY “every country of the world” includes the Vatican! Of course it’s easy to play the game of comparing countries. Perhaps we should simply acknowledge that women and their work are taken for granted almost everywhere in the world. For example, at the beginning of this year there was a report on salary inequalities in the legal profession in Britain. The irony of this was heavy because the very professional body that created the laws to enforce equality between men and women had failed to observe these laws. So although we acknowledge how hard and even dangerous it is for women in developing countries, it seems that even in the developed world, with all its resources, professional women are by no means always respected and valued as much as their male peers. And if professional women are treated inferiorly, then it is hardly surprising that less educated women who do manual work are treated worse. Why do women consistently get less well rewarded for the same work that men do? One factor is obvious: because women are often closer to their children and their needs, they tend to be less demanding about their salaries, even if these are exploitative. For the sake of their children’s basic financial security they will play it safe. Employers know this and so they frequently offer them less than the more demanding men. Are there other ways of showing respect for women than equal pay for equal work? In most cultures women are respected for their indispensable role in family life. Here in South Africa we have a Women’s Day holiday on August 9 to mark their role in the struggle for a better society. But if unequal pay for women is systemic, then that in itself is certain to undermine respect. Money really must be put where mouths are praising women and praying for them.

Praying brings peace Missionary Intention: That families, communities, and groups may pray the Holy Rosary for evangelisation and peace. here is a universal notion among religions that prayer and peace go together. We believe this, I think, firstly because of the experience and example of prayerful people. Those who have worked at personal prayer for some years know that if they pray regularly, deeply and at some length, then they find the peace which enables them to handle the tensions and aggravations of daily life. They can sometimes experience this on a daily basis. Generally speaking, the days a person manages to pray are the days on which that person finds peace of soul. Experience also shows that the opposite is also true. Less prayer today, less peace today; sometimes it’s as simple and immediate as that. Then there is the experience of communities that pray together and the reconciling effect that this can have among diverse but open-hearted individuals. It is no accident that the motto of the Benedictine community, which is dedicated to the life of prayer in community, is pax (peace). And the Quakers, who are a non-violent religious community, set great store by simply sitting in silent prayer together. For Christians there is also a well-forged link between prayer and evangelisation. Again, experience teaches us that with regular prayer, the energy for evangelisation will be generally available and the Lord’s yoke will normally feel light and sweet. One way to teach these lessons to children is through family prayer, including the recitation of the rosary together. “A family that prays together, stays together” is more than a pious phrase. Once again, peace and prayer are intimately linked. And the influence of the family rosary can take on wider apostolic significance in prayer for peace in the world and the spreading of the Gospel to the nations.

The Southern Cross, April 27 to May 3, 2016

Members of the divine Mercy group at our Lady of Loreto parish in Kempton Park, Johannesburg, in the procession while reciting the chaplet and displaying the divine Mercy Jesus portrait.

COMMUNITY

The parish of the Resurrection in Table View, Cape Town, and Paarl Catholic church community Life Teen groups went on their annual Life Teen Camp held at Mizpah youth Centre in Grabouw. The theme was “Sent”, which was focused on the call to evangelise through the great saints from the book of Acts: Ss Peter, Paul and Stephen. The weekend was hosted by the Life Teen Table View core team, led by their youth minister Leonardo Sforza.

our Lady of the Wayside parish in Maryvale, Johannesburg held their final fundraising for World youth day. Ancilla Harvey is seen here with Fr Petrus Shiya. Mrs Harvey and her two sons will travel with Fr Shiya and the group of pilgrims to Poland.

debutantes from Holy Rosary High School in Johannesburg held a fundraising fashion show where they modelled local boutiques’ fashion Holy Cross Primary School in Aliwal north raised R3 000 items. Aside from the fundraising, the girls were able to build confidence for the Lenten Appeal this year, which was handed to and social skills. (From left) Silindile Mthembu, Melissa Rattray, Zandri school chaplain and vicar-general of Aliwal north diodu Toit, Hayley Griffin, Thandi okwirry, Jadelyn davies, Carli dunmow, cese, Mgr Joseph Kizito during assembly. Michaela Mitchell, and daniella Ribeiro.

Send your photos to pics@ scross.co.za

St Joseph’s parish in Goodwood, Cape Town, held a Stations of the Cross procession on Tygerberg Hill led by Fr Mari Joseph oCd.

Please be patient there is a queue of photos awaiting publication

The Catholic Womens’ League of Benoni, Johannesburg, organised a pascal meal at the Lumko institute in Brentwood Park. Fr Michael Murphy, guests from the deaf community, Crystal Park, Benoni and Kempton Park attended.

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The Grade 1 learners at de La Salle Holy Cross College in Victory Park, Johannesburg, presented the matrics with their Matric dance invitations at a special assembly. The theme of this year’s dance is “Come Back, Give Back”, with all proceeds going to charity. Head boy Keannu Jardim receives his invite from Grade 1 pupil daniel Ackroyd.

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PILGRIMAGE

The Southern Cross, April 27 to May 3, 2016

Could there be peace in the Holy Land? The conflict in the Holy Land is often said to be impossible to resolve. GÜnTHeR SiMMeRMACHeR outlines the main obstacles to peace, and how a just solution can be achieved.

HE teenage girl crouched against the wall of the carpeted corridor, head buried in her arms as she sobbed inconsolably. Her friends offered their comfort, but in her distress the girl was alone. She had just emerged from the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. To follow the documentation of the extent and mechanics of the Nazi persecution and genocide of Jews in much of Europe is indeed a shattering experience, as the Pilgrimage of the Peacemakers group found after a visit there in February. The Holocaust did not erupt spontaneously. It was the culmination of centuries of anti-Jewish calumny and persecution in Christian Europe. Churches, including the Catholic Church, played a crucial part in that persecution. Christians, generally, held all Jews through the generations responsible for Jesus’ crucifixion, so Jews were viscerally despised. The blood libel—calumnious accusation that Jews murdered Christian children for religious rituals—had great potency, instilling additional fear and hatred of Jews. The first ghetto—a word we today tend to associate with slums in the US—was set up in Venice in 1516 to keep Jews confined to one area (Shakespeare’s Shylock in The Merchant of Venice was a resident of that ghetto). In 1555 Pope Paul IV adopted and implemented the segregation in the Papal States (which was most of present-day Italy), thereby becoming an architect of the legalised repression of Jews, a group that had lived in Rome since preChristian times. A few brief moments apart, Jews remained segregated in Rome until 1880. The Holocaust might have been executed by the pagan Nazis, but Christians through the ages helped fertilise the fields of hate that allowed the genocide to occur. St John Paul II rightly apologised on behalf of the Catholic Church for “the failures of her sons and daughters in every age”, in a 1998 document and in Jerusalem during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 2000. It is within that history that one must understand the state of Israel. The Zionist ideal was to establish a land where Jews would be safe, a refuge from the perennial threat of persecution and pogroms. This need for security is written into the Jewish psyche. It explains why the Jews of Israel are living in constant fear of attack, real and perceived, and why to most Jews, in Israel and internationally, the security question tends to trump all legitimate criticism of the Israeli state. A series of wars with Arab nations ramped up these fears (many of these nations are now on friendly terms with Israel). More recently attacks on Jews by militants—the suicide bombings of the 2000s or the spate of knifings in the past months or Hamas’ ineffectual rockets—have radicalised many Israelis to such frightening extents that they applaud atrocities against Palestinians. When Gaza was bombarded in 2014, large groups of Israelis camped out on picnic chairs on a hill overlooking the region, cheering each murderous explosion. And when in late March a video caught a soldier in Hebron shooting an incapacitated Palestinian point blank in the head, a great

Pro-Palestinian and pro-israeli T-shirts are displayed side by side in the market of Jerusalem’s old City. The only peaceful solution to the conflict in the Holy Land is a unitary state under a secular democratic constitution with enshrined minority rights in which all who live in the land can coexist in peace. number of Israelis hailed him as a hero. The ideal of Israel as a Jewish state, controlled by Jews for Jews, is widely seen by Jews as the key to their survival.

nd it is that idea of a Jewish state which is a problem for Palestinians. Contrary to the outdated notion that “the Arabs want to wipe Israel off the earth”, most Palestinians accept the reality of the state of Israel and want some form of peaceful coexistence. Their problem is not with the state of Israel, but with the idea that this land—the ancestral land of Palestinians—should belong only to Jews. It is the idea of an explicitly Jewish state, as opposed to a state with Jews, that Palestinians refuse to recognise. There still is a burning anger at the memory of how so many thousands of Palestinians were driven from their homes in 1948 by Jewish militias and the Israeli army by methods which we might today describe in terms of ethnic cleansing and terrorism. When Palestinians refer to the “Right of Return”, they are talking about moving back to the houses and their villages from which they were expelled 68 years ago—even if it is obvious that they can’t go back. The late Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat rejected any negotiation agenda which would have forced him to repudiate the Right of Return, because to do so would have been to delegitimise the claim to the land from which his people were expelled. And so, apart from the many complex issues that might be negotiable, there are two diametrically opposed claims which the respective parties cannot sell to their constituencies: the demand for a secure haven for Jews in an explicitly Jewish state on the one hand, and the Right of Return of dispossessed Palestinians on the other. The former might have been solved by arriving at the two-state solution which Palestinians and the international community, including the Catholic Church, have been pushing for. But Israel’s rapid construction of illegal settlements throughout the West Bank has made the two-state solution impossible. The idea that a Palestinian state would take on borders with Israeli enclaves, giving it the geographical appearance of a spotted dog, is unviable. For the two-state solution to be feasible, Israel would have to dismantle these settlements or allow most of them to be incorporated into a Palestinian state. Both options would put Israel in internal turmoil. And all that is leaving aside the impenetrable issue of Jerusalem, which is claimed by both sides as their capital.

here is only one solution that is grounded in justice and peace—and the only one that can bring security to both sides. But it requires that old fears and hatreds must be put aside, and that nonnegotiables be negotiated. The solution is a unitary state comprising what is now Israel, the West Bank and Gaza under a secular democratic constitution with enshrined minority rights that protect all groups from domination and discrimination by another. Jerusalem would be everybody’s capital. It is often said that the conflict is too difficult to understand, with the implied suggestion that it is therefore best left alone. But that is not so. Seeing things from both sides, it is relatively simple. What is complicated is the history that has brought us to this situation and to find a solution which will be acceptable to all sides. Modern Israel is founded on the precept that this was the Promised Land of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Leaving aside the dubious insertion of theology into international law, it is true to say that most Jews and Palestinians share a common heritage, the lines of which are broken only by religious conversion. Before the Muslim Palestinians converted to Islam, they were Christians or Jews or Samaritans or pagans. Before Christians ruled the land from the 4th to early 7th century, they were Jews, Samaritans or

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (left), Pope Francis and then-israeli President Shimon Peres during the invocation for peace in the Vatican in June 2014. Pope Francis invited the Palestinian and israeli leaders during his visit to the Holy Land a few weeks earlier. (Photo: Paul Haring/CnS) pagans. And before they were Jews or Samaritans they were Canaanite pagans. And so there are two competing claims: on the one side from those who assert a religious claim on the land, and on the other side from those who have lived there for thousands of years. As South Africans we know that the seemingly impossible can become reality. Why should this not be so in another land whose conflict appears to be as intractable as ours was just 30 years ago? The alternatives to a just and peaceful solution—the unitary state—are unsustainable. Israel cannot continue dispossessing Palestinians and squeezing them into ever-smaller living areas without there being an explosion. And Israel is feeling the pinch from public sentiment in many parts of the world turning against it, with a movement similar to the anti-apartheid boycott, called Boycott Disinvest Sanctions (BDS), gathering momentum. The notion of two mutually exclusive narratives—one only from the Jewish perspective, the other only from that of Palestinians— must be abandoned. Those who present the conflict from only one side, those who distort or lie about the realities, those who make declarations founded in ignorance or propaganda or violence, those who treat the conflict like a sporting contest in which you cheer for one side and loathe the other— those are enemies of peace.

If we want to make peace, we need to understand the situation, experiences, grievances and fears of the people on both sides, even those who place the obstacles in the path to a just solution. This does not mean that we mustn’t condemn injustices, be they Israel’s vast range of human rights abuses or violent attacks on civilian Jews by Palestinians. On the contrary, justice demands that we point these out rigorously—but not at the cost of defending the indefensible. No good is served by representing the concerns and aspirations of one side without also accommodating those of the other side. We can take our cue from Pope Francis. On his May 2014 visit to the Holy Land, he stopped on a street in Bethlehem to pray at Israel’s Separation Wall, then prayed at the Western Wall and even prayed, albeit at the insistence of his Israeli hosts, at the tomb of Zionist founder Theodor Herzl. He then invited Israel’s outgoing president, Shimon Peres, and Palestinian premier Mahmoud Abbas to the Vatican to pray for peace. So, when we are faced with the question of whether there could ever be peace in the Holy Land, we must not fall into the trap of despondent resignation. We must instead propose a solution: such as the unitary state under a secular democratic constitution with enshrined minority rights—and pray that this will become a reality. Next week: Pilgrims in Jerusalem

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The Southern Cross, April 27 to May 3, 2016

PERSONALITY

Mother Teresa was heroic – but for more reasons than we may think Mother Teresa, who will be canonised on September 4, is well-known as an angel of mercy and Catholic witness, but it is a darker side in her life that marks her out as a real Christian hero. eLiSe HARRiS explains.

HERE are many things about Bl Mother Teresa of Kolkata that could be called heroic— her tireless service to the world’s most rejected and her courageous witness to millions of what it is to live the Gospel, just to name a couple. But the priest charged with overseeing her path to sainthood said that for him, one thing stands out above all the rest: her experience of spiritual darkness and what she described as feeling totally abandoned by God for the majority of her life. “The single most heroic thing is exactly her darkness. That pure living, that pure, naked faith,” Fr Brian Kolodiejchuk, the postulator for Mother Teresa’s canonisation cause, said in an interview. Fr Kolodiejchuk is a priest of the

Missionaries of Charity Fathers, founded by Mother Teresa in 1989. By undergoing the depth and duration of the desolation she experienced and doing everything that she did for others in spite of it, “that’s really very heroic”, he said. Pope Francis recently approved the second and last miracle needed in order to declare Mother Teresa a saint, and has set the date of her canonisation for September 4, 2016—the day before her feast day. The Southern Cross and Radio Veritas are jointly headlining a pilgrimage to the canonisation, which will also include visits to the great places of Rome and to Assisi to see the places associated with Ss Francis and Clare. Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu on August 26, 1910 in Skopje, in what is now Macedonia, Mother Teresa joined the Sisters of Loreto at the age of 17, but later left after she felt what she called “an order” from God to leave the convent and to live among the poor. She went on to found several communities of both active and contemplative Missionaries of Charity, which include religious sisters, brothers, and priests. The first community of active sisters was founded in 1950. An order of active brothers was founded nearly 20 years later in 1968. Then

The

Left: Mother Teresa seen in 1979, the year she won the nobel Peace prize. Right Fr Brian Kolodiejchuk, postulator for the cause of Bl Teresa of Calcutta, is seen in a file photo. (Photos: CnS) two contemplative orders came, one of women (in 1976) and one of men (in 1979). In 1989 the Missionaries of Charity Fathers was established, and is a clerical religious institute of diocesan rights whose members make promises of poverty, chastity, obedience, and wholehearted and free service to the poorest of the poor. Additionally, an order of lay missionaries was also founded in 1984,

Southern Cross

Pilgrimage to the Canonisation of

Mother Teresa of Kolkata Rome & Assisi 2 - 11 September 2016

Spiritual Director:

Fr Emil Blaser OP

Contact Gail at info@fowlertours.co.za or 076 352-3809 or 021 551-3923 www.fowlertours.co.za/motherteresa

and several movements who organise various works of charity have also been born as part of the Missionaries of Charity spiritual family. In 1979 Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize.

ne of the first steps in declaring someone a saint is to determine their heroic virtue. Fr Kolodiejchuk said that Mother Teresa’s entire life was lived heroically, which is clear from what he has seen firsthand and heard from the testimonies of others, even though he himself has been a Missionary of Charity for only 20 years. He said the most heroic aspect of Mother Teresa’s life and vocation is the more than 50 years of darkness and abandonment she felt after receiving what she termed “a call within a call” to leave the Sisters of Loreto and found the Missionaries of Charity. Although the Albanian nun is always seen beaming and smiling brightly in photos, she experienced a profound internal desolation during which she felt silence and rejection from God, who seemed distant. In a letter to her spiritual director in 1957, Mother Teresa wrote that “I call, I cling, I want, and there is no one to answer. Where I try to raise my thoughts to heaven, there is such convicting emptiness that those very thoughts return like sharp knives and hurt my very soul.” “Love—the word—it brings nothing. I am told God lives in me—and yet the reality of darkness and coldness and emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul,” she said. Mother Teresa had prayed fervently to share in Jesus’ suffering, and many, including her spiritual director, believed her feelings of rejection and abandonment to be a mirror of Christ’s own experience of loneliness and desolation during his Passion and death. Because of the depth and duration of Mother Teresa’s spiritual desert, many have hailed her as a great mystic when it comes to the topic of spiritual darkness. Fr Kolodiejchuk himself said Mother Teresa was “a great mystic, but also very concrete, very down to earth”. The priest had met Mother Teresa in his early 20s while attending the vows of his sister, who had joined the active branch of the Missionaries of Charity sisters. He joined the order of priests a year later. A lot of people “think that saints are somewhere in the mystical clouds”, he said, but cautioned that this wasn’t true of Mother Teresa, who was spiritual, but also observant and active in the lives of others. From the first moment he met her, one of Mother Teresa’s most distinguishing qualities was “this sense that she really was Mother”, he said, explaining that being a mother was

something important to her, and was the only title she was called. When Mother Teresa was first elected superior general of the Missionaries of Charity, her immediate response after receiving congratulations, he noted, was to say: “Oh that means nothing, the title. No, I want to be a mother.”

he nun also placed a heavy emphasis on God’s tenderness, Fr Kolodiejchuk said, recalling that “tender” was one of her favourite words, even more so than mercy. “She would talk more about Jesus’ tender love and mercy; his thoughtfulness, his presence, his compassion… So mercy was a word in her vocabulary, but with this quality especially of tenderness,” he said. “Even in the darkness she still had an intimate sense of God’s tender love for us,” he said, and recited a prayer that Mother Teresa would often teach and have others repeat: “Jesus in my heart, I believe in your tender love for me. I love you.” The priest said the fact that her canonisation is taking place during the Jubilee of Mercy is providential since the core mission of the Missionaries of Charity is to respond to chapter 25 in the gospel of Matthew, which lists the works of mercy. He noted how the day of Mother Teresa’s canonisation also marks a special jubilee day for workers and volunteers of mercy. Given the work the Missionaries of Charity do, “it’s appropriate” that the nun will become a patroness for all who carry out the same type of activities, he said. Part of the reason Mother Teresa is such a strong example for the world today, Fr Kolodiejchuk believes, is because “people like to see”, and the work the Missionaries do is something visible that others can easily touch and participate in, no matter what religion they profess. “Mother was a great believer in that we receive in giving. So there’s something attractive about the work. And then you receive by sharing in it,” he said. Fr Kolodiejchuk said the whole Missionaries of Charity family is excited about their foundress’ upcoming canonisation, and have already begun to prepare for the big day. The members of the consecrated orders will have their own spiritual preparations over the next few months, the priest said. Then in September, in the days leading up to the canonisation in Rome they will have a special itinerary, which is still being developed, but will include holy hours and various Masses. Thousands are expected to come for the event. While it’s difficult to estimate a precise number, Fr Kolodiejchuk said that between the Missionaries of Charity and those who come for the Jubilee of Workers and Volunteers of Mercy, “it should be a big crowd”.—CNA

CLASSIFIEDS

Roots of Xhosa struggle in SA Continued from page 7 many of these men withdrew and eventually left the political scene to concentrate on their intellectual and religious pursuits. Across history, the spirits of Ntsikana and Nxele represented themselves in different forms in South Africa’s liberation struggle. They are discernible even in the present era of politics; sometimes in a mix, sometimes one of

the two prevailing. Mandela’s political youth, that saw the founding of Umkhonto WeSizwe, derived from the militancy of Nxele’s spirit, while the later part of his presidency can be regarded as being influenced by Ntsikana, with its more reconciliatory tone while striving to assimilate what is best of both African and Western culture. The riots of 1976 and their re-

current reawakening, for example in last year’s #RhodesMust Fall campaign, were more influenced by the militancy of Nxele. When you mix both the spirit of Nxele and of Ntsikana you probably come out with something that has been called “negritude” by the likes of Aimé Césaire, but what here we’d refer to as Stephen Biko’s seeds of Black Consciousness .

God’s mercy goes beyond forgiveness

HERE is a canticle, the Exsultet, that is sung near the beginning of the Easter Vigil Mass. It contains verses that seem to rejoice in sin, and in particular, original sin. There is irony in this on several levels, not least of which is that it occurs during the celebration of this particular Mass that adults and older children who have extensively prepared for baptism will profess their faith in Christ and receive the sacrament that removes original sin and brings God’s thorough forgiveness for any sins they may have committed in their lives. The verses, originally in Latin, are typically translated into English as, “O truly necessary sin of Adam” and, “O happy fault”. What happens in baptism is our own personal reception of God’s mercy, poured into us through Christ’s death and resurrection. Many good theologians speculate that even if sin had never entered the world, Christ would have still come for us, so that we might share in the glory of the incarnation. No one, however, suggests that without us having been separated from God by sin, would Jesus have paid so great a price to bring us back into God’s divine life. The question is moot, however, because of the universal fact of sin. Jesus came into the world and the world, trapped in the blindness of sin, would not, could not, recognise him as the Son of God and so put him to death. The fuller text of the Exsultet verses reveals God’s ultimate response to our sinfulness: O truly necessary sin of Adam

Clifford Yeary

year of Mercy

destroyed completely by the death of Christ! O happy fault that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer! Had we never known our separation from God in original sin, if we had never recognised our own sinfulness, we would never know the joy of accepting God’s mercy. This mercy is poured over us sacramentally in the waters of baptism because of Christ’s willingness to undergo his tortuous death on the cross, a death that also flowered into the resurrection, bringing us the gift of eternal life.

ven after receiving this greatest of gifts there is a sadness to come, however, because in spite of it, we do return, to one degree or another, to sin. God’s answer to our sins that follow the mercy given to us in baptism is also a matter of joy for us, for once again, even over and over again, God will respond with mercy. Because Christ not only died for us, but rose from the dead and ascended to the Father, he continues to intercede for us, bringing mercy and forgiveness over and over to those who seek it. There are two particular places in the New Testament where this is clearly stated. In 1 John 2:1-2, an early Christian church is given

A PRAYER HEAR ME, Lord, on behalf of all those who are dear to me All whom I have in mind at this moment, Be near them in all their anxieties and worries, Give them the help of your saving grace, I commend them all with trustful confidence To your merciful love. Remember, Lord, all who are mindful of me: All those who have asked me to pray for them; All who have been kind to me; All who have wronged me, or whom I have wronged by ill will or misunderstanding. Give all of us to bear each other’s faults, And to share each other’s burdens. Have mercy on the souls of our loved ones Who have gone before us. Grant them peace and happiness AMEN

special assurance in regard to sins: “My children, I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.” Christ’s advocacy for us in heaven is described in Hebrews 4:14-16 as the perfect offering on our behalf of the ultimate high priest: “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin. So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.” As Catholics we know Jesus’ continued mercy is available to us sacramentally in the confessional. In its context within Hebrews, however, this passage assures us that Christ extends his mercy to strengthen us to meet any challenge to our desire to live faithfully. God’s mercy is more than just the forgiveness of our sins. Because Jesus has experienced our weaknesses in the travails of life, we are to turn to Christ for help in any weakness, any need and any pain. Mercy isn’t just for our sins. It’s for any struggle we have meeting the challenges of life. n This is the second column in a 13part series. This article was originally published in Arkansas Catholic.

Liturgical Calendar Year C – Weekdays Cycle Year 2 Sunday May 1, 6th Sunday of Easter Acts 15:1-2, 22-29, Psalms 67:2-3, 5-6, 8, Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23, John 14:23-29 Monday May 2, St Athanasius Acts 16:11-15, Psalms 149:1-6, 9, John 15:26--16:4 Tuesday May 3, Ss Philip and James 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, Psalms 19:2-5, John 14:6-14 Wednesday May 4 Acts 17:15, 22--18:1, Psalms 148:1-2, 11-14, John 16:12-15 St Athanasius Thursday May 5 Acts 18:1-8, Psalms 98:1-4, John 16:16-20 Friday May 6 Acts 18:9-18, Psalms 47:2-7, John 16:20-23 Saturday May 7 Acts 18:23-28, Psalms 47:2-3, 8-10, John 16:2328 Sunday May 8, Ascension of Our Lord Acts 1:1-11, Psalms 47:2-3, 6-9, Hebrews 9:24-28; 10:19-23, Luke 24:46-53

The Southern Cross, April 27 to May 3, 2016

CLASSIFIEDS

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 (R1,60 a word) with small advertisements for promptest publication.

IN MEMORIAM

CIOLLI—Mary-Anne (dickie) née dixon, who passed away on January 18, 2015 after a long illness, borne with dignity and great courage, deeply mourned and will be forever remembered, with great love, Remo, Catherine, Michael, david, Stephan and grandchildren. RiP.

guide with your pure and peaceable wisdom those who make decisions for the nations of the earth; that in tranquility your kingdom may go forward, till the earth be filled with the knowledge of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

PRAYERS

o MoST beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendour of Heaven, blessed Mother of the Son of God, immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. o Star of the Sea, help me and show me where you are, Mother of God. Queen of heaven and earth i humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to succour me in my necessity. There is none who can withstand your power, o Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Holy Mary, i place this cause in your hands. “Say this prayer for 3 consecutive days and then publish.” Leon and Karen. ALMIgHTY gOD, from whom all thoughts of truth and peace proceed, kindle in the hearts of all men the true love of peace, and

LORD, inspire those men and women who bear the titles “husband” and “wife”. Help them to look to you, to themselves, to one another to rediscover the fullness and mystery they once felt in their union. Let them be honest enough to ask: “Where have we been together and where are we going?” Let them be brave enough to question: “How have we failed?” Let each be foolhardy enough to say: “For me, we come first.” Help them, together, to reexamine their commitment in the light of your love, willingly, openly, compassionately. THANKS be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ, For all the benefits thou hast won for me, For all the pains and insults thou hast borne for me. o most merciful Redeemer, Friend, and Brother, May i know thee more clearly, Love thee more dearly, And follow thee more nearly, For ever and ever.

PERSONAL

ABORTION WARNINg: The pill can abort (chemical abortion) Catholics must be told, for their eter-

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 704. ACROSS: 1 Waffle, 4 Flocks, 9 Divine Persons, 10 Hassock, 11 Canoe, 12 Stork, 14 Glory, 18 Aired, 19 Retyped, 21 Knave of Hearts, 22 Desist, 23 Canyon. DOWN: 1 Widths, 2 Five Saturdays, 3 Lingo, 5 Lyrical, 6 Crown property, 7 System, 8 Spoke, 13 Redress, 15 Ranked, 16 Drift, 17 Adds on, 20 Theta.

Word of the Week

Counter-Reformation: The period of Catholic revival starting with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years’ War. East-West Schism: Divided medieval Christianity into Eastern (Greek) and Western (Latin) branches.

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the

Ascension of the Lord: May 8 Readings: Acts 1:1-11, Psalm 47:2-3, 6-9, Hebrews 9:24-28; 10:19-23, Luke 24:46-53

ASTER is rushing to its end just now, and next Sunday we celebrate the transferred feast of the Ascension (which used to be on the preceding Thursday). We are offered some rich readings for the feast, at the heart of which is the Church’s realisation that this is all the story of God, and that Jesus belongs there. Not surprisingly, perhaps, the first and the last readings are Luke’s two accounts of Jesus’ ascension. The first reading is the opening lines of Acts, where “Theophilus” is told that this volume picks up from the previous one, which ended (as in our Gospel today) when Jesus was “taken up”. Then there is a brief summary of what had happened after the Resurrection: “He showed himself alive after his suffering by many bits of evidence, appearing over forty days” (which is why we used to celebrate the feast on the Thursday) “and talking to them the things of the Kingdom of God.” Among the instructions were to “wait for the Promise of the Father which you heard me [mention]”. They still do not understand, of course, and idiotically demand to know if “now is the time when you are restoring the kingdom to

S outher n C ross

Ascension empowers us Israel?” They are however given a mission: “You are to be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the very end of the earth.” Only then is it possible for the cloud to take him “from their eyes”. At that point “two men in white garments”, presumably angels, appear and rebuke the disciples for “gazing at heaven”. They have a job to get on with. The psalm is a song for God’s enthronement, and you can see why the Church uses it for the feast of the Ascension: “God mounts his throne with shouts of joy…God is king over all the earth.” The second reading is from the great theological treatise that is the Letter to the Hebrews, reflecting on the fact that Jesus has “entered the sanctuary”; but such is the significance of what God has done in him, that

it only has to be done once. And the effect is not restricted to him, but reaches us as well: “We have access to the entry into the sanctuary, by the blood of Jesus.” So we are invited to “approach with a true heart, in fullness of faith, our hearts sprinkled…and our bodies washed in pure water”. This is our feast as well, you see. The Gospel is the end of Luke, Jesus summing up the whole story in a few phrases. First, “it was written that the Messiah should suffer and rise from the dead on the third day”. Secondly, it now needs for “repentance in his name to be preached to all the nations, starting from Jerusalem: you are witnesses of these things”. So that is our job set out for us. Thirdly, there is something called “The Promise of the Father, which I am sending upon you”, and the

The weapon of demonising I

N a recent article in America magazine, Grant Kaplan, commenting on the challenge of the resurrection, makes this comment: “Unlike previous communities in which the bond among members forges itself through those it excludes and scapegoats, the gratuity of the resurrection allows for a community shaped by forgiven-forgivers.” What he is saying, among other things, is that mostly we form community through demonising and exclusion—that is, we bond with each other more on the basis of what we are against and what we hate than on the basis of what we are for and hold precious. The cross and the resurrection, and the message of Jesus in general, invite us to a deeper maturity within which we are invited to form community with each other on the basis of love and inclusion rather than upon hatred and demonisation. How do we scapegoat, demonise, and exclude so as to form community with each other? A number of anthropologists, particularly René Girard and Gil Bailie, have given us some good insights on how scapegoating and demonisation worked in ancient times and how they work today. Until we reach a certain level of maturity, both personal and collective, we will always form community by scapegoating. Imagine this scenario: A group of us (family or colleagues) are going to dinner. Almost always there will be some divisive tensions among us—personality clashes, jealousies, wounds from the past, and religious, ideological, and political differences.

Classic Conrad

But these can remain under the surface and we can enjoy a nice dinner together. How? By talking about other people whom we mutually dislike, despise, fear, or find weird or particularly eccentric. As we “demonise” them by emphasising how awful, bad, weird, or eccentric they are, our own differences slide wonderfully under the surface and we form bonds of empathy and mutuality with each other. By demonising others we find commonality among ourselves. Of course, you’re reluctant to excuse yourself and go to the bathroom, for fear that, in your absence, you might well be the next item on the menu.

oreover, we do that too in our individual lives to maintain balance. If we’re honest, we probably all have to admit to the tendency within us to steady ourselves by blaming our anxieties and bad feelings on someone else. For example: We go out some morning and for various reasons feel out of sorts, agitated and angry in some inchoate way. More often than not, it won’t take us long to pin that uneasiness on someone else by, consciously or unconsciously, blaming them for our bad feeling. Except for that person we wouldn’t be feeling these things! Someone else is blame for our agitation! Once we have done this we begin to feel better because we have just made someone else responsible for our pain. As a colourful commentary on this, I like to quote a friend who submits this

Nicholas King SJ

Sunday Reflections

disciples have to remain in Jerusalem “until you are clothed with power from on high”. Only once this is clear can Luke tell the Ascension story; but first Jesus has to lead them out to Bethany, where “he lifted up his hands and blessed them”. Now at last it happens: “It came to pass as he blessed them that he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.” Now at last the disciples (that is we, you must remember) are functioning as a preaching Church: “And they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.” But they still have one more step to take, namely to wait for the Spirit, and so it is that we watch them as they “were all the time in the Temple, blessing God”. The point here is that this great feast of the Ascension is not just the story of Jesus, but the story of our empowerment to become his Church; we cannot guarantee it, and we have no right to it—it is all the gift of God. And that is what we shall be celebrating next Sunday.

Southern Crossword #704

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

axiom: “If the first two people you meet in the morning are irritating and hard to get along with, there’s a very good chance that you’re the one who’s irritating and hard to get along with.” Sadly we see this played out in the world as a whole. Our churches and our politics thrive on this. Both in our churches and in our civic communities, we tend to form community with our own kind by demonising others. Our differences do not have to be dealt with, nor do we have to deal with the things within ourselves that help cause those differences, because we can blame someone else for our problems. Not infrequently church groups bond together by doing this, politicians are elected by doing this, and wars are justified and waged on this basis—and the rich, healthy concepts of loyalty, patriotism and religious affiliation then become unhealthy because they now root themselves in seeing differences primarily as a threat rather than seeing them as bringing a fuller revelation of God into our lives. Granted, sometimes what’s different does pose a real threat, and that threat has to be met. But even then, we must continue to look inside ourselves and examine what in us might be complicit in causing that division, hatred or jealousy which is now being projected on us. Positive threat must be met, but it is best met the way Jesus met threats—with love, empathy and forgiveness. Demonising others to create community among ourselves is neither the way of Jesus nor the way of human maturity. Loyalty to one’s own, loyalty to one’s religion, loyalty to one’s country, and loyalty to one’s moral values must be based upon what is good and precious within one’s family, community, religion, country and moral principles, and not on fear and negative feelings towards others. The lesson in Jesus, especially in his death and resurrection, is that genuine religion, genuine maturity, genuine loyalty and genuine patriotism lie in letting ourselves be stretched by what does not emanate from our own kind.

ACROSS

1. Preach vaguely about a batter cake (6) 4. Shepherds watched them by night (6) 9. Trinitarians? (6,7) 10. Kneeler cushion (7) 11. Boat lost in the ocean (5) 12. Wading bird at the birthday (5) 14. Splendour of praise of God (5) 18. Published in fair edition (5) 19. Had set the text message again (7) 21. Thief of the royal pastry (5,2,6) 22. Stop it! (6) 23. Canon gets a letter in the ravine (6)

DOWN

1. Measurements, broadly speaking (6) 2. It’s a fury saved around days of Fatima devotions (4,9) 3. Jargon (5) 5. Songlike (7) 6. King or queen is its owner (5,8) 7. Complex that could be solar (6) 8. Speak in the past (5) 13. Set right and put on new clothes (7) 15. Was placed in the hierarchy (6) 16. Movement towards a mass of snow (5) 17. Dad turns to son and gets some more (4,2) 20. Greek letter (5) Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

FRANCISCAN gets a haircut, and then asks how much he owes. The barber says he never charges clergy. The Franciscan thanks the barber and goes home. The next morning the barber finds a big basket of fresh bread from the Franciscans’ kitchens. An Augustinian gets his hair cut by the same barber. The barber also tells him than he never charges clergy. So, the next day the barber receives a nice bottle of wine from the Augustinians’ wine cellar. A Jesuit gets his hair cut, and the barber again says that he never charges clergy. The next day, when the barber gets to work, there are twelve other Jesuits already waiting for him.

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