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March 29 to April 4, 2017

What Pope Francis will do in Fatima

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SA Youth Day 2017: What is being planned

By Mandla ZiBi

T

HERE will be no registration on site at the Mini World Youth Day (MWYD) pilgrimage and celebrations to be held in Durban in December, according to the head of the organising team.

The MWYD will be the second to be staged in South Africa. The first took place in December 2015 in Johannesburg.

Fr Mthembeni Dlamini CMM, who also is the national youth chaplain, said instead of on-site registration, the whole process will be online in order to avoid the long queues and chaos that plagued the first MWYD. “Registration was one of our biggest headaches last time and we have decided to create an online platform which will be accessible only to youth chaplains and parish coordinators,” the priest told The Southern Cross.

“This is to make sure we eliminate the wrong element that disrupted our last celebrations and that we protect the integrity of the event.”

He pointed out that the decision also took account of the fact that the registration process contained an element of education as to the purpose and nature of the event.

“To that end we will issue everyone with registration packs that speak to the issues pertinent to the celebrations and pilgrimage.”

Regarding accommodation, this year will also do away with tents and dormitories that were used in 2015. Fr Dlamini confirmed that a number of hotels and lodges had been approached to provide accommodation for the pilgrims, saying that negotiations are at an advanced stage.

Regarding catering, the priest said initially the organising team had considered engaging food franchises but was now concerned about delivery and health issues.

“We are now working with an events company and they have suggested that a catering company is the best way to ensure that everything goes smoothly as far as food is concerned. This was again one of our biggest challenges in 2015,” he said.

Another innovation this year is the “Days in Parishes” concept, which draws from the “Days in the Dioceses” concept of World Youth Days.

The

Young pilgrims will spend at least two days in face-to-face interaction with ordinary parishioners in the archdiocese of Durban or the dioceses of Eshowe and Marianhill.

“We envisage that on December 4-5 the youth will engage in parish and deanery activities respectively. We are talking to families in these parishes about accommodating the pilgrims during those days,” Fr Dlamini explained.

“We also appeal to the religious community to open the doors of their religious houses and institutions to the young people during the event,” said the priest, himself a Mariannhill Missionary.

“This could also be part of vocations promotion, where young people could learn about the work the brothers and sisters are doing. This may contribute to alleviating the prospect of some religious houses being on the brink of closing down on account of dwindling numbers,” he said.

Fr Dlamini also appealed to dioceses to start fund-raising now in order to find sponsors for young people attending the event.

Registration will close by October 31, and “everything should be paid for by then”, he said.

The event is planned for 5 000 people . Each diocese should establish the number of pilgrims it will send as soon as possible.

Every diocese has been allocated 172 places at MWYD. Should a diocese send fewer pilgrims they are urged to inform the registration team so that other dioceses can be allocated the balance.

At least 400 volunteers—half of whom Durban archdiocese has already pledged—will be required for safety and security at the event.

The expectation is that they will all be assembled at the Durban Exhibition Centre on the eve of the celebrations.

“Unlike last time, this year we have a logo and a motto, ‘Young People’s Face and Vocation’, which is taken from next year’s Synod of Bishops on the Youth in the Vatican,” Fr Dlamini said.

All the bishops who were asked to participate at the event have confirmed attendance and the final Mass will be conducted by the apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Peter Wells

Brett Montanari as Jesus is tormented by two Roman soldiers. a scene from last year’s Way of the Cross performed by the durban Catholic Players Guild at Mariannhill monastery. This year’s Way of the Cross will again be at Mariannhill on april 9. Entrance is free.

Dramatic Way of Cross for Durban

By Mandla ZiBi

T

HE Durban Catholic Players Guild will once again perform the annual Way of the Cross at Mariannhill monastery church on Palm Sunday.

The production will this year feature new actors from Mariannhill.

The Guild has a long history of using drama to spread the Gospel, having produced the Durban Passion Play every five years—a tradition begun in 1952 by Fr Noel Coughlan OMI of Durban.

In the years between Passion Plays, the Way of the Cross is produced. For many years it was performed at the Greyville Racecourse, but has now moved to Mariannhill.

“The new venue in the cloister garden is perfect for meditation on the journey of Christ from his condemnation by Pilate to his crucifixion,” said Dawn Haynes, president of the Guild.

“The performance consists of a narrated meditation accompanied by singing led by the choir from the Immaculate Conception church in Pinetown. There are about 30 cast members, five backstage technicians, two narrators, and the choir and musicians—about 60 people altogether,” she said.

The performance is just under an hour long and the Knights of Da Gama are assisting with the organising, advertising and setting up on the day of the performance, said Ms Haynes.

“Last year we had two performances, one

S outher n C ross &

100 Years Fatima A spiritual journey to Fatima • Lisbon

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at Greyville and one at Mariannhill. Around 600 people attended. Many people contacted us to say how moving the performance is and how it is a truly spiritual experience. There is no charge and all are welcome,” she said.

Ms Haynes said she felt that the Way of the Cross was “the closest one can get to actually walking the path to Calvary” and a “personal journey with Christ” from the condemnation to the crucifixion.

Mariannhill monastery has allowed the players the use of the former farm house to store all their props and costumes. Over the past 18 months, the Guild has renovated the house and now has a "home" at Mariannhill, Ms Haynes said.

“Our way of thanking them for this is to perform the Way of the Cross at Easter as well as Carols by Candlelight at Christmas. We did this for the first time last year, so this is our second year at Mariannhill,” she said, adding that the brothers and the local community have been very supportive and excited to be involved in this form of evangelisation.

“Fr Lawrence Mota and Br Konrad are always there to advise, assist and support us. I am sure that this collaboration with Mariannhill will be a rewarding experience to all, Ms Haynes said.

The Way of the Cross will be performed on April 9 at 15:00 at Mariannhill monastery.

Free entrance is through the church at the back of the tea garden. For enquiries 083 564 2929.

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The Southern Cross, March 29 to april 4, 2017

LOCAL

Inauguration of Denis Hurley shrine STaFF REPORTER

C

ROWDS gathered at Durban’s Emmanuel cathedral for the inauguration of a shrine to the late Archbishop Denis Hurley OMI. The event also marked the 70th anniversary of Archbishop Hurley being made a bishop in the same cathedral.

At all the Masses, a chalice was used which had been given to Archbishop Hurley by the Marist Brothers in 1947 on the occasion of his episcopal consecration.

Denis Hurley had been a student at the Marists’ St Charles College in Pietermaritzburg. Fellow St Charles alumnus and Hurley biographer Paddy Kearney carried the chalice in the procession.

Addressing the congregation, he explained the significance of Archbishop Hurley’s mitre (carried by his niece Mikaela York) and crozier (carried by Jean-Marie Ntamubano from the Denis Hurley Centre).

These were placed in front of the altar on the simple velvet chair that Archbishop Hurley had used as his “cathedra”: all of them symbols of his teaching authority.

The shrine was blessed at the end of Mass by Bishop Barry Wood OMI, auxiliary bishop of Durban and, like the late archbishop, an Oblate of Mary Immaculate.

In his homily, Bishop Wood described Archbishop Hurley as a “prophet of a new age”, someone not afraid to discern the signs of the times and then take action.

“We need more prophets like Hurley to challenge us to do something about the injustices that still exist,” the bishop said.

He asked the congregation if it took seriously the call to be prophets, which we all share through our common baptism.

“Hurley was wonderful but he wants us to be wonderful too: to take our vocation seriously; to care for the poor; to speak out as prophets; to have the courage to do

the right thing,” Bishop Wood said.

Other Masses over the weekend were celebrated by fellow Oblates Fr Chris Richmond, Fr John Paterson—now aged 93—and Natal provincial Fr Vusi Mazibuko.

After each Mass, the congregations joined in saying the special prayer in honour of Archbishop Hurley which, like the shrine, has been approved by Cardinal Napier to encourage public devotion to Hurley.

For more information, or for a copy of the prayer (which also appeared in The Southern Cross last week), e-mail shrine@denishurleycen tre.org. Copies of the prayer in English and Zulu are for sale on laminated bookmarks at R30 for 20.

The shrine is open every day from 6:00 to 18:00 (except during services).

An exhibition on the late archbishop is open at the Denis Hurley Centre next door, every day from 8:00 to 17:00. Tours for groups are available on request, and safe parking is available behind the cathedral.

Fr nkosinathi ndlovu prays at the new shrine for archbishop Hurley at his grave in durban’s Emmanuel cathedral, of which Fr ndlovu is the administrator.

Stigmatines hold international indaba on formation

By Mandla ZiBi

I

Stigmatines from across the world gathered in Pretoria for a formation conference.

NTERNATIONAL formators of the Stigmatine order met in Pretoria to review the document that outlines the formation of the whole congregation.

The 28 formators discussed the Ratio formationis document which had not been reviewed for the past 20 years.

The meeting was a vote of confidence in Africa, the youngest province to be established by the congregation, having gained its independence only in 2015 from the Sacred Heart province in Italy, and taking the name The Most Holy Redeemer province.

The Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata was founded in 1816 by St Gaspar Bertoni in Verona, Italy.

Conference organiser Fr Abel Maglines, a member of the Stigmatine general council in charge of formation, said he saw the gathering as “the best opportunity to revise the issues affecting Stigmatine formation in the light of what the

Church requires”.

He said that it is also the right time to look closely at challenges facing the whole congregation in different parts of the world.

Fr Maglines said the challenges are not unique to the Stigmatines as “they are the same problems facing the whole Church in the world of today”.

He stressed that problems in the Philippines, where he comes from, are the same problems facing Africa, mainly those linked to ongoing formation.

He pointed out that the aim is not to help a candidate survive a formation stage but to “form people to become true ministers of Christ”.

Fr Maglines acknowledged that in some parts of the world there are programmes already in place to help priests who struggle with alcohol abuse, sexual and other challenges.

“The main focus is to address their psychological problems so that they become the true, quality

priests required by the Church,” he said.

The Stigmatines came to South Africa more than 55 years ago.

The congregation established itself mostly in the North-Western deanery of Pretoria through different pastoral activities such as building parishes, schools, formation of the youth, catechesis, establishing health facilities, marriage encounter and marriage preparation and others.

From Pretoria the congregation spread its wings to other dioceses of the Southern African pastoral region and also to other African countries, such as Ivory Coast and Tanzania.

Apart from Pretoria, the Stigmatines have established a presence at Bethlehem in the Free State and in the Bafokeng platinum belt in North-West province, at the invitation of Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg.

They also minister in the pastoral district of Marikana.

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The knights of St Christopher’s annual “Sunshine Runs” raise funds for many charities, including Huis andrew Murray, a children’s home in Wellington, Western Cape.

Bikers hit the road for charity

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CHRISTIAN motorbiking group started by a Catholic priest raised funds for a children’s home during its third annual “Sunshine Run”—and almost doubled the amount raised last year.

The Knights of St Christopher motorcycle ministry in Cape Town kicked off with a mass ride from the Velodrome in Bellville to Wellington, arriving at Huis Andrew Murray (HAM), a children’s home of safety in the Boland town.

HAM serves 154 boys and girls between the ages of 12 months to 18 years.

“At the home, all were welcomed by the kids and then enjoyed an awesome breakfast,” said Fr Bogdan Buksa, the chap-

lain of the Knights of St Christopher.

There were prizes won and entertainment provided by the Grade R children. The event concluded with a presentation of the day’s proceeds to Karin Petersen, the manager of HAM. Donations were received from Lewis Stores, Auritalia Jewellers in Parow, O’Brians Recruitment, BEE Recruitment, Raith Gourmet and Motorcycle World, with many anonymous donations too.

The total amount raised was R41 743—almost twice of last year’s R21 000.

The Knights of St Christopher is a non-profit, interdenominational motorcycle ministry started by Fr Buksa of Bellville parish.

“The Knights endeavour to help the underprivileged and those in need by supporting and organising charity events,” the Polish-born priests said.

“Like the knights of old who used their horses as vehicles for noble deeds and for the love of God, so do the Knights of St Christopher recognise that our journey in faith compels us to action,” he said.

“In a world of tweets and posts, we realise that there is no better way to experience faith than by helping those in need,” he said, citing the Gospel: “In the same way your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in Heaven” (Mt 5:16).

The Southern Cross, March 29 to april 4, 2017

LOCAL

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St Anne’s: No to human trafficking

By Mandla ZiBi

G

OVERNMENT must charge and convict human traffickers under the recent Human Trafficking Act of 2015 instead of the Sexual Offences Act or the Children’s Act, as this leads to a lack of statistics and confusion about the true proportions of the scourge in Cape Town and South Africa at large.

This was the message of an antihuman trafficking march by the Cape Town chapter of St Anne’s Sodality on Human Rights Day, when members, clergy and laity handed over a memorandum of demands to the minister of police in the Western Cape, Luyanda Qhomfo.

The march was also attended by Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town.

“The current practice of charging traffickers under the Sexual Offences Act and the Children’s Act leaves a statistics vacuum. Therefore, the traffickers are charged only for rape or kidnapping,” Bernadette Kibe, secretary of the sodality, told The Southern Cross.

“The case of Ugochukwu Eke in March this year under Judge Majake Abesele was the first one to be finalised under the new Human Trafficking Act since its promulgation in August 2015,” she said.

She also said the sodality had given the minister until the end of June 2017 to see “your action plan to eradicate this scourge”.

The march was attended by “a good mixture of people and organisations” in the Western Cape, including the Justice & Peace Commission of the archdiocese of Cape Town, Ms Kibe said.

Archbishop Brislin opened the march, starting at Keizergracht, with a prayer. From there on, Ms

Selling The Southern Cross at Our lady Help of Christians (Salesians) church lansdowne, Cape Town at Sunday 8:00 Mass are (from left) Hilton Stead, Maud Stellenboom and Carl Clayford. not in the picture is Ursula Martin.

Gaelic football was officially launched on St Patrick’s day at nzimankulu Senior Secondary School/Qoqodala Mission School in Queenstown, Eastern Cape. This irish sport started in South africa six years ago in Johannesburg. There are five teams already in two provinces, Gauteng and KwaZulu-natal. This is the first time the game is being played competitively in the Eastern Cape.

“Proper youth formation always implies the alternative to the usual domain,” said Qoqodala parish priest Fr Matthias nsamba. Pictured (clockwise from back left) are Kate and Gerry Reilly from Monaghan, ireland, lungile nyukwana (principal of nzimankulu/Qoqodala Mission School), Fr nsamba, Ray-ray Teboho, and Gaelic football coaches in Qoqodala, Eastern Cape Mavis, Sicelo and luyanda from the Gaelic Football administration Board of South africa, which is based in Johannesburg.

archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town hands a memorandum of demands to the Western Cape police minister, luyanda Qhomfo, outside parliament following the St anne’s Sodality’s march in the city.

Kibe led the rosary, which was said in various languages to show unity.

“I felt happy that we were a good crowd which came together and walked down the city streets in a peaceful manner,” said Ms Kibe.

“There is an innate cruelty buried deep within the hearts of certain members of our society that when unleashed shatters the very foundation of what is good and decent. These people act in a way that can only be characterised as depraved indifference. They prey on young children—our children—as well as those deemed the most vulnerable among us,” Ms Kibe said.

These individuals are part of an ever-expanding criminal enterprise that does not respect borders. “No corner of the globe is immune from their wrath,” she said.

Ms Kibe asked the minister: “Just stop and pause for one moment and consider what this crime en-

Alpha prison ministry expert to visit SA

A

N international expert on prisons ministry is visiting South Africa in April and will speak in a Catholic church.

Peter Jones, head of Global Development for Alpha in Prisons, previously ran Alpha courses in all categories of prisons in Britain.

He also trains teams all over the world to run Alpha in prisons.

The holder of a masters degree in criminology and criminal justice will share stories and practical tips on reaching people in prisons.

Mr Jones will aim to show how local churches can help

Chaplain Fr Gerardo Garcia CS (left) on the Maersk Cotonu to preside over a memorial service.

A

transform their communities by introducing people in prisons to Jesus through Alpha.

He will speak on April 7 at 19:00 at Holy Redeemer church in Bergvliet, Cape Town. n To attend, RSVP by April 2 to pmiles@sweetvalleyprimary. co.za

Pilgrimage to FATImA, Salamanca, Avila, Loyola, LouRdES and Paris

Memorial held for man missing at sea PORT chaplain was deeply touched by the devotion he encountered when he came on board a ship in Cape Town to preside over a memorial service for a seafarer missing at sea.

Fr Gerardo Garcia CS, who works with Catholic seafarers’ charity Apostleship of the Sea (AoS), received a request to go on the Maersk Cotonou to celebrate a service for the missing crew member, a Chinese national.

He was welcomed on board by the captain and crew of 15.

“Everybody requested a blessing and a rosary to keep in memory of the crew member who disappeared,” Fr Garcia said.

After blessing the ship and the missing crew member’s room, the priest left the ship, agreeing to keep in touch through the ship’s agent.

The distress and anxiety felt by seafarers who lose a colleague at sea can often be magnified because seafarers spend many months working at sea together and become like family.

AoS aims to offer emotional, spiritual and practical support when seafarers arrive at South African ports, and has four dedicated port chaplains—at Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Richards Bay. Last year, AoS port chaplains in South Africa visited more than 200 ships and assisted seafarers with a range of faith needs.

tails: human beings, half of whom are children, are trafficked from one country to another for the sole purpose of being exploited for financial gain. This alone should make every one of us sit up and take notice.”

She noted that traffickers act largely with impunity and advised that a “real global effort” be undertaken to shed light on their “moral depravity”.

She enumerated several actions that the minister should take, “sooner rather than later”, including dealing decisively with South Africa’s insecure borders; tackling the horrors of human trafficking through education and prevention programmes; and establishing records reflecting the number of sex slaves in the Western Cape.

The government should also have rehabilitation programmes for the victims and form anti-human trafficking task teams, she said.

Contact us: Tel 041 373-0039 / Mobile 074 376-5833 / Email retreat@catholic-pe.co.za

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The Southern Cross, March 29 to april 4, 2017

INTERNATIONAL

Pope: Sorry for Catholics’ role in Rwanda genocide

By Cindy WOOdEn

M The sanctuary at Fatima Marian shrine in Portugal, with the chapel of the apparitions on the left and the basilica of Our lady of the Rosary in the centre. Pope Francis will visit Fatima in May (Photo: Günther Simmermacher)

Fatima’s 100-year papal visit schedule

By EliSE HaRRiS

T

HE Vatican released the official programme for Pope Francis’ two-day visit to Portugal in May, where he’ll celebrate the centenary of the Fatima Marian apparitions and make a brief stop at an air base to meet the country’s president.

The pope will likely make a stop at his favourite Roman basilica, St Mary Major, some time before leaving Rome.

He’ll land at the airbase in Monte Real where he’ll be greeted by an official welcoming ceremony and meet the president of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, before making his way to Fatima.

After his meeting with the president, the pope is scheduled to stop at the chapel of the airbase for a moment of prayer before boarding a helicopter that will take him to Fatima’s multi-use stadium.

From there, he’ll hop inside an open car and drive to the shrine of Our Lady of Fatima. Once he arrives, Pope Francis will head to the chapel of the Apparitions inside the sanctuary, where he’ll recite a prayer.

He’ll then bless the candles in the chapel and offer a special greeting, marking his first public speech of the trip, before praying the rosary with faithful.

The next day, May 13, which marks the centenary of the first apparition of Mary to the three shepherd children—Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta—the pope will meet with Portugal’s prime minister António Costa at the city’s Casa “N.S. do Carmo” hotel-convent.

The pope will then head to the basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary in Fatima, at the sanctury, to say Mass.

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After the celebration, he’ll greet sick and disabled persons who are present.

Lunch will then be served with the Portuguese bishops at the Casa “N.S. do Carmo” before the pope heads back to the Monte Real airbase for his official farewell ceremony.

Of all Marian apparitions, those relating to Our Lady of Fatima are among the most famous. On May 13, 1917, siblings Francisco and Jacinta Marto—age 9 and 7—and their cousin, 10-year-old Lucia dos Santos, took their sheep to graze near the Portuguese town of Fatima when they saw a figure of a woman dressed in white and holding a rosary.

After this first appearance, the Virgin Mary then appeared to the children on the 13th of every month from May until October. The message of the Fatima apparitions can be summarised primarily as a call to repentance and prayer.

In 1930, the Catholic Church proclaimed the supernatural character of the apparitions and a shrine was erected at Fatima. It was visited by Pope Paul VI on May 13, 1967, and later by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. St John Paul II had a particularly strong devotion to Our Lady of Fatima. After an assassination attempt in 1981, he credited his survival to her miraculous intervention. As a sign of his gratitude, he placed the bullet from the failed assassination in her crown.

“Pray for the brother who shot me, whom I have sincerely forgiven.

United to Christ, as a priest and victim, I offer my sufferings for the Church and the world,” St John Paul II said on that occasion.—CNA

EETING Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Pope Francis asked God’s forgiveness for the failures of the Catholic Church during the 1994 Rwanda genocide and for the hatred and violence perpetrated by some priests and religious.

“He implored anew God’s forgiveness for the sins and failings of the Church and its members, among whom priests and religious men and women who succumbed to hatred and violence, betraying their own evangelical mission,” said a Vatican statement released after the meeting of the pope and president.

Some 800 000, and perhaps as many as 1 million people—most of whom belonged to the Tutsi ethnic group—died in the ferocious bloodshed carried out from April to July 1994.

“In light of the recent Holy Year of Mercy and of the statement published by the Rwandan bishops at its conclusion” in November, the Vatican said, “the pope also expressed the desire that this humble recognition of the failings of that period, which, unfortunately, disfigured the face of the Church, may contribute to a ‘purification of memory’ and may promote, in hope and renewed trust, a future of peace, witnessing to the concrete

Pope Francis accepts a gift from Rwandan President Paul Kagame during a private meeting at the Vatican. (Photo: Tony Gentile, EPa/CnS) possibility of living and working together once the dignity of the human person and the common good are put at the centre”.

Pope Francis “conveyed his profound sadness, and that of the Holy See and of the Church, for the genocide against the Tutsi”, the Vatican said. “He expressed his solidarity with the victims and with those who continue to suffer the consequences of those tragic events.”

In President Kagame’s 25-minute private meeting with the pope, as well as during his meeting with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, note was made of “the

collaboration between the state and the local Church in the work of national reconciliation and in the consolidation of peace for the benefit of the whole nation,” the Vatican said.

In a statement read in churches throughout Rwanda, the country’s bishops apologised for “all the wrongs the Church committed” during the genocide. “We regret that Church members violated their oath of allegiance to God’s commandments” and that some Catholics were involved in planning, aiding and carrying out the massacres.—CNS

Sicilian bishop: No mafia godfathers

H

OLLYWOOD precedent notwithstanding, an Italian bishop has announced that known members of the mafia cannot be godparents for the Catholic sacraments of baptism or confirmation.

The diocesan decree came from Bishop Michele Pennisi of Monreale, near Palermo in Sicily, Italy.

“The mafia has always taken the term ‘godfather’ from the Church to give its bosses an air of religious respectability, whereas in fact the two worlds are completely incompatible,” the bishop said.

He admitted that it may be hard to enforce, given the secrecy of the mafia, The Guardian reported.

“If someone has not been convicted we cannot judge people on rumours, without proof,” he said, adding that he would not ban anyone willing to repent of their actions.

“If one of them admits to having

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done wrong, asks to be pardoned for the bad they have done, in that case we can discuss a path of conversion.”

Bishop Pennisi has been outspoken against the mafia before, and received death threats in 2008 after he banned Catholic funerals for known mobsters.

According to Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera, Bishop Pennisi made the decision after Giuseppe Riina, son of the notorious “boss of bosses” Toto Riina, was allowed to act as a godfather at the Catholic baptism of his nephew.

“But the Christian godfather must guarantee the child’s education and upbringing in the faith, and how can he do that if his life is in contradiction of the Gospel, if it is violent and totally ruled by the god of money.

There is a total incompatibility here and we’ve got to be clear about that.”

Bishop Pennisi said.

The move is just the latest in attempts by Church authorities to crack down on the notorious and influential groups in the country.

In 2014, Pope Francis said that members of one of the most notorious mafia groups, the ’nDrangheta, were excommunicated from the Church.

“The ’nDrangheta represents the adoration of evil and total contempt for the common good. Those who in their lives have chosen this path of evil are not in communion with God, they are excommunicated...” he said at the time.

This year, on March 21, Italy’s first “National Day for Remembrance and Commitment to Remembering the Victims of the mafia”, Pope Francis sent a message to Mafia victims gathered in Locri, Italy, expressing his “spiritual closeness” to them.—CNA

Former window-washer, secret priest-cardinal, dies 84

By CaROl GlaTZ

C

ZECH Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, who washed windows and ministered underground during communism, died of cancer in Prague at the age of 84.

The retired archbishop of Prague was elected the first East European president of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences and dedicated his term to rebuilding the Church and society after communism in the East and defending Christian values in the face of secularism and materialism in the West.

Born May 17, 1932, in Lisnice, Czechoslovakia, Cardinal Vlk studied history at Prague’s Charles University, earned a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Prague and was a trained archivist.

Ten years after he was ordained a priest in 1968, the communist regime revoked his licence to engage in priestly ministry. The regime persecuted clerics, imprisoning them and forcing them

Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, retired archbishop of Prague, Czech Republic, died at the age of 84.

(Photo: Paul Haring/CnS) into menial jobs; he spent the next ten years washing windows of government buildings.

However, he continued to minister in secret, like other barred priests, and maintained contacts with students and dissident groups.

“The will of God can be different in different moments of our life,” he said in 1991. “Sometimes it is his will that I wash the win-

dows and other times to be archbishop.”

Pope John Paul II appointed the then-57-year-old priest to be bishop of Ceske Budejovice in February 1990 and then named him archbishop of Prague in 1991.

In 1993, when Czechoslovakia became two countries—the Czech Republic and Slovakia—he became primate of the Czech Church. Pope John Paul made him a cardinal in 1994.

Cardinal Vlk was a strong supporter of lay movements, and said that the highlighting of the laity’s role may even be a hidden benefit of the priest shortage. While the lack of clergy has serious implications for sacramental life, “the life of the Church is not only the sacraments”, he said. The most important thing is to genuinely “live the life of the Gospel”.

In 2002, President Vaclav Havel awarded Cardinal Vlk the Czech Republic’s senior Masaryk Prize in recognition of his work for democracy and human rights.—CNS

The Southern Cross, March 29 to april 4, 2017

INTERNATIONAL

5

Pope to visit Egypt I

N what will be his first international trip of the year, Pope Francis will be travelling to Cairo, Egypt, from April 28-29, showing that interfaith dialogue is a priority.

He will visit the country in response to an invitation from Coptic Pope Tawadros II and the grand imam of the mosque of al Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed elTayyib, as well as Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and the bishops of the local Catholic Church, a Vatican communiqué announced.

The pope will almost certainly visit Al-Azhar University in Cairo, which has recently partnered with the Vatican to discuss combating religious justification for violence in a warming of relations between the two.

The pope’s trip will likely focus largely on inter-faith dialogue and Catholic-Muslim relations—especially in combating Christian persecution—continuing dialogue from a seminar Vatican officials attended in February.

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, along with the council’s secretary and the head of their Office for Islam, travelled to Cairo to participate in the special seminar at Al-Azhar University.

They discussed the theme “The role of al-Azhar al-Sharif and of the Vatican in countering the phenomena of fanaticism, extremism and violence in the name of religion”.

Persecution of Christians has long been an issue in Egypt, with a recent spike in attacks causing even more reason for alarm.

There have been 40 reported murders of Christians in Egypt in the last three months, Bishop Angaelos, general bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, said in a statement.

Twenty-nine were killed in a bombing at St Mark’s Coptic Or-

Men religious watch a ceremony in Jerusalem's Old City marking the end of restoration work on the site of Jesus' tomb at the church of the Holy Sepulchre. (Photo: Sebastian Scheiner, Reuters/CnS)

Pope Francis accepts an icon from Coptic Orthodox Metropolitan Bishoy of damietta, Kafr El-Sheikh and Bararya. The pope will visit Cairo at the end of april (Photo: Paul Haring/CnS) thodox cathedral in Cairo in December. ISIS took credit for the bombing and released a video threatening to target Christian “crusaders” in Egypt.

Since the video’s release, more Christians have been killed in Egypt and hundreds have reportedly fled their homes in the Sinai region in the north of the country after several murders there, the group In Defense of Christians said.

Egyptian society was also profoundly shocked by the beheading in Libya of 20 Orthodox Coptic faithful and a companion by Islamic State militants in February 2015.

Pope Francis was invited to visit Egypt by Coptic Catholic bishops during their ad limina visit at the Vatican, during which they also gave a report on the state of the Church in their country.

The pope had also received an invitation to visit Egypt from the country’s president and from the

Grand Imam of al Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayyeb, who occupies a prestigious place in the Sunni Muslim world.

Iman Al Tayyeb paid a visit to the Vatican on May 23, 2016 for a meeting with Pope Francis, which marked a major step in thawing relations between the al-Azhar institution and the Holy See, which were strained in 2011 with claims that Pope Benedict XVI had “interfered” in Egypt’s internal affairs by condemning a bomb attack on a church in Alexandria during the time of Coptic Christmas.

Since then relations have continued to move forward at a surprisingly fast pace, leading to the announcement from the Vatican that the Holy See and the Al-Azhar Mosque and adjunct university will officially resume dialogue.

The pope’s visit to Cairo and to the university will likely mark the official resumption of this dialogue.—CNA

Good Friday collection aids Church in the Holy Land A

Jesus’ tomb: ‘With God, nothing is impossible’

By JUdiTH SUdilOVSKy

L

ESS than a year after restoration work began, the edicule of Jerusalem’s church of the Holy Sepulchre—the traditional site of Jesus’ burial and resurrection—was inaugurated in an ecumenical ceremony led by representatives of the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Armenian Churches, including Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.

The 200-year-old structure was rehabilitated for the first time after Israeli authorities deemed it unsafe and leaders from the three Churches that share custody of the church came to an agreement for the work to proceed.

Some did not believe the Churches could overcome their centuries-old disagreements, but the project was a sign that “with God, nothing is impossible”, said Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, apostolic administrator of the Latin patriarchate of Jerusalem said.

“This apparent ‘mission impossible’ became possible because we allowed God to enlighten our thoughts and our eyes and our rela-

tions. Things do not change by themselves. If we are here for this celebration, it is because the different Churches and leaders were able to hear the voice of God and understand and realise and accept that it was time to build new relations between us of trust and respect.”

Franciscan Father Francesco Patton, custos of the Holy Land, said it was “providential coincidence” that this year, as the edicule is restored, all the Christian denominations celebrate Easter on the same date. It was also fitting, he said, that it was around the church of the Holy Sepulchre that the Churches regained a closer relationship.

Several hundred local faithful, pilgrims and international dignitaries filled the main area of the basilica where the edicule is located, taking pictures and videos of the pink-stoned structure. The metal girders that British Mandate authorities added in 1947 to keep it standing have been removed.

Antonia Moropoulou, a professor at the National Technical University of Athens, directed the work at the site.—CNS

Calvary

By Cindy WOOdEn

S Catholics commemorate Jesus’ passion on Good Friday, the Vatican is asking them to support the Church in the Holy Land with their prayers, financial contributions and possibly by making a pilgrimage.

The global Holy Land Collection is taken up in most dioceses around the world on Good Friday, which is on April 14 this year.

The sites of Jesus’ birth and of his death and resurrection have been undergoing restoration work and the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land announced in late March that the Vatican had pledged a further R13 million for the second phases of projects at the basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

The first phase of the work in Jerusalem, which repaired damage and reinforced the edicule of the Tomb, believed to be where Jesus was laid to rest after his crucifixion, has been completed and the hoped-for second phase of the project would seek to resolve problems due to moisture under the floor around the edicule. Work cannot begin, however, until details of the project are agreed upon by the Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Orthodox communities that share responsibility for the church.

The work in Bethlehem has restored Crusaderera mosaics and brought to light some that had been plastered over; the next phase—again pending ecumenical agreement—would include work on the church columns, floor mosaics and the grotto, which is marked as the birthplace of Jesus.

Releasing material about the annual Good Friday collection, the Vatican noted that the presence of Christianity in the Holy Land is not limited to historical sites and places of pilgrimage. “A Christian community has remained in the region down through the centuries, even at the cost of great sacrifice and martyrdom.”

The collection ensures not only that the build-

Assisi

St Peter’s

S outher n C ross Pilgrimage Restorations at the church of the nativity in Bethlehem. (Photo: Günther Simmermacher) ings remain accessible, but that local Christians are able to stay in their homeland.

Funds collected support young families, parishes, seminaries, schools, hospitals and clinics, refugees and small businesses.

Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, which coordinates the collection, also noted that pilgrimages are an essential support for the Church in the Holy Land.

“A journey to the sacred places in the footsteps of Christ can not only lead the pilgrim to a revival of his faith and a rediscovery of his origins, but it can also serve as a powerful instrument in the new evangelisation,” the cardinal said.

Additionally, he said: “Pilgrimages are an essential resource for the Christian population of the Holy Land. In fact, according to recent statistics, at least 30% of the local community in Jerusalem and in Bethlehem live and work thanks to the presence of pilgrims.”

According to Cardinal Sandri’s office, the Holy Land Collection in 2015-16 brought in more than R90 million.—CNS

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6

The Southern Cross, March 29 to april 4, 2017

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

How do we get people to read The SC?

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

A nation of outrage

I

N the years after the fall of the Third Reich, some Germans would try and find some redeeming feature in the unspeakable Nazi regime. Typically, it would involve the infrastructural improvements Hitler’s regime made, such as building the Autobahn, the German network of motorways.

For many South Africans, the controversial tweet by veteran politician Helen Zille about colonialism had a similar ring to the German trope of “at least he built the Autobahn”.

Conversely, others endorsed Ms Zille’s statement, referring to the colonial legacy in matters such as infrastructure and the system of judicial rights.

The faultlines were drawn mostly by experience: those who see the history of colonialism and its effects as one of racism, exploitation, subjugation and dispossession will have interpreted Ms Zille’s tweet as insensitive or worse. Those whos experience the colonialist legacy as benign wondered what the fuss was all about.

Colonialism is not a closed chapter. The widespread poverty in South Africa was socially engineered by the colonial and apartheid regimes. We live with its pervasive effects every day, and are confronting issues arising from it even now.

The Native Land Act of 1913, a colonial legislation, enshrined that black Africans could own only 7% of arable land, and when London united the four previously separate British colonies—the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and Orange River— into the Union of South Africa in 1910, it specifically disenfranchised blacks and Indians as well as coloureds living outside the Cape. Apartheid was built on the foundations of colonialism.

The price of these injustices, inter-generationally, is too high to extract gratitude for whatever benefits the colonialists introduced, which in any case were intended mostly to serve whites.

Colonialism was, of course, also the cause of the Boer War, with the atrocities committed against Afrikaner civilians.

Through the generations, many Afrikaners have never forgotten the suffering visited upon them

by British colonialism.

So Ms Zille’s tweet was illconsidered and betrayed an acute lack of understanding of

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

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

just how deep the scars of colonialism and apartheid run in the psyche of most South Africans.

She was writing from a perspective of privilege.

Her subsequent clarification gave substance to her intended meaning, but she had already played her hand. It is a shame that for many, her years of political service will now be reduced to one thoughtless tweet.

But her tweet has also facilitated a public discussion on how the past remains very present among us, as a nation.

Much as many wish to be divorced from the colonial and apartheid past, it is part of our nation’s DNA. The past cannot be left there, and race has to be brought into the debate when appropriate (and sometimes it isn’t).

The Catholic bishops of Southern Africa acknowledged this last year when they called for an open national public discourse on race. It is necessary that South Africans confront questions of race—and of ethnicity, class, gender and sexuality. Our churches are well-placed to provide a forum for this, and must be encouraged in doing so.

But that discourse also demands of us to hear opinions— those that are on the right side of hate speech and bigotry— with which we strongly disagree, so as to try and correct them.

This means that we must express outrage when it is necessary, not when it is just possible.

And we must beware when the outrage machine creates controversy for the sake of it.

Few people are likely to change when they are being labelled. Minds are sensitised and even changed not by aggressive noise and stigmatisation, but by persuasion through engagement in a reasoned dialogue.

The alternative to that is an entrenchment of intolerance and division, with those of a particular viewpoint retreating into their own echo chambers of self-confirming prejudices.

This is not a recipe for peaceful coexistence.

The challenge for all South Africans is to create room for constructive discourse. This requires of us to allow others to express opinions which we may disagree with and to create a space in which such views can be answered—not to silence but to change hearts and minds.

W

HAT does one do about the apathy towards The Southern Cross among many of those who one would think should be most affected by this publication?

Apart from the fact that Catholics in South Africa are more privileged than most denominations in that they actually have had a news publication which has been in continuous production for almost 100 years, disseminating news and views on the Catholic faith, The Southern Cross is an extremely good read.

Dumbed-down Catholicism

A

FTER hearing a lay person’s explanation of Shrove Tuesday and Lent—including the rules etc—which, in my opinion, not only contradicted what I had heard a priest say but lacked depth, I stumbled upon a video by US Bishop Barron on what he calls “dumbed-down Catholicism”.

In the presentation, Bishop Robert Barron mentions the Vatican II constitution Lumen Gentium and how we are called to be “essentially” and not “incidentally” Catholic.

He continues to express concern over the shallow depth with which we express our Catholic “story”. Although we strive to embody our Catholic faith through a clarity of heart, would you agree that we are bound to lose something great(er) if we continue to dumb-down Catholicism by ignoring its “essential” complexities?

The link to Bishop Barron’s seven-minute video is www.y2u. be/vZkPH1rOAG0 Jacques Batista, Port Elizabeth

Proclaim, not shout

A

S a speech and drama teacher, I offered to read at Mass. My parish priest reminded me that we should proclaim, the “word” and not treat it as a private conversation or a quiet bedtime story.

After proclaiming the word a few times, my parish priest suggested I take a step back from the microphone. I really did not need it. There is no need to shout, most churches have microphones nowadays.

Many parishioners, especially the elderly, were delighted to “hear” the readings.

Hoping for an improvement all round.

Name withheld

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The editing is sound. I compare it with the grammatical and spelling errors to be found in even the national newspapers these days, not to mention the lunacies to be found in our local rags. And the content is, for the most part, informative and relevant.

It seems as if our Catholics would rather get their information regarding sexual abuses and other scandals from the popular press or that scion of disinformation, the SABC, rather than from the horse’s mouth. Or perhaps they just don’t care one way or the other!

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

Give Donald Trump a chance

Y

OUR issue of February 8 was a great read and a deserved pat on the back to all concerned.

However, your editorial “Where’s the decency?” again laments the indecency of US President Donald Trump’s administration, just a couple of weeks into his presidency, and no doubt this will continue until he is out of office.

I do not want to enter into a dialogue with The Southern Cross over President Trump or American politics because I am not an apologist for either, but Mr Trump cannot be blamed for everything that has gone wrong in the US and the world prior to his inauguration.

The example you give of a fiveyear-old detained by US immigration cannot be defended in any way. What I would like to hear are the opinions of the victims of terrorism and their families in respect of Mr Trump’s executive order on immigration from selected majority-Muslim countries, which the courts have kicked into touch.

Mr Trump nevertheless will be exonerated should a migrant/refugee sometime in the future commit an act of terrorism. I believe these migrants will do everything in their power not to become radicalised or get involved in acts of terrorism.

In respect to Mr Trump’s wall along the border to Mexico—whose murder, drug and other criminality rate far exceeds even South Africa’s statistics and poses a major problem for the US—if that wall stops human trafficking, drug trafficking and other criminality, I say more strength to Mr Trump.

Pope Francis encourages us to pray the chaplet and the rosary as often as possible. I recommend that Catholics pray these prayers daily.

Bernie Moat, St Helena Bay

Letter to the pope on the Pill

I

HAVE written a letter to Pope Francis on the matter of the Pill.

As of writing I have received no response yet, but I thought Southern Cross readers might be interested.

The text follows below: “I am a retired South African Catholic lawyer and a pro-life activist, and humbly and respectfully ask for the help of Your Holiness in the following crucially important matter.

“The most popular birth control method today is the drug known as the Pill, manufactured primarily to prevent conception by its users.

However, its manufacturers know that this preventative function is

And cost simply cannot be a factor: only R8. What do you do with R8 if you didn’t buy the paper?

The only thing that does not appear often enough is the hierarchy’s opinion or directives—the bishops seem strangely silent for the most part. But that’s not the fault of The Southern Cross.

Also, we don’t need the publication to become a mouthpiece for the powers-that-be—editorial independence is essential.

I put this question out to the readers: How does one get our people to read?

Cecil Cullen, Alberton

not infallible, and that “accidental;” conceptions often occur during its usage.

“It is thus also designed, as a guarantee against any possible pregnancy, to make the womb inhospitable to, and reject, any such conception, thereby causing an early abortion. These functions of the drug are clearly stated in its medical pamphlet inserted in all the containers in which it is sold.

“There is no doubt that, notwithstanding the above facts, large numbers of married, and unmarried and cohabiting, Catholics today use the Pill to prevent conception, mainly because they are completely ignorant, and are almost never informed by our clergy of its abortive likelihood, and are thus practising “chemical abortion”.

In an attempt to remedy this situation, I started my own campaign against the Pill several years ago, by printing certain cards, based on a booklet Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions? (which shows that it often does) by American Randy Alcom.

“I humbly and respectfully enclose herewith, for the information of Your Holiness, a holder of these cards which I send to all denominations to be placed on their church tables for their congregations.

“I now ask Your Holiness if the Catholic Church would be able to officially approve of these cards and assist with their circulation.

“If it were able to do this, this action could result in the following spectacular benefits for our faithful and our beloved Church as a consequence of users of the Pill relinquishing this practice: “1. The saving of many immortal souls and the lives of many unborn infants, by the reduction in the numbers of chemical abortions.

“2. A significant decrease in the incidence of Catholic extra-marital cohabitation, due to a simultaneous decrease in artificial birth control in contravention of papal encyclical Humanae Vitae.

“3. And lastly, but most importantly, the showering of blessings

by Almighty God, who is never outdone in generosity, on our faithful and our beloved Church.

“In conclusion, I humbly and repectfully ask Your Holiness to reflect seriously on the contents of this letter and to send me your reply hereto in due course.

“I continue to keep Your Holiness in my prayers, and am your obedient and loving son.”

Damian McLeish, Johannesburg

Thank you for the ‘prayer cards’

I

WRITE to thank you for the feature of the illustrated weekly “prayer cards” for us to “cut out and keep”.

That’s what I do: I cut them out and laminate most of them. I then place them on the table at my prayer space. Others I stick on the fridge, to pray while I wait for the kettle to boil.

I have quite a collection already and I’m looking forward to adding to it.

Michelle Davis, Durban

The Southern Cross, March 29 to april 4, 2017

PERSPECTIVES

Be transformed through true repentance Kelvin Banda OP T HE mercy and forgiveness which God offers us should always be accompanied by our acknowledgment of our sinfulness. This is the essence of repentance: recognising our sinfulness.

The expression “to repent” relates to the Greek word metanoia which stresses a change of attitudes from which we experience a transformation—a circumcision of one’s heart before God; a U-turn to God, abandoning what’s wrong to doing right and living a Christian life of obedience; a liberation from sin.

This requires great faith in God who forgives and shows mercy unconditionally.

Repentance and faith can be seen as two sides of the same coin. It is impossible to place our faith in Jesus Christ as the Saviour without first changing our mind about who Jesus Christ is and what Christ can do for humanity.

A repentance rooted in solid faith in Jesus Christ results in a change of behaviour, from living a life of hypocrisy to living a life of justice.

There must be a change of actions as a result of faith in our Saviour Jesus Christ who was sent by God to redeem us from all our sins. Repentance in good faith means turning from all which opposes God’s commandments, and turning to the way of life called for by God’s law, which involves mainly the Ten Commandments.

During this Lenten Season, let 1 John 4:20b remind us: “He who does not love

Point of Reflection

True repentance is a gift of the Gospel which liberates us. (Photo: lucie alvares) his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.”

If repentance means to truly love God, then it must also mean that we truly love our brothers or sisters—God and our neighbour in mutuality—to fulfil the law, to keep God’s commandments and to worship God in truth.

T

rue faith produces repentance, just as it produces love. Since grace produces repentance just as surely as it produces a righteous standing before God, repentance in good faith is the surest sign that one has been forgiven.

Nevertheless, that parallel is not because our repentance causes God’s forgiveness; it is as a result of God’s forgiveness

that breaks the hold of sin in us and so sets us on the path of righteousness.

God’s forgiveness causes repentance, and that’s why repentance is the evidence of faith and of justification. Repentance is a gift of the God. It is part of the glory of the Gospel.

What God rightly requires of us but we could not do, God gives us when he forgives us and unites us with our beloved brother, Jesus Christ.

Thus, true repentance, done in faith and believing in the mighty power of God, is necessary for salvation.

Biblical repentance is changing our mind about Jesus Christ and turning to God in faith for salvation (Acts 3:19).

Turning from sin is not the definition of repentance, but it is one of the results of genuine, faith-based repentance towards the Lord Jesus Christ.

And this is an ongoing project in our lives.

This Lenten season, may God call us sinners from our living death of sin and resurrect us to repentance that we may rest in and enjoy God’s forgiveness.

The revealing diary of a British trooper Mphuthumi T Ntabeni HOMAS J LUCAS, a trooper in the Cape Mountain Rifles of the Cape Colony during the mid-19th century, kept a private journal. He began it when he was shipped off from London on the ship Idia to what they then called Kaffiland, the Cape Colony.

Like most Brits in that era, he was impressed only by things that served the advancement of the British empire.

This is how he describes the journey to Cape Town: “[The] ordinary crew of the Idia was supplemented by 40-50 Lascars [Indian sailors], who were shipping back to Calcutta.” Their manners and “varied picturesque costumes, made our decks quite gay in the tropical sun”.

But he didn’t like them, describing them as “useless, lazy, unmanageable indolents in bad weather [who] even refused to go aloft and only encombouring the sailors who managed to do work done by two Lascars in bad weather...” The “encomboured” sailors, naturally, were European.

He goes on in such colourful language, categorising the “pappist” [sic]—that is, Catholics—as lazy drunkards “Among the most inveterate victims to mal de mer [is] an old Roman Catholic priest, one Fr Watkins, a Welshman, who in ordinary times was the life of the saloon...doing duty in the interior of the Cape for more than 30 years.”

Arriving in Cape Town, Lucas does not bother much with dates, but the city’s “imposing headland of Table Mountain...laying the table cloth...from a solid cloud of dazzling white vapour hanging on its summit” seems to have improved his mood, even almost against his prejudices.

Malay servants became his weak spot, for their docility and industry. He describes this affection in the same manner as those today who know how to conceal their prejudices when they express their preference for Somali, Malawian, Zimbabwean or other immigrants whose cheap labour they exploit with impunity.

At a remove of more than 150 years, the language is familiar, with the “whale boats

The Public Square

Tiyo Soga, the the first black South african to be ordained a cleric. plying full of Malay in picturesque costumes and reed hats [lending] life and colour to the scene” of alighting passengers.

Our soldier friend respected industrious people; the “capitol drivers...tooling their four-in-hand omnibuses and country carts, plying between Wynberg, Rondebusch [sic] and adjoining suburbs”.

But to Lucas, the “Hottentots” (Khoisan), who refused to indenture themselves to the Europeans, were useless drunkards who preferred to beg the streets for “Cape Smoke” (peach brandy). “You find them strewn along the taverns having dropped face down from doppie [sic] swigging, as such can’t avoid driving over them”.

A

fter our orderly officer gets off in Algoa Bay (now Port Elizabeth} en route to the then-capital of the region, Grahamstown, his new heroes are the amaMfengu because they assume the tasks done by the Malay in Cape Town.

They have “done us good service as yeomen”; they “amass money by plying as carriers on the main roads...are very useful as surfmen, busily employed to unload boats, working half-naked and always good tempered and willing”.

And they are, literally, the lifeline of the British soldiers who employed them to track amaXhosa and generally familiarise the soldiers with the terrain.

Lucas boasts about how intelligent they are in learning the “tools of civilisation”.

This condescending admiration persists until the advent of the Kat River Rebellion, where amaMfengu and Khoisan people joined the war on the Xhosa side, handing the amaNgqika chief Maqoma the only decisive victory against the British, at the Battle of Waterkloof.

At that point Lucas resumes the cussing language, adding “treacherous Fingoes” to his standard vocabulary: “indolent”, “useless”, “bastards”, and all.

He mentions a horse sale transaction with the only “thrifty and industrious Kosa [Xhosa]”, named Festiri, as an example of, as he puts it, “a kaffir of the future”.

Festiri belonged to one of the first Xhosa families who converted not only to Christianity but also to what we now call Western civilisation. He was the first “to take up the plough” together with irrigation schemes to guarantee bumper harvests. Festiri was the first to put glass panes on his windows—hence his name, which is derived from Afrikaans “venster”.

Festiri belonged to the illustrious Xhosa family, the Sogas. He was the one who taught his younger, the famous Tiyo Soga—the first Western trained clergy in the Southern Africa—how to read and write.

Old Soga, Tiyo’s grandfather and counsellor to the king Ngqika, was the son of Jotella, Maqoma’s coeval and friend. These connections have a tragic side, and were also the reason why Tiyo fled to Scotland for elementary education.

Tiyo, the marked man—standing on wings between the distrust of both the blacks and whites—holds the distinction Continued on page 11

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7

Michael Shackleton

Open door

No salvation without baptism?

Jesus said: “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (Jn 3:5). Some Christians take these words literally to mean no baptism, no salvation. The Catholic Church does not take such an extreme view, but please explain how it can get around Christ’s very clear utterance that baptism is the only way to eternal life.

Penny

T

HE Catechism of the Catholic Church (1257) acknowledges that the Church does not know of any means other than baptism that assures entry into eternal happiness. It adds this important qualification: “God has bound salvation to the sacrament of baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments.”

This is a significant observation.

When the Roman emperors rounded up Christian groups and persecuted them to death, there was often no opportunity to find water to baptise group members who had not yet received the sacrament. The unbaptised were martyred along with the baptised, and the Church recognised their courage as martyrs for Christ’s sake, including them among the saints. This came to be called baptism of blood.

Baptism is the formal rite of initiation into membership of the People of God and is the foundation stone of all our sacramental and spiritual life and its development.

But where there is faith in Christ and a desire to be united with him in his Church, there is also the “implied desire for baptism”. In other words, even before formal baptism into Church membership, it is possible to be saved because God is not bound by his sacraments.

How can the desire for baptism be implied if someone has never heard of it or of Christ or of his Church?

This problem dominated theological thought especially when voyages of discovery beyond the shores of the then-known world revealed that there were immense populations living in utter ignorance of the Church.

St Paul wrote that God desires that all men should be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4).

Vatican II added that, since Christ died for all, and since all are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all, in a way known to God, the possibility of sharing in the triumph of God’s kingdom (The Church in the Modern World, 22).

The truth remains: baptism into the Church is necessary for salvation. Those who are ignorant of the Gospel and the Church but seek to do the will of God in accordance with their understanding of it, can be saved. The presumption here is that they would have desired baptism explicitly if they had known of its necessity. This is known as baptism of desire.

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

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

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8

The Southern Cross, March 29 to april 4, 2017

COMMUNITY

The diocese of ingwavuma celebrated Police day with members of the security services at Good Shepherd parish in Phoenix, durban.

Send your photos to pics@scross.co.za

Robyn armfield and lenore Blanshard, of Holy Rosary High School in Johannesburg, won a silver medal in the U19 pairs race at the recent Buffalo Regatta. Overall the team received three golds, five silvers and four bronze medals during the tour comprising the Buffalo Regatta and Selborne Sprints.

St dominic’s Priory School in Port Elizabeth celebrated World Book day with the Pre-R to Grade 3 pupils dressing up as their favourite characters.

altar servers from St Francis of assisi parish in Matlala, Polokwane diocese, were invested by spiritual advisor Fr James Mashamaite (back).

Scouts, cubs, guides and brownies from de la Salle Holy Cross College Junior School in Victory park, Johannsburg, wore their uniforms to school to celebrate Scouts Founder’s day.

Peggy Brauns of St Charles parish in Victory Park, Johannesburg, is part of a dedicated team of 20 sacristans who help at the six weekend masses, as well as the three daily week-day Masses. Ms Brauns has been a sacristan at the parish for the past six years.

www.catholic-pe.co.za/stpius

St Kizito Children’s Programme held a team-building exercise which included the Table Mountain Cableway. The children’s programme was given complimentary tickets for the cableway. Volunteers from lentegeur parish group in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town are pictured during the teambuilding event.

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St Michael’s folk choir from Redhill, durban, celebrated its 35th anniversary at ngome Marian shrine near Eshowe, KwaZulu-natal.

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March 22 to March 28, 2017

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Debate: Is Church for or against women?

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Pope not about to ditch celibacy

BY MANDLA ZIBI

P

A full moon shines its light on the Sea of Galilee, seen from the Benedictine pilgrims’ inn Pilgerhaus at Tabgha. See page 10 for Günther Simmermacher’s travelogue of the Sea of Galilee and the Pilgerhaus, where the Southern Cross pilgrims with Archbishop William Slattery will stay in August. (Photo: Günther Simmermacher)

OPE Francis clearly was not thinking about “abolishing” obligatory clerical celibacy in the Latin-rite Church when he made comments on the crisis of vocations in an interview with a German newspaper, a local analyst has said.

Fr Anthony Egan SJ of the Jesuit Institute of South Africa said although clerical celibacy is “not Church doctrine but a discipline”, there are “very practical” reasons for it. But contrary to widespread headlines, the pope was not talking about it in his interview with Die Zeit.

Pope Francis said it was time the Church started to think about ordaining married men to minister in remote communities facing a lack of priests. He stressed that removing obligatory celibacy is not the solution to the vocations crisis, but said he was open to studying whether “viri probati”—married men of proven faith—could be ordained.

“We have to study whether ‘viri probati’ are a possibility. We then also need to determine which tasks they could take on, such as in remote communities, for example,” Pope Francis told Die Zeit.

Two Brazilian bishops have requested ‘viri probati’ priests for large areas of the Amazon, where communities live for years without the Eucharist.

“The pope is thinking aloud about extending the possibility of ordination to married men, Fr Egan said. “He is opening up the debate, but [what he said] is really nothing new.”

Fr Egan noted that the idea has been debated since Vatican II, and even Pope Benedict XVI had explored it in the Synod of Bishops in 2005. “But it is not a theological issue, only a question of when the Church develops the will to do it.”

The Jesuit noted that in the first centuries of Christianity there were married priests, but from around the early middle ages the practice of celibacy was consolidated in the West.

He said it was “quite possible” to have “viri probati” priests in the not so distant future.

“I also think that a lot of people will be shocked and resistant to the idea. But it all comes down to whether you want a priest or not, however uneasy you are,” he said.

“For our part of the world, these priests would be an intelligent and viable solution to the problem of shortage. From a cultural perspective—where men wish to enjoy family life while also ministering to the Church—it could bring together the needs of Church with the needs of the community,” he said.

The concept of “viri probati” priests in the context of the modern Church was developed in several books by a South African bishop.

B

ishop Fritz Lobinger, retired of Aliwal North, envisaged such priests operating as “Teams of Elders” in regions were their ministry would be needed.

“Such proven local lay leaders have emerged in thousands of priestless communities all over the world but especially in the southern hemisphere,” Bishop Lobinger, who now resides in Mariannhill, told The Southern Cross.

“When such communities could not have Mass on Sunday and could not find a priest for conducting funerals they did not ask just one local, well-acceptable lay person to conduct lay religious services as a kind of substitute for the priest. Rather, they formed always a group of proven local lay leaders for these tasks, and this has spontaneously become a widespread pattern. On Sundays the people saw three lay leaders leading the service,” he explained.

He stressed that the “teams of elders” were not meant to change the present form of priesthood but “to put a second, different, complementary one next to it.” There would be several important differences between the two kinds of priests.

“The teams of elders would remain in their civil profession and do priestly work only in their spare time. They would remain with their families where they have proven to be good husbands and family fathers over many years.

They would do priestly work only in the communities where they worked as lay leaders.

They could not be transferred.”

They would work only as teams, to avoid overburdening them, and if one of them had to leave and stay somewhere else the community would not be greatly affected.

Their training would be in the form of evening classes and weekend courses, not in a seminary like full-time priests, and their work would complement that of full-time priests.

“The teams of elders will not replace the consecrated priests. The present full-time priests will continue to concentrate on coordinating the ten or 20 communities they are already serving and on giving ongoing formation to the hundreds of lay leaders and the already ordained teams of elders,” said Bishop Lobinger.

He admitted that at first glance the model “seemed difficult to introduce”, but he argued that in fact, “thousands of the big parishes in Continued on page 3

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IT’S WORTH IT!

Parishioners of St James parish in Schauderville, Port Elizabeth, burnt their old palms to create ashes for ash Wednesday. The Catholic Women’s league, with parish priest Fr anthony Padua, made pancakes for the parishioners to share and enjoy.

CHURCH

The Southern Cross, March 29 to april 4, 2017

9

Lenten Appeal: 50 years of sharing This year, the bishops’ Lenten Appeal officially celebrates its 50th birthday.

Mandla ZiBi looks at the local Church’s vital ‘second collection’ campaign.

The Lenten Appeal is an opportunity to live the faith that Catholics profess: to be disciples of Christ and witnesses of his kindness towards them. It is a mutual expression of gratitude,” said Br Tillek.

“Despite these challenging financial times, [last year] we raised a total amount of R 9,8 million.

Unfortunately this was 3% lower than what we raised last year—just over R10 million. But we continue praying that this will improve because we are aware that the cost of living is a daily challenge for all of us,” Br Tillek said.

He emphasised that the Lenten Appeal “is the primary source of financial support for our local Church’s activities”.

T

HIS year’s Lenten Appeal is celebrated as marking the campaign’s 50th birthday. Although the first Lenten Appeal was staged in 1966, that was an experimental campaign, and so 1967 is seen as the official inaugural year.

In those five decades the Bishops’ Lenten Appeal in Southern Africa has raised close to R100 million.

“When I mentioned this to a priest from the archdiocese of Durban recently, he remembered the day he first put something in the mite boxes: ‘I gave my spending of a penny for the Lenten Appeal,’” said Br Ashley Tillek, the national director of the appeal.

“We all remember the day we gave our spending money for this worthwhile cause. As children the mite boxes played an important role; we all wanted to just fill it up—let us pray that this spirit will continue among our children today,” the Franciscan recalled.

Br Tillek pointed out that the Church has worked alongside the poor throughout its history.

“In 1966 the late Cardinal Owen McCann, who was president of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) at the time, asked for the period of Lent to be the time for penance, fasting, prayer and almsgiving, which we now observe in the word ‘Sacrificium’,” he said.

The bishops’ original intention was to have the Appeal only in 1966, “but when it proved to be so successful they decided to carry on with it annually,” said Fr Kevin Reynolds of Pretoria, a former national director of the campaign.

“The diocese of Johannesburg already had its own diocesan Lenten Appeal for several years before the national campaign got off the ground,” Fr Reynolds noted.

It was Cardinal McCann who commissioned the late Fr Noel Coughlan OMI of Durban as the first national director of the Lenten Appeal.

The role that Fr Coughlan played in building up the campaign cannot be overemphasised, Fr Reynolds said.

“The bishops could not have chosen a better priest to lead their new initiative. Already in 1952 Fr Coughlan had displayed his organisational skills by starting the Durban Passion Play which is still presented every five years. Later he became the founding director of the nationwide theological winter school,” said Fr Reynolds.

Fr Coughlan was sent to Canada to learn how to go about establishing the Appeal.

A more self-reliant Church Fr noel Coughlan OMi of durban, the first national director of the Bishops’ lenten appeal, a position he held for 35 years. He died on January 19, 2009 at the age of 93.

“Perhaps the best confirmation of Fr Coughlan’s dedication to the Lenten Appeal was his directing it for nearly 35 years. His guiding principle was to ensure that any worthy application for funds was always financially assisted. Hundreds of thousands of people over the years benefited from the way he organised the Appeal every year and distributed its proceeds to their benefit,” Fr Reynolds said.

Lenten Appeal growth Fr Reynolds himself was involved in the Lenten Appeal as its Pretoria archdiocesan director for nearly 20 years, up to 2001.

It is exactly 20 years ago that Fr Reynolds, Stephen Docherty of the Cape Town chancery and Fr Barry Reabow SAC of Queenstown were sent by the bishops’ conference to Germany for a week to study the methods used there.

“That initiated quite a radical upgrading of our Lenten Appeal. At that time, Bishop Reg Cawcutt, then auxiliary in Cape Town, was chairman of the bishops’ finance committee. In that position he spearheaded the upgrading of the SA Lenten Appeal,” Fr Reynolds recalled.

“Starting in 1998, we came up with the idea of supplying people with not only the contribution envelopes but also with a pamphlet on the particular year’s campaign.

We introduced an annual theme for the Appeal. Each Sunday of Lent focused on a particular aspect of the theme,” he said.

“We added ‘kits’ containing contribution envelopes and a newsletter. This had the effect of improving the Appeal’s income.

[Now] every year a Lenten Appeal pamphlet continues to be published, giving information on the previous year’s proceeds,” he said.

In the preparation of that material, Fr Reynolds worked closely with Mr Docherty, the editor of Cape Town’s Archdiocesan News, who designed the printed envelopes and pamphlets.

Mgr Edwin Kinch OSM, prefect apostolic of ingwavuma, explains the meaning of the new lenten appeal campaign to young parishioners in this issue of The Southern Cross of March 2, 1966.

Another innovation came from Fr Coughlan. He substituted the original metal money boxes he had made for the children’s contributions with little cardboard boxes in the shape of a chapel.

“They were, in fact, made by the company that produced 500ml milk cartons. These money boxes went down very well,” said Fr Reynolds.

How it all works During the 40 days of Lent— from Ash Wednesday to Holy Thursday—the Catholic Church calls out for sharing and prayer for missions running in the Catholic community.

All the money collected in the Lenten Appeal is sent to the local diocesan chancery straight after Easter. The local diocesan director then transfers the collected funds to the national Lenten Appeal office.

The Lenten Appeal national office provides dioceses with Sacrificium envelops, mite boxes for kids, and posters in various sizes for promotional purposes.

Collections are channelled to the Lenten Appeal office with the aim that the bishops can approve its distribution to the poor and needy, and to other works of the Church.

This year’s mite boxes were designed by Bafana Magagula, administrative secretary at the Bishops’ Lenten Appeal office.

The box features the Sacrificium logo, the face of Christ, and a picture of Bl Benedict Daswa.

The collected money is distributed for the support of the total mission of the Church in South Africa, which includes the poor and needy, education, health, priestly and lay formation, peace initiatives, catechetical formation, and ecumenical projects.

“Catholics are called to share with others not only money, but also what they received from God.

In his message for this year’s Lenten Appeal, SACBC president Archbishop Stephen Brislin said that the campaign is a way to help the local Church become self-sufficient.

“Although we are a young Church—in 2018 we will be celebrating only 200 years of the official establishment of the Church in Southern Africa—nonetheless we need to work much harder to become a self-reliant Church. No longer should we be dependent on other countries for Church personnel or finances,” he said.

“In the spirit of stewardship, knowing that we have been entrusted with the faith in this part of the world and are responsible for the life and work of the Church, we must strive to generously share our resources.”

One such way, the archbishop noted, is through generous support of the Lenten Appeal.

Archbishop Brislin said that few people, even within the Church, are aware of how many programmes are run by the SACBC. “Taken with the initiatives of dioceses and parishes, thousands of interventions are made which alle-

viate the suffering of people, bringing them consolation and hope.

The Gospel is proclaimed through these good works as well as though specific programmes of evangelisation and catechesis,” he said.

“The Church has provided support in the fields of education, health, development, skills, advocacy and crisis relief. Catechesis, media programmes, small Christian communities, the formation and training of priests and deacons—to name a few—have ensured that there is both the proclamation of the Word and the deepening of the faith.

“All such enterprises have benefited from contributions by the Lenten Appeal,” Archbishop Brislin said.

At the top of the governance structure of the appeal is the plenary, which consists of all the bishops of the SACBC in their summer and winter meetings. The board of directors comprises nine people, including the secretary-general of the SACBC—currently Precious Blood Sister Hermenegild Makoro—and the national director.

Br Tillek urged the faithful to continue giving of their love: “We can see that the monies collected are just not for the works of the Church, but for the poor and needy. The works of the Church are well looked after because this is where the people really need our help, so please during the Lenten Appeal period remember the father, sister, brother and laity doing these works on your behalf.”

• The banking details for the Lenten Appeal are: Standard Bank Pretoria (010045) SACBC Lenten Appeal Account number: 010009744 Please e-mail proof of payment to lentenappeal@sacbc.org.za for reference purposes.

One can also contribute to the Lenten Appeal by SMS, with the word “Lent” and the name of your diocese to 40180 (SMSs cost R20)

Bishop John Bokenfohr of Kimberley and Fr l dunkel look at the poster for the first lenten appeal campaign in this picture in The Southern Cross of February 16, 1966.

10

The Southern Cross, March 29 to april 4, 2017

CHURCH

Fixing up our holiest churches Last month GünTHER SiMMERMaCHER made a private visit to the Holy Land. In the third of a series of four articles, he witnesses the renovations in the place of Jesus’ birth.

O

N the façade of Jerusalem’s church of the Holy Sepulchre, on the right window, stands a ladder that has not been moved in more than two centuries—because nobody can decide who has the authority to move it.

The problem is that virtually every crevice in Christianity’s holiest place—the site of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection—is allocated to one of the several churches that occupy it. And the ladder stands on a cornice that belongs to the Greek Orthodox Church, but the window it leans against is Armenian.

This means—to the churches, at least—that whoever moves the ladder could claim sovereignty over that particular possession. And if you let go of your possession of a little ledge, what else will you be asked to surrender?

The absurdity is rooted in an 18th-century ruling imposed by the Ottoman sultan, which conveniently gave all the best spots to the Greek Orthodox Church after they had invaded them on Palm Sunday 1753. The Status Quo, as it is called, has held, even though it has resulted, even in recent times, in physical brawls which required police intervention.

While the local Palestinian Christians coexist in exemplary harmony, the monks and clerics at the church of the Holy Sepulchre and

left: Chief engineer ibrahim abed Rabbo with a newly-recovered 12th-century mosaic in Bethlehem’s church of the natvity • The church of the nativity with a crane at its belltower, seen from Manger Square • The “immovable” ladder of Jerusalem’s church of the Holy Sepulchre. (all photos: Günther Simmermacher)

in Bethlehem’s church of the Nativity, which is also subject to the Status Quo, are learning only slowly to rise above petty antagonism.

So it can be called a sign of remarkable progress that both holy churches have been undergoing renovations at the same time.

In the case of the Jerusalem church, which was re-built by the Crusaders and consecrated in 1149, it was a case of safety. The edicule— the building within the church that houses the tomb of the resurrection—threatened to collapse. The structure, built in 1808, had already been held together by unsightly steel girders placed there in 1934.

In the face of possible disaster, all the resident denominations had to agree to agree. The renovations, during which pilgrims still had access to the tomb, were carried out by the National Technical University of Athens. The restored edicule was revealed in late March.

As part of the renovations, archaeologists were permitted to lift the marble slab that covers the rock ledge on which the crucified Christ

a newly-restored 12th-century mosaic of St Thomas inspecting Jesus’ wounds. Soot, dust and rain damage accumulated over centuries had made the mosaic almost invisible from the bottom of the church.

was laid and from which he rose. It was the first time since 1555 that it had been revealed. I wrote about what the Franciscans found at that time in my book, The Holy Land Trek. The latest opening was documented by National Geographic. I’m anxious to learn what exactly they found.

Excitingly, a small window has been created to allow us a view of the original rock of the tomb.

Fixing Jesus’ birthplace Bethlehem’s church of the Nativity, since 2012 a UNESCO world heritage site, was also in urgent need of renovations because of the deterioration of the roof.

Here the Palestinian government took charge in marshalling the resources for a comprehensive makeover for the church, which was first built in the 4th century and rebuilt in the 6th century.

It took some pressure from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to have the churches agree to the renovation plan. No church is running the renovations, even if some—like the Vatican and the Russian and Armenian patriarchates—have contributed funding.

Much of the financing is sourced locally, from Christian and Muslim Palestinians.

Apart from securing the roof (and making it earthquake-proof), replacing windows, cleaning up the exterior stone facade and interior walls, and so on, the international team was also tasked with restoring ancient artworks. And that’s where things get quite exciting.

The columns in the nave are still covered up, but one that was restored has been exposed since October last year. The artwork on it had faded to the point that it was difficult to notice. Time will tell how much more artwork will be revealed on the other 49 columns when the coverings eventually come off.

Available funding for the restoration of the columns isn’t sufficient, so the restoration team is inviting donors to “adopt” a column.

And much more work is

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And there is no guarantee of that.

Even now, the renovation team must down tools periodically while they wait for new funds to come through.

In the future, they would like to restore the 4th-century floor mosaics in the nave, and the floor above them. The plans are in place: all now depends on financing them.

The renovations have produced some sensational finds.

While renovating the wooden door of the narthex (the lobby between the church’s entrance and the nave), the restorers made an astonishing discovery: hidden behind old wooden boards was the original upper part of the door. Now visitors can see the door in its original form.

But most exciting is the restoration of the Crusader-era mosaics up on the walls of the church. On our visit in February, we had the very special privilege of being invited up on the scaffolds by chief engineer Ibrahim Abed Rabbo, a Palestinian Catholic.

Ibrahim explained the extraordinary process of all the renovations in the church but took particular pride in the beautifully restored mosaics from 1155 which had been made near-invisible by the accumulation of centuries of soot and dirt, rain-damage from the leaky roof, and, in one instance, having been covered by plaster.

Revealing Crusader mosaics Restoring them was painstaking work, of course, but it also required difficult decisions, Ibrahim told us.

For example, every bit of damage sustained over the centuries, every missing stone, would be subject to deliberation over whether to leave things as they were or whether to execute cosmetic repairs to preserve the integrity of the image.

For the most part, Ibrahim explained, this was a process of conservation, which means that there would be a minimum of intervention on the artworks. During this, the Italian restorers inspected and restored more than 1,5 million tiny mosaic pieces.

Only about 20% of the mosaics that once covered the walls have survived. Most stones were lost through rain-damage, some possi-

bly through theft.

The artistry of the mosaics is astounding. For example, the original artists would layer gold-leafed mosaic pieces at precise geometric angles so that light would reflect off them into the church.

The most exciting mosaic discovery surely is that of a radiant angel—its stones include mother of pearl and gold and silver leaf pressed under glass—which for centuries had been hidden under plaster. It might have been covered to protect it from the elements, or perhaps from iconoclastic Ottomans who had a way of shooting depictions of people and animals in the face, as they did with other angels here.

Painstakingly the restorers removed the plaster so that the angel could “join” the other six angels that point the viewer to the grotto of the Nativity, the traditional birthplace of Jesus.

The other angels had their noses shot off, an act which the shooters believed would kill the angels. The restorers took the decision to repair their faces, “so that they may have a second life”, Ibrahim said.

Unusually, we know the identity of the artist who created these angels mosaics, for he signed one of them: Basilius. Another grand mosaic, of St Thomas inspecting Jesus’ wounds, is also signed by Basilius, along with Ephraim.

The last time the church was renovated was in 1479, so very few people, if any, will have seen these mosaics close-up in the intervening half-millennium. In a few months the scaffolds will come down, and it will be another few hundred years before anyone will see them close-up.

Next time I come to the church of the Nativity, I will have to look up to see these mosaics. But I will remember the blessed privilege that allowed me to see these astonishing works of art right before me, their surviving parts looking much as Basilius and Ephraim left them 862 years ago. n To contribute to the restoration of the church of the Nativity, e-mail info@ nativityrestoration.ps or visit www. nativityrestoration.ps. All project contracts and disbursements are audited by Deloitte & Touche

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newly-restored 12th-century mosaics high up in the church of the nativity.

The angels between the windows point to the grotto of Jesus’ birth.

CLASSIFIEDS

Felix Anthony Deeb

F

ELIX Deeb, father of Dominican Father Michael Deeb, passed away peacefully on March 5, seven weeks short of his 95th birthday.

He was born in Kroonstad, Free State, on April 25, 1922, the third child and eldest son of Maroon and Emily Deeb (née Chama), who respectively originally came from Hadath Beirut and Bikfaya, in Lebanon.

After doing most of his schooling in Kroonstad, his family moved to Durban where he completed high school and went on to obtain a BSc in electrical engineering.

In these and subsequent years he was a champion athlete.

After graduating, he volunteered for military service in the last year of World War II. Soon after being demobilised, he married Thelma Sanan on October 7, 1946. They had six children: Raymond (1947), Lucille (1950), Michael (1953), Marilynn (1955), Rosemary (1958) and Gerard (1962).

Thelma died in 1978 as a result of a mistake during a heart operation. This was the biggest blow in Felix’s life.

Felix’s work took him and the family to many places: to New-

castle in Northern England (1946-48), Florida, Transvaal (1949-51), Welkom, Orange Free State (1952-64), Boksburg, Transvaal (1965-69), and Kloof, Natal (1969-94).

From 1994 to 2000 he settled

on his own in Umdloti, KwaZulu-Natal.

When he began experiencing failing health, he moved to Johannesburg to stay with his daughter Marilynn and her husband Frik, and moved with them to San Diego, California.

After an 18-month return to South Africa, to Pinetown, he returned finally to San Diego in September 2006 and stayed at La Costa Glen Retirement Community in Carlsbad until his death.

Felix was always very involved in the Church. He was the grand knight of local councils of the Knights of Da Gama in Welkom, Boksburg and Pinetown. He oversaw the building of the churches in Welkom, Kloof and Pinetown, and in 1979 he was awarded the highest papal medal for a layperson, Pro Ecclesia.

Despite many health problems in his life, Felix always bounced back and—like his father who died just short of his 99th birthday—remained in relatively excellent health until he fell and broke his hip on February 17, 2017.

Felix leaves behind his six children and children-in-law, 14 grandchildren, 6 great-grandchildren, and his brother, George.

Trooper’s diary and Tiyo’s journey Continued from page 7 of being only the second African man to be ordained a clergyman by a British Church, in 1856 (the first being Samuel Ajayi Crowther who went to work as a missionary in Sierra Leone).

Tiyo was the first black African to wear a red toga of the graduates of Glasgow University.

The Sogas grew up around the missionary station of Thyume, close to what today is known as Keiskama Hoek. The missionary station was founded

by John Brownlee of the Glas-

gow Missionary Society in 1820.

I’ve mentioned Tiyo in this column before, but only as an author of a very famous Xhosa hymn: “Lizalis’ Indinga Lakho, Nkosi Yenyaniso” (Fulfil Your Promise, Lord of Truth).

Next month I will take Tiyo’s life story from the time his studies at Lovedale are disturbed by the War of the Axe (the fifth Frontier War); look at why his mother, Nosuthu, took refuge with him on the mission, and why they decided it best that he leave for Scotland to continue his studies—and preserve his

Liturgical Calendar Year A – Weekdays Cycle Year 1 Sunday April 2, 5th Sunday of Lent Ezekiel 37: 12-14, Psalms 130:1-8, Romans 8:8-11, John 11:1-45 Monday April 3 Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62, Psalms 23, John 8:1-11 Tuesday April 4, Ss Benedict and Isodore Numbers 21:4-9, Psalms 102:2-3, 16-21, John 8:21-30 Wednesday April 5, St Vincent Ferrer Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95, Daniel 3:52-56, John 8:31-42 Thursday April 6 Genesis 17:3-9, Psalms 105:4-9, John 8:5159 Friday April 7, St John Baptist de la Salle Jeremiah 20:10-13, Psalms 18:2-7, John 10:31-42 Saturday April 8 Ezekiel 37:21-28, Jeremiah 31:10-13, John 11:45-56 Sunday April 9, Palm Sunday Procession: Matthew 21, 1-11 Isaiah 50:4-7, Psalms 22:8-9, 17-20, 23-24, Philippians 2:6-11, Matthew 26:14--27:66

life. And I’ll look at how in 1846, like the prophet Samuel’s mother, she dedicated her son to God as she watched her 15year-old being uprooted from his native environment to be thrust on strange land across the waters.

She said: “My son is the property of God; wherever he goes, God goes with him...” n Mphutumi Ntabeni’s new book, The Broken River Tent, on 19thcentury Xhosa Chief Maqoma, will be published in May by Black Bird Books, a subsidiary of Jacana Publishing.

Word of the Week

Apostolic succession: The teaching that there is a direct line of descendants with its requisite authority that proceed from the original apostles down the line of bishops in the Church.

Habitual grace: The permanent disposition to live and act in keeping with God’s call.

Your prayer to cut out and collect

CLASSIFIEDS

DEATHS

KING—Richard Wakeford.

Passed away March 22. a wonderful husband and father. He will be missed and will always remain in our hearts. lovingly remembered by his wife Joan (née Fish) and daughter Justine.

KING—Richard Wakeford.

Passed away March 22.

May his dear soul rest in peace. Our condolences to Joan (former Southern Cross employee) and daughter Justine. From The directors and staff of The Southern Cross.

PRAYERS

OH MOST beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, fruit vines splendrous of Heaven, Mother of the Son of God, immaculate Virgin, please assist me in this my necessity. Oh Star of the Sea, help and show me you are our Mother, Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, i humbly request from the bottom of my heart, that you secure me in my necessity. no one can withstand your power. Please show me herein that i have recourse to you. X3 Holy Mary, i place this cause in your hands. X3 Thank you for your mercy towards me and mine. X3 This prayer should be said for 3 days after which your request will be granted. The prayer must then be published.

LORD GOD, this candle that i light here today reminds me of the light that you enkindled in me at my Baptism. Renew the flame of your love in me. let it burn away all my egotism, my jealousy, my pride and

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O MOST Holy Virgin Mary, who chose to appear on the Sierra de aire, in the Cova de iria, to three young shepherds to reveal the treasures of grace held in the recitation of the Rosary, impress upon our souls a fervent love for this devotion. By meditating on the mysteries of our redemption, may we learn how to use the teachings which lie therein and obtain the graces we ask in this prayer. For the Glory of God and the redeeming of our souls. amen. novena

SOLUTIONS TO 752. ACROSS: 1 Hophni, 4 Hunger, 9 Metropolitans, 10 Loiters, 11 Order, 12 Tense, 14 Unban, 18 Defer, 19 Profane, 21 Initial stages, 22 Needed, 23 Psalms. DOWN: 1 Homily, 2 Petrine office, 3 Noose, 5 Unicorn, 6 Guardian angel, 7 Resort, 8 Copse, 13 Servile, 15 Adrian, 16 Apple, 17 Census, 20 Oaths.

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Be with me in both mind and heart as I renew my life in your spirit.

Amen

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my failure to love. let me have a warm and generous heart. lord, i am not able to remain here in this church very much longer: i have to go. So, please accept this candle in my place. let it be like a part of me that i give to you.

Here, before the image of Blessed Mary, Mother of God, and imploring her powerful intercession, i ask you, as i offer you this humble candle, to allow my prayer to penetrate every activity and every facet of my life, so that everything will be shaped and formed by the burning flame of your love. i ask this for Jesus’ sake. amen.

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Loving Creator, I know in your great love for me,you see the deep sorrow in my heart.

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the

Palm Sunday: April 9 Readings: Matthew 21:1-11, Isaiah 50:4-7 Psalm 22:8-9, 17-20, 23-24, Philippians 2:611, Matthew 26:14-27:66

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EXT Sunday we enter into Holy Week, the climax of the Church’s year, with its familiar and yet strange rituals and read-

ings.

The processional reading, inevitably, accompanying the procession of palms, is Matthew’s account of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, with the unmistakable sound of his authority echoing down the ages, even as he approaches his brutal death. One thing to notice is that at his entry “the city was shaken”, as had happened in Herod’s palace when the Magi brought the news of Jesus’ birth.

The first reading of the Mass is the third of the Four “Songs of the Suffering Servant”, which we shall hear in the course of this week.

“The Lord God is my help; therefore I shall not be disgraced” is a phrase that we might ponder during these days.

The psalm is another Old Testament text that has coloured the telling of the story of Jesus’ Passion, and you might like to meditate on the phrase “but you, O Lord—do not keep your distance!”

The second reading is from Philippians, Paul meditating on what God did in and through the death of Jesus, in response to Jesus’

S outher n C ross

The Passion: Be captivated “obedience as far as Death, death on the cross”.

“God super-exalted him and gave him the free gift of the name that is above every name”. You might like to hold that phrase in your head this week.

The gospel, of course, is Matthew’s account of Jesus’ passion, and it seemed that it might be good to share with you some (not all) of the specific features of the way Matthew tells the story. It is Matthew alone who gives us “30 pieces of silver”, which in the Old Testament is the price of a slave, and meant to be contemptuous.

Matthew alone has Judas (twice) call Jesus “Rabbi”. Earlier in the gospels, Jesus has told them not to use that word for each other. In the prayer at Gethsemane, Matthew has Jesus quoting his own version of the Lord’s Prayer: “thy will be done”. Matthew again and again emphasises (as he has done from the very beginning of the gospel) that in Jesus “the Scriptures are fulfilled”.

The High Priests, again, refuse to accept Judas’ return of the “30 pieces of silver”, and this is only in Matthew.

Interestingly, it is only in Matthew that we

meet Mrs Pilate who urges her husband to have “nothing to do with that just man”, because of a dream that she has had during the night. This echoes, of course, the five dreams that structured Matthew’s telling of the story of Jesus’ birth and infancy. There the dreamers were Joseph and the Magi; here it is the wife of the local governor. None of them is what you might have expected.

Matthew alone tells the story of Pilate, in a very biblical gesture, solemnly washing his hands as a symbol of disavowing responsibility for Jesus’ death. And in response to that, it is only in Matthew that we have that terrible cry “his blood be upon us and upon our children”, which, sadly, Christians have made the excuse for centuries of persecution of the Jews. This would have puzzled Matthew, the author of our most Jewish gospel.

Once Jesus is crucified, it is only Matthew who has the passers-by, followed by “High Priests, scribes and elders” jeering at Jesus “save yourself—if you are Son of God”, which of course echoes Matthew’s account of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.

At Jesus’ death, it is only Matthew who tells

Understanding our shadows

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toxic fumes will begin to seep upward through the vents, polluting the air you breathe. It wasn’t a bother, for a time, but eventually it poisons the air.

That’s a helpful image, though it’s onesided in that it has us throwing only our negative garbage downstairs. Interestingly, we also throw into that same place those parts of us that frighten us in their luminosity.

Our own greatness also scares us, and we too bury huge parts of it. Our shadow is not just made up of the negative parts that frighten us; it is also made up of the most luminous parts of us that we feel too frightened to handle.

In the end, both the negative and positive energies inside us, which we are too frightened to handle, come from one and the same source, the image and likeness of God imprinted in us.

T

he most fundamental thing we believe about ourselves as Christians is that we are made in the image and likeness of God. However, it isn’t very helpful to imagine this as a beautiful icon stamped inside our souls.

Rather we might think of it as irrepressible divine energy, infinite eros and infinite spirit, constantly wrestling with the confines of our finitude.

No surprise then that we have to contend with energies, feelings, pressures and impulses that frighten and threaten us in their magnitude.

Ironically, the struggle with this can be

Classic Conrad

HAT is meant when certain schools of psychology today warn us about our “shadow”? What’s our shadow?

In essence, it’s this: We have within us powerful, fiery energies that, for multiple reasons, we cannot consciously face and so we handle them by denial and repression so as to not have to deal with them. Metaphorically speaking, we bury them in the hidden ground of our souls where they are out of conscious sight and mind.

But there’s a problem. What we’ve buried doesn’t stay hidden. While these energies are out of conscious sight and conscious mind, they continue to deeply impact our feelings, thoughts and actions by pushing through in all kinds of unconscious ways to colour our actions, mostly negatively.

Our deep, innate energies will always act out, consciously or unconsciously. The psychologist Carl Jung, one of the pioneer voices in this, says that we are doomed to act out unconsciously all the archetypal configurations which we do not access and control through conscious ritual.

Perhaps a simple image can be helpful in understanding this. Imagine living in a house with a basement beneath your living room—a basement into which you never venture, and every time you need to dispose of some rubbish you simply open the basement door and dump the garbage there.

For a while, that can work. It’s out of sight and out of mind; but soon enough that rubbish will begin to ferment and its

576 AM

Nicholas King SJ

Sunday Reflections

us the story of the earthquake, leading to the opening of the graves and the raising up of many bodies. Only Matthew has the “mother of the sons of Zebedee” among the women present at the death of Jesus, possibly making it up to her for having put onto her the blame for her sons’ ambition, when they asked to sit on Jesus’ right and left side. Here, of course, we see that the people who have that privilege are convicted criminals.

Lastly, it is only Matthew who has the story of the “High Priests and Pharisees” asking Pilate for the tomb to be sealed; that leads to them posting a guard of soldiers, who snored through the whole story; and, as Matthew ironically remarks, those who had been ordered to make sure that a corpse did not do a disappearing act, themselves “became like corpses”.

You might read through Matthew’s account of the Passion before attending Mass next Sunday. Look out for the distinctive features of Matthew; but also be captivated by this powerful story.

Southern Crossword #752

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

particularly trying for sensitive people; the more sensitive you are, morally and religiously, the more threatening these energies can be. Why? Because two fears tend to afflict sensitive souls.

First, the fear of being egoistical. Greatness isn’t easy to carry and few carry it well, and sensitive souls know this. The wild and the wicked unreflectively feed off of sacred fire, except they aren’t known for their sensitivity and too often end up hurting others and themselves.

Sensitive souls find themselves considerably more reflective and timid, and for good reason. They’re afraid of being full of themselves, egotists, unhealthily imposing. But that timidity doesn’t everywhere serve them well. Too sensitive in dealing with certain energies inside them, they sometimes end up too empty of God. The second reason sensitive people tend to bury much of their luminosity is because they’re more in touch with that primal fear within us that’s expressed in the famous Greek myth of Prometheus, namely, that our most creative energies might somehow be an affront to God, that we might be stealing fire from the gods.

Sensitive people worry about pride, about being too full of ego. Healthy as that is in itself, it often leads them to bury some or much of their luminosity.

The consequence isn’t good. Like the negative parts of ourselves we bury, our buried luminosity too begins to ferment, turn into toxic fumes, and seep upward through the vents of our consciousness.

Those fumes take the form of free-range anger, jealousy, bitterness, and cold judgments of others. So much of our undirected anger, constantly looking for someone or something to land on, is the shadow side of agreatness, which is repressed and buried.

Where to go in the face of this? The late American psychologist James Hillman suggests that a symptom suffers most when it doesn’t know where it belongs.

Too often our spiritualities have been naïve in their diagnosis of human pride and ego. We need more spiritual guides who can recognise how we bury parts of our luminosity and how our fear of being too full of ourselves can leave us too empty of God.

ACRoSS

1. Son of Eli (1 Sm 1) (6) 4. Blessed are you that ... now (Lk 6) (6) 9. Plots to remain archbishops (13) 10. Stands to gain nothing (7) 11. Not working out of a religious group (5) 12. Unable to relax (5) 14. Remove the prohibition (5) 18. Put off and submit (5) 19. Blasphemous and not religious (7) 21. Ali instigates the first steps to conversion (7,6) 22. Had requirements (6) 23. Book followed by Proverbs (6)

Solutions on page 11

doWN

1. Scripture discourse when I’m holy (6) 2. Authority of the papal breviary? (7,6) 3. Hanger’s loop (5) 5. Singular animal in a myth (7) 6. Annual egg raid gives you spiritual protection (8,5) 7. Find holiday spot or rest (6) 8. Scope of the tree cluster (5) 13. Works to avoid on the Sabbath (7) 15. Roman martyr down a drain (5) 16. The fruit of sin? (5) 17. Decree of Caesar Augustus (Lk 2) (6) 20. Swear to take them (5)

CHURCH CHUCKLE

E

VERY day Paddy came to the pub and ordered three beers at once. After a while the barman asked Paddy why he always ordered three beers.

Paddy explained: “I have two brothers who have moved away to different countries. We promised each other that we would always order an extra two beers whenever we drank as a way of keeping up the family bond.”

But one day Paddy ordered only two beers.

“Please accept my condolences on the death of one of your brothers. You know, the two beers and all,” the barman said.

“Oh, don’t you worry,” Paddy replied. “My two brothers are alive and well. It’s just that I have given up drinking beer for Lent.”

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