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April 26 to May 2, 2017

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Sr Alison Munro: A giant leaves the SACBC

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Bishops: SA needs fixing STAFF REPORTER

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WO leading Catholic bishops have expressed their concerns with the direction South Africa is currently taking.

Addressing a Chrism Mass in his diocese, Bishop Sithembele Sipuka of Mthatha said his “heart sank” when he learnt that South Africa had been downgraded by rating agencies to junk status.

“I have seen in Zimbabwe what the consequences are of a junk-status economy,” he said, noting that it is the poor who suffer— “not those who make a joke that when the rand falls you ‘pick it up again’”.

But, he warned, “this is not a joke. We are going to face an economic recession as a result of this downgrading.”

Bishop Sipuka, who is also the first vicepresident of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), explained that it was necessary for the Church to comment on matters of politics.

“I’m talking politics because these developments will have negative consequences for the economy—and these consequences will not be good for the poor whom we are called to love and care for,” he said.

As followers of Jesus, “we must concern ourselves with the poor. It is not enough that we should feed them; we should also address ourselves to the structures that create this condition…and our president and those who support him are creating a perpetual condition of poverty in which the poor will suffer. We cannot keep quiet about this.”

Employing what appeared to be the rhetorical device of sardonicism, Bishop Sipuka told his priests and the gathered faithful: “Perhaps we religious leaders don’t have the political intelligence to understand that the continued leadership of [President Zuma] is good for the country, like we are continually being told.

“Yes, it may be true that we fail to see that the president is the right person to transform our economy from white monopoly to a radical inclusive economy. It may be true that the opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, has no history of being interested in the masses of the people, and now it is heading a revolt against the president.

“For reasons such as these, the calls for the president to step down have been rubbished by those who support him,” he said.

“But let me ask these questions: How do you ignore the many wrongs the president has done, from Shabir Shaik to Pravin Gordhan?

“How do you explain that after the many wrong things he has done, the call for him to step down is made not only by the former white party but by many civic organisations and NGOs, and the closest colleagues of the same president,” as well as the leftist alliance partners of the ANC?” he asked.

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riting in Cape Town’s Weekend Argus, Archbishop Stephen Brislin warned that South Africa “could spiral down into conflict and violence”.

“We should never deceive ourselves that this ‘can’t happen to us’,” he wrote. “Most, if not all, countries in the world have those who believe that violence is a valid way of imposing one’s point of view on others and for getting their own way.”

Calling on South Africans to “reject violence outright as a means of getting our point across”, the archbishop of Cape Town said: “In a democracy we should be able to deal with issues and not resort to force. Violence is not only about drawing blood, it is also about insulting and emotive language, demonising people, or holding oneself superior while regarding others as ignorant. Respect is what we need as it is an integral part of a commitment to peace.”

Archbishop Brislin, who is also the president of the SACBC, counselled the “angry, divided nation” to empathy.

“There is often the temptation to meet anger with anger, or violence with violence.

In fact, anger can only subside when it is met with gentleness, openness and an ability to ‘stand in the others’ shoes’, to see from their perspectives,” he wrote.

“A country encompasses all its people and destiny has thrown us together. The thought of extreme poverty and extreme wealth side by side is contradictory to the very notion of ‘community’ and it is counter-active to peace,” Archbishop Brislin said, noting that to correct this reality must require sacrifices.

He called for leadership in politics, business, religious bodies, trade unions and so on to serve the common good, not only their particular constituencies.

“Leadership is not about the enforcement of raw power, abusing the position for one’s own advancement or to divide people in order to entrench oneself in power. It is a responsibility given us. It is a relationship of trust that should not be betrayed or abused,” Archbishop Brislin said.

Bosco Youth Centre in Walkerville, Johannesburg archdiocese, hosted Grade 9 pupils from Maryvale College for a LoveMatters week. The slogan on the building’s wall invites youths to “Run, jump, shout—but don’t sin”. (Photos: Fr Lingoane Tlaile SDB).

Bishop goes home STAFF REPORTER

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HE diocese of Bethlehem in the Free State formally bade farewell at a Mass and function to its former bishop before his return to Germany, his home country.

Bishop Hubert Bucher was appointed bishop of Bethlehem in 1977 and retired in 2009—and his successor, Bishop Jan de Groef, was on the altar with him at the farewell Mass.

After retiring, Bishop Bucher had been living in Mariannhill with retired Bishops Fritz Lobinger and the late Oswald Hirmer.

These three bishops came together in 1956 to South Africa as fidei donum priests from the Bavarian diocese of Regensburg.

The three friends first worked in various parts of the Eastern Cape. All three became bishops in ten-year intervals: Bishop Lobinger in Aliwal North (1987) and Bishop Hirmer in Mthatha (1997).

Bishop Bucher was the first of them to be raised to the episcopate—in the Free State.

“He has played a big part in creating the diocese we see today,” said Fr Dikotsi William Mofokeng, a priest of the diocese, noting that “he joined the diocese under the trying circumstances of apartheid”.

As an opponent of apartheid he engaged himself in helping detainees. Bishop Bucher even made news in Germany when he strongly criticised the pro-apartheid activities of Bavaria’s premier Franz Josef Strauss.

Bishop Hubert Bucher (centre) at his farewell Mass with (from left) Bishop Jan de Groef, Deacon Tumelo Mohlaping, Fr Lerato Mokoena and Mgr Gregory van Dyk. Bishop Bucher was successful in inspiring vocations.

“Despite the difficulties of a shortage of priests, his resolve and love for the local Church found a way to encourage vocations to the priesthood. We can only look on his contribution in the diocese, and see a vibrant and expanding local Church with firm leadership of both clergy and the laity,” said Fr Mofokeng, who edited a festschrift (or book of tributes) in honour of Bishop Bucher in 2011.

By the time he retired in 2009, Bishop Bucher had ordained more than 20 local priests. One of them is now a bishop himself: Bishop Xolile Teddy Kumalo of Eshowe.

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The Southern Cross, April 26 to May 2, 2017

LOCAL

Titan Sr Munro on work of Aids Office

BY MANDLA ZIBI

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HEN Dominican Sister Alison Munro joined the bishops’ Aids Office as director in January 2000, HIV/Aids was spiralling out of control in South Africa. Some 17 years later the Church can look back on its significant contribution to the struggle against HIV/Aids—Sr Munro was in the thick of it.

At the end of March Sr Munro left the Aids Office. Before that she had worked for a couple of years at the Aids Centre of the South African Institute for Medical Research, as well as on an Aids committee of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC).

Her work at the SACBC Aids Office initially involved mainly education and raising awareness, as well as home-based care. At that time those with Aids were dying by the dozen because there was no treatment in the public sector in South Africa. The Aids Office changed that, providing anti-retroviral care long before the government did.

“The first two funders which enabled the work of the Church to begin in earnest were the Catholic Medical Mission Board, based in New York, and Catholic Relief Services (CRS), operating out of Baltimore in the US,” said Sr Munro.

“With their support and the support of some Catholic European funders, the SACBC was able to have at least one project responding to Aids in every diocese.

“It was the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR), an initiative of US President George W Bush’s, working through CRS, which enabled the Aids Office to

Right: Longtime SACBC Aids Office director Sr Alison Munro SP, who has moved on. Left: Construction of basic two-roomed housing for vulnerable families in the rural areas where the SACBC Aids Office is supporting HIV/Aids programmes. The project has been run through the Aids Office. support an anti-retroviral programme in hospitals and clinics in South Africa. This programme operated for eleven years, with patients being transferred to the services of the Department of Health when PEPFAR funding was not renewed.”

Thanks to the work of the SACBC, people who previously would have died were given a second chance to live.

“Funding at different times provided by Catholic funders, different governments, embassies and some NGOs has enabled the Aids Office to remain in operation, despite threats of funding cuts, actual decreases in funding, and because of its ability to carve a response according to the needs of a particular period and what funders are prepared to support,” said Sr Munro.

Currently, the main PEPFAR programme of the Aids Office is the support of orphaned and vulnerable children in priority districts with HIV/Aids prevalence.

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he Aids Office is supported by the Global Fund to provide support to patients who are stable on anti-retroviral treatment, relieving over-crowded clinics. Another NGO-funded programme provides simple housing to orphaned and vulnerable children and to grandparent-headed households.

A lot of personal and professional milestones come to mind for Sr Munro when she looks back on her tenure at the Aids Office.

She recalls being appointed to the job, but having no money, and having to negotiate for the first

funding that had been promised.

She also counts among the highlights gaining the support of the bishops in a tricky environment; going to New York with Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg and visiting Capitol Hill with him and CRS staff to present their case to Republican and Democrat staffers and senators before the first PEPFAR money was appropriated; organising two theological conferences on Aids; and being involved in the production of two books.

“Both books present the Church’s response to Aids despite the challenging circumstances around funding, ethical dilemmas, different levels of commitment of the various stakeholders, and the fragility of human nature,” she noted.

There are several other memo-

rable moments, such as negotiating with funders who wanted condom programmes, “when that was not what we were prepared to do”.

For all the important work the Aids Office did, the Catholic response to Aids was defined by the question of condoms. Every year journalists would phone Sr Munro around World Aids Day on December 1 and ask: “What is the Catholic Church’s position on condoms?”

Sr Munro managed large sums of money, and was able to report to donors and get annual clean audits, despite sometimes poor reporting from diocesan projects.

“Also being able to ensure training for our staff working on the various programmes, as well as for staff and volunteers out in the field was most satisfying,” she said.

Other highlights include travelling to different countries at the invitation of funders, such as Caritas Internationalis and UNAids; and engaging with representatives of bishops’ conferences on the response of the Church to Aids in South Africa.

“Attending the International Catholic Jewish Dialogue on the occasion when it was held in the Cape—the theme was the social response of both groups to Aids—was also wonderful,” she said.

Indeed, the highlights were many.

Above all, “working with wonderful staff in the Aids Office, learning new things and finding ways together according to our needs and those whom we served, was priceless”.

So, what now for this intrepid warrior against HIV/Aids?

Sr Munro has been elected congregational vicaress of the Oakford Dominican Sisters, and has assumed responsibilities there.

LOCAL Our Lady of Lebanon parish in Mulbarton, Johannesburg, hosted Divine Mercy seminars for the season of Lent.

Key speakers included Mercy Sister Rose Walatka (pictured), Fr Malcolm McLaren of Divine Mercy parish in Walkerville, and Fr Maurice Chidiac, superior of the Maronite Catholic Church of Southern Africa. (Photo: Mark Kisogloo)

Charismatics mark 40

BY MANDLA ZIBI

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CAPE Town Catholic Charismatic Movement prayer group celebrated a proud 40 years of its existence, and 50 years of the movement worldwide, with a thanksgiving Mass.

The group at Our Lady of Fatima of the Rosary parish in Bellville first came together in 1976 at the instigation of the late Fr Bill Butler, then the parish priest. According to Fr Bogdan Buksa, the present parish priest and member of the group, at first a few people gathered once a week in the dining room of the presbytery. As the prayer group expanded, meetings moved to Holy Cross School in Blomtuin.

A year later another group was started at the Holy Family parish in Bellville South under the direction of Fr David Rowles.

The Mass was held at the Bellville South church.

“In that same year we attended our first Life in the Spirit Seminar at Our Lady Help of Christians parish in Lansdowne. People were prayed over, lives were transformed, and the group flourished, by the power of the Holy Spirit,” Fr Buksa said.

“After 40 years, we felt it called for a celebration, and what better way than in the form of a thanksgiving Mass?” Fr Buksa said.

At present the group comprises 24 members.

“Our aim and desire is to support the parish first and foremost prayerfully and to be ambassadors for Christ,” he added.

Fr Rowles was part of the joyous celebration as homilist at the

Fr David Rowles (above) concelebrated the Charismatics’ Mass of thanksgiving with Fr Bogdan Buksa. thanksgiving Mass, with Fr Buksa as co-celebrant.

“Fr Rowles brought the message of the importance of prayer in our communities and our lives. We were privileged to have living retired members present for the celebration,” prayer group leader Susan Hartzenberg told The Southern Cross.

“Our prayers are for more Catholic Charismatic prayer groups to be established in Western Cape parishes and the rest of South Africa, and we believe and have faith that with the grace of God all this is possible,’ she said. n The group meets on Tuesdays at 19:30 in the Holy Family church hall, Eendrag Street, Bellville South. All are welcome.

The Southern Cross, April 26 to May 2, 2017

Glasgow Celtic soccer fans meet refugees in Durban

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HE green and white hoops of Glasgow Celtic club will now have a greater presence on football pitches in Durban.

A group of Celtic fans travelled to South Africa to present jerseys donated by the Scottish champions to refugee children.

The Refugee Pastoral Care Office of the archdiocese of Durban received the jerseys at the Denis Hurley Centre.

The Celtic fan delegation comprised Paul Lafferty, Maureen Bannister and two children, Shay and Ciran Bannister. Mr Lafferty is the brother of Fr Peter Lafferty, chaplain of the Refugee Pastoral Care Office.

Glasgow Celtic was founded in 1888 by a Marist Brother to serve the Irish immigrant community.

Since then, the only Scottish club to have won the European Cup (now Champions’ League), has drawn its support from the Catholic community, while local rivals Rangers are traditionally the Protestant club.

Celtic has a charitable foundation which helps the poor all over the world.

The Refugee Pastoral Care Office serves refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in the area. “As they enter South Africa, hopeless and desti-

Glasgow Celtic fans, young and old, visited Refugee Pastoral Care in Durban and presented team jerseys to refugee children at the Denis Hurley Centre.

tute, they need to regain their lost dignity as human beings,” said office coordinator Makusha Hupenyu.

“Many children become orphaned as a result of losing one or both parents due to the hostilities in their country of origin. The loss of parents or carers opens a wound which usually takes long to heal.

Subject to push-factors, forced migrations become eminent as people are compelled to seek a better life elsewhere,” he noted.

“Very often donations are directed towards adults. This time, the children were not left out,” he said.

“It was a fun day for the refugee

children to have the Celtic supporters among them—for it is seldom that they experience such visits. It always brings joy to the staff of Refugee Pastoral Care to see excitement on the faces of refugees.”

Refugee Pastoral Care expressed its gratitude to Celtic and its supporters “for promoting leisure and entertainment among the refugee community” by donating the jerseys. n The Refugee Pastoral Care Office asks individuals and organisations for support in cash or kind. Contact Makusha Hupenyu on 073 299 6045 or 074 173 2201 or at makushah @gmail.com

March planned to support migrants

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APE Town Catholics are called to join a march in support of migrants and refugees on May 6 organised by the archdiocese of Cape Town, the ethnic chaplaincy, and the Scalibrini Centre.

The march will begin at 10:00 from Keizersgracht, at the Cape Town University of Technology.

The organisers welcome parliament’s Green Paper on migration, which seeks free movement within the Southern African region.

“However, the paper is less liberal as far as asylum-seekers are conchaplaincies noted cerned,” coordinator Fr Gerardo Garcia CS, while the Refugees Amendment

Bill, which has been introduced, “puts in place a more restrictive asylum system and places several administrative burdens on asylum seekers themselves”.

According to the Green Paper, Fr Garcia said: “Those seeking asylum will be processed in reception centres on the northern borders of South Africa, and only those granted refugee status will be ‘released’ into SA society.”

The priest noted that foreigners from other parts of Africa are perceived by many to be an economic and social threat because of high unemployment and poverty. This feeds xenophobia.

“At the same time, the current xenophobia issue is not a simple matter of ‘perpetrator’ and victim’,” he said. “Many have been involved—not only South Africans.”

While foreigners must have access to human rights and be treated with respect and hospitality, Fr Garcia said, “they too have responsibilities within the host state, especially in terms of integration”.

At the end of the march, Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town and the chaplains for the various ethnicities will deliver a memorandum at parliament. n For details contact 021 461 4324 or holycross1916@gmail.com

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Ontlametse Phalatse, a former pupil at Dominican Convent School in Johannesburg, seen at her confirmation last year by Bishop Duncan Tsoke at St Anne’s parish in Belgravia, Johannesburg, died on April 11 from the effects of a rare disease.

School mouns ex-pupil’s death

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OMINICAN Convent School in Johannesburg held solemn Stations of the Cross in prayer for former pupil Ontlametse Phalatse, 18, who died on April 11.

Ms Phalatse, who matriculated last year, was one of only two South Africans who suffered from progeria, a rare disease which causes premature ageing, and reportedly the only black person in the world to suffer from the rare disease.

The day after her death the teenager, from Hebron, North West province, was supposed to join President Jacob Zuma at his 75th birthday reception in Soweto.

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The Southern Cross, April 26 to May 2, 2017

INTERNATIONAL

Aleppo’s Christians can live their faith again

BY MARíA XIMENA RONDóN

T Members of the Nigerian military stand with young men rescued from suspected Boko Haram militants after an operation in the Nigerian state of Borno. (Photo: EPA/CNS)

Bishop: Fight Boko Haram in the spiritual realm too

BY PETER AJAYI DADA

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HE Catholic bishop of a Nigerian diocese at the centre of the Boko Haram insurgency said the militants need to be fought on several levels.

“The battle against Boko Haram should not be limited to the physical realm, but it needs to be fought in the spiritual realm for it is a demonic attack,” Bishop Oliver Dashe Doeme of Maiduguri told reporters.

The bishop praised the current Nigerian government for its successes in the ongoing war against terrorism but urged it to end all violence in north eastern Nigeria, where there were still pockets of attacks and suicide bombings.

Maiduguri diocese covers Borno and Yobe states and part of Adamawa state.

In mid-March, Borno govenorKashim Shettima said 100 000 people had been killed by Boko Haram militants in his state

since the insurgency started in 2009. He also said 2,1 million people had become displaced within the state. He said more than 52 000 orphans were living on their own, and nearly 55 000 women had become widows. The governor said the figures were based on estimates from community leaders.

Bishop Doeme told reporters in early April that 500 Catholics were among the 100 000 killed. He said 25 priests and 40 nuns were among those displaced, while 250 churches in north eastern Nigeria had been razed by Boko Haram militants in 2014 alone.

The bishop said some of the 80 000 Catholics displaced by the insurgency had fled into Cameroon.

He also called on Christian organisations to help rebuild: “If the Churches have been part of assisting the victims of the insurgency, they should equally be involved in the rebuilding plan.”—CNS

HE attitude of Christians in Aleppo seems to have improved since Syrian government forces re-took the city, and they believe the prayers of Christians abroad have helped them, one religious sister reports.

Sr Maria Sponsa Iusti Ioseph said that the Christians in Aleppo have received with love the words of Pope Francis.

When Assad forces took the city from rebels in December, the Peruvian Sisters told the faithful that “the Holy Father is praying for us and a lot of people in the world are too”.

“They really appreciate that and they feel protected by the prayers of Christians,” Sr Joseph said. “At the same time they feel very happy because they know that their suffering is not in vain, but it helps the people in the West. If they know that there are conversions because of that suffering, that gives them a lot of strength to go on.”

Sr Joseph is a religious of the Institute of the Incarnate Word who lives in Aleppo. She recounted how Christians have lived in the last four months.

The Christians in Aleppo attend Mass frequently. Before Mass, they pray a rosary for peace.

“Once a month a Eucharist is celebrated for the deceased in the cathedral of the Child Jesus,” Sr Joseph said. “Now, thanks be to God, the Christian cemetery has been recovered—it was controlled by the rebels. Christians can visit their dead again and bring over bodies interred elsewhere for burial there.”

She said that the people’s attitude has improved since the government’s capture of the city. This change was noticeable during Christmas.

“We saw that people were walk-

Boys carry sandwiches in Aleppo, Syria. Since government forces retook the city in December, life has improved for the people, especially Christians, says a nun who lives there. (Photo: Khalil Ashawi, Reuters/CNS) ing happily down the street. Their faces were completely changed.

Even though they are usually very cheerful, you could notice another kind of joy. It was like a respite,” she said.

“Some of the window lights were lit up and the churches had also decorated their domes with lights. They even set up a Christmas tree in the street.”

During previous Christmases since the civil war began, “there were no lights in the windows, nor were there churches decorated with lights, nor was there any Christmas atmosphere”, she noted.

“When we visited the people we would ask them if they had set up a manger scene, but they didn’t want to have one because it brought back memories for them,” she recalled. “Before the war they lived so happily, they shared the holidays with their families. And so it was depressing for them to put out those things that repre-

sented those memories in the midst of a difficult situation.”

However, for the 2016 holidays some people put out their decorations again.

The religious sister also stressed that the suffering caused by shortages in the city, such as water, food and shelter, has resulted in Christian and Muslim neighbours working together to survive.

“Today we all share the same lot. Everyone is suffering because of this situation. They help each other out. The people of Aleppo are very respectful and very open, thanks be to God,” she said. “That makes it easier for good relationships among everyone.”

The Syrian civil war began in March 2011. It has claimed the lives of more than 320 000 people, and forced 4,8 million to become refugees. Another 8 million Syrians are believed to have been internally displaced by the violence.— CNA

Three missions for WYD

BY CINDY WOODEN

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Daughters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Charism Then as a‘Loving Daughter of the Heart of and Mary this inImmacualte Suffering is your chance to rekindle the light of LOVE and of the GOOD NEWS to the: Mission’ We evangelise, nurse the sick and aged, catechise youth, children and old, outcast and neglected.

For more information contact The Vocation Directoress

P.O. Box 17204 Witbank, 1035; Tel: 013 656 3708; Cell: 082 838 5428 lekgala.m@gmail.com

P.O. Box 864, Glen Cowie, 1061 Cell: 076 923 8319

OPE Francis has given young people several missions: to ask their grandparents what their dreams were; to work to make those dreams reality; and to let their bishops and the pope himself know what they need from the Church.

Officially launching the youths’ preparation for the 2018 Synod of Bishops and for World Youth Day 2019 in Panama, Pope Francis gathered with youths and young adults for an evening prayer vigil at Rome’s basilica of St Mary Major.

The 80-year-old pope surprised some people with two references to his own age, first pointing out that while they are preparing for the future, “at my age we are preparing to go”. The young people present objected loudly. “No?” the pope responded: “Who can guarantee life?

No one.”

Later, returning to his appeal that they speak to their grandparents, the pope said: “I don’t know if it will be me, but the pope will be in Panama and he will ask you, ‘Did you speak with your elders?’”

Pope Francis arrived at the basilica with a prepared text, but as a Franciscan sister and a young man who survived a terrible accident shared their stories, the pope took notes, eventually setting aside the text.

The theme of the world Synod of Bishops, which will meet in October 2018, is: “Young people, faith and vocational discernment”.

“But let’s just call it, ‘the synod of young people’,” the pope said. It should be “a synod from which no young person feels excluded”.

The Church could hold a synod involving Catholic youths active in

Youths from Panama carry the World Youth Day cross after receiving it from representatives from Poland, who hosted WYD in 2016.

(Photo: Paul Haring/CNS) parish life or Catholic organisations and lay movements. But Pope Francis said that is not what the Church or young people need.

“This is the synod of young people and we all want to hear them,” including young people who have moved away from the Church or are questioning the existence of God, he said. “Every young person has something to say to others, something to say to the adults, to the priests, sisters, bishops and the pope. We all need to hear you.”

Young people must harness their energy and ideals and set out, “one alongside another, but looking to the future,” he said. “The world today needs young people who go in haste,” like Mary went to her pregnant cousin Elizabeth.—CNS

INTERNATIONAL

Pope: Assisi shrine a reminder to shed attachment to money

BY CINDY WOODEN

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IKE St Francis of Assisi did, the Catholic Church and individual Christians must follow Christ by imitating his willingness to give up everything for the sake of others, Pope Francis said.

“Unfortunately, 2 000 years after the proclamation of the Gospel and eight centuries after the witness of Francis, we face a phenomenon of global inequity and an economy that kills,” the pope said in a letter to Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino of Assisi, Central Italy.

The pope’s letter offered his blessings and support for the decision of the diocese of Assisi to establish a shrine in memory of the “divestiture” of St Francis.

The shrine, which will be inaugurated on May 20, will be housed in the town’s church of Santa Maria Maggiore, but also will include public access to the “Sala della Spogliazione”, literally the Room of Divesting. The room in the bishop’s residence is where a young St Francis—in the presence of his father and of the bishop— stripped naked and renounced all wealth.

“Renouncing all earthly goods, he unchained himself from the enchantment with the god money, which had seduced his family,” the pope wrote.

“The new Assisi shrine is born as a prophecy of a society that is more just and more in solidarity,” the pope said, but it also “reminds the Church of its obligation to live, in the footsteps of Francis, stripping itself of worldliness and dressing itself with the values of the Gospel”.

Pope Francis said he is certain St Francis did not act out of a lack of respect for his father, a wealthy merchant, but out of a conviction that “one who is baptised must put love for Christ above all other affections”.

In 2013, when Pope Francis went to Assisi for the first time as pope, he met in the “Sala della Spogliazione” with individuals

The crypt under Santa Maria Maggiore, the church where St Francis was baptised. The new shrine is in memory of the divestiture of St Francis, when he renounced his attachment to all material goods. (Photo: Wikipedia) and families assisted by the local Catholic charities. The pope wrote that the people gave witness to “the scandalous reality of a world marked by a gap between an immense number of indigent people, often deprived of the most basic necessities, and the miniscule number of the rich who possess the majority of wealth and think they can determine the destiny of humanity”.

But in following Christ, he said, “we are all called to be poor, to strip ourselves of our egos; and to do this we must learn how to be with the poor, to share with those who lack basic necessities, to touch the flesh of Christ! The Christian is not one who speaks about the poor, no! He is one who encounters them, who looks them in the eye, who touches them”.

The Church must make Christ its model for the way it deals with worldly goods and the way it treats the poor, the pope said.

St Francis “had received the mandate” to repair the Church of his time, he said. And while the Church “is holy in the gifts it receives from on high, it is formed by sinners and so always in need of repentance and renewal. And how can it renew itself if not by

Kenyan students help the drought-stricken

BY FRANCIS NJuGuNA

S

TUDENTS at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa joined faculty and staff to raise money and collect food for people living in Kenya’s drought-stricken communities.

In the process, the students learned that even a small donation could go a long way to ease the threat of starvation facing thousands of people in arid parts of the country.

Karen Rono, 20, a third-year law student, contributed R670 to the cause, enough to buy several sacks of maizeor rice. She said she also helped organise concerts to raise money for the effort.

Another law student, Nelson Ng’ang’a, 20, said that seeing images in various media of suffering people motivated him to support the effort.

“The local media has for some time been awash with news about the menace, sometimes with striking photos of emaciated people and their animals,” he said, describing scenes of people eating wild roots and animals dying of dehydration.

The week-long campaign extended across the university’s four campuses in the region around the Kenyan capital.

The seriousness of the drought and its impact on rural communities was an obvious choice for the university’s annual charity appeal, said

Justus Mbae, university vice-chancellor.

Mr Mbae sent the first truckload of food and supplies from the university’s main campus, known as Langata, waving a university flag as students watched.

“This year, the university chose to be in solidarity with our brothers and sisters affected by the drought,” he said. “This was in response to the call by the Catholic bishops and the government. We were called upon to live up to the community service pillar of our university and the call during this Lenten period.”

More than 20 million people in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania are at risk of starvation if water, health care, shelter and food supplies are not provided, according to the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs.

Organisers of the university drive said they wanted to collect enough money and donations of materials to send 8-10 tons of food and supplies to the affected area in Kenya’s northern region.

Some students were pleased to be able to offer whatever assistance they could afford.

“I have managed to raise money that has allowed me to purchase two sacks maize flour. I thank God for this,” said Esther Wambui, 22, who is studying law.—CNS

looking upon its naked Lord?

Christ is the original model of ‘divesting’, making himself a slave and dying for the sins of humanity”.

“Divesting is a mystery of love,” the pope said. “It does not mean despising the world. How could it?

The world comes from the hands of God.” But, Pope Francis said, it does mean using creation and worldly goods carefully and in solidarity with those who have less access to what they need to survive.

Goods must be used according to a “hierarchy of values that gives first place to love”, he said.—CNS

The Southern Cross, April 26 to May 2, 2017

5

Beatification inquiry for French martyred priest

T

HE French archdiocese of Rouen has opened a formal inquiry into the cause for beatification of Fr Jacques Hamel, who was killed while celebrating Mass in July 2016.

Fr Hamel was killed as he celebrated Mass at Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray church near Rouen when two young men who claimed allegiance to ISIS stormed the church. After taking several hostages, the attackers slit Fr Hamel’s throat and seriously injured another parishioner. Following a standoff, police killed the attackers, ending the hostage situation.

Traditionally, the Vatican requires a five-year waiting period after the death of a candidate for sainthood before a cause is opened. Pope Francis waived the rule in response to pleas from French Catholics.

The inquiry is the first step towards beatification and possible sainthood.

The pope called Fr Hamel a martyr during a special requiem for the priest in the chapel of Domus Sanctae Marthae at the Vatican.

“Fr Jacques Hamel had his throat slit on the cross, at the exact moment he was celebrating the sacrifice of Christ’s cross. A good man, meek, brotherly, and who always sought to make peace, was murdered as if he were a criminal. This is the satanic line of persecution,” the pope said.

The inquiry is expected to take several years even though the beatification of a martyr is a simpler process because there is no need to prove a miracle occurred through his intercession.—CNS

Speak up, Church told

BY JONATHAN LuXMOORE

H

UNGARIAN lay Catholics have circulated a petition, signed by members of other denominations, urging their country’s Churches to stop “closing their eyes” to the plight of refugees.

“We are aware the refugee crisis has become a major topic of daily politics in today’s Hungary, and that leaders of the historic Churches have declared they do not wish to get involved in political disputes,” said the petition, signed by more than 540 prominent figures.

“However, the Church of Christ cannot legitimately stay silent in the

face of lawlessness, human rights infringements and violence. ” It said Hungary’s new Asylum Act permitted refugees, including unaccompanied children, to be herded into transit zones on the Serbian border.

“Hungary is treating these people as potential Muslim terrorists, although most are themselves fleeing the violence of Islamic extremists,” the petition said.

“We cannot claim to be protecting our Christian faith by rejecting refugees. Nor can we claim to be defending the Church by closing our eyes to cruelty and allowing fear to control our actions.”—CNS

Grand Celebration of the 100 years Aniversary Of The Aparitions of Our Lady Of Fatima To be Celebrated by His Grace Archbishop Buthi Tlhagale Archdiocese of Johannesburg

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6

The Southern Cross, April 26 to May 2, 2017

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

The call to be political

T

HE Church, the frequent refrain goes, should stick to its business of saving souls and stay out of politics.

This exhortation, which has been raised again during the latest round of political controversy, usually serves as an expedient to silence a source of criticism. The same critics may well challenge the Church to speak out on matters where they share a common ground.

The idea that the Church should keep out of politics—at least when the Church’s position is unwelcome—underlines just how potent the voice of religion can still be in public discourse. It is not just another interest group: when the Church speaks, it does so in the name of the Lord (though not always with infallible success).

The Church has no other choice but to speak out against injustices and corruption, giving public witness to Gospel values.

The Catholic Church in particular has a depth of theology from which it can draw in its social teachings.

Indeed, Jesus himself was political. When he performed healings on the Sabbath—in violation of the prevailing laws—or fed the multitudes at the Sea of Galilee, these were acts of both mercy and politics.

When Jesus overturned the tables of the money-changers in the temple, he was being political. Aside from condemning the defilement of the Father’s house, that act was also a challenge to the corruption of the religious establishment and exploitation of the poor. Jesus’ righteous anger must be our righteous anger.

Importantly, in all of Jesus’ acts that give substance to our social teachings, he was acting “of this world”.

The Church has no choice but to be engaged in politics: in advocacy and even in direct action when faced with injustice, corruption and oppression. To deny the Church that role is to stain the memory of martyrs such as Romero, Kolbe, Unzeitig or Popieluszko—and the countless lay Catholics, even and especially in South Africa, who sacrificed themselves in witnessing to Christ in the struggle for justice and peace.

The Church must speak out, with humility, on principles of social justice and in defence of all life from conception to death.

But in doing so, it must not be partisan, promoting one political party over another.

In many parts of the world, the Catholic Church’s record has been poor in this regard. In postwar Italy, the Church all but instructed the faithful to vote for the centrist Democrazia Cristiana, the Christian Democratic Party, which eventually collapsed under the weight of its accumulated corruption—and whose history may serve as a cautionary tale to the African National Congress, another “broad-church” party borne of good intentions that became diseased by division and corruption.

In the United States, a significant portion of bishops have done very little to disguise their preference for the Republican Party, right down to actively undermining candidates for the Democratic Party. This has cost the US Church credibility.

There can be no place for such partisanship when we exercise Christ’s mandate for prophetic witness. While Church leaders may entertain personal preferences for one party over another, these should not be expressed, explicitly or implicitly, in order to mobilise support for that party.

At the same time, acting in a non-partisan manner does not preclude naming a party or political leader whose policies or practices are at odds with the teachings of the Church, provided such observations are rooted in a fair analysis of the facts.

Of course, there is no exact science in measuring “fairness”. For the sake of credibility it is important, therefore, that religious leaders are not identified as supporters of a particular political party or ideology.

Likewise, religious leaders must not concentrate on limited issues to the exclusion of other important crises. While it is necessary to focus on the protection of life and morality, credible religious leaders must devote their energy also to matters such as corruption, peace, economic policy, human trafficking, health, education or migration.

Pope Francis sets an excellent example in this, as do many of our bishops in Southern Africa.

Of course, good religious leaders must not become obsessed with issues of public policy, but they also have a responsibility to bring the Gospel into every area of life—and that includes politics.

Excessive guilt needs Holy Spirit

I

N the Open Door column “I still feel guilty after confession” (March 1), the writer asks the columnist for an indication of how such a scrupulous person can be helped.

Perhaps the enquirer is looking in the wrong place for absolution, and might I suggest the crucifixion and the Holy Spirit.

All people sin and fall short of the glory of God, because we can-

Marian shrines offer enrichment

I

WRITE in response to Clare Drew’s letter “Marian shrine an opulent mistake” (April 5).

John 12:1-11 reads: “Mary anointed the feet of Jesus with expensive oil and Judas queried that it could have been sold and the money given to the poor.” Jesus replied: “The poor will always be with us.”

Can we ever have too many Marian shrines in honour of our heavenly Mother? It is here where divine grace flows freely for all. South Africa needs Mary, as indeed does our entire world.

One only needs to visit Ngome Marian shrine in KwaZulu-Natal on any given weekend to witness the many “poor” who travel hundreds of kilometres at great expense to implore the intercession of our heavenly Mother.

The Catholic Church in South Africa does a great deal of work in the alleviation of poverty and suffering in communities.

The poor will always be with us.

We need to enrich our spirituality as South African Catholics.

Patsy Ravells, Cape Town

‘Archaic’ Church terms hold truth

R

EGARDING John Driver’s letter “End archaic Church terms” (February 22), let me say that I am 89 and a half years old, grateful to be a cradle Catholic, and have no need to seek and search elsewhere.

My Church is archaic, having been founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ almost 2 000 years ago when he entrusted the keys of the kingdom of heaven to Simon, saying: “Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church…Whatever you declare bound on earth shall be bound in heaven; whatever you declare loosed on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mt 16:18-20).

It is very easy to confess our sins to God because he already knows about them. It is more difficult (punitive, humiliating and healing) to confess verbally to God through an ordained priest at least once a year at Easter season, in accordance

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What humility is all about

‘Silence’, ‘The Shack’ films reviewed

We let Zuma get away; now we play catch-up

BY MANDLA ZIBI

or

T Bishop José Luís Ponce de León of Manzini, Swaziland, on the back of a donkey on the way to Palm Sunday Mass in Malkerns. When he first heard of the idea that he should ride on a donkey, he thought somebody was playing an April Fool’s joke on him.

Bishop rode to Mass on the back of a donkey STAFF REPORTER

A

BISHOP took a ride on a donkey on Palm Sunday, in remembrance of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.

For Bishop José Luís Ponce de León of Manzini, Swaziland, it was the first time he had sat on the back of a donkey.

“It all started one week before Palm Sunday,” he noted on his blog (bhubesi.blogspot.

co.za). He had received a WhatsApp message saying: “Donkey is on its way. Arriving Saturday for practice for Palm Sunday service.”

Looking at the date, the Argentinian-born prelate was advised: “Bishop, today is April 1 and this is probably a joke.” The bishop himself quipped that he did not have a “riding licence”.

But the messages continued: “The donkey will be led by its owner.”

Fr Tim Wrenn SDB would ride the donkey to Don Bosco church in Malkerns before the 9:00 Mass in English “and I would do it for the

T he

10:30 Mass in siSwati”, the bishop was told by the organisers.

“Both of you should be available for practice on Saturday at 3pm. Is it possible to house the donkey at your grass space?”, the next message read.

“No joke any more. It was true,” Bishop Ponce de León recalled.

On Saturday morning the donkey arrived at the bishop’s house. At the appointed time, “we all gathered for the first practice. Quite a challenge! We risked losing Fr Tim through the gates and into town on the donkey,” the bishop noted. The gates were closed before the bishop had his go.

On Sunday, the donkey was expertly led as first Fr Wrenn and then Bishop Ponce de León rode to Mass on its back.

“It was very smooth and helped us imagine the joy with which Jesus was welcomed in Jerusalem by many people,” the bishop said, looking back at the episode with gratitude to those who made it possible.

HE religious community failed to “speak out strongly against President Jacob Zuma’s abuses” and now events have overtaken them, a Catholic political analyst has said.

“The religious community has been naïve. It failed to speak out strongly against Zuma’s abuses early on, and now it is trying to play catch-up,” Mike Pothier, research coordinator of the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office, told The Southern Cross.

According to Mr Pothier, even though the centre of the state has shifted from institutions of good government into the hands of the corrupt, essentially the country still continues to function, albeit less effectively.

The notion of a centre means “the combination of structures, processes, rules, institutions and values that must operate together in order for a state to function properly”, he explained. “And functioning properly means serving the interests of the people as a whole, not just a section of wellconnected, wealthy individuals.”

A healthy centre should be based on the will of the people, should abide by the rule of law, respect institutions such as parliament and the courts, and follow values such as integrity, honesty, service and the common good.

The centre had shifted in the sense that President Zuma’s focus, and increasingly that of the government he leads, is on the “narrow interests of the crooked elite”, Mr Pothier said.

“Mr Zuma does not spend his time thinking about how best to uplift the poor, or create jobs, or fix the education system, or solve the land problem,” he noted.

“Instead, he concentrates on securing his own wealth, on keeping the Guptas happy, and on selecting mostly incompetent and morally weak ministers who will not feel bound to act according to law and principle—who will indeed bend or break the law, bypass the regulations, and evade the correct procedures in order to favour Zuma’s friends.”

S outhern C ross

Cape Town’s St Mary’s cathedral provides the backdrop to a huge anti-Zuma protest opposite parliament in Cape Town.

But, Mr Pothier cautioned, Mr Zuma should not shoulder the blame alone.

“The rot set in during President Thabo Mbeki’s time, when notions of accountability went out of the window. Mbeki was famously aloof, the intellectual giant, with all sorts of weird ideas about HIV/Aids. He listened to no one, talked all sorts of nonsense on various matters, and until right at the end of his term, got away with it,” Mr Pothier said.

Both Presidents Mbeki and Zuma were allowed to do and say as they pleased without many in the ANC objecting because it is in the nature of liberation movements to continue to fight their struggle long after they had come to power.

“The old enemy is always just around the corner. At present it’s called the “white minority capital”, a year or two ago it was “counter-revolutionaries”. This, Mr Pothier said, “provides a permanent excuse for failures and shortcomings”.

He said in the short term, all we can hope for is that enough sensible people in the ANC and its allies realise that the centre has Continued on page 3

A spiritual journey to Fatima • Lisbon

1 - 10 October 2017

Feed your soul with The

S outher n C ross

& Radio Veritas

100 Years Fatima Portugal & Spain • Coimbra • Avila • Madrid and more

Led by Fr Brian Mhlanga OP

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Interactive itinerary at www.fowlertours.co.za/fatima

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.

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of God our Heavenly Father warrants a respectful form of address.

We have free will to use our own words in praying to God, but this does not mean that the correctly translated Word of God may be rewritten by anyone other than God. Molly Hayward, Durban

with the requirement of one of the six precepts of the Church.

I do not have a problem in confessing verbally to a priest as well, instead of merely silently asking God’s forgiveness to save myself the embarrassment of revealing my sin to a third party.

I do not agree with Mr Driver’s view, seemingly edged with sarcasm, that the liturgy should perhaps be rewritten by all the king’s men to say: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of Catholics of the world.” The said king’s men are not permitted to rewrite the original meaning to anything other than the fact that the Lamb of God came to take away the sins of all the world.

Mr Driver states his objections to the wording of the Lord’s Prayer as archaic and proposes the rewriting of it by the Catholic Church. Secondly he prefers to omit the salutation “Hail Mary….” (replacing it with “Mother Mary”).

This salutation is recorded twice in the King James Bible; first, by the Angel Gabriel to Mary (Lk 1-27-28), and then by Elizabeth (Lk 1:40-44).

The first part of the Hail Mary prayer is a direct quote from the Bible translation. The second part of the Hail Mary is an intercessional prayer to “Holy Mary Mother of God”, asking her to pray for us.

I was surprised at Mr Driver’s strong objections and wonder how many other Catholics have similar objections.

The Our Father is the prayer given us by Jesus himself (Mt 6:913). The Word of God may not be altered. It may only be translated into other languages.

I have no problem using the “archaic” forms of English—thee, thy, thou—in scripture. To me it is an acknowledgment that the majesty

Hurley Memorial Pilgrimage Presented by the Denis Hurley Centre

Lourdes • Paris • Rome

11 to 21 September 2017

led by Bishop Barry Wood

Catholic schools: how inclusive?

E

ARLIER this year I attended a teachers’ Mass in Port Elizabeth, including but not exclusively, for staff and school governing body members of Catholic schools, Catholic staff members of other schools and their friends, catechists and family members.

When it came to receiving the Eucharist, I noticed that most people in the pews in front of me did not join the procession to receive Communion.

At first, I thought they were held back by an issue of faith, but then I realised that many of the people attending the Mass were nonCatholic and therefore not allowed to receive Communion.

Now, the Holy Spirit was working in me because, for some time, the question of inclusion has been plaguing me.

What is meant by an “inclusive Catholic school”? What constitutes a school calling itself by an inclusive name such as “Catholic”?

Is it because of the values that underlie its manifesto or, perhaps, its religious doctrine?

Are we not, fundamentally, excluding people because of the Catholic faith, or is the focus solely on education, which implies that if you are Catholic you will be allowed to practise your faith?

Would the courtesy be extended to include transgender learners?

If the government’s notion of inclusion in and through education is to be successful and learners from any denomination are allowed to attend a “Catholic” school, why then do we still bother with Catholicism?

If people are fundamentally excluded from receiving Communion because they are not Catholic, then how can we call our Catholic schools “inclusive”?

Jacques Batista, Port Elizabeth

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not obey his law.

We must not lose sight of the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5).

Maybe we need to regain the fullness of the Spirit. Christ’s apostle Paul commands us to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and it is not merely a polite suggestion (Eph 5:18).

We lose the fullness through sin and unbelief.

I talk from experience. As for the

confessional, I have been there, done that. We need to regain the fullness by daily confession to God, who resides within us, prayer and Bible reading.

The deeply Christian Corrie ten Boom, in her book Tramp for the Lord, tells us that once our sins have been forgiven, God dumps them into the deepest part of the ocean, and puts up a sign, “No Fishing”.

The first hour of my day belongs to God. John Driver, Daveyton

Contact Gail now at info@fowlertours.co.za or phone 076 352-3809

S outhern C ross

April 19 to April 25, 2017

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.

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The Southern Cross, April 26 to May 2, 2017

PERSPECTIVES

Sex and the fear of missing out NEW COLUMN F OR us Catholics, the word “virgin” is used to describe or salute Our Lady.

But ask any twentysomething if they are a virgin and you may receive an awkward and embarrassed, “Um, well, yes”, or an equally awkward and embarrassed “Um, no, not really” or better still “Technically I am”.

It seems in our world you’re damned if you are and you’re damned if you aren’t.

Are you still a virgin? Well, be careful because soon you will be banished to the depths of dark and lonely singlehood.

Not a virgin? Well, then you should be hung out to dry with the rest of the infidels of the world.

What’s the big fuss about virginity anyway? Why does a cloud of shame hang over those who have it and those who don’t?

Ever since my adolescence, I have had the nagging feeling that I was missing out on something. Missing out on first dates, first kisses and I love you’s. Missing out on roses, chocolate and “You hang up.

No, you hang up”.

It turns out I’m not the only one with this fear. In fact my generation is so overwhelmed by it that we had to invent an acronym to explain it.

It’s called FOMO and is used to describe the empty feeling you get at the notion that someone else may be having more fun than you at any given moment.

For those of you shielded from the darts of popular culture, FOMO stands for the fear of missing out.

At university my FOMO only worsened. There are couples everywhere. Couples kissing, couples holding hands, couples, couples, couples. I no longer felt that I was missing out on just kissing but much more.

M

y “virgin status” left me wondering if I shouldn’t be more experimental sexually, just to find out what I was missing. The pressure to be sexually active is enormous, but what is the Church doing to guide its youth in these challenges?

There are others like me who are facing the same pressures. Who do we turn to for answers? Why are some of our parents so afraid to talk to us about sex?

Should we just go with what the world tells us? What is the world saying about sex anyway?

"Ever since my adolescence, I have had the nagging feeling that I was missing out on something. Missing out on first dates, first kisses and 'I love you's."

Nthabiseng Maphisa

Twentsomething Catholic

I am hoping to get some answers at the upcoming Christopher West conference in September.

Christopher West is a Catholic speaker on life, love and sexuality from the Theology of the Body Institute near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Using Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, he has helped me to understand some of the Church’s teachings regarding sex and marriage and life in a hostile world.

We see that the Church isn’t silent on these matters. In fact, perhaps rather unexpectedly, she responds to our confusion with compassion and clarity.

Temptation stands before us, always beckoning us to “go with the flow” and “just do what you feel”. Heaven knows that this doesn’t always work out for the best.

If you’re looking for God’s response to the world’s messages of “just have fun” and “nobody’s getting hurt” this is it.

n Nthabiseng Maphisa is a student at Wits in Johannesburg. For more information on Christopher West’s visit to South Africa, go to www.tobsa.co.za or call 078 584 0886.

Lovedale: From Soga to Mbeki Mphuthumi T Ntabeni O pull herself out of the hole which she had dug with her recent colonialism tweet, Western Cape premier Helen Zille quoted Nelson Mandela: “I was reminded of what President Nelson Mandela had said of the missionary schools, where so many African leaders of his generation were educated: ‘These schools have often been criticised for being colonialist in their attitudes and practices,’ said Mandela. ‘Yet, even with such attitudes, I believe their benefits outweighed their disadvantages.’”

To me, this sounds much like blaming God for sin because God's goodness is capable of bringing something good even out of sin.

Or the age-old argument that had it not been for the slave masters there would have been no one to feed the slaves.

But there’s no need for further digression on the subject of Ms Zille’s tweet and the impact of colonialism on South Africa since the Southern Cross editorial on the subject, “A nation of outrage” (March 29) addressed the topic well.

Mr Mandela, in the quote above, was talking in particular about Lovedale, the missionary school where so many black intellectuals of the 19th and early 20th century—from Tiyo Soga to Thabo Mbeki to Steve Biko—went to be educated.

Lovedale was established in 1824 by John Bennie and John Ross of the Glasgow Missionary Society (GMS). It was named after the society’s secretary at the time, Dr John Love.

It first provided access for informal education and training for blacks around the Thyume Valley where the Sogas—that pivotal Xhosa family—lived and the school was situated.

Lovedale officially opened as a seminary in 1841, three years before William Chamler presented Tiyo Soga, who’d become South Africa’s first indigenous black cleric, for entrance examination.

Only two exam openings per year were allowed, the rest was paid for by missionary societies.

Tiyo by then had received only infor-

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Lovedale mission in the Eastern Cape (Photo: The National Archives uK) mal education through his elder brother, Festiri (of whom I wrote last month), and whatever he could pick up from the missionaries, he was still unnerved by the prospects.

Instructed by the arithmetic exam officer, Rev James Laing, to “take away the bottom line from the upper”, Tiyo literally erased the lower lines of the figures from the slate.

Needless to say, he failed the exam, but Chamler prevailed over the director of the school, Dr William Govan, to admit Tiyo based on potential. Tiyo justified Chamler’s faith in him by ending that year top in all his subjects—except arithmetic.

L

ovedale was a semi-multiracial school then—nine white boys, six coloured and black in 1841. They all shared classrooms and the dining hall, and mingled together in sport; but slept apart along racial lines. Classes were taught in Xhosa and English (there were no Afrikaans teachers). Christianity and classics (Latin and Greek) were the main subjects; followed by geography and mathematics.

Pupils recited the Scottish Assembly Kirk catechism in the mornings. It had a tremendous formative influence over Tiyo.

Numerous things contributed towards Tiyo moving to Scotland to finish his elementary education: Govan, the director of the school, had been under pressure from

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the GMS headquarters (in turn pressured by the British colonial government) to segregate the school along racial lines. And when the 1846 Frontier War broke out, it interrupted schooling.

That war changed everything.

When Ngqika, the king and then still an ally of the British, had granted the land for Lovedale mission, he had hoped their presence would grant his tribe protection.

But the British colonial government formalised and incorporated the marauding Boer mercenaries called Kommandos into the recently established Cape Mounted Rifles (we met their trooper T J Lucas in last month’s column).

The British suffered setbacks. In one of their raids against amaNdlambe they were outsmarted by Ndlambe, Ngqika’s uncle and archrival.

The recently-arrived LieutenantColonel Wilshire made a grave error which permanently turned the historical course of the Eastern Cape. Fearing revolt from the mercenary Boers within the Cape Mounted Rifles, on whom he largely depended, he turned a blind eye when they, honed by the loot of the “Kaffir Wars”, refused to go home empty-handed. So they turned and raided Ngqika’s people, whom they supposedly were in alliance with, and confiscated their cattle herds—under the cover of darkness, as was usual.

With that, the British created their most formidable and capable enemy in the Southern East Colony.

Old Soga paid a visit to warn and rebuke his missionary friend, Chamler, for failing to protect them against what they saw as government rapacious appetite for Xhosa land and cattle.

He probably saved his life also, because, Continued on page 11

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Pray with the Pope

Living together in SA’s entangled society General Intention: That Christians in Africa, in imitation of the Merciful Jesus, may give prophetic witness to reconciliation, justice, and peace.

HIS is a tough one for Christians in Northern Nigeria where Boko Haram has been routinely wreaking mindless havoc for several years now, and where there is a serious famine as a result.

Nor is it much easier, it seems, in South Sudan, where the world’s much-vaunted newest country quickly sank into a squalid power struggle between two “big men”, and where the UN has sounded a warning about potential genocide.

Perhaps it is a little easier in the Central African Republic where Pope Francis himself, backed up by courageous leadership in the local Church and the local Muslim community, has seemingly made a difference in the conflict that flared up there.

Perhaps progress has been made in witnessing to the Merciful Jesus in Rwanda where the Catholic Church has officially apologised for the participation of its members in the genocide of 1994. The recent meeting of the pope and President Paul Kagame, who led the fightback against the genocide of 1994, was a constructive meeting.

One could go on; Africa is a large continent with many countries which are young, poor and underdeveloped.

By comparison with many countries to the north, South Africa is relatively mature, wealthy and well-developed (though, of course, with the wealth and development very unequally distributed).

This is perhaps one of the reasons why South Africans frequently speak of Africa as if South Africa were not part of Africa. “Doing business in Africa” is a phrase one hears and reads frequently, as if Cape Town or Johannesburg were not really on the African continent.

Such exceptionalism—the idea that South Africa is not quite African, or at least different enough to be in a special category of its own—can extend to the sense of our history.

T

I

t is true that this country’s colonial history does not follow the classic trajectory of 19th century colonisation followed by independence in the mid-20th and the departure of the colonists. The much longer and piecemeal colonial history, and the much more complicated and painful recovery from it is different.

It has left us with a situation which Professor Jonathan Jansen in his recent book on leadership describes as mutual “entanglements”.

He describes how he asked a group of visiting foreign academics what their predominant impression of South African society was. An Indian said that he was struck by our “entanglements”.

That word sums up well our rather unusual situation—a country with so many different groups with very different cultures and backgrounds, and yet so entangled, despite the attempts of the apartheid ideology to disentangle us.

The fact is that we have to work out how to live together in this messy, social reality which is postapartheid South Africa. Our “entanglements” are not going to go away; indeed, they are likely to become more pronounced, for example as the black middle class grows and moves into spaces previously dominated by whites, Indians and coloureds, and as more immigrants arrive from neighbouring countries.

In the Church, we can hopefully give a lead, but it would be naïve to assume that this will be plain sailing. The Body of Christ is always prone to the divisions in the society in which it is situated.

This was the very painful lesson of the Rwanda genocide. Let us therefore pray that we may acknowledge that we truly are in Africa and that is not only fine but a blessing and that our “entanglements” are a basis on which to give witness to reconciliation, justice, and peace.

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The Southern Cross, April 26 to May 2, 2017

COMMUNITY

Fr Chris Townsend of Christ the King parish in Queenswood, Pretoria, washed the feet of his parishioners with the help of altar servers and Deacon Tony Tweehuisen on Maundy Thursday.

Parishioners of St Peter Claver parish in Pimville, Soweto, celebrated Palm Sunday with Mass and hymns, including “Hosanna in the highest, Hosanna to the Son of David”. (Photo: Sello Mokoka)

Six people were received into the Church during the Easter vigil at Holy Redeemer parish in Bergvliet, Cape Town. (From left) Alvina Reginald, Carryn Attwood, Sherwin van Wyk, Gail Phillips, Nicole White and Teri Moses.

Send your photos to pics@scross.co.za

Parishioners of St James’ church in Schauderville, Port Elizabeth, took part in a Palm Sunday procession.

The children of St Margaret Mary parish in Green Point, Cape Town, did a beach clean-up in Sea Point for Lent to illustrate their care for God’s creation and for the wider community who use the beach. Pictured are some of the children with their parents, teachers, and parish priest Fr Andrew Cox.

Fr Justin Stirton and the Easter Bunny after Mass on Easter Sunday at Our Lady of Fatima parish in Durban North.

Our Lady Of Lebanon parish in Mulbarton, south of Johannesburg, celebrated the Maronite tradition of the Rite of Reaching the Harbour. Jesus is the harbour of salvation and the Church the new vessel of life. Mass was celebrated outside by Fr Charbel Habchi and visiting priest Fr Anthony Egon. Fr Habchi is pictured knocking on the church door and praying to Christ for permission to enter, after which Mass was concluded inside, with a short candlelight procession signifying Christ as the true light. (Photo: Mark Kisogloo)

The parish of St Mary Magdalene in Lentegeur, Mitchell’s Plain, Cape Town, held a Passover celebration at the Lentegeur Civic Centre. The Men for Change group of the parish, with the clergy, spent more than a year organising the event, for the first time in the 35-year history of the parish. Men for Change reserved only 140 tickets, and it was a sold-out event, with many parishioners asking for more tickets at next year’s Passover supper.

Archbishop Emeritus George Daniel of Pretoria celebrated Palm Sunday with residents and staff at Little Eden home for children and adults with profound intellectual disability in Gauteng.

The Southern Cross, April 26 to May 2, 2017

FAITH

9

Can the Church die from within?

The Catholic Church is often under attack, but could it die from within from a lack of joy? SR JOAN ROCCASALVO CSJ seeks an answer.

At its best, Catholic Christianity is a splendid symphony orchestra, an inherently beautiful work of art to behold.

The mission of the Church, like a symphony orchestra, is to attract the audience with its deep and expressive beauty. An orchestra without that uplifting spirit and joi de vivre is bound to disappoint its audience. Such an orchestra dies if it ceases to attract through its beauty.

I

N the first three hundred years of Christianity, it was entirely possible for the fledgling religion to be killed off, for it was under constant threat of persecution. It was inconceivable that a stray minority could or would overcome paganism.

Why was Christianity so special? Christians were convinced that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead. Preaching dignity for all, he was the Messiah, the hope of the nations. Jesus Christ was the answer to the universal question: What is the meaning of life?

In the early fourth century, 90% of the population followed one god or another. People shopped around for a god just as today one would shop for foodstuffs in a supermarket.

But the Christians would not follow the crowd. They refused to worship or sacrifice to the gods.

For this, they were made scapegoats when natural disaster struck.

It was a high crime to profess being a Christian. And the punishment for it? Cruel death.

Yet, the Jesus Movement spread across the Roman Empire, with pagans themselves embracing Christianity.

The theologian Tertullian, who lived in the 2nd to 3rd century) could declare: “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church; it is certain because it is impossible.”

From Acts to the Present In the Acts of the Apostles it is written: “For if this council or this work be of men, it will come to nought. But if it be of God, you cannot overthrow it, lest perhaps you be found even to fight against God” (5:38).

From apostolic times to the present, the demise of Catholic Christianity has been predicted with certitude and anticipated with relish. Civilisations have come and gone, cultures have been overthrown; they have corrupted from within. Novel philosophies and cults have risen and fallen.

Despite ongoing difficulties, from within and without, Catholic Christianity has stood, ever proposing and professing its unity, holiness, fullness of faith, and apostolic ministry.

Still, all is not well.

Fast forward. In my country, of the 44% of Americans who have left the religious tradition of their youth, about 10% are former Roman Catholics. Their return to the Church is unlikely any time in the near future, according to the Pew Research Center.

Every year during the Easter Triduum, the Church welcomes thousands into full communion with the Body of Christ. But, in contrast, large numbers also walk out of the Church each year.

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The Prognosis?

“You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church”: Sculpture of Jesus and St Peter at the church of St Peter's Primacy on the Sea of Galilee. (Photo: Günther Simmermacher) “The Church in America must face the fact,” Jesuit Father William J Byron wrote in America magazine in 2011, “that it has failed to communicate the Good News cheerfully and effectively to a population adrift on a sea of materialism and under constant attack from the forces of secularism, not to mention the diabolical powers that are at work in our world.”

This is true of the Church in other places, too.

Former Catholics may not be able to put their finger on the exact reason for leaving the Church, but it may boil down to a few phrases: l “I don’t get anything out of weekly Mass. Homilies are like dry straw.” l “The Catholic Church is all about do’s and don’ts.” l “The clergy abuse scandal and its cover-up have driven me away.”

As if to underscore the sad phenomenon of plummeting numbers, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York addressed it in a speech to his brother bishops, also in 2011: “Perhaps our most pressing pastoral challenge today is to reclaim that truth, to restore the lustre, the credibility, the beauty of the Church, ‘ever ancient, ever new’, renewing her as the face of Jesus, just as he is the face of God. Maybe our most urgent priority is to lead our people to see, meet, and hear anew Jesus in and through his Church.”

A Symphony Orchestra “Urgent” is the key word. If the Catholic Church were a business, its leadership would seek every possible means to reverse these untenable losses. And immediately.

The “New Evangelisation,” beginning with our youth, seeks to reverse course.

The secret of Catholic Christianity lies not so much in the “the outer walls of the Catholic cathe-

dral, with their cracks and crevices and their weather-beaten masonry” but in “the wondrous artistic beauty of the interior hidden from the outer structure” in the mystery of its internal life, as the German theologian Karl Adam wrote in his 1929 book The Spirit of Catholicism.

The splendour of the Church’s dogmas of the Trinity, the Incarna-

The

tion, and the Mystical Body of Christ, the beauty of venerating Mary and the saints, and the beauty of the instructions of the Church Fathers on prayer, contemplation, mysticism and morality, on the Church’s effective social teaching—all these expressions of Catholic Christianity can plant the seeds of faith as well as strengthen one’s faith in their beauty.

And what of the Church? Can the Church die from within or be destroyed from without? Given the revolving door of converts coming in and cradle Catholics going out, can today’s Church grow and speak as a beautifully persuasive voice?

Didn’t Jesus assure Peter, the rock on which he built the Church, that the powers of death would not prevail against it (Mt 16:18)?

Still, the human element, of itself, can become deformed and disfigured. Prayerlessness, the drive for power, worldliness and loss of fervour provide fertile ground for critics eager to brand the Church as corrupt.

We need more apostles like Mary Magdalene who first proclaimed the Lord’s resurrection to the disciples. She ran to them in haste and was beside herself with joy to announce the good news of the risen Lord.

This then is a Church that promises much and assures eternal happiness. The Church’s vocation is to proclaim its beautiful truth and to do so beautifully.—CNA

Souther n Cross & Radio Veritas

100 Years Fatima Pilgrimage 1 - 10 October 2017 Portugal & Spain Led by Fr Brian Mhlanga OP

A spiritual journey to

Fatima Avila with special visit to the tomb of St Teresa of Avila

Lisbon Madrid and the Eucharistic Miracle of Santarem

For info or to book contact Gail at info@fowlertours.co.za

or 076 352-3809 or 021 551-3923 fowlertours.co.za/fatima

10

The Southern Cross, April 26 to May 2, 2017

FATIMA 100

How we should celebrate Fatima centenary As the Church prepares to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady in Fatima, Portugal, Prof MICHAEL OGuNu explains the significance of the apparitions, the message and how to celebrate the centenary.

T

HIS year is the centenary of the apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima which took place between May and October 1917 to three shepherd children—Lucia dos Santos and siblings Francisco and Jacinta Marto—in that small town in northern Portugal.

Pope Francis declared that the celebrations of the centenary of Fatima apparitions should begin on November 27, 2016 and end on November 26, 2017.

Over this week and next, we will be looking at what you need to know about the apparitions of Fatima.

What were the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima?

On May 13, 1917, Our Lady first appeared to the shepherd children Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta in Fatima. She appeared to them again on June 13, July 13, August 19, September 13 and October 13.

During the course of her apparitions, she delivered some important messages to the children to announce to the world.

In all the apparitions, Our Lady told them to “pray the rosary every day”. She also told them to “pray, pray very much and make sacrifices for sinners for many souls go to hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and to pray for them”.

She warned: “Do not offend the Lord our God anymore, because he is already so much offended.”

She told them to continue to pray the rosary every day in order to ob-

tain peace for the world and the end of the First World War—which had been raging since 1914 and ended in November 1918—because only she can bring peace. She assured them that “in the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph”.

What are the highlights of the message of Fatima?

The highlights of the message of Fatima include the following: 1. Amendment of Life: “I have come to warn the faithful to amend their lives and ask pardon for their sins. They must not continue to offend Our Lord, who is already too much offended.”

2. Five Warnings: “If my requests are not granted, Russia will spread her errors throughout the world, provoking wars and persecutions against the Church. Many good people will be martyred; there will come another great war (Second World War), and various nations will be destroyed.”

3. War: “Wars are a punishment for the sins of mankind.”

4. Sins of the Flesh: “More souls go to hell because of the sins of the flesh than for any other reason.”

5. Immodest Fashions: “Certain fashions will be introduced that will offend Our Lord very much.”

6. Sinful Marriages: “Many marriages are not good; they do not please Our Lord and are not of God.” 7. Daily Rosary: “Say the rosary every day to obtain peace for the world. And after each decade say the following prayer: ‘O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to heaven, especially those who have most need of thy mercy’.”

8. Prayer and Sacrifice: “Pray, pray a great deal, and make sacrifices for sinners, for many souls go to hell because they have no-one to make sacrifices and pray for them.”

9. Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary: “God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If people do what I tell you, many souls will be saved and there will be peace.”

The sanctuary of Fatima, with the basilica dominating and the chapel of the Apparitions at left. Inset: Jacinta, Lucia and Francisco Marto at around the time of the 1917 apparitions of Mary at Fatima.

10. First Saturday Devotion: “I promise to help at the hour of death with the graces needed for salvation those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, go to confession, receive Holy Communion, say five decades of the rosary, and keep me company for 15 minutes while meditating on the mysteries, with the intention of making reparation to my Immaculate Heart” (Message communicated to Sr Lucia in 1925).

11. World Peace: “Tell everybody that God gives his graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Tell them to ask graces from her, and that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be venerated together with the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the Lord has confided the peace of the world to her... In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph, Russia will be converted and there will be peace.”

What prayer did Our Lady emphasise most at Fatima?

The prayer which Our Lady emphasised most at Fatima is the rosary. In all her six apparitions, from May 13 to October 13, 1917,

she told the children to “say the rosary every day”.

Why mark the centenary?

The objectives of the celebration of the centenary of Our Lady’s apparitions at Fatima include the following: • To stress the importance of the apparitions of Fatima for the Church and for the world.

• To spread the message of Fatima nationwide and worldwide.

• To deepen our knowledge of the theology of the message of Fatima.

• To develop pastoral proposals in the life of the message of Fatima.

• To promote the living out of the spirituality of Fatima.

• To develop the Marian dimension in the Christian expression of the faith.

Celebration for parishes The programme for parishes and groups for days which may be specified for them in the general programme of celebration of the centenary should include: • Daily rosary recitation in all parishes

• A talk on the Blessed Virgin Mary • Rosary procession with the statue of Our Lady of Fatima during which the 20-decade rosary is recited accompanied with Marian hymns.

• Eucharistic celebrations in honour of Our Lady of Fatima and in reparation to Her Immaculate Heart on the anniversary days of the apparitions.

• Act of reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary • Act of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary • Prayer in honour of Our Lady of Fatima (before the statue of Our Lady of Fatima) • Prayer for the intentions of the pope (one Our Father, one Hail Mary, one I Believe in God, one Glory Be)

Personal celebration • Pray the rosary every day.

• Participate more frequently and actively in Eucharistic celebrations.

• Pay more visits to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament as acts of reparation to our Eucharistic Lord who is greatly offended by the sins of men.

• Participate actively in the spiritual exercises and programmes for your group and those organised by your parish including lectures, seminars and workshops to deepen your understanding of the role of Mary in the salvation of mankind.

• Practise the First Saturdays devotion fervently as required by Our Lord and Our Blessed Mother.

• Imitate the virtues of Mary, especially her ardent charity, purity, humility, obedience, lively faith and submission to the holy will of God in all things, and so on. n More next week. Prof Michael Ogunu is a member of the International Board of Trustees of the World Apostolate of Fatima and Coordinator of the Fatima Apostolate in Africa.

Join The Southern Cross and Radio Veritas on a pilgrimage to Fatima and other holy sites in October. See www.fowlertours.co.za/fatima for information

No secret: Last three popes’ love for Fatima

BY JuNNO AROCHO ESTEVES

R

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ECENT popes have had a special affection for Our Lady of Fatima, but no pope’s connection can match that of St John Paul II. “We cannot forget that he was saved by Our Lady of Fatima from the assassination attempt here in St Peter’s. This is fundamental and central. It is never forgotten,” said Portuguese Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, former prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes.

Mehmet Ali Agca shot St John Paul at close range as the pope was greeting a crowd in St Peter’s Square on the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, May 13, 1981.

Two bullets pierced the pope’s abdomen, but no major organs were struck; a bullet had missed his heart and aorta by a few inches.

St John Paul would later say: “It was a mother’s hand that guided the bullet’s path.” That miracle, the cardinal said, is key in “understanding Pope John Paul’s devotion to Our Lady of Fatima”.

Given the date of the assassination attempt, the pope specifically credited Our Lady of Fatima with his miraculous survival and recovery. Several months later, he visited the site of the apparitions, the first of three visits he would make as pope to Fatima.

For St John Paul, Cardinal Saraiva Martins said, “Our Lady of Fatima was everything”, and his three visits to the Portuguese town were those of a grateful son to the mother who saved his life.

“When he arrived at the little chapel of the apparitions where [the statue of] Our Lady of Fatima was,” he recalled, John Paul was holding one of the bullets that had struck him and slowly approached the statue, finally placing the bullet in her crown.

“It is still in the crown today. I witnessed these gestures, how he expressed his devotion to Our Lady. He would just walk closer and closer to Our Lady and would repeat: ‘You saved me, you saved me.’”

As the prefect of the Congregation for

Left: St John Paul II with Sr Lucia dos Santos, one of the Fatima visionaries. Both died in 2005.

Above: Cardinal José Saraiva Martins looks at a book about Fatima. On the open page is a photo of the cardinal and Sr Lucia. (Photos: CNS) Saints’ Causes from 1998 to 2008, Cardinal Saraiva Martins also oversaw the process leading to the beatification by St John Paul of Jacinta and Francisco Marto, two of the three young shepherd children, who saw Mary at Fatima.

The cardinal also shared a personal friendship with the third seer, Carmelite Sister Lucia dos Santos, who died in 2005.

It was Cardinal Saraiva Martins who, two years after Sr Lucia’s death, urged Pope Benedict XVI to waive the five-year waiting period before her sainthood cause could be opened. “He said, ‘Yes, you know more about this than I do. We will do as you say,’” the cardinal recalled.

Pope Benedict, the cardinal added, was a “great devotee” of Our Lady of Fatima, even before his election to the papacy.

Interviewed in his apartment near St Peter’s Square, Cardinal Saraiva Martins grabbed a copy of part of the interview then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger did in 1985 with Vittorio Messori, an Italian journalist.

“Before becoming pope, he said: ‘A stern warning has been launched from that place...a summons to the seriousness of life, of history, to the perils that threaten humanity,’” the cardinal read.

The special papal bond with Our Lady of Fatima continues today with Pope Francis, who as archbishop of Buenos Aires, was

a frequent visitor to a shrine in the Argentine city devoted to her, Cardinal Saraiva Martins said. Pope Francis will visit Fatima from May 12-13 to mark the 100th anniversary of the apparitions.

The cardinal recalled Pope Francis’ “beautiful” words to Portuguese-speaking pilgrims on the 98th anniversary of the apparition: “Entrust to her all that you are, all that you have, and in that way you will be able to become an instrument of the mercy and tenderness of God to your family, neighbours and friends.”

“This an example of the words of Pope Francis, so he is a great devotee of Fatima,” the cardinal said. “And for this reason, he will go to Fatima. For him, it will be an extraordinary day in which he will fulfill this great desire that has been expressed in so many ways.”

Devotion to Our Lady of Fatima is emblematic of the popes of the last century who have “always recognised” the relevance of Mary’s message, particularly its emphasis on faith, conversion, hope and peace, the cardinal said.

“Today we need faith, to be closer to God and our brothers and sisters—not hate each other—we need hope and we need peace,” the cardinal said. “In short, the message of Fatima given 100 years ago is of extreme relevance.”—CNS

The Southern Cross, April 26 to May 2, 2017

CLASSIFIEDS

Pat Oliver P RETORIA Catholic Women’s League stalwart Pat Oliver died on April 4 at 91.

She was born on May 23, 1925, to Pat and Sue O’Brien, who were close friends of my parents.

During the war years my family used to spend holidays at the beautiful Highwoods guest farm, in the Belfast district of what was then the Eastern Transvaal, which was run by Pat and Sue, who were staunch Catholics.

Holy Mass was celebrated on a regular basis by the Comboni Missionaries for the Catholics in the area.

Patricia matriculated at the Dominican Convent School in Witbank. After the war the O’Briens moved to Sunnyside in Pretoria. At that time there was no Catholic church in Sunnyside, so the O’Briens became parishioners of St Alphonsus’ monast-

ery parish in Hillcrest.

Patricia married John Oliver, who eventually became a Catholic himself. After the death of Pat’s father, his widow Sue, with Patricia and John, moved to Lyttelton.

All three of them were dedicated to the parish and assisted the parish priest, Fr James Manning, in every way, including providing him with delicious meals which he appreciated very much.

When the Salesian Fathers took over the parish they were also at the receiving end of the kindness of Sue, Pat and John.

After the deaths of her husband and her mother, Pat lived on her own and worked as parish secretary.

In gratitude for what she had done in the parish and in the archdiocesan Catholic Women’s League, she was honoured with

Births • First Communion • Confirmation • Engagement/Marriage • Wedding anniversary • Ordination jubilee • Congratulations • Deaths • In memoriam • Thanks • Prayers • Accommodation • Holiday Accommodation • Personal • Services • Employment • Property • Others Please include payment (R1,70 a word) with small advertisements for promptest publication.

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the papal award Bene Merenti.

The parishioners were so concerned about Pat living on her own that they persuaded her to move to Holy Cross Home in Lady Selborne in 2010.

Fortified by the rites of Holy Church, she passed away quietly on April 4. Her funeral was celebrated on April 10 at Holy Cross Home.

Archbishop George Daniel

Tiyo: from Lovedale to Glasgow Continued from page 7 as true as the sun, the Thyume mission was burnt to the ground that night.

Luckily, most of the inhabitants had fled, with Tiyo and his mother, to the colonial headquarters in King William’s Town, where they hid inside the fort.

Within a few weeks, Tiyo, his

friend John Aiken Chamler (William’s son), and Bryce, (John Ross’ son) were off to Scotland.

In giving her blessing, Tiyo’s deeply religious mother put faith in God for her son, whom she might never see again.

The cordial relations between the Xhosas and the missionaries didn’t really recover from the duplicity of the British, because

CLASSIFIEDS

the Xhosas now regarded them with suspicion of being what they termed “the sharp end of the colonial spear”.

Meanwhile, the difficulties for Tiyo, the marked man, were just beginning. n Catch up with previous columns by Mphuthumi Ntabeni at www.scross. co.za/categor y/perspectives/ ntabeni/

Via Lucis: Stations of the Resurrection Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

O sons and daughters, let us sing!

The King of heaven the glorious King, Over death today rose triumphing, Alleluia!

Beginning this week up to the edition coinciding with the feast of Pentecost we will publish images to illustrate the Via Lucis, or Stations of the Resurrection, for you to cut out and collect.

Station 1: Jesus rises from the dead (Matthew Obtain the text of the readings, prayers and re28:5-6). Mosaic in the church of the Transfiguration sponses from the Salesians at sdbprov@iafrica.com on Mount Tabor, Galilee

O’DONOGHUE—Norma.

No 1 Mom to Kerry, Laura and Rory, and devout granny to Nicholas, Gemma, Claire, Richard, Ryan and Patrick. May God continue to bless you with a wonderful life, today and for many more. Love always, happy 73rd birthday.

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PRAYERS

PSALM 16:1-2a and 5-11.

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge, I say to the Lord: “You are my Lord.” O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup; you yourself who secure my lot. I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel; who even at night directs my heart. I keep the Lord before me always; with him at my right hand, I shall not

be moved. And so, my heart rejoices, my soul is glad; even my flesh shall rest in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to hell, nor let your holy one see corruption. You will show me the path of life, the fullness of joy in your presence, at your right hand bliss forever.

LORD, you are holy above all others, and all of the strength that I need is in your hands. I am not asking, Lord, that you take this trial away. Instead, I simply ask that your will be done in my life. Whatever that means, that is what I want.

But I admit that it's hard, Lord. Sometimes I feel like I can't go on. The pain and the fear are too much for me, and I know that I don't have the strength on my own to get through this. I know that I can come to you, Jesus, and that you will hear my prayer. I know that it is not your intent to bring me to this point just to leave me in the wilderness alone. Please, Lord, give me the strength that I need to face today. I don't have to worry about tomorrow. If you just give me the strength that I need today, that is all I need. Keep me from sinning during this trial. Instead, help me to keep my eyes on you. You are the holy Lord, and all of my hope rests in you.

Thank you for hearing my prayer. In Jesus' name.

Amen.

O JESUS, lover of children, bestow your most precious graces on those whom you have confided to our care. Increase in them faith, hope and charity. May your love lead them to solid piety, inspiring them with dread for sin, love of work and an ardent desire of worthily approaching your holy table.

Preserve in them innocence and purity of heart;

Liturgical Calendar Year A – Weekdays Cycle Year 1

Station 2: The women find the empty tomb (Matthew 28:1-6)

Our bishops’ anniversaries This week we congratulate: April 27: Bishop Stanley Dziuba of Umzimkulu on his 57th birthday April 27: Bishop Sithembele Sipuka of Mthatha on his 57th birthday and May 3 on the 9th anniversary of his episcopal ordination April 30: Auxiliary Bishop Duncan Tsoke of Johannesburg on the 1st anniversary of his episcopal ordination

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Station 3: The risen Lord appears to Mary Magdalene (John 20:16). Painting by Giotto (c. 1320)

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 756. ACROSS: 5 Fury, 7 Expatriate, 8 Adit, 10 Admitted, 11 Infamy, 12 Nicety, 14 Unions, 16 Advent, 17 Chapters, 19 Noel, 21 Palm Sunday, 22 Floe. DOWN: 1 Sela, 2 Santiago, 3 Friary, 4 Mammon, 5 Feat, 6 Repentance, 9 Dining hall, 13 Covenant, 15 Spells, 16 Assisi, 18 Pipe, 20 Lays.

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Sunday April 30, 3rd Sunday of Easter Acts 2:14, 22-33, Psalms 16:1-2, 5, 7-11, 1 Peter 1:17-21, Luke 24:13-35 Monday May 1, St Joseph the Worker Acts 6:8-15, Psalms 119:23-24,26-27,29-30, John 6:22-29 Tuesday May 2, St Athanasius Acts 7:51--8:1, Psalms 31:3-4, 6-8, 17, 21, John 6:30-35 Wednesday May 3, Ss Philip and James 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, Psalms 19:2-5, John 14:6-14 Thursday May 4 Acts 8:26-40, Psalms 66:8-9, 16-17, 20, John 6:44-51 Friday May 5 Acts 9:1-20, Psalms 117:1-2, John 6:52-59 Saturday May 6 Acts 9:31-42, Psalms 116:12-17, John 6:60-69 Sunday May 7, 4th Sunday of Easter Acts 2:14, 36-41, Psalms 23:1-6, 1 Peter 2:2025, John 10:1-10

and if they should offend you, grant them the grace of a prompt and sincere repentance. From your tabernacle watch over them day and night; protect them in all their ways. Grant that they may acquire the knowledge that they need to embrace the state of life to which you have called them. Grant us a sincere love, constant vigilance and generous devotedness towards them. Grant us all consolation on earth and eternal reward in heaven.

O VIRGIN Mother, In the depths of your heart you pondered the life of the Son you brought into the world. Give us your vision of Jesus and ask the Father to open our hearts, that we may always see His presence in our lives, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, bring us into the joy and peace of the kingdom, where Jesus is Lord forever and ever.

Amen.

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Editor: Günther Simmermacher (editor@scross.co.za), Business Manager: Pamela Davids (admin@scross.co.za), Advisory Editor: Michael Shackleton, News Editor: Mandla Zibi (m.zibi@scross.co.za), Editorial: Claire Allen (c.allen@scross.co.za), Mary Leveson (m.leveson@scross.co.za), Advertising: Yolanda Timm (advertising@scross.co.za), Subscriptions: Michelle Perry (subscriptions@scross.co.za), Accounts: Desirée Chanquin (accounts@scross.co.za) Directors: R Shields (Chair), Archbishop S Brislin, S Duval, E Jackson, B Jordan, Sr H Makoro CPS, J Mathurine, R Riedlinger, G Stubbs, Z Tom Editorial Advisory Board: Fr Chris Chatteris SJ, Kelsay Correa, Dr Nontando Hadebe, Prof Derrick Kourie, Claire Mathieson, Fr Lawrence Mduduzi Ndlovu, Palesa Ngwenya, Sr Dr Connie O’Brien I.Sch, John O’Leary, Kevin Roussel, Fr Paul Tatu CSS

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4th Sunday of Easter: May 7 Readings: Acts 2:14, 36-41, Psalm 23, 1 Peter 2:20-25, John 10:1-10

N

EXT Sunday used to be called “Good Shepherd Sunday”, because they read the Gospel on that day about Jesus as the “Good Shepherd”.

In the readings for the day, we shall hear some of that Gospel, but also find ourselves invited to reflect on what “good shepherding” on the part of Jesus (and of God) really means; and, as we shall see, it has to do with “coming home”.

The first reading continues Peter’s speech on that first Pentecost; he is unabashed about accusing his hearers: “This Jesus, whom you lot crucified, God made him Lord and Messiah.”

And they are powerfully struck (feel the need to “come home”), and ask what they are to do: “Repent, and let each of you be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. And you will receive the free gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Baptism, if we understand it correctly, is a real “coming home”; and on that day, Luke tells us, “about three thousand were added”— or “came home”.

The psalm for next Sunday is of course

S outher n C ross

that favourite of many people, “The Lord is my Shepherd”, and it meditates on how the Lord brings us home: “I shall not lack…he makes me graze in green pastures, by waters of rest he leads me.”.

There is nothing that can prevent us from “coming home”: “Even though I walk in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I shall not fear evil”, and, in a lovely image of home, “You lay a table before me, in the sight of my enemies…I shall dwell in the House of the Lord to the end of my days.”

In the second reading for next Sunday, we continue our journey through 1 Peter, and the image of the “shepherd” is powerfully present, as he tells his early Christian audience (and us): “You were like sheep that had been led astray; but now you have turned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

And that is clearly a homecoming: “You have been called to this, because Christ suffered for you…for you to follow in his footsteps”; and that must lead us home: “He carried up our sins in his body on the Tree…

in order that we might live for righteousness.” In other words, this “shepherd” is indeed bringing us home, at a great price to himself.

The Gospel starts with a distinction between the “real thing” and the “thief and robber”.

The “robber” is “the one who does not enter by the gate of the sheepfold, but comes up by another route”.

The “real thing” is the one “to whom the gate-keeper opens: his sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out, because they recognise his voice”.

The “thief” they are not at home with: “No way will they follow a foreigner—no: they will run away from that one, because they do not recognise the foreigner’s voice.”

Oddly, the evangelist then comments: “Jesus told them this parable, but those people did not recognise what he was saying to them.”

So Jesus tells the story in a slightly different way, but once more it has to do with that

500 years of misunderstanding T Christianity and the reaction to it are present today and are still seen everywhere, from high church offices to debates within the academy of theology, to suspicions inside the popular mind.

Sad how we’ve focused so much on our differences, when at the centre, at the heart, we share the same essential faith, the same essential beliefs, the same basic moral codes, the same scriptures, the same belief in afterlife, and the same fundamental tenet that intimacy with Jesus Christ is the aim of our faith.

Also, not insignificantly, today we also share the same prejudices and biases against us, whether these come from fundamentalists within other religions or whether these come from over-zealous, over-secularised, post-Christians within our own society.

To someone looking at us from the outside we—all the different Christian denominations—look like a monolith: one faith, one church, a single religion, our differences far overshadowed by our commonality.

Sadly, we tend not to see ourselves like this from within, where our differences, more often than not based upon a misunderstanding, are seen to dwarf our common discipleship.

Y

et, the Epistle to the Ephesians tells us that, as Christians, we share one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of all of us. At its most essential level, that’s true of all of us as Christians, despite our denominational differences.

We are one at our core.

Granted, there are some real differences among us, mostly though in terms of how we understand certain aspects of

Conrad

HE heart has its reasons, said 17thcentury French philosopher Blaise Pascal—and sometimes those reasons have a long history.

Recently I signed a card for a friend, a devout Baptist, who was raised to have a suspicion of Catholics. It’s something he still struggles with; but don’t we all? History eventually infects our DNA. Who of us is entirely free from suspicion of what’s religiously different from us? And what’s the cure? Personal contact, friendship, and theological dialogue with those of other denominations and other faiths does help open our minds and hearts, but the fruit of centuries of bitter misunderstanding doesn’t disappear so easily, especially when it’s institutionally entrenched and nurtured as a prophetic protection of God and truth.

And so, with regard to Christians of other denominations, there remains in most of us an emotional disease, an inability to see the other fully as one of our own.

And so in signing this card for my separated Christian friend, I wrote: “To a fellow Christian, a brother in the Body of Christ, a good friend, from whom I’m separated by 500 years of misunderstanding.”

Five hundred years of misunderstanding, of separation, of suspicion, of defensiveness—that’s not something that’s easily overcome, especially when at its core there sit issues about God, truth and religion.

Granted, there has been much positive progress made in the past 50 years, and many of the original, more blatant misunderstandings have been overcome. But the effects of the historical break within

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Jesus brings us home

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Sunday Reflections

precious business of “being at home”: “Amen, amen I’m telling you—I am the gate for the sheep.” He makes the contrast with his predecessors: “All those who came before me are thieves and robbers—but the sheep did not listen to them.”

Then he goes deeper: “I am the Gate; if anyone enters through me, they will be saved; and they will come in and go out and find pasture.” It is a lovely image of being utterly safe and at home.

Then, once more, he paints the contrast: “The thief comes only in order to steal and sacrifice and destroy.”

Jesus, however, comes only precisely for people to be at home: “I came in order that they might have life, and have it abundantly.”

So there you have your question for this week: Where are you at home, and with whom? What will that mean for you, over the next few days?

Southern Crossword #756

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

the Church and certain issues within morality, rather than on how we understand the deeper truths about the nature of God, the divinity of Christ, the gift of God’s Word, the gift of the Eucharist, and the inalienable dignity and destiny of all human beings.

Within the hierarchy of truth, this essential core is what’s most important, and on this essential core we essentially agree.

That’s the real basis of our common discipleship.

Ecclesially, the issues that divide us focus mostly on Church authority, on ordination to ministry, on whether to emphasise word or sacrament, on how to understand the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, on the number of sacraments, on the place of sacramentals and devotions within discipleship, and on how scripture and tradition interplay with each other.

In terms of moral issues, the issues that divide us are also the “red button” issues within our society as a whole: abortion, gay marriage, birth control, and the place of social justice within discipleship. But, even on these, there’s more commonality than difference among the Churches.

Moreover, today, the differences on how we understand many of the ecclesial and moral issues that divide us are more temperamental than denominational, that is, they tend to be more a question of one’s theology than of one’s denominational affiliation.

Granted, classical denominational theology still plays in, but the divisions today regarding how we see certain ecclesial and moral issues—be that ordination, gay marriage, abortion or social justice— are less a tension between Catholics and Protestants (and Evangelicals) than they are between those who lean temperamentally and theologically in one direction rather than the other.

It’s perhaps too simplistic to draw this up in terms of liberal versus conservative, but this much at least is true: the faultline on these issues today is becoming less and less denominational.

The earliest Christian Creed had but a single line: Jesus is Lord! All Christians still agree on that and so we remain brothers and sisters, separated only by 500 years of misunderstanding.

ACROSS

5. The anger of a goddess (4) 7. A first-class pretext I change, being an alien (10) 8. Access to the crypt in tradition (4) 10. Acknowledged one was made member of sect (8) 11. Morally bad condition (6) 12. A fine detail this is (6) 14. Marriages between shop stewards? (6) 16. The Church’s first season (6) 17. Book divisions for synods (8) 19. Boy’s name for Christmas (4) 21. And as lumpy as mistaken holy day (4,6) 22. Florence sounds like she’s on ice (4)

DOWN

1. City of Edom (Is 16) (4) 2. Cathedral city of Spanish pilgrimage (8) 3. House of Dominicans and Franciscans (6) 4. God of the filthy rich (Lk 16) (6) 5. Achievement of fate (4) 6. Pen a recent expression of your remorse (10) 9. Where the monks may have a meal (6,4) 13. The blood of the new and eternal ... (liturgy) (8) 15. Enchanting words (6) 16. St Francis’ Mass is, I believe in there (6) 18. Smoke in the organ? (4) 20. Poems to be sung (4) Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

T

HE priest met a woman at whose wedding he had officiated a couple of years earlier.

“So, do you have any children yet?” Father asked. The woman replied that she didn’t, though not for lack of trying.

“Tell you what I’ll do,” Father said. “Next week I’ll go to Rome and I will light a fertility candle for you.”

Some years passed and the two met again. “So, have you had any children yet?” Father asked.

“Oh yes, two sets of twins and six singles. Ten in all and another on its way.”

“That’s lovely,” said the priest. “And how is your dear husband?”

“He’s gone to Rome to blow out your cursed candle!”

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