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May 24 to May 30, 2017

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Amandla awethu:

Zuma gaan kerk toe

BY ERIN CARELSE

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Children dressed as Fatima visionaries Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco lead a procession in honour of Our Lady of Fatima from Johannesburg’s Christ the King cathedral to mark the 100th anniversary of the apparitions at Fatima. Dioceses and parishes around Southern Africa took to the streets for the celebrations. (Photo: Alexis Callea)

WYD 2019 logo: What it means

A

LOGO depicting symbols for Mary, Panama and the Panama Canal was selected as the winning design to promote World Youth Day 2019.

The design by Amber Calvo, 20, a Panamanian architecture student, was chosen from 103 entries submitted for the event that will take place from January 2227, 2019.

The artwork includes a silhouette of Mary at the moment she says, “Thy will be done” to God. The Panama Canal flows through Mary, symbolising the pilgrim’s path through Mary to Jesus.

Special Pilgrimage to Portugal and Spain

In red is an image of the Pilgrim Cross.

The Isthmus of Panama is represented across the top of the design in the shape of a stylized “M”. The image refers to the Panamanian theme, “Bridge of the World, Heart of the Universe”. It also suggests the name of Mary and her motherly heart leading the pilgrim to Jesus, her son.

Within the image of Panama and above Mary’s head are five small white dots that represent her crown as well as the fact that pilgrims will travel to the event from five continents outside of North America.—CNS

The

HURCH space should not be used to engage in partisan politics and political endorsements, the head of the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO) said.

Fr Peter-John Pearson, director of the CPLO, responded to questions from The Southern Cross after President Jacob Zuma used the setting of a Catholic church in Mariannhill diocese to endorse Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as his successor as president of the African National Congress.

He said it is not known whether the church was aware that President Zuma would be making the announcement, but emphasised the principle that worship spaces should not be exploited for narrow party political purposes.

He said that the Church should not be identified with political parties and that the events in one parish must not be seen as representative of the whole Catholic Church, which stands above party politics.

The Church generally discourages parishes and Church organisations from endorsing a candidate or political party, donating money or other resources to a candidate or political party, or exclusively offering the parish’s or Church organisation’s facilities to a candidate or political party.

Parishes are free to invite guests of honour, including politicians, to their Masses and functions, provided that these occasions are not used by such guests to campaign for political office.

However, there is no provision for formal sanction should the activities of a parish not accord with these principles, unless such provisions are made by the local bishop.

Bishop Pius Mlungisi Dlungwane of Mariannhill was unavailable for comment.

Mr Zuma spoke at St Catherine’s church in Dr Dlamini-Zuma’s birthplace in Bulwer where they both attended Mass before joining a service at the Abundant Life Church in Durban.

It was the first time he publicly endorsed

S outher n C ross &

President Jacob Zuma, who launched his endorsement for Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as ANC president in a Catholic church.

Dr Dlamini-Zuma, his ex-wife and a Catholic, to succeed him as ANC president. The ruling party is scheduled to elect its new leadership in December. Dr Dlamini-Zuma is expected to go head to head against Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa for the party’s presidency.

The new ANC leader will likely become South Africa’s next president when national elections are held in 2019.

They were joined by KwaZulu-Natal ANC chairman and economic development MEC Sihle Zikalala at the Bulwer service.

Mr Zuma praised the parish for its welcome to Dr Dlamini-Zuma‚ saying it was a huge lesson for him as it “showed that they knew her contribution”.

At the Abundant Life Church service Mr Zuma criticised divisions within the ANC-led alliance but then said that “I’m not here for that. I’m here for prayer”.

The president, who has been accused of corruption, said he once told priests who were critical of him that they should pray for those who had done wrong, The Sowetan reported.

“What I know is that the one who died for us said: ‘Forgive them Lord because they do not know what they are doing’. So the priests should be saying I should be forgiven as I have sinned. But I am not told what’s wrong that I have done‚” said Mr Zuma.

Radio Veritas

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2

The Southern Cross, May 24 to May 30, 2017

LOCAL

Bishop Wood had ‘spiritual gravitas’

BY ERIN CARELSE

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HIS was the best outside broadcast we’ve done yet,” said Fr Emil Blaser OP, executive director of Radio Veritas.

The Johannesburg-based radio station broadcast the funeral of Bishop Barry Wood OMI at the Royal Agricultural Showground, Pietermaritzburg, live on air.

Although Radio Veritas transmits on medium wave (576AM) in Gauteng, “the sound was crystal-clear”, said Fr Blaser, who paid tribute to his team which had travelled to KwaZulu-Natal for the broadcast.

Catholics throughout the country could follow the broadcast on DStv Audio Channel 870 and streamed on Radio Veritas’ website, giving listeners a chance to pay their respects to Bishop Wood.

Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, archbishop of Durban, presided over the funeral, attended by about 5 000.

“To say we have suffered a grievous blow is an understatement.

Those of us who worked closely

Bishop Barry Wood’s funeral, attended by 5 000, was held at the Royal Agricultural Showground in Pietermaritzburg. with Bishop Barry feel as if we’ve lost not only our right hand, we’ve lost a heart that was full of passion for Jesus and his Church, and a heart full of compassion for the poor and the needy, especially the little ones,” said Cardinal Napier.

Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg preached the homily at the funeral for his fellow OMI priest.

Bishop Wood, he said, “was a towering giant, soft-spoken for a man of his size. I have often heard the word

‘gravitas’ tossed about. Here was a man, a priest with a spiritual gravitas, always self-effacing and treating others with spontaneous warmth.”

Archbishop Tlhagale highlighted Bishop Wood’s commitment to social justice.

“He spoke passionately about the unacceptable living conditions of the people who live in informal settlements, the discarded people…”

The archbishop described the abject poverty that persists in South

Homeless people in Oudtshoorn, Western Cape, have made the municipal rubbish dump their “home”.

This month parishioners of the city’s St Saviour’s cathedral, encouraged by parish priest Fr Enrico Parry, visited the dump to distribute food hampers there.

(Photo: Winnie Graham)

Africa as “an open wound”.

He asked: “For how long shall we run away from poor people? That suffocating stench, that rot, won’t go away until we do something about our numbness, our indifference to human suffering.”

Archbishop Tlhagale recalled that he once heard Bishop Wood say, “with a touch of frustration, that after 20 years of democracy, the living conditions of most of the poor had not changed; that some had sunk even deeper into poverty because of the bane of unemployment”.

“This is the Barry Wood who insisted that the love of God…can only be shown by lifting the poor from the dungheap, by putting others first, by recognising their rights.

Bishop Barry was not a hireling who has no relationship with his sheep.

He was a noble, authentic shepherd,” Archbishop Tlhagale said.

The archbishop also referred to Bishop Wood’s ability to stand up for what he thought was right.

He recalled the publication by the bishops’ conference of the book God,

Love and Sex in memory of Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae.

“Generally the bishops sing from the same sheet,” Archbishop Tlhagale said, “but not on this topic.”

Bishop Wood, he said, was of the opinion that it should not be published. “He suggested, in not so many words, that bishops should stay out of the bedroom. He advised that bishops be sensitive and not impose a burden on couples.

Bishop Wood “was also a defender of the truth. He would not stand idly by when someone he knew was being unfairly, unjustly maligned. He defended integrity and honesty,” said Archbishop Tlhagale.

Many parishes had indicated that they were preparing farewell gifts for Bishop Wood as he was heading for retirement after turning 75 in June.

A special collection was held at the Requiem Mass and at Sunday Masses in the Durban archdiocese.

The proceeds will be lodged with funds the late bishop had dedicated for use for the poor and needy.

Brian Jacoby, a science teacher, delivered a We Are Church South Africa public lecture in Rosebank, Cape Town, to an audience of about 80 people. The lecture was entitled “Does God intervene in our lives?”

Catholic group presents at parenting conference STAFF REPORTER

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CATHOLIC family ministry was the only faith-based organisation to make a presentation at a conference on parenting at the University of the Western Cape this month.

Johannesburg-based Marfam was invited to make a presentation on “Strengthening families by strengthening parenting skills” at the Child and Family Studies/Parentung Africa Network conference.

Presented by Toni Rowland, who also writes monthly in The Southern Cross on family matters, the Marfam paper highlighted programmes in the Catholic network, although not necessarily funded by the Church.

“St Anthony’s Child and Youth

Care Centre in Newcastle, KwaZuluNatal was of interest to me as it includes a family preservation approach, to which I have been exposed through work with the Department of Social Development, and also incorporates the aim of possible family reunification,” Mrs Rowland told The Southern Cross.

She also mentioned the parenting programme which has been run in the archdiocese of Cape Town, for which training has been provided in other dioceses over the years.

Her presentation also outlined Marfam’s work, in particular the Family Year Planner and publications which regularly feature aspects of parenting, skills and resources for family communication and faith-

sharing.

“I also described home-schooling as an option being taken up by a number of families for various reasons, including religious, moral, financial and academic,” Mrs Rowland said.

Some of the research reported on at the conference had been conducted in other African countries but a number of the practical implementation programmes have been developed and evaluated and operate locally, in the Western Cape, Gauteng, and in rural communities.

Mrs Rowland said that she and Lois Law, a researcher at the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office on family issues, were particularly impressed by two people who have set

up a community-based programme which includes an orphan and afterschool support programme building on positive parenting skills.

“It is essential that local initiatives from the grassroots are empowered and supported to run such initiatives, but training and monitoring are considered essential too,” Mrs Rowland said.

Other important areas covered at the conference included the dangers of pornography, and the concept of book-sharing.

The conference was co-sponsored by the Parenting Africa Network, which operates in a number of African countries and was represented by Esther Okoth, its head.

Representatives from UWC, the

Department of Social Development and a number of practical parenting programmes operating throughout South Africa used the opportunity for networking and sharing, Mrs Rowland said.

“Effective parenting is widely recognised as a significant social need, but many problems exist, especially decreases in funding,” she said.

“It is also recognised that streamlining would be beneficial and that there is duplication of efforts and work done in ‘silos’ without contact with other like-minded groups.”

Mrs Rowland said that she would have liked to see a broader focus on different family types, including even same-sex families.

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LOCAL

The Southern Cross, May 24 to May 30, 2017

3

Land reform: Molefe saga ‘another low point’ in government ethics Put benefit to people first T N STAFF REPORTER

HE reappointment of Brian Molefe as chief executive of Eskom signals another low point in the ethics of public governance in post-1994 South Africa, the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office has said in a response paper.

While Mr Molefe’s appointment may be set aside, “though probably only after protracted litigation, at enormous cost to taxpayers rich and poor”, it will be “interesting to see what parliament chooses to do by way of oversight into this latest attempt by the executive to diminish its role, power and prestige”, said CPLO research coordinator Mike Pothier.

“Encouragingly, the African National Congress itself seems to have realised that this has been a redeployment too far, and has called the responsible minister, Lynne Brown, to account,” Mr Pothier noted.

Mr Molefe headed Eskom for 21 months, at an annual salary of just under R10 million, before he resigned following the Public Protector’s State of Capture report, which implicated him in questionable dealings with the Guptas.

The board of Eskom granted him a R30 million payout, which public enterprises

minister Ms Brown blocked.

Mr Molefe then was deployed to parliament, apparently with a view to an appointment as finance minister, which the ANC leadership blocked. Having failed to become finance minister, he aimed at a return to Eskom.

Mr Pothier criticised the proposed payout. “It is surely not too much to expect that state-owned enterprises such as Eskom would set an example of restraint [and] show the private sector that it is not necessary to accommodate such levels of avariciousness. Instead, it has demonstrated a level of profligacy that echoes the Nkandla scandal,” he said.

He questioned the fitness for office of a board “that can propose such a waste of public funds”.

Mr Pothier said that Mr Molefe’s recent history “shows just how unimportantly parliament is regarded by the dominant faction of the governing party”.

“To be an MP ought to be one of the most valued and highly esteemed jobs available. People of real skill and talent, with a deeply developed sense of public service, should be put forward by their parties; and once there, they should not be removed for flimsy reasons,” he said.

While Mr Molefe’s record in business, before he became embroiled with the Guptas, might have made him an asset to parliament, it instead “turns out that his seat in parliament was merely a convenient parking space while he—or his backers—waited for something more ‘important’ to turn up,” such as the finance ministry.

Mr Pothier suggested that “being an ‘ordinary’ MP was not good enough for [Mr Molefe], and a better position had to be found”.

This, he said, diminishes and demeans the office of MP and the status of parliament. “Membership of the National Assembly should not be a mere rung on the ladder to an executive position or to high political office,” he said.

“This attitude…has contributed to the overall weakening of parliament vis a vis the executive. Ministers routinely fail to honour calls from committees to appear before them, and when they do, they are too often treated obsequiously, with little or no proper questioning being allowed,” Mr Pothier noted.

“It is as if the ministers are in command and the MPs are there to take instructions—a reversal of what the Constitution provides.”

US visitors offer formation workshops

T

WO American experts on ministry visited South Africa to present workshops on Lasallian formation.

Alan Weyland, executive director of the Office for Mission and Ministry for the District of Eastern North America of the De La Salle Brothers, and Br Brian Henderson presented the workshops to the three Lasallian apostolates in South Africa: the community at Phokeng in Rustenburg diocese, and to the staffs of Johannesburg schools La Salle College in Discovery and De La Salle Holy Cross College in Victory Park.

In Phokeng they met Bishop Kevin Dowling before De La Salle Brother Joseph Kiely and his co-workers gave them a tour of one of the crèches they run.

At the formation programmes at the schools, Mr Weyland, who is also an historian, outlined the life of founder St John Baptist De La Salle, relating the events of the saint’s life to the present day.

The Lasallian mission has been kept alive for 350 years by the faithfulness to St De La Salle’s vision of working “together and by association”, he noted.

The concept of association was revisited during the 1960s when the numbers of vocations to religious life began to decrease.

The Lasallian Institute recognised the need to share its charism and mission with lay colleagues if it was to survive and remain

Visiting Americans Br Brian Henderson and Alan Weyland presented Lasallian workshops in Johannesburg and Phokeng. relevant in the years to come, he said.

Debbie Harris, principal of De La Salle Holy Cross College, said the workshop revealed the depth of Lasallian spirituality.

Mr Weyland challenged us to consider our personal commitment to and understanding of association as we reflected on our various roles in our school communities. He opened our minds to the realisation of the treasure that we have inherited as Lasallians, but also that we also have a responsibility to guard the charism and the

ethos if it is to be kept alive,” she said.

Br Henderson led the workshops through the pedagogy and spirituality of the De La Salle order.

“He shed new light on the Gospel stories as he highlighted the value system embedded in Lasallian paedagogy. His robust yet sensitive approach gave us a renewed understanding of what it means to be ‘in the holy presence of God’ and to ‘see the face of God’ in the children we teach,” Ms Harris said.

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STAFF REPORTER

EARLY 100 church delegates from across KwaZulu-Natal, including the provincial MEC for land issues, met in Durban to discuss land transformation.

The symposium, held at St Joseph’s parish in Morningside, was organised by the KwaZulu-Natal Christian Council to work out how the churches could play a more dynamic role in speeding up effective transfer of land to the black majority.

The delegates were welcomed by Fr Brett Williams, the local parish priest and chancellor of the Durban archdiocese.

The meeting agreed that the Church’s concern about land issues stems from the fact that “the earth is the Lord’s and all who dwell in it”.

The Church, the meeting found, should come to the aid of the landless in their struggles.

In order to play a more helpful role, “the Church needs accurate statistics on the amount of land transferred, what models have worked and which haven’t, what land policies need to be revisited, what posttransfer support is needed and how this can be provided, as well as what effective multi-stakeholder forums are already in place that are needed for interaction between the landless, farmers, government, which could and should be widely replicated,” a statement issued after the symposium said.

Land issues and the different understandings of land ownership will need to be resolved before there should be any talk about nationalisation of land, said Dr Donna Hornby, a land expert from the University of the Western Cape.

The meeting also noted that some farms have become unproductive after acquisition because the beneficiaries of land restitution lack expertise in farming, access to markets and productive inputs, as claimed by Zama Molefe of the provincial land office.

Roland Henderson of the KZN Farmers’ Association urged greater participation by all stakeholders, especially the communities themselves—the lead should come from them.

In particular, Mr Henderson said, commercial farmers should become more active in multi-stakeholder forums—consisting of community representatives, government officials, commercial farmers, and churches.

“Because the farmers know so little about land reform they need to be prepared for positive engagement with communities,” he added.

He agreed with agriculture and rural development MEC Themba Mthembu that the measure of success in terms of land transfer should not be focused so much on statistics but rather on whether the people are better off after the transfer.

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4

The Southern Cross, May 24 to May 30, 2017

INTERNATIONAL

UK Bishops: Consider a post-Brexit future

BY SIMON CALDWELL

T A replica of the 1st-century Arch of Titus showing Roman soldiers carrying the menorah is seen in a two-part exhibition at the Vatican. The replica is the central motif in the exhibition, which is also at the Jewish Museum in Rome. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS)

The menorah in art and dark legend

BY CINDY WOODEN

T

HE Vatican Museums and the Jewish Museum of Rome are exploring together the significance of the menorah, although they also give a nod to the centuries-old legend that the Vatican is hiding the golden menorah from the Temple of Jerusalem.

A two-part exhibition, one at the Vatican and the other at the Jewish Museum of Rome, prominently features a replica of the 1stcentury Arch of Titus, showing Roman soldiers carrying the menorah and other treasures into Rome.

From a coin minted in the century before Christ’s birth to a 1987 Israeli comic book featuring a superhero with a menorah on his chest, the exhibit, “The Menorah: Worship, History and Myth”, documents the use of the sevenbranched candelabra both as a religious item and a symbol of Jewish identity.

Among the pieces displayed at the Jewish Museum stands a towering mosaic inscription describing treasures buried at the basilica of St John Lateran, the cathedral of the diocese of Rome. Dating from the 13th century, while the Crusades were raging, the mosaic’s 37-line inventory includes “the golden candelabrum” Titus brought to Rome.

O RFO R D

cONStRUctION

The legend has persisted for centuries that the Vatican is hiding the solid gold menorah—if not at St John Lateran, then in a cave at the Vatican. Jewish religious and political leaders continue to ask the popes to return the piece.

Arnold Nesselrath, director of the department of Byzantine, Medieval and Modern Art at the Vatican Museums, said the mosaic from the time of the reign of Pope Nicholas IV is the last the Vatican heard of the famous menorah. Excavations under the altar of St John Lateran and the surrounding area in the early 20th century turned up no trace of the treasures.

Still, he said, the legend documents just how important the menorah is in Jewish culture.

Francesco Leone, the art historian who prepared the exhibit catalogue, told Catholic News Service the most historically reliable explanation of the Temple menorah’s fate is that it was taken as booty from Rome by the Vandals or Goths before the end of the fifth century and melted down.

The oldest object in the exhibit is the “Magdala stone”, a carved block from a synagogue in Galilee excavated in 2009. The stone, which has a carved menorah on one side, is from before the time of Jesus.—CNS

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HE bishops of England and Wales have put the postBrexit future of the United Kingdom at the top of a list of priority issues for Catholic voters to consider before the June 8 general election.

In a two-page letter the bishops reminded Catholics of their duty to vote and advised voters to question politicians seeking their support on a range of ten key issues.

The consideration at the top of the list was titled “leaving the European Union”, and voters were asked to determine the attitude of candidates to the future status of EU citizens who live in the UK. The bishops also invited voters to ask candidates what issues “should be the top priority when forming new international partnerships”, adding that “human and workers’ rights, the environment, and the development of the world’s poorest countries” must be considered.

In their preamble, the bishops said the election “takes place at a pivotal moment in the life of our nations as we prepare to leave the European Union”, following the outcome of the June 2016 referen-

dum on EU membership.

“To a great extent, the outcome of this election will determine the approach taken on how this is achieved, the priorities we pursue and the values we wish to treasure as our own in the UK and as partners with countries around the world,” the bishops said. “It will determine how we can heal divisions in our society, care for the vulnerable, how our public services are run and whether we can remain a united kingdom.”

The second question on the list deals with euthanasia and assisted suicide, with Catholics urged to ask candidates if they would uphold a 2015 House of Commons vote against a bill to permit doctor-assisted death.

Abortion is not explicitly mentioned, but the bishops suggested that Catholics asked their candidates if they would “support measures to promote the intrinsic value of life at every stage”.

The bishops also asked voters to press candidates about their policies on prison reform in the face of “unprecedented levels of violence and suicide”.

They highlighted the need for a fair migration system and the expansion of schemes to find homes

for refugees to the UK, as a commitment to protect persecuted minorities overseas, “including Christian minorities”.

The letter also makes modern slavery and poverty relief both at home and abroad issues of concern.

In the face of aggressive secularism that has led to attacks against state-funded Catholic education, voters should question candidates if they supported the rights of parents to choose Catholic schools for their children, the bishops suggested.

The eight Scottish bishops also released the text of a pre-election letter to Catholics asking voters to focus principally on issues touching on the sanctity of human life; marriage and the family; poverty; political asylum; and religious freedom.

In the letter, which will be read out in churches, the bishops included sections on the arms trade and nuclear weapons and on threats to free speech.

Politics, the bishops said, needed a new direction “where dialogue is respectful and where different points of view, including those of a religious nature, are tolerated”.—CNS

Aleppo consecrated to Our Lady

S

Franciscan minister-general Fr Michael Perry walks past the rubble of a bombarded building in Aleppo, Syria, during a visit to Franciscan friars there. (Photo: Franciscan Generalate/CNS)

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TILL reeling from the Syrian civil war, the city of Aleppo saw a ray of hope with its consecration to Our Lady of Fatima.

The Mass of Consecration took place in St Francis of Assisi cathedral, which is also known as the “Latin church of the Franciscans”.

It was presided over by Fr Ibrahim Alsabagh, and concelebrated by the bishops and priests of the city.

Present at the Mass of Consecration was a statue of Our Lady of Fatima that was sent directly from the shrine in Portugal. It was blessed last year by Bishop Antonio Marto of Leira-Fatima, who at the time said it would be sent to the “martyr diocese” of Aleppo.

After the Eucharist, the statue was carried in procession through the Christian al-Azizieh neighbourhood, which has suffered numerous attacks in recent years.

The consecration of Aleppo was

part of a programme of activities organised by the Latin-rite cathedral to mark the centenary of the apparitions of Our Lady in Fatima, Portugal.

“Many of us cried because after six years we’re able to again organise the procession through the streets of Aleppo without the fear of missiles. With emotion we welcome the virgin of Fatima to Aleppo and with the hope that the Virgin Mary will pray for peace for all of Syria,” the cathedral said on its Facebook page.

Christian worship has been free again in Aleppo after government forces retook the city from jihadist rebels in December.

Currently living conditions in the city are still very hard because there is a shortage of food, medicine, and other supplies, and because electricity and water services have not yet been restored.—CNA

Collins ‘was a little right’, says pope A SKED about the resignation of Marie Collins, one of the founding members and the last remaining abuse survivor on the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, the pope praised Ms Collins’ work on the commission and her continuing role in training bishops to deal with abuse allegations.

Ms Collins left the commission on March 1, citing the reluctance of members of the Roman curia to implement recommendations or cooperate with the commission’s work.

As for her reasons for leaving the commission, Pope Francis said: “She is a little bit right because there are so many cases that are delayed.”

However, the pope said the delays in handling cases are due to the need to draft new legislation and to the fact that there are few people capable of handling cases of sexual abuse.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, and Cardinal

Irish abuse victim Marie Collins, former member of Commission for the Protection of Minors. (Photo: Tony Gentile, Reuters/CNS Gerhard Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he added, are looking “for new people”.

“We are going forward, but Marie Collins was right about some things,” he said. “There are least 2 000 cases piled up.”—CNS

The Southern Cross, May 24 to May 30, 2017

INTERNATIONAL

Medju commission: Mary was there in ’81

BY CINDY WOODEN

T

HE commission that now-retired Pope Benedict XVI established to study the alleged apparitions of Mary at Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, reportedly voted overwhelmingly to recognise as supernatural the first seven appearances of Mary in 1981.

However, according to a report published by the website Vatican Insider, the commission was much more doubtful about the thousands of alleged visions that have occurred since July 4, 1981, and supposedly continue to this day.

Two of the 17 commission members and consultants thought the alleged visions after the period of June 24 to July 3, 1981, were not supernatural, while the other members said it was not possible to make a judgment.

The commission said it was clear that the six alleged visionaries and a seventh who claims to have begun receiving messages from Mary in December 1982 were not given adequate spiritual support.

Vatican Insider published its piece on the report after Pope Francis spoke about some details of the report to journalists travelling with him from Fatima, Portugal.

The Vatican press office declined to comment on the Vatican Insider piece.

Speaking to journalists Pope Francis said that, regarding the Medjugorje commission’s work, “three things need to be distinguished”.

“About the first apparitions, when [the ‘seers’] were young, the report more or less says that the investigation needs to continue,” the pope said.

“Concerning the alleged current apparitions, the report expresses doubts,” he said. Furthermore, “personally, I am more ‘mischievous’. I prefer Our Lady to be a mother, our mother, and not a post office who sends out a message every day at a certain time—this is not the mother of Jesus.”

Pope Francis said his “personal opinion” is that “these alleged apparitions have no great value”.

The “real core” of the commission’s report, he said, is “the spiritual fact, the pastoral fact” that thousands of pilgrims go to Medju-

A statue of Mary is seen outside St James church in Medjugorje, BosniaHerzegovina. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS) gorje and are converted. “For this there is no magic wand; this spiritual-pastoral fact cannot be denied.”

The spiritual fruits of the pilgrimages, he said, are the reason why in February he appointed Polish Archbishop Henryk Hoser of Warsaw-Praga to study the best ways to provide pastoral care to townspeople and the pilgrims.

According to Vatican Insider, 13 of the 14 commission members present at one meeting voted to recommend lifting the Vatican ban on official diocesan and parish pilgrimages to Medjugorje.

The commission also recommended turning the town’s parish church of St James into a pontifical shrine with Vatican oversight. The move, the commission said, would not signify recognition of the apparitions, but would acknowledge the faith and pastoral needs of the pilgrims while ensuring a proper accounting of the financial donations pilgrims leave.

The commission’s role was to make recommendations to the pope; its report is not an official Church judgment on the apparitions.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith led by Cardinal Ger-

Pope: True peace can’t be bought; it’s a gift

BY JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES

A

PEACE that can be purchased can provide only a false sense of security that will not last in moments of trial and suffering, Pope Francis said during his early morning Mass.

“The world teaches us a path of peace with anaesthesia; it anaesthetises us to not see another reality of life: the cross,” he said. On the other hand, “the peace that Jesus gives is a gift; it is a gift of the Holy Spirit.”

The pope reflected on Jn 14:2731 in which Jesus promises his peace to his disciples.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid,” Jesus said.

This peace, the pope said, “goes forward amid tribulations” and is “not a sort of stoicism like that of a fakir [a religious ascetic]. No, it is another thing”.

“God’s peace is a real peace that moves along with the reality of

life, that does not deny life,” he said. It says, “Life is like this: there is suffering, there are those who are sick, there are so many bad things, there are wars, but that peace from within—which is a gift—is not lost but goes forward carrying the cross and suffering.”

On their own, he said, people are able to create only a peace “that is reduced to tranquility” and withers away at the first sign of trouble.

“A peace without the cross is not Jesus’ peace: It is a peace that can be bought. We can make it ourselves, but it isn’t lasting; it ends,” the pope said.

Citing St Augustine’s work The City of God, Pope Francis said that “the life of a Christian is a path between the persecutions of the world and the consolations of God” and that Christians “must enter the kingdom of God through many tribulations”.

“May the Lord help us to truly understand this peace that he gives us with the Holy Spirit,” the pope said.—CNS

hard Müeller has expressed doubts about the phenomenon and about the commission’s report, considered an authoritative contribution to be compared with other opinions and reports.

Pope Francis told reporters that “in the end, something will be said”, but he gave no timeline.— CNS

5

Mexican bishop: Don’t venerate ‘pseudo saint’

BY DAVID AGREN

A

MEXICAN archdiocese is warning against the veneration of a “pseudo saint” created to legitimise criminal activities such as stealing petrol, saying it is “playing with people’s faith.”

Officials with the archdiocese of Puebla, southeast of Mexico City, say a band of petrol thieves known as huachicoleros have altered an image of the Santo Niño de Atocha (Holy Child of Atocha)—a popular image of the Christ child—to show the child holding a petrol can and hose and bearing the name “Santo Niño Huachicolero”.

“This image can never be accepted. Being a huachicolero is practically a crime. The Church cannot be in favour of this, much less be in favour that images are used in this way,” said Fr Paulo Carvajal, archdiocesan spokesman.

Thieves tapping pipelines belonging to Pemex, the state oil company, stole more than two billion, four hundred million litres of petrol in 2016, according to online news organisation Animal Politico.

The crisis is especially acute in parts of Puebla, where the gangs employ hordes of locals—or tasks that include tapping pipelines, transporting and selling the stolen product and spying on the movements by police and soldiers—in areas plagued by an absence of economic opportunities.

Huachicoleros hit the headlines recently as an army operation against petrol theft resulted in ten deaths,

The Santo Niño Huachicolero holding a petrol can and hose. including four soldiers. The army said in a statement that its troops came under attack from gunmen using women and children as human shields.

Villagers blocked a major highway in protest. Analysts say the protests show the social support some huachicoleros enjoy, even though their activities are illegal.

Symbols such as the “Santo Niño” are being used to “deceive” people, Fr Carvajal said.

“These people are simple, they believe in Christ, but are not prepared” in the faith, Fr Carvajal said.

“It is not religious or spiritual interests” behind the “pseudo saint”, he added. “They’re playing with people’s good intentions.”—CNS

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The Southern Cross, May 24 to May 30, 2017

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

Medjugorje: What next?

S

UPPORTERS of the reported apparitions of Our Lady in Medjugorje will have received Pope Francis’ remarks on the matter with a sense of disappointment but also hope.

Having just celebrated the centenary of Our Lady of Fatima, the pope was dismissive of the ongoing apparitions allegedly taking place daily at Medjugorje, saying that he prefers Our Lady as our mother, “and not a telegraph operator who sends out a message every day at a certain time”.

Noting that he was stating a personal opinion, he said that “these alleged apparitions don’t have much value”.

Pope Francis, whose visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2015 excluded Medjugorje, said that he is more sceptical about the events at the shrine than the commission established by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 to investigate the apparitions for the Vatican.

Its report, which was submitted to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith four years ago, has not been published, but details of it entered the public domain after the pope’s comments.

While the commission seems to regard the first seven apparitions in 1981 as supernatural, albeit not unanimously so, its findings appear to preclude approval by the Holy See for all that has happened at Medjugorje since then.

This is sensitive territory. Since the first apparitions were reported in 1981, successive bishops of Mostar-Duvno, the diocese into which Medjugorje falls, have not only declined to declare them as worthy of belief but also opposed them.

In April 1991, the bishops’ conference of the former Yugoslavia determined that “on the basis of the research that has been done, it is not possible to state that there were apparitions or supernatural revelations”.

In March this year, Bishop Ratko Peric of Mostar-Duvno declared unambiguously that “the Virgin Mary has not appeared in Medjugorje”, saying that a study of the transcripts of interviews with the six alleged visionaries from that first week give rise to suspicion, if not total doubt, about the supernatural nature of the events.

To the local bishops, Medjugorje has no legitimacy. This has had consequences.

For example, as it presently stands by Vatican decree, pilgrimages to Medjugorje should not be organised either on a parish or diocesan level. Pilgrimages may be organised only by laypeople, not by clergy or religious. Priests may not lead pilgrim groups under the customary title “spiritual director”, nor may they say Mass at the shrine.

The doctrinal congregation has directed that priests and the faithful travelling to Medjugorje “are not permitted to participate in meetings, conferences or public celebrations during which the credibility of such ‘apparitions’ would be taken for granted”.

But the reported content of the commission would recommend lifting these restrictions, approve the first seven claimed apparitions, and reject the thousands that have followed.

This would not satisfy the diocese of Mostar, since it would negate its positions, nor the devotees of Medjugorje, since it rejects almost all the apparitions claimed by the original seers.

Pope Francis is trying to navigate this minefield. In February he appointed Polish Archbishop Henryk Hoser to investigate pastoral solutions for Medjugorje.

Since the commission’s report is not binding, it seems that the pope is seeking a second opinion.

But it is also an acknowledgment of the reality that Catholic pilgrims will continue to visit the shrine, notwithstanding the views of the hierarchy.

The recognition that properly defined pastoral care is necessary at Medjugorje also takes into account that the shrine is a place of prayer, conversion and encounters with God—that even places of undetermined character can be sanctified by the prayers of the faithful who come there and by the graces they receive.

These prayers and conversions, the pope said this month, are not a result of “magic” but a valid spiritual and pastoral fact that “cannot be ignored”.

Whatever the Holy See finally decides—and it may well involve compromises that satisfy nobody—the debates will continue.

These must not be intemperate, as they often were in the past.

Until the Church provides greater clarity and guidance on Medjugorje, devotees should exercise some caution in accepting the apparitions without qualification.

ST ANTHONYS CHILD and YOUTH CARE CENTRE Keeping Children safe within families

admin@stanthonyshome.org www.stanthonyshome.org

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.

Pity those paraded by the media E need to offer ourselves up to every movement has been captured W Christ as “victim-souls”, as on our TV screens and in the press, recommended by St Paul in Col 1: after a sensational trial involving 24-25, in a world where evil today is rampant.

Have we ever wondered how those unfortunate members of our broken humanity must feel when their weaknesses are paraded by the mass media? This before a voracious and devouring world ready to tear apart those of us hauled before the courts and exposed to the world.

Such people are “caught” in acts of immorality, indeed of perversion, as a result of lives “on the wrong side of the tracks”, due to misfortune, personal sin or the obvious activity and influence of the evil one.

How must someone feel whose

Colonialism not solely destructive

T

HANK you, Mphuthumi Ntabeni (April 26), for putting a smile on my face with your blind and humorous swipe at Helen Zille for her truthful and accurate tweet on colonialism.

Each person has the right to believe and criticise whatever they choose. I choose not to walk around looking at my shoes so as not to observe the legacies that are perpetually glaring at us. I cannot be hypocritical and blind to the legacies that the European settlers have left for us, even if they emanated in that dreaded colonial era.

What would we do without the cities/towns, infrastructures and institutions that have remained, much to the disgust of certain people? At least they gave this land order and reason for advancement and development which, fairly stated, would not have been present today.

I concede that colonialism had a dark side but that is no reason to condemn the entire process. The Boer War was as a result of Queen Victoria’s greed, so it was a dark period. The contributions and facts are, however, an indelible part of this country’s past and one that can never be erased from the record books, however hard you try.

Just as we will have to live with the hideous memories of rule under a corrupt president like Jacob Zuma, so will we not be able to deny it.

The damage he has done to our systems will also be discussed for years.

Those who deny and criticise the obvious truth of our heritage are unfortunately poor in judgment.

Can I suggest, Mr Ntabeni, that you stop and smell the roses, as those pleasant-smelling, beautiful flowers were brought here by those damned settlers!

Brian Gouveia, Bloemfontein

several serious sexual sins?

Are we oblivious to Christ’s warning, “Whoever is without sin, cast the first stone”? Has not such a poor soul already suffered the first of many deaths in his life of darkness?

I have been deeply touched in heart and soul by such a recent case, and have asked Our Lord to use me in the strong intercession of his Holy Mother for this “brother’s” redemption and salvation.

Reading more fully of this man’s fate, displayed as it has been to full public view, has drawn from me the gift of tears and compassion while praying for him, many times.

Opinions expressed in The Southern Cross, especially in Letters to the Editor, do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor or staff of the newspaper, or of the Catholic hierarchy. The letters page in particular is a forum in which readers may exchange opinions on matters of debate.

Letters must not be understood to necessarily reflect the teachings, disciplines or policies of the Church accurately. letters can be sent to PO Box 2372, cape town 8000 or editor@scross.co.za or faxed to 021 465-3850

Abortion needs CPLO attention

T

HE daily slaughter of unborn infants in our nation by legalised abortion on demand continues unabated.

It is thus a crucial function of our Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office to continually engage with our government regarding these child murders (no reports of such an activity by them are ever published) for the following reasons, stated several years ago by American Peter Kreeft, a professor of philosophy at Boston University: “Mother Teresa has said that abortion kills twice, it kills the body of the baby and the conscience of the mother. If Mother Teresa is right, the second killing by abortion is worse than the first.

“Insofar as consciences are killed, repentance is also killed and Our Lord stated clearly that without repentance and faith, we simply cannot be saved.

“What should we do? First, in opposing legalised abortion we should be as aggressive as is necessary. There is a time to be polite and scholarly, and a time to tell the truth plain and prickly; and plainly put, abortion comes from hell and can lead us to hell if not repented.

“However, abortion is more likely than most sins to be unrepented, as there are so many ‘prochoice’ voices justifying it, and this justification can thus be as lethal as the abortion itself.”

Damian McLeish, Johannesburg

Where is Church voice on abortion?

I

WOULD like to share some thoughts I have had over the past months regarding abortion. There have been a number of articles on the topic in The Southern Cross.

First, the two letters written by Damian McLeish. In the first one (October 12, 2016), he mentioned that Mother Teresa of Kolkata stated at some time: “There can never be peace in the world while there is violence in the womb.”

Mr McLeish said this statement was not mentioned during her canonisation ceremony, and that it is a fact which, together with the dearth in Rome for several years now of anti-abortion sermons or encyclicals, indicates a worldwide decline in Catholic pro-life activities.

In his second letter (December 28, 2016), he raises the point that the only anti-abortion legal actions ever submitted to the courts were from the Pro-Life group and the Christian Lawyers’ Association of

This morning, after receiving the Eucharist, the Lord seemed to say to me quite audibly: “Remember, my child, your wish to be a victim-soul?

I have provided you with special spiritual help (which Christ has), including several weeks of the nonuse of your feet because of diabetes, a serious mishap in your motor vehicle, making it impossible for you now to drive, your telephone services out of order over an extended period, the ‘crashing’ of your PC system, the need to call on others to help you buy even basic provisions—all these graces, in union with what I have suffered for you, filling up in the flesh which will bring about great glory for your friend, in due time.”

What a great grace are the prayers of the victim-souls.

John Lee, Johannesburg South Africa. No official challenge was made by the Catholic Church.

I concur completely with these points raised in the letters and, like Mr McLeish, find it very worrying regarding the Church’s approach in the above cases.

I then refer to your editorial of November 2, 2016, in which you say that it is inconceivable that the law on abortion will be reversed, so awareness of abortion needs to be raised. Later in the editorial you state: “People’s consciences must be informed on these ethics of abortion, that terminating a pregnancy is killing a sacred human life.”

Once again, I agree completely with these statements.

In another article (November 9, 2016), Catholic feminist Colleen Constable picks up on the point.

She states: “There is a need for awareness campaigns to promote alternative options for unplanned pregnancies” and lists a number of options.

Again in The Southern Cross (January 4, 2017), there is an article by Michael Ogonu. In it, among other points, he says the Second Vatican Council in one of its articles stated: “Whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia etc—all these things and others like them are infamies indeed.”

He also states that the Second Vatican Council “defines abortion together with infanticide as an unspeakable crime. What life could be more innocent than that of the unborn child. Deliberate abortion is therefore always gravely sinful”.

Prof Ogunu’s article mentions that there are a few homes available to pregnant women who do not want to have an abortion. The Church needs to make more funds available for the establishment of these homes.

As you can see by the abovementioned articles, there is no doubt abortion is considered by the Church to be a serious and grievous sin.

This is what worries me about the Church’s approach to abortion.

Your paper has done a great job of trying to raise awareness of how wrong abortion is. What is missing are articles by the hierarchy and/or priests supporting or complimenting the articles.

I have enclosed a beautiful, simple prayer which I feel could be said once a month at all weekend Masses.

It would spread the message in a kind and non-accusing manner of the terrible wrong of abortion and hopefully help women to consider the other options available.

Peter Hoar, Waterfall, KZN PRAYER FOR UNBORN LIFE

O God of life and love, you have given us the power to bring new life into the world. But all too often a mother’s womb, which should be a nursery of life, becomes instead a place of its destruction. Help us to remove this evil and ensure respect for all life made in your image and likeness, called to fulfil its promise on this earth, and destined to find a home with you for all eternity. We ask this through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.

The Southern Cross, May 24 to May 30, 2017

PERSPECTIVES

7

You could have me at ‘hello’ I

HAVE lost count of the number of romantic comedies that I have watched. I have spent many Saturday nights curled up on the couch, eyes as wide as saucers cooing at couples falling in love and in turn falling in love with love myself.

One of my favourite lovey-dovey movies is 10 Things I Hate About You, a 1999 film based on Shakespeare’s The Taming Of The Shrew.

The plot concerns a young man, played by the late Heath Ledger, who is paid to romance a hard-headed, “all-boys-are-dumb” kind of girl. In the event—you guessed it— he winds up really liking her. There are kisses and aching hearts and misunderstandings but it all works out in the end.

There’s nothing like a happy ending to make you feel all fuzzy inside.

Other romantic comedies follow a similar pattern of “Now you love me, now you don’t”. In these stories things move fast but no one seems to mind. There’s something heart-melting about watching two people declare their undying love for each other having met just five days ago. It leaves you with a marshmallowy feeling.

Watch enough rom-coms and you will convince yourself that love can’t be found unless it comes in the form of a perfectly good-looking person who doesn’t have morning breath and thinks you’re wonderful all of the time.

Movies and television have given us lots of ideas about what love and romance are—and, sadly, most times it ends in disillusionment and dissatisfaction.

We suffer amnesia and forget that God has and always had a plan for human love.

The book of Genesis tells us that “for this reason a man shall leave his mother and father, be united to his wife and the two

shall become one flesh”.

Love does not always involve perfect people with perfect families and perfect lives. To put it simply, love ain’t nothing like it is in the movies.

Jesus shows us that real love requires hard work, sacrifice and patience. Think of all the effort you put into your career or studies or cooking or pillow-fluffing. Love requires this same effort, and nothing less.

We’re all capable of this, more than we like to acknowledge. But perhaps we’ve seen too much, heard too much, experienced too much, to dare to hope once more for love.

O

r maybe you’re like me and you’ve forged this idea in your mind of the perfect partner and have high expectations of the successful candidate’s looks, salary, work status; you name it.

You might then feel angry or frustrated when that person doesn’t come sauntering into your life, designer clothes and all.

You’re then even angrier at Bridget Jones for having the suitors you want but can’t find!

Bridget Jones contemplates her suitors of a quality other women can’t seem to find.

Nthabiseng Maphisa

Pop Culture Catholic

So what do we do when the sunset fades and lovers have wandered off and the credits begin to roll? What do we do with that empty feeling and the sense that life is less than it should be?

True love is thrown out of the equation because life has happened to us. It’s then much easier to take what we can get in whatever way we can from whoever will give it to us.

We might even go as far as giving away our bodies—but not our hearts—in the hope that in doing so we’ll have fun with one and protect the other, just like protagonists do in movies like Friends With Benefits and No Strings Attached. As if to say to ourselves: “Enjoy it while it lasts but don’t get too close.”

Christopher West, a Catholic author and speaker on sexuality, understands the brokenness that can be caused from experiencing the counterfeits of love—he is all too familiar with it in his home country of the US. His knowledge of Pope John Paul II’s Theology of The Body can help us understand the meaning of real love and what its counterfeits are—and give us the tools to find true love and avoid the path of unattached strings. n Christopher West will come to speak in South Africa in September. For more information visit www.tobsa.co.za or call 078 5840886.

Are courts baby-sitting our democracy?

Mphuthumi Ntabeni

T

HE judicial sphere of government seems to be the only one our people really trust.

The Constitutional Court’s judgment on the upgrades to President Jacob Zuma’s private residence at Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal, cemented the decline of both the executive and the legislative spheres of government.

It is often forgotten that the court found Parliament also wanting for failing to keep the Executive in check.

MPs operate under pressure to be loyal to their party. In our electoral system, MPs join parliament based on political party lists. The higher one ranks on the list, the better the chance of becoming an MP, depending on the percentage of votes the respective party won in the national election.

But while they represent their party, the oath they take as MPs is to serve the people of South Africa—not party directives when they get there.

In fact, arguably our Constitution renders whipping (parties instructing MPs how to vote in parliament) illegal when it comes to matters of legislative duties. The imperative of serving the people overrides the contracts the MPs have with their respective political parties, and so they must vote according to their consciences—especially when the party line strays from the Constitution of the Republic.

But most MPs, for fear of victimisation and possibly losing their job, never vote against their party lines. Indeed, the constitutions of both the African National Congress and the Democratic Alliance promulgate automatic expulsion of their public representatives should they vote against the party line.

The United Democratic Movement—to which, full disclosure, I belong—believes such promulgations are not only unconstitutional but also illegal. This why the UDM, with other opposition parties, applied to the

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The Public Square

An organisation called OGOD wants to remove religion from our schools—one of several interesting court cases in South Africa. (Photo: Don Blake) Constitutional Court to compel the speaker of parliament to exercise her constitutionally mandated discretion to adopt a secret ballot system during the vote for the Motion of No Confidence vote in parliament.

This is not the only issue on which our judiciary has to arbitrate on matters of government.

Last month the DA successfully approached the High Court to compel President Zuma to explain the “rationality” behind his recent reshuffle of the cabinet.

Our Constitution provides the president with discretionary powers to appoint and dismiss ministers, but his exercise of those powers must also be rational. And it falls upon the one holding public office to demonstrate the rationale behind their actions, otherwise any citizen has the right to challenge by legal review the actions of the public representative, including the president and the speaker of parliament.

B

ut it’s not all about government in our courts. Religion also features.

Of urgent interest to the faith community is a much-awaited case in the Gauteng High Court that began in mid-May: the Organisasie vir Godsdienste-Onderrig en

Frail/assisted care in shared or single rooms.

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Demokrasie (OGOD) v Laerskool Randhart & Others.

The Afrikaans acronym OGOD translates into Organisation for Religions Education and Democracy. The organisation is taking on six public schools to prohibit them from identifying themselves as Christian and to outlaw their Christian practices. It also wants the court to declare that it’s unconstitutional for “any public school” to commit to or permit any religious observance.

So OGOD doesn’t want God in schools.

The Constitution allows for religious observances when all the constitutional requirements are met—in Section 15(2), since you ask.

Such observances must, of course, follow rules made by the appropriate public authorities, be conducted on an equitable basis, and attendance must be voluntary.

Religious observances have also been protected by our courts where pupils in public schools wanted to wear religious attire. This is in contrast to European countries like France which are strictly secular states, and where the wearing of religious symbols in official spaces is a problem.

South African law and case law clearly protect the right to religious freedom and equality. These are upheld when all religions are treated the same in public schools.

In light of the allowance of religious observances under Section 15, and the fact that South Africa is not a strictly secular state, I take the view that religion should be allowed in public schools.

By the time you read this, we may know what the courts say.

1 Plein Street, Sidwell, Port Elizabeth

Chris Chatteris SJ

Pray with the Pope

Pray for more righteous anger General Intention: That national leaders may firmly commit themselves to ending the arms trade, which victimises so many innocent people.

HE United States recently attacked the Taliban with the so-called Massive Ordinance Airblast Bomb (MOAB) in Afghanistan. The US Air Force says that these monsters each cost “only” $170 000 (R2,3 million) but critics point out that if you take into account the development and deployment, the figure goes up to about $300 million (R40 000 million) a bomb.

And this is small change by comparison to other weapons such as stealth bombers and aircraft carriers. How much does it cost to run an aircraft carrier every day? Who knows? Well, I’m sure the developers and suppliers of this deadly technology know and are quite happy with any “cost overruns” that occur.

There is huge money in arms, which is why it is so difficult to control, let alone stamp out. National leaders, no matter how well intentioned, are under extreme pressure to turn a blind eye to their countries’ involvement in the arms trade. There is simply too much money at stake—blood money, but so big that we ignore the blood.

Even countries which are admired for their human rights records often have massive skeletons in their moral closets when it comes to arms. Neutral, democratic Sweden does a brisk trade in arms.

South Africa is also an arms supplier, specialising in certain military technologies like the self-propelled Howitzer and armoured military vehicles.

Whether we like it or not, we are all tainted by this trade in the merchandise of death.

These days we tend to complain that we are in a continual state of economic crisis but interestingly enough there’s always money for certain things— alcohol, tobacco, drugs. It’s one of the mysteries of economics that somehow, even where there is very little wealth around, these expensive things can be bought and sold, even fabulously expensive things like military materiel.

T

M

ore extraordinary still is the case of armaments in the developing world. When you watch reports of some of the current conflicts the backdrop is so often desert or semi-desert. There seems to be nothing to harvest. Towns and cities are in ruins and people are clearly in a survival economy, depending on UN and NGO aid and any private sources they may have such as relatives abroad.

In the midst of this wasteland, soldiers flash their weapons as they ride by on tanks and armoured vehicles. In the house-to-house fighting they rush here and there, spraying machine gun fire in the vague direction of the enemy. Civilians are starving but there’s money to pay soldiers and supply them with weapons.

Obviously, their weaponry is low-budget stuff by comparison with their US or Russian air support, but consider this: a single round for an AK47 rifle can cost around R3,00. That is maybe R30 a volley.

It all mounts up, and in the end, this is money spent on killing and maiming other people.

We are in an era described by one military thinker as “wars among the peoples”. This means that all these very powerful weapons routinely wreak havoc among civilian populations. The expense of the weapons is nothing compared to the human cost of the suffering they inflict—the deaths of bread-winners, the terrible injuries that have to be treated long-term, the trauma (especially of young children), the famine in places like Yemen.

It occurs to me that although we may express outrage about conflicts in places such as Syria or South Sudan, we rarely read or seek any analysis of who is fuelling these apparently endless and profoundly stupid wars.

More naming and shaming of culpable countries and individuals is needed and the truth should be broadcast loudly and often. We seem to have forgotten how to ask the right questions about this trade. We have failed to demand accountability.

We need a Wikileaks job which exposes countries, companies and the evil people that are getting wealthy at the expense of the misery of untold millions.

Perhaps we should pray for more righteous anger!

8

The Southern Cross, May 24 to May 30, 2017

COMMUNITY

The East London youth deanery hosted a Valentine’s Day modelling show at Immaculate Conception parish to raise funds for transport costs to attend the annual Port Elizabeth diocese youth rally in July. The winner of the Miss East London Deanery Youth title was Shaan Prinsloo (centre), with Lelona Mafalala as First Princess (left), Courtney Augustine as Second Princess (right) and Lisakhanya Hodi as Miss Personality (far right).

The congregation of St Anthony’s parish in Coronationville, Johannesburg, together with other parishes and denominations, marched through the streets of the suburb to celebrate Palm Sunday

The congregation at Sacred Heart cathedral in Bloemfontein with Fr Stephen Ilechukwu, who led them during rosary prayer and meditations to commemorate the centenary celebration of the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima.

Holy Cross Primary School in Aliwal North, Eastern Cape, celebrated the 100 years of Our Lady of Fatima by decorating a Fatima statue. They then marched with the statue around the school grounds, with pupils praying and singing.

Holy Trinity parish in Musgrave Road, Durban, held a Paschal supper. Catholic Women’s League president Bulelwa Mabunda and vice-president Lesley Canter helped serve from the kitchen, run by secretary Rosalie Donachie and team.

tony Wyllie & co.

Pilgrims walked the 30km from Our Lady of Lebanon parish in Mulbarton, Johannesburg, to Divine Mercy parish in Walkerville, on the Saturday before Divine Mercy Sunday as a means of spiritual preparation.

Send your photos to

pics@scross.co.za

On Mother’s Day the Catholic Women’s League of Our Lady Of Fatima parish in Durban North gave each mother in the maternity ward at King Dinuzulu Hospital in the city a bag sewn by CWL members with toiletries. President Anna Accolla is seen with a young mother with twins.

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Young people at St Joseph the Worker parish in Pretoria West dramatised the Stations of the Cross. They were led by Brs Katleho Mohapi, Thabiso Matabane and Rui Henricks, who help with youth formation in the parish.

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The open soccer team of Assumption Convent School in Germiston, Johannesburg, won the Catholic Schools’ Soccer Festival U19 category.

INTERVIEW

The Southern Cross, May 24 to May 30, 2017

9

Why we must learn to read Bible anew To live the Gospel we must focus on the challenges of justice which Scripture issues us, theologian Rev Walter Brueggemann told ALICIA VON STAMWITZ.

T

HE Reverend Dr Walter Brueggemann is an American theologian and an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. Born in 1933 as the son of a German Lutheran pastor, he is among the world’s leading interpreters of the Old Testament and a prolific author whose work is also acclaimed among Catholics.

In this interview he talks about political engagement, prophetic morality, biblical justice, and his vision for a new, “neighbourly” economy.

What is your core message for Church leaders today?

That the public agenda is not an add-on for Gospel faith, but it really is the core business of the Gospel.

Most of us are hung up on private matters, so we put all of our energies into questions about sexuality and abortion and gays and all that kind of stuff, which is not unimportant; but those are not the core issues of Scripture.

The core issues of Scripture are public, political, and economic justice. Justice is central to Jesus’ ministry, it is central to the prophetic tradition of the Old Testament, and it is central to the Torah tradition that lies behind the prophetic tradition.

But I think we have learned, for comfort’s sake, to misread the Bible.

How we misread the Bible?

Most people think the Bible is about personal happiness, personal wellbeing, being with God when you die, and being privately moral. But that’s not what the Bible is about.

The prophets are moral teachers, but what they’re talking about is public morality. You can open the books of the prophets anywhere and you’ll find them talking about widows, orphans, immi-

grants, and poor people. They talk about wages, they talk about unjust scales, they talk about the greed that skews the economy.

They say that injustice will lead to destruction—it’s an unavoidable message.

So it’s just amazing how, in our habitual reading, we have siphoned off the energy from those accent points into stuff that is less demanding and less costly.

That message would make some uncomfortable. Have you ever been called a socialist or a communist?

Oh, it comes up all the time. My response to that is that it is completely unhelpful to be having a conversation about capitalism or socialism or communism.

What we have to talk about is neighbourliness, and what we have to think about is: How can we develop economic practices and economic policies that are in fact neighbourly?

I suspect that when we get down to specific cases, we’ll need a mix of what we call capitalism and what we call socialism, but I am not interested for one minute in questions about capitalism and socialism.

The accent of the Bible is consistently about neighbourliness as it gets expressed in political and economic matters, and the question is: How do we organise our money and our power for the good, for the neighbourhood—locally and expansively?

By “expansively”, do you mean extending neighbourliness to the global scene?

Of course. I think the prophetic vision is that the whole populated earth is a neighbourhood.

We are all in it together, and the whole ideology of privatism is the assumption that people with power and resources can create little oases of well-being that fence everybody else out.

I suppose Donald Trump’s wall [along the US-Mexico border] is an illustration of that; but that’s what we try to do all the time. We try to do it with health care, we do it with schools, we do it with housing, we do it with all of the economic questions as though somehow we can have a protected zone that does not have to be shared with everyone.

We have learned, for comfort’s sake, to misread the Bible.

Rev Dr Walter Brueggemann: “If you say to someone that the first requirement in keeping Sabbath is to disconnect electronically, they don’t want to do it, because our life is defined by being “on” 24/7. We’re afraid to miss out on something, but our wellbeing depends on being left out.”

What we have learned through the 20th century is that there are not enough guns, and there are not enough dogs, and there is not enough military power to protect privatised zones of wellbeing. It is simply not sustainable.

You have described keeping the Sabbath as a subversive act.

What do you mean?

I think that the regular practice of the Sabbath is a declaration that the rat race of greed does not define my life.

If you say to someone, as I often do, that the first requirement in keeping Sabbath is to disconnect electronically, they don’t want to do it, because our life is defined by being “on” 24/7. We’re afraid to miss out on something, to be left behind, and we think we can’t afford to do that.

The truth of the matter is that our wellbeing depends on being left out and being left behind from some of the practices of greed.

I understand that one of your favourite texts is Isaiah 43:19, in which the prophet describes his

vision of the “new thing” God is doing. What is your own new vision for our world?

My vision would include a neighbourly economy in which all are given access to what we need for a life of dignity and security and wellbeing. It includes a new humanism in which we value our own faith confession but make room to take seriously the faith confession of other people.

It opens to a new internationalism in which nobody, including the United States, is permitted to be a bully. So it means the re-characterisation of all of our social relationships in ways that are healthy, and generative, and restorative.

Obviously that’s a huge leap out, but I think that’s what Martin Luther King Jr was talking about when he said, “I have a dream”.

What are your thoughts on race relations and justice?

What churches need to be doing is establishing long-term conversational patterns that reach across racial lines. We cannot just engage

in do-good gestures: we’ve got to make the kind of time commitment that will let us genuinely listen to each other and hear each other’s stories.

I don’t think there’s any substitute for that kind of personal interaction, the kind of interaction that lets us find out that people who may seem unlike us have narratives that are almost like our own.

You’ve published over one hundred books. For someone newly introduced to your work and message, where would you have them start to learn more?

I’d have them start with my early book The Prophetic Imagination. In that book I really laid down the themes that have continued to govern my thinking. I think that is the most succinct statement of my primary preoccupation—to bring a lively imagination to our reading of Scripture.

We’ve been trained either as literalist fundamentalists or as historical critics; we’ve not been trained to bring imagination to scripture.

By imagination I mean the capacity to entertain a shape and reality of the world beyond anything that we have yet experienced, one that is vouched for by the playfulness of the text.

That means we have to come at the biblical text with a great deal of freedom in order to see where we will be led by God’s spirit, a place beyond where we stood when we started reading.

Any final word of encouragement?

We who are in the Church are situated in a long trajectory of people who have been fed and nurtured and empowered by this tradition, so the vision in the Letter of the Hebrews—that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses—is really important.

We’re not the first people to face this sort of invitation; we have many antecedents who ran enormous risks and who dreamed enormous dreams and who did things that really mattered.

It’s a high privilege for us to be situated in that trajectory.

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10

The Southern Cross, May 24 to May 30, 2017

FATIMA 100

Pope in Fatima: We have a mother The pope visited Fatima on the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES examines the two prayerfilled days of his visit.

S

TANDING before the basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, Pope Francis canonised two shepherd children who saw Mary at Fatima, but more importantly, he said, they heeded the call to pray for sinners and trust in the Lord.

“We declare and define Bl Francisco Marto and Bl Jacinta Marto as saints,” the pope said as hundreds of thousands of pilgrims broke out in applause before he finished speaking.

But it is Mary’s message and example, rather than an apparition, that is important, he told the crowd, which Portuguese authorities estimated at about 500 000 people.

“The Virgin Mother did not come here so that we could see her. We will have all eternity for that, provided, of course, that we go to heaven,” the pope said.

Instead, he continued, Mary’s messages to the young children were a warning to all people about leading “a way of life that is godless and indeed profanes God in his creatures”.

“Such a life—frequently proposed and imposed—risks leading to hell. Mary came to remind us that God’s light dwells within us and protects us,” the pope said.

The hopeful message of Fatima,

he said, is that men and women have a mother and like children clinging to her, “we live in the hope that rests on Jesus”.

The relics of the young shepherd children, encased in two thin golden crosses, were placed in front of the famed statue of Our Lady of Fatima, the “lady dressed in white” as the siblings and their cousin described her.

The Marian apparitions began on May 13, 1917, when 9-year-old Francisco and 7-year-old Jacinta, along with their 10-year-old cousin Lucia dos Santos, reported seeing the Virgin Mary. The apparitions continued once a month until October 13, 1917, and later were declared worthy of belief by the Catholic Church.

After contracting influenza, Francisco died on April 4, 1919, at the age of 10, while Jacinta succumbed to her illness on February 20, 1920, at the age of 9.

The children, beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2000, are now the youngest non-martyrs to be declared saints by the Church.

Before his arrival at the shrine, the pope met privately with Portuguese Prime Minster Antonio Costa and then made his way into the sanctuary that houses the tombs of Ss Francisco and Jacinta and their cousin Lucia, who died in 2005 at the age of 97. The diocesan phase of her sainthood cause concluded in February and now is under study at the Vatican.

Pope Francis stood for several minutes in front of the tombs with his eyes closed and head bowed.

In his homily at the canonisation Mass, the pope reflected on the brief lives of the young sibling saints, who are often remembered more for the apparitions rather A reliquary containing relics of Bls Francisco and Jacinta Marto at Our Lady of Fatima in Victoria, Canada.

The relics of the two saints, fragments of the original coffin of each child, were installed in the Portuguese community church.

(Photo: Alicia Ambrosio/ CNS)

than for their holy lives.

A

t a candlelit vigil, the pope led tens of thousands of pilgrims in praying the rosary: asking them to to reflect on “which Mary” they choose to venerate, “the Virgin Mary from the Gospel” or “one who restrains the arm of a vengeful God?” Is the Mary they honour “a woman blessed because she believed always and everywhere in God’s words or a ‘plaster statue’ from whom we beg favours at little cost?” he asked.

Mary’s example of believing and following Jesus is what matters most; she cannot be some image “of our own making” who Christians barter with for mercy, Pope Francis said Earlier in the day, in the Little Chapel of the Apparitions, the pope recited a prayer he wrote, an expanded version of the traditional Salve Regina (“Hail Holy Queen”). Begging Mary’s assistance, the pope prayed that believers would “tear down all walls and overcome all boundaries, going to all peripheries, there revealing God’s justice and peace”.

“In the depths of your being, in your immaculate heart, you keep the sorrows of the human family, as they mourn and weep in this valley of tears,” the pope prayed.

He also presented himself before the image of Mary as “a bishop robed in white”, a reference to the third secret revealed to the children at Fatima. Published 83 years after the Fatima apparitions, the vision described the image of a “bishop dressed in white” shot down amid the rubble of a ruined city.—CNS

Pope Francis greets a girl after arriving at Monte Real air base in Leiria, near Fatima. (Photo: Paulo Cunha, Reuters/CNS)

Pope Francis leads a vigil in the Little Chapel of the Apparitions at the shrine of Our Lady of Fatima. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS)

The pope uses incense as he venerates a statue of Our Lady of Fatima during the canonisation Mass of Ss Francisco and Jacinta Marto. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS)

The statue of Our Lady of Fatima is carried in procession at the start of a vigil Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS)

Daughters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Banners showing Ss Jacinta and Francisco Marto hang from the façade of the basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima.(Photo: Paul Haring/CNS)

Charism ‘Loving in Suffering and Mission’ We evangelise, nurse the sick and aged, catechise youth, children and old, outcast and neglected.

Then as a Daughter of the Immacualte Heart of Mary this is your chance to rekindle the light of LOVE and of the GOOD NEWS to the:

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

Pope Francis blesses the sick with the Eucharist at the conclusion of the canonisation Mass of Ss Francisco and Jacinta Marto. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS)

CLASSIFIEDS

Sr Ines Austermann OP

D

OMINICAN Sister Ines Austermann died on May 4 at the age of 80.

Born as Mechtild Klara Hildegard Austermann on December 1, 1936, in Fulda, Germany, she was a trained nurse.

She spent three years in Rockford, Illinois, as a theatre assistant nurse before entering the Oakford Dominican congregation at Neustadt in Germany in 1962.

As a novice she came to South Africa in June 1964, and made her first profession on October 11 1964 at Oakford, KwaZulu-Natal.

She trained as a midwife at Mariannhill and then worked as a nurse/midwife in various places.

She served at Osindisweni Hospital for four years and Marifont

Maternity Home for 22. In 1995 she came to Villa Assumpta/Villa Siena in Pietermaritzburg to care for the elderly in the residential home and the congregation’s own elderly sisters.

Sr Ines was a special person, disciplined and living according to her own schedule.

There were three priorities in

her life. First, her relationship with God showed in her deep prayer life.

Second, flowing from her spiritual life came the outgoing, missionary activity in nursing. She was diligent and completed all her activities with love and perfection.

At Villa Assumpta/Siena she was ever-helpful and saw to the needs of the elderly. She was much loved and appreciated.

Her third treasured activity was living a wholesome lifestyle.

When she was diagnosed with cancer in the last stage, she resigned herself to death. In just two months, she was taken by God whom she had loved and served so dearly.

Sr Carmen Brokamp OP

Via Lucis: Stations of the Resurrection

Station 11: the risen lord sends the disciples into the whole world (Matthew 28:16-20).

This is part 5 of our series of images to illustrate the Via Lucis, or Stations of the Resurrection, for you to cut out and collect. Obtain the text of the readings, prayers and responses from the Salesians at sdbprov@iafrica.com

Liturgical Calendar Year A – Weekdays Cycle Year 1 Sunday May 28, Ascension of the Lord Acts 1:1-11, Psalms 47:2-3, 6-9, Ephesians 1:17-23, Matthew 28:16-20 Monday May 29, Bl Joseph Gérard Acts 19:1-8, Psalms 68:2-7, John 16:29-33 Tuesday May 30 Acts 20:17-27, Psalms 68:10-11, 20-21, John 17:1-11 Wednesday May 31, Visitation of Our Lady Zephaniah 3:14-18 or Romans 12:9-16, IsaBl Joseph Gérard iah 12:2-6, Luke 1:3956 Thursday June 1, St Justin Acts 22:30; 23:6-11, Psalms 16:1-2, 5, 7-11, John 17:20-26 Friday June 2, Ss Marcellinus and Peter Acts 25:13-21, Psalms 103:1-2, 11-12, 19-20, John 21:15-19 Saturday June 3, Ss Charles Lwanga and companions Acts 28:16-20, 30-31, Psalms 11:4-5, 7, John 21:20-25 Sunday June 4, Pentecost Acts 2:1-11, Psalms 104:1, 24, 29-31, 34, 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, St Charles Lwanga 12-13, John 20:19-23

Station 12: the risen lord ascends into heaven (Acts 1:9-11). Ascension altar at Lourdes basilica.

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 760. ACROSS: 3 Promising, 8 Yves, 9 Spectator, 10 Oblate, 11 Razor, 14 Roots, 15 Mere, 16 Habor, 18 Trek, 20 Endor, 21 Rigid, 24 Rustic, 25 Righteous, 26 Dome, 27 Unenclose.

DOWN: 1 Hypocrite, 2 Bell tower, 4 Ripe, 5 Mecca, 6 Shalom, 7 Neon, 9 Stash, 11 Robed, 12 Rendition, 13 Detracted, 17 Rebus, 19 Kishon, 22 Ideal, 23 Sign, 24 Rues.

community calendar

To place your event, call Mary Leveson at 021 465 5007 or e-mail m.leveson@scross.co.za (publication subject to space)

cAPe tOWN: Retreat day/quiet prayer last Saturday of each month except December, at Springfield Convent in Wynberg, Cape Town. Hosted

by CLC, 10.00-3.30. Contact Jill on 083 282 6763 or Jane on 082 783 0331.

Perpetual Adoration chapel at Good Shepherd parish, Bothasig, welcomes all visitors. Open 24 hours a day. The parish is at 1 Goede Hoop St, Bothasig.

Phone 021 558 1412.

Helpers of God’s Precious Infants. Mass on last Saturday of every month at 9:30 at Sacred Heart church in Somerset Road, Cape Town. Followed by vigil at Marie Stopes abortion clinic in Bree Street.

Contact Colette Thomas on 083 412 4836 or 021 593 9875 or Br Daniel SCP on 078 739 2988.

DURBAN: Holy Mass and Novena to St Anthony at St Anthony’s parish every Tuesday at 9:00. Holy Mass and Divine Mercy Devotion at 17:30 on first Friday of every month.

Sunday Mass at 9:00.

Phone 031 309 3496 or 031 209 2536.

Overport rosary group.

St Antony’s church opposite the Greyville racecourse in Durban. Every Wednesday at 18.30.

Contact Keith Chetty on 083 372 9018.

NelSPRUIt: Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at St Peter’s parish every Tuesday from 8:00 to 16:45, followed by Rosary, Divine Mercy prayers, then a Mass/communion service at 17:30.

The Southern Cross, May 24 to May 30, 2017

clASSIFIeDS

11

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.

DeAtHS

DIAB—Huibrecht Elizabeth (Van). Deceased March 29, 2017. In loving memory of my beloved and darling wife, our mother and grandmother. We will always love you and remember you fondly. May you RIP in the arms of Jesus. All our love.

Francis, Anthony, Alisson, Martin, Edith and Lizanne.

IN MeMORIAM

GOlIAtH—Brian. Passed away May 25, 2016. Wonderful and dearly loved husband and father. We miss you so much and will always love you. Lovingly remembered by his wife, children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.

OSBORNe—Katy, died May 30, 2016. My mother died one year ago at the age of 92. She will always be remembered in our prayers.

Solly, Sally and family.

PARKeRWOOD—Sheela MJ (née Coughlan) 14.6.41 to 31.5.2002. Thank you darling for having been such a wonderful Catholic and spreading so much love.

May the Almighty God bless you. Loving thoughts by Tony Snr and sons Vincent, Tony Jnr and John.

WINDVOGel—Magdelene Martha. Mommy called home four years ago on May 24, 2013. Those special memories of you will always bring a smile. If only I could have you back for just a little while. Then we could sit and talk again just like we used to do. You always meant so very much and always will do too. The fact that you’re no longer here will always cause me pain.

But you’re forever in my heart, until we meet again.

Always in my prayers. Your daughter Magdelene.

WINDVOGel—Magdelene Martha. Mommy, Ma, called home four years ago on May 24, 2013, to join husband John, who passed on September 23, 1968. We thought of you with love today but that is nothing

new. We thought about you yesterday and days before that too. We think of you in silence. We often speak your name. Now all we have are memories and your picture in a frame. Your memory is our keepsake with which we’ll never part. God has you in his keeping. We have you in our hearts. We miss you dearly. Always in our prayers. Your children, inlaws, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

PRAYeRS

HOlY St Jude, apostle and martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke you, special patron in time of need. To you I have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg you to come to my assistance.

Help me now in my urgent need and grant my petitions.

In return I promise to make your name known and publish this prayer. Amen.

Thank you Lord Jesus Christ for prayers answered.

Thank you mother Mary for interceding for us. LM.

O MOSt beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, fruit vines splendrous of Heaven, Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, please assist me in this my necessity. O Star of the Sea, help and show me you are our Mother, Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, I humbly request from the bottom of my heart, that you secure me in my necessity. No one can withstand Your power. Please show me herein that I have

Our bishops’ anniversaries This week we congratulate: May 31: Bishop Emeritus Patrick Zithulele Mvemve of Klerksdorp on his 76th birthday.

recourse to You. X3 Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands. X3 Thank you for your mercy towards me and mine. X3 This prayer should be said for 3 days after which your request will be granted. The prayer must then be published. For my son.

PeRSONAl

ABORtION WARNING: The truth will convict a silent Church. See www. valuelifeabortionisevil.co.za ABORtION ON DeMAND: This is legalised daily murder in our nation. Our silence on this issue is the reason why it continues.

Avoid pro-abortion politicians.

HOlIDAY AccOMMODAtION

MARIANellA Guest House, Simon’s Town: “Come experience the peace and beauty of God with us.” Fully equipped with amazing sea views. Secure parking, ideal for rest and relaxation. Special rates for pensioners and clergy.

Phone Malcolm Salida on 082 784 5675 or e-mail mjsalida@gmail.com PeNNINGtON SOUtH cOASt: Holiday accommodation available for July school holidays. Two bedroom, 6 -maisonette. Linen supplied except beach towels. It is R650 per night.

Phone Barney on 039 975 3842 or 082 266 3614, or email barneycrawford @telkomsa.net

Traditional Latin Mass

Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel 36 Central Avenue, Pinelands, Cape Town Call 071 291 4501 for details.

Email: sspx.capetown@gmail.com The

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Opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect those of the editor, staff, directors or advisory board of The Southern Cross.

the

Pentecost: Sunday June 4 Readings: Acts 2:1-11, Psalm 104:1, 24, 2931, 34, 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13, John 20:19-23

N

EXT Sunday we celebrate the coming of the Spirit, without which the Church simply cannot function. Either the Church is the place where God is visibly at work, or it is not the Church.

The first reading for the feast is the familiar story of that first Pentecost; and the power of God is visible at every point.

Notice the word “fulfilled” right at the beginning, and the divine gifts of “wind” and “fire”, foreshadowing the powerful story of Acts of the Apostles.

Then notice the effect: these previously frightened Galileans are “filled with the Holy Spirit” and enabled to speak in all the languages of the Roman Empire.

This is something that the Church has done ever since, of course; and we have to continue our task of finding the appropriate language in which to proclaim, like our Galilean forebears, “the great things of God”.

The psalm is a series of lines from the lovely Psalm 104: “Bless the Lord my soul”, the poet sings, “how many are your works.”

S outher n C ross

Then the psalmist contemplates the miracle of life that God gives us (and we shall do well to reflect on this): “When you take back your Spirit they die and return to the dust. When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.”

This is the invitation to us today, to be God’s agents in renewing a world that has lost the plot in a morass of consumerism and its ugly sisters, atheism and secularism. Our Pentecost song is the poet’s: “May the glory of the Lord endure forever, may the Lord rejoice in his works.”

But how do we know that it is the good Spirit, and not the evil spirit, that is guiding us? In the second reading, Paul is giving a tip to the Corinthians, who were enormously proud of their spiritual gifts, and as a result were tearing each other apart (that is what happens when you get proud of your spiritual gifts, you see).

His test is this: if you can say, “Jesus is Lord”, then that is “by the Holy Spirit”. For what the Spirit does is to bring about unity in

diversity: “There is a diversity of charisms, but one and the same Spirit, a diversity of ministries, but one and the same Lord, a diversity of activities, but one and the same God, who is the actor of everything in every way.”

So the Church has only one Body, and it does not matter if we are “Jews or Greeks, slaves or free” (and elsewhere he adds “women or men”): “We have all been given to drink of the one Spirit.”

For the Gospel, we are invited to listen once more to John’s account of the gift of the Spirit, on that first Easter Sunday. It starts unpromisingly: “the doors being locked…because they were afraid of the Judaeans”; but Jesus is not kept out by the Church’s fearfulness, and is effortlessly in their midst, offering them the lovely greeting (which is made to us today) of “peace”.

Then we go deeper into the Easter mystery, with the all-important reminder that Jesus has died the appalling death on the cross: “He showed his hands and his side.”

Then at last the disciples get it: “they re-

Storybooks to spirituality M

porary philosophical movements. I was smitten; philosophy became my theology.

But after philosophy came theology.

After our philosophical studies, we were required to take a four-year degree in theology prior to ordination.

Again, I was blessed with good teachers and blessed to be studying theology just as Vatican II and a rich new theological scholarship were beginning to penetrate theological schools and seminaries.

There was theological excitement aplenty, and I shared in it. In Catholic circles, we were reading Congar, Rahner, Schillebeeckx, Schnackenburg and Raymond Brown. Protestant circles were giving us Barth, Tillich, Niebuhr and a bevy of wonderful scripture scholars.

The faith of my youth was finally finding the intellectual grounding it had forever longed for. Theology became my new passion.

But after theology came spirituality.

After ordination, I was given the opportunity to do a further graduate degree in theology. That degree deepened immeasurably my love for and commitment to theology.

It also landed me a teaching job, and for the next six years I taught theology at a graduate level. These were wonderful years; I was where I most wanted to be, in a theology classroom.

H

owever, during those six years, I began to explore the writings of the mystics and tentatively launch some courses in spirituality, beginning with a course on the great Spanish mystic: John of the Cross.

My doctoral studies followed those years, and while I focused on systematic theology, writing my thesis in the area of

Conrad

Y first love was literature, novels and poetry. As a child, I loved storybooks, mysteries and adventures. In grade school, I was made to memorise poetry and loved the exercise.

High school introduced me to more serious literature: Shakespeare, Kipling, Keats, Wordsworth, Browning. On the side, I still read storybooks, cowboy tales from the old West, taken from my dad’s bookshelf.

During my undergraduate university years, literature was a major part of the curriculum and I learned then that literature wasn’t just about stories, but also about social and religious commentary; as well as about form and beauty as ends in themselves.

In classes then we read classic novels: Nineteen Eighty-Four, Lord of the Flies, Heart of Darkness, The Heart of the Matter, East of Eden. The curriculum at that time in my home country of Canada heavily favoured British writers. Only later, on my own, would I discover the richness in Canadian, American, African, Indian, Russian and Swedish writers.

I had been solidly catechised in my youth, and while the catechism held my faith, literature held my theology.

But after literature came philosophy. As part of preparation for ordination we were required to do a degree in philosophy. I was blessed with some fine teachers and fell into first fervour in terms of my love of philosophy.

The courses then heavily favoured scholasticism—Aristotle, Plato, Augustine, Aquinas—but we were also given a sound history of philosophy and a basic grounding in existentialism and some of the contem-

Nicholas King SJ

The Spirit is with us

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Sunday Reflections

joiced” (and that Easter joy is what you and I are charged to take out into our post-Easter world).

Once they have got that far, Jesus once more wishes them the central gift of “peace”.

Only then do they receive the mission; and we must listen to this, because it is our mission also: “As the Father has sent me, so I too am sending you.”

Finally comes the gift of the Spirit: “Saying this, he breathed on them” (and we may remember that “spirit” means “breath”) “and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’.”

Then we are given to understand what the Spirit enables us to do: “If you let anybody’s sins go, they are let go. And if you hold any bound, they are held bound.”

We who are Church should look very closely at all these readings as we joyfully celebrate the Church’s birthday. For it tells us how we are to operate from Monday onwards.

Southern Crossword #760

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

natural theology, something had begun to shift in me. I found myself more and more, both in teaching and writing, shifting into the area of spirituality, so much so that after a few years I could no longer justify calling some of my former courses in systematic theology by their old catalogue titles. Honesty compelled me now to name them courses in spirituality.

And what is spirituality? How is it different from theology?

At one level, there’s no difference. Spirituality is, in effect, applied theology. They are of one and the same piece, either ends of the same sock.

But here’s a difference: theology defines the playing field, defines the doctrines, distinguishes truth from falsehood, and seeks to enflame the intellectual imagination. It is what it classically claims itself to be: “Faith seeking understanding”.

But, rich and important as that is, it’s not the game. Theology makes up the rules for the game, but it doesn’t do the playing nor decide the outcome. That’s the role of spirituality, even as it needs to be obedient to theology.

Without sound theology, spirituality always falls into unbridled piety, unhealthy individualism, and self-serving fundamentalism. Only good, rigorous, academic theology saves us from these.

But without spirituality, theology too easily becomes only an intellectual aesthetics, however beautiful.

It’s one thing to have coherent truth and sound doctrine; it’s another thing to give that actual human flesh—on the streets, in our homes, and inside our own restless questioning and doubt.

Theology needs to give us truth; spirituality needs to break open that truth.

And so I’ve come full circle: from the storybooks of my childhood, through the Shakespeare of my high school, through the novelists and poets of my undergraduate years, through the philosophy of Aristotle and Aquinas, through the theology of Rahner and Tillich, through the scripture scholarship of Raymond Brown and Ernst Käsemann, through the hermeneutics of the post-modernists of my post-graduate years, through 40 years of teaching theology—I’ve landed where I started, still searching for good stories that feed the soul.

ACROSS

3. Assuring and showing great potential (9) 8. Patron saint of lawyers in heavy vestment (4) 9. Watchman at the football game? (9) 10. Religious old boy now deceased (6) 11. Cutter from the era Zorba lived (5) 14. Mangled torso found underground (5) 15. No more than a lake (4) 16. River of Gozan (2 Kg 17) (5) 18. It was historically great in South Africa (4) 20. Where Saul encountered Samuel’s ghost (1 Sm 28) (5) 21. Unbending (5) 24. Kind of life in the country (6) 25. Outer sigh of one with indignation? (9) 26. Mode of cathedral (4) 27. Son’s uncle let out of the cloister (9)

P

DOWN

1. Choir type who’s duplicitous (9) 2. Would you find church clapper up here? (4,5) 4. Mature pier (4) 5. One hundred came about in Saudi Arabia (5) 6. Hebrew peace (6) 7. Light in Borneo nights (4) 9. Secret store in most ash groves (5) 11. Formally dressed (5) 12. I do intern performance (9) 13. Tract indeed damaged your good name (9) 17. Puzzle about the burse (5) 19. River where Elijah slew the prophets (1 Kg:18) (6) 22. I dish out the cards. Perfect (5) 23. Autograph (4) 24. User regrets (4) Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

addy was at the races one day deciding which horse to back, when he noticed a Catholic priest standing next to the horses’ starting line-up just before the first race. The priest blessed one of the horses, which then went on to win the race.

The same thing happened with the second race.

In the third race the priest did this again and Paddy put all his money on this horse. This time, however, the said horse dropped back halfway round the track.

Paddy was furious and accosted the priest for an explanation. The priest replied: “It’s a fine Catholic you are, Paddy. Can’t you see the difference between a blessing and the last rites!”

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