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May 31 to June 6, 2017
The faith of Charismatic Catholics
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As Christians we should never walk alone
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Why priesthood needs a radical new vision
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No: Enough is enough BY ERIn CARELSE
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HE recent unfolding agony of violence against women and children has resulted in a nation numbed with shock, said Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town. “Our society has been shaped by enduring violence, which has compromised healthy family life, as well as the very fabric of our communities,” he said. “Each crime against a woman and child causes our society to unravel that much more. The social and human cost is immense.” Crime has dominated the headlines in the past month, and violence against women and children is on the rise, police warned: • A 22-year-old pregnant woman was kidnapped and gang raped on her way home from work in the Johannesburg inner city. • Lerato Tambo Moloi was stoned to death after she had been sexually assaulted. The LBGTI community believe this is an incident of so-called “corrective” rape where a woman is targeted because she is a lesbian. • Two young women from Kwazulu-Natal, Popi Gumede, 24, and Bongeka Phungula, 28, who were living together in Zola, were murdered and may also have been raped. • Three-year-old Courtney Pieters was raped twice and murdered by a supposed family friend. • Karabo Mokoena, 22, was murdered and her body burnt by her ex-boyfriend. “The brutality of these crimes and the fact that so many have been perpetrated by individuals known to the victims raises questions that demand answers,” said Archbishop Brislin, who is also president of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference. “Victims sometimes blame themselves for what has happened but there is nothing that can justify such blatant cruelty,” he said. “More funding should be made for parenting programmes and support. We need interventions to combat the normalisation of violence at home, at school, at church and in our communities,” the archbishop said. Also, domestic violence was common, and there was a pervasive culture of alcohol and drug abuse, as well as participation in gangs, which exacerbated violence, he said. Relying on prosecution and imprisonment will not result in the change we need, the archbishop said—we have to go back to the beginning and look at the way we socialise our children.
Special Pilgrimage to Portugal and Spain
The Jesuit Institute noted that it was deeply concerned by the gender-based violence. “We need to create a counter-culture in which the dignity of each person, created in the image and likeness of God, is seen and honoured,” the institute stated. “We need both to challenge the status quo and work to address the multiple root causes of gender-based violence.” It said we must critically examine the often-patriarchal Church language we use and the ways in which women are often treated in Church contexts. There are multiple social factors, the institute noted, and South Africa’s history was one in which the dignity of men and women was systematically undermined—many women came to expect the abuse inflicted on them, and some men who felt disempowered sought an interior sense of power by abusing those more vulnerable than themselves.
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olice minister Fikile Mbalula, in response to the highly publicised murder of Ms Mokoena, said: “Love cannot be bought. If a man is abusing you, stay away. Stay away from them because you will get a better one in the future.” On social media platforms this last month, the hashtag #menaretrash took centre stage, with young women and girls sharing their stories of abuse. Ranjeni Munusamy, editor of the Daily Maverick, said: “The recent spate of violence against women and children is not unusual. It’s not an anomaly, and that’s the tragedy.” In reference to #menaretrash, she said: “Some people have taken offence to it, but the conversation that’s being brought to light is necessary as a way of facing the fact that everyone is a part of the problem.” Fr Lawrence Mduduzi Ndlovu also spoke to The Southern Cross about the hashtag, saying #menaretrash is really not about all men being trash, but comes out of frustration with the way women have been treated in society. He said the biggest concern with the abuse of women and children is that most of us have witnessed it. “Our levels of tolerance and indifference are so high that the perpetrators of these crimes know nothing will be done to them.” Fr Ndlovu said he believes the real work is in getting communities and individuals to wake up from their indifference and empathise again.
The
The Southern Cross pilgrimage group at the sanctuary of Fatima in Portugal with Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town (standing left), Southern Cross editor Günther Simmermacher (kneeling far left) and Carmelite Father Varghese Kannanaikkal of Port Elizabeth (standing right). At a Mass before the photo was taken, the archbishop blessed and commended all at The Southern Cross and its readers and supporters to Our Lady, and then consecrated The Southern Cross to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The pilgrimage also visited such places as Lisbon, Coimbra and Santarém in Portugal, and Avila, Alba de Tormes and Madrid in Spain. (Photo: Gail Fowler)
Southern Cross consecrated to Immaculate Heart of Mary STAFF REPORTER
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ELEBRATING Mass at the Marian sanctuary at Fatima, Portugal, Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town consecrated The Southern Cross to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Archbishop Brislin was leading The Southern Cross’ pilgrimage to Fatima and other sites in Portugal and Spain to mark the centenary of the apparition of Our Lady to three peasant children at the northern Portuguese site. At the Mass in the chapel of the Angel of Peace in the Fatima sanctuary, only metres from where Mary appeared to the children five times between May and October 1917, the archbishop blessed and commended all at The Southern Cross and its readers and supporters to Our Lady. At the apparitions, Mary encouraged the devotion to her Immaculate Heart. The pilgrimage visited Lisbon, where the group had Mass in the city’s cathedral, which is dedicated to Our Lady, and ended with a Mass in Madrid in a parish church dedicated
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to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. In between, the group visited and had Mass in Santarém and Coimbra in Portugal, and in Alba de Tormes in the convent that holds the tomb of St Teresa of Avila, and in Avila in the convent where St Teresa reformed the Carmelite order. “The programme was very well-designed to keep the focus on Our Lady and on Fatima,” said Southern Cross editor Günther Simmermacher, who accompanied the tour. He noted that the inclusion of Coimbra marked the city where Sr Lucia dos Santos, one of the Fatima visionaries, lived as of 1948 and where she died on 2005 at 97. “Sr Lucia was a Carmelite, so it made sense to then go to places associated with St Teresa of Avila and St John of the Cross.” The Southern Cross, in association with Radio Veritas, is presenting a second Fatima pilgrimage, with the same programme, in October. It will be led by Fr Brian Mhlanga of Radio Veritas. n For more information go to www.fowler tours.co.za/fatima
Radio Veritas
100 YEARS FATIMA Led by Fr Brian Mhlanga OP 1 - 10 Oct. 2017 Fatima • Lisbon • Coimbra • Avila • Madrid and more Contact Gail at info@fowlertours.co.za or 076 352-3809 or 021 551-3923
Interactive itinerary at
www.fowlertours.co.za/fatima