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Fatima statues donated for home prayers sTAFF REPORTER

T Grahamstown spiritFest 2017 ended with an ecumenical march by taking Christianity to the street. The procession was the brainchild of Bishop Andile Mbete of the Methodist Commemoration Church. supporting the march were clergy and lay people from the Catholic, Methodist and Anglican communities, with good support from the Catholics. At the end of the walk each community attended their own services. Fr Anthony Egan sJ of the Jesuit Institute in Johannesburg celebrated a well-attended Mass at the Assumption sisters’ chapel. (Photo: Helmo Preuss)

Sisters trademark Mother Teresa’s sari stripes

By ElIsE HARRIs

T

HE Missionaries of Charity have patented the white and blue sari designed by St Teresa of Kolkata, obtaining a legal copyright recognising the pattern as the intellectual property of the order.

Although it was never officially announced, the copyright had been granted the same day as Mother Teresa’s September 4, 2016 canonisation.

“The Missionaries of Charity do not believe in publicity and as such it was not publicised,” said intellectual property attorney Biswajit Sarkar, according to the Press Trust of India.

He said that “unscrupulous and unfair usage of the design across the globe” made it necessary “to spread awareness among people about the trademark”.

The sari, which is the habit of the Missionaries of Charity sisters, was designed by Mother Teresa when she went to the streets in 1948 to serve the poor. It is white with three blue stripes, the outer stripe being larger than

The

A Missionary of Charity in Rome. The congregation has copyrighted its distinctive saris. (Photo: Daniel Ibanez/CNA) the inner two.

Mother Teresa’s blue border pattern “is a distinctive symbolic identity of [the] Missionaries of Charity under the concept of colour trade mark protection,” Mr Sarkar said.

He said the copyright marks the first time a uniform has been protected under intellectual property rights in India.

Continued on page 4

HE Portuguese businessman who has donated more than a thousand statues of Our Lady of Fatima to parishes and schools around the world has started a new campaign to bring the Marian devotion into the homes of the faithful.

In his latest campaign, titled “Our Lady Visits You At Home”, José Camara is offering smaller statues of Our Lady of Fatima which will travel from home to home in parishes.

“The idea is to bring the devotion to Our Lady and the rosary into the actual homes of people,” said Mr Camara, who used to live in Cape Town but now resides in Portugal.

Mr Camara offers to send one or two handpainted statues, which are made in Fatima, to a parish, depending on the size of the community. Parishes with multiple outstations may ask for more than two statues.

He encourages that these statues are then encased in a glass oratory which may be made by parishioners with expertise in carpentry.

Design samples can be provided, he said.

The idea is that the statue will be kept for a specific amount of time by one family, which will host group prayer sessions—especially of the rosary—before it is passed to the next family, and so on.

Parishes that receive a statue are also encouraged to hold a special second collection for a charitable cause, such as the Society of St Vincent de Paul or parish or diocesan charities.

“It is a good to help a good cause in the name of Our Lady,” Mr Camara said. The occasion for such a collection can also be a time to introduce the statue to the parish congregation and explain the devotion to Our Lady of Fatima, he added.

“Of course, I would be very happy to hear for whom funds were raised,” Mr Camara said.

Statues have already been sent to Cape Town, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth, as well as to Namibia. Deliveries are made to the local chancery, for collection by the priest.

Applications must be made by the parish’s priest-in-charge on a parish letterhead with full address and contact details. If no letterhead is available, priests need a letter from

S outher n C ross &

100 Years Fatima A spiritual journey to Fatima • Lisbon

1 - 10 October 2017

José Camara (left) and Southern Cross editor Günther simmermacher in Fatima in May. their diocese to confirm the supplied details.

If a priest is not listed in the last available Catholic Directory (2015-16), he should also accompany his application with a letter from his diocese.

Private and incomplete applications will be disregarded, Mr Camara said.

He estimates that delivery takes about three to four months.

His previous initiative to donate statues for shrines or altars in parish churches for communal devotion has been completed.

“I eventually sent out over 1 085 statues of Our Mother to parishes, schools and convents throughout the world, to 35 countries,” Mr Camara said. “It was a little more than the 12 I had originally planned to donate to parishes in South Africa,” he added, “so I’m not setting any limits to the ‘Our Lady Visits You At Home’ initiative. I will let Our Mother decide when it’s enough...”

In May Mr Camara travelled to Fatima to meet The Southern Cross’ pilgrims led by Archbishop Stephen Brislin.

For the Southern Cross/Radio Veritas pilgrimage going in October he has a special treat: in Fatima one pilgrim will win a handpainted 55cm statue of Our Lady of Fatima donated by Mr Camara. n Parish applications for a “Our Lady Visits You At Home” statue of Our Lady of Fatima can be sent to jjvcamara@gmail.com

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LOCAL

CPLOs from Africa meet

By ERIN CARElsE

R

Brescia House school in Bryanston, Johannesburg, put its Serviam motto into practice, making over 3 000 sandwiches for Witkoppen Clinic, with help from celebrities. (From left) singer leanne Dlamini, model and TV presenter Mishka Patel, Brescia head girl Tadiwanashe Mutambara, celebrity dentist Dr smile and celebrity cook Chef Nti.

KZN pilgrimages to follow Hurley paths sTAFF REPORTER

O

N successive Saturdays in August, pilgrimages will be staged to sites in KwaZuluNatal associated with the late Archbishop Denis Hurley.

The pilgrimages on August 5 and 12 are organised by Durban’s Denis Hurley Centre, which is named after the prelate who headed the archdiocese of Durban for 45 years, from 1947-92. He died in 2004.

On August 5—the anniversary of Archbishop Hurley receiving his archiepiscopal pallium—the pilgrimage will go to places in and around Pietermaritzburg: St Joseph’s Cedara (which houses the Hurley library and archive), St Mary’s church and the Oblate museum, St Charles’ College where the young Denis went to school, and Holy Nativity Anglican cathedral, where retired Anglican Bishop Michael Nutttall is scheduled to address the group.

At the end of the day, there will CORRECTION: In our issue of July 5 we published an incorrect date for this month’s Mass for life at Johannesburg’s Christ the King cathedral.

be a welcome by the choir at KwaThintwa School for the Deaf, which Archbishop Hurley was instrumental in founding.

On August 12 the focus will be in and around Durban. This will include the lighthouse at Clansthal, the last posting of Archbishop Hurley’s father; Sabon House, the Oblate retirement home where the archbishop spent his final years; and the current and previous archbishop’s house (the latter now the home of the Indian Consul General).

The pilgrimage will end at the Denis Hurley Centre and Emmanuel cathedral, with prayers at the shrine for Archbishop Hurley, and a special Mass said by Mgr Paul Nadal, the archbishop’s long-serving vicar-general, on the 100th anniversary of the birth of Bl Oscar Romero.

R150 for each tour is requested for transport and other costs. n To book, e-mail Paddy Kearney at pkearney@saol.com The Mass, organised by the Culture of life Apostolate and Divine Mercy House, is on saturday, July 29, at 10:00. We apologise for the error.

EPRESENTATIVES of Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Offices from several African countries came to Cape Town for a three-day conference.

The conference was hosted by the CPLO of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

The local CPLO was the first in Africa to be established, 20 years ago, and since then it has trained other such offices throughout Africa.

The conference’s aim was to find out how active CPLOs were doing, strengthen the existing network, and get to know the different modules countries were using.

“This was great to touch base,” said Michael Pothier, CPLO research coordinator. “We saw that in some countries the parliamentary work is housed within the Justice & Peace Commission of the local bishops’ conference, and in others within the Caritas development side.

“We also got to hear about CPLO offices that have started up that we weren’t aware of, Malawi, for example,” Mr Pothier said.

The Southern Cross spoke to a few representatives at the conference.

Wilbroad Kangala from Zambia spoke of the success recorded since the start of their CPLO in 2002.

“We have successfully engaged government on various policies, and contributed to parliamentary

CPlO conference delegates and staff members with Archbishop stephen Brislin of Cape Town. CPlO director Fr Peter-John Pearson is at far right, and research coordinator Mike Pothier at right in the back row. reforms. This has promoted the spirit of dialogue between the Church and government.”

He said the conference allowed him to hear of the approaches different countries use. “We can share this information with our superiors and maybe incorporate it on our side.”

Isaac Kenyi from South Sudan found the conference an opportunity to build on his expertise. “There were useful tools learnt here, that I hope to implement back home.”

The Lesotho CPLO has also helped influence policies. “We scrutinise Bills and make sure they suit citizens—and if they don’t, we speak up,” said Fr Charles Matsosoa.

Fr Werner Afund from Namibia

Talk to focus on historical Christ sTAFF REPORTER

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HERE can we locate the physical Jesus in the Holy Land? This is a question which Southern Cross editor Günther Simmermacher will explore in a talk in Johannesburg on July 28.

“We Christians might sometimes forget that the magnitude of the incarnation was that God became fully human,” said Mr Simmermacher, who is also the author of The Holy Land Trek: A Pilgrim’s Guide.

“Jesus was not some mythical figure in the pages of ancient documents. He walked among us, and

some of the places where he walked in the Holy Land still exist today, and we can identify them as authentic.”

Mr Simmermacher’s talk will focus on some of these places, in Bethlehem, Galilee and Jerusalem.

“There is a misconception that the sacred shrines in the Holy Land were randomly appointed by the superstitious and fraudsters. The historical and archaeological record of many of these places gives us a good idea about their authenticity,” he said.

At some of these, he added, “we can, with absolute certainty, locate

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Pallottines’ joy as Sister turns 100 By sR ANNEMARIE NIEHsEN sAC

25 Aug - 8 Sept 2017

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the physical Jesus”, including the exact spot of the crucifixion.

Mr Simmermacher said that while it is “less important to know exactly where something happened than to know that it happened at all”, encountering the historical Christ helps us be in touch with Jesus’ humanity—“and it provides a counterwitness to the absurd propaganda that suggests Jesus never existed”.

The talk will be held at the Emmaus Centre at Bryanston Catholic church (corner William Nicol and Sloane Street) at 18:30 on July 28.

Entrance is free and all are welcome.

High school students from four Catholic schools in Johannesburg and soweto—Holy Family College, McAuley House, Immaculata High school and st Matthews—took part in a young Christian students camp at Bushtrails Environmental Camp in the Magaliesberg. The emphasis was on building leadership and awareness of nature.

Calvary

Assisi

said his CPLO had set up an advisory committee. This might interest CPLOs in countries that don’t have their own research capacity.

For most of the CPLOs, an ongoing challenge is funding. At the conference, a list was compiled of all the funders every country is in touch with. This revealed funding sources others were unaware of.

“Moving forward, we’re setting up an e-mail group, which everyone is committed to. This is to simply send an e-mail around whenever a roundtable is attended, a submission made in parliament, or any activity undertaken, so that we all stay connected and informed,” Mr Pothier said.

T was a day of joy and thanksgiving at the Pallottine convent in Pinelands, Cape Town, when Sr Othmara Metzger turned 100 years old.

The celebrations began with the community’s morning prayer, followed by the Eucharist, celebrated by Fr Ricardo Smuts.

Sr Othmara was born Justin Anna Metzger in Werbachhausen, Germany, in what is now the state of Baden-Württemberg.

As a young woman her desire was to become a missionary. In 1937 she became a postulant of

the Pallottine Missionaries in Limburg. The following year she received her religious name, Sr Othmara, and made her first profession of vows in 1940.

During World War II she worked as a professional nurse.

Sr Othmara made her final profession in 1946, and in 1948 set off for South Africa with nine other sisters.

As the local Church celebrates its bicentennial anniversary in Southern Africa, the Pallottines paid tribute to a consecrated woman who served its children.

As a professional nurse, she was dedicated to the care of chronically ill children in St Joseph’s Home in Montana.

Sr Othmara has been recognised as a generous, capable and courageous sister.

Her community is proud of her and thanks God that she is still with them.

LOCAL

The southern Cross, July 19 to July 25, 2017

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Zim archbishop calls for elections peace B RING Christian values to politics, but don’t lose your saltiness, Zimbabwe’s Archbishop Robert Ndlovu of Harare said.

As Zimbabwe approaches general elections scheduled for 2018, the archbishop has urged Catholics to be active in politics and to bring the mind of Christ to the process.

Addressing congregants at St Canisius parish in Marlborough, Harare, Archbishop Ndlovu (pictured right) said Catholics should set precedence in being peace ambassadors and avoid all shameful acts, Vatican Radio reported.

“As Christians we shouldn’t be seen, talking or conducting acts

that put the Church or the name of God into disrepute,” he said.

The archbishop said Christians, led by the Holy Spirit, should promote the act of love on the political scene since Christians sit together and eat from the same plate.

Archbishop Ndlovu said that being active in politics is everyone’s right and duty. He went on to say that lay Catholics can actively participate in politics.

“If it is about being active in politics, get into it. I encourage you: be part of politics. That is your role… it is your duty. It is your right.

“But when you choose to be in it, don’t lose your saltiness as a Christian, don’t lose your light.

Bring the mind of Christ and take your Christian values with you.”

The archbishop condemned political violence and equated Christians who condone it to people who supported the crucifixion of Christ.

“Your vote is your vote; take your pen and make your choice— but don’t make noise as Christians, be the peacemakers.”

Recently, Christian organisations, including the Zimbabwe Council of Churches and the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, convened in Harare to launch a Christian vote campaign.

The campaign shuns political violence during elections.—CNAA

J&P trains parishes in advocacy

T

Comrades Marathon 2017 winner Bongumusa Mthembu travelled to the Marian shrine of Kevelaer in Mariannhill diocese to give thanks to Our lady. He is seen with Fr lungelo Mhlongo, the shrine administrator, and a local server. (Photo: Kurt Holmes)

HE Justice & Peace Commission of the archdiocese of Durban, under coordinator Kalie Senyane, held a diocesan workshop, co-facilitated with Kabelo Selema and Robert Mafinyori from the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference’s J&P, and Cyril Mwandla from the Diakonia Council of Churches.

The workshop’s aim was to strengthen parish groups for action in advocacy. The objective was to establish strong deanery structures, and strong parishes, able to work with the diocese on its social justice programmes.

Emphasis was laid on explaining exactly what J&P is, what its work entails, and how it can be differentiated from other Church ministries.

Participants were given background knowledge, enabling them to see the need for J&P in their own parishes.

Members of the group were able to recognise problems within their communities, and what they are faced with, regarding crime, drugs, and social injustice.

The organisers said it was an eyeopener for most participants, as was discussing their own possible roles in uplifting their parishes. Participants gained skills on how to advocate for action on social issues and how to engage their communities.

There was a sense of self-discov-

Participants at a Durban archdiocesan workshop got to grips with what they could actually do back in their parishes to promote social justice. ery of who they are as Christians too, the organisers said, particularly in times of conflicts.

The group showed willingness to own up to their mistakes, the facilitators said, and to plan for programmes they can initiate within their parishes.

They developed listening skills and respect for one another, and saw the importance of confidentiality when working with abused individuals to build trust. They also learnt to advocate for the rights of others without fear.

Sessions at the workshop included Catholic Social Teaching, the Church pastoral cycle, violence against women, conflict-transformation, men as peacemakers, and drug and alcohol abuse.

The facilitators stressed that many future young leaders are in danger of losing everything if they don’t get help.

The archdiocese, through the Napier Centre for Healing, has heeded the call, and asks the public to support the centre, established particularly to benefit young people.

Novices bring new life to convent

By ERIN CARElsE

T

HE Sisters of the Sacred Heart in Ixopo, Mariannhill diocese, are now hosting the novices of another religious congregation.

The Sacred Heart sisters have made available 16 rooms and a chapel for the novices of the Southern African province of the Precious Blood Sisters, the congregation founded by Abbot Francis Pfanner.

“The young sisters’ voices and Sr Alphonsis Kimario CPS, their directress, bring new life into the convent and enliven our liturgy. We rejoice with them and are grateful that this is now a home for young and not so young trying to serve the Lord and people around us,” said the Sacred Heart Sisters.

The sisters first came to Ixopo in 1923 to serve the largely coloured community of the area, especially through education in what is now the Little Flower School—named in honour of St Thérèse of Lisieux, patroness of missions.

The primary and high schools have 1 369 learners, of whom 760 are in the primary school.

A noteworthy project is an educational outreach programme, run for over 12 years on Saturday mornings, for children and adolescents who have not had education because of financial constraints.

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The southern Cross, July 19 to July 25, 2017

INTERNATIONAL

Vatican rules out gluten-free hosts

By CAROl GlATz

T

HE Vatican has ruled out gluten-free Communion hosts and told bishops to ensure that only valid bread and wine is used in the celebration of the Eucharist.

Because bread and wine for the Eucharist are no longer supplied just by religious communities, but “are also sold in supermarkets and other stores and even over the Internet”, bishops should set up guidelines, an oversight body and even a form of certification to help “remove any doubt about the validity of the matter for the Eucharist”, the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments said.

The recommendations came in a circular letter, “On the bread and wine for the Eucharist”, sent to diocesan bishops “at the request of the Holy Father, Pope Francis”.

Because the Church requires certainty regarding the conditions necessary for the validity of the sacraments, the congregation offered some suggestions so that bishops can continue to “watch over the quality of the bread and wine” as well as “those who prepare these materials”.

The congregation underlined that every bishop “is bound to remind priests, especially parish priests and rectors of churches, of their responsibility to verify those who provide

the bread and wine for the celebration and the worthiness of the material”.

Bishops must also provide information to the producers of the bread and wine for the Eucharist and to remind them of the absolute respect that is due to the norms, it said. Bishops may want to agree on and establish “concrete regulations” on the national level through their bishops’ conferences, it suggested.

The letter also reiterated norms already in place regarding eucharistic matter: • “The bread used in the celebration of the most holy eucharistic sacrifice must be unleavened, purely of wheat, and recently made so that there is no danger of decomposition.”

• Bread made from another substance, even grain or mixed with another substance so different from wheat that it would not commonly be considered wheat bread, “does not constitute valid matter”.

• The introduction of any other substances, “such as fruit or sugar or honey, into the bread for confecting the Eucharist”, it said, “is a grave abuse”.

• Low-gluten hosts are valid matter for people who, “for varying and grave reasons, cannot consume bread made in the usual manner”, provided the hosts “contain a suffi-

cient amount of gluten to obtain the confection of bread without the addition of foreign materials and without the use of procedures that would alter the nature of bread”.

• Completely gluten-free hosts continue to be “invalid matter for the celebration of the Eucharist”.

• Wine used in the celebration of the eucharistic “must be natural, from the fruit of the grape, pure and incorrupt, not mixed with other substances,” well conserved and have not soured.

• “It is altogether forbidden to use wine of doubtful authenticity or provenance.”

• No other drinks of any kind may be admitted “for any reason, as they do not constitute valid matter”.

• For people who, “for varying and grave reasons,” cannot consume wine fermented in the normal manner, “mustum” is valid matter for the celebration of the Eucharist. Mustum is grape juice that is either fresh or preserved by methods that suspend its fermentation without altering its nature, for example, by freezing.

• Eucharistic matter made with genetically modified organisms can be considered valid matter.

• Permission must be given by the ordinary for an individual priest or layperson to use low-gluten hosts or mustum for the celebration of the Eucharist.—CNS

Nukes ‘banned’, now what?

T

By DENNIs sADOWsKI

HE passage of a United Nations treaty banning the possession of nuclear weapons comes at a time when the majority of the world’s nations are frustrated with the slow pace of nuclear disarmament.

Even with such a pact—years in the making—there is no timeline for total disarmament, arms control experts told Catholic News Service.

The real work ahead under the treaty, said Marie Dennis, co-president of Pax Christi International, is getting the world’s nuclear weapons possessing countries and dozens more that fall under the so-called “nuclear umbrella” to take seriously the call to reduce and eventually rid the world of ballistic arsenals.

“It’s really phenomenal that it happened,” Ms Dennis said of the vote at the UN, “It fills a gap in international law and agreements that was pretty huge, that every other

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weapon of such destructive capacity has been made illegal. As some said, ‘These weapons have always been immoral. Now at least they are illegal’.”

The final tally saw 122 nations voting for the ban. Netherlands voted no and Singapore abstained in the final count.

Not present during the voting were the nuclear weapon states of the US, Russia, China, France, UK, Pakistan and India, as well as numerous countries falling under the nuclear umbrella.

Israel, which many arms control observers believe possesses nuclear weapons, and North Korea, which has tested such weapons but is believed to have not put them in operation, also did not vote.

The US and most European nations have sat on the sidelines during the UN meetings discussing a weapons ban. They have preferred to focus on the need for broader security measures to allow for strategic

stability on the road to verifiable reductions in nuclear arsenals. In all, about 40 nations boycotted the negotiations. Most nations continue to support the Non-Proliferation Treaty to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology.

Individual nations now must sign the treaty for it to go into effect.

Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, said not having the nuclear weapons states on board poses a challenge to achieving the goal of total disarmament.

“We think this is overall an important contribution to the efforts to reduce the salience of nuclear weapons as tools of military and foreign policy,” he said. “It is an expression of the deep frustration of the non-nuclear weapon state majority that there has not been enough progress by the nuclear weapon states to meet the disarmament commitments.”—CNS

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Rev Ian Paisley (Timothy spall) and Martin McGuinness (Colm Meaney) from the movie The Journey, a fictionalised telling of how McGuinness and Paisley came to a political solution in 2006 in Northern Ireland to bring decades of Christian-on-Christian sectarian violence to a halt.

(Photo: IFC Films/CNs)

If McGuinness and Paisley could do it...

By MARK PATTIsON

I

F Martin McGuinness and Rev Ian Paisley can wage peace instead of war, anyone can, according to TV and movie director Nick Hamm.

Like the Catholic Mr McGuinness, long-linked to Sinn Féin and the Irish Republican Army, and the Presbyterian cleric who founded the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland, Mr Hamm is from Northern Ireland. The Protestant filmmaker, 59, said he saw enough of the “Troubles” to beat a hasty retreat to Manchester, England, and then to London when he was old enough.

But he returned to Northern Ireland to film The Journey, a fictionalised telling of how Mr McGuinness and Rev Paisley came to a political solution in 2006 to bring decades of Christian-onChristian sectarian violence to a halt.

Mr Hamm referred to the pair as “an odd couple”, but it was their similarities that broke down the barriers: “Both were very religious, both were teetotallers, and both loved their family.”

Promoting The Journey before its premiere, Mr Hamm said it should be instructive to longtime enemies in other regions of the world that peace is possible.

Mr Hamm said some audiences found it hard to believe that “both these men were Christian” and that Mr McGuinness and Rev Paisley “hated each other more than any Jew could hate any Palestinian,

more than any Hindu could hate a Muslim”, yet they found the way to peace.

Even though the St Andrews Agreement was brokered 11 years ago, “no one seems to be rising through the ranks” to succeed either man on needed peace initiatives around the globe. Rev Paisley died in 2014, and Mr McGuinness died on March 21.

“Politicians can take the lead on this,” Mr Hamm said, but it need not be politicians who get it started. “There are likely thousands of acts every day between Hindu and Muslim, between Jew and Arab, between Protestant and Catholic, pure human kindness between Shia and Sunni, and these things don’t get recognised the way Northern Ireland does.”

The Journey premiered in Northern Ireland earlier this year and got a rapturous reception. “Everyone was there, Sinn Féin, DUP, ex-IRA. They loved it. They lived it,” Mr Hamm said.

Of course, timing is everything.

Talks of a coalition by Theresa May’s government and the DUP, and Brexit from the European Union, remain in a state of suspended animation.

The Brexit situation is sticky, because Northern Ireland voted to stay in the EU. In a worst-case scenario, a wall could be erected between Northern Ireland and the independent Republic of Ireland to its south. “The last thing anybody wants is a wall,” Mr Hamm declared.—CNS

What Mother Teresa’s sari stripes mean Continued from page 1 In an explanation of the meaning of the saris on the Missionaries of Charity website, the late Sr Gertrude, the second nun to join after their foundation, reflected on the symbolism of the design and how it came about.

When she joined Mother Teresa in 1949, “I saw her in her white sari with three blue borders. And what a shock it was for me— Mother Teresa, a Loreto nun, my headmistress, was now dressed like a poor Bengali woman in a simple white cotton sari with three blue borders!” she said.

The shops where the nuns bought their first habits sold the white sari with either red, green or blue borders, and “Mother selected the blue border, for we associate the colour blue with Mother Mary.

It stands for purity.”

Women who swept the streets used to wear a similar kind of sari, she said. “So Mother adopted a re-

ligious dress that was both symbolic and practical—it not only helped to identify ourselves with the poor, but was also suitable to Calcutta’s searing climate.”

As the order began to grow, it became hard to get them in large numbers.

Because of this, when the sisters in 1958 started the Gandhiji Prem Niwas project for leprosy patients, they noticed that many were out of work, and so bought looms and began paying the lepers to weave the saris for the order.

The patients continue to work under strict medical supervision, and are paid by the sisters, who provide them with food, clothing, and medical care.

Novices who join the order wear plain white saris with no stripes. Only after four years of formation, when they are ready to take their vows, do they receive the sari with the blue stripes. Each sister has only three saris.—CNA

INTERNATIONAL

Pope approves new path to sainthood

By CAROl GlATz

P

OPE Francis has approved a fourth pathway to possible sainthood— giving one’s life in a heroic act of loving service to others.

In a new apostolic letter, the pope approved new norms allowing for candidates to be considered for sainthood because of the heroic way they freely risked their lives and died prematurely because of “an extreme act of charity”.

The document, given “motu proprio” (on his own initiative) went into effect with the title Maiorem hac dilectionem, which comes from the Gospel according to St John 15:13: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

Archbishop Marcello Bartolucci, secretary of the Vatican Congregation for Saints’ Causes, said the addition is meant “to promote heroic Christian testimony, that has been up to now without a specific process, precisely because it did not completely fit within the case of martyrdom or heroic virtues”.

For centuries, consideration for the sainthood process required that a Servant of God heroically lived a life of Christian virtues or had been martyred for the faith. The third, less common way, is called an equivalent or equipollent canonisation: when there is evi-

dence of strong devotion among the faithful to a holy man or woman, the pope can waive a lengthy formal canonical investigation and can authorise their veneration as saints.

While these three roads to sainthood remain unchanged, they were not adequate “for interpreting all possible cases” of holiness, the archbishop wrote in the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.

According to the apostolic letter, any causes for beatification according to the new pathway of “offering of life” would have to meet the following criteria: • Free and willing offer of one’s life and a heroic acceptance, out of love, of a certain and early death; the heroic act of charity and the premature death are connected.

• Evidence of having lived out the Christian virtues—at least in an ordinary, and not necessarily heroic, way— before having offered one’s life to others and until one’s death.

• Evidence of a reputation for holiness, at least after death.

• A miracle attributed to the candidate’s intercession is needed for beatification.

Archbishop Bartolucci wrote that the new norms arise from the sainthood congregation wanting to look into the question of whether men and women

who, “inspired by Christ’s example, freely and willingly offered and sacrificed their life” for others “in a supreme act of charity, which was the direct cause of death”, were worthy of beatification. For example, throughout history there have been Christians who willingly put themselves at risk and died of infection or disease because of aiding and serving others, he wrote.

Pope Francis approved the congregation carrying out an in-depth study of the new proposal in early 2014, the archbishop wrote.

After extensive input, discussion and the work of experts, the cardinal and bishop members of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes approved in 2016 “a new pathway for beatification of those who offered their lives with explicit and recognised Christian” reasons.

Archbishop Bartolucci wrote that the new provisions do nothing to alter Church doctrine concerning Christian holiness leading to sainthood and the traditional procedure for beatification.

Rather, the addition offers an enrichment, he wrote, with “new horizons and opportunities for the edification of the people of God, who, in their saints, see the face of Christ, the presence of God in history and the exemplary implementation of the Gospel”.—CNS

Ex-Man United player ordained A FORMER Manchester United player has been ordained a priest of the Order of Preachers, or Dominicans.

Fr Philip Mulryne, 39, was ordained

by Archbishop Joseph Di Noia, an assistant secretary at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, at Dublin’s St Saviour’s priory.

As a football professional, the future priest represented Northern Ireland in 27 matches between 1997 and 2007. In his career he played for Manchester United, where he came through the youth, before joining Norwich City.

“In a real sense, your experience as an athlete has helped to prepare you for this moment: you have known the meaning of working hard to attain a goal, and now the goal is Christ,” Archbishop Di Noia said at the ordination Mass.

As a Dominican, the new priest has professed vows of chastity, poverty and obedience.

Fr Mulryne is now joining the chaplaincy at Newbridge College in County Kildare.

He said his first Mass at his home parish of St Oliver Plunkett church in the Lenadoon area of Belfast—the parish on whose football team he played when Manchester United scouts discovered him.

Former Manchester United player Fr Philip Mulryne OP during his ordination Mass in Dublin. (Photo: Irish Dominicans) After suffering major injuries in 2008, he began to question how he would spend his days after his 2009 retirement at the age of 31.

He first became engaged in charitable work and helped the homeless on a weekly basis.

Bishop Noel Treanor of Down and Connor became influential in his life and later invited him to enter the sem-

inary. Fr Mulryne first entered the diocesan seminary at St Malachy’s in Belfast.

He began studies at the Irish Pontifical College in Rome in 2009, then entered the Dominican novitiate in Cork in 2012.

On October 30, 2016, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin ordained him a deacon in Belfast.—CNA

Pope: Catechesis is a vocation, not a job

By JUNNO AROCHO EsTEVEs

C

ATECHISTS are called to live their mission as a service, by preaching the Gospel through concrete actions rather than treating it as just a job, Pope Francis said.

Like St Francis of Assisi who preached through his deeds, the “vocation and task of the catechist” is found when “we visit the poor, helping children and giving food to the poor”, the pope told participants of a conference on catechesis in his native Argentina.

“In fact, to be a catechist is a vocation of service in the Church; what has been received as a gift from God must in turn be transmitted,” he said in the message published by the Vatican.

The message was addressed to Archbishop Ramon Dus of Resistencia, president of the Argentine bishops’ commission on catechesis and biblical ministry.

The commission sponsored the in-

ternational symposium on catechesis taking place in the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina in Buenos Aires.

In his letter, the pope said that for catechists to effectively preach the Gospel, they must “constantly return to that first announcement or kerygma, which is the gift that changed their lives.”

Kerygma a Greek word that means “preaching of the Gospel”, must “resonate again and again in Christian life, and even more so on those called to announce and teach the faith,” the pope said.

“This announcement must accompany the faith already present in the religiosity of our people,” the pope said.

In doing so, the gift of faith can be nourished so that “actions and words reflect the grace of being disciples of Jesus”.

A catechist, he continued, does not

“start from his or her own ideas and tastes” but rather “walks from and with Christ”.

“The more we make Jesus the centre of our life, the more he makes us come out of ourselves, de-centres us and makes us close to others,” the pope said.

Pope Francis also said that catechists must also be “creative” and look for different ways to proclaim Christ and transmit the faith, like Jesus, who “adapted himself to the people in front of him to make them closer to God’s love”.

Adapting to others, he added, does not change the message “because God does not change; instead, he renews all things in him”.

“In the creative quest to make Jesus known, we should not be afraid because he precedes us in this task. He is already in the people of today, and there he is waiting for us,” the pope said.—CNS

The southern Cross, July 19 to July 25, 2017

5

Anisa Gourate and her son Muhammad on their farm near Jijiga, Ethiopia. With support from the Catholic Organisation for Development and Peace, the Gourate family has a livelihood that will support their healthy young family.

Canada and other donor nations are proposing legal abortion in African nations as part of their overseas development aid programmes—a policy that has been criticised by the Canadian bishops for equating women’s rights with a right to abortion.

Uju Ekeocha, the founder of Culture of life Africa, a UKbased pro-life group, has said that abortion “is against the will of the people” and “a lot of Western countries, in a spirit of cultural supremacy, are trying to impose abortion in this way.

What Africans want more than anything is for women to give birth safely”. (Photo: Michael swan, Catholic Register/CNs)

6

The southern Cross, July 19 to July 25, 2017

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

This is the woman my Mary is A

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

To see, judge and act

I

N some circles, the term “social justice warrior” is being applied as a derogative term for people who campaign for the welfare of the disempowered and for the protection of the environment.

For Catholics, being called a social justice warrior must be considered a badge of honour. Indeed, successive popes—certainly all since Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum (On Capital and Labour)—have advocated for social justice.

Of course, the Church’s engagement for the poor draws from the very source: the Gospel.

Jesus never ceased to respond to the needs of the poor. We witness this in the feedings of the hungry multitudes, in the miracles worked for the vulnerable (think, for example, of the widow in Nain), in the overturning of the tables in the temple which was partly a strike against the exploitation of the poor.

Jesus was a “social justice warrior”. We are called to emulate him.

On July 24 we will mark the 50th anniversary of the death of a considerably influential social justice warrior, Belgian Cardinal Joseph Cardijn.

Cardijn influenced the Catholic Church’s contribution to the anti-apartheid struggle in the 1960s and beyond through the Young Catholic Workers (YCW) movement which he had founded in Belgium in 1919.

Archbishop Denis Hurley was a great admirer of Cardinal Cardijn—whom he called “a religious educational genius”—having been introduced to YCW’s work as a seminarian in Rome in the 1930s. As archbishop of Durban, Hurley was instrumental in establishing the movement in South Africa.

Many Catholic activists, and other Christians, engaged in the struggle through YCW. Hurley saw a genuine Christian response to injustice in the “See, Judge, Act” method advocated by Cardinal Cardijn and YCW. The first stage, “to see”, calls on us to observe and experience the lived reality of people and communities, then examining and defining the nature and causes of their struggles.

The second stage, “to judge”, requires a social analysis of the situation accompanied by a theological reflection—drawing from Scripture and Catholic Social

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.

Teachings in particular—to make an informed judgment about it.

The third stage, “to act”, concerns the planning and implementation of actions aimed at transforming the social structures that contribute to suffering and injustice.

This approach is a useful tool in broad arenas of struggles, but it also has application in smaller contexts: in parishes or families, and even in inter-personal relationships.

The method was explicitly endorsed by Pope John XXIII, who in his 1961 encyclical Mater et Magistra proposed it as the ideal way to read and respond to the signs of the times.

Pope Francis clearly draws inspiration from the See, Judge, Act methodology—perhaps not surprisingly, since it was especially influential in the South American Church, even at episcopal levels.

Where his two predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, placed a higher emphasis on personal sin—albeit not without forcefully criticising the social and economic structures that cause poverty, suffering, war and so on—Pope Francis shines a particular light on areas of social justice as a way of witnessing Christ to the world.

While YCW is still active in 51 countries around the world, in South Africa it fizzled out. Attempts to create interest in reviving it have been met with muted enthusiasm. And yet, our country today needs just such a movement to harness the youth’s idealism, energy, courage and creativity in addressing social injustice.

Our history shows how much can be accomplished by a movement such as YCW. A concrete example: its intervention helped facilitate the first mass strike by black workers, in Durban in 1973.

To rejuvenate a youth movement dedicated to social justice requires institutional will. The impetus will need to come from committed priests, and they would need to be backed by the bishops, individually in their dioceses and collectively in conference.

It would ideally complement and cooperate with Justice & Peace.

It would be a fitting tribute to Cardinal Cardijn, in the year of the 50th anniversary of his death, to initiate the revival of YCW in South Africa now. Let the young Catholic “social justice warriors” unite.

T a Mass this month Fr Emmanuel Dim SMA of Vereeniging asked: “Who is Mary to you?”, wanting us, the congregation, to answer this question. A handful of us gave different answers.

I did not raise my hand, not because I didn’t have an answer but because I couldn’t give a simple one-word answer. I have always imagined Mary as that woman whose “anticipated exciting wedding was not meant to be”—and as a result I have a lot to say about who Mary is to me.

I have seen men proposing marriage to their “one and only”. Then follows a lot of excitement where the bride-to-be prepares for the big day, the “perfect wedding”. She chooses a theme, a wedding gown, bridesmaids, the honeymoon, and invites guests to share the moment.

The parents also look forward to the day when they will show off, and proudly take their beloved daughter or son down that aisle.

Social justice calls on us to question

T

HE description of the downstream community not questioning why bodies kept being washed up on its shores in the article by Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI (June 28) fits all the parishes I have belonged to. The priest and congregation rarely discussed issues of social justice.

It will therefore not be surprising to find that some parishioners are practising social injustices, for example, tax evasion, and therefore the government is struggling to provide such things as good education.

The government is doing some things right. For example, the minister of basic education is introducing a three-stream system to produce graduates with more appropriate qualifications for the job market.

But there is no need to despair.

We can ask Our Lady of Fatima for help. I believe that the miracle of the sun was shown to us as proof of her power to change the human heart. That is why the establishment of a new Marian shrine in the Johannesburg area is so important.

Michael Phillips, Sedgefield

Who killed Jesus?

P

ATRICK Dacey’s letter (June 28) ponders whether Jesus was killed illegally. St Peter would have had no problem with the question, as his complaint was only that “You killed him” (Acts 2:23). But my question is: “Did they?”

John says: “and bowing his head he gave up his spirit” (19:30). Luke says: “He said, ‘Father, into your

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What an electrifying moment!

Even more exciting if the marrying couple come from a prominent family, say, a royal family.

Mary was “a girl promised in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was a descendant of King David”.

I have seen the British royals getting married. Remember the wedding of Prince William and Katherine Middleton? It was indeed a splendid celebration, with dignified guests of exceptional credentials.

Surely Joseph and Mary’s wedding should have been of the same standard? And the bride, of course, was supposed to be a virgin. Like any other girl, I believe Mary was busy preparing for her wedding to Prince Joseph.

She is likely to have been carefully watching her diet so she could fit easily into her wedding gown.

Then…boom! Mary fell pregnant while preparing for her big day.

What will she tell her parents and her fiancé? What will Joseph say to hands I commend my spirit’.”

Matthew says: “But Jesus...yielded up his spirit” (27:50). And Mark says: “But Jesus...breathed his last” (15:36).

All four evangelists indicate that Jesus was playing an active role at the moment of his death. He did not die simply because he had been killed in terms of an execution order, or because his strength and vitality finally deserted him.

Rather, it seems to me that he was ordered and/or permitted by his Father to die, since everything that had to be done, in terms of divine requirements, had now been done.

Thus Jesus died because he and his Father had decided from eternity that he should die. And that that was the exact moment for him to do so.

I don’t know why St Peter wrote just, “You killed him”? Surely a creature has no power to kill his infinitely powerful creator?

If you or any of your readers have comments, I would be most interested to read them.

Chris Shelmerdine, Bristol, England 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

his parents? What will the families say to the friends who have already been invited? The whole town is going to know. What a disgrace to fall pregnant before marriage!

I cannot imagine the depths of disappointment Mary felt when realising that the wedding of her dreams was not meant to be. But Mary knew better than arguing with God. Then she found something to soothe her heart.

She said: “I am the Lord’s servant; may it happen to me as you said.” Upon this acceptance, Mary felt strong and ready to face the world and she said: “From now on all people will call me happy, because of the great things the Mighty has done for me.”

There was no more wedding for Mary. No more honeymoon. However, she took comfort in knowing that her plans were not God’s plans.

She was just the Lord’s servant and God knew that her wedding was not meant to be—because he had prepared greater things for her.

That is my Mary.

Serialong Lebasa, Vereeniging

Madeirans in CT

I

AM doing research on Madeiran immigration to Cape Town from the 1900s to the 1970s and need more information on this.

The information could include reasons for immigrating to Cape Town; immigration documentation; the immigrant family in Cape Town, with special emphasis on the role and experiences of women in this regard, and the extent to which the Madeiran cultural and religious identity has been maintained from one generation to the next.

Also, I’d be grateful to interview first/second/third-generation Madeirans living in Cape Town.

My contact details are 084 6645 323 and michael2014@mweb.co.za Michael McEvoy, Cape Town

Gifts of the Spirit

F

OR me, my fondest memory of joining the Charismatic Renewal movement was the fact that my wife and I learnt that we were about to have a fourth child, another boy.

In addition to receiving many gifts of the Spirit, my wife and I experienced great peace and love in our marriage, at a time when we were going through a rocky period.

I remember going for a walk near Wemmer Pan and experiencing a joy and peace I’d never known before.

Also, before this, I was rather stiff about singing “full out” at Mass, and now I had a big voice, and still often have to lead the congregation.

In the Spirit, there is more, there is so much more. May we all respond to his grace.

John Lee, Johannesburg

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PERSPECTIVES

My answer to an atheist D URING the recent Knysna fire disaster, Daily Maverick columnist Ivo Vegter wrote a piece titled, “Knysna: When Prayer And Praise Get In Your Face”.

The article was complementary of the work the Church and other religious institutions did and do to relieve the victims of the disasters. But it was scathing, of the Christian behaviour in particular, which at the time clogged the social media groups—designed to assist rescue workers—with endless prayers and comments and praises of God’s goodness.

“Why,” Mr Vegter demanded to know, “shouldn’t one conclude that a god who lets six people, including a three-year-old child, burn to death, is either evil or does not exist? Why would a benevolent god permit the destruction of hundreds of houses, in both poor townships and rich suburbs, leaving thousands homeless? If this is the god you believe in, your god is capricious and cruel.”

Mr Vegter is not interested in your prayers for him, or your “pat answers” and assurances about “some mysterious plan which we cannot understand and is never revealed”, nor the eventual triumph of goodness over evil in the next life.

He attacked another strawman: “Or God is testing us, because, well, that’s just what a bored god does: cause us harm and dare us to stop loving him. We’re just supposed to trust blindly that this god isn’t as evil as he appears to be.”

St Augustine (354-430) recognised that people’s understanding of evil leads them astray against the nature of goodness: “Evil has no positive nature, but the loss of good has received the name evil,” he said “All which is corrupted is deprived of good.”

According to him, just as a shadow appears where light is blocked, so does evil come when goodness is blocked.

The conclusions of this great African theologian and saint have been argued ever since.

Some theologians, like the German

Lutheran Friedrich Schleiermacher, (17681834), objected to the notion that God gave good creatures the freedom—what St Augustine called “free will”—to also decide to do bad things.

If a being is perfect in its goodness, the argument goes—not too dissimilar to Mr Vegter—then the creature would never sin, even if it were free to do so. Evil would then have to create itself ex nihilo—out of nothing—which is ridiculous.

B

ut this objection confuses moral perfection with immutability. A perfect vase can be broken in the same manner that an innocent nature can be corrupted.

Allowing the possibility for the pure nature of created goodness to be corrupted is the cherry on top of the homo sapien creature, because it affords it opportunity to cooperate towards its own perfection.

If I correctly understand Mr Vegter— leaving aside his professed atheism—his argument is that the nature of God must be evil, because only evil could create evil.

And God has no excuse for there to be evil because it should be possible for an omniscient power to give creatures power to make choices that preclude evil (and presumably to steer nature into, not causing destruction).

“Our virtues are dependent on moral choices, which is the gift of plenitude in humans,” writes Mphuthumi Ntabeni.

Mphuthumi Ntabeni

The Public square

Christian theologians and philosophers have answered this point by what they call plenitude. God is not interested in half measures when it comes to homo sapiens and gives the greatest possible freedom of choice.

What Mr Vegter, and those who deploy his line of reasoning, do not seem to understand is that without plenitude humans would be unable to do all the things he admires in them, especially during that tragic week of the Knysna fire: courage, generosity, empathy, mercy, heroism, perseverance, faithfulness, self-control and so on.

These are virtues and elements of character that are dependent on moral choices, which is the gift of plenitude in humans.

God wants this, and more, from human creatures—not that they be mere creatures of service, but friends and companions in service of Love.

Lastly, if Mr Vegter is genuine in his atheism—in the tradition of the philosopher John Locke, not today’s postmodern commercialised lot—he would not judge us Christians by the utterings of misguided fundamentalists who have more in common with the superstitious than with mainline Christianity. He would listens carefully to what we profess as our creed, and notice that we begin each sentence with the words “I believe...”—not “I know”.

Then people like Mr Vegter would understand that ours is an act of faith, according to the revelation teachings of Yeshua, the Christ. And that we constantly act to transform the language of our belief to match the authentic scientific discoveries (another form of revelation) in every age.

Perhaps, then, these people understand why the gates of hell will never prevail upon this Rock.

Flaunting our bodies through dress Nthabiseng I Maphisa HAD the misfortune a while back of watching a local radio station’s awards’ show. I say misfortune because I was appalled by the dress of the female audience. As long as their “bits” were covered, it apparently was okay to show everything else.

I must admit: in my past life I was the wearer of short shorts. They were ripped denim cut-outs and I adored them. My figure turned heads and I was proud that it could.

There is an unspoken power in dressing sexy. You receive attention, and attention is addictive. Your confidence becomes dependent on knowing that you can “stop traffic”.

In my hope of finding a spouse I have learned that I must become more modest.

Not because my body is some dangerous weapon to be locked away for eternity, but because dressing in that way prevents a man from seeing Christ within me.

But going from miniskirts to long dresses was a challenge and an assault on my fluffed-up ego. I began to worry that no one would find me attractive or that people would think I was old or insecure.

Modesty requires bucket-loads of humility and love of neighbour.

The temptation to walk into a shop and buy the most figure-hugging, cleavage-bearing dress is hard for me to fight. I know there’s nothing wrong with wearing clothes that are flattering but I seem to have missed the memo on the difference between flattering and cycle-shorts tight.

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Pop Culture Catholic

The way we dress can prevent others seeing Christ in us, writes Nthabiseng Maphisa.

Jeans are the worst. In the past I always went for the lowest of low-rise skinnies.

This would be alright under normal circumstances had I not always decided to wear them with ‘90s style crop tops so that my fleshy midriff could be seen by the world.

Just sitting down in those jeans was a challenge. There’s an art to wearing tight, low-rise skinny jeans and yanking them up while getting your bottom to the seat.

W

hy do women feel the need to bare all in order to feel confident? What do we do with our desire to be captivating?

Women are beautiful creatures, but how do we let that beauty be seen with-

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out compromising our faith in the process?

Our bodies have great power. They have nurtured pharaohs, kings, queens, dukes, duchesses, knights, civil rights activists, Olympic athletes, corporate CEOs and Hollywood actors. Most importantly, though: It was through the body of a woman that God chose to bring Jesus into the world. The way we dress should point towards that.

I have mentioned before how much I am looking forward to the conference led in September by Christopher West, a Catholic speaker on life, love and sexuality from the Theology of The Body Institute near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Through his knowledge of Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, I believe he can help women see and understand the beauty of their bodies.

Our bodies do not always receive the dignity that they deserve, through the mistakes of others or ourselves. The conference in September will help women understand that God’s grace can still work within them. n For more information on the conference visit www.tobsa.co.za or call 078 584-0886.

The southern Cross, July 19 to July 25, 2017

Michael Shackleton

Open Door

How we can understand original sin Original sin is the sin of disobedience to God committed by Adam, yet we his descendants are tainted by that sin: “By one man’s disobedience many were made sinners” (Romans 5:19). Our first parents were guilty of sin but we are not guilty of the same sin. How can we therefore be called sinners?

Simone

W

E know from reading Genesis that God created man and woman, blessed them and told them to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.

With this blessing they lived in holiness and happiness. Their lives were perfectly in harmony with one another, with nature and with their creator.

Imagine if they had never sinned. We cannot really comprehend how beautiful and fulfilling their lives would have been and how their children would have shared in this magnanimous blessing.

We don’t need much imagination to know how things turned out. Original sin destroyed that perfect balance blessed by God between creator and creation, and this is the situation we experience in our daily lives.

We have not committed the sin that was personal to Adam and Eve. But we have been born into a condition of being deprived of the holiness and righteousness they were first blessed with.

This deprivation means that our human nature is wounded and made weak. We have lost our compass and easily stray and collapse into all sorts of errors and sins and, eventually, death.

The power of sin is seen in everyday relationships around us and wherever there is social activity.

Basic to the whole doctrine of original sin is the need for the world to be redeemed from it by the life, death and resurrection of Christ.

Reading the whole of Romans 5 is a help in understanding the mystery of original sin and Christ’s essential role in redeeming the children of Adam from it. St Paul emphasises that Christ died for the “ungodly”, all of us deprived of our first parents’ blessed lives.

In redeeming the world Christ brings us forgiveness and the presence of his grace to transform us in the Holy Spirit. This means that, yes, we feel the effects of sin, but we also are embraced by his forgiving love. This cannot be doubted because Jesus Christ is one of us, true man as he is true God. Christ is forever a part of us.

The world is still marked by sin and its effects but the power of Christ’s love exercised through his Church and its members demonstrates that sin and evil have not conquered human nature or separated us from God, one another and the blessings of creation.

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

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

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The southern Cross, July 19 to July 25, 2017

COMMUNITY st Joseph’s parish in Uitenhage, Port Elizabeth diocese, celebrated the First Communion of six young people. (Back from left) Monique, Amy and Kay. (Front) parish priest Fr Anthony Padua, Chloe, Jamie and Monrique.

Jameson Junior and High schools in springs, Gauteng, welcomed the travelling statue of Our lady of Fatima to celebrate her centenary. Pupils sang hymns of praise, recited the rosary and let off balloons. They also called upon Our lady of Fatima for her continuous guidance and her intercession for their studies and future careers.

The south African National Blood service visited De la salle Holy Cross College in Victory Park, Johannesburg, as part of their Blood Drive. Many of the college’s learners, teachers and management staff donated blood in response to the service’s urgent call. learners challenged other Catholic schools to do the same.

The East london deanery hosted a youth sports day.

Mass at st Patrick’s church was led by the young people, in both English and isiXhosa, after which everyone walked to Hamilton’s sports club. Older youngsters played soccer and netball, while young children were entertained with face-painting, a jumping castle and hoola hoops.

Food stalls provided boerewors rolls and potjiekos, as well as cooldrinks and ice creams.

Send your photos to

pics@scross.co.za Over 80 young people from different faith denominations gathered at Ha Phororo youth retreat centre at Hartbeespoort Dam, North West province, for an all-night vigil, prayer, sharing of testimonies and guest speakers.

(Photo from Fr Thabang Nkadimeng OMI)

The girls’ football team of st Dominic’s Priory in Port Elizabeth finished second in the annual sA schools High soccer Tournament was held in East london, losing in the final to Rand Girls High after penalties, following a 0-0 draw.

Along the way they beat selly Park Convent from Rustenburg, Milnerton High from Cape Town and Kimberley Girls High. The Priory’s boys team reached the semi-final. Three of the girls’ team were selected for the tournament’s All-star XI: Ashika Coollen, Aphiwe siyo and captain Alexia Potgieter.

PRICE CHECK

Mass was celebrated at Emmanuel church in sebokeng, Gauteng, with Franciscan students Andile Mzobe, Thabiso Kapa, Vuyisile Vilakazi and Katleho lebitsa, and Bongane Thunza, a diocesan student, all of whom are doing their pastoral experience with parish priest Fr simphiwe Kheswa OFM.

For the price of one issue of The Southern Cross you get 0,6 litre of petrol The

S outhern C ross www.scross.co.za

July 12 to July 18, 2017

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How to proclaim Christ today

A pilgrim visit to St Teresa of Avila

Page 9

Page 10

After 13-year struggle, church gets ready for its first Mass

BY ERIN CARELSE

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clearing the way for it to take occupation.

ORK is finally underway to prepare a Durban church building for its inaugural Mass after 13 years of struggle and lawsuits.

The Catholic community of Ezimangweni, Durban archdiocese, heaved a sigh of relief in May when the Durban High Court granted an interdict against the unlawful occupiers of the Church property dedicated to Our Lady.

The story goes back to 1998 when Fr Albert Sithole of Matikwe led the drive to buy a site for a new church to serve the poor who could not afford transport to the parish church.

Fr Sithole and his team eventually identified a site with a vacant shop that was central, near Dube Village Mall.

A deal to purchase the property was agreed with the rightful owners, and all documentation was signed to confirm the Catholic Archdiocese of Durban as bearer of the site.

On arriving at the property to bless it in late 2003, before it could be used as a church, Fr Sithole was met by a group of people, led

by Clement Ngcobo, who claimed he represented the Inanda Development Trust and prevented the Catholic community to take possession of the premises.

Mr Ngcobo claimed that the property was purchased illegally, and that it was left under the administration of the Inanda Development Trust.

The legal process on the matter began in 2011, but was intermittently suspended.

In February 2015, Fr Francis Cibane succeeded Fr Sithole as parish priest and took over the matter. Around September 2015, the attorneys were contacted to speed up the process.

Following an exchange of affidavits, it was confirmed that Mr Ngcobo was never a member of the Inanda Development Trust.

Early this year the Church’s lawyers received a withdrawal notice served by the responding attyorneys, and on April 25 an interdict was granted in the Church’s favour,

Throughout the investigation, special prayer drives were launched, asking for the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima, with assisted intentions from Portugal by José Camara, the donor of more than a thousand statues of Our Lady of Fatima to parishes worldwide.

Fr Cibane noted that the case came to a close around the 100th anniversary of the first apparition at Fatima.

“We had been asking Our Lady of the Rosary to intercede for us, so it is only fitting that I approached Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, as archbishop of Durban, to name this church Our Lady of the Rosary,” he said.

The priest has finally moved into the premises and is busy converting it for Catholic liturgy.

Cardinal Napier told The Southern Cross that the Catholic Church can learn a number of lessons from this case.

“When the Church buys a property, it must take possession of it at once, and be seen to be doing so by fencing it in and beginning to use it as soon as possible, even if on a nominal scale only,” the cardinal said “Parish communities as a whole must stand up to bullies in the community. Otherwise, these people are emboldened to act as if they control everyone in every aspect of community life, including religious.

“The Church must not be slow to use the law to assert or claim its rights especially when these rights benefit the poor and needy,” he said.

“This site was bought to bring Church services closer to the poor who could not afford transport to the parish every Sunday. In this regard it is good to remember that the poor and needy, more than anyone else, know they need God, and so feel the need to encounter him in church regularly,” Cardinal Napier said. “And what’s more, they want their children to grow up close to God and his Church.”

Four young Catholics who are volunteering their time and skills to work on the Mini World Youth Day in Durban in December. (From left) Safron Dougall of St Francis Xavier parish in the Bluff, Melita Vurden of Holy Trinity parish in Musgrave Road, Tevin Jasson of Holy Family parish in Newlands East, Thandeka Msweli of KwaKrisho Umsindisi parish in KwaMashu. See page 3 for more. (Photo: Conference Company)

Messi was not ‘denied’ a Catholic wedding

BY DAVID RAMOS

C

ONTRARY to media reports, the Church did not deny a sacramental Catholic wedding to Argentinian football star Lionel Messi and his girlfriend, Antonella Roccuzzo.

Rather, the local archbishop forbade a Catholic wedding for the couple be celebrated in a casino chapel, as per Church norms.

Some reports about the couple’s wedding had claimed: “Archbishop forbids Messi and Antonella to marry in the Church”.

Fr Rubén Bellante, spokesman for the Argentinian archdiocese of Rosario, said that “neither the family of Messi nor the bride asked for a place in any parish in the city of Rosario, nor in the cathedral.”

He emphasised: “At no time did Archbishop Eduardo Eliseo Martín deny the possibility of the sacrament of marriage,” he said.

Messi, star of Barcelona FC and one of the best players in the world, had a civil marriage ceremony at the City Centre Casino Complex, south of Rosario, with 260 guests, including football stars and celebrities.

S o u t h e r n C r o s s Pilgrimage

Messi met Antonella when he was just fiveyears old, but officially their relationship started in 2008. The couple has two children: Thiago, 4, and Mateo, 1.

Archbishop Martín intervened in the Messi wedding only when he was made aware that the couple was planning to construct a chapel in a casino and to have a priest facilitate the ceremony, Fr Bellante said.

The archbishop banned the priest from facilitating a marriage at the casino. This is in keeping with Church tradition.

Fr Bellante added that Archbishop Martín suggested that a sacramental marriage for Messi may have been possible in a private house, if such a thing had been requested and were necessary for reasons such as security.

However, Messi himself never made requests to any parish in the archdiocese for a sacramental marriage, the priest said.

Fr Bellante added that Archbishop Martín “would be happy” to provide Messi with the sacrament of marriage if it were requested and held in an approved place. “The doors remain open.”—CNA

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EVANGELISATION

The southern Cross, July 19 to July 25, 2017

9

How to reach the ‘meh’ generation An expert in evangelisation has identified three areas that turn young people from the faith and offered answers to these. MARy REzAC sums up an inspiring talk by Bishop Robert Barron.

T

HE way we evangelise should grab the world by the shoulders and shake it out of its apathy, Bishop Robert Barron told a crowd of Catholic leaders this month.

Evangelisation is especially urgent as the “nones”—the number of the population who do not identify with a religion—continue to grow.

Bishop Barron, auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of Los Angeles and well-known evangeliser, spoke to a Catholic convocation in Orlando, Florida.

“We do have a fight on our hands, but the great saints of our Church have always loved a good fight, and we should too,” he said.

In a talk entitled “Equipping Evangelisers”, the bishop, who has more than 15 years of evangelising experience, said that there are three main challenges and three main opportunities that Catholic evangelists face today.

1. Scientism The culture’s embrace of “scientism”, or the philosophical belief that the only valuable knowledge is scientific knowledge, is one of the great challenges that evangelists face today, Bishop Barron said.

“Let me be clear: the Catholic Church has nothing against the sciences; the Church stands with the sciences at their best,” he said.

“What the Church opposes is ‘scientism’, or the reduction of all knowledge to the scientific form of knowledge.”

Actually, scientism as a philosophy is self-refuting, he noted.

“Scientism is not discoverable through the scientific method.

Where did you empirically verify and test through experimentation that only scientific knowledge is valuable? Scientism is a philosophical position and therefore self-re-

futing,” he said.

But it can be challenge for evangelisers, who are speaking to the world about God. “When we [as a culture] isolate ourselves from all references to the transcendent, we do damage to the human heart, we do damage to the human spirit,” he said.

2. The culture of ‘meh’ There’s a rampant apathy in today’s Western society, especially among young people, who have been formed not to embrace anything as objectively true, Bishop Barron said.

“If there is no objective truth, no objective value, what that produces is a culture of ‘meh’, or as the kids say, ‘whatever’,” Bishop Barron said.

A priest cracks a joke with young people. In a talk on But objective truths and values evangelising young Catholics today, evangelisation form a firm foundation that sends us on mission, he said, pointing to expert Bishop Robert Barron (right) identified obstaan example used by St John Henry cles to reaching young people, and by what means Newman, who said a river gets its these can be overcome. (Photos: CNs) energy and verve from its firm phy, embraced widely by young cial, the ‘banners and balloons foundation.

“Knock down the banks, and people, is that freedom defines Catholicism’, as I call it. We are a smart religion. When we don’t exwhat’s going to happen? That river identity, he noted.

“My freedom comes first, and press Catholicism in a smart way, is going to open up into a big, lazy then I determine essence, who I people fall away,” he said. lake. Placid, with no am, the meaning of In particular, the bishop urged energy, no purpose,” my life. It’s all based catechists, apologists and evangelBishop Barron said. young people on my freedom—my ists to equip themselves with a “Our society today sexuality, my gender, good grasp on one of the great aris like a big lazy lake, often don’t purpose of my life is guments for the existence of God. all of us floating indiYoung people often don’t have up to me,” he exvidually, tolerating have a robust all a robust understanding of God beplained. each other, not getBut to evangelise is yond a vague and irrelevant deity, ting in each other’s understanding to say that “your life is he noted. way—but without enHis favourite argument is based of God beyond not about you, your ergy, without purlife is not up to you”, on contingency—that existence pose.” a vague and flows from God, and everything on Bishop Barron said.

But evangelisation, “Remember the ec- the world gets its existence from the declaration of the good news of Jesus, is irrelevant deity. static expression of St him, because nothing created itPaul: it is no longer I self. the antithesis of this “The God that I’m talking about who live, but Christ apathy, he said.

“Once you’ve been grasped by who lives in me. When you’ve sustains the whole universe mothe power of God...you know been seized by the power of Jesus ment to moment, the way a singer where to go and you do it with en- Christ, your little ego-drama be- sustains a song. Continual creation—that’s the God the great ergy.” comes pretty unimportant.”

The bishop then presented three Church talks about, that we must 3. The culture of opportunities for evangelisation convey to our young people,” he self-determination based on the three transcendentals: said.

What was once a fringe philo- truth, goodness and beauty.

Opportunity 2: Goodness sophical idea known as “volunOpportunity 1: of radical Christians tarism”—which stemmed from An intelligent truth philosophers like Friedrich NietWhen the Christian life is emzsche and other recent existential“I hate dumbed-down Catholi- braced fully and radically, it’s goodists—is now mainstream thought cism,” Bishop Barron told the audi- ness stands out to the world, among the millennial generation, ence.

Bishop Barron said.

“What do I mean by that? It Bishop Barron said.

The best example of this in the The core belief of this philoso- puts a huge stress on the superfi- 20th century was Mother Teresa,

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who evangelised the world by her radical witness of goodness—caring for others indiscriminately, he said.

Throughout the history of the Church, he said, it was the “goodness and radicality of the Christian life that got the attention of the world”, through great saints like Benedict, Dominic and Francis.

“We need to recover what all these great figures found: this splendidly radical form of the Christian life. When it’s lived publicly, it evangelises,” he said.

Opportunity 3: Authentic beauty Perhaps the best opportunity from which to start evangelisation is with the authentic, objective beauty of the faith, Bishop Barron said.

And he’s not just talking about something subjectively satisfying like, say, a pizza, he said.

“The objectively valuable and beautiful is not like that, it’s something so intrinsically good and beautiful that it seizes us, it stops us in our tracks—something called aesthetic arrest,” he said.

It’s an easy place to start evangelising because it’s as simple as “show, don’t tell”.

“Just show people the beauty of Catholicism: show them cathedrals, show them the Sistine Chapel, show them Mother Teresa’s sisters at work. Don’t tell them what to think and how to behave; show the beauty of Catholicism, and that has an evangelical power,” he said.

“There’s nothing more beautiful than the dying and rising of Jesus Christ,” he said, and the apostles in the New Testament communicate this with a “grab-you-by-the-shoulders” urgency.

“These are people who have been seized by something so powerful and so overwhelming that they want to grab the world by the shoulders and tell them about it.

“We need to be filled with the same ‘grab-you-by-the-shoulders’ enthusiasm” about the beauty of our faith, he added.

“Yes we face obstacles, but the saints always loved a good fight, and we should love a good fight too, because we go forth with this great truth, goodness, and beauty of Jesus Christ,” he said.—CNA

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10

The southern Cross, July 19 to July 25, 2017

BOOK REVIEWS

A township priest in the struggle TOWNSHIP GOD: More Than Meets the Eyes, by Paddy Noonan OFM. Write-on Publishing, 2017.

244pp. R195 Reviewed by Mandla Zibi lthough it might at first appear so, this is not a book about liberation theology, nor is it one of those sentimental glorifications of the South African political struggle which litter the literary landscape.

This is a continuation of Fr Patrick Noonan’s witness account of the 1980s, one of the darkest periods of South African history, when a general insurrection which heralded the beginning of the end of apartheid broke out first in the Vaal Triangle and then spread countrywide.

The Franciscan was one of a few white Catholic priests ministering in the Vaal townships of Evaton,

A

Sebokeng and Sharpville.

The core of this tale began in his bestselling book They Are Burning the Churches, an explosive read that blew open the lid on the role of the churches in the township battles during the mass uprising.

There is a general paucity of good, popular but intellectually rigorous literature regarding this time, especially considering that this was the final reckoning between the dying apartheid state and the Mass Democratic Movement.

There are still many questions and issues to be explored around the particular role played by the Catholic Church in the besieged townships before, during and after the uprising.

That this is of great importance cannot be overemphasised as the author is at pains to stress the fact that the role of the Church was a

natural extension of Catholic Social Teaching as re-energised by Vatican II, whose real effect took 20 years to reach South Africa.

By all accounts the Catholic Church, as part of the South African Council of Churches collective and on its own, acquitted itself very well in the townships.

Fr Noonan’s approach is an eclectic mix of memoir, anecdote, diary, analysis, a bit of polemic; all rolled up into a passionate celebration of the good, the bad and the ugly of his time.

A

central motif in the book is the author’s struggle to reconcile his traditional Western notions of pastoral care with the new, unfamiliar and challenging situation, and so far from support and home.

This uncertainty was also made worse by the occupational dangers of operating in what was practi-

cally a war-zone. On top of his more than normal pastoral workload, Fr Noonan had to deal with the attentions of the security police which had clearly marked—and probably tried to smear him—as a “political priest”.

Add to that the shocking crime, the drug-abuse and general lawlessnesss of the townships, especially in the aftermath of the insurrection, and one can well imagine that Fr Noonan’s ministry was not easy.

Perhaps the moment of vindication came earlier during the elections for a democratic South Africa but in the book the poignant one occurs during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa: “I was in tears: the flags on cars, the laughter, the infectious mood in the townships, the decorated churches...it was breathtaking, inspiring and at times mystical,” Fr

Noonan writes, exclaiming: “And wasn’t it an answer to a prayer after all!” n Township God is available on www.writeonpublishing.co.za/ index.php/townshipgod or in bulk from frank@writeonpublishing.co.za

Gangster’s story of redemption an absorbing read THE INNOCENCE OF GUILT: A True South African Story, by Reggie Karam. Reach Publishers, 2016. 137pp. R200 Reviewed by Günther Simmermacher MEMBER of a prominent family in Johannesburg’s Lebanese community, Reggie Karam pulls no punches in his remarkable story of tragedy, remorse and redemption.

Karam never was one to pull punches. Growing up in Johannesburg’s Mayfair suburb, Karam and his family made liberal use of their fists to address problems.

Mayfair was a tough place in the 1950s, where Reggie’s story picks up after the harrowing opening chapter which recalls the murder of the author’s brother in 1976.

The local Afrikaners’ disdain for the Lebanese would often be reciprocated through the medium of violence. A reputation was made: Don’t mess with the Karams.

Among the tough Karam brothers—two of them were successful

A

boxers; one of them, Paul, the South African middleweight champion—Reggie is the only one to study. While studying accountancy he moonlights as a petty criminal and drug-user. It’s the beginning of an ever-escalating life of crime, violence and drug abuse.

Some of Karam’s anecdotes read like vignettes from mafia movies, such as when an unsuitable suitor for a younger sister is persuaded through a one-on-one fight to drop his pursuit. There are other entertaining stories—this book is by no means relentlessly depressing.

But the memoir’s focus is, of course, on the poisonous effects of a life of crime. How did Reggie, an educated young man and active footballer from a stable and devoutly Catholic family, turn into a gangster who would get to know the inside of jails?

Karam acknowledges his own stubborn vanity and misplaced loyalty to his partners in crime.

Specifically, he ascribes the vicious cycle he was caught up in to the manipulative influences of the

I

leader of his gang.

The story culminates in 1976 with the murder of his older brother Johnny, by people whom Reggie had brought into his brother’s life.

t is here that Reggie’s life changes. But a new struggle begins: that of finding healing from the trauma of the murder.

The shooter, Tanse Leisher, a fellow Maronite Catholic, received a (later commuted) death sentence for the crime. But there is anger that the man who Karam believes set up the killing went free.

At this point Fr Clayton Jackson, parish priest of Turffontein, enters the story. The priest counselled both the Karam and Leisher families, urging forgiveness, acceptance and reconciliation. This finds a moving expression when Reggie and Tanse meet by chance years later, after the latter’s release from jail.

Tragically, Fr Jackson, the priest who set in motion all of this healing, was himself murdered in 1981, in particularly brutal circumstances.

Reggie Karam rebuilt his life, with marriage and family, a career and a renewed commitment to his Catholic faith. The latter received a jumpstart through his participation in the Alpha course.

The Innocence of Guilt reads like a catharsis, but it is also an absorbing oral history, a snapshot of a particular place and time.

So it is right that the conversational tone of Karam’s prose has been retained. Nonetheless, more rigorous editing of the narrative might have added coherence to confusing timelines. There also might have been value in teasing out greater details to some potentially fascinating storylines that are mentioned in passing.

Reggie Karam has experienced more than his share of tragedy, from losing his father at 11 to the murder of his brother and other distressing deaths in the family. He clearly also bears the burdens of his own destructive past.

A strong family, good friends and his Catholic faith have saved Reggie Karam. In the final words of the book, he issues a simple but powerful vote of gratitude: “Thank you, mercy and forgiveness.” n The Innocence of Guilt is available from the author at jkaram@ telkomsa.net.

Late theologian’s poetry collection offers comfort THE WAY HOME: Poems for the Human Spirit, by Augustine Shutte. Kirkwood Press, 2017.

101pp. R120 Reviewed by Margaret Blackie HE South African theologian Augustine Shutte died just over a year ago. This short anthology of the poems he wrote in the last decade of his life has been compiled by his widow, Acilia Neale-Shutte, along with Patrick Giddy and Biddy Greene.

It is a treasure trove. The subtitle for the book, “Poems for the human spirit”, is a good indicator of what one might encounter in its pages.

T

The poems have been gathered in several themes, which is helpful to navigation.

I had the privilege of knowing Augustine. While I did not know him well, we had shared a few conversations about faith, which were times of authentic connection. In reading these poems I feel again the deep resonance which characterised those few meetings.

In these poems, Shutte shares thoughts on his own faith journey, both doubts and moments of beautiful encounter. There are poems on nature and cosmology, and others describing particular occasions.

The section entitled “Love

story” is particularly poignant and resounds with the depth of the love he shared with Acilia.

All the poems were written in the last years of his life, so they are tinged with a flavour of frailty, of illness, of death, and memories of childhood. Although I am far from this phase of life myself (presuming a fair life expectancy), I found myself frequently pausing and savouring, to allow the words to sink into my being, rather than just wash over me.

W

hat stays with me above all is the evidence that Shutte was a seeker. He sought God, he sought a sense of purpose, he sought love.

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Those who know something of Shutte’s life will know that it had its complexities. His poems speak of a depth of desire and a savouring of beauty. It is in feeling the resonance in my own way of seeking that I find solace in his words.

Reading this book, I am reminded of my gratitude for the connection I had with Augustine— but the gift of this publication surpasses that. Those who did not know him will find the voice of a fellow sojourner.

One of the things I seek, in this journey of faith, is the voices of others who speak a similar language. It offers a moment of reassurance and comfort. I’ll certainly return to these pages when I need such balm.

And I will do so not because Shutte’s path is my path, but because in these snapshots from his journey, I receive the courage to continue walking mine.

n The Way Home is available from kirkwood.antrim@gmail.com.

Book reviews galore

Do you enjoy book reviews? Visit our repository of book reviews on The Southern Cross’ website:

www.scross.co.za/category/reviews/books/

The southern Cross, July 19 to July 25, 2017

CLASSIFIEDS

Fr George Gallagher SDB

S

ALESIAN Father George Gallagher died peacefully in his room in Lansdowne, Cape Town, on July 6 at the age of 90.

Fr Gallagher was one of five children born to Mary and George Gallagher in Strabane, Northern Ireland.

Due to his father’s sudden death, he left school early to help supplement his family’s income with a job at the post office.

Among his many duties was to deliver telegrams on his bicycle in all parts of the town, and he was therefore well-known.

This was evident later when he celebrated Mass in the parish church after his ordination on July 3, 1960, and the town was decorated with flags, bunting and flowers for the occasion.

Fr Gallagher had been professed as a Salesian on September 8, 1951 in Burwash, England, and went on to complete his studies in philosophy and theology.

After his ordination, he worked as a teacher in various Salesian houses in England.

He came to Cape Town in 1969 to teach at Savio College, Lansdowne, and remained there

until it closed in 1976.

After a brief stint in England and Ireland, he returned to Cape Town. Apart from one year, 1996, in Gauteng, he was parish priest in Cape Town parishes: Westridge, Lansdowne, Hanover Park, Green Point and Strandfontein.

In 2006 he went to the Salesian Institute in Green Point and then retired to the newly opened Lawrence Henry Centre at Nazareth House.

This did not suit him and he

Word of the Week

Canon: An official statement and decree on a matter concerning church order and practice that is made by a pope or general council.

Monstrance: A silver or gold stand that contains a circular window surrounded by a sunburst of rays. Inside the circular window is placed a wafer which is the Eucharist.

Litany: A form of prayer in which a priest recites certain sentences and the congregation responds with a set of sentences.

Liturgical Calendar Year A – Weekdays Cycle Year 1 Sunday July 23, 16th Sunday of the Year Wisdom 12:13, 16-19, Psalms 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16, Romans 8:26-27, Matthew 13:24-43 Monday July 24, St Sharbel Makhlouf Exodus 14:5-18, Responsorial psalms Exodus 15:16, Matthew 12:38-42 Tuesday July 25, St James 2 Corinthians 4:7-15, Psalms 126, Matthew 20:2028 Wednesday July 26, Ss Joachim & Anne Exodus 16:1-5, 9-15, Psalms 78:18-19, 23-28, Matthew 13:1-9 Thursday July 27 Exodus 19:1-2, 9-11, 16-20, Responsorial psalms Daniel 3:52-56, Matthew 13:10-17 Friday July 28, St Victor Exodus 20:1-17, Psalms 19:8-11, Matthew 13:18-23 Saturday July 29, St Martha 1 John 4:7-16, Psalms 34:2-11, John 11:19-27 or Luke 10:38-42 Sunday July 30, 17th Sunday of the Year 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12, Psalms 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127130, Romans 8:28-30, Matthew 13:44-52

ss Anne and Joachim, parents of Mary

asked to transfer back to the community in Lansdowne, which he did in 2010. He remained there until his death.

Salesian Fr Edmund O’Neill described Fr Gallagher as a gifted man with a wonderful singing voice. Fr Gallagher was frequently invited to various convents and functions where he held the audience captive with his wide variety of songs.

“He had a wonderful memory, not only for songs but also for poetry, and would often recite endless verses to the amusement and joy of the community,” Fr O’Neill said.

“He spent more than half of his life serving the people of God in the several parishes run by the Salesians and he was much revered and loved in return,” he said.

Fr Gallagher is survived by his sister Annie in Australia, and several nieces and nephews.

He was scheduled to be buried from the church of Our Lady Help of Christians in Lansdowne and interred in the Salesian plot at Woltemade on July 18.

By Erin Carelse

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 768. ACROSS: 1 Word, 3 Preacher, 7 Demonic, 9 Crave, 10 Semblance, 12 Ground, 14 Russia, 16 Cathedral, 19 Alias, 20 Peddled, 21 Festered, 22 Acid. DOWN: 1 Weddings, 2 Ramps, 4 Recall, 5 Heavens, 6 Reed, 8 Nominates, 9 Conquered, 11 Marauded, 13 Orchids, 15 Temple, 17 Lilac, 18 Calf.

Your prayer to cut out and collect

Prayer to St Anne

Good St Anne, you were especially favoured by God to be the mother of the most holy Virgin Mary, the Mother of our Saviour. By your power with your most pure daughter and with her divine Son, kindly obtain for us the grace and the favour we now seek.

Please secure for us also forgiveness of our past sins, the strength to perform faithfully our daily duties and the help we need to persevere in the love of Jesus and Mary.

Amen.

Statue in the church of St Anne, Jerusalem

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IN MEMORIAM

DU PlEssIs—Dion.

31/05/1975-27/07/2007.

Dear Daddy, I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since I last had you by my side.

Even though so much time has passed, it feels like just yesterday we were watching Indiana Jones and playing cricket in the yard. I can never thank you enough for making me the person I am today. love you forever and miss you lots. Paige.

PERSONAL

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Avoid pro-abortion politicians.

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PRAYERS

PARENTS FOR CHILDREN—O Jesus, lover of children, bestow your most precious graces on those whom you have confided to our care. Increase in them faith, hope and charity. May your love lead them to solid piety, inspiring them with dread for sin, love of work and an ardent desire of worthily approaching your holy table. Preserve in them innocence and purity of heart; and if they should offend you, grant them the grace of a prompt and sincere repentance. From your tabernacle watch over them day and night; protect them in all their ways. Grant that they may acquire the knowledge that they need to embrace the state of life to which you have called them.

Grant us a sincere love, constant vigilance and generous devotedness towards them. Grant us all consolation on earth and eternal reward in heaven.

FATHER, you have given all peoples one common origin. It is your will that they be gathered together as one family in yourself. Fill the

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hearts of mankind with the fire of your love and with the desire to ensure justice for all. By sharing the good things you give us, may we secure an equality for all our brothers and sisters throughout the world. May there be an end to division, strife and war. May there be a dawning of a truly human society built on love and peace. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our lord.

Amen.

LORD, inspire those men and women who bear the titles “husband” and “wife”.

Help them to look to you, to themselves, to one another to rediscover the fullness and mystery they once felt in their union. let them be honest enough to ask: “Where have we been together and where are we going?” let them be brave enough to question: “How have we failed?” let each be foolhardy enough to say: “For me, we come first.”

Help them, together, to reexamine their commitment in the light of your love, willingly, openly, compassionately.

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the

17th Sunday: July 30 Readings: 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12, Psalm 119: 57, 72, 76-77, 127-130, Romans 8:28-30, Matthew 13:44-52

W

HAT are the things that really matter to you in life? That is the question next Sunday’s readings pose for us.

In the first reading, we are invited to admire Solomon for his response to God’s invitation to “ask for what I am to give you”.

Solomon refuses to “grab”, and instead recognises God’s generosity: “You have made your servant king in place of David my father; and I am just a youngster, and do not know how to go and come.”

Then comes his request: “Give your servant an attentive [literally “listening”] heart, to judge your people, to tell the difference between good and evil—for who is able to judge your people, great and glorious as they are?”

It turns out that Solomon has struck the right note, in stating what “really matters”, for: “The word was good in the Lord’s eyes, that Solomon asked for this thing.”

So God considers all the things that he might have asked for: “many days, riches, the life of your enemies, but understanding”, and tells him what he is going to get: “Look! I am giving you a wise and perceptive heart, like

S outher n C ross

What really matters to you? no one else, before or since.” We applaud, while Solomon purrs.

The responsorial psalm for the day is a slightly strange selection from the longest psalm in the book; and it shows no doubt at all about what really matters: “The Lord is my portion…the teaching of your lips is better for me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.”

And he asks that “your steadfast love may be my comfort…I love your commands more than finest gold”. Best of all, it seems, are God’s “decrees, more wonderful than fine gold, the revelation of your words sheds light, gives understanding to the simple”.

For Paul, in the second reading, endeavouring to explain to the Roman church why they have grounds for confidence in what God has done in Christ, the thing that really matters is God’s underlying purpose: “For those who love God, everything works for good, those who are called by God’s intention.”

Then he lists the sort of people they are, “whom God foreknew, and marked out as formed in the likeness of his Son, for the Son to be the first born among many brothers and

sisters”. This, for Paul, is what it is really about: “Those whom God marked out in advance, these are the ones whom God called, these are the ones he justified, these are the ones whom God glorified.”

So the question that really matters for us today is this: what is God’s plan for us? Try living with that, this week.

Then the Gospel picks up the theme afresh. It is the end of Jesus’ parable-discourse, with three further parables about what matters.

For Jesus, of course, all that matters is what he calls “God’s kingdom”.

The first parable is a slightly tongue-incheek story about someone who stumbles across a “treasure in a field”, and instead of trying to restore it to the owner, buries it, and then uses all his resources to buy the field, without troubling to reveal to the vendor what is actually going on.

The second one is the story of someone looking for The Perfect Pearl, and, once again, using all his resources to buy it.

Finally there is the story of the “dragnet”,

Understanding grace better T

where our confession rings hollow because it shows itself more as a badge of sophistication than as genuine sorrow for having strayed.

In neither case is there a true sense of grace. Piet Fransen, whose masterful book on grace served as a textbook in seminaries and theology schools for a generation, submits that neither the self-confident believer (who still secretly envies the pleasures of the amoral that he’s missing out on) nor the wayward person who converts but still feels grateful for his fling, has yet understood grace.

W

e understand grace only when we grasp existentially what’s inside the Father’s words to his older son in the parable of the prodigal son: “My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”

The older brother would not be bitter if he understood that everything his father owns is already his, just as he would not be envious of the pleasures his wayward brother tasted if he understood that, in real life, his brother had been dead.

But it takes a deeper grasp of what grace is to intuit that, namely, to grasp that life inside God’s house dwarfs all other pleasures.

The same is true for the convert who has given up his wayward life but still secretly rejoices in the experience and sophistication

Conrad

HE mark of genuine contrition is not a sense of guilt but a sense of sorrow, of regret for having taken a wrong turn; just as the mark of living in grace is not a sense of our own worth but a sense of being accepted and loved despite our unworthiness.

We are spiritually healthy when our lives are marked by honest confession and honest praise.

The Catholic theologian Jean-Luc Marion highlights this in a commentary on St Augustine’s famous Confessions. He sees Augustine’s confession as a work of a true moral conscience because it is both a confession of praise and a confession of sin.

Gil Bailie, a Catholic writer, suggests that this comment underlines an important criterion by which to judge whether or not we are living in grace.

“If the confession of praise is not accompanied by the confession of sin, it’s an empty and pompous gesture. If the confession of sins is not accompanied by a confession of praise, it is equally vacuous and barren, the stuff of trashy magazines and tabloid newspapers, a self-preening parody of repentance.”

Gil is right, but doing both confessions at one and the same time is not an easy task. We generally find ourselves falling into either a confession of praise where there is no real confession of our own sin; or into the “self-preening parody of repentance” of a still self-absorbed convert,

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sunday Reflections

which is a rather unnuanced method of fishing, bringing in “good” and “rotten” fish, and while the good fish may be slightly aggrieved to be put into containers, and the rotten fish delighted to be thrown away (presumably back into the sea), the point is that what matters is the quality that God sees.

Now we are coming to the end of the discourse, and, like schoolmasters down the ages, Jesus asks the disciples if they have understood; and, like schoolboys down the ages, the disciples say, “Yes”, and strive to look intelligent.

Then it ends with a saying about “every scribe who has been discipled in the kingdom of the heavens”. They are compared to “a steward, who brings out of the treasury new things as well as old things”.

What really matters, once again, is not novelty or being comfortably ancient. What matters is how God sees things, and we might pray, this week, to grasp what God thinks about the things that really matter.

Southern Crossword #768

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

it brought him and nurses a condescending pity for the less-experienced. He too has not yet really understood grace.

In his book The Idea of the Holy, now considered a classic, the German Lutheran theologian Rudolf Otto submits that in the presence of the holy we will always have a double reaction: fear and attraction.

Like Peter at the Transfiguration, we will want to build a tent and stay there forever; but, like him too before the miraculous catch of fish, we will also want to say: “Depart from me for I am a sinful man.”

In the presence of the holy, we want to burst forth in praise even as we want to confess our sins.

That insight can help us to understand grace. The Belgian theologian Fr Piet Fransen SJ begins his signature book on grace, The New Life of Grace, by asking us to imagine this scene: Picture a man who lives his life in mindless hedonism. He simply drinks in the sensual pleasures of this world without a thought for God, responsibility, or morality.

Then, after a long life of illicit pleasure, he has a genuine deathbed conversion, sincerely confesses his sins, receives the sacraments of the Church, and dies in that happy state.

If our spontaneous reaction to this story is: “Well, the lucky fellow! He had his fling and still made it in the end!”, we have not yet understood grace but instead are still embittered moralisers, standing like the older brother in need of a further conversation with our God. And the same holds true too for the convert who still feels that what he’s experienced in his waywardness, his fling, is a deeper joy than the one known by those who have not strayed.

In this case, he’s come back to his father’s house not because he senses a deeper joy there but because he deems his return an unwanted duty, less exciting, less interesting, and less joy-filled than a sinful life, but a necessary moral exit strategy. He too has yet to understand grace.

Only when we understand what the father of the prodigal son means when he says to the older brother: “Everything I have is yours”, will we offer both a confession of praise and a confession of sin.

O RF OR D

CONSTRUCTION

ACROSS

1. It was in the beginning (4) 3. Vocation of St Paul the Apostle (8) 7. Comedian is lacking, confused and devilish (7) 9. One who covets will do it (5) 10. Appearance of lamb scene (9) 12. Your own territory (6) 14. Orthodox land (6) 16. The bishop is chairman in here (9) 19. Also known as (5) 20. Sold things from a bicycle, it’s said (7) 21. Fed trees till they rotted (8) 22. Sweet drop with a sour flavour (4) Solutions on page 11

DOWN

1. Ceremonies for the matches (8) 2. Slopes for wheelchairs into church (5) 4. Remember vocation again? (6) 5. They opened when Noah closed the ark (7) 6. They struck his head with a ... (Mk 15) (4) 8. Selects neat Simon as a candidate (9) 9. Climbed Mount Everest successfully (9) 11. A rude mad confusion when attacked (8) 13. Flowers are among the chords, I gather (7) 15. Place of worship within earshot? (6) 17. I call for pale colour (5) 18. The prodigal son dined on it (Lk 15) (4)

CHURCH CHUCKLE

T

HE newly ordained assistant priest was really nervous about hearing confessions at his new parish.

So he asked the older priest to listen in. After several parishioners finished with their confessions, the older priest offered him a little advice.

“Just cross your arms over your chest, rub your chin and try saying things like, ‘I see, yes, go on. I understand. How did you feel about that?’”

The new priest tried out the gestures and words.

The older priest said: “Good, now don’t you think that sounds a lot better than slapping your knee and saying, ‘No way! You did what?’”

EsTABlIsHED 1982

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