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Church licence law ‘could limit freedoms’ BY ERIN CARELSE
A Brescia House School’s Mrs Pininski, Emily Bishop (Grade 2) and Mr Smart got yarn-bombed, along with the rest of the school atrium. Yarn bombing—also known as urban knitting—is a global form of street art. Nothing is made in one piece; all is glued or sewn together in individual bits. They can easily be disassembled and turned into blankets, toys, beanies and so on. The school then donates the items to various charities. Blankets go to the Salvation Army, Nazareth House or others in need, while the beanies, scarves and toys go to children’s homes. This yarnbombing marked Mandela Day on July 18, the 99th birthday of the late ex-president.
Turin Shroud: Evidence grows
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EW research indicates that the Shroud of Turin shows signs of blood from a torture victim, and undermines arguments that the reputed burial shroud of Jesus Christ was painted. Very small particles attached to the linen fibres of the shroud “have recorded a scenario of great suffering, whose victim was wrapped up in the funeral cloth,” said Elvio Carlino, a researcher at the Institute of Crystallography. These nanoparticles have a “peculiar structure, size and distribution”, said Prof Giulio Fanti of the University of Padua. The nanoparticles are not typical of the blood of a healthy person. Rather, they show high levels of substances called creatinine and ferritin, found in patients who suffer forceful multiple traumas like torture. “Hence, the presence of these biological nanoparticles found during our experiments point to a violent death for the man wrapped in the Turin Shroud,” Prof Fanti said. The shroud’s latest researchers published their findings and measurements in the US open-access peer-reviewed journal PlosOne, in an article titled “New Biological Evidence from Atomic Resolution Studies on the Turin
Turin Shroud souvenirs on sale in 2015. New research confirms that the blood on the shroud shows signs of a tortured person. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS) Shroud”, the Turin-based newspaper La Stampa’s “Vatican Insider” reported. The findings contradict claims that the shroud is a medieval forgery. The characteristics of these particles “cannot be artifacts made over the centuries on the fabric of the shroud”, Prof Fanti said. “These findings could only be revealed by the methods recently developed in the field of electron microscopy,” said crystallographist Continued on page 4
PROPOSED law that would require the licensing of “worship centres”, such as churches, and of “general religious practitioners” would amount to limitations of freedom of religion and association, the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office has warned. The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL) has issued a recommendation to Parliament that all religious practitioners be registered under umbrella organisations that would be recognised by the state and subject to “peer-review committees”. The CRL cited reports of self-appointed pastors committing acts such as feeding congregants snakes, spraying congregants with insecticide to heal them, and drinking paraffin in demonstrations of faith. CPLO director Fr Peter-John Pearson warned that many of the CRL’s recommendations, and most of the proposed legislative enactments listed, would amount to limitations of freedom of religion and association. “The commission doesn’t take into account that almost all religious bodies have umbrella bodies to deal with deviations. If these deviations do take place, there are legislations—ordinary law—to deal with that,” he told The Southern Cross. “In our view, the commission is trying to crack a small nut with a large sledgehammer. If these proposals should find their way into law, they would do immense damage to the many thousands of legitimate religious communities, pastors and congregants who work selflessly for the spiritual health of the nation,” Fr Pearson said. However, he added, “we are confident that the commission itself will reconsider its proposals, and failing that, that Parliament will not enact legislation that is so manifestly unconstitutional”. Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria, spokesman of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, said that there is a need to acknowledge a serious problem with some
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A proposed law that would require churches and clerics to register with the state is unnecessary and would limit freedom of religion, the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office has warned. (Photo: Etienne Marais) religious practitioners. “We can see the deliberate exploitation of the poor and the vulnerable, and we can see lack of financial responsibility where finances end up in the personal bank accounts of certain leaders,” he said. Because of the bizarre or unethical conduct of some, all the churches can become a laughing stock, he noted, adding that he doesn’t want the young educated people to regard religion as a joke. “The commission must see that this is going to be extremely difficult to implement its findings,” Archbishop Slattery said. “I sympathise with them; they’re doing an impossible task. The chairperson has received death threats, there was a refusal to submit documents and so on.” Freedom of Religion South Africa (FOR SA), a non-profit Christian organisation, said that the proposed law would effectively amount to “state capture of religion”. In a statement the group called the proposal “to establish an extensive national structure to license (and thereby control) every ‘religious practitioner’ and ‘place of worship’ …unnecessary, unworkable and unconstitutional”.
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