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English in the Mass not likely to change soon STAFF REPORTER & CINDY WOODEN

DOCUMENT released by Pope Francis that gives bishops’ conferences greater power in introducing liturgical texts will have no immediate impact on the current English missal but will facilitate the approval of translations into South Africa’s other languages, according to the bishop responsible for liturgy in Southern Africa. In his motu proprio “Magnum principium” (“The Great Principle”) , Pope Francis made changes to the Code of Canon Law regarding translations of the Mass and other liturgical texts, and highlighted respect for the responsibility of bishops’ conferences. The Vatican no longer will “review” translations submitted by bishops’ conferences, but will “recognise” them. And rather than being called to “prepare and publish” the translations, the bishops are to “approve and publish” them. “I don’t think the motu proprio is immediately applicable to the English [liturgical translations] but rather to our local vernacular languages,” said Bishop Edward Risi, chair of the Department for Christian Formation, Liturgy, and Culture at the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC). “‘Magnum principium’ does not simplify the work of translating liturgical texts into local languages. Many hours are spent by dedicated people who debate, argue and struggle to find the correct way of transmitting the correct understanding of the liturgical texts,” Bishop Risi told The Southern Cross. “The motu proprio simplifies the process of recognising these texts by giving much greater recognition to the role of bishops’ conferences in this particular stage of preparing translations into local vernacular languages. “In the SACBC we have adopted the practice of approving the texts prepared in vernacular for a period of five years before applying to the Holy See for the necessary recognitio. But the motu proprio now gives us the right to approve these texts and ask for confirmation from the Holy See. In this sense the process

A page from the current English missal. Pope Francis’ decision to allow bishops’ conferences to approve liturgical texts will likely not lead to an immediate review of the English texts. of confirmation gives greater acknowledgement of the work of local conferences in terms of preparing translations,” he said. Bishop Risi said that he believes Englishspeaking bishops’ conferences will retain the unified approach of the past. “It is of interest to note that the late Archbishop Denis Hurley was one of those who insisted that there should be only one translation of the liturgy in English, and it is one of the founding principles of ICEL,” the International Commission on English in the Liturgy. “I don’t foresee a change of policy regarding English translations,” the bishop said. He noted that the English liturgical texts “are very important in the process of other translations because of the great dependence on the English text in the translations into vernacular”. In “Magnum principium” Pope Francis did not overturn previous norms and documents on the principles that should inspire the various translations, but said they were “general guidelines” which should continue to be followed to ensure “integrity and accurate faithfulness, especially in translating some texts of major importance in each liturgical book”. However, the pope seemed to indicate a Continued on page 3

Catholic Ireland A pilgrimage with Bishop Victor Phalana Feast day at shrine of Our Lady of Knock, PAPAL MASS in Dublin*, and much more * subject to confirmation

Holy Land pilgrims led by Fr S’milo Mngadi of Vosloorus, Johannesburg diocese, at a 6m-high statue of Nelson Mandela in the Palestinian city of Ramallah. It was donated to the Palestine administrative capital by the City of Johannesburg in April 2016. Ramallah, which means “Heights of God”, once was a mainly Christian city, and the followers of Christ still have a prominent presence in the population of 27 000. The pilgrims were not told that they would visit the statue, and were overjoyed at the surprise of seeing their country’s icon in Palestine. Later that day the pilgrims had Mass in Taybeh, the last 100% Christian village in the Holy Land. (Photo courtesy Fowler Tours)

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LOCAL

St Augustine joins elite group of Catholic universities

S The 12th Bishop Hans Brenninkmeijer Memorial Lecture Date: Tuesday, 3 October 2017 at 15:30 Venue: Holy Family College, 40 Oxford Road, Johannesburg RSVP: Hilda Chinyowa hilda@cie.org.za or 011 433 1888 by 30 September

Flourish or Flounder. What is the future of Catholic education in South Africa? Delivered by Dr Mark Potterton

The 2017 Bishop Brenninkmeijer Memorial Lecture will explore the heritage and contribution of Catholic schools and also highlight challenges facing them. The lecture will conclude with what authentic collaboration and sharing might mean in the future.

Mark Potterton is currently the Principal of Holy Family College, Parktown. He has taught in schools, a teachers’ training college and in universities. He is the author of a number of books on education and has been involved in quality assurance debates in the country

OUTH Africa’s Catholic university, St Augustine College, has been invited by the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU) to join an initiative that, through the Vatican’s new Department for Promoting Integral Human Development, will provide support to papal diplomacy on important global issues. St Augustine is one of only two African universities to have been invited to join the group—along with the Catholic University of Ghana. Other members of the group include the Catholic universities of Louvain (Belgium), Rio (Brazil), St Joseph (Lebanon), Georgetown and Fordham (both USA), Nanzan and Sophia (both Japan), Australia, Eichstätt (Germany), and Lyon (France).

The aim of the initiative is to strengthen the Holy See’s capacity for analysis and action on some of the important crises confronting the world. The objectives include providing pontifical diplomatic representatives with notes on specific issues; drafting analyses for the Department for Promoting Integral Human Development; and submitting recommendations to papal representatives in international institutions. Mgr Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for State Relations, hopes the group will soon assist the permanent missions of the Holy See accredited to international intergovernmental organisations, such as the UN in New York, Geneva and Vienna, UNESCO in Paris, the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, and the Food

and Agricultural Organisation in Rome. Professor Garth Abraham, president of St Augustine, will be attending an IFCU workshop on “Leading Catholic Universities” in Rome, later this month. Meanwhile, at a recent feast day Mass, Prof Abraham bestowed the college’s St Monica Award on Dr Heinz Wirz. The award, named after the mother of St Augustine, honours people who have made an important contribution to the college. Dr Wirz was a founding director of St Augustine in 1999, a position he held until his resignation in August this year. Apart from his board position, Dr Wirz has been a member of the St Augustine Senate and has regularly served on a number of senate committees.

Five novices of the Sacred Heart Priests Order, made their first religious professions at Sacred Heart parish in Katlehong, Johannesburg. Provincial superior Fr Bernard Tente Sompane SCJ presided over the Eucharist and parish priest Fr Innocent Mabheka SCJ spoke on the importance of evangelical vows. The event was attended by SCJs, scholars from the international Dehon formation house, Oblates, Benedictines, diocesan priests and families of the newly professed. (Back row from left) Frs Marek Przybys SCJ, Tom Maretlane, Abie Tlhapi, provincial superior Sompane SCJ, Innocent Mabeka SCJ, Joshua M Mpiti SCJ, and Thabang Nkadimeng OMI. The newly professed novices (front row from left) are Brs Zachaeus Tembo, Joseph Chaka Molapo, Thabonyana Johannes November, John Tembo and Andreas Keta.

The Southern Cross, September 20 to September 26, 2017

LOCAL

SA pupil takes bronze in global student writing competition BY ERIN CARELSE

Bl Benedict Daswa, seen here with his school pupils, was murdered in 1990 and beatified by Pope Francis in early 2015. Next month an official Daswa medal will be unveiled at the cathedral in Pretoria.

Bl Benedict Daswa medal to be unveiled BY ERIN CARELSE

HE official medal for Bl Benedict Daswa will be unveiled on October 1 at Sacred Heart cathedral in Pretoria. Bishop João Rodrigues of Tzaneen, the diocese of Bl Daswa, will celebrate Mass at 11:30 on the day. The Mass is open to the public. The medal will be launched after the Mass. Members of Bl Daswa’s family from Thohoyandou in Limpopo will attend the unveiling. The medal will be available for purchase as well as other Daswa merchandise. Earlier this month marked the second anniversary of the beatifica-

tion of Benedict Daswa. Pope Francis approved the decree that recognised the Catholic teacher’s martyrdom on January 22, 2015, which allowed for Bl Daswa’s beatification by Cardinal Angelo Amato on September 13 that year. Pope Francis in his decree described Bl Daswa as “a layman, a family man and an educator who gave heroic witness of the Gospel”. Bl Daswa was murdered by a mob on February 2, 1990, just a few months short of his 44th birthday. The devotional “saint medal” was made and produced by Earl and Bernadette Davids of Immaculate Heart Gifts and Media in Eldorado Park, Johannesburg.

CATHOLIC school learner from Johannesburg was again placed in the top three of the senior section in the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition. Kate Watson, who is in Grade 12 at Brescia House School in Bryanston, entered the international competition for a second time and has been awarded her second bronze certificate. This year’s theme was “A Commonwealth for Peace”. Kate’s entry was titled “Passage to Peace”. Last year, she was awarded a bronze certificate for her entry titled “Let Them In”. “My essay this year was in the form of a diary format and told the story of a South African girl, which was inspired by some of my life experiences,” Kate said. “I wanted to not only address non-violence and political stability but also being at peace with one’s talents and situation.”

Kate Watson of Brescia House School in Johannesburg won a bronze certificate in this year’s international Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition—the second time Kate has been honoured with bronze. This prestigious competition, which was started in 1883, is the world’s oldest international schools’ writing competition. It is run by the Royal Commonwealth

Society, in partnership with Cambridge University Press. The competition is open to all citizens and residents of the Commonwealth, aged 18 and under.

The new playroom at St Joseph’s Home for Chronically Ill Children in Montana, Cape Town, has officially opened. It has an activities area, a television, computers, a small reading room with books, and a music room. Rotary Signal Hill (District 9350) and Rotary Westerstede in Germany donated R100 000 towards the renovation. Other donors were the Dieter and Bettina Wulkow Foundation (computers), and Conny Keller and Friends, (play equipment, chairs, and tables). At the launch are (from left) St Joseph’s director Thea Patterson with Rotary members Seumas Reynolds and Mike Saxby. n The library would welcome books, particularly in Xhosa. Contact Alrika Hefers on 021 934 0352.

Seminarians battle it out on the field BY TSHEPANG TLHAOLE DITHIPE

LAY was defined by 19th century sociologist Herbert Spencer as “the outcome of the superfluous energies of the organism”. Every human being is endowed with these energies, no matter their age. Therefore, we all need to play at times. The annual sports day at St John Vianney Seminary in Pretoria gives formators and students a chance to concentrating more on human formation and forget a little bit about academic formation. At the national seminary’s sports day this month, many games were played to accomThe Theology 2 class was the outstanding team at St John Vian- modate everyone taking part. ney Seminary’s annual sports day, winning the soccer, cricket These ranged from soccer, and volleyball tournaments. cricket, squash, swimming and

athletics, to the smaller indoor games—and even included a game called amokrokokroro: a soccer game for those who cannot play soccer. Unsurprisingly, the game ended in a 0-0 draw. Penalties were needed to determine a winner. The apex of the day was the final of the soccer tournament: between Theology 2 and Theology 3, which resulted in Theology 2 winning 1-0, Umali Thomson being the goal-scorer. Theology 2 was the outstanding class. They not only won the soccer final but also the cricket and volleyball. Top performers included Limpho Maoela, the leading goalscorer of the tournament, Byron Bowers, the best cricket player, and Gabriel Caleni, who won the most awards.

Mass translations: Bishops can now approve Continued from page 1 willingness to allow some space for the translation principle known as “dynamic equivalence”, which focuses on faithfully rendering the sense of a phrase rather than translating each individual word and even maintaining the original language’s syntax. The latter approach marked the most recent liturgical translations, which has been met with significant opposition. “While fidelity cannot always be judged by individual words but must be sought in the context of the whole communicative act and according to its literary genre,” the pope wrote, “nevertheless some particular terms must also be considered in the context of the entire Catholic faith, because each translation of texts must be congruent with sound doctrine.” The pope said the changes would go into effect as of October 1, and he ordered the Congregation for Divine Worship and the

Sacraments to “modify its own Regulations on the basis of the new discipline and help the episcopal conferences to fulfil their task as well as working to promote ever-more the liturgical life of the Latin Church”. The greater oversight provided earlier by the Vatican was understandable, Pope Francis said, given the supreme importance of the Mass and other liturgies in the life of the Church. The main concerns, he said, were to preserve “the substantial unity of the Roman rite”, even without universal celebrations in Latin, but also to recognise that vernacular languages themselves could “become liturgical languages, standing out in a not-dissimilar way to liturgical Latin for their elegance of style and the profundity of their concepts with the aim of nourishing the faith”. Another teaching of the Second Vatican Council that needed to be strengthened, he said, was a recognition of “the right and duty of episcopal conferences”, which are

called to collaborate with the Vatican. Bishop Risi said he doesn’t think Magnum principium could give rise to a new “liturgy war”. “It is not necessary to have to go to war over things of faith and devotion,” he said. Referring to the most recent, controversial translations, he said that he has discovered in its texts “a depth of proclamation and of faith which, with reference to the older texts, were not present”. “I recall when in the process of the new translation of Eucharistic Prayer II, the reference to dewfall—‘Sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall’—so many people said it is ‘meaningless’ and ‘can’t be translated into our local languages’,” Bishop Risi said. “Yet it is a deeply scriptural expression; the Spirit is referred to in the symbol of the ‘dewfall’ countless times in the scriptures and at the same time, all vernacular Bible texts have succeeded in translating it successfully.”

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The Southern Cross, September 20 to September 26, 2017

INTERNATIONAL

(From left) Children wait for Pope Francis at a children’s home in Medellin. ● Pope Francis celebrates Mass in Cartagena. • People hold images of Jesus as they wait for Pope Francis’ arrival to celebrate Mass at Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport in Medellin, Colombia. ● Pope Francis answers questions from journalists aboard his flight from Cartagena to Rome. Earlier, the pope cut and bruised his face on the popemobile window when he was greeting people. (All photos: Paul Haring/CNS)

Pope’s words in Colombia echo in SA BY CINDY WOODEN

URING his visit to Colombia, Pope Francis urged a process of healing and reconciliation after the country’s 50-year civil war— using words that can apply to South Africa as well. For Colombia, and for many other nations as well, the threats come from “the darkness of injustice and social inequality; [and] the corrupting darkness of personal and group interests that consume in a selfish and uncontrolled way what is destined for the good of all,” Pope Francis told more than 1,1 million people at a Mass in Bogota’s Simon Bolivar Park. The threats include “the darkness of disrespect for human life which daily destroys the life of many innocents, whose blood cries out to heaven; the darkness of thirst for

vengeance and the hatred which stains the hands of those who would right wrongs on their own authority; the darkness of those who become numb to the pain of so many victims,” he said. But, he added: “Jesus scatters and destroys all this darkness.” In society, in politics and in the Church, Pope Francis said, people can get “tangled up in endless discussions” about what went wrong and whose fault it is. But the only way forward is to follow Jesus, obeying his command to cast out the nets, which means taking responsibility for personal conversion and changing the world. “Jesus invites us to put out into the deep, he prompts us to take shared risks, to leave behind our selfishness and to follow him,” Pope Francis told the crowd, which included Colombia’s President Juan

Manuel Santos. Jesus wants people to leave behind their fears, “which paralyse us and prevent us [from] becoming artisans of peace, promoters of life”. The people of Colombia, he said, are called to continue their conversion to peace and respect for all the nation’s people. That can happen only by promoting unity, “working for the defence and care of human life, especially when it is most fragile and vulnerable: in a mother’s womb, in infancy, in old age, in conditions of incapacity and in situations of social marginalisation”.

n Villavicencio, a city filled with those who fled their homes during the war and with former fighters trying to start over, Pope Francis beatified two martyrs of the civil war: Bishop Jesus Emilio Jaramillo Monsalve of Arauca, who was murdered

by Colombian Marxist guerrillas in 1989, and Fr Pedro Maria Ramirez, who was killed at the start of the Colombian civil war in 1948. In his homily, the pope acknowledged that, during 52 years of war, many at the Mass suffered horrors. “How many of you can tell of exiles and grief,” he said. The Christian call to reconciliation is not something abstract, the pope said. “If it were, then it would only bring sterility and greater distance.” It requires acknowledging the truth and letting victims speak. And “when victims overcome the understandable temptation to vengeance, they become the most credible protagonists for the process of building peace,” he said. “What is needed is for some to courageously take the first step in that direction, without waiting for others to do so. We need only one good person to

have hope. And each of us can be that person. “This does not mean ignoring or hiding differences and conflicts. This is not to legitimise personal and structural injustices,” Pope Francis insisted. Reconciliation must be accompanied by a firm commitment to change the inequalities and behaviours that fuelled the war for decades. Addressing the bishops of Colombia, Pope Francis discouraged the engagement of Church leaders in partisan politics. The Church does not need special favours from politicians, he said. It only needs the freedom to speak and to minister. But it also needs internal unity, the pope told the bishops. “So continue to seek communion among yourselves. Never tire of building it through frank and fraternal dialogue, avoiding hidden agendas.”—CNS

Pope on climate change: ‘Man is stupid, stubborn’ BY CINDY WOODEN

OPE Francis says governments have been slow to act on climate change because of stupidity, stubbornness and greed. Speaking to reporters on his flight home from his trip to Colombia, Pope Francis said that politicians who doubt climate change is real or that human activity contributes to it should speak to the scientists and “then decide. And history will judge their decisions.” Asked why he thinks governments have been so slow to act,

Pope Francis said he thinks it’s partly because, as the Old Testament says: “Man is stupid, a stubborn one who does not see.” But the other reason, he said, is almost always money. Pope Francis said he read a report citing a university study that asserted humanity has only three years to reduce the pace of climate change before it’s too late. “I don’t know if three years is right or not, but if we don’t turn back, we’ll go down, that’s true. “Climate change—you can see

the effects,” Pope Francis said. “And the scientists have told us clearly what the paths to follow are.” Everyone has a moral responsibility to act. “And we must take it seriously,” he said. “It’s not something to play with,” the pope said. Pope Francis also took aim at US President Donald Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme (or DACA), which allowed some 800 000 young people brought to the US illegally as children to stay in the country, working or going to school. Politicians who call themselves pro-life must also be pro-family and not enact policies that di-

vide families and rob young people of a future, Pope Francis said. The pope said: “Uprooting young people from their families is not something that will bear fruit. “I hope he rethinks it a bit, because I’ve heard the president of the United States speak; he presents himself as a man who is pro-life, a good pro-lifer. “If he is a good pro-lifer, he understands that the family is the cradle of life and its unity must be defended,” the pope said. Subsequently, Democrats reached a deal with President Trump to prevent the scrapping of DACA. Talking about his five-day stay in Colombia, Pope Francis said he was “really moved by the joy, the tenderness” and the expressiveness of the people. In the end, they are

the ones who will determine whether Colombia truly has peace after 52 years of civil war. Politicians and diplomats can do all the right things to negotiate peace deals, he said, but if the nation’s people aren’t on board, peace will not be lasting. In Colombia, he said, the people have a clear desire to live in peace. “What struck me most about the Colombian people,” he said, was watching hundreds, perhaps thousands, of fathers and mothers along the roads he travelled, and they would lift their children high so the pope would see and bless them. What they were doing, he said, was saying: “This is my treasure. This is my hope. This is my future. I believe in this.” The parents’ behaviour, he said, “is a symbol of a future”.—CNS

Pope explains true faith A T a Mass in Medellin for an estimated 1,3 million people, Pope Francis said that Catholics’ faith is not measured by how well they follow rules, but by the depth of their prayer life and the degree to which it pushes them to share the Gospel. Following Jesus and sharing the good news of salvation in him, he said, means leaving one’s comfort zone and going out, encountering others and concretely showing them God’s love. “It is of the greatest importance that we who call ourselves disciples not cling to a certain style or to particular practices that cause us to be more like some Pharisees than like Jesus,” he said. The law is meant to guide people in doing good and it is not to be ignored, the pope said. But true faith means going deeper, experiencing God’s

love, changing one’s life and getting involved in what can improve the lives of others, especially the poor and vulnerable. “We are called upon to be brave, to have that evangelical courage which springs from knowing that there are many who are hungry, who hunger for God, who hunger for dignity, because they have been deprived,” the pope said. “We cannot be Christians who continually put up ‘Do not enter’ signs,” Pope Francis said, because “the Church is not ours, she is God’s. He is the owner of the temple and the field; everyone has a place, everyone is invited to find here, and among us, his or her nourishment.” The pope lauded young people and urged the Church to leverage their energy and talents. “Many of them stand to-

gether against the evils of the world and become involved in various forms of political action and volunteer work,” Pope Francis said. “When they do so for Jesus, feeling that they are a part of a community, they become ‘street preachers’, who bring Jesus to every street, every plaza and every corner of the earth.” Pope Francis cited an anecdote from his lunch with young people at World Youth Day 2016 to illustrate his call for “street preachers”. When a pilgrim asked about speaking with an atheist friend, the pope responded: “The last thing you should do is say something.” Instead, the pope advised the youth, “start to act in a way that the doubt he has inside will make him curious, and he will start to ask you. And when he asks about your testimony, then you say something. This is being a street preacher.”—CNS

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, September 20 to September 26, 2017

Vatican reform process â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;three-quarters completeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; BY JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES

OPE Francisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; international Council of Cardinalsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the socalled C9â&#x20AC;&#x201D;is nearly done with its work of advising the pope on a major reform of the Vatican bureaucracy, the secretary of the council said. Bishop Marcello Semeraro of Albano, secretary of Pope Francisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Council of Cardinals, told Vatican Radio that â&#x20AC;&#x153;as far as the reform process of the Roman curia is concerned, it is even more than threequarters of the way thereâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;it is almost complete at the level of proposals made to the popeâ&#x20AC;?. Bishop Semeraro told Vatican Radio of the councilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work in advising the pope on the reform of the Vaticanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s organisation and Church governance, describing it as a threestep process of â&#x20AC;&#x153;listeningâ&#x20AC;? to the contributions from the bishops, the Roman curia and â&#x20AC;&#x153;many people who

have writtenâ&#x20AC;?, reflecting on those proposals and checking them over. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Listening, reflecting, checking and then making a proposal to the popeâ&#x20AC;? because the Council of Cardinals does not issue a decree; â&#x20AC;&#x153;the Council of Cardinals proposes to the popeâ&#x20AC;?, he said. Throughout their meetings, he continued, Pope Francis takes part â&#x20AC;&#x153;primarily by listeningâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;intervenes when he recounts his personal experiences when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, or of current situations in the life of the Churchâ&#x20AC;?. The work of the council is not only dedicated to reforming the Roman curia but to informing, advising and collaborating with Pope Francis concerning various situations in the Church, Bishop Semeraro said. One example, he added, was to discuss â&#x20AC;&#x153;the very painful reality of

the abuse of minorsâ&#x20AC;?. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This, in itself, is not part of the reform of the Roman curia. Yet, the pope has decided to listen to the council, too, about these steps. And, when it comes to clarifying or intervening, the pope intervenes but with great discretion. He mostly listens,â&#x20AC;? Bishop Semeraro said. Regarding the time frame of the reform, the Italian prelate said the final proposals dealing with all the dicasteries â&#x20AC;&#x153;will be more or less complete in a few monthsâ&#x20AC;? and that it will be up to the pope â&#x20AC;&#x153;to decide how and when to implement themâ&#x20AC;?. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Right now the pope has preferred a gradual implementation, as well as a sort of breaking-in period. In some cases, the pope has already intervened to make corrections because in passing from theory to practice, needs for correction have emerged,â&#x20AC;? Bishop Semeraro said.â&#x20AC;&#x201D; CNS

Rescued priest meets the pope BY JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES

FTER his release from captivity, Salesian Father Tom Uzhunnalil met with Pope Francis at the popeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae. Arriving before Pope Francis, the Salesian knelt before him and kissed his feet. Visibly moved by the gesture, the pope helped him up and kissed his hands. Before blessing Fr Uzhunnalil, the pope embraced him and said he would continue to pray for him as he had done during his imprisonment. Fr Uzhunnalil was kidnapped on March 4, 2016, from a home for the aged and disabled run by the Missionaries of Charity in Aden, Yemen. After his release, the Vatican issued a statement thanking â&#x20AC;&#x153;all those

Salesian Father Tom Uzhunnalil is anointed by Pope Francis. (Photo: L'Osservatore Romano/CNS) who worked for his release, and especially His Majesty the sultan of Oman and the competent authorities of the sultanateâ&#x20AC;?. According to Omanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s state-run news agency ONA, Fr Uzhunnalil

was â&#x20AC;&#x153;rescuedâ&#x20AC;? by Oman authorities â&#x20AC;&#x153;in coordination with the Yemeni partiesâ&#x20AC;?. Fr Uzhunnalil thanked the pope, telling him that â&#x20AC;&#x153;he prayed every day for him, offering his suffering for his mission and the good of the Churchâ&#x20AC;?. Recalling his time in captivity, the Salesian told the pope that although he was unable to celebrate Mass, â&#x20AC;&#x153;every day, I would repeat to myself, in my heart, all the words of the celebrationâ&#x20AC;?. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Truly, every day, I felt Jesus close to me,â&#x20AC;? Fr Uzhunnalil said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I always knew and felt in my heart that I was never alone.â&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;&#x201D;CNS

Catherine Wiley, founder of the Catholic Grandparents Association, is pictured with family values advocate Dana-Rosemary Scallon (the 1970s singer Dana) and two great-grandmothers: Rosemary Hogan and Margaret Harrington, at the National Marian Shrine in Knock, Ireland, after a Mass for grandparents. (Photo: Sarah MacDonald/CNS)

Priest killers arrested

OLICE in Nigeria have arrested the suspected killers of Fr Cyriacus Onunkwo, who was kidnapped and later found murdered in the town of Orlu, Imo State. A gang of six, led by ex-police corporal Jude Madu, was arrested. Church officials told Vatican Radio that the gang had confessed to the crime. According to their confession, Fr Onunkwo was kidnapped with the view to extort ransom money from his family and the Church. He is said to have died from suffocation because his mouth and nose were taped closed by the criminals. In Nigeria, kidnappings and murders targeting priests and reli-

Fr Cyriacus Onunkwo gious have increased in recent years. Fr Onunkwo was working in another diocese but had returned to his home city of Orlu to make arrangements for the funeral of his father.â&#x20AC;&#x201D;cnaafrica

Vatican cardinal dies at age 81 BY CAROL GLATZ

ARDINAL Velasio De Paolis who oversaw the Vaticanled reform and reorganisation of the Legionaries of Christ, died in Rome before his 82nd birthday. An expert in Church law who specialised in religious institutes, the Italian cardinal was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 to be his papal delegate with broad

powers of authority over the Legionaries following an apostolic visitation of the order. The major Vatican-led reform came after revelations that its founder, the late Fr Marcial Maciel Degollado, had fathered children and sexually abused seminarians. Under the cardinalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guidance, the order adopted a new constitution, elected new officers and issued a statement of apology to the victims of Fr Maciel.â&#x20AC;&#x201D;CNS

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The Southern Cross, September 20 to September 26, 2017

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: GĂźnther Simmermacher

SAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Catholic history

S the Church in Southern Africa anticipates the 200th anniversary of its foundation next June, the celebration of Heritage Day on September 25 offers an opportune time to reflect on how far Catholicism has come in those two centuries. The first Christian presence on the southern tip of Africa was not that of Calvinist Dutch traders but of the Catholic Portuguese explorers Bartolomeu Dias and Vasco da Gama on their respective journeys. One of them even named one of our provinces, having discovered the eastern coastal territory on the feast of the Nativity. The Portuguese word for Christmas is â&#x20AC;&#x153;Natalâ&#x20AC;?. The first Christian service on territory that is now South Africa, a Catholic Mass, was celebrated around 1488 on the island of the Holy Cross, just off Port Elizabeth, during Diasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; exploration. Dias also planted a padrĂŁo cross at Kwaaihoek in the Eastern Cape; remnants of which are stored at Wits University in Johannesburg. Portuguese explorers would place a padrĂŁo, a large stone cross, as part of a land claim for Portugalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crown. In the event, Portugal asserted no claim on the land. But it is a fascinating exercise in alternative history to speculate what might have been had Portugal colonised the Cape. There is no good reason to believe that the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history would have been benign, and the borders would likely follow different routes, but this would now be a largely Catholic nation. Instead, Catholicism was suppressed for a very long time, and always treated with suspicion during the eras of colonialism and apartheid. It is a huge achievement that the Catholic Church is now one of the biggest churches in South Africa, even at 7% of the population. Missionaries from many orders were responsible for spreading the faith, but the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in particular were at the vanguard of evangelising the mission fields of Southern Africa, moving from Durban into the interior. Also noteworthy is the evangelising work of the Congregation of Mariannhill Missionaries. How the Catholic Church spread in our region has been outlined by Fr Anthony Egan SJ in his two articles published in

this newspaper this month. Over the next few months The Southern Cross will look at the history of Catholicism in South Africa in more detail. We hope that these stories of the past will resonate with Catholics today. Sadly, most Catholics do not know much about their local Churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history, even its notable accomplishments. One of these you are holding in your handsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;or looking at on a screenâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;right now. No other faith community besides the Catholic and the Dutch Reformed churches have sustained a weekly national newspaper for many decades. And even then, Die Kerkbode no longer appears weekly. The Catholic education system, which even now sustains schooling in many rural areas, withheld immense pressure by the apartheid regime. When the regime cut state subsidies for Catholic schools serving black children in order to force the Church to relinquish them, the Catholic community went on a massive funding driveâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in which The Southern Cross played a crucial roleâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;to keep them alive. It was a huge victory over apartheid. Another came in the 1970s when Catholic schools previously reserved for whites opened admission to black pupilsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;an act of immense courage. By that time the Catholic Church was strongly engaged in the struggle against apartheid. Many priests, religious and lay activists were detained by the Security Policeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;even the secretarygeneral of the bishopsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; conferenceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and many of them subjected to torture. The Southern African Catholic Bishopsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Conference contributed also materially to the struggle when they founded the largely secular weekly New Nation in 1986 to serve as an organ of the struggle. After apartheid, the Church performed a mammoth task in providing a quarter of all Aids care in South Africa, the largest after the government. The SACBCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Aids Office was the first in South Africa to set up antiretroviral programmes, when the Mbeki government still refused to do so. It must be said: the Aids Officeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work is worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize. The story of the Catholic Church in Southern Africa must be told. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own itâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the bad, the good and the great.

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 Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s discretion. Name and address of the writer must be supplied. No anonymous letter will be considered.

All priests need a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Timothyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; T O experience growth in all areas of Church life, I suggest that every priest take a seminarian or two under his wingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;not for the last six months of his training but even earlier. The experienced priest wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t teach the seminarian how to operate a parish or how not to be bullied by parishioners, but how to evangelise under the authority of the Holy Spirit. In other words, every priest should have a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Timothyâ&#x20AC;? or two to whom the â&#x20AC;&#x153;stirring of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s giftsâ&#x20AC;? is imparted. Often we are told by bishops and priests that the Holy Spirit is the most neglected person of the Trinity. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll tell confirmation candi-

Medjugorje controversy

HE alleged apparition of Our Lady at Medjugorje in 1981 continues to be controversial. This is after 36 years. The site is one of the most famous and most-visited apparition sites in history, along with Lourdes, Guadeloupe, Fatima and others. However, there are shadows in the picture. Bishop Pavao Zanic of Mostar has waged a steady campaign to discredit this series of apparitions to the (originally) six child visionaries. Not only did the bishop of Mostar not believe in them, he became their most bitter and zealous opponent. Ironically, in the beginning Bishop Zanic had been a strong advocate of the apparitions. Yet later he would deem the apparitions a hoax, perpetuated by the Franciscans. Bishop Zanic was not a Franciscan, and therein, perhaps, lay the root of his opposition. As the newly appointed bishop of Mostar in 1980, he immediately started shifting parishes in his diocese from Franciscan to secular authority (under no particular order). The Franciscan priests, many of whom had served these parishes for years, were outraged, as were most of their parishioners. At their specific request, many of the Franciscan priests continued to minister to the needs of the people. In January 1982, a commission was set up for the Church to make a final ruling on the apparitions. As it turned out, it did little. Two years later a new commission was established. The bishop, however, appointed himself commission president, declaring: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am the commission,â&#x20AC;? adding that he â&#x20AC;&#x153;would crush the apparitionsâ&#x20AC;?. Bishop Zanicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s successor, Bishop

dates that the Holy Spirit is lying dormant inside them and that baptism in the Holy Spirit is not a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Church leaving-certificateâ&#x20AC;?. Well, for how many more years is the Church still going to talk about it and for how many years are we going round and round? They say that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over and expect the result to be different. Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; last instruction to his disciples was to wait until they had been imbued with power from on high. That power was, and is, the Holy Spirit. And on that first Pentecost, 3 000 were added to their number. We desperately need the Holy

Spirit. We need his fire, his presence, his anointing, his enthusiasm, his vibrancy, his boldness and his holiness. When you have the Holy Spirit inside you, you have no time to sin! Bring back the Holy Spirit as in Acts of the Apostles. David said in Psalm 51: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Take not your Holy Spirit from me and restore unto me the joy that comes from your salvation.â&#x20AC;? I believe every priest needs a Holy Spirit seminar. It is not about feelings, emotion, making a noise and bringing â&#x20AC;&#x153;pentecostalismâ&#x20AC;? into the Church but about receiving him of which Jesus spoke: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are powerless without the Holy Spirit.â&#x20AC;? When we reject the fullness of the Holy Spirit we are rejecting him who send the Spirit. Stephen Selbourne, Cape Town

Ratko Peric, also considers the apparitions false, referring to them as â&#x20AC;&#x153;religious showsâ&#x20AC;?. We can only hope and pray that soon the protracted controversy surrounding Medjugorje will be resolved by the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary herself. John Lee, Johannesburg

only lead to disaster, such as child sexual abuse and homosexuality. The religious orders should be allowed to marry as, I believe, God intended. John Driver, Daveyton

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;O

everyone can practise. I try to walk every morning reciting the Rosary and try to finish it, depending on the length of my walk. I was fortunate to have had Bernard Field as my friend aeons ago and he introduced me to an additional practice, namely to add an intention to the second part of the prayer, thus: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners [and for spouse, child, sibling and so on] now and at the hour of our death, Amen.â&#x20AC;? Congratulations on your informative paper. Bertie Lincoln, Johannesburg

Rosary devotion inspires Continuing myths article ICHAEL Ogunuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s article on the M Rosary (August 16) is wonderof our faith ful. The Rosary is a devotion which

UR Father who art in heaven and the Lord Jesus Christ came down from heaven.â&#x20AC;? Every time we go to Mass we perpetuate these myths. When we pray, we pray to the Almighty God who resides in us, not to someone out there in the etherâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;see 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 prophesied by Joel 2:28, 3:15, Ezekiel 36:26-29 and Jeremiah 31:31-34. The Spirit is in usâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;see John 14:16-18. See the indwelling of the Spiritâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Romans 8:9, 1 John 3:24, Romans 5:1-7 and Romans 8:16. Now Christâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s body is ourselvesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;see 1 Corinthians 12:27-30. God remains in us and his love comes to perfection in usâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;see 1 John 4:13-15. Anyone who acknowledges that Jesus is the son of God, God remains in him and he in God. Also, procreation is a natural urge instituted by the Creator across the spectrum. Any deviation can 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 POâ&#x20AC;&#x2C6;Box 2372, Cape Town 8000 or editor@scross.co.za or faxed to 021 465-3850

No to gluten-free

E believe when the bread and wine becomes the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus, it is not bread and wine we are receiving but the mystery of the Body and Blood. So why are we complaining about gluten-free bread? Come on, people, what next? Maybe we would like the bread to be a piece of chocolate cake and the wine maybe a cold cola? If anyone should get sick now because of the bread, trust me, you will go straight to heaven. Your parish should explain the worthiness of the bread and wine. This is just how I feel about the gluten-free thing. S Weelson, Port Elizabeth

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PERSPECTIVES

The Southern Cross, September 20 to September 26, 2017

Media makes us the universal Church Fr Chris O Townsend N what once used to be Social Communication Sunday—remember that?—and as we enter Mission month, I was pondering our South African Catholicism. We are all here because of an incredible missionary impetus. This impetus pushed the Church to root itself from Cape Town as an immigrant Catholicism and from Durban as missionary Catholicism. Our Catholicism has always been very international—from the missionaries passing but not disembarking at the Cape to the later generations from France, Ireland and Germany who were our primary missionaries, both to immigrant Catholics and the vast mission territory of the unevangelised. The history of our South African Catholicism has been one of international benefit too. From the Irish churches of Johannesburg built by the mining communities to the Bavarian missions of KwaZulu-Natal and the hospitals and schools. This international Catholicism—a universalism—is always under threat. Any priest will tell you that there is always a person or group when you move into a new pastoral assignment who will tell him: “Father, in this parish/mission/ school, we do things this way…” That usually means that you have your work cut out for you. Or that there will be parishioners moving on to places where they don’t have to deal with your management style. Put these ideas together and we can understand how our universal Church is easily “captured” by a parochial narrowmindedness and insularity. If a priest succeeds a long-term incumbent he’ll know how this insularity can easily swallow a parish. How do we face this insularity? We move people. Priests in the SACBC region have 6-9-year contracts, if their

diocesan bishops follow the Complimentary Norms of Canon Law. Most never last that long… This movement of priests ensures that if we are exposed to new leadership styles, we don’t get stale parishes. At the very least, change allows us to agree with the axiom that “the best parish priest was the last one”. We also have to ensure that we who no longer are recipients of missionary priests—at least from Europe—maintain our links with the Universal Catholic Church (and I don’t mean the Brazilian pretender exploitation cult that has taken that name). We do this firstly through the unity of our bishops with the bishops of the world around the bishop of Rome, the pope. We are united not because we are primarily identifying ourselves with doctrines, but rather through our relationship with the bishop who is in relationship with the other bishops and the Holy Father.

ur secondary identification is with this nebulous set of relationships that make us united across race and language: our Catholic faith. Our links to this faith are in our doctrines and our relationships with one another. And this gets us to the importance of

The way we communicate has changed— now we must use that to build the universal Church, Fr Townsend argues.

Africa is already saved I N many churches, congregations sing the hymn “Africa Will Be Saved”—and as the African continent laments countless tragedies, problems and forms of suffering which affect the everyday lives of people, it sounds good to sing that Africa will be saved. Imagine, dream and feel how Africa should be: free from corruption, gender bias and violence, human trafficking, racism, tribalism, political and economic injustices, diseases, pornography, envy and many of the evils that prevent Africa from being a garden continent where peace and harmony can flow. “Africa Will Be Saved” was composed when Africa was colonised. It was a political song and was primarily sung against the colonial masters who oppressed Africa and the African people. Africa needed freedom. Africa and its people longed for a time of tranquillity. In many churches the hymn is sung either before, during or at the end of a homily. It is also sung even at some Christian or political gatherings where serious issues regarding the development of Africa are discussed. But the questions that arise are: Have Africa and its people not been saved yet? Does Africa need to be re-saved again? Is Africa still waiting for the Holy Spirit? If this is the case, what was the principle of Pentecost? When some people sing this song, is it because they are in a grieving moment and wish to be saved from such a grievance? Or is it being sung to ask God to renew the

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A popular hymn promises that “Africa Will Be Saved”. Kelvin Banda OP explains what exactly Africa needs saving from— and by whom. Holy Spirit in Africa and all who dwell in it? Most importantly, what is it that Africa needs to be saved from today? I believe that people need to read the signs of the times to which the song can be sung, and not to generalise it.

frica is a continent full of opportunities. It is no longer a “dark continent” in need of salvation. To continue singing that the “Holy Spirit must come down, then Africa will be saved” suggests that Africa has not yet been saved and that the Holy Spirit is not within and in Africa. It means that Africa is waiting for a particular Messiah or Saviour to come and save it. “Africa Will Be Saved” must be sung to ring a bell in the ears and hearts of those African leaders who after their election for-

2 - 11 Nov 2018

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Join Rev Fr Bongani Sithole and his group on a spiritual and informative journey, visiting Old Constantinople (Istanbul) and the Christian sites in Israel such as Bethlehem, Galilee, Nazareth to name but a few. Walk in the footsteps of Jesus, His Mother Mary and the apostles’ footsteps.

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Pastor’s Notebook

Catholic social communication. Essentially, we don’t see our bishops often. We often have no relationship with them other than the Malume or Uncle who comes to visit occasionally. Our real international and even crossparish contact is in our moments of interaction—be they visits to another parish (maybe because you’re irritated with your current parish priest) to our sodality outings to our Catholic media. Our Catholic media is evolving rapidly. No longer are we limited to the paper version of The Southern Cross, vitally important though it still is (we can get it also digitally now, of course). We have Radio Veritas, the Redemptorist Link, diocesan newspapers and many parish newsletters. We are also part of the global phenomena of the explosion of social media. From our websites to microblogging (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook) most of us engage with a Catholic world—even by the WhatsApp groups that are changing the way that our parishes and sodalities are working. Our Catholicism cannot become parochial and insular—caught up in ourselves. We therefore need to make our lives open to a world Catholicism. We also realise that we are all co-creators of content for Catholic media. We are no longer just recipients of media but also participants. We have to challenge the narrowminded insularity that is increasingly the domain of politicians, nations and certain elements within each parish—and each person.

Kelvin Banda OP

Point of Reflection

get their promises of service to Africa and the African people and concentrate on enriching themselves. Both political and Church leaders need to revisit the first premise of fighting against colonial masters—freedom. Some of our first African presidents who fought for the independence of Africa had a vision for Africa. It was a vision of great service, of reconciliation and of unity among the people of Africa—the spirit of ubuntu. Where has the spirit of ubuntu gone? Africa as a continent is already saved. What we need to be saved from are those African leaders who exploit African resources at the expense of African people. Many African people remain in misery and great poverty due to greed and exploitation from our own leaders. Some of those who helped to fight against exploitation and oppression of the colonial masters are now the ones who are colonising Africa again. Such individuals do not care about the suffering of others—their selfishness needs to be uprooted and they need to be saved. This includes some prominent Church leaders. Some have become so greedy, corrupt and stiff-necked that they do not listen to the plea of the needy. These are the injustices from which the people need to be saved. If we Africans cannot unite and stop being corrupt and unjust to one another, Continued on page 11

Artificial intelligence is taking over many of the tasks that used to provide employment.

Chris Chatteris SJ

Pray with the Pope

Beware the future of robots General Intention: That all workers may receive respect and protection of their rights, and that the unemployed may receive the opportunity to contribute to the common good. E need to consider this prayer intention in a world of robots and artificial intelligence. Consider something as ubiquitous as the ATM. It is said that in every automatic teller machine there lurk the ghosts of three bank tellers. It seems it is not just the back-breaking work that robots are taking over, but also office jobs and other skilled tasks. The near future will see artificial intelligence increasingly doing medical diagnosis. There is already an app for your smartphone which can take your temperature and blood pressure, into which you can record your symptoms, and which will then give you a diagnosis. Many of us already go on the Internet to check out our symptoms online. Doctors won’t disappear, but they could become fewer. Any profession which involves accessing large amounts of information, such as the law, will be in danger of being “electronically colonised” by artificial intelligence. The machines are not about to take over everything, however. Complex operations requiring the broader capacities of human consciousness, such as intuition, seem to be quite difficult for robots. It is hard to imagine a robot with the sensitivity and physical dexterity to do dental work. There is a world of difference between artificial intelligence and human consciousness, and it’s unlikely that robots will ever be endowed with the latter. However, in an age when employment is already hard to come by, there are ominous signs. If employers can find machines that work 24 hours a day without complaining or demanding more money, some certainly will. Greed is a powerful force.

t our local shopping centre, ticket machines and booms are going up, which probably means that a parking company is going to displace the car guards. Where will these men go when the robots are installed? Most of them are poor immigrants whose options are very limited. And how will an unemployed person contribute to the common good in this “brave new world” for the unemployed are usually preoccupied primarily with the survival of self and family? Various solutions are suggested by economists. One is the four-day week to spread employment around more. Another is the basic income grant. Each person in a country, whether employed or not, would qualify for such a monthly grant which would be enough to live on in reasonable comfort. An unemployed person would not forfeit the basic income grant if they found a job. This would give an incentive for people to work. Meaningful work, the Church teaches, is important for our human dignity. Which raises the question of what people would do if they were simply unable to find work and had to live on their grant. This is where it would be important for society and the Church to encourage a contribution to the common good. In fact, many retired people already do this. They live off their pensions but they are by no means loafers. Many are busy helping their families, neighbours and the wider community. In a world with little employment, this kind of activity will be necessary for people to maintain their human dignity and their sanity. When I was a young student living in Britain, the unemployment rate was 250 000. In a country with about the same population size as South Africa’s now, it was an unimaginably small number by today’s standards. Will such full employment ever come back? We should hope so and work for it to be so, but we also need to plan prudently and creatively for a future where robots make much of our work redundant but where we keep active and engaged for our own sakes and the sake of the common good.

The Southern Cross, September 20 to September 26, 2017

PILGRIMAGE

Archbishop William Slattery during the pilgrimage’s opening Mass in Nazareth’s basilica of the Annunciation.

The Southern Cross pilgrims in St Peter’s Square in the Vatican.

Frs Vincent Kayiira and Hormisdas Kasule with Archbishop Slattery in Greccio, Italy, on the spot where St Francis staged the first Nativity Scene in 1223.

Pilgrims with St Francis at the Hermitage of Carceri near Assisi, where St Francis spoke to the birds.

Pilgrimage to Holy Land and Italy in pics T

HIS month, a group of Southern Cross pilgrims, led by Archbishop William Slattery OFM of Pretoria, travelled to the Holy Land, Rome and Assisi. The journey of faith had a particular Franciscan character: this year the order to which the archbishop belongs celebrates the 800th anniversary of being given the custodianship of the Holy Land. The group visited Assisi, where Archbishop Slattery marked his birthday by celebrating Mass in the Porziuncola, the chapel which St Francis restored after hearing Christ’s command to “repair my Church”. Even the group’s accommodation in Rome fell within the boundaries of the parish of St Francis of Assisi! At every site the group had professional local guides, but in Archbishop Slattery they had another guide who was always ready to share his great knowledge with the pilgrims. The photos on this page provide just some of the memorable scenes from this prayerful, holy and very special pilgrimage. All photos courtesy of Fowler Tours. Pilgrims pray the Stations of the Cross on the Via Dolorosa (or Way of Sorrow) in Jerusalem’s Old City. The Way of the Cross culminates in the church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Pilgrim Siboniso Maseko is singing and dancing during a boatride on the Sea of Galilee

Part of the group while awaiting Mass in the chapel of Peace in the basilica of St Francis in Assisi.

Mass in the church of All Nations at Gethsemane in Jerusalem. Below the altar is the Rock of the Agony, on which Jesus prayed before his arrest.

The pilgrims wait to enter the tomb of Christ in the church of the Holy Sepulchre—the exact place of the Resurrection of Our Lord. At Calvary, on the upper level of the ancient church, they also touched the rock on which the cross stood.

Daughters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

The group renews their baptismal vows on the River Jordan. The site, called Qasr el-Yahud, is on the West Bank side of the river. Across the river we see the baptismal site in the Kingdom of Jordan.

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Pilgrims enjoy gelato at Rome’s Navona Square. Archbishop Slattery treated the group to an ice-cream.

The Southern Cross, September 20 to September 26, 2017

INTERV IEW

Faith at centre for major-general One of the highest-ranking women in the police is celebrating 35 years in the force this year. As a Catholic, she says her faith keeps her humble and inspires her to do acts of mercy. ERIN CARELSE spoke to Major-General Victoria Mekute.

S she celebrates 35 years of serving in the police, Victoria Mekute keeps her Catholic faith at the centre. Now holding the rank of major-general and serving as KwaZulu-Natalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s provincial head of legal and policy services, she recalled how she joined the police in August 1982. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I had just completed matric and was working as a temporary cashier,â&#x20AC;? she told The Southern Cross. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I heard the police force was looking for young women who were interested in joining, so I went to my closest police station.â&#x20AC;? She completed her application forms, obtained a testimonial from her parish priest, the late Fr Phela at St Henryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in Mafikeng, and submitted them. She was chosen from a shortlist and sworn in as an official police officer in August 1982, when she began her police training. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I remember finding the training difficult because we women were trained the same way men were,â&#x20AC;? Major-General Mekute recalled. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a person who is positive and sees the beauty of every situation, and triumphed.â&#x20AC;? After training, she was posted to the Mmabatho District Commandantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office in the human resources management department. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We were integrated with men, which was a bit tough as it was a very male-dominated environment, but we stood our ground, showed them we had gone through the same training, and deserved to be there. Gradually we earned their respect,â&#x20AC;? she said. Maj-Gen Mekute earned a bachelor of criminal prosecution degree from the University of Bophuthatswana in 1990, and in 2000

a law degree. She was admitted as an advocate of the High Court of South Africa in February 2001 in Mmabatho. From 2000-04 she served as area head of legal services in Potchefstroom, and then was appointed to the Uthukela area as head of legal services in Newcastle in 2004. On arriving in Newcastle, Maj-Gen Mekute attended the Catholic Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Association (CWA) annual conference in Witbank diocese. At that conference, she established that the CWA existed in Dundee diocese, within which Newcastle falls, but only in parishes within Mpumalanga, and in only one parish in all of KwaZulu-Natal.

n 2006 she invited the CWA at her previous parish, Calvary church in Potchefstroom, Klerksdorp diocese, to visit her at her new parish, Maria Consolata in Newcastle. At the time she had already recruited 30 women for the CWA. The new members underwent their spiritual formation for two years and in 2008 their investiture was witnessed by Witbank dioceseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s CWA. Maj-Gen Mekute was elected Dundee diocesan president at the inauguration of the diocesan association, presided over by Bishop Graham Rose. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Being a member of the Catholic Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Association is what encourages me to be meek and humbleâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and I find it easy to do acts of mercy,â&#x20AC;? she said. That inspiration to do acts of mercy has led her to serve as a patron of the new Napier Centre 4 Healing (NC4H), launched for drug rehabilitation of those who cannot afford it, at Ekukhanyeni mission station near Verulam. That engagement goes back to early 2015, when Maj-Gen Mekute participated in a dialogue with homeless people in Durban, facilitated by the Denis Hurley Centre. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The purpose for the police and the university [of KwaZulu-Natal] was to hear from homeless people how they survive on the streets, what could be done to help them and, where possible, how they could be reconciled with

Major-General Victoria Mekute (right), a committed Catholic, is head of legal services in Newcastle. She is also Dundee diocesan president of the Catholic Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Association (above). ficer, I am always grateful to be part of the programmes that benefit people in need of care, and also serve as a social crime-prevention strategy,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;One person rehabilitated means one person off the streets. Drug abuse in Durban, in particular, is devastating our community.â&#x20AC;? She noted that committed individuals in different careers and professions will be needed at times to provide pro-bono and voluntary services at the centre. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And I am prepared to offer my servicesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; without prejudice,â&#x20AC;? Maj-Gen Mekute said.

their families and the community,â&#x20AC;? she said. The Napier Centre 4 Healing, expected to open in the new year, will be based on a strong Catholic ethos in terms of a whole-person approach to healing and a belief in gracefilled personal transformation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I pledged my support to the NC4H publicly, to encourage others to do the same,â&#x20AC;? Maj-Gen Mekute said. She explained that the safety and security of the homeless is also a concern of the SAPS, as it is a concern of the Church and community. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As a Christian and a law enforcement of-

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The Southern Cross, September 20 to September 26, 2017

SA CHURCH 200

The story of a pioneer bishop As a child MAURICE EGAN knew about a greatgranduncle who was a bishop. Later he researched the life of Bishop John Rooney, one of South Africa’s pioneer bishops. Here is what he found.

T was a great moment. “I found him,” I exclaimed to my wife. But let me dial back. When I was a child in Ireland, a bishop’s consecration cross hung above my parents’ bed. Once in a while I would ask about the significance of the cross, and my mother would dismissively redirect me: “Ask your father.” So I did. The story went that the cross came all the way from Cape Town, South Africa, to Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland. It was the consecration cross of the late Bishop John Rooney, vicarapostolic of the Western Cape Vicariate of the Cape of Good Hope. Bishop Rooney died 90 years ago, in 1927. As a child, little did I know that I, too, would come from Ireland to live in South Africa, and one day research the amazing, accomplished story of this humble man of faith—my great-granduncle. Bishop Rooney was related to the Egans of Tullamore through marriage. Francis J Egan, son of Patrick Egan—of the well-known brewer, maltster and whiskey merchant firm P & H Egan Limited— married Helen Byrne of Dublin, whose mother Annie Byrne (née Rooney) was one of two sisters of the bishop. His younger sister followed him to the Cape and became Mrs Cowen, settling in Stellenbosch. My paternal family, the Egans, were well-known employers in Edenderry, County Offaly, where the future Bishop Rooney was born on June 10, 1844. He was ordained a priest on June 15, 1867—150 years ago. He was a hobbyist of architec-

ture, and today one can clearly see his designing hand in the numerous Catholic churches he built. If one visits Cape Town’s False Bay coast, one can see the beauty of the churches of Ss Simon & Jude in Simon’s Town, Star of the Sea in Kalk Bay and the church of St James, which gave the name to the suburb it is located in. One can also see the architectural beauty in the church and presbytery of St Agnes in Woodstock. Bishop Rooney was an ecumenist at heart a century before the Second Vatican Council. There’s a story reflects not only the times in which Bishop Rooney lived, but also the comradery among some of those recent arrivals at the Cape. It involves three Irishmen. In 1876, Frederick York St Leger, an Irishman from County Limerick, teamed up with two other prominent men of faith to form the Cape Town Irish Association. St Leger, its first chairman, was an Anglican priest and former rector of St Andrew’s College in Grahamstown. He was also the first editor of The Cape Times. Bishop Rooney was one of his supporters and co-founders. And the third co-founder and collaborator was Rabbi A P Bender, who hailed from Dublin.

Newspaper friend No doubt Bishop Rooney listened and learned a lot about matters of journalism and newspapers from his friend St Leger and his Cape Times daily. So in 1919 he was one of the co-founders of the national Catholic weekly newspaper. The Southern Cross, which was first published in October 1920. When Bishop Rooney died, his obituary covered the front-page of The Southern Cross of March 2, 1927, penned by his class fellow from 1860, Mgr O’Reilly. In that edition, Mgr O’Reilly recalled how Bishop Rooney had been a pupil in Dublin of Fr Thomas Grimley’s school, St Paul’s Academy, in Harcourt Street, when he offered himself as a candidate

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Bishop John Rooney’s episcopal ring. He is pictured right on the front-page of The Southern Cross in 1927 that carried his obituary. for the priesthood. In 1860, Fr Grimley was later named vicar-apostolic in Cape Town to succeed the first residential bishop in South Africa, Bishop Raymund Griffith. A year later, John Rooney moved to St Patrick’s College in Carlow to prepare to serve as a missionary in the Cape of Good Hope. He was accepted and sent to All Hallows College in Drumcondra, and from there to the Pontifical College of Propaganda in Rome. There he obtained doctorates in philosophy and theology. In 1867 Rooney was ordained a sub-deacon on June 11, a deacon on June 12 and a priest on June 15. He used to say that June was the most memorable month of his life. In the year of his ordination he came to South Africa. After a short stay at Oudtshoorn as priest-in-charge he was transferred to the colonial chaplaincy of Simon’s Town. When the 22-year-old Prince Imperial of France, Eugene Louis Jean Joseph Napoleon, was killed in the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879, Fr Rooney was chosen as chaplain on board the HMS Boadicea before it conveyed the body of the prince back to England. He remained at Simon’s Town for nearly 20 years until in 1886 he was named co-adjutor vicar-apos-

tolic of the Western Vicariate with the right of succession to Bishop John Leonard, the Irishman who had succeeded Bishop Grimley in 1872. To be nearer the vicar-apostolic Bishop Rooney exchanged chaplaincies with Fr Meagher of Rondebosch. For nearly 22 years he remained coadjutor until in 1908, on the death of Bishop Leonard, he became vicar-apostolic. He would serve the vicariate as its head for 16 years.

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In the year 1911, he celebrated his episcopal silver jubilee and in 1917 the golden jubilee of his ordination to the Priesthood. Finally, in 1924, he placed his resignation in the hands of the apostolic delegate of the Holy See in South Africa, Archbishop Bernard Gijlswijk. As mentioned before, Bishop Rooney’s hobby was architecture. Apart from the churches in Woodstock, Simon’s Town and St James, he also built the schools there. He also built St Patrick’s College at Swellendam, St Michael’s church and presbytery in Rondebosch, St Boniface church in Knysna, as well

as St Dominic’s presbytery and parish hall at Wynberg. Bishop Rooney introduced into his vicariate the Jesuit and Redemptorist Fathers, with missions at Claremont and Heathfield—the Redemptorists still serve the latter community—as well as the Sisters of the Holy Cross, the Good Shepherd Sisters, Ursulines and Loreto Sisters. Mgr O’Reilly in his obituary in The Southern Cross noted that an unnamed non-Catholic once told him that Bishop Rooney “was the humblest clergyman in the Cape”. Bishop Rooney is buried in Maitland cemetery, Cape Town. And so, having come, indirectly, 10 000 km to Cape Town to visit, to experience, and to witness my great-granduncle’s legacy, I am pleased to have come full circle from the days of my childhood inquisitiveness, which allowed me to learn of this incredible man of solemn faith. The bishop’s ring and his consecration cross were handed down and are still proudly in the possession of members of the Egan family in Ireland. n Maurice Egan lives in Johannesburg with his wife Elsabe and their two daughters, Dominique and Frances.

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The church of Ss Simon & Jude in Simon’s Town in the Cape, one of several churches in Cape Town and Knysna which Bishop Rooney built.

CLASSIFIEDS

Fr Gabriel Goibaiyer

ATHER Gabriel Bonaventure Goibaiyer of Cape Town died on September 2 at the age of 75. His passing has left a void that will remain. He was born on February 18, 1942, one of ten children, in Ermelo, Mpumalanga. Gabriel and his siblings attended primary school in Aliwal North as boarders, and he completed high school at St Columba’s School in Crawford in Cape Town while boarding at the nearby St Francis Xavier Minor Seminary. After matriculating, Gabriel felt a call to the priesthood, and went to the seminary for the Priests of the Sacred Heart in Malpas, England. The authorities had reservations about his suitability for ordination. Gabriel returned to South Africa after his seven years’ formation under observation, awaiting a final decision. He loved to remark that his suitability for the priesthood was often under question while perfect seminarians and ideal priests were leaving left, right and centre. “I think they were waiting and hoping I’d leave, but I refused,” he would say. He would later joke about receiving two ordinations—to the

diaconate and the priesthood— in the same week in March 1969. Fr Gabriel did not easily “fit in”. He was in a most unselfconscious way his own man. After his ordination he was deeply unhappy with his appointments, or lack thereof. After talks, he was sent to Cape Town in 1975 as assistant priest at Holy Trinity parish in Matroosfontein. He cherished fond memories of Holy Trinity and built a special and lasting relationship with the youth, some of whom visited him in his last days. Fr Gabriel was known by his Christian name long before it became acceptable—nobody could pronounce or spell Goibaiyer. His second appointment was as assistant priest in Paarl. Fr Gabriel was an independent and confident person, and did not take easily to being anyone’s assistant—ask me; I was his parish priest in Paarl. He later served as parish priest in Bonteheuwel, Kuils River, Steenberg, and St James. Health was a major factor in Fr Gabriel’s life as he had a serious heart condition. He had a heart transplant at Groote Schuur 25 years ago. People remember Fr Gabriel for his deep singing voice and his

berley and Boys’ Town Magaliesburg, and worked in many different parishes after completing a training course in catechetics. Whatever she laid her hands on, she produced a good job in love and obedience. She was loved by pupils and the many people she came in contact with. Her last assignment was being in charge of the catering at St Dominic’s at the Bluff in Durban. During her lifetime Sr Alma suffered various illnesses, among them forms of cancer, and had several serious operations. These illnesses she bore with patience and hope. Her last three years she spent in retirement at Villa Siena. Here she enjoyed being free of any responsibilities; to have time to enjoy the beauty of nature. She loved reading, and got

Liturgical Calendar Year A – Weekdays Cycle Year 1 Sunday September 24, 25th Sunday of the Year Isaiah 55:6-9, Psalms 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18, Philippians 1:20-24, 27, Matthew 20:1-16 Monday September 25 Ezra 1:1-6, Psalms 126, Luke 8:16-18 Tuesday September 26, Ss Cosmas and Damian Ezra 6:7-8, 12, 14-20, Psalms 122:1-5, Luke 8:19-21 Wednesday September 27, St Vincent de Paul Ezra 9:5-9, Responsorial psalms Tobit 13:1-4, 6, 8, Luke 9:1-6 Thursday September 28, St Wenceslaus, Ss Lawrence Ruiz & Companions Haggai 1:1-8, Psalms 149:1-6, 9, Luke 9:7-9 Friday September 29, Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 or Revelations 12:7-12, Psalms 138:1-5, John 1:47-51 Saturday September 30, St Jerome Zechariah 2:5-9, 14-15, Responsorial psalms Jeremiah 31:10-13, Luke 9:43-45 Sunday October 1, 26th Sunday of the Year Ezekiel 18:25-28, Psalms 25:4-9, Philippians 2:1-11, Matthew 21:28-32

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

IN MEMORIAM

rendering of hymns such as “Were You There?”, “Go Down Moses” and “Going Home”. Quality was his passion, not only in music, sound equipment and cars, but also for liturgy, pastoral formation and all he did. People who lived closely with Fr Gabriel speak of his monthly shopping to buy non-perishable food for the poor and making small parcels, and of his habit of going into his prayer room morning and evening. He was not “well liked” in the ordinary sense—he was too challenging for that. But he was popular with many because of a more fulfilling human connection. Fr Goibaiyer is survived by his brother Anthony and sisters Sylvia and Cathleen. By Fr Frank Whyte

DAVIDS—Neville Richard. In loving memory of my dear son and brother who passed away on September 27, 2016. Forever in our hearts, sadly missed and fondly remembered by his mother Martha, sisters Avril and Pamela, brothers Owen and Paul (NZ) and their families. BROWN—In loving memory of Sybil-Ann Brown who passed away on September 21, 2011.You are always in our thoughts and prayers. Your strength has become our strength. Lovingly remembered by your son Ruben, daughter-in-law Gloria, and grandchildren Randall, Grant, Nadine and Robert.

PRAYERS

PRAYER TO THE HOLY SPIRIT—Holy Spirit, you who makes me see everything and show me the way to reach my ideal, you who give me the divine gift to forgive and forget all the wrong that is done to me and you who are in all instances of my life with me. I, in this short dialogue, want to thank you for everything, and affirm once more that I never want to be separated

Sr Alma Haseitl OP AKFORD Dominican Sister Alma Haseitl died unexpectedly on July 9 at Villa Siena, Pietermaritzburg. She was 76. Born in Denklingen in Bavaria, Germany, on December 18, 1938, she entered the Oakford Dominican Congregation at Neustadt/ Main, Germany, in 1961. She made her first profession there on May 5, 1964, and then went to South Africa, professing her final vows in 1967 at Oakford. She had been trained in home economics, in Germany and at the Technical College in Durban. She also obtained an honours degree through Unisa in geography and biblical studies. This she complemented with a year’s course in Jerusalem. She taught in many different schools: in Oakford, Soweto, Kim-

The Southern Cross, September 20 to September 26, 2017

deep into Centering Prayer, being active in a prayer group. In her last few weeks she became weak, slower, and was breathless. She wanted to go home—so God heard her wish and Sr Alma surprised us by slipping away into the loving arms of the God she so longed for. Sr Carmen Brokamp OP

Our bishops’ anniversaries This week we congratulate: September 24: Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town on his 61st birthday September 24: Bishop Adam Musialek of De Aar on the eighth anniversary of his episcopal ordination

from you no matter how great material desires may be. I want to be with you and my loved ones in your perpetual glory. To that end and submitting to God’s holy will, I ask from you... (mention your favour). Amen. This prayer should be said for 3 consecutive days. After the 3rd day, your sincere wish will be granted no matter how difficult it may be. Promise to publish it on granting of your favour. The idea is to spread the wonder of the Holy Spirit.

PERSONAL

ABORTION WARNING:The truth will convict a silent Church. See www.valuelife abortionisevil.co.za ABORTION ON DEMAND: This is legalised daily murder in our nation. Our silence on this issue is the reason why it continues. Avoid pro-abortion politicians. FELLOW CATHOLICS: Visit Pious Ponsiano Kintu’s official website www.ave maria832.simplesite.com This website has been set up to give Glory to the Most Holy Trinity through the healing power of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. View God’s marvellous work of healing and deliverance in various African countries since 2007. More than 20 video clips have been uploaded onto YouTube (simply go to Google and type Pious Kintu YouTube). Also you will read about African stigmatic Sr Josephine Sul

What Africa needs saving from Continued from page 7 then “Africa Will Be Saved”, with its hopeful future tense, shall continue to be sung into perpetuity until Christ comes again. It is only Africans who can save Africa from terrible, oppressive regimes. No outsider will come to save Africa on our behalf while we remain silent, biased and corrupt in many ways. It is the moral responsibility of Africans to work towards saving Africa. No Messiah or Holy Spirit will come to fix Africa. Africa can be saved only when African people change their mindsets and develop African unity. Africa needs leaders who can act without fear. “Africa Will Be Saved” needs to be sung not as a plea for divine intervention but as a statement of intent to uproot the evils that are hurting Africa.

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Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel 36 Central Avenue, Pinelands, Cape Town Call 071 291 4501 for details. Email: sspx.capetown@gmail.com The

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The Southern Cross is published independently by the Catholic Newspaper & Publishing Company Ltd. Address: PO Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000. Tel: (021) 465 5007 Fax: (021) 465 3850 www.scross.co.za

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

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the

26th Sunday: October 1 Readings: Ezekiel 18:25-28, Psalm 25:4-9, Philippians 2:1-11, Matthew 21:18-23

S God’s way right? Sadly we have to concede that it does not always seem so to us. In the first reading, Ezekiel is dealing with Israel’s allegations that “the Lord’s way is not fair”, and putting the boot firmly on the other foot: “It is your ways that are not fair,” he bellows; and then gives the example of the “just person who turns away from their just behaviour and does evil and dies—it is because of the evil that they have done”. And the same (in the opposite direction) is true for the wicked person who turns from wickedness. Then in the verse following our reading we hear the prophet take up the objection and turn it back on them: “House of Israel…is it not your ways that are not fair?” We need to listen attentively to this, next time we find it in ourselves to blame God for the mess that we have made. The psalm for next Sunday also speaks of God’s ways: “Your ways, O Lord, make known to me, and teach me your paths; show me the way in integrity and teach me, for you are God my Saviour; I wait for you all day long.” As so often, it is the psalmist who gets it right, and who puts words into our mouths;

S outher n C ross

and this is possible because of the poet’s intensely personal relationship with God. And because we have got it wrong (how is your personal relationship with God at this moment?), we need to rely on God’s most evident characteristic: “Remember your compassion, Lord, and your steadfast love; for they are from all time.” That word “remember” is important; we then ask God to remember the divine mercy, but not to “remember” the sins of our youth, and then again: “In accordance with your steadfast love, remember me for the sake of your goodness, Lord.” So against any accusation that God’s way might not be right, we hear the slogan that “the Lord is good and upright”, and he “guides sinners on the way” (that word again). The final verse begins and ends with the idea of “way”, though it does not come out well in English: “He gives the right way to the humble…and teaches the humble his way.” In the second reading we see how spectacular God’s way is; in an attempt to stop people fighting in Philippi (yes, even there!), Paul

exterminate others simply because they’re living in a certain place? Obviously we need to ask ourselves: Is this really the word of God? What kind of God would give this kind of command? And what about the people being killed, aren’t they too God’s people? Does God play favourites? What about the Canaanites whom Joshua is asked to exterminate, don’t they count? What can be behind this kind of command?

Conrad

hese texts, though divinely inspired and rich in meaning, clearly should not be taken literally. This command, while not exactly metaphorical, is archetypal, meaning that it’s not meant to be taken literally as a command to kill what’s foreign to us, but rather as a counsel teaching that when we’re trying to enter a new way of living we must take all the necessary measures to ensure that we can properly enter that life and sustain it. Metaphorically, we need to “kill” off every element inside us and around us which, if left unaddressed, might eventually compromise and choke off the new life we’re trying to live. Jesus, in fact, gives us the identical command, except he employs a softer metaphor: “Don’t put new wine into old wineskins.” People in recovery programmes such as Alcoholics Anonymous tend to more quickly understand what’s asked of us in these texts. Like Eric Clapton, they’ve learned from experience that to enter the

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Sunday Reflections

quotes an older hymn about Jesus, to persuade them to have “comfort…consolation… solidarity in the Spirit…compassion and pity”, and getting their way right. In the hymn we watch astonished as Jesus, “being in the form of God, did not think his equality with God was a snatching matter, but emptied himself, taking on a slave’s shape…obedient to death—even death on the cross!”. And then we see God’s way: “Therefore God super-exalted him and gave him the free gift of the name that is above every name, that in Jesus’ name every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” That is God’s “way”; and is it fair? The Gospel for next Sunday likewise speaks of Jesus’ and God’s way; he has had his entry into Jerusalem (on a donkey, for heaven’s sake!), has cleansed the Temple, and now finds himself locked in argument with those who are out to kill him, and demand to know his authority (God’s “way”).

Killing the Canaanites? N his autobiography, the famed rock and blues artist Eric Clapton shares very candidly his long struggle with an addiction to alcohol. At one point in his life, he admitted his addiction and entered a rehab clinic, but he didn’t take his problem as seriously as was warranted. Returning to England after his stint in the clinic he decided that he could still drink light spirits, beer and wine, but would give up hard liquor. You can guess the result. Before long he was again enslaved inside his addiction. He returned to the clinic, to appease friends, but convinced that he was still strong enough to handle his problems on his own. But grace intervened. Just before his second rehab stint ended, he had a powerful experience, within which he was shaken to his very soul by the recognition of his own helplessness and the mortal danger he faced from his addiction. On the basis of that grace, he finally gave himself over to the programme with his whole heart, accepting that he could never touch alcohol again. He has retained his sobriety since. His story can be helpful in understanding the meaning of certain texts in scripture which, when read literally, can give us the impression that God is arbitrary, cruel and murderous. We see such texts, for example, in the Book of Exodus and the Book of Joshua where, before entering the Promised Land, God instructs Israel to kill all the people and all the animals who at that time inhabit that land. Why such a command to

Nicholas King SJ

Is God’s way fair to us?

So (as so often) he tells them a story, of the man with two sons. And we have all known adolescents like this. Number One, when his father asks him to “go and work in the vineyard today”, replied: “Don’t want to”—but later changed his mind and went. The father went to Number Two and said the same. He said: “You betcha, Lord”—but he didn’t go! Which of the two did the father’s will?” Rather reluctantly they reply “Number One”. At that point, we remember that all the way through Matthew’s gospel there is constant reference to “the will of my Father”, and we realise what it is we are talking about. So listen to the conclusion, with its shocking implications for “God’s way”: “Amen I am telling you: the tax-collectors and prostitutes are going ahead of you into the Kingdom of God.” God’s way is very remarkable, but it is (when you take the trouble to think about it) absolutely fair.

Southern Crossword #777

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

promised land of sobriety demands that one kill off all “the Canaanites”, that is, accept that all half-measures won’t work but that some brute, raw, bitter renunciations have to be made. This biblical image, the command from God to kill the “Canaanites”, can serve us well too in other areas of our lives, particularly, I believe, in our struggles with making commitments and being faithful to them. For example, consider someone entering a marriage. Like Israel they’re entering the “promised land”, but for them to establish this new life and remain faithful to it, they need to kill off a good number of things—former romances, old relational habits of promiscuity and infidelity, the propensity to flirt with attractive temptations, the belief that one can have one’s cake and eat it too, and the long-standing habit of putting one’s own needs first and worrying mainly about taking care of oneself. Every choice is a series of renunciations. To have a life-giving marriage means renouncing a lot of old habits, otherwise these old habits will eventually sabotage the marriage. There are things one must do before entering a marriage or any serious commitment. But what about those “Canaanites” that already inhabit the land we’re entering? Who might they be today? In terms of threatening to contaminate a marriage, I would submit that what must be killed off today in order to have a lifelong, life-giving marriage is our present cultural ethos about sex, namely, the belief that sex need not be confined to monogamy, permanent commitment, and marriage. If we don’t kill off that ethos as we enter a marriage, we will not sustain ourselves life-long in that Promised Land. To live lives of sobriety, commitment and fidelity demands more than half-measures. An alcoholic in recovery knows that he or she cannot have it both ways. The same is true in terms of sustaining ourselves in any life-giving commitment. God’s commands, properly understood, aren’t harsh and arbitrary. They’re wise and universal.

O R FOR D

CONSTRuCTION

ACROSS

3. Hope you find it in the organ loft (4,5) 8. Caught the sound of the goats (4) 9. She could be an ordained minister (9) 10. Turn in parish priest on Japan (6) 11. Wakes up that mitre is not straight (5) 14. She’s clearly in dire need (5) 15. Unwilling to work (4) 16. Peace is one of his prizes (5) 18. A sandy bit to give you courage (4) 20. Inspection of parish accounts (5) 21. It’s plainly sung in unison (5) 24. Flag of one who suppresses publication? (6) 25. Holiday after the official match? (9) 26. English venerable saint (4) 27. Liturgical greeting (9)

DOWN

1. Sang thin “C” from the monks’ choir stalls (9) 2. Accurately predicting what’s to be (9) 4. They were sold with sheep (Jn 2) (4) 5. Folds in the vestments (5) 6. He composed the great oratorio (6) 7. It will not destroy your treasure in heaven (Mt 6) (4) 9. Set of tribes or apostles (5) 11. The monks’ head (5) 12. Protestants making dense laws (9) 13. Inexplicable parts of the rosary? (9) 17. Rebekah’s brother (Gn 24) (5) 19. Dearth of thin strand (6) 22. Mythological bathing beauty (5) 23. Vatican marriage court (4) 24. Reserve your seat (4)

Solutions on page 11

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