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The

S outher n C ross

October 11 to October 17, 2017

Official Benedict Daswa saint medal launched

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The chase for a fairytale wedding

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no 5053

R8,00 (incl VaT Rsa)

SA Church’s ‘CEO’: I’m a workaholic

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Pray on every Friday to heal South Africa By eRin CaReLse

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HE bishops’ Justice & Peace Commission (J&P) is calling on South Africans to spare some time every Friday till midDecember to say a prayer for the healing of our nation and to ask God to intervene in the political and economic situation of their country.

The #Wepray4SouthAfrica campaign will run in the lead-up to the ANC National Conference which will take place from December 16-20, and at which the party’s members will elect their new leaders.

The Justice & Peace Commission, a body of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, said the prayer campaign is inspired by the word of God: “If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

“The political and economic situation in our country is in a state of paralysis,” noted J&P director Fr Stan Muyebe OP. “In a situation like this, humbling ourselves entails admitting that, on our own as human beings, we are not in a position to resolve the current political and economic crisis We need outside help,” he said.

“We need the intervention of God’s grace.

God’s grace should incarnate and pitch a tent inside our political situation,” he said.

A prayer guide produced by J&P has ten prayer points which can be used to develop one’s own prayer for the healing of South Africa and its political situation.

“These ten prayer points indicate the areas that people should consider for prayer while awaiting the ANC conference and the 2019 national elections,” Fr Muyebe said.

He stressed that the prayer campaign does not replace the need for prophetic activism.

“We shall continue to call on the ANC to rediscover its moral compass. In partnership with the South African Council of Churches and other formations, we shall continue to be a moral conscience to the nation and its lead-

ership,” he said.

“We shall also continue to interface with the marginalised voices in the social movements,” Fr Muyebe added.

The ten prayer points are: • That our nation learns to accept that all of us, irrespective of our race, ethnicity, gender, and nationality, are children of the same parent (Mt 6:9) • That the 2019 elections reconnect us to God’s kingdom and its values (Mt 6:10); • That God gives us the courage to reject leaders who will lead us away from God’s will (Mt 6:10); • That we open our hearts to ask for forgiveness for our failings as a nation (Mt 6:12); • That pervasive corruption will give way to the rule of God’s righteousness (Is 9:7) • That our leaders govern with the fear of the Lord and that God grants them wisdom (2 Sam 23:3) • That our nation enjoys prosperity and our leaders ensure that this prosperity benefits the common good and not just a few elite (Jer 29:11) • That God gives us the courage to reject leaders who enrich themselves at the expense of the poor (Deut 17:16); • That God gives us the courage to elect leaders who govern with values, convictions, wisdom, and understanding (Deut 1:13); • That our country experiences an end to political violence and political assassinations before elections (Is 60:18). n A prayer which can be used is reproduced on page 11.

The southern Cross/Radio Veritas pilgrims led by Fr Brian Mhlanga oP on the steps of Holy Trinity basilica in the Fatima sanctuary. They also visited Coimbra, Lisbon and santarém in Portugal, and in spain saw avila (where they stayed next to the cathedral), alba de Tormes with the tomb of st Teresa of avila, and Madrid.

Church groups dump fossil fuel

By Dennis saDowski

F

ORTY Catholic institutions worldwide, including the social welfare agency of the archdiocese of Cape Town and the Belgian bishops’ conference, have decided to divest from fossil fuel companies.

The organisations cited the call of Pope Francis in his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, On Care for Our Common Home, to take steps to protect the environment as well as the importance of making investments that lead to a carbon-neutral economy in an effort to address climate change.

In most cases, divestment is expected to take several years to accomplish.

“What is clear is that momentum in fossil fuel divestment is growing a lot. This is a very concrete sign of the voice of the Catholic community,” said Tomas Insua, executive director of the Global Catholic Climate Movement, which organised the effort.

“These 40 institutions are taking a moral stand and are sending a very clear message to governments and the fossil fuel industry that their business model is not aligned with a healthy climate and a sustainable society,” Mr Insua said.

The value of investments the institutions

S outher n C ross in association with the Diocese of Klerksdorp The

Feast day at shrine of OUR LADY OF KNOCK, 17-28 PAPAL MASS in Dublin*, August 2018 and much more...

committed to divest totals more than $5 trillion, the Catholic climate group reported.

Divestment from fossil fuels is one way to “look at how one applies the teachings” of Laudato Si’, said Kevin Roussel, executive director of Catholic Welfare and Development in Cape Town.

“We definitely are telling others in our journey” of implementing the encyclical, Mr Roussel said. “We’re finding a lot of people exactly in the same place [of wanting to divest].

They’re just notsure about the how, not whether they should. What we’re doing is sharing in the how we’re doing it. That’s quite a big step.”

In Italy’s diocese of Assisi-Nocera UmbraGualdo Tadino, Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino explained that divestment was following the example of St Francis of Assisi in his love for creation.

“With the aim to promote an integral ecology in which ‘everything is interconnected’, the Church that hears ‘both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor’ cannot stay indifferent in front of the catastrophic consequences of climate change that are unfairly affecting poor and vulnerable communities,” the archbishop said.

CATHOLIC IRELAND A pilgrimage with Bishop Victor Phalana

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The southern Cross, october 11 to october 17, 2017

LOCAL

Nardini Convent School melody threads through its 60 years By syDney DuVaL

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HE Nardini Convent School at Vryheid, which began with five pupils in 1957 amid Roomse gevaar hostility, has celebrated its 60th anniversary with an enrolment of some 450 pupils and a reputation for excellent education and academic achievement.

The Franciscan Nardini community joined staff, parents, pupils, past pupils and friends to celebrate the milestone with Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban at a jubilee thanksgiving Mass in St Thomas More church, Vryheid.

This was followed by “a walk down memory lane” at the school, a rousing, colourful concert by pupils, and a gala dinner dance with prizes.

In her welcome at the beginning of Mass, Vryheid convent superior Sr Dolorosa Sorour said: “We pay tribute to the brave Nardini Sisters who heard and listened to God’s call to leave homes and families to be missionaries in South Africa.”

Sr Dolorosa described the Nardini sisters as “instruments on which the Lord has played his beautiful music for the past 60 years”.

She added her thanks to priests of the parish who had served as chaplains to the school through all the years.

Cardinal Napier in his homily explored the school as an ongoing work in progress and shared his experiences of three popes and their concerns for Church and society.

The cardinal recalled Pope John Paul II as having a wonderful vision for the things God wanted for the world: “Remember the past with gratitude, but also live the present with action...to be open to the future with confidence.”

He experienced Pope Benedict XVI as the pastor who, seeing everything seeming to fall apart, went to work for reconciliation and peace, inspired by St Benedict who reformed and rebuilt the Church.

He valued Pope Francis as a pastor reaching out to people in their

nardini Convent school in Vryheid celebrated its 60th anniversary. (Left) pupils present a song and dance routine at the concert. (inset) nardini regional superior sr ellen Lindner pays tribute to all who’d built the school, likening them to members of an orchestra. (Photos: sydney Duval) particular situations—like the two disciples walking away from Jerusalem to Emmaus, and Jesus, instead of forcing them back to Jerusalem going along with them and sharing a meal.

“To walk with Jesus means to bring him into our families, to break bread with him,” he said.

At the gala dinner former pupil Malibongwe Masombuka, now principal of the Oprah Winfrey-sponsored Harpo Primary School in Lakeside Park, Vryheid, described the Nardini impact on her life under Sr Isentraud Rauscher who had admitted her and her brother to the school on their return from exile in Swaziland in 1983. They had not wanted to attend any school offering apartheid-style education.

A teacher with a long association with the school going back to 1979, Cherith Summerfield, thanked the Nardinis for not only giving her own children an education for life,

but for also showing her compassionate support in a time of distress.

Paula Friend, a long-serving member of the PTA, said the Nardinis over 60 years “have been a constant, permanent presence here and their unity of vision has touched everything they have done and will continue to do in the years ahead.

Close to my heart is the strong Christian ethos of the school, and the daily scripture lessons which gave pupils a grounding for life.”

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t the end of the Nardini celebration there were warm thoughts for concelebrating priests Frs Leo Eireiner OSB and Augustine Macuacua; deputy principal Sharon Stone and her 32 years serving Nardini; choir director Mandla Khoza; concert choreographers Cara-Lee Joubert and Simangele Mtshali; and comperes Yeshen Naidoo and Nadine Pillay.

Nardini regional superior Sr Ellen Lindner recalled that it all started with Bishop Aurelian Bilgeri of Eshowe, a Benedictine who had grown up in a Nardini children’s home in Germany.

“Like a visionary composer he carried in his heart a melody which kept him awake at night. So he put some chords to paper and tried his tune at the Nardini motherhouse in Germany. He invited sisters to join him in finetuning the melody in his heart which needed to be set free,” Sr Ellen said.

“Initially, his proposal was not successful, but his tenacity paid off and in January 1955 the first four Nardini Sisters arrived in South Africa, followed by another four in November. By 1957, an enthusiastic quartet of Sisters was so tuned in with the bishop that they were ready to commence the Nardini Convent School in Vryheid. That was 60 years ago. Since then the quartet has expanded into a sizeable orchestra,” she said.

Noting the school’s principals over the years—Sr Modoalda Stigler, Sr Isentraud Rauscher, Sr Catherine Brucker and now Sr Mpume Nhleko—she continued on her musical theme: “In which section of the orchestra were you playing?

With the violins, violas, flutes, clarinets, French horns, the murmuring harps, or the clashing cymbals, the drums, trumpets, trombones, bassoons, oboes?”

“Each one of you has added to the melody of the Nardini song.

Your creativity brought in new sounds, new rhythms, new chords.”

Referring to the celebration’s concert, Sr Ellen noted that “there is now liturgical, classic, rock, jazz, pop, hip hop, reggae, country, ethnic”.

“Bishop Bilgeri’s melody has been carried far beyond Vryheid.

His harmonious music was even offered to a world often drowning in overpowering sounds and noises.

May the Nardini song, alive in you, offer a counterbalance to what is not song, melody or harmony.”

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S a Cape Town Catholic reaches the halfway mark in her 150km walk of the Camino Santiago de Compostela, she is asking for sponsorships that will go to a home for the disabled and a seminary.

Maureen Fernandez left for Spain to walk the last 150km of the Camino—which in her age group qualifies her for the official pilgrim’s medal.

“I have decided to be of some use to others along my journey: not just to walk in pilgrimage for myself but in aid of others as well,” Mrs Fernandez said.

“In walking 150km, I am asking for donations of R150 towards worthy causes that are close to my heart: St Gile’s Association, where my disabled daughter has been going three mornings a week for the past 20-odd years, and St Xavier Orientation Seminary in Crawford, Cape Town,” she said.

“Both will benefit greatly from any donations, big or small.”

Those who make a donation “will all be in my prayers and thoughts as I complete my kilometres each day,” she said.

Her Camino will end in late October.

“This pilgrimage is something I have been wanting to do for many years,” she said, adding that she is posting her progress and thoughts each day on Facebook.

“Each day I walk the walk with a particular saint, or inspiring famous person, passed on or still alive”, she said. On her first day she focused on the Holy Family. n All donations can be deposited into the St Francis Xavier Orientation Seminary’s First National Bank account 62307890229, branch 210046, beneficiary reference “Maureen Camino”.

Two sisters are among the many who enjoyed and photographed the senior schools’ Concert at Durban’s emmanuel cathedral in aid of the Denis Hurley Centre. Taking part were Maris stella (who coordinated the event), st Benedict’s Pinetown, st Francis Mariannhill, st Henry’s Marist, and the signing choir from kwa Thintwa school for the Deaf. kwa Thintwa was founded by archbishop Hurley and Thomas More College in kloof, established by Chris Hurley, the late archbishop’s brother. (Photo: illa Thompson)

Prison Care and Support Network Caring for Inmates, Ex-inmates and their Families UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH PBO 930033684 23 Morningside Street, Pinelands 7405 * Tel: 021 5310550/021 5311348 * E-fax: 086 6284499 * Email: prisoncare@mweb.co.za * Website: www.pcsn.org.za * Facebook page: Prison Care and Support Network

Higher education is one of the most power deterrents to crime and re-incarceration. Education transforms a ƉĞƌƐŽŶ͛Ɛ ƐĞŶƐĞ ŽĨ ƐĞůĨ ĂŶĚ ƚŚĞ ǁĂLJƐ ƚŚĂƚ Ă ƉĞƌƐŽŶ ƌĞůĂƚĞƐ to his or her family, community, and the world. In this sense, higher education transforms the lives of students and their children and promotes lasting transitions out of prison.

Study after study has demonstrated that education, particularly higher education, is one of the most effective ways to break cycles of poverty, incarceration and re-incarceration because higher education creates inroads of advanced education in communities that suffer from a chronic lack of access.

Camino walker donations to aid disabled

Francistown declared a diocese "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." - Nelson Mandela

Prison Care and Support Network (PCSN) provides learning opportunities for offenders and parolees, allowing them to use their sentences constructively and focus on a positive future. The aid include financial support to 21 beneficiaries during 2016, together with emotional support and monitoring during incarceration and after release.

Fields of study include Higher Diploma in Adult Basic Education & Training; Diploma in Marketing Management; Diploma in Public Relations; SMME; Diploma in Public Relations; Bachelor of Accounting Science; Diploma in Electrical Engineering, etc.

The organization receive hundreds of applications to study annually, however are not able to assist the majority due to funding constraints.

Join hands with Prison Care and Support Network today by assisting a number of offenders with rehabilitation through tertiary education to obtain their qualification.

How? By donating a new or pre-owned laptop to aid offenders with their studies for research and to enable them to submit online assignments.

Kindly call Alledene Cupido, Programme Co-ordinator, Monday to Friday between 09:00 and 16:00 at 021 531 0550/1348 or via e-fax: 086 628 4499 or email: prisoncare@mweb.co.za All donations will be highly appreciated.

By eRin CaReLse

P

OPE Francis has raised one of the two apostolic vicariates in the Southern African conference region to the status of diocese.

Francistown in Botswana is now a diocese, in recognition of the growth of the Church in the vicariate over the past 19 years.

Bishop Frank Nubuasah, who has served as vicar-apostolic since 1998, has been named the first bishop of the new diocese, which is a suffragan see of the metropolitan see of Pretoria.

“We are happy and grateful to God who has made this happen.

It is a new challenge to all the Church of Francistown,” Bishop Nubuasah said.

“I am hopeful we shall do well and shine since we have laid a solid foundation. Let us build on

Many who work for the Church were present at the announcement of the creation of the diocese of Francistown. Bishop Franknubuasah sits front, fufth from left that in faith and love,” said the 68-year-old member of the Society of the Divine Word.

Francistown is one of two dioceses in Botswana. At present, Bishop Nubuasah is also the administrator of Gaborone diocese.

The diocese of Francistown

covers all the northern centre of the country, an area of 472 995 km2. It has a population of 1,2 million. Of those only 17 000 (or 1,4%) are Catholics, distributed among 17 parishes.

There are 26 priests, assisted by 29 religious.

The southern Cross, october 11 to october 17, 2017

LOCAL

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Final push urged for Mini World Youth Day By eRin CaReLse

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HE organisers for the Mini World Youth Day in December in Durban say that slow registration for the event is placing booked accommodation in jeopardy.

SACBC youth chaplain Fr Mthembeni Dlamini CMM said that the main challenge at the moment is meeting the target of 5 000 pilgrims.

With less than two months before the pilgrimage, the biggest challenge has been that the hotels needed confirmation by October 1, and with the numbers at hand, the organisers have had to decide

whether to release some hotels.

“If hotels are secured and people don’t occupy the rooms we would be liable for the full payment as per our agreement—and if we release the hotels and people do register we will have difficulty in finding other accommodation that will give us the same rates,” Fr Dlamini said.

He issued an appeal to all dioceses to push for registration and not to delay till the last minute, “as that will make us incur unnecessary expenses”.

“We are giving dioceses the last chance this month to add more pilgrims. If we can register at least 1 200 more people in the month of Octo-

ber, that would be great,” he said.

“We appeal to parish priests, parish pastoral councils and parents to support the Mini World Youth Day by encouraging young people to attend, and by sponsoring them,” he said.

“This is not an event, but a pilgrimage of the young where they will encounter Christ, learn from one another, and build bridges.”

Fr Dlamini noted that responses to the online questionnaire in preparation for next year’s Synod of Bishops on Youth indicated a need to take youth ministry seriously and to invest in our youth.

“The challenges we are facing in

planning the Mini World Youth Day are a result of the challenges of youth ministry from parish to diocese,” he said. “Please support all our initiatives to grow youth ministry within the conference.”

Dioceses were to work towards 174 pilgrims each, but only Durban, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Mthatha have managed to do that so far.

The total number of pilgrims registered by October 2 was 2 801. n For more information on Mini World Youth Day and to help with sponsorship visit www.miniworldyouth day.co.za or contact Fr Dlamini on tmdlamini@sacbc.org.za

Great start for Men in Christ Show Brotherhood of Blessed By eRin CaReLse

Gérard celebrates 25 years

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ADIO Veritas’s newly launched show “Men in Christ—The Essence of the Christian Man” has been on the air for a month, and what a ride it’s been.

The weekly show, billed as “a show for men by men” got off to a busy start with a studio full of proud and suited-up Men in Christ members, who celebrated with a launch braai at the studio, arranged

by Manny Baeta and Radio Veritas director Fr Emil Blaser OP. Albert and Tony de Nobrega were the first guests on the show, speaking about Men in Christ and their rosary group, and Herbert Smith and Joey du Preez also joined them in the studio to share their testimonies.

The show was well received, with many positive comments sent in.

The Men in Christ team has since hosted many male guests— and also a first woman guest, Leeza Menezes.

Among the topics the programme has examined are spiritual authority and the role of a man in terms of being a husband and father.

The show’s presenters will continue to explore the journey of their roles of men and will have some young men coming in to share what they look forward to as future fathers and husbands.

The Church calendar at this time

By eRin CaReLse

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The new weekly Men in Christ show on Radio Veritas was launched with a braai outside the radio station’s edenvale studio. also allows for some themed shows such as specific saints, All Souls and preparation for Advent.

“As a team, we are extremely blessed to have been given this avenue to minister to men of our communities,” said Carlos Camara, a member of the team.

“Radio Veritas has been so accommodating and its team has trained us really well, giving us free

licence to put our show together, with their final approval.”

Mr Camara paid special tribute to Radio Veritas’ Khanye Litabe and Ray White, whom he described as “awesome”. n The Men in Christ Show airs on Radio Veritas every Wednesday at 19:00 on 576AM (in Gauteng), DStv audio channel 870 or streamed on www.radioveritas.co.za

Pilgrimage to Fatima, Lourdes and Paris

Official Daswa medal unveiled By eRin CaReLse

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HE first South African-produced “saint medal” was officially launched at Sacred Heart cathedral in Pretoria.

The medal features an image of Bl Benedict Daswa, beatified in 2015, and on the reverse the motto “Pray and Work” below the petition “Pray for us”. The symbol for his martyrdom is a knobkerrie and stones, the weapons which caused his death.

The medal was designed, produced and manufactured by Immaculate Heart Catholic Supply & Media of Johannesburg, original creators of the logo for Bl Daswa’s cause.

The standard price for the medal is R25, of which R5 will go to the cause of Bl Daswa. The R5 is symbolic of the amount of money he refused to contribute to a witchhunt. That refusal led to his killing by a mob.

The medal will be packaged with a prayer card and all associated logos, and will not be sold separately or attached to another item unless approved by the Tzaneen diocese and Immaculate Heart CSM. The medal can be bought from Immaculate Heart CSM at orders@immaculateheart.co.za Repositories are also welcome to order in bulk for their parishes.

Led by Fr. Karabo Baloyi and Fr. Donald Mabitsela

Fatima, Burgos, Lourdes, Paris, Lisbon, Valinhos, Aljustrel, Salamanca, Batalha, Nazaré, Loyola 5 – 17 July 2018 R36 995.00 incl. Airport taxes

Pilgrimage to Greece and Turkey Led by Fr Zane Godwin

Thessaloniki, Philippi, Kalambaka, Delphi, Corinth, Athens, Patmos, Kusadasi, Istanbul 16 – 30 September 2018 R38 995.00 incl. Airport taxes

Pilgrimage of Grace

Led by Fr Cyprian Sibonelo Mbabjwa Valhinos, Aljustrel, Batalha, Nazaré, Santarem, Fatima, Lourdes, Medjugorje 24 September – 5 October 2018 R 35 995.00 incl. Airport taxes Tel: 012 342 0179/Fax: 086 676 9715 info@micasatours.co.za

HE Brotherhood of Blessed Gérard will be celebrating 25 years of service, caring for those most in need, in its community of Mandeni in Eshowe diocese.

The faithful are invited to join in the jubilee celebration on Saturday, October 28, at the care centre.

One of the core purposes of the jubilee feast is to honour those who have committed themselves to serving the sick and dying, poor and neglected, orphaned and vulnerable children, and those infected and affected by HIV, said Benedictine Father Gérard Lagleder, president of the Brotherhood of Blessed Gérard, which is part of the Order of Malta.

The celebration will start off with Mass at 9:30 with a reception of new members of the brotherhood.

The main celebrant will be Bishop Xolelo Thaddeus Kumalo of Eshowe.

A keynote speech will be given by the grand hospitaller of the Knights of Malta, Dominique Prince de La Rochefoucauld-Montbel.

The Order of Malta’s commemorative medal for the 25th anniversary of the Brotherhood of Blessed Gérard will be conferred to meritorious individuals, as well as the President’s Award to the most outstanding volunteer and employee.

Long-service certificates for employees of Blessed Gérard’s care centre will also be presented.

The children of the children’s home, pre-primary and crèche, as well as staff and volunteers, will present a programme of singing, dancing, sketches, and poems.

Lucky draws offer prizes such as a flat-screen TV worth R5 000, a smartphone, a dinner set and more.

Tickets will be available at the function at R100 each.

After the official entertainment programme, there will be a jumping castle and trampoline in the children’s home playground, and disc jockey Mthokozisi will transform the community centre hall into a disco for all ages.

Founded in 1992 at Mandeni, the Brotherhood of Blessed Gérard provides a comprehensive and holistic system of care through its care centre, pre-primary school, children’s home, hospice, Haart clinic for Aids care, malnutrition clinic, poor sick fund, bursary fund, relief and social care projects, first aid and emergency service, and disaster relief.

The care centre is a multi-dimensional service hub that has, since its inception, provided free help and care for more than 9 000 patients. n For more information contact Fr Gérard Lagleder on 082 492 4043.

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The southern Cross, october 11 to october 17, 2017

INTERNATIONAL

Communications Day theme: Truth in an age of ‘fake news’

By CaRoL GLaTZ

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IVEN the strong divisions sparked and fuelled by “fake news”, Pope Francis is highlighting the importance of truth in his message for World Communications Day. The message will call for studying the causes and consequences of baseless information and will promote “professional journalism”, which always seeks the truth and therefore peace and understanding in the world, the Vatican Secretariat for Communication said, announcing the theme. “‘The truth will set you free’: Fake news and journalism for

peace” will be the theme of the Church’s celebration of World Communications Day 2018.

The theme Pope Francis chose “relates to so-called ‘fake news’— namely baseless information that contributes to generating and nurturing a strong polarisation of opinions”, the announcement said. “It involves an often misleading distortion of facts, with possible repercussions at the level of individual and collective behaviour.”

With so many key players in the world of social media, internet and politics beginning to face the phenomenon, it said, “the Church, too, wishes to offer

a contribution”.

The pope’s message for the day will propose “a reflection on the causes, the logic and the consequences of disinformation in the media”, and it will try to help “promote professional journalism, which always seeks the truth, and therefore a journalism of peace that promotes understanding between people”.

Most dioceses will celebrate World Communications Day 2018 on May 13, the Sunday before Pentecost. The Vatican will release the pope’s message for the observance on January 24, the feast of St Francis de Sales, patron of journalists.—CNS

Bl Titus Zeman, a communist-era martyr and salesian priest who died in 1969, was beatified in Bratislava, slovakia. (Photo: agenzia info salesiana)

Cardinal: Couples can be better Tortured priest at marriage prep than priests beatified as martyr By saRaH MaCDonaLD

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ARRIAGE ministry needs to be done by married couples because priests have “no credibility in this area”, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, told a Church gathering.

Delivering the keynote address to 500 delegates from the diocese of Down and Connor at the Faith and Life convention in Belfast, Cardinal Farrell discussed Pope Francis’ 2016 apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia (“The Joy of Love”) and appealed to parishes to establish study groups on the document and to train couples to teach, prepare, guide and accompany married couples.

On the role of priests in marriage accompaniment and preparation, he said they had “no credibility when it comes to living the reality of marriage” even though they may know the principles, the philosophy and the theology.

Speaking to Catholic News Service afterward, the Dublin-born former bishop of Dallas said parishes would have to be prepared to train laypeople for such a role, which he saw as a new model of accompaniment in line with the pope’s vision for the Church.

“You can’t have laypeople just talk about marriage unless they are trained to do it,” he said. Training was not purely about having knowledge but also having the ability to communicate and act as an agent of pastoral concern to accompany couples through the challenges they face, he explained.

Cardinal kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life.

Ministering by couples to couples is better done by “people who have walked in their shoes”, the cardinal said. He admitted he did not “have a clue” how to answer some of the questions on couples’ difficulties, which his own nieces and nephews had put to him.

“I have no experience of that and the majority of priests don’t have that experience,” Cardinal Farrell said, noting that many of the married couples who attended the 2014 and 2015 Synod of Bishops on the Family insisted that more lay couples be involved in marriage ministry.

The prelate also staunchly defended Pope Francis, rejecting any suggestion that he is guilty of spreading heresy in his writing and addresses.

“No, he is not a heretic,” Cardi-

nal Farrell said when asked about the recent so-called filial correction of some of the pope’s teachings about marriage published by several dozen priests, scholars and writers.

The group was particularly concerned about access to the sacraments for divorced and civilly remarried Catholics.

He added that the traditionalist Catholics behind the filial correction “use any excuse just to attack him”.

Cardinal Farrell also said he is working with the pope on the upcoming World Meeting of Families in Dublin in August and a papal visit.

During his address, Cardinal Farrell told delegates that people must not judge the conscience of others while demanding that the Church refuse Communion to politicians who do not fully uphold Church teaching. Recalling his time as an auxiliary bishop in Washington from 2001-07, he said the cathedral had no parishioners but was attended by dozens of politicians.

“It was a crazy time; the cardinal archbishop used to get tons of mail every day about this person who should be put out of the Church,” he recalled.

Asked about some who have called for politicians who support abortion to be refused communion, Cardinal Farrell told CNS afterward that although he believed their stance was wrong, the Church is “for those who have sinned” and that redemption is for all.—CNS

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SLOVAK Salesian priest who died from torture and radiation poisoning after forced labour in Czechoslovakia’s uranium mines is the latest communist-era martyr to be beatified.

Fr Titus Zeman, who died in 1969, was hailed during a beatification Mass in Petrzalka Park in the Slovakian capital of Bratislava

by Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Saints’ Causes, himself a Salesian.

The Vatican official said Bl Zeman had been under “genuine persecution” in the years following World War II as the newly installed communist government arrested clergy and suppressed Catholic schools and associations, but that he had shown “love is stronger than hatred” during his priesthood.

Bl Zeman helped the Christian community “master its plight with courage and determination”, with its faith “strengthened by the testimony and blood of many believers”, the cardinal said.

Born in 1915, the oldest of ten children, Bl Zeman discovered his vocation after surviving childhood illnesses. He joined the Salesians in 1932 and was ordained in 1940.

He taught chemistry and natural sciences at Salesian schools during World War II, but he was fired by the communist regime after opposing the removal of classroom crosses.

Following the forced closure of religious orders in April 1950, he

helped smuggle more than a dozen seminarians out of the country in two separate missions, but he was captured and charged with espionage and treason during a third in April 1951.

The priest was condemned to death in February 1952 after interrogation and torture in prison, but he had his sentence commuted to 25 years of forced labour. Released after 13 years, he was barred from ministering and kept under tight police surveillance, dying from mistreatment during the shortlived Prague Spring reform movement.

A beatification process for the priest was launched in 2010 by the Salesians.

In his homily, Cardinal Amato said Bl Zeman was forced to manually work with uranium in the notorious Jachymov mine as a prisoner destined for “physical liquidation, like an insect” while also enduring the cold and exhaustion.

However, he added that the priest had “ignored the evil suffering”, refusing later to divulge the names of “informants and spies” who, by their own admission, had harmed him.

“This was a love which prompted him to live a heroic daily martyrdom, turning his prison life into a sacrifice of redemption for others,” Cardinal Amato said.

The beatification brings to more than 80 the number of communist-era Catholic martyrs honoured in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.—CNS

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INTERNATIONAL

The southern Cross, october 11 to october 17, 2017

5

Rohingya have faint hopes for pope’s visit N

OOR Hashem looks weak and worried as he waits in line with fellow Rohingya to see a doctor for his kidney problems at a clinic run by the international medical group Doctors Without Borders.

The doctor advised him to go to a better-equipped hospital in another part of the district town for more specialised treatment.

Mr Hashem, 35, a Rohingya Muslim and high school teacher from Maungdaw in Rakhine state in nearby Myanmar, fled to Bangladesh with his wife and two daughters when the Myanmar military launched its latest crackdown on the ethnic community.

The military retaliation followed attacks on 30 security checkposts by militants from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army and has resulted in more than 1 000 Rohingya deaths, dozens of houses burned and countless women being raped. Human rights groups and the United Nations have dubbed the incidents “ethnic cleansing”. More than 420 000 Rohingya have fled across the border to Bangladesh for safety.

“I didn’t realise such atrocities would be carried out against the Rohingya,” Mr Hashem told ucanews.com.

With a bit of optimism, he nodded when asked about his reaction to Pope Francis’ visit to Myanmar from November 27-30 and Bangladesh from November 30 to December 2.

Rohingya refugees wait for aid at a relief centre in Teknaf, Bangladesh..

(Photo: Damir sagolj, Reuters/Cns) “Pope Francis is a global icon of peace and harmony, and I know he is coming with a message of peace.

I hope that his trip will have a positive impact for the Rohingya in Bangladesh—but it won’t help in Myanmar,” Mr Hashem said.

Less than 5% of the Rohingya know about the pope because many are illiterate and the ethnic minority community has been cut off from the rest of the world by the military and Buddhist extremists, he said.

“The pope has spoken out against the plight of the Rohingya and appealed for their recognition and rights. But Myanmar won’t lis-

ten to him, because the government, the military and Buddhist radicals don’t want peace and harmony, only oppression and persecution,” Mr Hashem said.

O

sman Gani, 37, fled to Bangladesh from Buthidaung, Myanmar, after soldiers burned his house.

Along with two of his brothers and a sister, they carried his elderly parents on their shoulders on a three-day journey by foot and by boat. A father of two sons and a daughter, Mr Gani does not know what has happened to his three remaining brothers.

He doubts the pope’s visit can bring a lasting solution for the Rohingya.

“The pope is a humanist, and he has worked for peace in various countries. Yet, I have doubts whether he can make any difference in Myanmar’s treatment of the Rohingya as the government, military and Buddhists have no sympathy for them,” Mr Gani said.

Syed Alam, the imam of a mosque at Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, said he is optimistic about the pope’s visit.

“First of all, it is a positive sign that the pope will visit Myanmar and Bangladesh and like many of the Rohingya, I would like to pin my hopes that an influential person like the pope might foster a peaceful solution for us,” Mr Alam said.

Still, he doubted whether the pope can broker a change of fortune for the Rohingya and other ethnic and religious minorities fighting for their rights in Myanmar.

“The government, the military and extremist Buddhists represent the Bamar majority who consider themselves superior to other communities. Unless their mindset changes, nothing will change even if the pope delivers strong messages,” Mr Alam said.

The majority of Rohingya are Muslim and a minority are Hindu.

They have lived in an area formerly known as Arakan, now Rakhine state, long before the Burmese oc-

No grudges as pope Iraq Christians must names Burke to court be ‘full citizens’

By CinDy wooDen

P

OPE Francis has named US Cardinal Raymond Burke a member of the Apostolic Signature, the Church’s supreme court, which the cardinal headed as prefect from 2008-14.

Members of the Apostolic Signature serve as judges in the cases, which mainly involve appeals of lower-court decisions or of administrative decisions by other offices of the Holy See. The appeals involve everything from challenges to the decisions of marriage tribunals to recourse against the dismissal of a religious, the transfer of a parish priest, the restriction of a priest’s ministry, re-

moval of ministerial faculties, renovation of a parish church and dismissal from a teaching position.

Cardinal Burke’s nomination was met with surprise in some quarters because he continues to speak publicly about issuing a formal “fraternal correction” of Pope Francis over the pope’s teaching in Amoris Laetitia, his exhortation on the family.

But the public criticism of the pope did not prevent Pope Francis in late 2016 from naming Cardinal Burke the presiding judge in a Church trial investigating allegations of sexual abuse levelled against Archbishop Anthony Apuron of Guam. The results of the investigation and trial have not been announced.—CNS

By CinDy wooDen

C

HRISTIANS don’t want to be a “protected minority” in the Middle East; they must be full citizens with full rights and the opportunity to contribute to a just and lasting peace, said Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state.

The return of Christians to Iraq’s Nineveh Plains “must be the first and urgent objective of our efforts”, the cardinal said. “That will allow the Christian community to then face the other challenges that await it in being fully active and generous in building up the common good of the entire nation.”

Cardinal Parolin spoke at a Rome conference sponsored by Aid to the Church in Need, an international Catholic charity. The group’s “Return to the Roots” campaign is trying to raise $250 million to rebuild 13 000 houses in northern Iraq and help their Christian owners return to their villages.—CNS

‘Child porn’ diplomat Pope to meet youth before 2018 synod to be investigated

By CaRoL GLaTZ

T

HE recall of a Vatican diplomat suspected by US authorities of having a connection with child pornography reflects normal international protocol, but the suspect must be put on trial and receive punishment if found guilty, said a key organiser of a world congress on child protection.

“Due process has to be followed.

If there is a case and if the person is found guilty, then he or she needs to be punished, whoever that is,” said Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, head of the Pontifical Gregorian University’s Centre for Child Protection, which is hosting a world congress on protecting minors from online abuse, violence and exploitation.

The congress in Rome came on the heels of the recall of Italian Mgr Carlo Capella from the Vatican nunciature in Washington, after the US State Department notified the Holy See of his possible violation of laws relating to child pornography images.

The Vatican said it opened an in-

vestigation, which involved international collaboration. Police in Canada then issued a nationwide arrest warrant for the monsignor’s arrest on charges of accessing, possessing and distributing child pornography.

The panel was asked by Catholic News Service what the Vatican should do to show itself as a leader in child protection, particularly when it comes to possible crimes that involve multiple jurisdictions and when it reportedly invoked the official’s diplomatic immunity in order to conduct its own investigation.

Fr Zollner said: “I am pretty well convinced that this follows the normal way of diplomatic and interstate relationships” and that the allegations were being handled similarly to the way the US or other nations would handle them in similar circumstances.

However, he added, justice must be served and anybody “who commits a crime needs to be punished.

Period”.—CNS

By Junno aRoCHo esTeVes

P

OPE Francis has invited Christian and non-Christian young people from around the world to a meeting in preparation for the Synod of Bishops on Youth in 2018.

The pope said the March 19-24, 2018, pre-synod meeting will be an opportunity for the Church to listen to the hopes and concerns of young men and women.

“Through this journey, the Church wants to listen to the voices, the sensibilities, the faith as well as the doubts and criticisms of young people. We must listen to young people,” Pope Francis said.

Young people attending the meeting will represent bishops’ conferences, the Eastern Catholic Churches, men and women in consecrated life and seminarians preparing for the priesthood, the general secretariat said.

The gathering also will include representatives from other Christian communities and other religions and experts in the fields of education, culture, sports and arts, who “are involved in helping young people discern their choices in life”.

“The pre-synod meeting will enrich the consultation phase, which began with the preparatory document and its questionnaire, and online questionnaire for young people,” the general secretariat said. n To participate in the Vatican’s youth survey go to http://bit.ly/2xjeU9b

cupation from 1784 to 1826 and British rule from 1826 to 1948.

Yet, Myanmar does not recognise the Rohingya as one of the country’s 135 ethnic groups, considering them instead as Bengali, infiltrators from Bangladesh. In 1982, a controversial law stripped citizenship from the Rohingya, officially making them stateless.

Decades of persecution by the military and extremist Buddhists forced tens of thousands to flee to various countries, mostly to Bangladesh.

Despite the landslide victory of Aung San Suu Kyi as state counsellor, a position akin to prime minister, in the 2015 elections and the formation of a civilian government, Myanmar’s military wields unrestrained power via the 2008 constitution it wrote, which reserves 25% of parliament seats for the armed forces.

In addition, the military controls defence, home and border affairs ministries, handing generals absolute power over security matters, even with utter disregard to widespread human rights of civilians.

Buddhist nationalists have been enraged over the pope’s sympathy for the stateless minority.

Presumably under military pressure and dealing with political realities, the Catholic bishops of Myanmar have requested Pope Francis not to mention the term Rohingya when he visits the country.—CNS

6

The southern Cross, october 11 to october 17, 2017

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Beautiful churches...my favourites

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

F

‘Worse than apartheid’

F

IFTY years of military occupation is too long, as a columnist last week noted.

Tony Magliano, who writes internationally about issues of social justice, in his column quoted a Human Rights Watch official as saying that few Palestinians “have escaped serious rights abuses living under Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, whether it’s a child imprisoned by a military court or shot unjustifiably, or a house demolished for lack of an elusive permit, or checkpoints where only settlers are allowed to pass”.

Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including Catholic and other Christian institutions, have had land confiscated by the immoral wall which Israel has built in territory that isn’t theirs. The town of Bethlehem, birthplace of the Prince of Peace, is encircled by the wall as if it was a jail, 8m high and dotted with watchtowers.

Israeli settlements are constructed, in contravention of international law, on occupied territory. Settlers regularly commit such racist acts as deliberately and often fatally hitting Palestinian schoolchildren with their cars, burning Palestinian-owned olive groves and houses, desecrating churches and mosques, and so on.

They do so with impunity because Israeli justice rarely holds them to account.

These acts do not get the world media’s attention.

The 50-year-long occupation could have ended a long time ago with the establishment of a Palestinian state, but Israel has sabotaged this with, first, making demands in negotiations that could not be accepted by Palestinians, and second, by the construction of the settlements.

A two-state deal that would involve either the dissolution of the settlements or placing them under Palestinian control would create an impossible political crisis for Israel, perhaps even a civil war.

And Palestinians could not accept the spotted-dog geography its borders would take if these settlements remain under Israeli control, never mind the removal of Palestinians from their ancestral land to facilitate a cohesive border.

Israel has, for all intents and purposes, killed off the two-state solution.

The only real option for peace, and an end to the scandal of an occupation that has already lasted half a century, is a unitary secular state under a constitutional

democracy with enshrined minority rights and guarantees for immigration by persecuted Jews.

Palestinian leaders, especially peace activists, are open to that solution. A stumbling block would reside in addressing the right of return: the demand that the properties forcibly taken by Israel in 1948 be returned to the dispossessed.

The trauma of that dispossession, a gross historical injustice that is rarely acknowledged, is written into the psyche of Palestinians.

But how can the ethnic cleansing of 1948—Israeli government and military documents leave no doubt that this terminology is correct— possibly be reversed?

For Israel, its identity as a Jewish state is seen as non-negotiable, even if the state includes 20% Palestinians.

A history of persecution throughout Christian Europe gave rise to the need for a Jewish state to serve as a refuge. If Israel is not a Jewish state, the reasoning goes, it loses its purpose of existence.

But the establishment of that safe haven, and its expansion into territory under military occupation, has involved the brutal dispossession of those who lived in these places for centuries before 1948, and continues in the West Bank and East Jerusalem today.

The victims of inhumanity are now the perpetrators of it. Peace will require concessions and reparations from those who are committing injustices.

Veterans of the anti-apartheid struggle who have seen these injustices describe what is being done to the Palestinians in the occupied territories, and in blockaded Gaza, as being much worse than apartheid.

And just as South Africa needed the pragmatism of courageous leaders to break the apartheid deadlock, so will Israel and Palestine. As in 1980s South Africa, the oppressed have such leaders languishing in jail, particularly Marwan Barghouti, who often is called the Palestinian Nelson Mandela (Israel regards him as a terrorist). Will Israel find its FW de Klerk?

It is up to the voters of Israel to identify genuine peacemakers and elect them into positions where they can facilitate a peaceful and just solution through good-faith negotiations.

And it is up to the rest of the world to communicate to Israel that this is what we expect from them.

VIVA SAFARIS KRUGER PARK with

The Editor reserves the right to shorten or edit published letters. Letters below 300 words receive preference. Pseudonyms are acceptable only under special circumstances and at the Editor’s discretion.

Name and address of the writer must be supplied. No anonymous letter will be considered.

ATHER Chris Townsend’s column on worthy and beautiful Catholic churches in South Africa (August 23) was a delight to read, as well as raising a “moot point”.

He singles out some of his favourites: Christ the King in Queenswood, Pretoria; Immaculate Conception in Rosebank, Johannesburg; the cathedrals of Oudtshoorn and Queenstown (built by the Pallottine Missionaries); and Regina Mundi, Soweto.

Fr Townsend also cites a particular example of the many unattractive churches.

While “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, I am sure few would disagree with me who have seen the cathedrals of Eshowe, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth, Pella, and Polokwane: these are all masterpieces and very prayerful.

I am sure many would, like St Louis of France, feel a particular affection for the church of their baptism and First Communion, where they were introduced to the Mystical Body of Christ.

Therefore, my all-time favourite has to be St Bernadette’s in Walmer, Port Elizabeth, particularly now that the Oratorian clergy have restored it to its former loveliness and

Art can distort Church figures

I

’M sure it is true, as Bishop Edward Risi points out in your frontpage report “English in the Mass not likely to change soon” (September 20), that Archbishop Denis Hurley was in favour of one standard English text for the Mass.

But I wonder why this argument was not mentioned when the South African bishops moved on their own to introduce a new translation of the text, in contrast to other Englishspeaking countries. Was it because the pope had suggested it? And if the pope now suggests that each country can introduce its own appropriate translation, why not follow what the (new) pope suggests?

How historical figures can be distorted was brought home to me while I was visiting the Prado Museum in Madrid earlier this year.

In a large-scale canvas (commissioned by Torquemada, head of the Spanish Inquisition) we have Torquemada next to St Dominic “testing” the truth of books by flinging them into the fire and seeing which ones miraculously remain unharmed.

Yes, St Dominic was concerned with truth (his motto: Veritas), but this is a cynical distortion of his method, which famously was through discussion and conversation, not supernatural authority.

Patrick Giddy, Cape Town

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perfect proportionality by returning the tabernacle and exquisitely beautiful statue of Our Lady to their original positions for which the building was originally designed. (see photo at right).

Thanks and congratulations to them: it’s taken 40 years or more. I rejoiced recently to return there together with my remaining sisters to pray, with the consolation of happy childhood reminiscences.

There have to be at least ten other favourite churches around South Africa that come to my mind, for the most part appealing to my more old-fashioned tastes.

But, also, despite general opinion, I find St Anthony’s in Coronationville, Johannesburg—which Fr Townsend does not like—very appealing in its avant garde style of the Dutch School of Vatican II reforms.

Its stark contrasts of light and dark and sense of spaciousness, its interesting devotional corners, and proportional placing of altar, tabernacle, font and lectern, achieve a sense of dignity and focus (though later incumbents sought, unsuccessfully, to improve on Fr Moelenaar’s original design).

I do hope the Johannesburg archdiocese’s proposed Marian shrine in opinions expressed in The Southern Cross, especially in Letters to the editor, do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor or staff of the newspaper, or of the Catholic hierarchy. The letters page in particular is a forum in which readers may exchange opinions on matters of debate.

Letters must not be understood to necessarily reflect the teachings, disciplines or policies of the Church accurately.

Letters can be sent to PO Box 2372, Cape Town 8000 or editor@scross.co.za or faxed to 021 465-3850

Commentary on Gospels allegorical

T

HE article “Oldest Latin commentary on the Gospels rediscovered” (September 6) does not address the full implication of fourth-century Bishop Fortunatianus’ work.

The article neglects to note that the commentary—translated into English by Dr Hugh Houghton of the University of Birmingham and focusing mainly on the gospel of Matthew—is interpreted as a series of allegories instead of a literal history.

Dr Houghton notes in his foreword: “The principal characteristic of [Bishop] Fortunatianus’ exegesis is a figurative approach, relying on a set of concepts associated with key terms in order to create an allegorical decoding of the text.”

For those who study the Old and New Testaments, the key word seems to be “decoding”; for instance, was Job a real character or was he a figurative example for the afflictions of the Hebrews collectively?

Have the four Gospels been written allegorically, factually or both?

It has been said that although Jesus was born of the line of David, his own people rejected him.

Yet, the first three centuries of the common era saw the establishment of the Babylonian Talmud, a collection of rabbinical writings that interpret, explain and apply the Torah (Hebrew Bible) scriptures and which essentially ushered in the age of Rabbinic Judaism—coinciding, ironically, with the early development of Christianity. For Jewish people, it appears the Messiah is a system, not a person.

In his “dry bones” prophecy, the Hebrew prophet Ezekiel, taken into captivity in Babylon in 597BC, forecast Israel’s rebirth after it had been “scattered among the nations”. Are we witnessing his prophecy being fulfilled with Israel obtaining its independence in 1948?

Bishop Fortunatianus’ commentary, which last saw the light of day (or candlelight) during the reign of Charlemagne, is available (open access) in e-book format on the publisher’s (De Gruyter) website.

Patrick Dacey, Johannesburg

st Bernadette's in walmer, Port elizabeth. the Magaliesberg will be an ecofriendly structure, preserving every tree, rock, plant and water source, and the fresh air and sunlight.

This would be the best inheritance for future generations of pilgrims, and give honour to the Mother of Jesus—rather than a concrete Gauteng monstrosity where Our Lady would never think of setting her beautiful foot!

“Here indeed is the House of God and the Gate of Heaven” (Genesis 28).

Fr Sean Collins CSsR, Merrivale, KZN

Holy Spirit soul of Christianity

I

REFER to the “All priests need a Timothy” letter from Stephen Selbourne (September 20).

I send up a loud “Amen” in praise of Mr Selbourne’s letter on the importance of the Holy Spirit in the life of the authentic believer who knows Jesus Christ as Lord of his life.

This I appreciate more and more as my life in the Spirit grows and blossoms, since my first receiving the “baptism” of the Holy Spirit through Charismatic Renewal in 1973, and the bold encouragement of our dear Pope Paul VI. This changed me from believing “about” Jesus to knowing that he is the Lord of all aspects of my life.

Years of concentration on the secondary areas of the social implications of our faith have produced in many a distorted vision of what is essential. These secondary areas are often hostile to the foundation of Christian life—with many holding the “form of Christianity” but denying its power (see 2 Timothy 3:15; 40:1-5).

Communicating “values” of Christian morality without Christian power simply invites lives of frustration, resulting often in personal guilt, despair, or even outright rejection of the Christian way of life.

If it is to be Christian prayer at all, it has to be communion and fellowship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,entered into through the very special way of Jesus himself. It comes from being “baptised” in his Spirit.

Discernment of Spirits, the ability to tell whether a certain impulse or course of action comes from the Holy Spirit, the inclinations of our own natures or the evil one, is essential if we are indeed to follow the Holy Spirit.

“Unless the Lord build the House”—it is the Lord himself, as we submit our lives to him, explicitly, and in a body, that builds us into a genuine Christian community.

The words of the apostle should be in every Christian heart. “For the love of Christ impels us” (2 Corinthians 5:14), “For woe is me if I do not preach the Gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:16).

The true apostle is concerned about evangelism—it is the desired goal of every Christian involvement.

We desperately need the Holy Spirit. We need his fire and his presence. If we reject the fullness of the Holy Spirit, we reject him who sends the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the very soul of the Church.

John Lee, Johannesburg

PERSPECTIVES

The southern Cross, october 11 to october 17, 2017

7

That quest for a fairytale wedding Nthabiseng D Maphisa EAR men of the world, brace yourselves for the impending attack of bridezillas.

Note, these are not your average just-sohappy-to-be-getting-married brides. These are ferocious, diamond-picking, bouquethunting, bridesmaid-commanding females born and bred in the deep dark bowels of reality television.

As a recovering reality TV addict I’m going to use your valuable time to confess my addiction to TV shows dedicated to all things bridal.

I know I’m not the only one. There are dozens upon dozens of women out there who have planned their future weddings right down to their husband-to-be’s socks.

Are they getting married? Nope. But these shows leave you with a “If it were me I would do this” feeling.

Heaven forbid you should have a wedding void of an exotic animal as a ringbearer or a dress imported from Italy. And you just haven’t quite tied the knot if you weren’t carried down the aisle in a chariot of fire.

I am absolutely convinced that TV producers and writers gather in secret limestone towers in the shadows of the night with the wind howling and rattling the windows. Together they concoct potions and spells that awaken every woman’s desire for beauty and love.

“Flowers, kisses and dresses white, soon she’ll find a handsome knight”—and BOOM! Spewing from the cauldron are shows about wedding dresses, rings, bridesmaid feuds, make-up, invitations, proposals, honeymoons and the all-important, ever-so-sacred “bachelorette” party.

One would think that after a long while

one would see past the budget-breaking antics of naïve couples. And yet, I find myself so curious to see and hear of how they met, in what part of New York City they’re living, and whether they’re going with “1920s New Orleans” or “Arabian Nights” as a theme for their wedding.

T

he recent arrival of the latest remake of Disney’s Beauty and The Beast awoke the wide-eyed, intrigued and giggly little girl within me.

You either hate Disney movies for their representation of love and marriage (especially the happily-ever-after bit), or you adore them for their ability to show that a woman’s heart is won through honourable and noble deeds.

There’s always a dragon to be slayed or a curse to be broken before midnight. In other words there is always some evil to be conquered or a temptation to be selfish that must be overcome before “finding true love”.

a couple exchanges rings at their wedding. in her column nthabiseng Maphisa discusses the chase for the “perfect wedding”.

Pop Culture Catholic

Is this not the course that every couple follows? Is there a love that is not tested by the ghouls, goblins and henchmen of their lives sent on by some dark jealous power determined to see them fail?

And is not their joy the sweetest and their laughter the lightest when said evil has been vanquished to the dungeon?

After surviving that, a couple can stand before one another and pronounce their vows.

But if the love part is so important, why are we—women particularly—so obsessed with having weddings that will compete with the ultra-luxurious nuptials of Hollywood’s elite? Are we guilty of wanting only things that will make photos of the big day Instagram and Pinterest-worthy?

Wanting a twenty-tier cake and hoping that your fairy godparents will wave their magic wands is a real fairytale. Go ahead and wish upon a star.

The longing for love that stands the test of time, love that weathers any storm, and love that helps us to be ourselves is no dream, illusion or witch’s curse: It is very real. It has been placed there by the only one who can fulfil it.

In a world of not-so-happy endings, there is at the end of this life one ending that makes us laugh, smile and point in wonder. Everyone “settles down” eventually.

Pope’s words on mafia echo in SA Mphuthumi L Ntabeni ISTENING to Pope Francis address a meeting of Italy’s Anti-Mafia Parliamentary Commission got me thinking about our own political situation.

The meeting marked the 27th commemoration of the death of the Servant of God Rosario Livatino, who was a deputy prosecutor in an Italian court before being killed by the mafia for his fight against corruption.

I couldn’t help think about what is happening in KwaZulu-Natal (and in the Western Cape to a lesser extent), where a career in local politics has become something deadlier than occupational hazard.

As so often, my mind travelled to 410 AD when the likes of St Jerome were so shaken to the core when the final blow to the Roman empire was struck by Alaric and his Christian-Arian Goths who sacked the great city that had not known violation by foreign enemy for over 800 years.

Two years later St Augustine, the great African bishop, sat down in Carthage in North Africa to write The City of God, his account of the sack of his beloved Rome.

The smouldering desolation of earthly Rome instilled in him the spiritual nostalgia for the psalmist’s transcendental city: Glorious things are said of thee, O city of God. St Augustine began his project. As in the Confessions, he patterned the work here also on biographical facts, this time of the city rather than his own life.

“Remove justice, and what are kingdoms but a gang of criminals on a large scale?” he asked Following St Augustine’s thinking, Pope Francis in his address said that to dismantle the mafia political mindset requires that we begin with a political commitment to

The Public square

The words Pope Francis directs at the mafia apply also to south africa, even in the field of politics, writes Mphuthumi ntabeni. social justice and economic reform.

As in Italy, then, what is happening in KZN is mafia politics. Political scores are settled through sponsored murder. Hitmen are bought for as cheaply as R5 000 to eliminate political opponents. Growing evidence says the hostels are their den.

It is naive to think that Jacob Zuma’s departure from the presidency of the African National Congress will clean the rot and the murderous tendencies within its political culture. No. The cancer is too far gone.

Under Thabo Mbeki there were gangrenous limbs, but now the whole organism has been infected. It needs to die and fertilise something new and better to be born.

N

othing less than what Pope Francis calls the authentic politics in the form of charity will work “to ensure a future of hope and to promote the dignity of each person”.

Of course, economic reform must be shifted to remove systems which magnify

inequality and poverty. But we first require ethical politics. And this can come about only when good people organise themselves against the malady of corruption and crime.

Talk about self-cleansing is just another ruse to sink us deeper into mayhem.

Most worrying are unhealthy rumours that our own Church in some places is getting mixed up in these toxic party politics.

It’s a long and tested ruse by corrupt politicians to buy the Church and social institutions of charity. It is their last refuge to purchase some form of moral capital.

Pope Francis says that the criminal groups use economic, social, and political weaknesses as a “fertile ground to achieve their deplorable projects”. He warns: “The money of dirty affairs and mafia crimes is blood money and produces an unequal power.”

These criminal organisations, whose members often claim to live devout Christian lives while continuing to carry out heinous crimes, create a “social wound”, the pope says.

The Church must not allow itself to be bought and used to promote backdoor nefarious deeds. Nor must it give a platform to those who amend their impiety by dusting their Catholicism only when they see political gain.

Of course they’ll claim the Church as Continued on page 11

“Here I am Lord”

Günther Simmermacher

Point of Reflection

God’s guiding hand

I

N times of sorrow and joy, it is always good to keep our eyes on God’s guiding hand. In everything, we do well to always ask: “What is God trying to tell us?”

On October 3, I awoke early to learn that my friend and leading Holy Land guide Rimon Makhlouf had died suddenly at the age of 57, while on a business trip to the Philippines.

Just hours before his death, he had texted a friend: “Lord, may your will be done.”

Many South African pilgrims to the Holy Land and listeners of Radio Veritas will know Rimon; to me the Makhloufs are close friends—which in Palestinian culture made us family. And, indeed, the relationship between Rimon and my wife especially was such that one could speak of them as brother and sister.

Rimon was a devout Catholic. On one pilgrimage, as we entered the basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, he knelt down and prayed: “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee...”—right at the place where tradition places the archangel’s greeting to the Virgin Mary. I had never seen guides do that.

Other Christian guides would come up to greet him; Rimon had trained most of them. They’d call him “Teacher”. As president of the Palestinian Guides’ Union, he was their doyen.

His pilgrims will remember Rimon for his largerthan-life personality, kindness and humour. And, above all, they’ll remember him for his forensic knowledge of Scripture and how it relates to the places one sees in the Holy Land. To him, guiding was a ministry.

Rimon will live on in his son Gabriel (known everywhere as Gaby), a guide in his own right and a privileged pupil of his late, great father.

My friend was to visit South Africa for a series of talks in February. He loved our country, and especially Archbishops Stephen Brislin and William Slattery, and Fr Emil Blaser OP, all of whom he guided.

Visiting Archbishop Brislin in his office in 2015, he saw lots of papyrus artworks of the Flight Into Egypt, Cape Town archdiocese’s patron. “Your Grace,” he said, “you must have something from the place where the Holy Family’s journey actually began.” In short order he sent a beautiful olive wood carving of the Flight Into Egypt from Bethlehem, which now stands on the archbishop’s desk.

My wife learned of her dear friend’s death in Portugal, as she was leaving for Fatima—a place Rimon, with his great devotion to Our Lady, had always wanted to make a pilgrimage to.

In that circumstance, I believe, we can see God’s guiding hand: he wanted her to be at that particular place for Rimon, to pray for (and with) him, but perhaps also for her to receive comfort and healing in her own grief, by being there in Fatima.

God’s hand is always active in our lives: we must seek to be awake to the how and why.

As Rimon might say at this point: “Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy.”

OMI STAMPS

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Cell: +27 72 769 7396, or +27 83 471 6081 E-mail: vocation.office@dehonafrica.net www.scj.org.za

Holy Land guide Rimon Makhlouf, who has died at 57.

can help in the education of South Africans for the PRIESTHOOD at St Joseph’s Scholasticate, Cedara, KwaZulu-Natal.

Please send them to: OMI Stamps, Box 101352, Scottsville, 3209

We accommodate small Conferences, Retreats and workshops

We are 5 min from Howick Falls, 10 min from Midmar Dam, 20 min from Pietermaritzburg.

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Regrettably, due to stolen telephone cables, we no longer have a landline.

8

The southern Cross, october 11 to october 17, 2017

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INTERVIEW

The southern Cross, october 11 to october 17, 2017

9

Brothers prepared Sister to deal with bishops Sr Hermenegild Makoro CPS is one of only two women around the world to serves as secretary-general of a bishops’ conference. She spoke to eRin CaReLse about her mission.

O

NLY two women are presently serving their bishops’ conferences as secretarygeneral, a position that is comparable to general manager or CEO. One is Sr Anna Mirijam Kaschner of the Nordic Bishops’ Conference in Copenhagen; the other is Sr Hermenegild Makoro in Pretoria.

Remarkably, both are members of the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood, which was founded by Abbot Franz Pfanner in Mariannhill, KwaZulu-Natal.

Sr Makoro is the first woman in that position in the SACBC. Before her, the late Holy Family Sister Brigid Flanagan served as associate secretary-general in the 1980s.

A former provincial superior of her congregation, Sr Makoro was appointed secretary-general in 2012, having served for six years prior to that as associate secretarygeneral.

She was appointed this year to a third term.

The second of four children, Sr Makoro grew up in a staunch Catholic family.

“I am the second of four children, the only girl among three boys,” she says. “I have always been surrounded by boys—and maybe that is why I am able to deal with the bishops.”

She joined the Precious Blood Sisters in the diocese of Mthatha in the Eastern Cape Province in 1970 and made her first profession in 1976. She trained as a teacher, catechist, cook, seamstress and gardener. “I always say I am an all-rounder,” she laughs.

Sr Makoro holds a higher diploma in education from the University of Transkei and a bachelor of theology from the University of Natal–Pietermaritzburg.

In 2014 she was appointed to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

You’ve been appointed as the secretary-general for a third term at the SACBC, congratulations!

Thank you for the congratulations.

I can only attribute this to the recognition by the bishops of the service I have given to conference,

sr Hermenegild Makoro CPs, secretary-general of the saCBC and a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. she is one of only two women in the world serving a bishops’ conference as secretary-general. in her interview with The Southern Cross she explains what her job entails. (Photo: Paul Haring/Cns) not only for what I have done but also for recognising the work of women in the Church.

Do you find, as a woman, that it’s challenging holding such a leading role, or do the unique qualities women bring to the workplace impact positively?

Whether a woman or man holds such a leading role, there will always be challenges.

When I was appointed for the first time, I admired our bishops for taking the “risk” of appointing a woman to a position that was always held by men. I believe that the bishops have appointed me to this position because of my capabilities.

I need to work hard to fulfil the mandate given to me—not that I have to work harder because I am a woman. In such a position you don’t work alone and I have had the great support from the associate secretaries-general, staff, and the bishops.

I do believe that with my qualities as a woman, I have contributed to the position, by being warm and caring with a big heart. Our bishops do acknowledge the work that women do for the Church.

I am the only woman secretarygeneral in Africa at the present moment. I hope that other bishops’

conferences will follow suit one day.

What does your job as secretarygeneral entail?

I organise, supervise and direct all the work of the various persons attached to the SACBC’s general secretariat. I have to make sure that the secretariat runs smoothly. Hold and preside at meetings with staff.

I make sure that all correspondence is given to relevant offices.

Preserve all correspondence, file reports, minutes and make sure that all is being archived.

I prepare the agenda for the Administrative Board meetings in consultation with the conference’s president [currently Archbishop Stephen Brislin].

The secretary-general is also the treasurer of the conference. I have to make sure that financial reports to the administrative board and plenary sessions are prepared and presented.

I also act as the liaison officer of the conference with the Roman curia, the Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops, the Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), the Inter-Regional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA), other episcopal conferences, and the Metropolitan Provinces and Pastoral Regions.

What are the challenges you find our local Church is faced with?

Our Church is faced with the issues of broken family life, violence, racism, a decline in vocations especially women, religious unemployment, and many other societal issues.

What are among the issues the SACBC is set to tackle in the near future?

Apart from issues which were already on the table: the family, youth, and environment.

I am hoping that the Conference will make great strides in looking at racism which is raising its head daily. The bishops had two days of reflection among themselves at their last plenary session in August, and I hope that one day—even if it’s after the three years that I will be in office—that the Church in our region can speak with one voice, celebrate our faith together, and give witness to a divided society, especially as we are celebrating the 200 years of the Catholic Church coming to our region.

You recently briefed Pope Francis on abuse by Church personnel.

What it was like addressing the pope? Were you at all nervous?

To be honest, I was nervous but there is only one thing I have ob-

served from Pope Francis: he makes every person feel like a “celebrity”.

One feels important and comfortable in his presence. I believe this is due to his own simplicity.

Soon the nervousness disappeared and I concentrated on the work at hand. He sat there, and I could feel and see that he was listening to every word that I said. At the end when he shook hands with us he said: “Thank you for the report, and please pray for me,” You were appointed to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in 2014. What is the commissions specific task?

My appointment on the commission came as a big surprise. I can only think that my working at the SACBC was taken into account and that I would have the wider understanding of how the Church operates in the area of sexual abuse.

The commission’s specific task is to propose to the Holy Father the most opportune initiatives for protecting minors and vulnerable adults and to promote local responsibility in the particular Churches; uniting their efforts to those of the Holy See, for the protection of all children and vulnerable adults.

In short, we are an advisory body.

You have a heavy workload. But what sort of things do you enjoy outside of work? Do you have any hobbies?

I am a workaholic. My day starts very early at 4am. That is the time I need, when no phone calls are coming in and no e-mails—a time when I am in the presence of the Lord.

This is what keeps me going the whole day.

I love doing physical work like cleaning and cooking and doing some reading. I enjoy reading biographies of people, even of political leaders.

I enjoy cooking and shopping.

At times I find myself neglecting things that I enjoy. I have to work hard to balance my time. I have to learn to switch off and do what I enjoy most.

Can you share with our readers one thing that they would be interested to know about you?

I am passionate about pastoral work, and that finding myself in the office is always a challenge. I would rather see myself working directly in a parish. I am not an office lady.

Also, another thing people would not believe is that I am a shy person. To be a secretary-general is such a challenging position and I have to work on my shyness daily.

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10

The southern Cross, october 11 to october 17, 2017

SA CHURCH 200

The Catholic Church’s colonial scars For a long time, the Catholic Church in South Africa was part of the colonial culture.

FR anTHony eGan sJ explains how and why.

I

T is almost a cliché to say that Christian missions in the 19th century served European colonialism.

Even the most universalist and inclusive visions of missionaries, often proclaiming the equality in principle of all God’s children, were visions—until the mid-20th century—of an equality rooted in a faith permeated consciously or unconsciously by European cultural assumptions.

At the extreme, missionaries have been seen in South Africa and elsewhere with some justification as the “friendly face” of the colonial state, the ideology that sapped first peoples of culture and social structures that gave them the space to resist domination and assimilation into the European world system.

Within the Christian churches too, the distribution of power within institutions was also heavily weighted towards foreign-born (European) clergy, clergy born of white colonists, and colonial laity, particularly those who controlled Church finances.

While there were exceptions in almost every denomination—farsighted missionaries who saw value in African culture and sought to translate Christianity into these cultures, missionaries who challenged the racist status quo, and even a smattering of far-sighted colonial laity who shared these values—the dominant image for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries in South Africa is of churches that

were, as theologian James Cochrane put it, “servants of power”.

Throughout its long global history of mission—before and after its arrival in South Africa—the Catholic Church’s practice expressed this ambivalent position wherever it evangelised.

This was itself bolstered up by the centralisation of the Catholic Church after the Reformation and the introduction of a rigidly universal way of proceeding as church.

Liturgy and worship (in Latin) and a seminary system for priests based on a single ratio studiorum curriculum of studies (taught in Latin, moreover) made the Church the same everywhere.

In Catholic countries and colonies Church and state worked closely together, with the latter often giving the Church extensive privileges and power over areas such as education and healthcare.

Where the Catholic Church was a minority in country and colony, such as England and South Africa, the relationship was more strained; the upshot in many cases was that Catholicism was a more closed community with an even stronger sense of being part of a single, universal, centralised institution. But that closedness did not normally translate into opposition to the colonial order.

Compromise and conformity With its history of being repressed and marginalised in South Africa, it might be assumed that the Catholic Church—once it got established—would have been more critical of colonial power than its Protestant counterparts, more sympathetic to African resistance to colonialism.

This was not the case. There were, I would argue, a number of reasons for this.

First, the experience of suppres-

above: Pupils at koelenhof mission at stellenbosch in January 1921. Right: special Southern Cross supplement in september 1925 to mark the installation of the first south african-born bishop. Born in kimberley, Bishop David o’Leary oMi (1880-1953) headed the vicariate of Transvaal until 1950. sion had a deep and lasting impact on the Catholic Church in South Africa. Even in the early 19th century, as prohibitions were lifted, the Church was well aware that the territory it was entering retained strong anti-Catholic sentiments.

Though, after initial prohibition, the freedom to function was granted in the Boer republics of the Transvaal and Orange Free State, the residue of anti-Catholicism remained throughout the territory of modern South Africa well into the 20th century.

That, and the vulnerability of an overwhelmingly foreign-born clergy to deportation, was even a constraining factor in speaking against apartheid in the minds of bishops (and Vatican officials) until well into the 1960s.

Second, for much of the first 50 years of its existence in South Africa, the Catholic Church’s ministry was

st Mary’s Mission school in Mafikeng, in 1930, one of many Catholic mission schools throughout south africa.

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spread very thinly in cities, towns and villages across a vast area of land that had limited means of communication.

The tiny number of priests in the country had to cross difficult terrain to reach pockets of Catholics. They travelled by ox-wagon, on horseback and later along the network of railways. They’d stop off for a day or two in a place to administer sacraments and encourage their flock, before heading out again. Such a “travelling priest” would cover a circuit of thousands of kilometres each year.

In some places colonists built small chapels or churches; in some cases an older priest might settle there and establish a permanent parish. Many other villages served by “travelling priests” would simply borrow a venue—a dining-room in a hotel, a school hall, even in one Free State town the local Masonic Hall—for worship when their priest arrived.

The priest would stay with a parishioner or sometimes with a sympathetic citizen. On a number of occasions the host would be a nonChristian. There are accounts of a priest staying with a village doctor, a Jew who would have sympathised with his Catholic patients and guest because a similar phenomenon of travelling rabbis existed.

While in many places—in towns with Catholic parishes and in areas where there was this ad hoc arrangement—Catholic worship was in theory “open” to all races (though often observing a spatial segregation within the assembly), one should also remember that until the turn of the 20th century African urbanisation was limited.

Apartheid hits the Church As segregationist ideology hardened from the late 19th century onward and reaching its apex/nadir after 1948, black Catholics were less likely to feel welcome in the “white” urban and suburban parishes.

Given the Church’s unease in what it perceived to be an antiCatholic culture and a sometimes unwritten agreement to conform to the norms of the society, in some places satellite worship centres would be created in the African “locations” on the fringes of white towns. These became the nuclei of today’s extensive township parishes.

Since whites entering townships for any reason (apart from police and later, in the 1980s, army) entailed obtaining permits, few ventured there to worship. An interesting exception in the 1970s and 1980s was a small group of Catholic Charismatics in Johannesburg, who apparently ignored restrictions and visited black counterparts for “praise and worship” meetings.

White clergy assigned to township parishes were confronted with the choice: either commute or live there with permits (thus conforming to apartheid law), or live there illegally.

Finally, one must admit that the

Church itself often imbibed, consciously or unconsciously, the dominant racial ideology or at the very least a pragmatic decision to conform to segregationist laws.

This cannot be explained simply by the influence of its initial focus on colonial Catholics. Clergy from Europe brought with them not only the universal values of Catholicism which they would apply without adaptation to Africa.

They also were influenced by the intellectual currents of a Europe that was colonising the world: the stark dichotomies of civilisation (which meant almost exclusively European civilisation) versus “barbarism” (the non-European, non-white Other), and Western enlightenment versus superstition.

At its worst this included what today we know as pseudoscientific race theories that questioned whether black people were even human.

Paradoxically, too, the best philosophies of the 19th century— liberty, equality, fraternity, democracy and later socialism—were the last ideas that the Catholic Church adopted.

In the century following the French Revolution and Napoleonic era, the rise of liberal democracy and the workers’ movements were anathema to the Church which saw them as anti-clerical (which many were), promoting separation of Church and state (which they certainly did), and a threat to faith itself.

Only later, as the 20th century began, did Catholicism start to make (often grudging) peace with these progressive forces, constructing through Catholic Social Teaching a series of dialogues with liberal democracy and social democracy.

These ideas, pioneered by a handful of clergy like Mariannhill missionary Fr Bernard Huss and later embraced by leaders such as Archbishop Denis Hurley of Durban, forced a Church still dominated politically and economically by a white lay minority and a foreign-born missionary majority to finally confront apartheid after 1948.

As we shall see later, the acceptance of these ideas at every level of a still white-dominated Church was a difficult process. Arguably the process continues.

Beyond the constraints generated by a shortage of priests, there was also the problem in many parts of the country of a “five-mile rule” limiting the establishment of rural mission stations. One could not build a mission within five miles of another.

Given the centuries’ headstart of other churches in the country, the Catholic Church’s missionary work among Africans was thus limited to areas that had not yet been comprehensively “colonised” by other churches. It took on various shapes and forms which I shall discuss next week. n This article was produced by the Jesuit Institute in association with the Daily Maverick. Photos from The Southern Cross’ archives.

CLASSIFIEDS

Frederick Leeson

F

REDERICK Leeson, a devout Catholic who ministered to the sick as a Eucharistic minister and to the poor as a Knight of Da Gama in East London, died on September 16 at the age of 75.

Mr Leeson was a prayer warrior; a man of faith committed to loving God, his family and the extended human family. It did not fail him. He died of a heart attack in the arms of his beloved wife, Rhona; in the sanctity of his home after a life well lived.

Growing up in his large family, he was introduced to the rough and tumble of life. His family home was the centre of not only the immediate family but for all his cousins, aunts, uncles, waifs and strays, and the

larger Umtata community—all attracted to the open house hospitality of laughter, food and, most especially, music.

At a very early age, Mr Leeson became a member of the illustrious Leeson’s Orchestra, accompanying his father, Eric, on the drums. He stood out as a tall, ginger-haired, young, talented muso.

He and his wife Rhona had four children—Edith, Gregory, Michelle and John—and ten grandchildren.

An integral and important part of Mr Leeson’s life centred around the work he did in the Church. He was a Eucharistic minister, taking Communion to the sick and housebound.

A month before he passed away, he was inducted into the

DEATHS

MAKHLOUF—Rimon. Tour guide to many Southern Cross pilgrimages, died suddenly on october 3. Remembered fondly by The Southern Cross and his many south african pilgrims and friends. M.H.s.R.i.P.

Knights of Da Gama.

He never missed an opportunity to evangelise: he wanted to be saved and he was tireless in doing his part for that to happen.

Judith Sowerby

Prayer for South Africa

Lord, we present our country South Africa before you. We exalt and bless your name for all the blessings, the graces, and love that you have given to us as a nation.

Our country is now weighed down by various social, political and economic problems. We ask you to join us in our boat to calm the storms in our nation.

May your grace challenge our nation and its leadership to repent and turn away from the sin of greed and corruption, which is a result of the worship of money (Matthew 6:24).

Protect all those who are speaking out against greed, patronage, and corruption.

Renew our nation and its leadership by the light of the Gospel.

Bless us with the values and the graces of your kingdom. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen. #Wepray4SouthAfrica campaign prayer 2017 by the SACBC Justice & Peace Commission

Year A – Weekdays Cycle Year 1 Sunday October 15, 28th Sunday of the Year Isaiah 25:6-10, Psalms 23:1-6, Philippians 4:1214, 19-20, Matthew 22:1-14 Monday October 16, Ss Hedwig and Margaret Mary Alacoque Romans 1:1-7, Psalms 98:1-4, Luke 11:29-32 Tuesday October 17, St Ignatius of Antioch Romans 1:16-25, Psalms 19:2-5, Luke 11:37-41 Wednesday October 18, St Luke 2 Timothy 4:10-17, Psalms 145:10-13, 17-18, Luke 10:1-9 Thursday October 19, Ss John de Brébeuf & Isaac Joques & Companions, St Paul of the Cross Romans 3:21-30, Psalms 130:16, Luke 11:47-54 st Luke Friday October 20, Bl Daudi Okelo & Jildo Irwa Romans 4:1-8, Psalms 32:1-2, 5, 11, Luke 12:1-7 Saturday October 21, Saturday Mass of Our Lady Romans 4:13, 16-18, Psalms 105:6-9, 42-43, Luke 12:8-12 Sunday October 22, 29th Sunday of the Year, Mission Sunday Isaiah 45:1, 4-6, Psalms 96:1, 3-5, 7-10, 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5, Matthew 22:15-21

CLASSIFIEDS

11

Births • First Communion • Confirmation • engagement/Marriage • wedding anniversary • ordination jubilee • Congratulations • Deaths • in memoriam • Thanks • Prayers • accommodation • Holiday accommodation • Personal • services • employment • Property • others Please include payment (R1,70 a word) with small advertisements for promptest publication.

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Liturgical Calendar

The southern Cross, october 11 to october 17, 2017

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

JOHANNESBURG: Sacred Heart College in observatory, Johannesburg, is hosting a black-tie gala dinner on wednesday, october 18 at The Venue, Melrose arch.

The objective is to raise funds for a music, arts, drama and sports centre at the college. sim Tshabalala, new sole Ceo of standard Bank and a sacred Heart alumnus, will host the event alongside Chichi Maponya, former chair of Brand sa and a parent at the school.

They will be joined in a panel discussion by former Minister of Public service Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi and Business arts south africa Ceo Michelle Constant.

The topic of the panel discussion is the challenges and prospects of an african economy. entertainers include the indomitable sipho

“Hotstix” Mabuse, kagiso Lediga and Joey Rasdien, and jazz legend Paul Hanmer. showcasing their musical talents too will be the sacred Heart marimba band and the college’s jazz band.

Tables of ten are available at a cost of R16 000 (Gold) and R15 000 (silver) and individual tickets at R1 500. sponsorship and promotional benefits are available for corporates who would like to participate in the event.

For enquiries, contact Lynn walker on 011 081 2200 or e-mail market ing@sacredheart.co.za

St Anthony’s church in Coronationville is calling for donations of tinned fish, peanut butter, jam, butter and juice for their soup kitchen. Contact Faried and nadine Benn on 073 906 6037 or 083 658 2573.

PERSONAL

ABORTION WARNING: The truth will convict a silent Church. see www.valuelife abortionisevil.co.za ABORTION WARNING: “The Pill” can often abort. see website www.epm. org/static/uploads/down loads/bcpill.pdf. This medical fact, stated in its packages pamphlet, is unknown to most of its users. save unborn infant human lives and adult immortal souls by circulating, anonymously if necessary, certain cards, obtainable from Pro-Life, Po Box 1138, Roosevelt Park, 2129, which prove and explain this abortive potential. almighty God will protect and bless all persons who undertake this action.

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 (sim-

ply go to Google and type Pious kintu youTube). also you will read about african stigmatic sr Josephine sul of DR Congo and Padre Pio, among others. share it with all your friends. Contacts via e-mail avemaria 832@gmail.com and ave maria832@yahoo.com and via cellphone (roaming within africa) +243 99 0358275 +243 81 6090071.

CANDELABRAS NEEDED FOR BENEDICTION. st anthony’s church in sedgefield is asking if there are any parishes out there that can help it obtain candelabras, that they might have and no longer need. Please contact John on 079 840 3383.

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

CAPE TOWN: Looking for reasonably priced accommodation over the December/January holiday period?

Come to kolbe House, set in beautiful, spacious gardens in Rondebosch, nestled just under Devil’s Peak. self-catering, clean and peaceful. safe parking.

Close to all shops and public transport. Contact Pat on 021 685 7370, 073 263 2105 or kolbe.house@ telkomsa.net CAPE TOWN: strandfontein: Fully equipped selfcatering two-bedroom apartment with parking, sleeps four. R660 per/night.

Paul at 061 446 9665, vivilla@telkomsa.net MARIANELLA Guest House, simon’s Town: “Come experience the

Pope’s words echo in SA Continued from page 7 their foundation now and then when it suits them.

But, like King Saul, the spirit of God has departed from them. They now consult the divinities and the spirits of the dead.

The Church must never lower its guard against what St Augustine termed the “mammon of unrighteousness”.

The ANC is a party that was founded, through God’s providence, by men of the cloth, deep faith and prophetic light for the political future of our country. Alas, it has now been overtaken by the spirit of mammon. Its absurdities and internal contradictions have long been seen by some—now it has become glaring to the many. n See the archive of articles by Mphuthumi Ntabeni at www.scross.co.za/category/perspectives/ntabeni/

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 780. ACROSS: 1 Far off, 4 Sea bed, 9 Sistine chapel, 10 Epistle, 11 Amiss, 12 Enemy, 14 Amity, 18 Cohen, 19 Hitcher, 21 Lord have mercy, 22 Sesame, 23 Goshen. DOWN: 1 Fishes, 2 Russian chorus, 3 Faint, 5 Ephraim, 6 Baptist Church, 7 Delist, 8 Defer, 13 Menahem, 15 Scales, 16 Shave, 17 Pray on, 20 Tempo.

Neighbourhood Old Age Homes

We can use your old clothing, bric-a-brac, furniture and books for our second-hand shop in Woodstock, Cape Town.

Help us to create an avenue to generate much needed funds for our work with the elderly.

Contact Ian Veary on 021 447 6334 www.noah.org.za

peace and beauty of God with us.” Fully equipped with amazing sea views. secure parking, ideal for rest and relaxation. special rates for pensioners and clergy. Malcolm salida 082 784 5675, mjsalida@gmail.com SALT ROCK KZN: Beautiful newly completed beach house available for December/January accommodation. 180-degree seaview from elevated front veranda under cover. Beautiful spacious garden. immaculately clean. Modern finishes. netted swimming pool. Dstv and fully equipped. sleeps 12 people. Close to shopping centre. walking distance from the beach.

Contact Correen Reeves 079 572 6718 or correen @brockwell.co.za

PRAYERS

SPIRIT of wisdom and understanding, enlighten our minds to perceive the mysteries of the universe in relation to eternity. spirit of right judgment and courage, guide us and make us firm in our baptismal decision to follow Jesus' way of love. spirit of knowledge and reverence, help us to see the lasting value of justice and mercy in our everyday dealings with one another. May we respect life as we work to solve problems of family and nation, economy and ecology. spirit of God, spark our faith, hope and love into new action each day. Fill our lives with wonder and awe in your presence which penetrates all creation. amen.

Traditional Latin Mass

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

Email: sspx.capetown@gmail.com The

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29th Sunday: October 22, Mission Sunday Readings: Isaiah 45:1, 4-6, Psalm 96:1, 3-5, 7-10, 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5, Matthew 22:34-40

T

HE secret of life is really very simple; all you have to do is put God in the centre, and then you will find that nothing else matters; perhaps that is what “Mission Sunday” really means.

In Sunday’s first reading, the prophet is speaking (rather unexpectedly, you may feel) to “Cyrus—his Messiah”; and the message is that God (and not his own military brilliance) has “grasped your right hand”, and it is not because of any merit on Cyrus’ part, but “for the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen one”.

And God has given Cyrus a signal honour: “I called you by your name—even though you did not know me.” Here now is the important thing: “I am the Lord—and there is no other; no God beside me.” So Cyrus is not to boast of his triumph: “It was I that armed you—and you did not know me.”

So we are to concentrate on God: “So that they will know, from the rising of the sun to its setting, they may know that there is none other than me; I am the Lord and there is no other.”

Once you see that (and history does not relate whether Cyrus got the message), it all makes sense, and God is the only reality that matters.

S outher n C ross

What will you do, on this Mission Sunday?

Well, for one thing, you might do a bit of singing, along with the psalm for next Sunday, the invitation is there: “Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord, all the earth; announce his glory among the nations, his miracles among the peoples.”

I don’t know how keen you are feeling about this—it does mean telling people about what God means to you (this is your “mission”); and sometimes we find ourselves rather shy about such a thing.

But notice that the poet is aware that we are tempted to find ourselves other gods (absurdly enough): “The Lord is great and much to be praised; to be revered above all other gods.” Then he dismisses all those alternative deities that we construct for ourselves: “The gods of the nations are just nothings—but the Lord made the heavens!”

Then the rest of our bit of the psalm is a series of invitations to “go in…bow down… enter his courts”, to do what you will be doing this Sunday, and proclaiming the truth about God: “Say among the Gentiles that the Lord is king; he will judge the peoples with fairness.”

Keep your attention, this week, upon the God who loves you.

A

just as in our relationships with each other, there are both healthy and unhealthy fears. What’s a healthy fear?

Healthy fear is love’s fear. When we love someone, our love will contain a number of healthy fears, a number of areas within which we will be healthily cautious and reticent. We will fear being disrespectful, fear despoiling the gift, fear being selfish, fear being irreverent.

All healthy love contains the fear of not letting the other person be fully free. Reverence, awe, and respect are a form of fear.

But that kind of fear is not to be confused with being frightened, intimidated or dreading some kind of punishment.

Metaphorically, love’s fear is the fear that God challenges Moses with before the burning bush: “Take off your shoes because the ground you are standing on is holy ground!”

H

Conrad

ow are we to understand fear of God as the beginning of wisdom? We are wise and on the right path when we stand before the mystery of God (and of love) with our shoes off, namely, in reverence, in awe, in respect, in unknowing, without undue pride, humble before an infinity that dwarfs us, and open to let that great mystery shape us for its own eternal purposes.

But that is far different—almost the antithesis—of the fear we experience when we are frightened of someone or something that threatens us because the person

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sunday Reflections

The second reading begins a brief encounter with the first document of the NT to be written, Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians. Once again, the focus is on God (but, this being Paul, also on Jesus): “Grace to you and peace, in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” And Paul cannot take his eyes off God: “We are giving thanks to God all the time, as we remember you in our prayers”, and his relationship with the Thessalonians is a very strong one, but it comes from God: “brothers and sisters beloved by God”.

And how does Paul know this? “Because our Gospel did not come to you as just talk, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance.”

Focus on God this week, and find your mission.

And that is the answer to the lethal trap set for Paul in Sunday’s Gospel. We are at that stage of Matthew’s gospel when Jesus’ enemies are gathering, and death is in the air.

Here we have the “Pharisees”, who always represent the opposition in Matthew’s gospel, “taking a plot against him to see how they might set a verbal trap for him”; significantly we hear that “they send their disciples with the Herodians” (a most unlikely but unmistakably sinister alliance).

A healthy fear of God S a theologian, priest and preacher, I often get asked: “Why isn’t the Church preaching more fear of God anymore? Why aren’t we preaching more about the dangers of going to hell? Why aren’t we preaching more about God’s anger and hellfire?”

It’s not hard to answer that. We aren’t preaching a lot about fear because to do so—unless we are extremely careful in our message—is simply wrong.

Admittedly fear can cause people to change their behaviour, but so can intimidation and brainwashing. Just because something is effective doesn’t mean it is right. Fear of God may be preached only within a context of love.

Scripture itself seemingly gives us a mixed message. On the one hand, it tells us that “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”, even as it tells us that virtually every time God appears in human history, the first words from God are always: “Don’t be afraid!”

That phrase, coming from the mouth of God or from the mouth of God’s messenger, appears more than 300 times in scripture. The first words we will hear every time God appears in our lives are: “Don’t be afraid!” So we must be careful when we preach fear of God. Fear of punishment is not the real message we hear when God enters our lives.

Then how is fear of God the beginning of wisdom? In our relationship with God,

Nicholas King SJ

What is your Mission?

They have the sense to give it a bit of polite camouflage, a sycophantic introduction that does not fool Jesus for a moment: “Teacher—we know that you are true, and truly teach God’s way”—if only one could say the same for them!—“and you don’t care about anybody; for you don’t consider people’s status.”

There is an invitation here, of course, for this maverick to say exactly what he thinks about the authorities, which would be very dangerous; and now comes the question, lethal in its way: “Is it permissible to pay tax to Caesar, or not?”

Jesus throws it back at them, and demands to see the coin in which the tax is paid (which of course they should not have been carrying); then he asks them: “Whose is this likeness and whose inscription?”

They fall into the trap: “Caesar’s”, and then get the answer: “So—pay Caesar what belongs to Caesar. And to God what belongs to God.” And what belongs to God? Why, absolutely everything in the created world.

And what are you going to do about that, this week of Mission Sunday?

Southern Crossword #780

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

or thing is perceived as being mercilessly exacting or as being arbitrary and punitive.

There is too a healthy fear of God that’s felt in our fear of violating what’s good, true and beautiful in this world. Some religions call this a fear before the “law of karma”. Jesus, for his part, invites us to this kind of holy fear when he warns us that the measure we give out is the measure that will be given back to us.

There’s a moral structure inherent in the universe, within life, and within each of us.

Everything has a moral contour that needs to be respected. It’s healthy to be afraid of violating any goodness, truth or beauty.

We need to preach this kind of healthy fear rather than that God needs to be feared because of the punishment he might eventually deal out in some legalistic and exacting fashion.

Whenever we preach this kind of fear— of a God who deals out hellfire—we are almost always also preaching a God who isn’t very intelligent, compassionate, understanding or forgiving. A God who is to be feared for his punitive threats is a God with whom we will never find a warm intimacy.

Threat has no place within love, except if it is a holy fear of doing something that will disrespect and despoil. To preach hellfire can be effective as a tactic to help change behaviour, but it is wrong in terms of the Gospel.

Fear is a gift. It is also one of the deepest, life-preserving instincts within you.

Without fear, you won’t live very long.

But fear is a complex, multi-faced phenomenon. Some fears help you stay alive, while others deform and imprison you.

There are things in life that you need to fear. A playground bully or the arbitrary tyrant can kill you, even if they are all wrong. Lots of things can kill you, and they merit fear.

But God is not one of those things. God is neither a playground bully nor an arbitrary tyrant. God is love and a perpetual invitation to intimacy. There is a lot to be feared in this, but nothing of which to be afraid.

ACROSS

1. At a distance (3,3) 4. Where Neptune sleeps?

(3,3) 9. Shine its place in the Vatican (7,6) 10. Apostolic letter (7) 11. She’s unwed and it’s not right (5) 12. The one who sowed the weeds (Mt 13) (5) 14. It may result in friendly relations (5) 18. Jewish family has company with poultry (5) 19. He gets free lifts on the way (7) 21. Liturgical plea for compassion (4,4,5) 22. Open admission for kind of seed (6) 23. You shall dwell in the land of ... (Gn 45) (6)

DOWN

1. The boy had two of these (Jn 6) (6) 2. You may hear it sing in Moscow liturgy (7,6) 3. Lose consciousness (5) 5. Joseph’s second son (Gn 41) (7) 6. Protestant denomination (7,6) 7. Let Sid remove from the register (7) 8. Submit and put off (5) 13. He was Gadi’s son (2 Kg 15) (7) 15. Justice will hold them in the balance (6) 16. Narrow escape that’s close (5) 17. Continue the petition (4,2) 20. Speed of the singing (5)

Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

D

uring a long and slumber-inducing Sunday sermon, the priest’s microphone suddenly became partly inaudible.

He shook it vigorously, and irritably muttered into it: “There’s something wrong with this wretched system again!”

His now-somnolent congregation then dutifully and liturgically replied: “And with your spirit...”

LENT IN THE

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