The
S outher n C ross
May 9 to May 15, 2018
Reg No. 1920/002058/06
Theology nun on 50 years as a Sister
Page 3
No 5083
www.scross.co.za
With Mary and Jesus in the Holy Land
Page 10
NEW PRICE: R10 (incl VAT RSA)
Bishop Phalana: Why we must be one
Page 9
Bishop: Nelson Mandela was not a ‘sell-out’ STAFF REPORTER
A
BISHOP has said that South Africans should be grateful to the leaders who negotiated an end to apartheid, rather than demonising them as “sell-outs”. Bishop Sithembele Sipuka of Mthatha was responding to recurrent criticism of the late President Nelson Mandela and his colleagues which claims that they agreed to a bad deal for black South Africans in 1994. In that view, Mr Mandela—whose centenary will be marked in July—was a “sell-out” rather than a genuine liberator. Bishop Sipuka in a commentary noted that “some of those who demonise the leaders of the past for being sell-outs are leading parties that are in coalition with other parties which in normal circumstances they would have no cooperation with because of mutually opposed ideologies”, referring to the Economic Freedom Fighters’ coalition and cooperation agreements with the Democratic Alliance in several metros and municipalities. “They do this because pragmatism demands it. Yet in public platforms these leaders lambast the leaders of the past who in their circumstances could not find an ideal, perfect and radical solution and so settled for what was practical at the time,” Bishop Sipuka said. “Theirs was not the season to call for radical solutions because it would not have worked. Let us be grateful to the leaders of the past who negotiated less than perfect solutions, but in doing so laid a foundation for us today to call for more just and fair solutions because our time allows it,” he said. He noted that the condemnations of the leaders of 1994 found a voice during last month’s mourning period for Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Much of the praise for her, especially from radicals, portrayed Mr Mandela and other leaders as “moderates and even ‘cowering sellouts’ who compromised the cause of the oppressed”, while Mrs Madikizela-Mandela was seen as “the lone voice that was calling for radical change”. “Time plays a big role in addressing issues. Things that were not conceivable yesterday
and could be spoken of or done only in a tentative and moderate way, with the passage of time those things can be spoken of today in a radical way because yesterday’s moderate efforts laid the foundation,” said the bishop. “So instead of lambasting the leaders of yesterday for selling Bishop Sipuka out with the negotiated political settlement, they should be appreciated for what they could do at the time to save the country from destruction. Instead of being antagonistic towards yesterday’s leaders, the present generation should ask itself how it takes things forward in a more radical way than yesterday because time allows it today,” he said. “While it is easier and even fashionable today to call for radical change, it was not so in the early ‘90s,” Bishop Sipuka explained. “The minority government of the time was strong and the world was ambiguous in its support for change. Politics had to be played and a negotiated settlement be made if this country was not to go up in flames,” he pointed out. “In 1990 there were people who saw the racially-based inequalities as normal, and were prepared to fight and destroy this country to keep things as they were, together with those countries that supported them. “Thanks to time, those who were opposed to radical change are now gradually realising that this cannot continue, and even if they wanted to continue, the tide of time has changed,” Bishop Sipuka said. “We can today raise these issues without too much fear that the country would be destroyed civilly and economically,” he said. “It is disingenuous and politically opportunistic to judge the well-meant solutions of the past determined by their own circumstances by today’s circumstances.”
Pope St John XXIII is depicted in the shrine dedicated to him in his birthplace of Sotto il Monte in northern Italy. The body of the late pope will be transferred on May 24 from its resting place in St Peter’s basilica to Bergamo and then to Sotto il Monte. Pilgrims can pray before the saint’s remains at the shrine until June 10 when Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, will celebrate Mass and the body will be returned to the Vatican. (Photo: Günther Simmermacher)
New: An app for praying C ONVINCED that faith communities would want to share prayer requests, announcements and service opportunities without going to multiple platforms and without being awash in advertising, a group of friends created an app just for that. With $2 million in seed money, Pray.com was beta-tested with 100 churches in 2016. Today, 6 000 faith communities and thousands of other groups use the app to host their members’ need for prayer and offers of support, as well as to recruit volunteers for local service projects and to collect donations, said two of the co-founders. The faith-social app Pray 2.0 is designed specifically not to “gamify” the experience of the parishes, mosques, synagogues, churches and temples that use it, said Matthew Potter, one of the app’s co-founders. “What big social media does is gamified to get more eyes on more ads,” he said. People become obsessed, consciously or not, with attracting followers and likes, which in turn gives the advertising a wider market. The communities that set up one of the closed groups on Pray.com and the community members who join those groups pay nothing. Pray.com does not accept advertising
S outher n C ross Pilgrimage
5-17 May 2019
HOLY LAND & ROME Led by Fr Russell Pollitt SJ with
Günther Simmermacher, author of The Holy Land Trek For more information or to book, please contact Gail at info@fowlertours.co.za or phone/WhatsApp 076 352-3809
www.fowlertours.co.za/pollitt
but earns money by taking a small percentage of the donations it facilitates for the groups. Last month Mr Potter and co-founder Michael Lynn were at the Vatican for a gathering of financiers, philanthropists, artists, tech experts, physicians, politicians and religious leaders who came together to discuss ways to work together to make a positive impact on the world. As a first step, they decided to raise $100 000 to give to Pope Francis. The donations and pledges are being made through the Pray.com app. “When you think about Facebook and Instagram, you think about your social identity online, which is great. It’s brought everyone together with their social identity—friends and family,” Mr Potter said. “When you think about the three core things that make up human beings, it’s your friends and family, what you do and what you believe.” Pray.com is designed for that third part, he said. “It is a place where people engage in prayer and prayer requests, create community, support one another and support their local community, which can be their church, their temple or mosque.”—CNS
