180516

The

S outher n C ross www.scross.co.za

May 16 to May 22, 2018

Are our parishes truly catholic?

No 5084

r10 (incl VaT rSa)

The places of Mary’s death & Assumption

What you must know about Pentecost

Page 7

reg No. 1920/002058/06

Page 10

Page 9

Don’t miss next week’s special 24-page Catholic Education issue OUT ON MAY 23

Fr Blaser hangs up morning mic

By ErIN carELSE

A

FTER 17 years, Fr Emil Blaser OP hung up the microphone on his Radio Veritas morning show “Matins” on May 11, with many past interviewees paying tribute to South Africa’s radio pioneer.

Over the years, Fr Blaser has interviewed hundreds of eminent people including bishops, nuncios and ambassadors, and got to know many people who have become his friends.

He said one of his greatest joys has also been the collaboration with The Southern Cross, which has championed the radio station through its long struggle to receive a broadcast licence.

Radio Veritas broadcasts in Gauteng on 576AM, as well as nationally on DStv audio channel 870, and streams its content on www.radioveritas.co.za.

The Dominican priest also looks back with great joy to the ordinary people he has interacted with on Radio Veritas.

“Much time on my morning was devoted to events in parishes. We have given much time to St Francis Centre in Boksburg and Little Eden. We have promoted the donation of water to drought-stricken areas and sanitary towels for young girls who would otherwise not be able to go to school. We successfully appealed for somebody to donate a kidney.”

While Fr Blaser is leaving the morning show—where he is succeeded by Khanya Litabe—he remains as the station’s director.

He will also present the daily devotional programme “As The Sun Sets”, which is prerecorded, and is available to stand in for absent presenters.

Leaving the morning show means that he has more time to focus on funding Radio Veritas.

“Sadly, after all these years, we still struggle financially, even though we have taken the flag of the Gospel and Church into areas, cars

The

celebrating the centenary of the birth of Little Eden co-founder Domitilla rota Hyams, residents and staff attended Mass at St Therese church in Edenvale, Johannesburg, where Domitilla and her husband Danny were parishioners for most of their lives. The Mass was also to petition for the promotion of the cause towards the beatification of Danny and Domitilla Hyams as a couple.

Little Eden operations manager Xelda rohrbeck is seen receiving a card from young resident Busi at the celebration.

Pope’s bones found in trash Fr Emil Blaser and Khanya LItabe. and other places more effectively than any other means,” he said.

“There are still some people who haven’t heard of Radio Veritas and even a few Catholic parishes which won’t allow us in.”

Fr Blaser said he is grateful for the generosity of those who contribute to the survival of Radio Veritas.

He said that the biggest challenges will remain financing the station and finding the necessary talent to produce quality programmes in different languages.

“My leaving the morning programme provides us with an opportunity to restructure our content,” Fr Blaser said.

On the morning show, the popular Mr Litabe is accompanied by Colin Yorke. Olinda Orlando remains the producer.

Mr Litabe said that he will miss Fr Blaser’s enthused singing in the mornings, and his humour, motivation and positive outlook on life.

“With Fr Emil behind the mic, it has been a journey of joy and inspiration and ‘good news for a change’ for so many Radio Veritas Continued on page 3

S outher n C ross

By Mary rEzac

Y

OU know the old saying: one person’s trash is another person’s 2 000 year-old sacred bone fragment of an early pope.

An environmental waste company in London had a surprise discovery when they uncovered a reliquary in the garbage containing a bone of St Clement, a Church Father and the fourth pope.

The company said they could not pinpoint the exact location where the relic had come from, but they do know that it was collected in the rubbish somewhere in central London.

It was spotted when employees were sorting through the load for recyclables.

“We often come across some weird and wonderful things on clearances, but we were definitely not expecting to find a bone fragment of an apostle,” said James Rubin, owner of Enviro Waste, on the company’s website.

The bone fragment is encased in a waxsealed case tied with a crimson ribbon and includes an inscription that it is “from the bones of St Clement, Pope and Martyr”.

St Clement became bishop of Rome in 90 AD. It is believed that he converted from Judaism and might have shared in some of the missionary journeys of St Peter or St Paul.

The relic of the fourth pope, found among rubbish.

His writings reveal much about the early Church, but little about his own life.

According to one account, he died in exile during the reign of Emperor Trajan, who purportedly banished Clement to Crimea and had him killed for evangelising the local people, around 100 AD. In 868, the Greek missionary St Cyril claimed to have recovered St Clement’s bones.

Mr Rubin said that he is seeking the help of a UK laboratory to have the relic carbon dated to test its authenticity.

On their website, Enviro Waste has set up a suggestion box, asking the public where the final resting place of the relic should be. Suggestions have included the British Museum or the church of St Clement in Rome.—CNA

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The Southern cross, May 16 to May 22, 2018

LOCAL

SACBC’s Khanya House staff White Fathers honour 150 celebrate Church’s 200 years years of missionary vision

By DENIS EKWErIKE MDP

By Fr PauL TaTu cSS

A

S

TAFF members of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) head office, Khanya House in Pretoria, celebrated 200 years of the Catholic Church in Southern Africa.

Fr Patrick Rakeketsi CSS, the SACBC associate secretary-general, gave a summary of the history of the Catholic Church in the region, emphasising the need to thank all missionaries for their contribution to the local Church.

He pointed out that some of the first congregations that came as missionaries to the region had done great work in raising people’s quality of life.

“The Church for the past 200 years has been producing fine people and it continues to do so. Many such people continue to hold important roles in society today,” he said.

Fr Sakhi Mofokeng, who led the Mass, in his homily noted that Jesus describes himself as the true vine and his Father the vinedresser.

He used the image of branches connected to the vine as the true picture of how the Church is connected to Jesus Christ and depends solely on him to bear fruit.

Fr Mofokeng said without Jesus

Khanya House staff celebrated the 200 years of the church in Southern africa with Mass and addresses on the history of the local church.

Christ, the Church can do nothing.

In the concluding address, SACBC secretary-general Sr Hermenegild Makoro CPS said that the missionaries who brought faith to us offered their lives for the service of the Church.

“Most of them never went back home. They sacrificed their lives so that we could have a better life.

“We need to draw this good ex-

ample from them during the service we give to the People of God,” she told the Khanya House staff.

“Working for the Church is not about money, but service. The Church is different from other institutions. Those who think working for the Church is about the money, are in the wrong place.”

Sr Makoro acknowledged the good work the SACBC staff is doing.

BISHOP has urged members of a missionary congregation to return to the original vision of their founder.

Bishop Jan de Groef of Bethlehem presided over a Mass in Cedara, KwaZulu-Natal, to mark the 150th anniversary of the Society of Missionaries of Africa, of which he is a member.

“Celebrating the 150-year jubilee presents us with quite a challenge” to remain relevant to society, he said. This can happen only when members give concrete expression to the charism received from their founder, the bishop noted.

The Society of Missionaries of Africa—abbreviated M.Afr and popularly called the White Fathers due to the colour of their cloaks—was founded in 1868 in France by Cardinal Charles Levigerie.

“Looking at our founder as a person of vision and at giving this vision a very concrete expression in time and space, we are challenged to embody it in our own times, responding to today’s needs and challenges,” Bishop De Groef said.

He said the “project of training African catechists for the missions, who could at the same time practise medicine among the people” was

cardinal charles Levigerie founded the White Fathers in 1868. one passionate dream of their founder, based on his strong belief that “the real work of evangelisation could only be carried out by Africans themselves”.

Stressing the congregation’s tradition of inculturation, Bishop De Groef noted that Cardinal Levigerie had wished that candidate missionaries receive solid spiritual and apostolic formation; “a strict rule of common life for missionaries and the fraternal cohabitation of priests and brothers; the need for all to learn the local language; and the need for their dress, as a sign, to be as close as possible to that of the people”.

Members of the society told The Southern Cross the 150th celebrations marked a new beginning for them, and expressed confidence in their work ahead.

Engaged Encounter now in Swaziland

By ErIN carELSE

A

Nicky Barends (left) was formally commissioned as the national director for apostleship of the Sea (aoS) by cape Town’s port chaplain Fr Gerardo Garcia cS. He succeeds the late Terry Whitfield in coordinating the apostleship’s activities in southern africa, including Mozambique. The ceremony took place in the chapel at the MTS centre in cape Town’s harbour where the local aoS has Mass on Saturday evenings at 19:30. The aoS provides pastoral care to seafarers through chaplaincies in ports throughout the world. To assist the aoS by volunteering or donation, go to www.apostleshipofthesea.org.za/help-us

FTER 40 years of existence, the Catholic Engaged Encounter (CEE) programme has spread its wings to Swaziland, and now covers the whole pastoral region of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

CEE is a community-based Christian marriage preparation ministry based on Catholic teachings and values. It emphasises the relationship of the couples in terms of their sacramental commitment.

In response to Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia on marriage and family, the bishops of Southern Africa have confirmed Catholic Engaged Encounter as one of the suitable programmes for engaged couples to prepare for their marriage.

Fr Patrick Rakeketsi CSS, spiritual coordinator of the programme in the region, hailed CEE as a “rock upon which solid Christian marriages are being built”.

He told Manzini priests that “the bishops have resolved that in order to maintain good Christian and Catholic marriages, we need to qualify our apostolate and ministry towards marriage preparation”.

Fr Patrick rakeketsi cSS and catholic Engaged Encounter regional coordinators Kabelo and Bridgette Senne and Engaged Encounter workbooks to Bishop José Ponce de León IMc in Manzini.

Many priests in Swaziland have spoken of the challenges of having few young people willing to prepare well before their marriage in church.

“In the CEE, we see the programme which will finally respond positively to the challenge of better preparation for our young engaged couples before their marriage,” said a young Consolata missionary, who

asked not to be named.

Catholic Engaged Encounter was developed out of the Detroit Catholic Marriage Encounter in the United States in 1968.

In 1980, the programme was adopted in Pretoria and Johannesburg. Since then, it has spread to Cape Town, Durban, Gaborone, Klerksdorp, Port Elizabeth and Kokstad.

During his visit to South africa, Dutch moral theologian Professor Jan Jans gave a lecture on the Second Vatican council at St Francis Xavier Orientation Seminary in cape Town. “Prof Jans’ energetic and humorous style of teaching rubbed off on us,” said seminarian Sandile Somi. “It truly was a brief but fruitful moment for us as we continue to discern our vocation to priesthood,” Mr Somi said. Professor Jans is seen with seminarians at St Francis Xavier after his lecture.

The Southern cross, May 16 to May 22, 2018

LOCAL

3

Fr Blaser hangs J&P seeks compensation for up morning mic coal miners with lung diseases Continued from page 1 listeners,” said Mr Litabe, referring to the station’s motto.

Mr Litabe has stood in for Fr Blaser on the morning show on many occasions.

“While Colin Yorke and I will try to keep these qualities alive, we know there can only be one Fr Emil,” he said.

“We will be standing on the shoulders of a giant of broadcasting. We can only try and do what we can, to ‘dance with the spirit early in the morning’.”

Fr Blaser says he knows that many people will miss him in the morning, which is the cause of joy and sadness for him.

“There have been times when I have not felt like going on air but being in the studio behind the microphone simply fired me up and I would come alive. There are few things I love more,” he said.

“I will truly miss these three hours every day behind the microphone. I will miss singing for children in the morning and chatting with them.

I will miss the many daily callers whose voices I have come to know so well.

“And then there was the fun with my colleagues in the studio with whom I established a deep togetherness; and sometimes, under the stress of the moment, they would’ve experienced the edge of my tongue,” he said.

“But we still love each other and enjoy working together.”

Now he is looking forward to sleeping later in the morning, something which he needs for his health.

Looking back, Fr Blaser is grateful to so many of his colleagues who walked this journey with him.

“The love and appreciation of our listeners is a great gift for which I shall always be grateful. I could never be who I am, were it not for the thousands of wonderful people out there who have appreciated my gift.

“Without them, there would be no Radio Veritas,” he said. “But above all, I thank God, who is the giver of all good things.”

Female composers to star at Spiritfest

A

RECITAL titled “A Feather on the Breath of God” will be performed at Spiritfest, which is running as part of the Grahamstown Arts Festival next month.

It covers nine female classical composers who are little-known and little-performed, including 11thcentury mystic and poet Hildegard of Bingen; Kassia, the first woman-of-colour composer; Amy Beach; and British composer Rebecca Clarke.

The songs will be sung by SAMRO scholarship and Standard Bank Encore Ovation Award recipient Emma Farquharson. Accompanying her will be pianist Nina van Schoor and cellist Caleb Vaughn-Jones.

The title of the recital is taken from a comment by the 11th-century theologian St Bernard of Clairvaux upon hearing Hildegard of Bingen’s lyrical anthems for the first time.

It will be performed in the Nun’s Chapel on June 28 and 29, and July 2 and 2.

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HE bishops’ Justice and Peace Commission (J&P) is taking legal counsel to demand compensation for former coalminers who contracted deadly lung diseases in the mines.

South Africa has yet to find an adequate way to deal with health impacts and the legacy of apartheid-era mining, according to J&P chair Bishop Abel Gabuza of Kimberley.

He said the state compensation system—governed by the Occupational Diseases in Mines and Works Act—has not been sufficient and thus not effective enough in dealing with such a legacy.

“We are working with Richard Spoor Inc Attorneys to demand compensation from coal mines on behalf of former mineworkers who contracted deadly lung diseases in the coal mines,” Bishop Gabuza said.

“We need to explore more and better mechanisms. Other than compensation, we also need to put an emphasis on prevention.

“The battle to secure justice for sick miners in South Africa is not over,” he said.

J&P’s lawyers have revealed that legal action is being pursued on a company-tocompany basis, including such mining companies as Sasol and Exxaro.

Seven gold-mining companies signed a R5 billion settlement that will go towards establishing a trust to pay miners afflicted with silicosis and tuberculosis.

Bishop Gabuza has appealed to the coal mining companies “to emulate the example of gold mining companies”.

“They should consider out of court settlements and compensation levels that are sufficient to restore dignity to former workers,” he said.

J&P intends to set up a mechanism in remote rural areas in Free State and Eastern Cape that can ensure that thousands of sick miners access and benefit from the trust fund within its 12-year lifespan.

“We shall soon start discussions with the mines, the Department of Health, and

the department’s Medical Bureau for Occupational Diseases around such a mechanism,” Bishop Gabuza said.

The Catholic Church’s large presence in rural areas in Free State and Eastern Cape “can be a vital asset for tracking and assisting a massive number of potential claimants”, the bishop said.

He has therefore appealed to the Department of Mineral Resources and the Treasury to allocate more resources to the Mine Health and Safety Inspectorate of the department.

“Given the massive number of mines in the country, the current inspectorate is understaffed and under-resourced. We need to strengthen the inspectorate so that it is more effective in enforcing safety and health standards in the mining sector,” Bishop Gabuza said.

“In a constitutional democracy, we should not create another generation of sick miners similar to the one linked to apartheid-era mining,” he said.

Finalists gear up for Catholic talent show

By ErIN carELSE

A

CAPE Town parish is preparing for the grand finale of its Churches Got Talent contest.

St Agnes’ parish in Woodstock, which launched Churches Got Talent, held audition rounds last month, open to members of all parishes across Cape Town.

The grand finale, with 16 finalists, will be held on June 3 at the Portuguese Association in Rugby.

All the artists will perform in front of the judges to stand the chance of winning R15 000 for themselves and R10 000 for their parish or Catholic school.

Co-organiser Octavio Henriques expects a great show from the variety of acts on offer.

Craig Lucas, winner of The Voice South Africa 2017, will be the guest performer at the finale.

One finalist is Chandré Bouman, 26, from Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish in Durbanville, a professional artist-singer, actress, and model. She won the St Agnes category for women over 25.

“I thank the Lord for blessing me. I could not have done it without his help, as well

as the help of my parents and every single person who cheered, supported or prayed for me,” she said.

In 2016 Ms Bouman represented South Africa in Florida in the United States at the Applause Rising Talent Showcase for singing, acting, and modelling.

She placed in the Top 5 for the number of call-backs received from Hollywood agents at the show who wish to work professionally with her.

“My dream is to become a Hollywood celebrity,” Ms Bouman said. “I also want to make the world aware of the great talent we have in South Africa and, more importantly, being Catholic, I want to be a good, godly role model for youth.”

Churches Got Talent has no sponsors and depends on ticket sales to cover costs.

“The whole idea behind this show is to unite the different parishes and find amazing talent—and what better year to do that than the year that the Catholic Church celebrates its bicentenary,” Mr Henriques said. n Tickets for the grand finale range from R100150. No tickets will be sold at the door. To buy tickets, contact Carolina on 076 022-7740 or Octavio on 076 460 0360.

chandré Bouman of Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish in Durbanville, cape Town, is one of the 16 finalists in St agnes’ parish in Woodstock’s churches Got Talent show.

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The Southern cross, May 16 to May 22, 2018

INTERNATIONAL

Anti-Christian attacks by Jewish extremists cause concern By cOurTNEy GrOGaN

C Singer rihanna arrives at the Metropolitan Museum of art in New york for the controversial exhibit “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the catholic Imagination”. (Photo: carlo allegri, reuters/cNS)

Priests sick, starving in Republic of Congo

By JONaTHaN LuXMOOrE

A

CATHOLIC bishop from the Republic of Congo lamented that persistent corruption and poverty have left many of priests hungry and ill while the country’s wealth remains dominated by a “handful of the rich and powerful”.

Bishop Bienvenu Manamika Bafouakouahou of Dolisie said the Church in the violence-torn country faces “challenges from syncretism, sects and Islam, but above all from disease”.

“Only two of our dioceses, Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire, can pay their priests appropriately while others struggle,” he explained in an interview with Aid to the Church in Need. “In my own, the first concern is to ensure priests get enough food.

But if they have serious health problems, I have no idea what we can do.”

The diocese lacked clean drinking water and local adults and children at the Catholic school routinely died from water-borne illnesses, the bishop said. Further, he added, poverty had worsened because of a decline in oil prices, widespread corruption and public hospital employ-

ees being on strike for months over government failure to “subsidise basic medicines”.

“The Congolese are poor people in a rich country with abundant oil reserves, where all the wealth is shared by a handful of the rich and powerful,” Bishop Bafouakouahou said.

“Politicians here see the Catholic Church as the only institution capable of challenging them, so they’ve sought to weaken it by pillorying us and financially backing other denominations,” he charged.

The Church’s Justice and Peace Commission has levelled corruption allegations against the government of President Denis Sassou Nguesso, who was last re-elected in 2016 and has rejected embezzlement investigations as “racist” and “colonial”.

The bishop explained that Islamic organisations offered better employment opportunities and higher pay for young people, and had recently recruited one of his own altar servers.

“There’s only one seminary here,” the bishop said, “and we’d like to focus of recognising true vocations and providing a better education for priests.”—CNS

HURCH leaders are defending the need for a Christian presence in the Old City of Jerusalem, as some report increased vandalism, verbal abuse, and aggressive property acquisition by Jewish settlers.

“Today the Church faces a most severe threat at the hands of certain settler groups. The settlers are persistent in their attempts to erode the presence of the Christian community in Jerusalem,” Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem said in an interview with the British daily The Guardian.

“These radical settler groups are highly organised. Over the last years we have witnessed the desecration and vandalism of an unprecedented number of churches and holy sites, and receive growing numbers of reports from priests and local worshippers who have been assaulted and attacked,” the patriarch noted.

Catholic institutions and individuals have also been subject to such attacks, according to South African-born and Jerusalem-based Jesuit Father David Neuhaus, an affiliate of the Pontifical Biblical Institute.

“What Patriarch Theophilos describes is correct in that Church properties and Christian individuals have been attacked,” Fr Neuhaus told the Catholic News Agency.

“The attackers make no distinction among the Christian denominations,” he said.

Most of the Christians in Israel are Palestinians belonging to either the Greek Catholic, Greek Orthodox, or Roman Catholic Churches.

The Benedictine Dormition Abbey on Mount Zion has been vandalised on five different occasions in recent years, with antiChristian graffiti written in Hebrew.

Vandals shattered stained-glass windows and destroyed a statue of Mary in St Stephen church in the Beit Jamal Salesian monastery,

a priest stands inside an annex to the church of Loaves and Fishes following a 2015 arson attack by Jewish extremists in Tabgha, Israel. church leaders in the Holy Land have expressed alarm at increasing attacks on the christians and Muslims by Jewish settlers. (Photo: atef Safadi, EPa/cNS) 40km west of Jerusalem, in September 2017.

The Order of the Holy Sepulchre recently contributed funds for a fence project to protect another vandalised Catholic church in Nazareth from future attacks.

Fr Neuhaus said that it is important to remember that “these attacks are equally against Muslims”, noting that “many more mosques are targeted than churches”. He said that the settler violence is directed against all non-Jews.

“The question of settler and right-wing vigilante violence is an important phenomenon in Israeli society and deeply affects Christians and Muslims,” he said.

T

he Latin patriarchate of Jerusalem also emphasised the importance of the Christian community in Jerusalem.

“The identity of Jerusalem would not be complete without a living and vibrant Christian presence. The Holy Places and the presence of many pilgrims are not enough to affirm the Christian character of the city: without the presence of a local community, alive and active, there cannot be a Church,” wrote Archbishop Pier-

battista Pizzaballa, apostolic administrator of the patriarchate, in a letter to the Latin Parish in Jerusalem this month.

Archbishop Pizzaballa said the Church is considering creating a second parish in Jerusalem to strengthen the Christian presence.

“It is a priority and fundamental for all of us, therefore, to not only preserve but rather to strengthen our presence in Jerusalem and preserve the Christian character of the Holy City,” wrote the archbishop.

Pope Francis also urged the necessity of maintaining the status quo in his meeting with Patriarch Theophilos III in which the two discussed the patriarch’s concern for the Christian community amid aggression by Jewish settlers.

The pope said: “Any kind of violence, discrimination or displays of intolerance against Jewish, Christian and Muslim worshippers, or places of worship, must be firmly rejected. The Holy City, whose Status Quo must be defended and preserved, ought to be a place where all can live together peaceably; otherwise, the endless spiral of suffering will continue for all.”—CNA

CAR cardinal warns after Church attack

A

Why choose Lo reto?

Historyy and Traadition tion

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^ƚƌŝǀŝŶŐ ĨŽƌ ƉĞƌƐŽŶĂů ŽŵŵŝƚŵĞ džĐĞůůĞŶĐĞ Ŷƚ ƚŽ ďĞŝŶŐ ĂŶ ŐĞŶƚ Ž Ĩ ^ŽĐŝĂů ĐŚĂ ŶŐĞ ŝƐĐĞƌŶŵĞ Ŷƚ WĂƌƟĐŝƉĂƟŽ Ŷ ĂŶĚ ĞůĞ ď ƌ Ă ƟŽŶ YƵĂůŝƚLJ ŽĨ Z ĞůĂƟŽŶƐŚŝƉ >ĞĂĚĞƌƐŚŝƉ Ɛ ĞǀĞĞůŽƉŵ ĞŶƚ ĂŶĚ &Ž ƌŵĂƟŽŶ /ŶĐůƵƐŝǀŝƚLJ ʹ ŵďƌĂĐŝŶ Ő ůů ƌŝƟĐĂů ǁ ĂƌĞŶĞƐƐ ŽĨ ddŽ ŽĚĂLJ͛Ɛ Z Ă ůŝƚLJ

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Grade 000 - Grade 7

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CARDINAL in the Central African Republic warned against revenge after a priest and at least 24 Catholics were killed during a gun and grenade attack on a Mass at Our Lady of Fatima church in Bangui.

“For decades now, what have we done with our country: coups d’etat, mutinies, repeated rebellions?” said Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga, president of the bishops’ conference.

“We see the result in deaths, scenes of pillage and acts of destruction. But behind these events, I ask myself if there’s also manipulation, a wish to divide the country and a hidden agenda.”

After the attack, a mosque was burned.

The cardinal appealed to the government and UN peacekeeping forces to “throw light” on the atrocity and ensure justice was done, but added that local Catholics should also resist the urge to retaliate.—CNS

Congress priest gets his job back

J

ESUIT Father Patrick Conroy, chaplain for the US House of Representatives who said he had been forced to resign, was reinstated to his post by House Speaker Paul Ryan.

The priest was reinstated after a letter he wrote to Mr Ryan became public. In the letter, Fr Conroy said he wished to retract his resignation letter and continue working during this Congress “and beyond”.

In a statement, Mr Ryan said his original decision was made with what he thought was in the best interests of the House, but he now decided that “a protracted fight over such an important post” would not be good for the body and so he accepted the priest’s letter and decided he could remain in his position.—CNS

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern cross, May 16 to May 22, 2018

5

Pope Francis to Germany’s bishops: Try to agree on Communion question By cINDy WOODEN

P

OPE Francis asked the bishops of Germany to continue working together to find broader consensus on guidelines for allowing a Protestant married to a Catholic to receive the Eucharist.

“Pope Francis appreciates the ecumenical commitment of the German bishops and asks them to find, in a spirit of ecclesial communion, a result as unanimously as possible,” the German bishops were told, according to a Vatican statement.

The pope had invited six German bishops and the general secretary of the bishops’ conference to Rome for a meeting with top officials from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts.

In February, the Vatican statement said that more than threequarters of the members of the German bishops’ conference had approved a pastoral handbook titled “Walking with Christ: In the Footsteps of Unity: Mixed Marriages and Common Participation in the Eucharist”.

However, the Vatican said, seven heads of dioceses did not give their assent to the document and turned to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts.

Pope Francis invited leaders of the bishops’ conference and some of the bishops opposed to the guidelines to come to the Vatican for a discussion with officials from the three offices.

“Various points of view were discussed; for example, how the ques-

tion relates to the faith and to pastoral care, its relevance for the universal Church and its juridical dimension,” the Vatican statement said, without providing further details.

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne, one of the seven German bishops who objected to the conference guidelines, participated in the meeting at the Vatican. In his letter to the Vatican, which prompted the meeting, he had asked whether the guidelines were not simply pastoral but went to the heart of Catholic faith and practice, and whether the German guidelines could have a wider impact on the question of eucharistic hospitality in countries around the world.

The text of the German guidelines has not been made public, but it is widely assumed to foresee situations in which a Lutheran married to a

Catholic and regularly attending Mass with the Catholic spouse could receive the Eucharist and not only on special occasions like the baptism or first Communion of their child.

The council for Christian unity’s 1993 “Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism” said that the Catholic Church “recognises that in certain circumstances, by way of exception, and under certain conditions, access to these sacraments may be permitted, or even commended, for Christians of other churches and ecclesial communities”.

At the urging of the council, many bishops’ conferences around the world have published pastoral guidelines that list the occasions on which such Eucharistic sharing would be acceptable.

Visiting a Lutheran parish in Rome in November 2015, a Lutheran

woman married to a Catholic asked Pope Francis why she could not receive Communion when she went to Mass with her husband.

The pope responded that he could not issue a general rule on shared Communion, but the couple should pray, study and then act according to their consciences.

For the Catholic Church, he said, “it is true that sharing [the Eucharist] is saying that there are no differences between us, that we have the same doctrine,” which the official Catholic-Lutheran dialogue has yet to prove. “But I ask myself, ‘Don’t we have the same baptism?’ And if we have the same baptism, then we must walk together,” the pope said.

“Always refer to your baptism -one faith, one baptism, one Lord, as St Paul tells us—and take the consequences from that,” the pope told the woman.—CNS

Pope to Neocats: Be attentive, Pope calls dicastery to don’t dictate the ‘gait of others’ promote the role of women By cINDy WOODEN

S

HARING the Gospel means being a witness to love, responding to questions, and patiently walking alongside people, not dictating how and when they take the next step, Pope Francis told members of the Neocatechumenal Way. Some 100 000 members from more than 130 countries, including a group of 180 South African pilgrims, gathered in a field on the edge of Rome to welcome Pope Francis and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the movement, which guides Catholics in exploring the meaning of their baptism and living according to its promises.

Before sending 34 teams of Neocatechumenal Way members off on new missions, Pope Francis reminded all the members about the obligation of every Christian to evangelise, and he gave notes on how it should be done.

Pope Francis at an international meeting of the Neocatechumenal Way in rome. (Photo: Daniel Ibanez/cNa) To evangelise is to share with others the faithful love of God, he said.

“It is to proclaim that the Lord loves us and will never tire of me, of you, of us and of our world even if we sometimes tire of it.”

Being a pilgrim requires travelling light and renouncing comfort,

wealth and power, the pope said.

“Only a Church that renounces the world can proclaim the Lord well.

Only a Church detached from power and money, free of triumphalism and clericalism, can witness in a credible way that Christ frees a person.”

The Lord also sent his disciples forth together and, he said: “One must be attentive, for example, not to dictate the gait of others. But rather, one must accompany and wait, remembering that the journey of the other is not identical to mine.

“What counts are not arguments that can convince, but a life that can attract,” Pope Francis told them.

And, he said, be humble: “Don’t put in first place the negative aspects and things that need to change, but look with your hearts, with a gaze that appreciates, an approach that respects and a trust that is patient.”— CNS

By cINDy WOODEN

P

OPE Francis has updated the statutes of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life, adding among other things a specific reference to the office’s responsibility for promoting a deeper reflection on the role of women in the Church and society.

“The dicastery works to deepen the reflection on the relationship between men and women in their respective specificity, reciprocity, complementarity and equal dignity,” the new statutes said. “Valuing the feminine ‘genius,’ it offers a contribution to ecclesial reflection on the identity and mission of women in the Church and in society, promoting their participation.”

The introductory article added a reference to how, “in accordance with the principles of collegiality, synodality and subsidiarity”, the di-

castery is to maintain relations with national bishops’ conferences and dioceses, and promote collaboration among them.

In response to Pope Francis’ call in Amoris Laetitia to improve marriage preparation programmes, the new statutes called on the dicastery to offer “guidelines for training programmes for engaged couples preparing for marriage, and for young married couples”.

The statutes also gave the dicastery added responsibility for expressing “the pastoral care of the Church also in relation to so-called ‘irregular’ situations”, which include cohabiting couples and couples who are divorced and civilly remarried.

The new document also expanded references to the office’s care for youths and young adults, promoting their involvement in the Church and advocating for their needs in society.—CNS

Cardinal skips Mass to avoid priest accused of Nazism By zITa BaLLINGEr FLETcHEr

S

WISS Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, cancelled his participation in an upcoming Mass because one of the celebrants is a newly ordained priest with a history of alleged Nazi sympathies.

A spokesman for the diocese of Würzburg confirmed the reason for Cardinal Koch’s cancellation with Germany’s Catholic news agency, KNA. Fr Michael Polster, 30, was one of two seminarians expelled from a Bavarian seminary in 2013 due to alleged Nazi inclinations, racist remarks, and concentration camp jokes described then by German Church officials as “totally unacceptable and unbearable”.

Fr Polster, ordained by Bishop Gregor Maria Hanke of Eichstatt, was scheduled to give his first blessing in the scenic pilgrimage town of Retzbach, about a 20-minute drive from Würzburg.

An investigation launched by an ecclesiastical committee in 2013 established Fr Polster was one of two Würzburg seminarians who had performed the Hitler salute, made jokes

Fr Michael Polster, who caused an uproar in 2013 during his training at seminary for Nazilike behaviour. (Photo: Diocese of Eichstatt) about Nazi atrocities, and asked for a “[racial slur] to clean up” in the cafeteria, according to 2013 news reports by the German bishops’ conference and Suddeutsche Zeitung. The investigation heard testimony from 18 seminarians and ten others.

The scandal dominated German media headlines five years ago, unleashed questions about a possible network of Nazi sympathisers in the Catholic Church, and prompted a strong letter to the seminary rector from the Würzburg vicar-general condemning Nazi rituals as intolerable behaviour for future priests.

In an interview printed in

Suddeutsche Zeitung in July 2013, Archbishop Ludwig Schick of Bamberg said: “I am exceedingly disturbed by antiSemitic and racist utterances and tendencies, like the glorification of Nazi symbols and nationalism in our society— above all, when this happens in ecclesiastical places.”

Fr Polster was expelled from the Würzburg seminary after the investigation found him guilty of misconduct. After his dismissal, he sought admittance to a seminary in Eichstatt and was accepted.

He recently described his previous behaviour to local media as bockmist (goat waste).

In a March interview with Donaukurier, he denied having had Nazi sympathies at any point in his life.

“I do not have a maladjustment. I made a mistake in that particular situation,” Fr Polster, then a deacon, told the press.

“I hope that I have developed myself further so that such a thing never happens again.”

Bishop Hanke said he believes Fr Polster has repented and asked the public to be respectful of him.

“He does not want to be an anti-Semite or a neo-Nazi. He has repented of what he was responsible for,” said Bishop Hanke.—CNS

NATIONAL RELIGIOUS EDUCATION COORDINATOR

Due to the retirement of the current incumbent, the CIE invites applications for the post of National RE Coordinator starting in October 2018.

The successful applicant will have a teaching qualification as well as a qualification in Theology, Scripture or religious Education.

The successful candidate should have a proven track record in the field of religious Education in a South african catholic school and understand the emerging role of rE within the catholic school context.

In addition the candidate must be able to travel extensively across South africa, have a driver’s licence and excellent writing skills.

Applications together with a CV to be sent to hilda@cie.org.za by 31 May 2018.

6

The Southern cross, May 16 to May 22, 2018

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

Race and our future

O

N reading the headline, some readers might have decided not to read on.

That would be a pity, because the debates on race and racism are important—and they concern us all.

How these debates play out will determine the future of South Africa. We cannot disengage from them, and we must contribute to them constructively.

The peaceful transition from apartheid and the euphoria that followed it almost a quarter of a century ago lulled South Africa into complacency. After the nightmare of apartheid, the full examination of its legacy was deferred—but it could not be cancelled.

Calling for the race debate to be shut down, to let bygones be bygones, is unhelpful because it delegitimises valid grievances about the legacy of apartheid and the pace of social and economic transformation.

The race debate is frustrating, of course, because the loudest voices in it are marked by belligerence, disinformation, generalisations, and lack of charity. The willingness to find one another that defined the Rainbow Nation era has given way to hostile rhetoric.

That frustration in many good people finds expression in pleas such as, “Why can’t we just get along with each other?”—which, generally in daily life, South Africans across racial lines probably do.

But the more pertinent question should be: “What can we do to create the conditions whereby we can all get along with each other?”

In the year of Nelson Mandela’s centenary, it is good to return to the values of the Father of the Nation. Reconciliation certainly was one of those. Mr Mandela opposed racism, and other forms of bigotry.

As Bishop Sithembele Sipuka has pointed out in response to those who accuse the Mandela generation of leadership of having compromised black aspirations, the policy of nation-building was necessary to preserve peace in the volatile 1990s.

But it would be an error to reduce Mr Mandela’s philosophy to reconciliation alone. The next step in the freedom project had to be a transformation of power relations in South Africa—not to disempower whites but to empower those who, shackled by poverty, have no agency in shaping their lives.

Many things have prevented this from taking place, including the kleptocracy of the plutocrats in government who justified their corruption by reference to tropes like “white monopoly capital”, the neo-liberal economic model with its mendacious trickle-down theory, and the intransigence of many whites who believed that having transferred political power to a “black” government exempted them from addressing the imbalances created by apartheid.

The result of that is the often perilous populism of the likes of Julius Malema, which in turn serves as a pretext for many whites to engage in open racism.

The erstwhile Rainbow Nation is becoming polarised.

And when the public discourse is dominated by those who shout abuse and those who’d prefer to shut the whole debate down, the peacemakers are not heard.

This is where the Catholic Church (and all faith bodies) must play a role, as our bishops have acknowledged.

It is a shame that many parishes ignored Justice & Peace’s “Lenten Prayer Reflections to End Racism” this year, and that some white Catholics even declared their hostility to this attempt at conscientising South Africans to racial prejudice. Indeed, the rejection of this initiative shows just how necessary it is.

The Church has a treasure of social teachings from which it can draw to propose a society that is willing and able to combat racial injustice. But that requires the People of God to boldly confront issues of race and racism.

Pope Francis often speaks of the Church as a field hospital.

This applies also to the sins of racism and racial injustice. Acknowledging the wounds, we must treat them.

This involves, at the very least, a clear condemnation of racism in all its manifestations: in statements, in homilies and in practice.

It involves raising awareness about the problem of racial injustice and racism to create the conditions for fruitful dialogue.

It involves advocacy for economic and social transformation from which must come reconciliation.

And, crucially, it involves being agents for changing hearts, for example by providing a forum for people to listen to each other’s experiences.

Our country’s future depends on it.

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.

Priests need early speech coaching

I

ENJOYED the article on homilies

by Kelvin Banda OP (April 18), and congratulate Fr Matlala, whom we see preaching in the picture illustrating this article, at his ordination earlier this year.

On the subject of preaching I have a strong opinion which I have voiced in “private” more than once: Good preaching starts with speech coaching at a very basic level at the beginning of the priest’s formation.

Many of our priests in their training do not receive and are not made aware of the basic bricklaying principles of good articulation and

Condemning gays condemns Creator

I

T is very worrying that The Southern Cross is facing a financial crisis. I have been buying and reading it for the past 58 years, and my late husband, Rene, never missed a copy. We should all pay double what we’ve been paying to keep it going.

I would like to respond to JH Goossens’ letter “Francis not my preferred pope” (April 18).

Dr Goossens claims that he cannot say what he does not like about our beloved Holy Father because The Southern Cross would not publish it: yet the editor is always impartial, and has published many of Dr Goossens’ criticisms of Pope Francis.

It is obvious that homophobic people do not like the pope because of the enlightened and charitable views he has expressed on how we should treat homosexuals.

Homophobic people are always very selective when they quote from the Old Testament. They will highlight certain texts in support of their arguments but leave out others.

Take, for example, the book of Leviticus, which Dr Goossens refers to in his condemnation of homosexuality. “The Lord commanded Moses to say to Aaron, none of your descendants who have any physical defects may present the food offerings to me; blind, lame, disfigured or deformed, no one with a crippled hand or foot, no one who is a hunchback or is deaf, or with an eye or skin disease… ” (21: 16-20).

Leviticus instructs that people be stoned for various wrongdoings, such as cursing God or their parents, or acts of adultery. If a man marries a woman and her mother, all three shall be burnt to death.

Leviticus reminds us not to ignore these. “If after all this you still continue to defy me I will turn on you again and your punishment will be seven times worse than before. Your hunger will be so great that you will eat your own children” (26: 27-29).

Does that sound anything like

Catholic news that COUNTS Print or Digital

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bringing the message of their preaching in an audible way.

When I voice this to some more senior authorities, the reply is feeble: “For many of our priests, English is not their first language”.

Yet, if our Church considers preaching an important part of the ministry of a priest, and the congregation is expected to listen and to learn, then the priest’s formation would need to include speechcoaching; preferably at the onset of their formation, not three years down the line or when they are ordained as deacons.

the will of a loving Father or our beloved Saviour Jesus Christ, or his holy pope?

Nowhere in the Gospel does Jesus condemn or even mention gay people. How could he when he made them that way?

Yes, Paul did condemn the homosexual act, but 2 000 years ago people had no idea about evolution; he probably also believed that the earth was made in six days, and that Adam and Eve were the first humans. We know better now.

We also know now that gay people were created differently by our Creator, and that sexual orientation is not a choice.

As the editorial on the same page as Dr Goossens’ letter says: “In it [Gaudete et Exsultate], Pope Francis repeats his distaste for the tendency to judge and exclude others because they fail to meet the high standards of morality set by the doctrines of the Church.”

The terrible suffering caused to gay people is a crime against humanity and one day the religions of the world will have to apologise for it.

June Boyer, Johannesburg

Winnie column had no place here

Y

OUR publication of Mphuthumi Ntabeni’s column “Stay in power, Winnie” (April 25) was, in my opinion, inappropriate.

I am not commenting on the merits or otherwise of the article itself, but to place it in the company of wonderfully instructive and uplifting articles, such as “How to pray the Rosary well”, and Fr Ron Rolheiser’s “Why moral outrage isn’t moral”, was, I believe, a serious error of judgment.

In the same issue, you rightly express concern about the continued existence of The Southern Cross.

As a reader and purchaser for at least the last 60 years, I would happily double the R10 you are now asking to help in the continuation of the paper, if it contains the excellent Catholic news coverage for

I recently coached a Frenchspeaking nun to deliver a thank-you speech in English for her community. From nearly incomprehensible English speech, we could, in a week’s time of daily rehearsals, come to a superb result.

It was one-to-one coaching, an effort on her side and mine. But it confirmed that good speech coaching, even speech therapy (let alone basic drama lessons), at the beginning of formation could make a world of difference to some preachers.

When the preaching is audible, let us then expect the congregation to listen and learn.

Marie-Chantal Peeters, Pietermaritzburg which it is respected—and with the many articles which are interesting, informative and instructive.

But I would pay no money at all if it includes the Winnie-type article which receives more than enough coverage in the secular press, and which has no place in my Catholic newspaper.

MJ Maidment, Kloof, KZN

Bringing Europe home to God

T

HE Russian novelist Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, describing the woes of his country under the Soviets, said: “Men have forgotten God.” Recent studies among European youth back this up: even the leftovers of a vague identification with cultural Christianity are evaporating, with only small percentages still believing, even fewer attending church.

We cannot imagine how it feels for the Lord to live in hearts that have frozen over with atheism or indifference. What a cold, dark space our Lord must now occupy.

In a continent that has replaced God’s authority with its own autonomy, those who are still faithful will need to strive all the more to keep faith alive in their own hearts, gathering round the tabernacles as those who are cold get close to a stove, and have God warm their hearts.

Then, as they are ignited by prayer and works of mercy, his love can grow in them and overflow into the world.

The only way for the lost to find their way home is to see God reflected in the lives of believers, and to be the recipients of the fruits of their lives of prayer and service.

Stephen A Clark, Manila, Philippines 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.

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

SISTERS OF NAZARETH

Come and see…

Follow Me… “To fall in love with God is the greatest of all romances; To seek Him, the greatest adventure; To find Him, the greatest achievement” (St Augustine) could yOu be the one to share the Mission of christ as a Sister of Nazareth?

Contact: Sr Margaret: 076 399 1015 srmargaretcraig@gmail.com www.sistersofnazareth.com

The Southern cross, May 16 to May 22, 2018

PERSPECTIVES

Abuse: Can we trust Church leaders?

Colleen T Constable HE latest distressing but important reports about the sexual abuse in the Church require fresh reflection.

Again there is evidence of a cover-up, as seemed to emerge from a meeting Pope Francis had last month with Chilean abuse survivors Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton and José Andrés Murillo.

The three men have accused a bishop appointed by Pope Francis of knowing about their abuse by the influential priest Fr Fernando Karadima, whom the Church has found guilty of abuse, and doing nothing about it.

Pope Francis had strongly defended Bishop Juan Barros, at one point even suggesting his critics were lacking in honesty.

The pontiff has since apologised and retracted his defence of Bishop Barros, citing “a lack of truthful and balanced information”.

At a press conference, the three abuse survivors identified as “part of the problem” the apostolic nuncio to Chile, Archbishop Ivo Scapolo, and Cardinal Franscisco Errázuriz, the retired archbishop of Santiago and member of the pope’s Council of Cardinals. They are suspected of providing misinformation to Pope Francis about allegations of sexual violence.

Pope Francis’ integrity regarding how he deals with sexual abuse complaints is blotted. His leadership ability to eradicate the scourge of sexual abuse is under scrutiny.

He has made mistakes—more than once. I call it negligence.

We should analyse these incidents and the culture within the Catholic Church. We owe it to ourselves and future generations to contribute towards processes that will facilitate true change regarding the management and investigation of sexual abuse complaints.

Can the Catholic Church self-regulate effectively insofar as it refers to complaints of sexual abuse?

Is the Church able to render prompt and efficient service to survivors of abuse: urgent action following reporting and inde-

pendent investigations with immediate and appropriate action?

Even 16 years after the abuses scandal exploded in Boston, the Barros case points to a lack of respect through mismanagement of complaints at the very first stage of reporting. It reveals poor governance and a laissez fair attitude towards survivor complaints.

It also shows that proper systematic processes are not effectively implemented to ensure that from the onset of reporting—the very first encounter with a church authority—due process is invariably followed.

The allegations of “misinformation” and the cover-ups indicate that the hierarchy— the Church leadership and those who hold authority—has not uniformly embraced a process of true change management and good governance regarding prevention and eradication of sexual abuse.

S

o what should we do? Drawing from my studies in policy and governance, gender-based violence, law and social justice, I am convinced that the history of the Church regarding sexual abuse and the papacy—not just Pope Francis but many popes—shows it to have failed to provide sustainable results and change which

chilean clerical sex abuse survivors are seen on a journalist’s phone at a press conference after they met with Pope Francis. (Photo: Paul Haring/cNS)

Are our parishes catholic?

H

APPY Birthday to all of us. Pentecost is often called the birthday of the Catholic Church and so that means we can all indulge in a piece of cake today—and it has got to a pretty large cake to accommodate 1 985 candles!

But why is this the date that the Church begins? Not the date of Christ’s birth, nor the start of his public ministry, nor the date of his death or Resurrection?

I think it’s because this is the date when the Church becomes Catholic—which, of course, means “universal”.

When St Peter and the other Apostles had the courage to come out of their Upper Room and address the crowd, they were bringing the Gospel not just to the neighbours of their area of Jerusalem but, in effect, to the whole known world.

That is why we read out that long list of places over which lectors will be struggling this weekend: Medes, Parthians and Elamites, people from Phrygia and Pamphilia. The confident ones will show that they know the correct pronunciation of “Cretans”; the nervous ones will breathe a sigh of relief when they get to “Rome”.

The history of the Church has been this history of universalisation. From a small group of Galileans to a wider group of Jews from Jerusalem and beyond, across the Eastern Mediterranean as we read in Acts, then to the whole Roman Empire, and eventually, as missionaries accompanied Spanish and Portuguese explorers, across the whole world.

With some confidence, we can proclaim the Catholic Church as the world’s first global organisation, and the Cross as the world’s most recognised logo (long before the golden arches of McDonald’s!).

Here in South Africa we are beneficiaries of that process of universalisation.

There are critical questions to be asked about this history of expansion, especially with regard to the last few centuries and the links between European missionaries and colonisers.

We are more aware than ever of the mistakes made in the encounter between Europeans and the rest of the world because of cultural arrogance, economic greed or political ambition. And we should be reminded of this every time we see the dark-skinned, dark-haired Semitic Christ portrayed as a Northern European with

Parishioners pray together during Mass.

The church is universal, but, raymond Perrier asks, are our parishes? blue eyes and pale skin.

That does not mean that we cannot also be proud of being part of a truly universal religious movement. But it seems to me that often Catholics are not entirely universal in their attitudes and approaches.

This came home to me when I was talking recently with someone involved in refugee work for the Lutheran Church. She made the point that worldwide Christian organisations, like her own and the Catholics and the Anglicans, have a big advantage in that they have a built-in predisposition to welcome people.

And she is right—up to a point. Many of our parishes have a wonderful mix of people from around the world because they have arrived in the town as Catholics and so seek out the local Catholic church.

So as well as South African surnames on the roll, we will see Irish, Italian and Portuguese surnames, and these days Mozambican, Congolese and Nigerian names too.

After all, this article is being written by an Indian Catholic from Britain with a French surname to be submitted to an editor with a German name!

W

hat does it mean to be a truly welcoming Church? Initially those who come from somewhere else are “strangers” and we try to welcome them as guests.

But, when do they stop being guests and become the hosts?

Many years ago I worked in an innercity Birmingham parish with a monsignor, an old-style Irish priest. He would go to great lengths to welcome the Viet-

Point of Debate

would increase confidence to report abuse.

There are also questions about the Church’s investigations: the quality thereof and the strong bias that could exist when a Church authority investigates itself, cannot be ignored.

I suggest that Pope Francis and his Council of Cardinals review the current reporting requirements of the Church to the effect that the faithful and all survivors of abuse report such information to the policing authority in their respective country without engaging the Church.

Sexual abuse is a criminal offence in international law. It is a violation of international human rights and the various protocols that cover the rights of women, children and vulnerable groups.

In short: there should be a campaign to encourage the faithful and survivors of abuse to report complaints to their local police station for an independent investigation.

True prevention and eradication of abuse will be achieved when the first level of reporting occurs outside of the Church.

Imprisonment of perpetrators and their accomplices/accessories to the act will become a reality.

The hierarchy of the Church would no longer blame someone else for failure to act: they will know that it is no longer “business as usual”.

They will understand that the criminal behaviour of perpetrators harms the Church: it has never been the actions of survivors of abuse or their ambassadors that “harm the Church”. No one is above the law. n Colleen Constable is a co-founder of the South African Institute for Violence Prevention.

Raymond Perrier

Faith and Society

namese who were in the community. But he never noticed that, 40 years after these “boat people” first arrived, the Vietnamese were no longer the guests but the hosts. Meanwhile, the Irish community— who had dominated the parish—had mostly moved away and he was one of the few remnants.

In a truly universal Church, all are equal and all share on a par in the mission of the Church. We see that now amply demonstrated in big occasions in Rome or at World Youth Days when the Universal Church is on display. But we also have the chance to reflect that in a truly universal parish where all are equal and all share on a par in the mission of the parish.

There are some clear marks of inclusion. How representative is the parish council of the people who make up the parish? Does the parish use music that comes from all the communities that are present? And if it does, is time taken to teach all the congregation music and lyrics that might not be familiar to them?

Which feast days are particularly celebrated? Just the ones dear to the group who founded the parish or also the ones important to those who have come into the parish?

We might take pride in organising a special parish event to use strange languages or to sing unknown hymns or to serve exotic foods. But in a universal Church these are not “other”—strange, exotic, curious—they are part of us as a community.

In South Africa, there is a further dimension in which we can demonstrate our universality. For too long, the Church was divided by the politics and geography of apartheid. Now, as people become more socially mobile, we see a more multicoloured representation on our pews.

But I am afraid that I often see white people falling into the trap of approaching non-white parishioners and “welcoming you to our church”.

It may be well intentioned but the unspoken implication is: this is our church, this is how we do things, this is how we sing and sit and pray, this is the food we Continued on page 11

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Br Simeon Banda FMS

Point of Devotion

In May, meet Mary the liberator

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ATHOLICS have a long tradition of Marian devotions and praying the Rosary. Two months have been dedicated to these: May and October.

Many male and female consecrated men share a Marian spirituality.

Spirituality comes from the Latin word spirare, which means “to breathe”. It suggests the creative movement of the Spirit bringing forth life, as did God’s Spirit in creating light from darkness at the dawn of creation.

To be truly alive is to have a spirituality, to be seeking that “something more” in the everyday of life. It involves the search for God in the everyday events of life. We have many spiritualities that make us aware of the presence of God around us.

Marian spirituality is one of those.

The month of May helps to explore what the Bible says about Mary. We meditate on the role of Mary in the mystery of Salvation brought by Christ. Christ remains the centre. Mary was the first disciple of Christ and we come after her.

The honour we give to Mary was first given to her by God himself when he chose her to be the mother of the Son. At Ephesus in 431 AD, the Church Fathers called her Theotokos, a Greek word which means the “bearer of God”, or the Mother of God. Her “yes”, at the Annunciation and throughout her life, reminds us to say our “yes” to God all through our lives.

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n May, Catholics reflect on what the Bible says about her. But there’s more material for reflection: What have saints written about their experience of her in their life journeys? What have popes, bishops, theologians, mystics said about her? What has she said about herself to some people in apparitions? Even, what does the Quran say about her?

So the month of May helps Catholics to appreciate their Marian tradition and acquire knowledge, also to pass it on to the next generation.

Sadly there are those who have misunderstood the Catholic devotions to Our Lady as being “worship” of Mary. No Catholic worships Mary, but we see God’s great accomplishments in her.

One of the precious gifts Christ left us was his Mother—that we should take her into our homes. Who in their right mind can refuse such a gift?

In fact, Mary becomes a liberator of the suffering humanity, oppressed by the world’s ruling powers. In the Magnificat she says God raises the lowly, the humble and the marginalised. God alone can revise the situation of the marginalised, the have-nots of our society.

In this way Mary can be counted among liberation theologians of our society.

Even after her death, she speaks to the lowly and not to those in positions of honour. She speaks to Lucy, Francisco and Jacinta at Fatima, to Bernadette at Lourdes, to Juan Diego at Guadalupe—those who did not count in society and whose words would not easily be believed.

Mary reminds us that the marginalised also count in the eyes of God, so we ought to listen to their cry for help and what they have to teach us of their experience.

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8

The Southern cross, May 16 to May 22, 2018

COMMUNITY Grade 6 students at Marist Brothers Linmeyer, in southern Johannesburg, supported the school’s outreach programme by collecting biscuits for Nazareth House.

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Fr Nhlanhla Mazibuko (left) and Fr Jabulani Ndaba (right), both of Eshowe diocese, with Dr cW zondo of St Martin de Porres parish in Esikhawini, near Empangeni and richards Bay. Dr zondo prayed for priests: “almighty God, help them to follow your leading and to trust that you will give them what they need for the tasks you call them to do. In Jesus’ name I pray. amen.”

The catholic Women’s League of Our Lady of Fatima parish in Durban North presented 43 new moms with Mother’s Day gifts of red jackets and leggings for their newborns, and beanies, deodorant and chocolates for themselves.

(Submitted by anna accolla)

catholic Schools Sunday was celebrated at Blessed Sacrament church in Malvern, Johannesburg.

Seen here with Fr Tony Daniels OMI are boys from St Benedict’s college and students from catholic schools in the area who are part of the parish community.

(Submitted by chantelle Burgin)

On Good Shepherd Sunday, the Salesian youth Movement of Gauteng region held a Vocations awareness Day at all Saints parish in Ennerdale, southern Johannesburg, to reflect on the many ways young people can be of service to the church, especially in the Salesian family. Fr Joy Sebastian, Salesian provincial of Southern africa, is seen speaking to young people during Mass.

(Submitted by Br clarence Watts SDB)

High school students at Holy rosary School in Edenvale, Johannesburg, held a civvies day in aid of the childhood cancer Foundation South africa Day. They joined supporters nationwide in wearing blue, badges with “Have a heart for children with cancer” on them, and writing ‘love notes’ to children living with cancer.

The school raised r2 708 for the foundation. Seen here (from left) are Patience Leshaba, Kate Metzer, Lorena Lesna-Maranetto, rachel zorich, and Sasha dos Santos.

PRICE CHECK

The newly elected catholic Women’s League office-bearers of St Peter claver parish in Pimville, Soweto, comprise Puseletso Thipe (president), Eva Mokhosi (deputy president), Sdudla Khumalo (secretary general), Smangele Lekhetoa (deputy secretary general), Lizy Maepa (treasurer), Flaiana Mosoeu (events coordinator), Ntsoaki Mokoena (sick and bereavement coordinator), Marjorie Phetoe (spiritual upliftment coordinator) and Lorna Shezi (community projects coordinator). Members of the group are seen together at Mass.

(Photo: Sello Mokoka)

For the price of one issue of The Southern Cross you get one shoelace T he

Southern C ross

May 9 to May 15, 2018

Reg No. 1920/002058/06

Theology nun on 50 years as a Sister

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No 5083

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With Mary and Jesus in the Holy Land

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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

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

Feed your soul with The

S outher n C ross

IT’S WORTH IT!

The Western deanery in Oudtshoorn diocese held a youth Mass on Vocations Sunday at christ the King parish in Worcester. Ninety young people from nine parishes in the deanery attended. Testimonies and talks were given by capuchin Sisters from Swellendam, Oblate Sisters from ceres, and Fr Patrick claasen on their vocations and lives as religious. (Submitted by Olwen West)

FAITH

The Southern cross, May 16 to May 22, 2018

9

What you need to know about Pentecost This year, Pentecost falls on May 20. We look at the origin, meaning, and practice of the Church’s secondmost important liturgical feast.

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HIS weekend, the Church celebrates Pentecost, the secondgreatest feast of the liturgical year (after Easter). It concludes the Easter season and celebrates the beginning of the Church.

Here’s what you need to know about the feast day:

The timing and origins Pentecost always occurs 50 days after the death and resurrection of Jesus, and ten days after his ascension into heaven.

Because Easter is a moveable feast without a fixed date, and Pentecost depends on the timing of Easter, Pentecost can fall anywhere between May 10 and June 13.

The last time it fell on May 10 was in 1818. We’ll also miss the next time: in 2285.

A few of us experienced the latest possible date for Pentecost, June 13, which last was in 1943.

And some of us will see the next one, in 2038.

Why 50 days?

The name of the day itself is derived from the Greek word pentecoste, meaning “fiftieth”.

The reason Pentecost falls 50 days after Easter comes from a parallel Jewish holiday, Shavu’ot (Feast of Weeks), which falls 50 days after Passover. Shavu’ot is sometimes called the Festival of Weeks, referring to the seven weeks since Passover.

Originally a harvest feast, Shavu’ot now commemorates the sealing of the Old Covenant on Mount Sinai, when the Lord revealed the Torah to Moses on the mountain. Every year, the Jewish people renew their acceptance of the gift of the Torah on this feast.

Where is it in the Bible?

The main event of the Christian feast of Pentecost—the strong driving wind and tongues of fire— takes place in Acts 2:13, though

the events immediately following Peter’s homily (the baptism of thousands) continue through to verse 41.

What happened?

Jacob” to all peoples. There would still be a lot of debate about how this was going to work—Paul eventually persuaded Peter to include the uncircumcised Gentiles.

Birth of the Church!

In the Christian tradition, PenIt was right after Pentecost that tecost is the celebration of the person of the Holy Spirit coming Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, upon the Apostles, Mary, and the preached his first homily to Jews first followers of Jesus—about 120 and other non-believers, in which of them—who were gathered to- he opened the scriptures of the Old Testament, showing gether in the Upper how the prophet Joel foreRoom (where Christ had instituted the Eucharist a The 3 000 saw events and the coming of the Holy Spirit at few weeks earlier) on people Pentecost.

Mount Zion while they He also tells the people were in Jerusalem celebaptised that the Jesus they crucibrating Shavu’ot (Acts fied is the Lord and was 1:13-15). after Peter’s raised from the dead, A “strong, driving” wind filled the room sermon were which “cuts them to the heart”. where they were gathamong the When the people ask ered, and tongues of fire what they should do, came to rest on their very first Peter exhorts them to reheads, allowing them to speak in different lanChristians pent of their sins and to be baptised. According to guages so that they the account in Acts, about could understand each 3 000 people were baptised followother.

It was such a strange phenome- ing Peter’s sermon. These people non that some people thought the were among the very first ChrisChristians were just drunk—but tians!

For this reason, Pentecost is Peter pointed out that it was only 9 o’clock in the morning, and that considered the birthday of the the phenomenon was caused by Church. Peter, the first pope, preaches for the first time and conthe Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit also gave the verts thousands of new believers. apostles the other gifts and fruits The Apostles and believers, for the necessary to fulfil the great com- first time, were united by a commission—to go out and preach the mon language, and a common zeal and purpose to go and preach the Gospel to all nations.

Pentecost altar in rosary basilica in Lourdes, France. The feast of It fulfils the New Testament Gospel.

The presence of Mary, who gave Pentecost—the birthday of the church—is celebrated on May 20 this promise by Christ (in Luke 24:4649) that the Apostles would be birth to the Redeemer, at the birth year. (Photos: Günther Simmermacher) “clothed with power” before they of the Church prompted Pope would be sent out to spread the Francis to declare the Monday short school holidays and marks ing of the churches to recall the after Pentecost the feast of the the beginning of many outdoor miracle of the fiery tongues, and Gospel. so in some places in Italy, PenteThe risen Christ thus kept his Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the and community activities.

In 2005 German business asso- cost is sometimes called Pascha promise: “While at table with [the Church. ciations demanded that the public Rosatum (Easter roses). apostles], he had told them not to Pentecost vestments In Asia, it is typical to have an holiday be scrapped. Parties on the leave Jerusalem, but to wait there Typically, Catholic left and right of the cen- extra service, called genuflexion, for what the Father had promised. priests wear red vestments tre joined the churches during which long poems and ‘It is,’ he had said, ‘what you have on Pentecost, symbolic of France prayers are recited. in opposing that move. heard me speak about: John bap- the burning fire of God’s The same year the scrapped tised with water but, not many love and the tongues of fire Must we fast? days from now, you are going to be that descended on the Pentecost in public holiday was The eve of Pentecost traditionscrapped in Sweden. baptised with the Holy Spirit’” apostles.

In France the public ally was a day of fasting for 2005. Three (Acts 1:4-5) However, in some parts holiday also Catholics, but canon law no of the world, Pentecost is years later scrapped in was Why is it important?

2005, but it longer requires it. Still, many also referred to as “Whit reinstated three years Catholics continue to fast on the it was The first Pentecost shifted God’s Sunday”, or White Sunday, following strong vigil to Pentecost. redemptive purpose from the “de- referring to the white vestreinstated later public pressure. scendants of Abraham, Isaac and ments that are typically The novena connection Pentecost Monday is worn in Britain and Ire- due to public The timing of the Easter feasts also a public holiday in land. pressure some African countries, is the origin of the concept of the The white is symbolic of such as the Republic of novena—nine days of prayer—bethe dove of the Holy Spirit, cause in Acts 1, Mary and the and typical of the vestments that Congo, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Apostles prayed together “contincatechumens desiring baptism Benin, Gabon, Togo, Réunion and uously” for nine days after the Asthe Central African Republic. wear on that day. cension leading up to Pentecost.

In some European countries, Traditionally, the Church prays Customs around the world such as France, it is tradition to the novena to the Holy Spirit in In many parts of central and blow trumpets during Mass to re- the days before Pentecost. northern Europe, Pentecost and call the sound of the driving wind Happy Birthday! of the Holy Spirit. the day after is a public holiday.

Before Vatican II, Pentecost In central and eastern Europe, Because we are part of the Body Monday was a Holy Day of Obliga- especially in German-speaking of the Church, and Pentecost is tion in the Catholic Church, and countries, churches are often dec- the Church’s birthday, it is our in some countries it is still a high orated with green branches during birthday as well. And as we celefeast in the Lutheran Church. brate our individual birthday, we Pentecost.

In Germany, the feast is called An Italian Pentecost tradition is have reason to celebrate our comPfingsten. It often coincides with to scatter rose leaves from the ceil- munal birthday as the Church.

The upper room (or cenacle), which is on the possible site of the Last Supper and first Pentecost.

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10

The Southern cross, May 16 to May 22, 2018

FAITH

a minaret on the cenacle, site of the upper room, on Mount zion in Jerusalem, with the tower of Dormition abbey in the background. • Dormition abbey, on the site where tradition says Mary’s earthly life ended • an ivory and cherry wood effigy of Mary on a bier in Dormition abbey • Mary’s tomb at the foot of the Mount of Olives; the rock beneath the altar is the tomb of the Blessed Virgin which the apostles found to be empty. (all photos: Günther Simmermacher)

Mary in the Holy Land: Final stations In the final of his three articles on sites of the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Holy Land, GüNTHEr SIMMErMacHEr visits the places in Jerusalem where the Church was ‘born’, where Mary fell into eternal sleep, and from where she was assumed into heaven.

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N the first part of this series we visited the places in the Holy Land that mark the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Jerusalem, her residence in Nazareth and the Annunciation, her visit to cousin St Elizabeth in Judea, and the place in Bethlehem where she gave birth to the Saviour.

Last week we encountered her on the still-existing steps of the Temple, at the wedding in Cana, on the Via Dolorosa, and at the Cross.

We conclude our virtual pilgrimage at the location of the first Pentecost, the place where she shut her eyes for the final time, and the tomb from which she was assumed into heaven.

But before we depart, there is one place where we don’t specifically remember Mary but can almost certainly place her.

Next to the church of St Peter in Gallicantu, the site of the high priest’s palace on Mount Zion, is a run of steps which were there in Jesus’ time. There can be no doubt that Jesus walked on these steps on his way from and to the Mount of Olives, as did the Apostles. It’s more than likely that Mary walked on those steps as well.

The Upper Room The agent in our hope of salvation is the Church. One can quibble about the precise moment when the Christian Church was “born”.

Leaving aside those views which rely on historical timelines of the institution of structures, offices and so on, there are two contenders: the moment the risen Christ issued his commission to the Apostles on the Sea of Galilee (marked by the church of St Peter’s Primacy at Tabgha) and the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

The event at Pentecost took place in the Upper Room on Mount

Zion. It was a regular meeting place for the disciples in Jerusalem.

Most famously, it was the venue for the Last Supper, at which Mary was not present. Two world-changing days later, it is where most of the Twelve (now down to 11) were in hiding that first Easter Sunday, when the Risen Lord appeared to them.

That place likely was the Apostles’ headquarters in Jerusalem during the 49 days that followed, and beyond.

This would be why the Apostles and disciples, including Mary, were congregated there when the Holy Spirit descended upon them.

The late Benedictine Father Bargil Pixner, an eminent (though not uncontroversial) scholar of the Holy Land, suggested that the Upper Room was on the second floor of a guesthouse on Mount Zion, owned by members of the Essenes, the Jewish sect to which we owe the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Fr Pixner proposed that the Holy Family were themselves Essenes, as was John the Baptist.

The building of that guesthouse is long gone. The Last Supper and Pentecost are commemorated in a Crusader chapel commonly called the Cenacle, the surviving remnant of a larger church dedicated to Our Lady, which was later converted to a mosque.

Few experts are willing to stick their neck out and proclaim it the authentic site of the Last Supper and first Pentecost. But archaeologists have found an ancient pavement beneath the complex that houses the Cenacle. Into one piece of plaster, an ancient pilgrim etched the prayer: “O Jesus, that I may live…”.

More than that, the archaeologists also found the remains of what appears to be a first-century house church. This could be “the little church of God” which Epiphanius of Salamis reported as having visited in 130 AD. This would place the institution of the Eucharist and the birth of the Church right there, and it therefore would be Christendom’s secondmost holy site.

Dormition abbey The pilgrim Arculf reported in 700 that he saw a “square church” on the site of the Last Supper and nearby “the spot where the Virgin Mary died”. That spot is where the Benedictine Dormition abbey now stands.

Scripture is silent on Mary’s Assumption into Heaven, never mind when and where it took place. The

a mural in Dormition abbey on Mount zion depicts Jesus receiving his mother, wrapped in swaddling cloths, in heaven, as the apostles stand around the tomb with Mary’s lifeless body. idea that Mary’s life ended in Ephesus, in modern-day Turkey, is fairly new and not very credible.

It is first mentioned in the fifth century by Nestorius of Constantinople (he of the Nestorian heresy), based purely on the tradition that John the Apostle went to Ephesus, and the attendant presumption that he must have been accompanied by Mary, whom Jesus had placed into the beloved disciple’s care.

But the Ephesus idea did not get traction until the 19th century, through the visions of the German mystic Sr Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824).

More credibly, ancient tradition locates Mary’s dormition and subsequent Assumption in Jerusalem, where we last encounter her in Scripture. The “Acts of St John” by Prochurus from around 165 says that John went to Ephesus only after Mary’s death.

It is interesting to note that St Paul makes no mention of John or of Jesus’ mother in his first letter to the Corinthians, which he wrote while he was in Ephesus, nor does he refer to them in his missive addressed to the Ephesians, which he wrote from jail in Rome.

But by then Mary’s earthly life might already have ended.

The Transitus Mariae, an apocryphal document based on earlier writings, suggests that Mary was no older than 50 when she closed her eyes.

Presuming that Mary was about 13 when she gave birth to Jesus, and that Jesus was born at the latest in 4 BC (the year King Herod died),

then the Blessed Virgin was born around 17 BC. If she was indeed 50 years old when she passed on, then that would have been in the year 33, soon after the crucifixion.

The body of the Blessed Virgin in lifeless repose on a bier is shown in a life-sized effigy of ivory and cherry wood in Dormition abbey.

The church also features various artworks portraying the Apostles in mourning over Mary’s body and of the Assumption.

One of these artworks is particularly striking: in it, Jesus is holding his mother, who is wrapped in swaddling cloths—a reversal of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

Dormition abbey, a fortress with thick walls and four towers which incorporates the older Benedictine Hagia Maria Sion monastery, was built with funding from Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm II. Completed in 1910, it stands on the site of one of Jerusalem’s earliest churches.

Mary’s tomb From her home—the site of today’s Dormition abbey—Mary’s body was taken to a tomb at the foot of the Mount of Olives, next to the Garden of Gethsemane. This would be the venue of her Assumption into Heaven.

The remains of the 5th-century church of the Assumption, with the crypt of Mary’s tomb, mark the spot. Unusually for sacred sites in the Holy Land, Catholics have no part in the ownership of it, even though much of what remains was built by the Latin-rite Crusaders.

The crypt is owned by the Greek

Orthodox Church, which shares it with the Armenian Apostolic Church, as well as with Syriacs, Copts and Abyssinians—and, remarkably, Muslims.

Muslims have a great devotion to Mary, whom they call Maryam, and regard Jesus, or Isa, as a prophet. In fact, Mary is the only woman in the Qur’an to have a Sura, or chapter, dedicated to her.

In Bethlehem’s Catholic maternity and paediatric hospitals, Muslims often stop to pray before an image of Our Lady, asking for her intercession.

Many churches stood above the crypt of Mary’s tomb and were destroyed, but none of the various Muslim rulers destroyed the crypt itself, because it is the tomb of Maryam.

To reach the crypt now, one descends 47 broad steps of the remains of the Crusader church. The gloomy crypt’s ceilings are black from centuries of candle smoke and incense, and many icons are so covered by soot that it’s difficult to make out what they represent. To the Western mind, this place is far removed in ambience from the usually light artistic depictions of the Assumption.

Mary’s tomb itself is housed in an edicule, or enclosed shrine.

Through holes in a wall, the pilgrim can touch the stone bench on which Mary’s body rested.

St Juvenal, the bishop of Jerusalem, wrote in 451 that Mary’s tomb had been opened in the presence of all the Apostles in Jerusalem—and found it was empty.

This is at the core of the belief in the Assumption.

So Mary most likely ended her earthly sojourn in Jerusalem, the city in which her life probably began, as we saw in the first part of this series.

O

ver three weeks we have visited on this virtual pilgrimage places in the Holy Land where we can locate the historical Mary, all marked with churches and shrines which testify to the great devotion which especially the Catholic and Orthodox Churches have for her.

For all the apparitions that have followed the life of Our Lady and the devotions they inspire, first of all and above everything, we must never forget that Mary was a real flesh-and-blood human being in the story of the Incarnation and our Redemption. n Günther Simmermacher is the author of The Holy Land Trek: A Pilgrim’s Guide.

S outher n C ross Pilgrimage 2019 HOLY LAND & ROME • 5-17 May 2019

Led by Fr Russell Pollitt SJ with Günther Simmermacher, author of The Holy Land Trek For more information or to book, please contact Gail info@fowlertours.co.za or phone/WhatsApp 076 352-3809

www.fowlertours.co.za/pollitt

The Southern cross, May 16 to May 22, 2018

CLASSIFIEDS

Br Christopher Kiernan OFM

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RANCISCAN Brother Christopher Kiernan died on March 13 at the age of 80.

He was born James Kiernan in Glasgow, Scotland, on July 18, 1937. Reared in a parish run by the Passionists, he entered the novitiate of that order before joining the Order of Friars Minor, or Franciscans, in Chilworth, southern England, in 1957.

After his first profession he ministered in both England and Scotland before joining the friars at the International University of Antonianum in Rome. There he worked mainly in the kitchen and in the sacristy to the huge basilica of St Anthony attached to the university.

Br Christopher served in the Antonianum during the Second Vatican Council, thereby rubbing shoulders not only with friar-bishops but also friar-theologians!

He loved his six years in Rome, and got to know the Eternal City very well, showing pilgrims around the landmarks.

Back in Britain, Br Christopher ran the Commissariate of the Holy Land with great efficiency.

In 1980 he opted to go to the missions in South Africa, where he joined the fraternity at The Kraal in Pretoria archdiocese.

Br christopher Kiernan (left) witnessing the renewal of vows of Br Tshepo Makhetha OFM. When the Franciscan Michael Paschal Rowland was ordained the first bishop of Dundee in 1983, Br Chris was appointed MC for the diocese and thus moved to Dundee with the bishop.

After many years of service in the Dundee diocese, which he thoroughly enjoyed, he was called back to Gauteng. There he served at the La Verna Retreat House, Santa Sophia, again at The Kraal, and ultimately at St Pius X parish in Waterkloof.

During the Holy Year 2000 Br Chris volunteered “to do service” in the Holy Land. He was sacristan at the Annunciation basilica in Nazareth when St John

point of sharing the Mass. But now I have ‘a white Mass’ and ‘a black Mass’—differentiated by language, by music, by customs and by duration. And the two groups of parishioners might as well be in different parishes or different churches, so little do they recognise each other!”

The Apostles struggled with these same problems—hence the debates in the early Church

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 811. ACROSS: 1 Rebuff, 4 Couple, 9 Praise the Lord, 10 Slender, 11 Tiler, 12 Tepid, 14 Pylon, 18 Eases, 19 Dutiful, 21 Reincarnation, 22 Please, 23 Daphne. DOWN: 1 Repose, 2 Blameless life, 3 Fused, 5 Overtly, 6 People of faith, 7 Endure, 8 Stark, 13 Insects, 15 Bear up, 16 Adorn, 17 Plunge, Tiara.

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)

CAPE TOWN: Retreat day/quiet prayer last Saturday of each month except December, at Springfield convent in Wynberg, cape Town. Hosted by cLc, 10.00-15.30. contact Jill on 083 282 6763 or Jane on 082 783 0331.

Perpetual Adoration Chapel at Good Shepherd parish, 1 Goede Hoop St, Bothasig, welcomes all visitors. Open 24 hours a day. Phone 021 558 1412.

Helpers of God’s Precious Infants. Mass on last Saturday of every month at 9:30 at Sacred Heart church in Somerset road, cape Town. Followed by vigil at abortion clinic. contact colette

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 (R1,80 a word) with small advertisements for promptest publication.

DEATHS

Paul II celebrated Mass there.

While back in Pretoria, he was diagnosed with cancer of the kidney and spent much time undergoing hospital treatment. He eventually had to receive 24-hour care at the Marian House run by the Newcastle Dominicans, whom he knew so well from his Dundee days, in Boksburg.

Br Chris died peacefully on the morning of March 13. His Requiem Mass was celebrated at St Francis’ church in Vanderbijlpark with a large crowd of friars present. Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria, also a Franciscan, preached the homily.

Fr Hyacinth Ennis OFM

Are our parishes universal?

Continued from page 7 serve after Mass, these are the social events we organise—and you are welcome to participate in any of those as long as you abide by our rules.

A priest in a small KwaZuluNatal town once told me with sadness about the re-establishment of apartheid in his parish.

“In the old days, when it was illegal to be together, we made a

CLASSIFIEDS

Thomas on 083 412 4836 or 021 593 9875 or Br Daniel ScP on 078 739 2988.

DURBAN: Holy Mass and Novena to St Anthony at St anthony’s parish every Tuesday at 9:00.

Holy Mass and Divine Mercy Devotion at 17:30 on first Friday of every month. Sunday Mass at 9:00. Phone 031 309 3496 or 031 209 2536.

St Anthony’s rosary group. Every Wednesday at 18:00 at St anthony’s church opposite Greyville racecourse. all are welcome and lifts are available. contact Keith chetty on 083 372 9018.

about the integration of Gentiles.

So we can take heart from their experience. And ask the Holy Spirit to give us the grace of generosity to be a truly Catholic Church by being universal not only across the world but also in our own parishes. n Read more articles by Raymond Perrier at www.scross.co.za/ category/perspectives/raymond perrier/

LAROS—Maria Wilhelmina (Marie). Passed away on april 26.

SKINNER—Patrick. Passed away on april 27. associates of The Southern Cross. Our condolences to their families. From the directors and staff of The Southern Cross.

IN MEMORIAM

WINDVOGEL—Magdalene (neé ackerman). In loving memory of my sister passed away on May 24, 2013. years have passed but you are still in our thoughts and prayers. Sadly missed but lovingly remembered by your sister catherine and family.

PERSONAL

ABORTION WARNING: The truth will convict a silent church. See www.valuelife abortionisevil.co.za

PRAyERS

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

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

O ETERNAL TRUTH, true love and beloved eternity. you are my God. To you do I sigh day and night. When I first came to know you, you drew me to yourself so that I might see that there were things for me to see, but that I myself was not yet ready to see them. Meanwhile you overcame the weakness of my vision, sending forth most strongly the beams of your light, and I trembled at once with love and dread.

I sought a way to gain the strength which I needed to enjoy you. But I did not find it until I embraced "the mediator between God and men, the man christ Jesus, who is above all, God blessed for ever." He was calling me and saying: "I am the way of truth, I am the life."

Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! you were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you.

In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which

you created. you were with me, but I was not with you. created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would have not been at all. you called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. you flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. you breathed you fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. you touched me, and I burned for your peace.—St Augustine O VIRGIN Mother, In the depths of your heart you pondered the life of the Son you brought into the world.

Give us your vision of Jesus and ask the Father to open our hearts, that we may always see His presence in our lives, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, bring us into the joy and peace of the kingdom, where Jesus is Lord forever and ever. amen.

HOLIDAy ACCOMMODATION

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GOD BLESS AFRICA

Liturgical Calendar Year B – Weekdays Cycle Year 2 Sunday May 20, Pentecost Acts 2:1-11, Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-31, 34, Galatians 5:16-25, John 15:26-27; 16:12-15 Monday May 21, Ss Christopher Magallanes and Companions James 3:13-18, Psalm 19:8-10, 15, Mark 9:14-29 Tuesday May 22, St Rita of Cascia James 4:1-10, Psalm 55:7-11, 23, Mark 9:30-37 Wednesday May 23 James 4:13-17, Psalm 49:2-3, 6-11, Mark 9:38-40 Thursday May 24, Our Lady Help of Christians Revelation 21:1-5, Psalm 113:1-8, John 2:1-11 Friday May 25, St Bede the Venerable, St Gregory VII, St Mary Magdalene de Pazzi James 5:9-12, Psalm 103:1-4, 8-9, 11-12, Mark 10:1-12 Saturday May 26, St Philip Neri James 5:13-20, Psalm 141:1-3, 8, Mark 10:13-16 Sunday May 27, Trinity Sunday Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40, Psalm 33:4-6, 9, 1820, 22, Romans 8:14-17, Matthew 28:16-20

Guard our people, guide our leaders and give us peace.

Luke 11:1-13

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the

Trinity Sunday: May 27 Readings: Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40, Psalm 33: 4-6, 9, 18-20, 22, Romans 8:1417, Matthew 28:16-20

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EXT Sunday, as always on the Sunday after Pentecost, we celebrate the feast of the Trinity; and how can we possibly speak of this inner mystery of the love of God? To be honest, it is much easier to commit heresy in talking of the Trinity than to remain within the bounds of orthodoxy; but here is a suggestion which you might like to consider, that the Trinity is what makes it possible for us to have any encounter at all with the God who created the billions of galaxies.

For the Trinity means that this is a God who interacts with us.

Look at the first reading for the feast.

Deuteronomy, addressed to the People of Israel before they cross the Jordan to enter the Holy Land, asks them to reflect on God’s creation of humanity, and the “great thing” (unknown “from one end of the sky to the other”) that “a people heard the voice of God speaking from the middle of a bush”.

Not only that, but this God, uniquely, “dared to go and take a people for himself from the midst of another people…in the way that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes”.

S outher n C ross

And that intimacy is the reason why “you are to keep his decrees and his commandments which I am commanding you today, that it may be good for you and for your children after you, and you may have a long life on the land that the Lord your God is giving you, for all the days”.

The psalm for next Sunday knows this same truth: “For the Lord’s word is upright, and all his deeds are done in truth. [The Lord] is a lover of justice and right, and the Lord’s steadfast love fills the earth.”

This is not, you see, a God who is remote from his creation, but “by the Lord’s word the heavens were made”; and so “the Lord’s eye is on those who fear him, those who hope in his steadfast love, to deliver them from Death”.

So then we hear the people acclaiming the God who is so close to them: “Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield; may your steadfast love be upon us, O Lord, just as we have hoped in you.”

Paul understands how the doctrine of the Trinity presents us with a God who is very close to us; and he uses the contrasting im-

C

above all else?

Well, no doubt, poverty, chastity, and obedience are seen as radically countercultural; but that’s mostly because they are generally not very well understood (sometimes even by those who are living them out).

For the most part they are seen as a drastic renunciation, the sacrificing of a full life, the unnatural denial of one’s sexuality, and the adolescent signing over of one’s freedom and creativity. But that’s a misunderstanding.

Poverty, chastity, and obedience are not a missing out on riches, sexuality, and freedom. They are rather a genuine, rich, modality of riches, sexuality, and freedom.

T

Conrad

he vow of poverty isn’t primarily about living with cheaper things, not having a dishwasher and doing your own housework. It’s also not about renouncing the kinds of riches that can make for the full flourishing of life.

A life of voluntary poverty is a lived way of saying that all material possessions are a gift, that the world belongs to everyone, that nobody owns a country, and that nobody’s needs are first. It’s a vow against consumerism and tribalism, and it brings its own wonderful riches in terms of meaning and in the happiness and joy of a shared life.

Likewise for the vow of chastity. Properly understood, it is not a missing out on the joys of sexuality. It’s a rich modality of sexuality itself, given that being sexual means more than having sex.

Sexuality is a beautiful, God-given drive

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Sunday reflections

ages of “slavery” and “freedom” to express it: “Those who are being led by God’s Spirit are sons and daughters of God” (can you get any more intimate than this?); and the reason is that “you did not receive the spirit of slavery, to fall back into fear”.

Instead: “You received the Spirit of adopted-sons-and-daughters, by which we cry out ‘Abba, Father’.”

Here, of course, Paul is deliberately citing Jesus’ words in Gethsemane, and so linking Spirit, Son and Father in that very human situation, where Jesus asserted that God was in there with him.

And we are there too, for “the Spirit itself bears witness along with our spirit that we are God’s children… heirs of God, and fellowheirs with Christ, so that even if we suffer with him, we may also be glorified with him”.

Can you get more intimate than this?

The Gospel for next Sunday, the closing words of Matthew’s gospel, is the only New Testament text that explicitly mentions the Trinity, as the disciples are instructed to baptise the “Gentiles into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”.

The great value of my vows ARDINAL Francis George, the late archbishop of Chicago, was once asked what he thought of the radical pacifism of people like Dorothy Day and Fr Daniel Berrigan, prophetic figures in the US Church who believed in absolute nonviolence.

How can this be practical, he was asked, it’s utterly naïve to believe that we can live without police and without soldiers. This was his reply: “The world needs pacifists in the same way as it needs vowed celibates.”

They’re not practical. They’re out of place in this world. But they point to the eschatological world, the world of heaven, a world within which there will be no guns, where relational exclusivities will not exist as they exist now, where family will not be based on biology, blood, or marriage, where there will be no poor people, and where everything will belong to everyone.

I thought of that recently as I was conducting a workshop on religious life for a group of young people who were discerning whether or not to enter vowed religious life. My task was not to try to persuade them to join a religious community but to help them understand what that life, should they join it, would entail.

That meant, of course, long discussions on the three vows that people take to be in religious life: poverty, chastity, and obedience.

What’s to be said about poverty, chastity, and obedience in a world that, for the most part, places its hope in material riches, generally identifies chastity with frigidity, and values individual freedom

Nicholas King SJ

Trinity intimate with us

For this is a God who is utterly interactive with us, just as we are; and so at this final meeting we learn that the disciples number only eleven, where it should of course be twelve (for human sinfulness penetrates the Church); they meet in Galilee, the Risen Lord coming to them in familiar territory; then, tellingly: “They worshipped him, but they doubted.”

This very interactive God comes to them (and to us, of course) precisely where they (we) are, and takes charge (“All authority was given to me, in heaven and on earth”), and sends them out to “make disciples of all nations, teaching them to keep everything that I have commanded you”.

Then, to reveal how close this Triune God is to us, the one whom Matthew described in the first chapter of his gospel as “God with us”, now turns out to be precisely that: “And look! I am with you all the days, until the consummation of the age.”

Only such a God could possibly be so intimate with us.

Southern Crossword #811

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final reflection

within us for lots of things: community, friendship, togetherness, wholeness, family, play, altruism, enjoyment, delight, creativity, genital consummation, and for everything that takes us beyond our aloneness and makes us generative.

And so the very real joys that are found in community, friendship, and service of others are not a second-rate substitute for sex. They bring their own sexual flourishing in terms of leading us out of our aloneness.

The same holds true for obedience.

Properly understood, it’s not a missing out on real freedom. Rather it’s a rich modality of freedom itself, one practised by Jesus (who repeatedly says: “I do nothing on my own. I do only the Father’s will”).

Obedience, as a religious vow, is not an immature sacrificing of one’s freedom and adulthood. It’s rather a radical submitting of one’s human ego (with all its wounds, desires, lusts, private ambitions, and envies) to something and Someone higher than oneself, as seen in the human and religious commitments in persons from Jesus, to Teilhard de Chardin, to Dag Hammarskjold, to Simone Weil, to Mother Teresa, to Jean Vanier, to Fr Daniel Berrigan.

In each of these we see a person who walked this earth in a freedom we can only envy, but clearly too in a freedom that’s predicated on a genuflecting of one’s individual will to something higher than itself.

Our thoughts and our feelings are strongly influenced by the cultural software within which we find ourselves.

Thus, given how our culture understands riches, sex, and freedom today, this may well be the most difficult time in many centuries to make the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and live them out.

Small wonder religious communities are not over-flooded with applications. But because it is more difficult than ever, it is also more important than ever that a number of women and men choose, voluntarily, to prophetically live out these vows.

And their seeming sacrifice will be amply rewarded because, paradoxically, poverty brings its own riches, chastity brings its own flourishing, and obedience provides us with the deepest of all human freedoms.

ACROSS

1. Reject and polish again (6) 4. The pair who are married (6) 9. Hallelujah! (6,3,4) 10. Gracefully thin (7) 11. He laid the roof covering, having ignited again in return (5) 12. Luke warm sort of spirituality (5) 14. Happy Londoners embrace this tower (5) 18. Makes the pain less severe (5) 19. Fulfilling your obligations (7) 21. Rebirth of the soul on terrain I can manoeuvre (13) 22. Make happy asleep (6) 23. Greek nymph who had pen (6)

DOWN

1. Calm state of the faithful departed (6) 2. Do the saints lead it to perfection? (9,4) 3. Why the church lights went out? (5) 5. Done in the open (7) 6. The folk who have belief in Christ (6,2,5) 7. Last to keep going (6) 8. Could be raving mad and naked (5) 13. Could be the ants in the religious groups (7) 15. Remain cheerful as you carry above (4,2) 16. Decorate with some bad ornaments (5) 17. Take a dive (6) 20. At air change it goes to the head (5)

Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

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WO men are walking through a game park and come across a lion that has not eaten for days.

The lion starts chasing them.

They run as fast as they can, and when one man starts getting tired, he decides to say a prayer: “Please turn this lion into a Christian, Lord.”

He looks to see if the lion is still chasing and sees it is on its knees. Happy to see his prayer answered, the man turns around and heads towards the lion.

As he comes closer, he hears the lion saying a prayer: “Thank you, Lord, for the food I am about to receive.”

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