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

June 20 to June 26, 2018

Rosary powers third Comrades win

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reg No. 1920/002058/06

Lonely lives of priests overcome

No 5089

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Ss Peter & Paul: Pillars of the Church

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Churches say No to religious group for Zuma By erIN CarelSe

M

AINSTREAM Churches, including the Catholic Church, have spoken out against a night vigil and march in support of former President Jacob Zuma organised by an interfaith body.

Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, as chair of the KwaZulu-Natal Church Leaders’ Group, issued a signed statement distancing the group from the vigil and march held by the National Interfaith Council of South Africa (Nicsa) for Mr Zuma’s court appearance on June 8.

Mr Zuma, who is facing 16 charges, including fraud and corruption, in connection with the controversial arms deal, presented himself to the Durban High Court. The case has been postponed to July 27.

Cardinal Napier said while most South Africans are well aware of the state capture during the Zuma presidency, many may not know that during the same period, a concerted effort was made to capture the Churches.

The first was an invitation to church leaders to enter into a partnership with the government to tackle major social issues such as unemployment, HIV/Aids, poverty, and crime.

A second effort was to invite selected church leaders to join the state-sponsored Council of Religious Leaders at both national and provincial level.

“Significantly, not one of the leaders of the mainstream Churches was invited to the discussions that preceded the formation of these bodies,” Cardinal Napier said. “Needless to say, none of them have ever been contacted since by either national or provincial leaders.

“Nicsa, which is now demonstrating open support for Mr Zuma, is supposedly doing so in the name of the churches in the province.”

The cardinal added that Zuma supporters Bishop TB Ngcobo [provincial secretary of Nicsa] and Bishop Vusi Dube [founder of the eThekwini Community Church International] had never been recognised church leaders at provincial level.

“Never have they attended any meetings of the KZN Church Leaders’ Group, which has

archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape town holds his ticket for the bicentenary celebrations at the Bellville Velodrome on June 24. the event is the culmination of a year-long jubilee to mark the 200th anniversary of the Catholic Church being established in South africa. Masses were celebrated at 12:00 throughout the region on June 10 to mark the official anniversary. you can watch the Mass livestreamed on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8HSXi_F3iQhVOVTu3QFig/live (Photo: Stephen Docherty/archdiocesan News)

Pope gets his own spacesuit

By Carol GlatZ

Cardinal Wilfrid Napier has distanced the Church from a vigil and march supporting former President Jacob Zuma before his Durban court appearance on charges of corruption. led the churches in KZN since the mid-1980s when they brought the province back from the brink of civil war.”

The Diakonia Council of Churches has also distanced itself and its member churches from the vigil and march supporting Mr Zuma.

“We find it extremely inappropriate to lobby for politicians, especially when churches are made up of people from diverse political affiliations,” Diakonia executive director Nomabelu Mvambo Dandala said.

“We have faith in our country’s justice system to adequately handle the matter and we pray for a just and peaceful outcome.”

Cardinal Napier also called for prayers, urging all to “please pray for our province and its leadership at a time when so-called church leaders are leading us towards conflict rather than away from it”.

I

F Pope Francis ever plans an apostolic trip to space, he’s all set after receiving a custom-made blue flight suit with patches of the Argentine flag, his papal coat of arms, and a pair of angel wings with his crew name, Jorge M Bergoglio.

The gift was presented to the pope by Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli and four other astronauts, who had returned from the International Space Station.

The delegation included Americans Commander Randy Bresnik, Joe Acaba and Mark Vande Hei, and Russian Sergey Ryazanskiy, with some of their family members.

They had requested an audience with the pope during their post-flight tour of Italy, so they could meet him after speaking to him via satellite from space, Cdr Bresnik said.

Recalling that conversation, Cdr Bresnik, who is a Baptist, said: “It was interesting seeing the Catholics on our crew, the Eastern Orthodox, everybody energised by talking to the pope, with what he represents.”

It was wonderful to have been able to tell the pope during the link-up what it was like to see “God’s creation from his perspective

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Pope Francis accepts a gift of a flight suit from Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli. (Photo: CNS/Vatican Media) and how beautiful and fragile it is,” he said.

The view of earth from space also shows a world without borders, Cdr Bresnik said.

“There aren’t any clashes. You just see this little tiny atmosphere that is the difference between life and death on this planet.

“It touches people in their soul, I think. I think nobody comes back without a sense of a higher being. Most come back thinking, ‘Hey, God did an amazing job,’” Cdr Bresnik said.—CNS

October 2019

2

the Southern Cross, June 20 to June 26, 2018

LOCAL

Rural poor move to cities at increasing rate

By NereeSha Patel

T

Many rural poor move to the cities with hopes of finding better jobs and better conditions. the majority live in shacks in informal settlements.

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HE number of “backyard shacks” has increased rapidly as more people receive RDP government houses and rent their backyards out to tenants, says the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO).

It has warned that shack-building is increasing due to high levels of unemployment and urbanisation, with the number of households living in backyard-dwellings up by 55% during the previous decade.

“People move from rural areas to the cities with hopes of finding better jobs, better living conditions, and to be closer to resources such as water and electricity,” CPLO researcher Samkelo Donisi said.

Mr Donisi added that, with the unemployment rate at 26,6%, it is not surprising that not all of them can afford to rent houses or flats.

As of 2016, approximately 13% of the 16,9 million households in South Africa lived in informal settlements. They struggle to gain access to adequate housing and basic

services, including water, electricity, refuse removal and sanitation.

Moreover, shack-dwellers often face eviction.

Abahlali baseMjondolo, a shackdwellers’ rights movement based in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape, described in a statement how evictions are carried out.

“People’s homes are demolished, and their possessions are broken and scattered in the mud,” the movement said.

“The perpetrators are members of the South African Police Services, the cities’ police, private security companies, and sometimes also structures of the ruling party.

“People, including the elderly and children, become the first victims when they lose every little thing at the hands of those who are supposed to be their protectors.

These evictions show how cruel our state departments are towards the poor,” Abahlali baseMjondolo said.

In one instance, Mr Donisi said, an interdict was reportedly used by the state to evict shack-dwellers in the Marikana land occupation set-

tlement in Cato Crest, Durban, at least 12 times. Shacks were demolished, and several activists and shack-dwellers were fatally shot.

The government has also been accused of neglecting the rate at which these informal settlements are growing.

Moreover, maladministration of the RDP system persists. During 2011-12, about 10% of complaints received by former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela were about maladministration.

This often related to waiting lists and irregular allocations, said CPLO researcher Sondré Bailey.

Ms Madonsela reported that the government had lost billions of rands on corrupt construction companies and officials.

Mr Donisi said the national Department of Human Settlements had to find a robust solution.

“The tender process should ensure that it includes professionals and experts when judging the winning tenders, so that the housing delivery model remains competitive,” he said.

Pretoria children’s sodality going strong By erIN CarelSe

A

S a continuing initiative to promote a safe and healthy society for the young, some dioceses have started children’s sodalities.

The Pretoria archdiocese is one of several, with a strong sodality for children.

Called Masolenyana a Kriste Morena (Little Soldiers of Christ), this sodality of children is meant to promote spiritual life through dedication to prayer, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, spreading the Kingdom of God to other children, and doing works of mercy for those in need.

During the few past years, the sodality has managed to extend across all deaneries of the archdiocese, through the guidance of its chaplains, Frs Cosmas Matooane and Paul Tatu CSS. They also launched a new sodality for children who have outgrown the Little Soldiers of

adult support members of children’s and youth sodalities in Pretoria archdiocese gathered with leaders of the sodalities at a workshop.

Christ. Masole a Kriste Morena (Soldiers of Christ) is meant to help the grown-up Masolenyana to maintain the same spirit of goodness, and to lay a strong foundation for the

quality leaders of tomorrow, formed on the principles of the Gospel.

This month, parents working with Masole and Masolenyana sodalities, together

with the leadership of the sodalities, underwent a day’s training on how to cater for the spiritual needs of children in the world of today.

Held at Jolivet House at the archdiocesan chancery, the workshop was conducted by Frs Tatu and Matooane.

About 15 members of the leadership of the sodalities and 15 adult members were part of the workshop.

In the attempt by his disciples to stop parents from bringing children to him in order to lay hands on them, Jesus instead rebuked the disciples and called the children to him, saying, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Lk 18:16).

“This concern for children

by Jesus becomes a lesson to all to cater with love for the wellbeing of children,” said Fr Tatu.

Sa’s National Catholic Weekly Newspaper

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This is a minimum six-months internship, which may be extended. While a Catholic background is not a requirement for the position, knowledge of the Church and affinity for its mission will be a distinct advantage.

e-mail applications with a motivating covering letter and CV to: editor@scross.co.za Deadline: 29 June 2018 The Southern Cross reserves the right not to fill this position.

Mariannhill diocese celebrated the 200 years of the Catholic Church in South africa at Kevelaer.

Bishop Pius Dlungwana lit the bicentennial candle and the jubilee bells were rung for more than 2 000 Sacred heart members of the diocese. Jubilee stickers and candles are available to promote the year. the emblem on them is made up of the number 200 marking the bicentennial, a map of South africa, and an image of the Church. above the emblem is a Marian symbol for Mary, Patron of South africa.

the Southern Cross, June 20 to June 26, 2018

LOCAL

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Rosary powers Comrades winner home for third time

Catholic women gather in Jhb for global prayer day

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W

By erIN CarelSe

OUTH African Comrades champion Bongmusa Mthembu clutched his rosary for the third time, after completing a hat-trick win in the 93rd Comrades Marathon with a time of 5:26:35.

Mr Mthembu won the Comrades Marathon for the first time in 2014, and again in 2017.

He is only the second South African to win the internationally renowned Kwazulu-Natal race, after “Comrades King” Bruce Fordyce’s final, and ninth, win in 1990.

To date, Mr Mthembu has competed in 13 Comrades Marathons, and has cemented his place as South Africa’s top ultra-distance runner.

This season was a tough one, he said, but by the grace of God, he was able to not only run but win.

“I had a very difficult season training in Lesotho where our training camp was,” Mr Mthembu said.

“We had really bad weather, which definitely hindered my training, and I was dealing with the death of my close friend and teammate Siphiwe Ndlela, who died in March.

“I had to cut my camp short for his memorial service. Thankfully, with my experience in running and having won the Comrades before, I could rely on that. Also, the guys I trained with really helped me as well,” Mr Mthembu said.

This Comrades marathon was also a very emotional one for him.

“To win Comrades is an amazing

Bongmusa Mthembu, seen with his rosary around his neck, won this year’s Comrades Marathon, his third win. achievement, and to win it for the third time was emotional. Seeing my family, friends, and neighbours at the finish line was also very special for me,” he said.

“I always try to push myself harder and to better myself. I want to inspire children out there, especially from rural areas, to show them that anything is possible.

With hard work and determination, nothing can hold you back.”

When asked about his rosary, which he is always seen clutching at the end of the race, Mr Mthembu answered: “It’s only by the grace of God that I am able to achieve the

things I do. God is always with me, he knows my heart.”

Special congratulations were also due to the two priests and two laymen, named the #Fab4, who as previously reported in The Southern Cross, were to use their 2018 Comrades run to raise funds for Radio Veritas through the #runforradioveritas campaign.

Fr Teboho Matseke finished the Comrades in 8:57:51, Collins Mokgotlwa in 9:56:23, Boycie Ntlwane in 11:13:20, and Fr Zweli Mlotshwa OMI in 11:38:44.

The Catholic flag flew high at this year’s Comrades.

By erIN CarelSe

E did not choose God—God chose us, said spiritual director Fr Vincent Pienaar.

He added that we all have choices, and how we use ours is up to us.

Fr Pienaar was speaking at St Theresa’s parish in Edenvale, Johannesburg, on the annual World Day of Prayer held across the globe by the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations.

The event was held by the Catholic Women’s League (CWL) of Johannesburg archdiocese, and attended by Johannesburg and national council members.

Diocesan CWL president Matilda Dube, with members of the diocesan council and from various regions, participated in organising the day.

National office bearers present included president Bernice Cocci, first vice-president Mavis Ngwenya, second vice-president Elaine Phillips, news correspondent Bongi Mavuka, and national treasurer Gabriella Marsella.

Fr Pienaar, as CWL diocesan spiritual director, celebrated Mass and

CWl Johannesburg diocesan spiritual director Fr Vincent Pienaar and CWl national president Bernice Cocci at the World Day of Prayer held in Johannesburg. gave the homily.

After the homily, Bernice Cocci gave a talk on the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations.

Refreshments followed in the church hall, where members had “fellowship and catch-up time”.

An amount of R2 823.20 was raised for the world union.

St Lucia retreat centre honours Creation By erIN CarelSe

S

T Lucia Retreat and Training Centre in KwaZulu-Natal celebrated World Environment Day with a retreat themed “The encounter of God in the Creation”.

Located on the eastern bank of the St Lucia estuary in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, the centre abounds with fauna, flora and aquatic life.

Centre director Sr Elisabeth Marie Ansart OSU says she feels blessed to live in St Lucia.

“The centre is a unique and ideal setting for retreats, workshops and quiet time to rest in an unparalleled natural environment,” she said.

The centre also runs an outreach programme in several villages in the area, and the St Angela Skills Development Centre.

St Angela’s trains local people in the arts of beadwork, the making and painting of religious statues, and the weaving of woollen items.

The training programmes run for three months, at R50 per month, for those interested in learning and sharing their newfound skills. n For more information about the St Lucia Retreat and Training Centre see http://stluciaretreat.org/

the little Servants of Mary Immaculate celebrated 90 years in africa this month and 70 years in South africa. the small group of Sisters in South africa, from lyndhurst in Johannesburg, Port Shepstone, Mahobe and Matatiele, are seen with Bishop Stanley Dziuba oSPPe of Umzimkulu diocese.

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the Southern Cross, June 20 to June 26, 2018

INTERNATIONAL aid to the Church in Need published this open letter as an ad in the Italian edition of Vanity Fair. addressed to asia argento, Meryl Streep, Sharon Stone and Uma thurman, the letter seeks to call their attention to women who have endured sexual and psychological violence because of their faith. (Photo: courtesy aid to the Church in Need/CNS)

Aussie: Abuse admissions in confession must be reported

A

NEW law in Australia will require Catholic priests in Canberra to break the seal of confession to report child abusers, drawing adamant opposition from Church officials.

“Priests are bound by a sacred vow to maintain the seal of confession,” said Archbishop Christopher Prowse of Canberra and Goulburn, adding “without that vow, who would be willing to unburden themselves of their sins?”

In an article for the Canberra Times, Archbishop Prowse cautioned that “the government threatens religious freedom by appointing itself an expert on religious practices and by attempting to change the sacrament of confession while delivering no improvement in the safety of children”.

“Sadly, breaking the seal of confession won’t prevent abuse and it won’t help our ongoing efforts to improve the safety of children in Catholic institutions,” the archbishop continued.

The Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly in Canberra passed a law requiring religious organisations to fall under the legal requirements of the mandatory Reporting Conduct Scheme. Religious groups and their “activities, facilities, programmes or services” will be required to report any allegations, offences or convictions of child abuse within 30 days.

This legislation extends to the seal of confession, making it illegal for priests to fail to report the confession of a child sexual abuse crime. The confession provision

will take effect on March 31, 2019.

ACT Attorney-General Gordon Ramsay said the situation is “complex” and must be discussed “with community and religious leaders” over the course of the coming months. Mr Ramsay also noted he would be meeting with Archbishop Prowse to discuss the new law.

However, politicians in the area have already raised concerns over the new measure. Andrew Wall, a member of the ACT Legislative Assembly, said many of the clauses in the new law were “overdue”, but disagreed with its extension to the confessional.

Mr Wall said forcing priests to break the seal of confession “significantly impinges on an individual’s freedom of association, freedom of expression and freedom of religious rights”, according to the Canberra Times.

V

icki Dunne, a Catholic and member of the ACT Legislative Assembly, also noted that a priest who directly violates the “seal of confession” incurs a latae senentiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See, which can only be lifted by the pope himself.

The Catechism teaches that “every priest who hears confessions is bound under very severe penalties to keep absolute secrecy regarding the sins that his penitents have confessed to him”, due to the “delicacy and greatness of this ministry and the respect due to persons”.

Trying to force priests to break this seal would undermine the “sa-

cred, sacramental and sacrosanct” rite of confession, Ms Dunne said.

“We need to stop and think twice before we pass legislation that requires Catholic priests to break the seal of confession,” she said.

Archbishop Prowse, who was apologetic for the Church’s role in the failure to protect children in the past, asked for forgiveness and highlighted the measures the Church is taking to ensure safety and protection of children.

However, he said the new law asking priests to break the seal of confession will not contribute to a safer environment for children.

“What sexual abuser would confess to a priest if they thought they would be reported?” said Archbishop Prowse, adding, “If the seal is removed, the remote possibility that they would confess and so could be counselled to report is gone.”

The archbishop also remarked there would be no guarantee that a priest would be able to identify the penitent after a confession, especially if there is a screen in the confessional. He also underscored the sacredness of the confessional vow, which safeguards the vulnerability of penitents.

“We urge the chief minister to allow the Catholic community into this conversation to ensure we are part of the solution,” ArchbishopProwse said.

“Together we can ensure the protection of children’s rights and uphold the integrity of our sacraments.”—CNA

Church aid group asks #MeToo celebs for solidarity

U

NDER the title “#MeToo for All”, Aid to the Church in Need has published an open letter to four famous actresses asking for their help in publicising the widespread sexual exploitation of women because of their faith.

The letter, addressed to Asia Argento, Meryl Streep, Sharon Stone and Uma Thurman, was printed as an ad in the Italian edition of Vanity Fair. The four women have been leaders in denouncing sexual abuse and harassment in Hollywood.

While the four actresses have been effective in “calling the world’s attention to the sexual molestation women have suffered, particularly in the world of entertainment”, Aid to the Church in Need said it was “intolerable” that little or no attention is given “to the very many women who endure sexual and psychological violence because of their faith”.

Aid to the Church in Need, a Vat-

ican-recognised foundation assisting minority Christian communities and people persecuted for their faith, pleaded with the four actresses to help raise awareness of the thousands of women who are “persecuted and violated without receiving any solidarity or visibility”.

The Vanity Fair ad featured three survivors: Rebecca, a 28-year-old Christian from Nigeria, who was kidnapped, raped and sold as a slave by the Boko Haram terrorist group; Dalal, a 21-year-old Yazidi from Iraq, who was raped and sold as a sex slave by ISIS terrorists; and Handmaid of Mary Sister Meena Barwa, 40, who was raped by Hindu extremists in India in 2008.

The Italian section of Aid to the Church in Need announced that it has established a special fund to assist women who suffer violence because of their faith.—CNS

Vatican tracks global Church statistics

By CINDy WooDeN

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P

OPE Francis called for a special Synod of Bishops to focus on the Amazon region not primarily because of the rainforest’s key role in the ecological health of the planet, but mostly because he sees pastoral needs there that require special attention.

In fact, while globally there are 3 130 Catholics for every Catholic priest, in South America the average priest serves 7 203 Catholics, according to Vatican statistics.

The Amazon synod will be held at the Vatican in October 2019.

The Catholics-to-priest ratio is just one table in the Statistical Yearbook of the Church, which is published annually by the Central Statistics Office, a department of the Vatican Secretariat of State.

With more than 500 pages of figures and charts, the yearbook tracks everything from Catholic population to the outcome of requests for the declaration of the nullity of a marriage.

The figures are the result of information requested annually from every diocese and Church jurisdiction. The volume, with statistics valid as of December 31, 2016, was published this year.

Worldwide, there are more than 1,29 billion baptised Catholics, according to the volume, and that means the Catholic population is holding steady at about 17,7% of the global population.

In addition, it estimated that another 4,9 million Catholics live in Church jurisdictions with which the Vatican has no “regular exchange of information”. Most of those 146 dioceses, prelatures and prefectures are in mainland China.

For the year ending December 31, 2016, the world’s 1,29 billion Catholics were served by: 5 353 bishops; 281 831 diocesan priests; 133 138 religious order priests; 46 312 permanent deacons; 52 625 religious Brothers; 659 445 reli-

Catholics around the world number more than 1,29 billion people, which is about 17,7% of the global population. (Graphic: robert Duncan/CNS) gious Sisters; 345 743 lay missionaries; and close to 3,1 million catechists.

Globally, the number of bishops, diocesan priests and permanent deacons all were higher than a year earlier. The number of religious order priests and Brothers, religious Sisters, lay missionaries and catechists all declined.

The Statistical Yearbook of the Church also tracks the number of baptisms and Catholic marriages in the world. In 2016, more than 16,2 million people were baptised and more than 2,4 million were married in a Catholic ceremony.

To get an idea of how Catholics are practising their faith, the Vatican also looks at the rate of marriages and the rate of baptisms of children for every 1 000 Catholics.

It cautioned, however, that the “general downward trend in the relative number of baptisms” does not always indicate a declining practice of faith, but closely follows the trend of a lower birthrate in many countries.—CNS

INTERNATIONAL

the Southern Cross, June 20 to June 26, 2018

Pope accepts resignations of three Chilean bishops

By Carol GlatZ

A

FTER an in-depth Vaticanled investigation into clerical sexual abuse and cover-ups, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of 61-year-old Bishop Juan Barros of Osorno, Chile, and two other Chilean bishops.

The two other bishops, who had reached the customary retirement age of 75, were Archbishop Cristian Caro Cordero of Puerto Montt and Bishop Gonzalo Duarte Garcia de Cortazar of Valparaiso.

The pope named apostolic administrators to run each diocese in the meantime: Mercedarian Father Ricardo Basilio Morales Galindo, Chilean provincial, for the archdiocese of Puerto Montt; Auxiliary Bishop Pedro Ossandon Buljevic of Santiago for the diocese of Valparaiso; and Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Concha Cayuqueo of Santiago for the diocese of Osorno.

The announcement came as Pope Francis was sending his Vatican team back to Chile to promote healing from the abuse crisis.

Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta and Fr Jordi Bertomeu Farnos visited the diocese of Osorno “with the aim of advancing the process of reparation and healing of abuse victims”, the Vatican said in a statement.

Abuse survivors have alleged

Pope Francis has accepted three resignations including Bishop Juan Barros of osorno (right) out of the entire Chilean episcopate who resigned following a meeting with the pope about the abuse crisis in that country. (Photo: Daniel Ibanez/CNa/Chilean bishops’ conference.) that when Bishop Barros was still a priest he witnessed their abuse by his mentor, Fr Fernando Karadima.

In 2011, Fr Karadima was sentenced to a life of prayer and penance by the Vatican after he was found guilty of sexually abusing boys.

He could not be charged in court as the statute of limitations had run out.

The resignation of Bishop Barros comes after years of accusations and questions concerning his knowledge of abuse by his mentor

and protests when Pope Francis appointed the then-head of the military ordinariate to head the diocese of Osorno in 2015.

The pope continued to defend his appointment, telling reporters: “The day they bring me proof against Bishop Barros, I will speak.

There is not one piece of evidence against him. It is calumny.”

A short time later, the Vatican announced Pope Francis was sending Archbishop Scicluna and Fr Bertomeu to Chile to listen to people with information about Bishop Barros.

After receiving their 2 300-page report detailing the extent of clergy sexual abuse in Chile, the pope apologised.

In a letter Pope Francis said he had been mistaken in his assessment of the situation in Chile, and he begged for forgiveness from survivors and others he offended. He met survivors at the Vatican and has been strong in his criticism of how the Chilean bishops handled the situation. All the Chilean bishops offered their resignations to the pope in response to their handling of the crisis.

The pope also wrote a letter to Catholics in Chile asking forgiveness for the Church and reinforcing his “zero tolerance” of abuse in the Church.—CNS

WMF hopes to be more inclusive with Fr James Martin SJ as keynoter

By Sarah MaCDoNalD

T

HE issue of LGBT families has dogged the ninth World Meeting of Families since it was revealed that an image of a gay couple was edited out of a preparatory booklet, and Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell’s comments on gay families were deleted from a video.

Irish Church officials confirmed that US Jesuit Father James Martin, who has written about the need for dialogue between the LGBT community and the Catholic Church, will be a keynote speaker at the World Meeting of Families in Dublin in August.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, president of the World Meeting of Families 2018, said Fr Martin’s book, Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity, had the support of three US cardinals, including Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the

Jesuit Father James Martin, author and editor at large of America, the US Jesuits’ national magazine, has been invited to be a keynote speaker at the World Meeting of Families. (Photo: america/CNS) Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life.

Asked if gay couples were welcome, Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, Northern Ireland, told media: “This is a gathering of people to which everyone is welcome.”

But he added: “The World

Meeting of Families is an event of the Catholic Church, so we don’t make any apologies for the fact that the Catholic Church has a very clear teaching on marriage and on the family.”

The Catholic Church insists marriage can be only between a man and a woman. It teaches that while homosexual people deserve respect and spiritual care, homosexual activity is sinful.

Church leaders announced that Pope Francis would meet representatives of survivors of clerical abuse and residential abuse—such as the Magdalene laundries and mother and baby homes—during the course of his two days in Ireland. The pope will also make a quick trip to the Marian shrine at Knock and a special meeting with homeless families.

Acknowledging that the pope’s programme “is very tight”, Archbishop Martin added: “We will find a way in which the pope will be able to address the concerns of all of those people,” he said.—CNS

Pope shares his childhood memories

By CINDy WooDeN

P

OPE Francis told Italian schoolchildren that he grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina, “the most beautiful city in the world”, and that besides playing soccer, he loved to fly kites as a child.

“We would make them with cane and paper, light paper. We made them ourselves,” the pope told about 500 children from schools in the poorer neighbourhoods of Rome and Milan.

With the children seated around him in the atrium of the Vatican audience hall, Pope Francis answered their questions about his childhood, his school and his vocation.

Pope Francis urged the children always to remember their first school and first teacher.

“Can a tree whose roots have been removed produce flowers?” the pope asked. The children shouted: “No.” People, too, have roots, he said.

There are “spiritual roots, home, family and school. That is why I say don’t forget your schools because they are roots of your culture.”

“Do you remember what your teachers were like?” Anna Greta asked the 81-year-old pope.

He said one of his favourite teachers was named Estela; he was in her class both for first and third year.

“She was great. She taught us how to write and read,” the pope said. Even years later, he said, he remembered her with gratitude because she helped him get started in learning.

“Already as a teenager, then as

a priest, I would phone her,” he said. “Then, as a bishop, I helped her when she was sick. She died when she was 94 years old.”

A boy named Malak asked the pope how he came to understand “that you were to live the life that you lived?”

“I understood in pieces,” the pope answered. First, he decided to study chemistry and he worked as a chemist in a lab for four years, “and I liked this. But at a certain point, I understood that it did not fulfill me very much and I thought I should do something for others,” like maybe be a doctor.

But then, he said, one year on “the first day of spring in Argentina, September 21, because it’s in the southern hemisphere, I felt in my heart that I should become a priest. Bam. In a flash.”—CNS

5

the Uganda Martyrs’ Shrine at Namugongo in Uganda. each year the faithful commemorate 22 martyrs killed there. (Photo:abubaker lubowa)

2 million at Uganda martyrs’ Mass

By GoDFrey olUKya

P

ILGRIMS from all over Africa walked hundreds of miles to join the Uganda Martyrs’ Day Mass.

The Uganda Martyrs’ Day Mass commemorates the lives of 22 Catholic converts to Christianity who were executed between January 31, 1885, and January 27, 1887, in the then-Buganda kingdom that is now part of Uganda.

Twenty-three Anglicans and 76 Muslims were also killed alongside them.

The liturgy occurs at the spot where some of the martyrs were killed, about 18km from the capital of Kampala.

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They were killed on orders of King Mwanga II at a time of a three-way religious struggle for political influence at the Buganda royal court. The martyrs were canonised in 1964.

Police estimated that 2 million people attended the Mass under tight security. Apart from the Ugandans, Mass goers trekked from Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Japan, Europe and the United States.

More than 30 bishops from throughout Africa and more than 200 priests joined Archbishop Emmanuel Obbo of Tororo, Uganda, in celebrating the Mass.—CNS

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6

the Southern Cross, June 20 to June 26, 2018

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher Guest editorial: Michael Shackleton

A Sour Grapevine

T

HE grapevine in any big organisation, including the Church, is a rumourmongering engine that tickles the ears of one and all.

Because it does not contain formal or decisive statements from the top, it thrives on a handful of unverifiable “facts”.

It spreads throughout the organisation as a grapevine creeps, without any certain origin or destination.

It has advantages. It makes members feel they belong and share in the fortunes or otherwise of the structures and processes of the concern they belong to.

It also has disadvantages.

Because its snippets of news are not proved to be certain, it can conjure up the unthinking error of gossip.

Gossip, unlike rumour, always puts some particular person in the spotlight, mostly in an unflattering way.

Both rumour and gossip are of doubtful veracity and it is an easy step for inquisitive minds somehow to come up with wildly imaginative “facts”.

American President Donald Trump is said to have coined the phrase “fake news”, which is based on non-existent or distorted material intended to deceive the public.

Fake news, however, came into our history long before the time of President Trump.

It came to earth when the Serpent deceived Eve. She told him of God’s command not to eat the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, under pain of death.

The Serpent’s fake news was: “You will not die. God knows that on the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil” (Gn 3:4-5).

Fake news, gossip and all the ills that result from them have never departed from our human weakness and tendency to fail.

Pope Francis has addressed the scourge of gossip in the Church on many occasions at his Sunday Angelus appearances and in talks to priests

and religious.

The Vatican has always been known to be a hive or rumours, omitting no one from its range of speculation, from the pope down.

Pope Francis’ emphasis on the perils of gossip could originate from his being in St Peter’s chair now for five years. What is more pressing is his insistence that gossip seems enjoyable and fun at first but in the end it fills the heart with bitterness and poisons it.

In 2017 on his visit to Bangladesh, he told the clergy and religious that there was no way interreligious harmony could be successful in their country if their communities were divided by gossip.

Can one doubt that the head of the Church is very aware of the damage done to the Church and its members by the wagging tongue and its slanderous intent? Nothing new, it is true, but now prominent enough to disturb Pope Francis.

Church personnel, politicians, and many in public life are increasingly distrusted by public opinion because modern minds have become cynical.

Catholics have been taught in catechism lessons and by parents that unjustly damaging the good name of others is immoral and sinful. Yet the media presents us with an abundance of instances in which those in high places brazenly insult and curse one another.

The lesson to be learned is that we must look at our own shortcomings before we roast other people for their faults.

We can start by knowing that there is no such thing as innocent gossip. Even the one who listens passively to slanderous gossip actually supports that gossip by simply listening.

A grapevine brings forth good fruit. When it brings forth sour grapes it must be uprooted.

Pope Francis put it bluntly: “If you get an urge to say something against a brother or sister, drop a gossip bomb: Bite your tongue. Hard!”

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.

Family prayer saves the day M Y wife and I participated in a panel discussion on conflict resolution in families several years ago. As the building block of society and the Church, what happens within families is vitally important.

One of my grandmother’s catchphrases was, “He played Hamlet”, to describe the overreaction families can have when they argue.

Perhaps we can all recall occasions when the top was left off the tooth-

We all miss out with homework

Y

OUR editorial “Homework and the home” (June 6) states that “homework is not intended to be burdensome”, and this is true, but unfortunately it can be just that.

Further to it being burdensome for children, it has a negative knockon effect for the extended family.

Teenagers are so busy doing loads of homework, preparing assignments, or participating in sport that their very important family time is greatly eroded. Primaryschool children are equally stressed by too much work.

Sadly, we all miss out, and more so, the children.

How rewarding it is to spend the little time afforded us in discussing, arguing, and joking with our grandchildren, and advising them. We love listening to the opinions of our ever-so-smart young folk.

How else would we old grandparents learn how to manipulate our cellphones? And how much do the children miss out on the wisdom and storytelling of their lifewise and discerning elders when their school pressures are so great?

After leaving school, much will be left behind, whereas life will go on with its many other challenges not addressed at school.

Presently the homework balance is out of kilter. Parents and educators must devise a more equitable system for school homework and family homework.

Tony Meehan, Cape Town

‘Go and sin no more’ for all of us

I

T’S always stimulating to read the letters in your publication. There are so many diverse views, but it’s a pity that writers sometimes get a little mean.

Here is a point l would like throw into the mix about the LGBT issue.

Jesus said to the woman of sexual immorality: “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.”

The penitential prayer in confession ends with “and avoid occasions of sin”.

paste tube (or the seat left up) and we recited a demented monologue.

Our contribution to the family panel discussion was more on prevention than cure.

For many years now, we have had the practice of praying together each morning, before any fuse can be lit. It has been transformative in our lives and it really does work.

We offer the day to God; pray for mercy, forgiveness and protection

In other words, we have to use all our might to stay away from temptation. This seems to be the core of the problem.

How difficult it must be for LGBT people to stay away from temptation if they freely advertise their inclination.

My experience with my own sins is hidden in my inner self (Yes, it’s a lonely place to be) but it is better this way because nobody out there will say, “There, there, don’t be so hard on yourself.” (That is all a sinner needs to hear, for an excuse.)

I need to be hard on my sinfulness, otherwise I might just give in to temptation.

Love your newspaper!

Maria Kruger, Plettenberg Bay

Clarifying Winnie Mandela letter

T

HE kindly rebuke by Paddy Ross headed “Critical to know what others feel” (June 6) misses the point I was trying to make.

I clearly stated (May 16) that I was not commenting on the article

by Mphutumi Ndabeni itself, but on its publication in The Southern Cross, and for the reasons I gave.

The harsh and misleading headline to my letter didn’t help (“Winnie column had no place here”).

The late Mrs Mandela has been given adequate coverage by The Southern Cross—in news reports, in at least one Southern Cross editorial (April 11) and in a most balanced opinion by Luky Whittle (May 2).

Any informed person would know that, for a period, Mrs Mandela suffered greatly, and was harshly persecuted, including being banished to Brandfort.

Of course, Paddy Ross is right in stating that we must try to know how our neighbour is feeling. The secular press has given, worldwide, many opportunities to know about Mrs Mandela’s life and sufferings.

But to experience feelings, one must not only read, but do something. As the late Bl Frederic Ozanam, founder of the Society of St Vincent de Paul, said: “Let us go to the poor.”

There we will experience an overwhelming feeling of gratitude

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during the day; pray for our work and activities; and seek the intercession of the angels and saints.

We also regularly bless the house with holy water.

If we don’t lay the day’s foundation in prayer, someone else will, in discord.

Family prayer is often neglected nowadays, and family members can have their day ruined even before they leave the house if they go into the day unprepared or unprotected.

Stephen A Clark, Manila, Philippines for being blessed by God, and become more aware of the real sufferings of our neighbours.

Hunger, cold, powerlessness, no electricity, and the only running water being that which comes through a leaking roof...

However, our feelings will never measure up to their reality.

Mike Maidment, Kloof

Fallen angels driven by envy

M

ICHAEL Shackleton’s article about fallen angels (May 2) failed to mention another possible source of their rebellion: envy.

Having observed the creation of mankind, like themselves finite spirits, but with a material body, angels felt passed over.

Some hated matter anyway, the motor of evolution and matrix of mankind. Another setback was learning that humans were gifted with the divine power to create: they could multiply, and angels could not.

A further humiliation took place when God’s Son himself wanted to become man. Were angels not God’s first-born? Had they not served their Master faithfully since eternity?

Learning that at the Last Judgment these newcomers would judge over them angered them further.

They reached fever pitch on realising that, after eschaton, the souls of all deceased mankind would regain their bodies, and angels would be an invisible minority in heaven.

They would become strangers in their own land. Invisible onlookers.

Lucifer saw only two ways out: the Benedict Option or rebellion.

He chose rebellion, preferring to be first in a lower order, to being second in a higher one.

JH Goossens, Pretoria opinions expressed in The Southern Cross, especially in letters to the editor, do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor or staff of the newspaper, or of the Catholic hierarchy. the letters page in particular is a forum in which readers may exchange opinions on matters of debate. letters must not be understood to necessarily reflect the teachings, disciplines or policies of the Church accurately. letters can be sent to PO box 2372, Cape town 8000 or editor@scross.co.za or faxed to 021 465-3850

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the Southern Cross, June 20 to June 26, 2018

PERSPECTIVES

7

The loneliness of priests overcome Intention: That priests, who experience fatigue and loneliness in their pastoral work, may find help and comfort in their intimacy with the Lord and in their friendship with their brother priests.

I

T is very possible to be lonely in the middle of a crowd. A priest can be lonely in the midst of his congregation, even at a moment of great celebration. This may seem strange, but it happens. Why? Firstly, there is the simple fact that he is both single and singular. Because he is celibate, this makes him different, unusual. Whatever the compensations of the pastoral life, he will still feel, from time to time, the loss of the tenderness and intimacy of the married life and the deep, human satisfactions of creating a home and a family.

Those who are married will tell him, of course, that the grass may seem greener on their side of the fence but marriage also has its challenges and it is even possible to be married and very lonely.

Indeed, loneliness is part of the human condition and it may well be important for us to experience it from time to time if we are to grow in our appreciation of the “milk of human kindness”.

But such reassurances do not necessarily help a man who, when the people have gone home after the Sunday Masses, can feel acutely cut off, empty, alone and wondering what on earth he is about.

There was a time when diocesan clergy lived together in the presbytery as a small community. The way of life was not quite that of a religious, but, to use St Basil the Great’s powerful phrase, they were able to “wash one another’s feet”; in other words, to support one another in daily, practical ways.

Today, with the numbers of diocesan clergy on the low side, it is unusual for diocesan priests to live together. Sometimes I have pointed this out to the seminarians in my charge and have been

rather taken aback by the response of some who say they would put up with being alone in a parish because this would mean they were fully in charge.

The implication is that control is an adequate compensation for loneliness, which doesn’t sound like a good bargain to me.

Y

oung men holding such opinions have much to learn. Firstly, that they will need the support of their fellow priests, whether they live with them or not. And as one gets older, the more one needs the network of community.

So, if they are running a parish by themselves they will have to make serious efforts to cultivate good relationships with their fellow clergy if they wish to experience the support of the presbyterium.

The point is that community living isn’t just about socialising and “networking”.

Community becomes terribly real the moment I fall ill or have a car accident or a personal crisis. If I live by myself in splendid isolation, believing that I need no one, what will happen when this illusion is shattered by the reality of my human fragility? To whom will I turn?

Seminarians at St John Vianney Seminary in Pretoria. Fr Chris Chatteris unpacks the pope’s prayer intention for July - that priests will find comfort in the lord when they experience loneliness in their pastoral work.

Chris Chatteris SJ

Pray with the Pope

Who will wash my feet?

“I am a rock; I am an island. And a rock feels no pain, and an island never cries,” wrote Simon and Garfunkel. The human person simply isn’t like that. We are flesh and blood and spirit; our souls cry out for one another.

Modern culture might exalt rugged individualism but in fact modern society itself would be impossible without the extraordinary level of cooperation and community that underpins this way of life.

When I do something as routine as drive a car, I put my life into the hands of thousands of fellow drivers whom I rely on to keep me safe by driving with care and consideration.

Secondly, seminarians have to learn that the single, celibate life accepted for the sake of the Gospel (whether one is a diocesan priest or a religious) is not possible without personal prayer.

Unless they can develop a deep and intimate prayer-life which puts them daily in contact with the loving Lord of the Gospel, their life and ministry will end up seeming empty, meaningless, and exhausting.

The deep fatigue will reflect a profound spiritual and emotional vacuum within them.

Like Jesus, who was as busy as any parish priest, a priest has to learn to find time to be alone with God. In practice this normally means early in the morning before the day begins, like the Lord himself. n Watch a short but inspiring video on this theme featuring Pope Francis himself on https://www.thepopevideo.org

We must learn to walk hand in hand Mphuthumi I Ntabeni T may feel for some that recent events— like the Australian Archbishop Philip Wilson being convicted for concealing child sex abuse by a priest, or the collective resignation of the Chilean bishops over the abuse scandal in their country—have put the Church in a dim light.

I honestly believe this healthy exposure of moral failures and criminal acts committed in the name of the Church is the best thing that has happened to her since the Second Vatican Council.

For far too long this scourge has stunk in the public square, the pews and altars of the Church, undermining her moral and spiritual authority. Now that it is all coming out into the open, we pray that by handling the matter with much needed humility, the Church’s leaders will return her on the right path, in time for her much needed springtime renewal.

For now let the winter of kenosis continue so that in self-giving the Church may selfcleanse.

And the Church of Southern Africa is providing a good example in that regard.

Also impressive is how the Church leadership in South Africa is tackling the other burning issue: that of racism.

I know that many prefer we bury our heads in the sand, pray for these things to go away. But that will not happen without our cooperation and change of heart, without our admitting our complicity—conscious or unconscious—through active prejudice or inherited privilege.

I wish many Catholics would take the opportunity of attending Winter Living Theology (WLT) which is organised by the

Retirement Home, Rivonia, Johannesburg Tel:011 803 1451 www.lourdeshouse.org

the Public Square

“things won’t change unless we take the racist bull by the horns. and from there we may begin to truly love our neighbour and walk, hand in hand, in humility with our God,” writes Mphuthumi Ntabeni.

Jesuit Institute, the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference and Fordham University in late June and July.

I trust as Catholics we shall feel more comfortable when the topic of racism is discussed from the point of view of our faith.

Dr Fr Bryan Massingale, a priest from the archdiocese of Milwaukee and a professor of ethics at Fordham University in New York, looks best placed to lead us in this lecture.

He is also an expert in the theological politics of Rev Martin Luther King.

I

t is becoming clear with every passing year of our post-’94 era that the paper walls we plastered over our social and racial problems are peeling.

Our Rainbow Nation narrative was not founded upon strong social and religious

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foundations of cohesion and the love of neighbour which is next to the love of God which Christ instructed us to do.

We need to be instructed in ways to demolish the walls of racial suspicion and distrust between us. And since we were taught this suspicion and distrust by the manner in which we grew up, we need to consciously adopt active ways of unlearning it.

And, in my life, that starts with me.

For instance, I often ask myself, though I live in a predominantly white area, why don’t I have more white friends with whom to socialise? Why do I need to go to the black township to do that?

The truth is that I have not unlearned the racial segregation which I was brought up with under apartheid. I still instinctively treat white people with reserve and unconscious suspicion, even those whom I call my friends.

I believe the time has come for all of us to move out of our comfort zones. Things won’t change unless we take the racist bull by the horns.

Perhaps this year’s Winter Living Theology is as good as any platform to make this tentative start.

And from there, perhaps, we may begin to truly love our neighbour and walk, hand in hand, in humility with our God.

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“What has the world done to us and what have we done to ourselves?” Nthabiseng Maphisa prays that the youth have not lost all hope.

Nthabiseng Maphisa

Pop Culture Catholic

Cry of the young heart

T

HERE was a time when the sound of youth could be heard by the tapping of a skipping rope as it hit the concrete.

We would gnaw on chewing gum and marvel over the famous quotes on the inside of the wrappers.

There was an overindulgence in chocolate eclairs and jam-filled doughnuts.

There was the frustration of feeling rainwater creep into the soles of your school shoes. Uniforms were stained with the colourants of cheap icecream.

School emblems would come undone from the breast pockets into which they had been badly sewn. There was so much then and there is more now.

My older sister once said that youth is wasted on the young. I recall being taken aback by this wellknown saying. It meant nothing to me as I felt I was living my youth wisely. I am still young but I hear better now the echo of these words.

Today youth is heard by the quacking voices that scream out from reality television. Life is lived in hookah pipes and hashtags. There is a false sense of being invincible regarding the consequences of our actions.

But indeed the time will come when we will regret the folly we took part in when we were young.

We will think of the opportunities that came and went, and of the ways that time could have been better spent.

I lament so greatly what the world has done to us and what we have done to ourselves.

Amidst the riots and revolutions we have lost more than just innocence.

Our dreams are like balloons that drift high into the skies of possibility. But, as chance would have it, they are burst by the piercing arrows of discouragement and the doubt that follows.

And so, wounded by the lack of faith that others have in us, we are afraid to dream.

Instead we content ourselves with the pursuit of comfort and luxury for if we cannot become what we hope to be, let us, at the very least, become rich.

I

once encountered a youth who, in spite of the amenities that come with living in the First World, could only find consolation in video games, cheap beer and cigarettes. Oh what melancholy should befall us if the conveniences of this world make us numb to inspiration and ambition!

I shall, therefore, implore every heart of every young person: Our time is too precious and our minds filled with too much knowledge to waste them away on late-night boozing and mindless television.

Soon arthritis will be creeping into our bones and our brains will be crippled by Alzheimer’s disease.

Set aside the grumblings of the naysayers who deem you to be too young or too naïve to achieve your dreams. Indeed, the world has drawn out so much from you, but hold onto yourselves and let it pull no more.

Instead, return to it the fire that once brought your aspirations to ashes. Set ablaze the world with all the goodness that you are. Then watch the embers of white-hot heat the darkness and demons valiantly defeat.

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8

the Southern Cross, June 20 to June 26, 2018

COMMUNITY

the First holy Communion group of 2018 from St John Bosco parish in Westridge, Cape town, with teacher Vanessa august, Deacon Mervin Solomons, Fr Marian Kulig SDB, and teacher Belinda adams.

Children made their First Communion at Mahobe mission in Umzimkulu diocese on the feast of Corpus Christi.

With the children are Fr thokozani Masina SCP, Sr helena Kolcz lSM, and the catechists. (Submitted by Sr Zithobile Zondi)

First Communicants with their parents after the Pentecost Sunday Mass and First Communion ceremony at the Dominican Priory in Pietermaritzburg. Fr thomas Chuma oP officiated.

the parish of St Francis of assisi in rus-ter-Vaal, Vereeniging, celebrated the feast of Corpus Christi with young people making their First Communion. (Back from left) emogene osler and Sandré Botha and (front from left) anthony hugo, anthea austin, Zanial da Silva, Joye Modise and Clentisha Scheepers, together with parish priest Fr emmanuel Dim and catechism teacher thembi da Silva. (Submitted by oliver Koorbanally)

Bishop Vincent Zungu of Port elizabeth diocese confirmed 17 candidates at St Michael’s parish in Fort Beaufort on Pentecost Sunday.

Pictured is Bishop Zungu with some of the candidates and their parents.

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the Catholic Chinese Welfare association held its 53rd annual Debutantes and Squires Ball in the aquanaut room at turffontein racecourse in Johannesburg. (From left) Chenay Date line, Kenneth lin, Jessica Chen Son, Channing liang, Miss Debutante 2017 erin lai thom, Miss Debutante 2018 ling huang, edmund tsang, tamara Bogdaniov and Jason Fung. the guest of honour was Fr Chaka Motanyane. (Submitted by lily loo)

For the price of one issue of The Southern Cross you still get 0,6 litre of petrol T he

Southern C ross www.scross.co.za

June 20 to June 26, 2018

Rosary powers third Comrades win

Page 3

Reg No. 1920/002058/06

Lonely lives of priests overcome

No 5089

R10 (incl VAT RSA)

Ss Peter & Paul: Pillars of the Church

Page 7

Page 9

Churches say No to religious group for Zuma

BY ERIN CARELSE

M

AINSTREAM Churches, including the Catholic Church, have spoken out against a night vigil and march in support of former President Jacob Zuma organised by an interfaith body.

Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, as chair of the KwaZulu-Natal Church Leaders’ Group, issued a signed statement distancing the group from the vigil and march held by the National Interfaith Council of South Africa (Nicsa) for Mr Zuma’s court appearance on June 8.

Mr Zuma, who is facing 16 charges, including fraud and corruption, in connection with the controversial arms deal, presented himself to the Durban High Court. The case has been postponed to July 27.

Cardinal Napier said while most South Africans are well aware of the state capture during the Zuma presidency, many may not know that during the same period, a concerted effort was made to capture the Churches.

The first was an invitation to church leaders to enter into a partnership with the government to tackle major social issues such as unemployment, HIV/Aids, poverty, and crime.

A second effort was to invite selected church leaders to join the state-sponsored Council of Religious Leaders at both national and provincial level.

“Significantly, not one of the leaders of the mainstream Churches was invited to the discussions that preceded the formation of these bodies,” Cardinal Napier said. “Needless to say, none of them have ever been contacted since by either national or provincial leaders.

“Nicsa, which is now demonstrating open support for Mr Zuma, is supposedly doing so in the name of the Churches in the province.”

The cardinal added that Zuma supporters Bishop TB Ngcobo [provincial secretary of Nicsa] and Bishop Vusi Dube [founder of the eThekwini Community Church International] had never been recognised church leaders at provincial level.

“Never have they attended any meetings of the KZN Church Leaders’ Group, which has

Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town holds his ticket for the bicentenary celebrations at the Bellville Velodrome on June 24. The event is the culmination of a year-long jubilee to mark the 200th anniversary of the Catholic Church being established in South Africa. Masses were celebrated at 12:00 throughout the region on June 10 to mark the official anniversary. You can watch the Mass livestreamed on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8HSXi_F3iQhVOVTu3QFig/live (Photo: Stephen Docherty/Archdiocesan News)

Pope gets his own spacesuit

BY CAROL GLATZ

Cardinal Wilfrid Napier has distanced the Church from a vigil and march supporting former President Jacob Zuma before his Durban court appearance on charges of corruption. led the Churches in KZN since the mid-1980s when they brought the province back from the brink of civil war.”

The Diakonia Council of Churches has also distanced itself and its member Churches from the vigil and march supporting Mr Zuma.

“We find it extremely inappropriate to lobby for politicians, especially when Churches are made up of people from diverse political affiliations,” Diakonia executive director Nomabelu Mvambo Dandala said.

“We have faith in our country’s justice system to adequately handle the matter and we pray for a just and peaceful outcome.”

Cardinal Napier also called for prayers, urging all to “please pray for our province and its leadership at a time when so-called church leaders are leading us towards conflict rather than away from it”.

I

F Pope Francis ever plans an apostolic trip to space, he’s all set after receiving a custom-made blue flight suit with patches of the Argentine flag, his papal coat of arms, and a pair of angel wings with his crew name, Jorge M Bergoglio.

The gift was presented to the pope by Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli and four other astronauts, who had returned from the International Space Station.

The delegation included Americans Commander Randy Bresnik, Joe Acaba and Mark Vande Hei, and Russian Sergey Ryazanskiy, with some of their family members.

They had requested an audience with the pope during their post-flight tour of Italy, so they could meet him after speaking to him via satellite from space, Cdr Bresnik said.

Recalling that conversation, Cdr Bresnik, who is a Baptist, said: “It was interesting seeing the Catholics on our crew, the Eastern Orthodox, everybody energised by talking to the pope, with what he represents.”

It was wonderful to have been able to tell the pope during the link-up what it was like to see “God’s creation from his perspective

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Pope Francis accepts a gift of a flight suit from Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli. (Photo: CNS/Vatican Media) and how beautiful and fragile it is,” he said.

The view of earth from space also shows a world without borders, Cdr Bresnik said.

“There aren’t any clashes. You just see this little tiny atmosphere that is the difference between life and death on this planet.

“It touches people in their soul, I think. I think nobody comes back without a sense of a higher being. Most come back thinking, ‘Hey, God did an amazing job,’” Cdr Bresnik said.—CNS

October 2019

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the Southern Cross, June 20 to June 26, 2018

SAINTS

9

Peter & Paul: Two pillars of the Church June 29 marks the feast of Ss Peter and Paul, two of the great heroes in the story of the Church, as Sr JoaN roCCaSalVo CSJ explains.

O

N the Acropolis of Athens, the Parthenon exemplifies the beauty of architectural strength. Through centuries of natural disasters and ravages of war, its pillars have bolstered the upper structure.

Similarly, St Peter was considered a pillar of stability in the community of Jewish Christians, as Paul was of the Gentile converts.

The infant Church began to thrive because their stability was rooted in Christ, and their leadership was buoyed up by the steady hand of Providence.

The heroes Peter and Paul suffered martyrdom in Nero’s persecution (54-68 AD).

The notion of hero is ably described by Raymond Chandler, the 20th-century writer and sleuth, in this way: “Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. He is the hero; he is everything. He must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man. He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honour—by instinct, by inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying it. He must be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world” (The Atlantic Monthly, November 1945).

Critics’ Choice?

If you could suggest someone to lead the early Church, would Peter be your first choice? Imagine Mary Magdalene and Paul running as competitors in the party of Jesus.

John, the Beloved Disciple, surely an inspiring figure, lacked leadership traits; James the Elder was perhaps too rigid and straightlaced.

Jesus’ choice to lead the Twelve rested on Peter: ‘“I give you the keys of the kingdom,” he declared, “for on this Rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Mt 16:19).

Apart from Jesus himself, the name most often mentioned in the Gospels is Peter’s. He forms part of the Lord’s inner circle of three. But before Peter assumed the ministry of service, it was necessary that he become a “new man”.

Simon Peter the fisherman—uneducated and gruff, impetuous and tactless—was gradually transformed into Peter, the chastened leader, the spokesman for the Community.

Failure taught him humility. Leadership became a ministry of mercy.

Paul, on the other hand, was a classic diaspora Jew from Tarsus in what is now south-eastern Turkey.

As a Jew, a Roman citizen, and as a beneficiary of Greek culture, Paul travelled about with ease. He was the right man in the right place at

the right time, the Lord’s perfect raw material and perfect setup to work among the Gentiles.

Belonging to three worlds, this urbane man was first an Orthodox Jew reared in a strict family. He was sent to study with Gamaliel in Jerusalem. Second, he was the beneficiary of Greek culture, and language. Paul was never a “ghetto” Jew. Finally, Paul was a Roman citizen.

Paul was an exceptional thinker and a born leader. As a skilled orator with fire, flair and persuasive qualities, he knew his audiences and tailored his speeches to them.

Using his authority to serve the Gospel, he became all things to all.

To the Philippians, he was gentleness personified; to the Galatians and Corinthians, he expressed exasperation. He rebuked them, but willingly received their love.

Paul was not one of the original Twelve. Yet, his letters to the various Gentile churches preceded the written record of the Gospel writers, and they form the first canonical writings of the Church’s belief and teaching. Paul was a non-eyewitness who evangelised non-eyewitnesses caught up in the love of Christ, the first theologian in the Church and its greatest missionary.

If Shakespeare’s phrases have entered our daily vocabulary, so too have many of Paul’s phrases, such as: • “Your body belongs to God… Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, and that God’s Spirit lives in you” (1 Cor 3ff)?

• “Now faith, hope and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor 13:13).

• “Where sin did abound, grace did more abound... For those who love God, all things work together unto good... What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Could oppression, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Rom 5:21; 8:28; 8:31; 8:35; 12:21).

• “We are God’s works of art created in Christ Jesus to live the good life as he meant us to live it from the beginning” (Eph 2:10).

Conflict over the Law It was only a matter of time before conflict surfaced over a burning religious question.

Does salvation depend on faith in Christ, or on faith in Christ with circumcision and the obligations of the Mosaic Law? In order to be saved, must Gentile converts first become Jews? Responding in the affirmative were Peter, the elders, and the small group of Judaisers.

Paul and Barnabas, his fellowhelper, resisted such a form of Christianity. After considerable discussion of the problem, Peter changed his position to favour Paul’s.

Paul was able to convince Peter and the others to oppose the obligatory circumcision of these converts

an icon depicts Christ with Ss Peter and Paul, the two pillars of the Church, repesenting office and charism. and their adherents of the Mosaic Law, but not without heated discussions.

Paul opposed Peter to his face with the attitude of one equal facing another. He had argued convincingly that he no longer saw “a role for the Mosaic Law God himself gave to his chosen people or for the customs and practices included in Jewish tradition for centuries”, as Maria Pascuzzi noted in her 2014 book Paul: Windows on His Thought and His World.

Salvation comes through the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ rather than in assuming the heavy burdens of the Mosaic Law which even Jews found excessive.

The Council of Jerusalem in 50 AD eventually adopted this position

The

in the cause of Christian liberty. It was won against the narrow Judaisers and smoothed the way for the conversion of the Gentiles.

“The Council thus freed the young Church from its Jewish roots and opened it up to the world apostolate rather than confront it. Paul’s position was vindicated,” the late Scripture scholar Fr Joseph Fitzmyer SJ concluded.

Office and Charism Think of Peter and the words office, structure and stability may come to mind.

Think of Paul and you may think of preachers like Bishop Fulton Sheen or Billy Graham. In the 14th century, when preaching was at a considerably low point, St Vincent

Ferrer and St Bernardine of Siena preached to large crowds to build up their fervour. Today these saints would make the preaching of those two pale in contrast.

The 16th-century Council of Trent discussed many pressing issues, one of which regarded where authentic ministry is attached: to the person or to the office? Is it effective by means of the person or the office?

It was decided that a stable Church cannot exist solely on individual charisms.

The Catholic Church would never let a charism like Billy Graham’s stray from the office.

Charism, without structure, creates chaos. Marriage requires passion and charism as well as commitment and stability, each being open to the other.

The preface for the feast of Ss Peter and Paul reads: “For by your providence, the blessed apostles Peter and Paul bring us joy: Peter, foremost in confessing the faith, Paul, the outstanding preacher.

“Peter, who established the early Church from the remnant of Israel; Paul, master and teacher of the Gentiles that you call.

“And so, each in a different way gathered together the one family of Christ and revered together throughout the world, they share one Martyr’s crown.”

The Catholic faith is not a lovely museum piece to be admired from outside protective glass. It is a vital force, a thing of truth and beauty to be lived with joy. This reality is our calling card to the world’s stage.— CNA

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Pope Pius VIII (1829-30) kneels in front of a statue of Christ enthroned, flanked by Ss Peter and Paul. Monument of Pius VIII in St Peter’s basilica.

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the Southern Cross, June 20 to June 26, 2018

SA CHURCH 200

A Jesuit at the Cape in the 1680s Just over three decades after the Cape was colonised, a Jesuit priest landed in Cape Town. He was warmly welcomed— and told not to say Mass on shore, according to MartIN KeeNaN.

E

VERY historian of the Cape Colony names or at least alludes to a French Catholic priest who landed in Cape Town just 32 years after the region was colonised by the Dutch.

Jesuit Father Guy Tachard landed at the Cape of Good Hope in the course of two voyages made with a French state embassy to the king of Siam, in 1685 and 1687.

Fr Tachard published accounts of both voyages (the first in Paris 1686, the second in Paris and Amsterdam in 1689). The earlier was translated into English in 1688.

Fr Tachard (1651–1712) was not a missionary but a scientist—and more secret agent than diplomat.

All the same, in the account of his first voyage he yearned for zealous missionaries to bring the Gospel to the “Hotentates” and African tribes even further in the interior.

In his essay “European Affairs (from the Cape Records of 1688)”, Judge Egidius Benedictus Watermeyer, the 19th-century “father of South African history”, notes the French priest’s pleasant surprise at the warmth of their official reception at the Cape.

It was in dramatic contrast with the piratical treatment of a ship from the 1687 flotilla which was back at the Cape on April 26, 1689, returning from India with a valuable cargo.

The “Normande” was attacked by stealth, her crew taken prisoner, and the ship plundered.

When her sister ship, the “Coche”—with even greater treasure—reached Table Bay two weeks later, she found the captured “Normande” still under French colours, so her defences were down. She fell before a night-time assault and suffered the same fate.

The explanation lay in the changed political situation in Europe in 1688 as a result of the invasion of England by the Protestant Stadholder William of Orange and the flight of the Catholic Stuart royal family to France.

The announcement of an AngloDutch alliance occurred in May 1689. Declarations of war with France followed.

Alexander Wilmot, a Catholic,

Jesuit Father Guy tachard, an astronomer and something of a secret agent, visited the Cape of Good hope in 1685 and again two years later. While he was received with courtesy, he and the other priests on board the French ship they travelled on were not allowed to say Mass on land. wrote the first continuous narrative history of the Cape Colony, published in 1869. He noted the same striking change in the reception accorded French ships in the 1680s, but he wrote no more about Tachard than Watermeyer had.

It was George McCall Theal who extended the range. In his first volume of History (1888), he reports the arrival of the French embassy with six Jesuit missionaries, two of whom were astronomers, in 1685.

He noted their courteous treatment by Governor Simon van der Stel and Hendrik van Rheede, the commissioner of the Dutch East India Company.

Fr Tachard described his interactions with the Catholics of the Cape: “In the mornings and evenings they came privately to us. There were some of all countries and of all conditions, free, slaves, French, Germans, Portuguese, Spaniards, Flemings, and Indians.”

Those whose languages were unintelligible to the priests pulled out rosaries and medals to prove their faith. The priests heard the confessions of those they could understand and, Fr Tachard says, “we visited the sick in their houses and in the hospital”.

Perhaps Theal was thinking of the priests on a Portuguese ship which Fr Tachard mentions in his second travelogue: the “Nossa Senhor de los Milagros”, wrecked off Cape Agulhas in mid-April 1686.

Survivors made it to the fort three weeks later.

According to Theal, the Council of Policy resolved that the Portuguese ship’s crew and soldiers be lodged in the hospital, and the officers and priests at Rondebosch.

They were given rations and other assistance, but “the priests were required not to give offence to the inhabitants by public celebration of their worship”.

Compare the action taken by Jan van Riebeeck back in 1660 when the “Marichal”, another French ship, ran into trouble and the crew and passengers were allowed ashore on strict conditions: firearms were to be handed over until departure, and the clergy was forbidden to hold public assemblies for Catholic worship.

Cape’s Catholics in 1685 Three years after Theal’s volume appeared, the prominent Cape Town priest Mgr Frederick Kolbe

Van der Stel and the priests Fr Tachard was permitted to set up a temporary observatory in a pavilion in the Dutch East India Company’s garden, where Tuynhuis would later be built, during their stay, from May 31 to June 7.

Van der Stel took time to explain to the priests the (still brief) history of the colony, and instructed them extensively about the flora and fauna of the Cape.

When they left, the priests presented van der Stel with a microscope and a small burning glass.

Theal, in his history, wrote that the priests “were not permitted to conduct public worship on shore”.

But Fr Tachard in his writings did not quite say “public worship”, thereby implying toleration for private devotions.

the original cover of Fr tachard’s first travelogue, which included his account of visiting the Cape in 1685.

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an artistically fanciful drawing of Fr Guy tachard’s observatory in the VoC Gardens at the Cape of Good hope, 1685. wrote some history articles for The been driven off course the previous South African Catholic Magazine. December on its way to Siam, had Possibly he knew of Tachard’s work gone ashore. before reading Theal. At all events, They were an aged Italian Jesuit, Mgr Kolbe printed a long extract Fr Fucity, and the Portuguese supefrom Tachard describing the situa- rior of the mission in Tonkin, Fr tion of the Catholics at the Cape in Fereira, who had left for Macao. Fr 1685. That is to say: Fucity was still there and Fr Tachard • They were fairly numerous; hurried to meet him. This is what • they were of all races; he learnt (English translation of • they were of all conditions, 1688): both freemen and slaves; “When the Arrival of those two • their joy was unbounded when Fathers was known at Batavia, not they saw the priests; only the Portuguese who live there, • they came to them “en secret” but the Catholics also of other Na(meaning privately, rather than tions that are there, as we were clandestinely) in the mornings and told, in great numbers, came daily evenings; to see them, were present at their • the priests heard their confes- Masses on Sundays and Holy-days, sions; and and confessed to them.”

• the priests visited the sick at Then he noted on Fr Fereira’s dehome and in the hospital. parture: “The zeal of the Catholics The restriction was that the local made too great a noise, at Batavia, Catholics had not “la liberté” to and so great was the concourse of hear Mass on board and the priests People that came flocking to Father had no liberty to say it ashore.

Fucity, that the Protestant Ministers So before and after Fr Tachard’s complained to the Genvisit, priests calling at the eral, that a Jesuit perCape were forbidden to formed the publick ‘Catholics at Exercise hold public assemblies of the Catholic for Divine Worship. the Cape Religion in Batavia.

In part it was a security “Upon their Remonincluded issue, but we know that strances, the General set freemen, in the Dutch colonies the a Sentinel at the Father’s same laws were observed slaves, French, door, to hinder Catholics as in Holland, where the from entering his House, Germans, only officially authorised and sent him word that worship was according to he desired him not to Portuguese, the Dutch Reformed trawalk abroad in the Town, Spaniards, but with a Guard to wait dition.

Lutherans in Cape upon him.”

Flemings, Fr Tachard next had Town repeatedly petian audience with the tioned for a church and and Indians.’ governor who, hearing permission was finally of the reception given granted in 1779. So whatever the policy was, it wasn’t the Jesuits by van Reede at the specifically anti-Catholic. We also Cape, “protested he would not be know that before they received per- short of him and that if we had a mission, the Lutherans had been design to come on Shoar, he enusing a warehouse for their serv- treated us to lodge with Father ices. In practice there was some re- Fucity, to whom from that day forward he gave all sort of liberty for ligious toleration.

This was also the case in Holland our sakes”.

All the indications are that, in the 17th century, although Catholic priests were liable to be given the right conditions, imprisoned. The authorities might Catholic practices—including Holy respond to a formal complaint, but Mass—could be tolerated in the even where they did, a timely bribe Dutch colonies even in the 17th could restore the situation to nor- century.

In the 18th century the principle mal. of religious toleration began to spread in the Netherlands. Under a What might have been If there was toleration in prac- placaat of 1730 issued by the states tice in Holland, why would the law of Holland and West Friesland, be enforced more rigidly in the Catholic churches could be licolonies? If a priest had stayed at censed, and Holy Mass was no the Cape, is it possible his presence longer illegal.

Equivalent legislation was might have been tolerated too?

Fr Tachard’s account of his first passed in Great Britain in 1791 and voyage, in a passage never previ- in Ireland in 1793.

The time has come to accept ously remarked upon by historians, offers evidence it might have been that the Catholic religion was not had Catholic priests settled at the uniquely banned at the Cape of Good Hope, and to admit that the Cape in the 17th century. evidence generally cited does not From the Cape, the French ambassadors proceeded to another prove the authorities—Dutch and British—rigidly enforced a specifiDutch colony, Batavia (today’s cally anti-Catholic policy there.

Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia), where they arrived on August 18, n This article was written shortly be1685. Fr Tachard heard that two fore Martin Keenan’s sudden death in missionary priests, whose ship had late 2017.

CLASSIFIEDS

Fr Shaun Vincent Carls SJ

I

T is with great sadness that the Society of Jesus in South Africa (Jesuits) reports the tragic, sudden and unexpected death of our brother, Fr Shaun Vincent Carls SJ, in the early hours of Monday, June 11.

Fr Carls was 54 years old and had been a Jesuit for 25 years, a milestone which he was due to celebrate next month.

He entered the Society on July 1, 1993, and professed his first vows in 1995. He studied at St Joseph’s Theological Institute at Cedara in KwaZulu-Natal, Heythrop College in London, and at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California.

He was ordained a priest at Holy Trinity Catholic church in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, on September 8, 2006. He professed his final vows in the Soci-

ety of Jesus on June 29, 2016.

After ordination, Fr Carls worked at St Martin de Porres parish in Orlando West, Soweto.

He then served on the staff of St Kizito’s Orientation Seminary.

At the time of his death, he was the community superior of St Ignatius House in Auckland Park, Johannesburg. He was also the vocations coordinator for the Jesuits in South Africa.

We ask you to remember him, his family, and the Jesuits in South Africa in your prayers at this difficult time.

We will advise of funeral arrangements.

By David Rowan SJ

ClaSSifieDS

F

self available for confession, and offering Mass, especially in La Verna, and at times in the Vaal Triangle.

Known for his great humour and energy, Fr Hession brought both to his ministry.

He was also a wonderful imi-

tator of people, and this was often his “party trick”. At the Franciscan conventions at La Verna, Fr Hession would always participate in the farewell concert and entertain everyone with his imitations.

He was held in great affection by both the friars and parish communities.

Fr Hession would push himself to do everything he could for anyone who needed his guidance.

He was a beloved brother of Tommy and Frank; and will be greatly missed by his many nephews and nieces, extended family, numerous friends, as well as his Franciscan confrères in South Africa and Ireland.

Fr Hession’s funeral Mass was celebrated at Our Lady Queen of Peace in La Verna, the Franciscan Retreat House, on June 12, and he was buried alongside his Franciscan brothers.

Liturgical Calendar Year B – Weekdays Cycle Year 2 Sunday June 24, Birth of St John the Baptist Isaiah 49:1-6, Psalm 139:1-3, 13-15, Acts 13:22-26, Luke 1:57-66, 80 Monday June 25 2 Kings 17:5-8, 13-15, 18, Psalm 60:3-5, 12-14, Matthew 7:1-5 Tuesday June 26 2 Kings 19:9-11, 14-21, 31-36, Psalm 48:2-4, 10-11, Matthew 7:6, 12-14 Wednesday June 27, St Cyril of Alexandria Birth of St John the Baptist 2 Kings 22:8-13; 23:1-3, Psalm 119:33-37, 40, (Domenico Ghirlandaio) Matthew 7:15-20 Thursday June 28, St Irenaeus 2 Kings 24:8-17, Psalm 79:1-5, 8-9, Matthew 7:21-29 Friday June 29, Ss Peter and Paul Acts 12:1-11, Psalm 34:2-9, 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18, Matthew 16:13-19 Saturday June 30, The First Martyrs of the Church of Rome, Saturday Mass of Our Lady Lamentations 2:2, 10-14, 18-19, Psalm 74:1-7, 20-21, Matthew 8:5-17 Sunday July 1, 13th Sunday of the Year Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24, Psalm 30:2, 4-6, 11-13, 2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 1315, Mark 5:21-43

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Fr Dominic Hession OFM ATHER Dominic Hession OFM, a native of Dublin, died peacefully in South Africa on June 7, a few weeks short of his 80th birthday.

Fr Hession joined the Franciscan Order in 1958 doing his novitiate year in Killarney. He then completed a BA in philosophy at Galway University, and studied theology at the Pontifical University Antonianum in Rome before being ordained to the priesthood in 1966.

He was a parish priest in various townships and was a dedicated retreat director. He also served the order as novice master and the guardian of local communities.

Fr Hession’s health began to deteriorate in 2016. He had to undergo back surgery as well as cochlear implants due to hearing loss, but his mind was fortunately as sharp as ever.

He continued to make him-

the Southern Cross, June 20 to June 26, 2018

of the earth, I pray. amen. alMigHtY gOD, from whom all thoughts of truth and peace proceed, kindle in the hearts of all men the true love of peace, and guide with your pure and peaceable wisdom those who make decisions for the nations of the earth; that in tranquility your kingdom may go forward, till the earth be filled with the knowledge of your love; through Jesus Christ our lord. amen.

PraYerS

MaritZ: Winston and Muriel are preparing to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. they married on June 22, 1968, at St Mary's church in retreat, Cape town, with the ceremony officiated by Fr Feeny (CSsr)

PerSOnal

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MOSt HOlY lOrD, I see your works here on earth. I stand amazed at the beauty and magnificent scenes before me. thank you for my joy that is not claimed by life’s sadness and disappointments. I thank you for keeping me in your wings of love. you are so very precious to me and I will forever be yours in faith and hope.

Blessed be your name in all

fatHer, you have given all peoples one common origin.

It is your will that they be gathered together as one family in yourself. Fill the hearts of mankind with the fire of your love and with the desire to ensure justice for all. By sharing the good things you give us, may we secure an equality for all our brothers and sisters throughout the world. May there be an end to division, strife and war. May there be a dawning of a truly human society built on love and peace. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our lord. amen.

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Our bishops’ anniversaries This week we congratulate: June 25: Bishop Peter Holiday of Kroonstad on the 7th anniversary of his episcopal ordination June 25: Bishop Siegfried Mandla Jwara, Vicar Apostolic of Ingwavuma, on the 2nd anniversary of his episcopal ordination as Titular Bishop of Elephantaria in Proconsulari

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the

13th Sunday: July 1 Readings: Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24, Psalm 30:2, 4-6, 11-13, 2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15 Mark 5:21-43

S outher n C ross

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RELIGION that is any good must do something about the fact that we are all going to die, and give us some grounds for hoping that all will (somehow) be well when that finally comes to us.

In the first reading, the Book of Wisdom (more optimistic than most Old Testament works about life after death) considers precisely that question.

The author’s line is that “God did not make Death, and does not delight in the destruction of the living; for he created everything in order for it to exist”, and then he argues that “God created humanity for immortality, and made him the likeness of his own nature”. So where does Death come from? “It was by the Devil’s envy that Death entered the world.”

The psalm is written by a poet who has had a brush with Death: “I shall extol you, Lord, for you lifted me up and did not make my enemies rejoice over me. The Lord raised my soul up from Sheol.”

Then he invites us to sing along with him: “Sing to the Lord, you his loved ones; praise his holy name.” God has intervened: “You

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Conrad

most important thing in their lives and they did everything in their power to ensure that this was true too for us, their children. And their lives never belied their faith. That’s a strong witness and a gift of incalculable value.

Then there was the witness of my parish church, a rural, immigrant community, small enough so that everyone knew everyone else’s joys and sorrows and was able to share them in faith, even if not always in full neighbourly warmth.

It takes a village to raise a child, in my case it was a parish. As a boy growing up, I could glance around a church and see almost everyone I knew, friend or not, all kneeling together in one faith. That’s a rarity today and no small gift.

Next came the dedication and faith witness of the Ursuline Sisters who came into our rural community to teach in our public schools and were not only our best teachers academically but also catechised us.

By the time I’d reached my teens, I’d memorised two catechisms and had a solid intellectual grasp of the tenets of my faith, a gift whose importance I recognised only later on.

Finally, and in a way that left deep, permanent roots in my soul, there was the voice of the God of my youth. During my youth, God’s voice was strong and clear in-

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Sunday reflections

cisely an act of “destitution”.

Then he quotes Exodus: “The one who had much did not have a surplus, and the one who had a little did not fall short.” This is from the story of the manna in the desert, where life came, not by grabbing everything, but by accepting the generosity of God. The Gospel offers us two stories about Death. The first is that of the daughter of Jairus, a “synagogue-ruler”; we may feel that this is going to mean trouble, but he “falls at Jesus’ feet and begs him many times over, saying, ‘My daughter is in her last extremity.

Please come and lay hands on her, that she may be saved and live.’”

That story is now put on hold, and we meet another woman facing Death of a different kind; for she has a haemorrhage, is thus ritually impure, and should not be out in the crowd; her Death is the sense that she is cut off from all human contact, and perhaps also from God. Mark allows us to eavesdrop on her, as she “came in the crowd and from behind touched Jesus”, which she should not have done, and

changed my mourning into dancing for me, you took off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness…I shall thank you for ever.”

We will notice here that escape from Death is only temporary; but that a strong sense of a God who is active in the world will stand Israel in good stead, and in the end assist Jewish theologians in the direction of a life that continues after death.

In the second reading, Paul is attempting to persuade the Corinthians, who were not short of money, but had deep pockets “that you may overflow in this generous act as well as in everything else, your faith and your speech and your knowledge and all seriousness and in the love that comes to you from us”.

For Paul (and for us also, if we are honest) there is a kind of Death in clinging too firmly to our possessions; it is the opposite of what Jesus did: “In his generosity for your sake he became destitute, although he was rich, in order that you might become rich because of his destitution.”

And if you listen carefully, you can hear Paul reflecting on the death of Jesus as pre-

Stirring the coals of our faith NYONE who has ever watched a fire knows that at a point the flames subside and disappear into smouldering coals which themselves eventually cool and turn into cold, grey ash. But there’s a moment in that process, before they cool off, that the coals can be stirred so as to make them burst into flame again.

That’s the image St Paul uses to encourage us rekindle the fires of our faith when they seem to be burning low: “I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that was once given you.”

It’s a meaningful image. Our faith sometimes needs some stirring in its roots to make it alive and affective again. But how’s that to be done? How do we stir into flame again the fire of our faith?

We stir our faith back into flame by resituating ourselves inside its roots. Despite the fact that faith is a divine gift, it can be helpful sometimes to journey back and examine what earthily forces helped plant the faith inside us.

Who and what helped give us faith? Of course, that’s a deeply personal question that each of us can only answer for himself or herself. For myself, when I try to go back and touch the roots of my faith a number of things come into focus.

First, there was the faith and witness of my parents, the critical piece. Faith was the

Nicholas King SJ

God vanquishes Death

she says, “If I can just touch his clothes, I am going to be saved (the very word that Jairus had used)”.

Then the power of Death is driven back, in two steps. First “the fountain of her blood dried up and she knew in her body that she was healed of her scourge”, but then, and only when she has found life by confessing what she has done, does she hear of the victory over Death from the one who says, “Daughter—your faith has saved you (the third time we have heard the word).”

And the journey to Jairus’ house continues. There, inevitably, and despite the statement, “Your daughter is dead—why trouble the teacher any more?”, and despite the jeering of the mourners, Jesus simply tells her, “Little girl, I’m telling you, rise up.”

And the story ends with the astonishment of the witnesses, and the charming, life-giving command to “give her something to eat”. Death has fled, vanquished.

Southern Crossword #816

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final reflection

side me. Admittedly some of what I took to be God’s voice then was in actuality the voice of fear, timidity, tribalism, and what Freudians term the superego.

But, that being admitted, God’s voice was there too, unavoidable, clear. I know that because much of my youthful fear, timidity, crass tribalism, and superego have long since departed, and the voice of the God of my youth remains inside me still.

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owever, now, sometimes that voice can be quite silent, and it can feel as simply the voice of the naiveté of my youth—Father Christmas, the Easter Bunny, and Jesus—and not something that’s real anymore or indeed ever was really real.

For me, as for everyone, faith-wise, sometimes my imagination and affectivity simply run dry so that my preoccupations preclude God’s presence.

It’s then that I need to stir the seemingly smouldering coals of my faith by making a journey back to reground myself in the reality of my parents’ faith, in the reality of what branded my soul in our small parish community, in the reality of the witness and catechesis of the Ursuline Sisters who taught me, and, not least, in that clear, deeply moral, divine voice that spoke inside me and guided me in my youth.

This kind of journey, I believe, can be helpful for almost everybody, with one cautionary flag: The seeming silence of God in our lives as adults can in fact be a deeper modality of God’s presence rather than a sign of a deteriorating faith.

The voice of God often seems clear in our youth but later on that clarity gives way to what the mystics call “dark nights of the soul”, where God’s seeming absence is not a question of a loss of faith but of a new, richer, less-imaginative mode of God’s presence in our lives.

Fervour is not always a sign of a deep faith, just as the seeming absence of God is not necessarily a sign of a weakening faith. God must be patiently waited for and will arrive in our lives only on God’s terms, not ours.

Even so, St Paul’s advice remains: “I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that was once given you.”

ACROSS

1. Garbles without right the

architectural features (6) 4. Under this king, Haggai addressed Zerubbabel (Hg 1) (6) 9. She goes to the store and just looks (6,7) 10. How the Spirit will live in you (7) 11. Churches may have them for burials (5) 12. Scorn and eat greedily (5) 14. Year’s eventual sacramental number (5) 18. St Anthony’s Italian city (5) 19. Judas involved in rat trio (7) 21. Why patient may leave hospital when rag is bleached (13) 22. They take you on a flight (6) 23. The way that is straight (Ac 9) (6)

DOWN

1. Knight of the Round Table (6) 2. Ed wanted basic change for South Africa’s Servant of God (8,5) 3. Pole goes east to run away secretly (5) 5. Minister at the altar (7) 6. Hardly visible (13) 7. Most certain way to salvation (7) 8. Sacred song among the lamps (5) 13. Make money in your own nest? (7) 15. A suit to suit the gardener?

(6) 16. The birthday bird? (5) 17. Enthusiastic and glowing (6) 20. Turn your eyes away (5)

Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

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HREE nuns were attending a rugby final in Australia. Three men sitting directly behind them decided to badger them as their habits were partially blocking the view. They hoped the nuns would get annoyed, and move.

In a loud voice, the first guy said: “I think I’m going to move to Sydney, there are only 100 nuns there.” The second guy spoke up and said: “I want to go to Tasmania, there are only 50 nuns living there.” The third guy said: “I want to go to New Zealand, there are only 25 nuns living there”.

One of the nuns turned around, looked at the men, and sweetly and calmly said: “Why don’t you go to Hell, there aren’t any nuns there.”

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