180718 by The Southern Cross

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July 18 to July 24, 2018

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The man who sent Mary round the world

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No 5092

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To cut out and collect: Prayer for an unborn baby

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Why we should bother with the Bible

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Bishop to students: Be missionaries BY ERIN CARELSE

M Carlo Acutis and Alexia Gonzalez Barros, two teenagers whose sainthood causes in Italy and Spain respectively have been advanced by Pope Francis who recognised their heroic virtue. It is the first formal step towards canonisation. A miracle attributed to that person's intercession is needed for beatification, the next step towards sainthood. Carlo died in 2006; Alexia in 1985.

Saintly teen a ‘patron’ for IT

NE of the two teenagers whose sainthood cause has been advanced by Pope Francis could one day become the patron saint for information technology. Carlo Acutis, an Italian teen who died of leukemia at the age of 15 in 2006, was exceptionally gifted in working with computers. Carlo developed a website which catalogued Eucharistic miracles. This website was the genesis of “The Eucharistic Miracles of the World”, an international exhibition which highlights such occurrences. Born in London on May 3, 1991, to Italian parents who soon returned to Milan, Carlo was a pious child. He attended daily Mass, frequently prayed the rosary, and made weekly confessions. He offered his suffering for the pope and for the Church. “To always be close to Jesus, that’s my life plan,” he once said. “I'm happy to die because I've lived my life without wasting even a minute of it doing things that wouldn't have pleased God.” He also said that “our aim has to be the infinite and not the finite. The Infinite is our homeland. We have always been expected in Heaven,” and the Eucharist is “my highway to heaven”. Carlo died in Monza on October 12, 2006. Carlo was among four laypeople whose heroic virtues were recognised by the Congre-

gation for the Causes of Saints this month, naming them Venerable. The other teenager whose cause has been advanced is Alexia Gonzalez Barros, who offered her sufferings from a malignant tumour for the Church. Alexia was born in Madrid in 1971. She made her first Communion in Rome and the following day attended the weekly general audience of May 9, 1979. She ran up to Pope John Paul II as he greeted pilgrims and received a blessing and a kiss from the pope. Several years later, her life dramatically changed when doctors discovered a tumour that gradually paralysed her. Throughout her illness, she offered her sufferings for the Church and the pope and would often pray, "Jesus, I want to feel better, I want to be healed; but if you do not want that, I want what you want.” She died at 14 on December 5, 1985. The other two lay people are Pietro Di Vitale (1016-40), an Italian layman and a member of the Third Order of St Francis, and Giorgio La Pira. Mr La Pira was a mayor of Florence and a member of the Third Order of St Dominic. He was an advocate for peace during the Cold War and despite his stature in the international community, he lived in a small cell in the basilica of St Mark in Florence. He died in 1977.

ORE than 150 students and graduates as well as two bishops came together to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Association of Catholic Tertiary Students (ACTS). At the Mass for the celebrations, held at St John Vianney Seminary in Pretoria, Bishop Stanislaw Dziuba of Umzimkulu encouraged the young Catholics to sometimes go against the tide to serve the greater good. The liaison bishop for the youth encouraged young people to love Jesus Christ. “Our life is a response to his call and you will be happy and will build your life well if you can answer to this call. May you feel the Lord’s presence in your life. He is close to each one of you as a companion, as a friend, who knows how to help and understand you, who encourages you in difficult times and never abandons you.” Bishop Dziuba said that “in prayer, in conversation with him, and in reading the Bible, in receiving [the] sacrament of reconciliation and Holy Mass, you will discover that he is truly close”. “You will also learn to read God’s signs in your life. He always speaks to us, also through the events of our time and our daily life: it is up to us to listen to him.” He called on the people to live lives of active charity, but noted that this is possible only with spiritual formation and a relationship with Jesus Christ. He encouraged the young Catholics to always “be the missionary disciples of Jesus”. Bishop Dziuba said that Acts and its members receive the support from local parishes, priests, chaplains and diocesan bishops, “as it is the whole Church’s responsibility to accompany young people on their journey of faith”. Concelebrating the Mass was Bishop Jan de Groef of Bethlehem, liaison bishop for the laity. At the celebrations, long-time Acts chaplain Fr Michael Hagan was a special guest of

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honour. The Schoenstatt priest served the organisation as its chaplain from 1996 to 2010. To loud applause, he was presented with a stole and a chasuble adorned with the Acts logo. Acts is an outreach of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference to Catholics studying at tertiary institutions in South Africa. It was formed in 1993 when the previously mostly black Catholic Students Association and the mostly white National Catholic Federation of Students effectively amalgamated. Acts is presently active on campuses in seven provinces. Coinciding with the silver jubilee celebrations, Acts elected its new national executive for 2018/19. Sizwe Vilakazi from the Eastern Cape was elected as president, Karabo Rallele (Gauteng) as secretary-general, Nozipho Ntshangase (KwaZulu-Natal) as treasurer-general, and Khethiwe Maphosa (KwaZulu-Natal) as secretary for media and publicity.

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CATHOLIC FRANCE Led by Bishop Joe Sandri

The Southern Cross, July 18 to July 25, 2018

LOCAL

Zim bishops: election opens new doors STAFF REPORTER

effects of these changes have yet to be felt, especially regarding employment. The bishops called on Zimbabweans to “put any fear and disillusionment of previous elections behind them and prepare carefully for generous participation in the electoral process that is central to our democracy”. Referring to a rally in Bulawayo at which a man threw an explosive device onto the stage where Mr Mnangagwa was speaking, killing two bodyguards, the pastoral letter encouraged citizens not to be discouraged by “recent isolated events of violence and bomb attacks” which they called “regrettable, unacceptable and unfortunate for the country”.

S Zimbabwe prepares for its first post-Mugabe election, the country’s bishops see much hope but also note some disappointment with President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who assumed office in November. “In the six months since the resignation of Mugabe and the appointment of Emmerson Mnangagwa as interim president, we have seen many reasons for hope,” said the bishops of Zimbabwe in a pastoral letter, entitled “Opening A New Door”. The bishops welcomed the new freedom and the anti-corruption measures by the government. However, they noted, many Zimbabweans are disappointed that the

Even if the election result gives no outright majority to any of the 23 candidate or party, this month’s election represents a door to “a new Zimbabwe”, the bishops said. “Whatever the results, a new Zimbabwean politics will need to be more collaborative, inclusive and based not on one or two leaders, however effective and charismatic, but rather on strong democratic institutions that embody and secure the values of our democracy.” The bishops continued: “We invite you, therefore, to look beyond these elections, important though they are, and set our main focus on the type of society that we desire in Zimbabwe. “We need to look at the bigger picture. Ultimately, what we are vot-

ing for is not this or that government but rather a particular kind of society for ourselves and for our children.” The election, they added, is “a moment in our history that could prove to be pivotal”. The bishops, however, also expressed their concern about “the continuing role of the military, with the risks to the freedom of our political processes that this might carry for the future”. The pastoral letter ended with a prayer for peaceful elections. “We are at a new ‘Kairos moment’ in the history of Zimbabwe, a moment of grace,” the bishops said, calling on parishes, schools, religious communities, universities and colleges to use prayer individually and collectively.

Little Eden head hands over baton

Retiring Little Eden CEO Lucy Slaviero (left) with new CEO Xelda Rohrbeck and resident Mutshidzi.

ONGTIME Little Eden CEO Lucy Slaviero, 65, is retiring and the society’s Xelda Rohrbeck, 35, will succeed her from September. The two will be working together over the remaining period to ensure a smooth transition for the two homes for children and adults with profound intellectual disability. Mrs Slaviero has been involved with Little Eden since she was a girl of 14, and will continue to be once she retires. “When I accepted the position of CEO of Little Eden 22 years ago, I did so with some trepidation,” she

said. “I had some very big shoes to fill—those of my father and mother, the founders of Little Eden, Danny and Domitilla Hyams, then 76 and 79 years of age.” Mrs Rohrbeck started as a parttime receptionist, introduced to Little Eden by her now-husband, Michael Rohrbeck, one of Mr and Mrs Hyams’ grandchildren. Mrs Rohrbeck then did a BCom honours in strategic management at the University of Johannesburg, and worked within the hospitality industry until 2008. Prior to the birth of her two sons, she returned to Little Eden, and over

the past 10 years moved from office administrator, to administration manager, to operations manager. “Lucy has been an inspiration to me over the years, and I have learned much from her,” Mrs Rohrbeck said. “I am committed first and foremost to maintaining the ‘golden thread’ of values woven into the fabric of Little Eden, which makes it the very special place it is.” n For more information about Little Eden Society, contact Nichollette Muthige on 011 609 7246, info@ littleeden.org.za, or visit www. littleede.org.za

Johannesburg CWL Sisonke fête in August

HE Catholic Women’s League in Johannesburg archdiocese is gearing up for its Sisonke fête, set to be the biggest yet, with about 60 stalls. The archdiocese’s more than 78 CWL branches will be taking part in the fête, which will be held at De La Salle Holy Cross College in Victory Park on August 5. There will be an array of foods from various traditions, fun games and competitions for children, a pipe

band, a dog show, and music to suit all tastes. Secure parking will be available. CWL branches support their parishes by assisting with funeral teas and catering for events. Members raise money, give their time, and provide help to the poor in their parishes. The organisation also has many ongoing major projects, and all monies raised from the fête will go towards these projects. They include: • Mary Immaculate Queen pre-

school centre in Eldorado Park in Johannesburg South, which serves the surrounding areas and provides affordable, thorough pre-school education. • The Adoption Society, which deals with foster care, counselling, and placing of babies for adoption locally and overseas. • Kopanong soup kitchen, which serves soup to nearly 300 of the elderly when they collect their pensions in Dobsonville, Soweto.

• Mmamohau Motshehetsi community care and support, which looks after orphans, vulnerable children and senior citizens. • Wonke Wonke daycare in Soweto, for over 21 years • Barcelona squatter camp in Daveyton, providing social work services, before and after-school care, and meals. n For any queries or help, contact fête convenor Ann Scott on 083 449 7914, or annscott197@gmail.com

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LOCAL

Pope prays for all seafarers

OPE Francis prayed for seafarers, fishermen, and their families as churches across the world celebrated Sea Sunday. “I pray for them and their families as well as for the chaplains and volunteers of Apostleship of the Sea,” the pontiff said at the Sunday Angelus in St Peter’s Square. Pope Francis also made mention “of those who live in unworthy work situations at sea”.

Other messages highlighted seafarers’ hardships, such as abandonment, inadequate personal time to rest and relax, and piracy. It is estimated that a third of all seafarers and fishermen are Catholic, with a large number coming from countries such as India, the Philippines and Poland. The Sea Sunday collection in Cape Town archdiocese will go to Apostleship of the Sea.

St Augustine’s Primary School in Durban celebrates the appointment of Craig Thomas as the first male principal of the school. A small reception was held at the school. Cardinal Wilfrid Napier attended to give a special blessing to the new principal. (From left) Retiring head Judy Fynn, Coleen Hoover, Cardinal Napier, Angela Pienaar, Esther Mathebula, Mr Thomas, the new principal’s mother Mrs Thomas, and Sr Cede HF.

The Southern Cross, July 18 to July 25, 2018

Support for the journeys of loss we have to take BY ERIN CARELSE

JOHANNESBURG parish will be hosting programmes for those needing divorce/separation or grief counselling and support next month. St John’s in North Riding will offer the DivorceCare and GriefShare programmes, each running for 13 weeks. Marlene, who attended a GriefShare programme, told The Southern Cross about what she called her “journey of grief”. She described it as being like falling down a waterfall, arms flailing, trying to grab onto anything; then going underwater to a dark place of despair, where she could not see or feel. “I was swimming around in circles, not knowing where to go, whose advice to follow, what to do. “I felt confused, sad and bewildered, and questioned whether my experience was true or a dream,” said Marlene, who asked that her

surname not be used. “I came to GriefShare about eight weeks after Luke passed away; they were already more than halfway through the programme. It was suggested that I come again in February when the new course would start. I decided not to wait as I didn’t want to reopen wounds and feel the pain again. So I floundered on,” she recalled. “Slowly I started to move and attempted to swim in a direction, but fear and sadness overcame me when I least expected it, and I

stopped. I tried again and again, and felt I was getting nowhere. A feeling of emptiness consumed me. “I then realised I had to shift my way of seeing, make a decision and set goals for myself,” Marlene said. She said the programme benefitted her greatly. “I have learned to accept what has happened, have learned more about myself, have learned that I can do things again, have learned to smile and be happy again, and learned that God is with me each step of the way. He is my Saviour, my Comforter,” Marlene said. “And I have met wonderful friends. This journey was not a planned trip, unlike other trips, but it’s a trip I had to take,” she said. DivorceCare, to assist in dealing with divorce or separation, starts on August 2 at 19:00. GriefShare begins on August 4 at 10:00. The cost for each programme is R200, which goes towards the programme handbook. n For more information contact Arianna on 071 138 8401.

‘Changing the story’ of jobless youths

HE Salesian Institute Youth Projects has launched an appeals campaign to “change the story” of unemployed youths’ lives through potential-fulfilling programmes. According to the latest statistics, the official unemployment rate is 26,7%. Stats SA added that the unemployment rate among young people aged 15–34 is 38,2%, meaning more than one in every three young people in the labour force did not have a job in the first quarter of 2018. Hilton Nyirenda, CEO of the Cape Town-based Salesian Institute Youth Projects (SIYP), noted that nearly 44% of South African youths either drop out of or do not attend school even though they have a right to basic education. “It is precisely these youths who slide into a life of gangsterism, crime, drug and alcohol abuse, vio-

lence, poverty, and the cycle of hopelessness,” said Mr Nyirenda. “The unemployed percentage of youth who do not finish school has reached a critical stage.” The Salesian Institute aims to reduce poverty by training unemployed youth for jobs. It relies heavily on donations and funding to keep operational. Although some funding is received from the Western Cape Department of Education and Skills Development, it isn’t nearly enough to increase the institute’s impact in 2018. This year alone, it will cost SIYP around R18 million to help youth at risk in Cape Town and surrounds through the organisation’s various initiatives. These include its Youth Employment Skills Programme (375 people), Waves of Change (200), Learn to Live School of Skills (200) and Salesian Outreach (4 500), be-

sides 50 000 meals per year, as well as school uniforms and supplies for impoverished learners. “Our new appeal campaign is to demonstrate how a person is born with an empty book—their story is not yet written—and how this story unfolds can change in just one moment,” Mr Nyirenda said. “In the case of the youths whose lives we touch, a simple contribution can go a long way to influence their story to take a positive turn,” he said. “When we change their outlook, that’s the opportunity to change their lives. Our job is to give them opportunities, to nurture and empower them,” he said. “We hope that by heeding the call for donations, people will help us continue to enable marginalised youth to dream, and succeed.” n For more information or to donate, go to www.salesianyouth.org/ donate-today/donate/

Pilgrimage to lourdes

Salesian Institute board member Lynn Stevens, centre, who received an award for her service, is seen with (from left) bursar and former provincial Fr Pat Naughton SDB, her mother Freda Stevens, rector Fr Jeffrey Johnson SDB, and her aunt Sophie Roman.

Salesians honour board achiever

T a high tea at the Salesian Institute in Cape Town, board member Lynn Stevens was awarded the Rector Major’s Medallion in recognition of her dedicated service to the Salesian mission to needy youth. Rector Fr Jeffrey Johnson SDB presented the medallion in the name of the congregation. Celebrating the honour were Ms Stevens’ mother, Freda Stevens, her aunt, Sophie Roman, close friends, and the Salesian community. Bursar and former provincial Fr Pat Naughton SDB said her expertise in advertising helped produce an annual report that was the envy of many organisations. She was also responsible for the Department of Education subsidising the Learn to Live School, a key project. Ms Stevens lived the Salesian ethos, and brought a high level of professionalism to the organisation, Fr Naughton said.

led by Fr Mbeki and Fr. lebofa Visiting Lourdes, Bartres, Paris, Nevers. Visit the incorrupt body of Sister Bernadette 11 – 20 August 2019 R 34 995.00 incl. Airport taxes

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Two East London parishes went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The group from St Francis Xavier parish in Pefferville and St Martin de Porres parish in Buffalo Flats was led by St Francis Xavier parish priest Fr Christopher Slater OFM.

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The Southern Cross, July 18 to July 24, 2018

INTERNATIONAL

Cardinal: Middle East plays vital role in Christian unity BY JuNNO AROCHO ESTEVES

P Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes Solorzano of Managua, Nicaragua, and Auxiliary Bishop Silvio Baez Ortega on the day they were among Nicaraguan bishops and clergy attacked by armed groups aligned with the government Diriamba. (Photo: Oswaldo Rivas, Reuters/CNS)

Bishops attacked in Nicaragua BY DAVID AGREN

ICARAGUAN bishops and clergy were attacked by armed groups aligned with the government as violence in the Central American country escalated and affected the Catholic Church, which has provided humanitarian assistance in its parishes and has tried to diffuse a worsening political crisis through dialogue. Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes Solorzano of Managua and his auxiliary, Bishop Silvio Baez Ortega, and Archbishop Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag, the apostolic nuncio, were among clergy from Managua pummelled as they attempted to protect St Sebastian basilica in the city of Diriamba from an incursion by a pro-govern-

ment mob. Bishop Baez and at least one other priest were injured. Journalists were also attacked and had cameras and other equipment stolen. The bishops and clergy also tried to free anti-government protesters inside the church as masked individuals and mobs outside chanted “murderers” at the prelates. Pro-government media, meanwhile, accused the Church of allowing weapons to be stored inside its properties. “I was injured, punched in the stomach, they took my episcopal symbols away from me, and verbally attacked me,” Bishop Baez tweeted, along with a picture of a gash on his arm and his bloodstained habit. “I’m OK, thank God. The basilica is free and so are those who were inside.”—CNS

OPE Francis’ visit to the southern Italian Adriatic port city of Bari was an occasion to once again affirm the Church’s closeness with persecuted Christians in the Middle East, Swiss Cardinal Kurt Koch said. As the birthplace of Christianity, the Middle East plays a special role in promoting a path towards unity, the cardinal said. “The Middle East, which is a martyred region, is a place where ecumenical relations are strongest and most promising, particularly between Orthodox and Catholics,” said Cardinal Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The cardinal said the persecution and suffering of Christians in the Middle East is an “ecumenical incentive” for Christians around the world. Christian leaders, he said, must work together to avoid a scenario of “a Middle East without Christians; not for religious reasons but also for political and social reasons, because Christians are an essential element of balance in the region”. Pope Francis travelled to Bari to host a day of reflection and ecumenical prayer for peace in the Middle East. The pope began the service by welcoming the patriarchs and Christian leaders and thanking

Pope Francis greets Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople outside the basilica of St Nicholas in Bari, Italy. (Photo: Vatican media/CNS) them for joining him in prayer for the Middle East, which he described as a source of “ever fresh streams of spirituality and monasticism”. However, he added, the light of the region has been dimmed by the “dark clouds of war, violence and destruction”, which threaten to cast out Christians “amid the complicit silence of many”. “There is also the danger that the presence of our brothers and sisters in the faith will disappear, disfiguring the very face of the region. For a Middle East without Christians would not be the Middle East,” the pope said. As war continues to threaten the land of Jesus’ birth and to undermine the existence of Christian

communities there, the international community must learn from the errors of the past and do more to bring lasting peace to the Middle East, Pope Francis said. “Do not forget the previous century; do not forget the lessons of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; do not let the land of the East, where the Word of peace arose, be transformed into a dark expanse of silence,” the pope said after a private meeting with the heads of Christian Churches and communities in the Middle East. In a speech delivered to the faithful outside the basilica of St Nicholas, the pope said members of the group were encouraged by their dialogue, which “was a sign that encounter and unity are always found without fear of differences”. Pope Francis denounced arms dealers who have taken advantage of the conflicts by selling weaponry, and called for an end to the “personal profit of a few on the skin of many”. “Enough with the occupation of lands that tear people apart. Enough with the prevalence of half-truths over people’s hopes. Enough with using the Middle East for profits that are foreign to the Middle East,” he said. Before ending the meeting with the release of two white doves, Pope Francis once again called for peace in Jerusalem whose “status quo as the capital of three religions demands to be respected”.—CNS

Priest spat on at “Orange Walk” New head for SSPX

A 1 Plein Street, Sidwell, Port Elizabeth

FTER a priest was spat at, verbally abused and lunged at with a pole while a sectarian “Orange Walk” passed by his parish in Glasgow, there have been widespread calls to regulate further or to ban outright the Protestant processions. Fr Tom White was meeting and greeting parishioners after a Mass at St Alphonsus parish when participants in an ‘Orange march’ attacked him “before police arrived to restore some kind of order”, the archdiocese of Glasgow said. “What kind of society is it that allows ministers of religion and church goers to be intimidated and attacked by a group which has a long history of fomenting fear and anxiety on city streets?”, the Glasgow archdiocese asked police and the city council. “Why is the Orange Order still allowed to schedule its intimidating parades on streets containing Catholic churches at times when people are trying to get in and out for Mass?” Orange walks are organised by the Protestant fraternal group the Orange Order, largely in Northern Ire-

land and Scotland, to commemorate the defeat of Catholic King James II by William of Orange at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. Scotland has experienced significant sectarian division since the Scottish Reformation of the 16th century, which led to the formation of the Church of Scotland, an ecclesial community in the Calvinist and Presbyterian tradition which is the country’s largest religious community. Sectarianism and crimes motivated by anti-Catholicism have been on the rise in Scotland in recent years. The Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland has denied any involvement in the assault. “We totally condemn the bigoted actions of those involved and hope that they are dealt with to the full extent of the law,” it said in a statement. According to the Scottish Sun, Glasgow’s Orange Walk included thousands of marchers, and four arrests were made in connection with the demonstration, though none were related to the attack on Fr White.—CNA

HE Society of St Pius X (SSPX), a canonically irregular priestly society, has elected Fr Davide Pagliarani, 47, as its superior-general to succeed Bishop Bernard Fellay. The SSPX was founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1970 to form priests, as a response to what he described as errors that had crept into the Church after the Second Vatican Council. Its relations with the Holy See became particularly strained in 1988 when Archbishop Lefebvre and Bishop Antonio de Castro Mayer consecrated four bishops without the permission of Pope John Paul II. The illicit episcopal consecrations resulted in the excommunication of the bishops involved. The excommunications of the surviving bishops were lifted in 2009 by Benedict XVI, and since then negotiations “to rediscover full communion with the Church” have continued between the SSPX and the Vatican. The biggest obstacles for the SSPX’s reconciliation have been statements on religious liberty in Vatican II’s declaration Dignitatis humanae as well as the declaration Nostra aetate. There were indications in recent years of movement towards regularisation of the priestly society, which has some 590 priestmembers.—CNA

Cardinal: Peace deal an answer to prayer BY FRANCIS NJuGuNA

THIOPIA’S Catholic Cardinal Berhaneyesus Souraphiel commended the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments for signing a peace accord. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki signed the peace pact in the Eritrean capital, Asmara. Cardinal Souraphiel said: “This is a historic step taken by the prime minister of Ethiopia within the first 100 days since he took office. The joyous reception of Eritreans to the Ethiopian prime minister and his delegation shows that this has been the prayers of the people. It is very pleasing to the Catholic Church that the prayers of the people of both countries have been answered.” For decades, the two countries have been at loggerheads on issues that include the border. An estimated 80 000 people are believed to have been killed

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerk sign the peace declaration in Asmara, Eritrea. (Photo: Ghideon Musa Aron/Reuters/CNS) between 1998-2000 over a fierce border conflict. However, after the two countries signed a UN-brokered border agreement in 2000, they failed to implement it. Cardinal Souraphiel said the “steps

taken so far by both governments prove that Africans have the wisdom to solve their problems themselves. The Catholic Church will continue to pray both for Ethiopia and Eritrea”. Speaking in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as Eritrean government officials arrived in the country, Cardinal Souraphiel noted that Catholics had been praying for peace since the conflict started. “Even though it was not easy, the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ethiopia and Eritrea continued to meet and exchange notes on the pastoral concerns of the two conflicting countries,” he said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also praised the leaders on the signing of the peace pact. The reconciliation was “illustrative of a new wind of hope blowing across Africa”, he said, stressing that sanctions imposed on Eritrea might become obsolete after the deal.—CNS

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, July 18 to July 24, 2018

Pope: Will we leave only rubble, deserts and refuse? BY CAROL GLATz

W Italian journalist Paolo Ruffini has been appointed as head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication. Mr Ruffini, who headed the television and radio network of the Italian bishops, will be the first layperson to head the communications body. (Photo: TV2000/CNS)

Lay journalist to head Vatican communications BY CAROL GLATz

OPE Francis has named a lay Italian journalist with decades of experience in print, radio and television broadcasting to head the Vatican’s Secretariat for Communication. Paolo Ruffini, 61, who headed the Italian conference of Catholic bishops’ TV and radio network, was named prefect of the dicastery, making him the first layperson to head such a high-level Vatican dicastery. He succeeds Italian Mgr Dario Vigano, who resigned as prefect in March after a controversy involving the use and photographing of a letter from retired Pope Benedict XVI. Born in Palermo in 1959, Mr Ruffini received a degree in law at Rome’s La Sapienza University. He worked for a number of major Italian newspapers beginning in 1979, then began working for radio news programmes in 1996. He started

working in television news in 2002. He served as the head of the Italian Conference of Catholic Bishops’ television and radio stations—TV2000 and Radio InBlu, from 2014 to 2018. He has received numerous awards for journalism, according to a Vatican press release. Pope Francis created the Secretariat for Communication in 2015 to streamline and coordinate the Vatican’s many news and communications outlets and make them more effective. The Vatican has since changed its name to Dicastery for Communication. The development of digital media, with its converging technologies and interactive capabilities, required “a rethinking of the information system of the Holy See” and a reorganisation that proceeded “decisively toward integration and a unified management”, the pope wrote in the letter establishing the new dicastery.—CNS

French cardinal dies at 75 BY CAROL GLATz

HE French cardinal who in 2013 announced the new pope from the balcony of St Peter’s basilica has died at 75. Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, an experienced diplomat and head of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, died in Hartford, Connecticut, where he was receiving medical treatment. The cardinal, who had been living with Parkinson’s disease, led a Vatican delegation to Saudi Arabia in April. But it was his role as proto-deacon, or top-ranking cardinal deacon, in 2013 that put him more squarely in the spotlight, appearing at the basilica balcony to announce to the world, Habemus papam! (“We have a pope!”). Cardinal Tauran left a deep and lasting mark on the Church, said Pope Francis, noting the great trust and esteem in which he was held, particularly by Muslims. “I have fond memories of this man of profound faith who courageously served the Church of Christ to the end, despite the weight of disease,” the pope wrote. Born in Bordeaux, France, on April 5, 1943, the cardinal was ordained to the priesthood in 1969 and entered the Vatican’s diplomatic service in 1975. He was named the Holy See’s undersecretary for relations with states in 1988, then secretary of the department in 1990. For the next 13 years, he was Pope John Paul II’s de facto foreign minister. Most of his work has been behind the scenes, with daily unpublicised meetings with diplomats accredited to the Holy See and with

HILE everyone has a role and responsibility to help safeguard the planet, all governments must uphold commitments agreed upon in the Paris Accord on reducing climate change, Pope Francis said. Without concerted and immediate efforts towards sustainable development, “there is a real danger that we will leave future generations only rubble, deserts and refuse,” he said. The pope made his remarks in an address to 300 people taking part in a international conference organised by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. The conference, “Saving our Common Home and the Future of Life on Earth”, brought together indigenous and young activists, scientific experts, religious leaders and Vatican officials to assess the impact of Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home, and to discuss the best ways to act in promoting “integral ecology”. At the beginning of the meeting, children from Nomadelfia, an international community in Grosseto, Italy, performed for participants. The scientific community has developed increasingly accurate assessments in regard to the climate crisis, the pope said. “The pace of consumption, waste and environmental change has so stretched the planet’s capacity that our contemporary lifestyle, unsus-

The

Wildflowers in a park. While everyone has a role and responsibility to help safeguard the planet, all governments must uphold commitments agreed upon in the Paris Accord on reducing climate change, Pope Francis said. (Photo: Bob Roller/CNS) tainable as it is, can only precipitate catastrophes, such as those which even now periodically occur in different areas of the world,” he said. Humanity has the know-how and means to cooperate responsibly in safeguarding the Earth, the pope said, and governments, individuals, financial institutions and religious leaders all have a responsibility and role to play. He said the 24th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, COP24, in Poland in December “could prove a milestone on the path set out by the 2015 Paris Agreement”.

“We all know that much still needs to be done to implement that agreement. All governments should strive to honour the commitments made in Paris, in order to avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis,” Pope Francis said. Greenhouse gas reduction “requires honesty, courage and responsibility, above all on the part of those countries which are more powerful and pollute the most”, he said, and “we cannot afford to waste time”. “A financial paradigm shift” that promotes integral human development is also needed.” Financial institutions—which are part of the problem and, therefore, part of the solution—have to become an instrument used to create “more inclusive and sustainable development”, the pope said. He highlighted the importance of showing particular concern and including young people and indigenous communities in environmental efforts. “It grieves us to see the lands of indigenous peoples expropriated and their cultures trampled on by predatory schemes and by new forms of colonialism, fuelled by the culture of waste and consumerism,” he said. For many indigenous cultures, land “is not a commodity but rather a gift from God and from their ancestors”. “How much we can learn from them! The lives of indigenous peoples are a living memory of the mission that God has entrusted to us all: the protection of our common home,” Pope Francis said.—CNS

S outher n C ross Pilgrimage 2019

HOLY LAND & ROME 5 – 17 May 2019

French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran announces Habemus papam! (We have a pope!) from the central balcony of St Peter’s basilica in 2013 at the Vatican. Cardinal Tauran has died aged 75. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS) visiting dignitaries. But sometimes he was called upon to express Vatican positions more openly—on war and peace, on the Holy Land or on the rights of minority Catholic communities. Pope John Paul ordained him an archbishop in January 1991 and elevated him to the College of Cardinals in 2003, soon after making him head of the Vatican Library and the Vatican Secret Archives. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI named him president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, the office overseeing the Vatican's dialogue efforts with representatives of other faiths, including Islam. His death leaves the College of Cardinals with 225 members, 124 of whom are under 80 and therefore eligible to vote in a conclave.— CNS

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The Southern Cross, July 18 to July 25, 2018

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

50 years Humanae vitae

UCH has changed in the half century since the release of Pope Paul VI’s controversial encyclical Humanae vitae (“Of Human Life”), and yet a lot of it is more prophetic now than it was in 1968. While it is tempting to reduce Humanae vitae, released 50 years ago on July 25, to its prohibition of the conjugal use of artificial contraceptives—which remains controversial even now—the encyclical was much more than that. Indeed, in evaluating the encyclical, it may be useful to distinguish between what concerns the disciplines regarding birth control addressed to individuals, and the sociological impact of the “sexual revolution” which was driven, at least in part, by the availability and normalisation of contraceptives. Even those who disagree with the prohibition on artificial birth control will find pertinent insights in Humanae vitae, such as its concern about the devaluation and objectification of sex, the alienation of sex from its primary procreative function, the decline of marriage, and the creeping loss of the sense of sanctity of life, especially the unborn. Pope Paul discerned many of the harmful consequences of a sexual revolution that in 1968 was still nascent. But we must beware of using 1968—the sexual revolution and Humanae vitae—as some kind of moral breaking point. For example, the notion (suggested by an essayist in this edition) that the sexual exploitation of women, which found its opposition in the #MeToo campaign, is a result of the sexual revolution, is open to challenge. Arguably, it is a greater openness towards sexuality which facilitated #MeToo, whereas older standards—including and especially those which preceded 1968—tended to conceal and even trivialise sexual exploitation and violence. All the same, sexual violence is still a reality, and it is being fed by a combination of social factors which include the modern objectification of sex—in pornography, on film and on magazine covers— as well as old-fashioned patriarchal dominion. On the sociology of Humanae vitae, most Catholics can broadly agree. But the 50th anniversary of the encyclical is a good time to bridge the polarisation the encyclical created with its restate-

ment of Catholic tradition which proscribes artificial contraception. For large numbers of Catholics, this polarisation is unimportant. They either follow the teachings of the Church, or they believe that the ideals of Humane vitae make unrealisable demands on them, or they choose to simply disregard the Church’s teachings in the belief that the prospect of their salvation is not diminished by the use of artificial contraception. Before Pope Paul wrote the encyclical, he asked a commission of eminent persons to advise him on the contraception question. The commission in 1967 concluded that artificial birth control was not intrinsically evil and that its use should be at the discretion of married couples. In the event, the pope disregarded his commission’s majority recommendations. That decision was his papal prerogative, but it cannot be said that there ever existed a consensus on the disciplines taught by Humanae vitae. And experience shows that such a consensus cannot be enforced. The late theologian Avery Dulles SJ observed in 1993 that by the time Humanae vitae was issued, “many Catholics had made up their minds to follow the less rigorous opinion, which was presented as solidly probable”. The theological dissent following the encyclical “was in itself a manifestation of the popular conviction that contraception was tolerable and sometimes necessary”. The teachings of Humanae vitae can be modified, but it is unlikely that Pope Francis is inclined to do so. Rather, he may well try to bridge the gap between doctrine and pastoral application, as he has already done in other areas. It is conceivable (to coin a pun) that Pope Francis may bring the Church in line with the widespread pastoral practice in most parishes, which leaves the use of artificial contraceptives to the informed conscience of the faithful. At the same time, the Church must continue to point out the ethical, spiritual, social and medical problems with artificial contraceptives, and propose reasonable alternatives for family planning, such as the Billings method. Fifty years after Humanae vitae, and in the year of his canonisation, that may be a solution Pope Paul VI could accept.

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.

Where is Church’s public profile? WRITE with concern in connec- adequate sources. Ieditorial tion with various articles and the “The best efforts of some people published in The Southern notwithstanding, the local Church’s Cross of July 4. The front-page lead article mentions the absence of political leaders at the bicentennial of the founding of the Catholic Church in South Africa; Archbishop Stephen Brislin noted that there was a change in venue, resulting in invitations being sent out later than anticipated. The editorial notes: “The diminution of the Catholic Church’s profile in South Africa—to the extent that its existence barely registers with politicians or the public—can be attributed to its negligent attitude to media over the past 25 years. After 1994, the bishops’ Social Communications Commission was successively downgraded, staffed part-time by priests already burdened with pastoral responsibilities, and deprived of

Substance abuse: parishes must act

HAVE become alarmingly aware of the growing tendency of substance abuse in our parish communities, mainly among the young. And I am beginning to think that every parish should have a substance abuse ministry, and perhaps every diocese a Catholic rehabilitation facility, to which parishes could send affected people. There is really a crying need for this. A March 2018 edition of Time magazine was completely dedicated to stories of substance abuse in America. It is extremely frightening. So many young people are dying. Time said that “drug overdoses kill nearly 64 000 people per year in America and this is causing the nation’s life expectancy to fall”. In the US it is termed an epidemic, which demands urgent attention. South Africa also has grave problems. Are we going to wait until we too have a substance abuse epidemic before we do something as Church, in our parishes? The public rehabs operating today are overpriced, so most people cannot afford them. This is why we need to act as Church. Maybe we could invite Cenacolo and more Farms of Hope to South Africa as their recovery methods work well? Both these Catholic rehabs operate more or less in the same way. And I think they do have the best way, which is prayer, work and community—with great results. We have one Farm of Hope already in South Africa, at Bethlehem in the Free State. Another thought that comes to mind: why do we, as Catholics, play down Perpetual Eucharistic Adora-

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approach to media has been inadequate and often amateurish, even in its dealings with Catholic media. By contrast, the office of the Anglican archbishop of Cape Town includes two full-time media professionals who communicate the vision, hopes and concerns of their Church to the public.” One can conclude that the profile of the Catholic Church needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. I am sure that other religious denominations also have somewhat higher profiles than that of the Catholic Church in South Africa. While Catholic media such as The Southern Cross and Radio Veritas do, to an extent, try to fill this gap, with their limited resources, it is certainly not sufficient.

tion? I never hear it being suggested. No one seems to mention it. I truly believe that if every parish in South Africa had as many hours of Adoration as they could, we would see a remarkable change in our country, in all spheres. There are only 168 hours in a week, so Perpetual Adoration is not out of our reach. We need only 168 people in every parish to be willing to keep Jesus company for an hour. Most of our parishes have ten times that number of parishioners. The graces of this would heal our country in many ways: our drug-related problems would ease, as would our political problems. I pray that we try to do something about this. Incidentally, both Cenacolo and Farms of Hope include Perpetual Adoration as part of their healing ministry. Moira Gilmore, Durban

Eucharist is no small-print issue

ATRICK Dacey writes about the following dilemma in the German episcopate (May 30): Can a Catholic priest refuse Holy Communion to non-Catholic spouses of Catholics? Mr Dacey compares this to somebody who invites his siblings for lunch, but refuses to give food to his in-laws. This is of course the wrong comparison, because what for one person is bread, is for another the body, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is not focusing on small print as Mr Dacey asserts, because the Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. JH Goossens, Pretoria

How often have we, the Catholic Church, been on TV (such as eNCA and SABC)? Do we use social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook? Are the Church’s websites updated regularly and efficiently? We need regular press releases and articles that should be issued to secular newspapers. The profile of the Church and its agencies needs some serious attention and upliftment. I am sure that there are capable and willing Catholics who would offer their time, talent and funds to assist the bishops’ conference in putting together a media strategy that could be rolled out to properly raise the profile of the Catholic Church in South Africa. This should include employment of at least two full-time professionals to roll out the strategy. And it should be done as a matter of urgency. Patrick Roger & Lena Shamley, Johannesburg

Church problem regarding Mary

EVERAL articles on the position of Our Lady in the Church have been carried in The Southern Cross. Your Nigeria columnist Joseph Ani Arinze mentioned the strong devotion to Mary in his country, and said many seem to worship Mary in place of, or on a par with, God. A fellow Nigerian wrote to refute this, saying critics falsely accuse Nigerian Catholics of making Mary as important as God. Then an article mentioned that many Christian denominations unfairly condemn the Church for the special honour given to Mary. As we can see, the common perception is that Mary receives too much attention/adoration, and that this should be reserved for God. I feel the reason for this problem is the Catholic Church’s tradition that Mary is the mother of God the Father, which she is not. Mary was created by God, so she cannot be his mother. Mary is the mother of Jesus, the incarnation. This makes her a special and blessed woman, with a place of honour and love—but not worship. It is time the Church stopped promoting this wrong idea that Mary is the mother of God the Father. If this was done, I am sure it would help a lot of people who have not wanted to pray to Mary or look to her for help, to do so. Peter Hoar, Waterfall, KZN Opinions expressed in The Southern Cross do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor or staff of the newspaper, or of the Catholic hierarchy. letters can be sent to PO Box 2372, cape town 8000 or editor@scross.co.za or faxed to 021 465-3850

011 284 2917 www.casaserena.co.za

6:39

The Southern Cross, July 18 to July 24, 2018

PERSPECTIVES

Bishop gave us prophetic witness T HIS month we learnt of the resignation of Bishop Francisco de Gouveia from the pastoral leadership of the diocese of Oudtshoorn, after just eight years in office. A statement by the SACBC president, Archbishop Stephen Brislin, cited physical ailments and depression. The revelation of the latter, made no doubt with Bishop de Gouveia’s consent, is a good witness by the Church to the world which still stigmatises mental and psychological ailments. Bishop de Gouveia has walked the talk of self-knowledge and self-acceptance which he taught us as rector of St Francis Xavier Orientation Seminary in Crawford, Cape Town, in 1996. He stressed that these were the signs of maturity which every priest—and every sound person— should portray. He resigned in his 67th year of life. Bishops are expected to retire at 75, though some continue to serve right up to 80. Depending on how old they were at appointment, bishops can be at the helm for 40 years, as 35 is the minimum eligible age of being named to the episcopate. Bishop de Gouveia retired after eight years. This renders Bishop de Gouveia’s resignation, or early retirement, very prophetic. He realised that, due to his health situation, he could not carry on with the pastoral leadership of his diocese, admitted this to himself, and was brave enough to apply to the pope for retirement.

A sense of inadequacy, regarding one’s health or otherwise, should propel anyone in pastoral leadership—bishops, priests, parish pastoral council members and so forth—to step down, as Pope Benedict XVI did in 2013. The Church should not suffer due to insistent inadequate leadership which adds no value to, or even jeopardises, its mission. Bishop de Gouveia’s eight-year tenure poses a challenge to us, as pastoral leaders. Many years ago, the SACBC suggested that the term of a parish priest should be six years, renewable once by three years for a total of nine years. This makes sense.

s a Church worldwide, we always cry foul when a political leader wants a

Bishop Frank de Gouveia, who has resigned as head of Oudtshoorn for health reasons—an act Fr S’milo Mngadi sees as a courageous prophetic witness.

Why the Bible matters T HE Bible is a collection of 66 books, some of which were written 2 700 years ago and some as “recently” as 1 950 years ago. It was produced in a place that is far removed from our own and in a time that bears little resemblance to the modern era. It reflects a culture that many of us would find completely foreign. Its original languages are hardly spoken around the world. Why do we bother with the Bible in our day and age? The International Bible Society indicates that the entire Bible has been translated into over 550 modern languages, with the New Testament now available in over 1 300 languages. It appears on bookshelves or is accessible in digital format on every continent on the earth. Apparently, this book is more than a collection of ancient documents, interesting to only a few collectors. It has meaning that crosses centuries and cultures and economic strata and gender and race. With this series of articles we will explore some of the key reasons that the Bible remains the bestselling book of all time, starting with the truth that through the Scriptures God speaks with us and to us. In our Catholic faith tradition we know that the writers of the text were human authors. They were tribal leaders preserving their family histories and interactions with God, priests who helped to shape the ritual life of God’s people, prophets and their followers who spoke with the fire of divine conviction, apostles who travelled with Jesus or witnessed his deeds, disciples who wrote to one another to guard the faith they had been given. These human authors did not, however, simply shape stories and preserve teachings based on their own opinions or preferences. They were inspired by God, meaning that God’s own breath animated their work. Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on

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One way in which God communicates with us and gives us guidance is through the Bible. Divine Revelation, Dei verbum, affirms the full humanity of these authors while at the same time their divine authorship. It is a partnership that takes flesh in the full revelation of God in the person of Jesus the Christ who was fully human and fully divine.

e can be assured that God’s desire is to be in communion with us, to be in communication with us, and to be engaged in our lives. And so we look to the Bible for the witness of how God has done this throughout the ages. We find the elderly couple Abraham and Sarah in disbelief that they could bear a child, much less leave descendants as numerous as the stars. And yet they heard God’s voice and set out to settle in a new

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third-term, which generally is after ten years. Yet, we allow that within our own structures. Many ordained and lay leaders often remain in office for more than ten years. Are we using a different yardstick for ourselves? One may ask: what will Bishop de Gouveia do now that he has retired. Clearly, he will pray. Praying for the people of God and the world is the primary task of a bishop or any pastoral leader for that matter, especially the ordained one. He might also do other things that may benefit the Church, like writing (especially reflections from his pastoral experience), preaching retreats, giving spiritual direction and so on. He will also be available to offer counsel and mediation in difficult pastoral situations from the wisdom he has gained as pastor, counsellor, spiritual director, formator for priests, vicar-general and bishop. I pray that all pastoral leaders consider Bishop de Gouveia’s resignation as a prophetic challenge and a witness to political leadership, especially in Africa, that leadership is not for a lifetime and that the institution matters more than us, no matter how indispensable we may consider ourselves to be. Blessed retirement, Bishop de Gouveia!

Cackie Upchurch

God And The Bible

place and start a new life. Each time we feel disbelief creeping in, we can turn to their story beginning in Genesis 12. We find Moses having fled Egypt for killing a taskmaster who abused a slave and now at home as a simple shepherd. But he heard God’s voice calling him to return to Egypt and announce God’s liberation. Every time we feel hesitant to respond to a hard task we feel God may be handing to us, we can turn to Exodus 3 and 4 to revisit the multiple objections Moses made to God’s commission and the ultimate surrender to become God’s servant. We find kings who shaped the nation of Israel with God’s voice in their hearts (the books of 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings) and prophets who listened to God and took on the hard task of reshaping God’s people through repentance and return. We find the witness of shepherds in Luke 2 and the Magi in Matthew 2 who heard the message of God through angels and in the appearance of a star, a message that put their feet on the path to give homage to a child born in a manger. We find fishermen and tax collectors and scribes who left all behind because they heard God’s voice call them in the words of Jesus. They lingered with him, travelled by his side, and gave their lives in response to what they witnessed. And we are asked to do the same. The Bible matters because it reveals the God who longs to speak to his people, so much so that he gave flesh to his Word in the person of his Son, Jesus. n This is the first in a ten-part series of articles entitled, “Why We Should Bother With The Bible, produced by Little Rock Scripture Study. This article first appeared in the Arkansas Catholic.

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Point of Education

A way to raise kids in a new age

HILDHOOD and parenting have radically changed in the past few decades and this means that children today struggle to manage their behaviour. This is according to journalist and author Katherine Reynolds Lewis in her book The Good News About Bad Behaviour. Lewis argues that “we face a crisis of self-regulation”, and that parents and teachers struggle daily with difficult behaviour. She goes on to highlight that, in the American context, about half of the current generation of children will develop a mood or behavioural disorder or a substance addiction by age 18. Scary indeed! Contemporary kids need to learn independence and responsibility, yet our old ideas of punishment and reward are preventing this from happening. Lewis is a certified parent educator and mother of three who set out to investigate over five years why so many children have trouble managing their behaviour and emotions. The book grew out of her July 2015 article for Mother Jones magazine about school discipline. Within days of appearing on MotherJones.com, the article became the site’s most-read story ever, racking up more than 4 million views, 790 000 Facebook shares, 6 000 tweets and 980 comments. Parents and teachers around the world wrote in to say how the piece had changed their approach with children. It made its way into conference sessions and university curricula, and attracted interest in Sweden and Germany. Clearly, millions of people around the world were facing the same fears, confronting the same problems, and looking for solutions. In her book Lewis articulates what she calls “The Apprenticeship Model”, a new theory of discipline that centres on learning the art of self-control. Blending new scientific research and powerful individual stories of change, Lewis shows that, if we trust our children to face consequences, they will learn to adapt and moderate their own behaviour. She argues that chaotic homes can become peaceful, that bewildered teachers can see progress, and she has seen her own family grow and evolve in light of these new ideas. Lewis has identified three factors that have contributed mightily to this crisis. First, where, how and how much kids are allowed to play has changed. Second, their access to technology and social media has exploded. Thirdly, children today are too “unemployed”. Lewis doesn’t simply mean the occasional job for a high school teen. She refers to household jobs that can help younger children build confidence and a sense of community. “They’re not asked to do anything to contribute to a neighbourhood or family or community,” she told a reporter. Katherine Reynolds Lewis has written an important book that will give hope and support to mothers, fathers and teachers who want both understanding and answers. With a parent’s compassion and a journalist’s rigour, she offers advice from the trenches while providing a realistic roadmap towards a better family life. Blending solid science and highly readable storytelling, The Good News About Bad Behaviour is sure to become a parent “must-read”. n Dr Mark Potterton is the principal of the primary school at Sacred Heart College in Johannesburg.

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The Southern Cross, July 18 to July 24, 2018

CHURCH

After #MeToo, let’s revisit Humanae vitae July 25 marks the 50th anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae vitae. After half a century of controversy over it, CHARLIE CAMOSY suggests it may be time to have a reasonable conversation about it.

AN one imagine a more difficult year for Humanae vitae (“Of Human Life”) to be heard than 1968? Pope Paul VI’s encyclical came out just as the sexual revolution was picking up steam, well on its way to becoming a dominant force in Western culture. Contraception was part of a basic right to privacy and on a path from normalisation to celebration. Casual sexual encounters, along with no-fault divorce, were becoming much more prevalent. Playboy and other pornographic magazines and films were on the ascendant. Sex manuals and erotic novels were on the living room bookshelves of respectable people. Movies and music pushed the revolution at every turn. This revolution, it should be said, made a lot of people quite a lot of money. But it was portrayed in cultural circles of power (media, academia, government and so on) not as the latest iteration of consumer culture, but as part of a broader social justice movement. A movement which pushed back against the outdated and oppressive views of the past. The replacement culture was liberating. The natural direction of social progress. Only backwardthinking, religious dogmatists rejected it. Smart and open-minded people embraced it. Swimming against this powerful cultural tide, in the short run at least, Humanae vitae never had a chance. Few of its critics actually read the text, and even fewer could allow themselves to be genuinely challenged by its arguments. It fitted neatly into the revolution’s cultural narrative: an out-of-touch celibate hierarchy using power to enforce a

Parents with a newborn child. By restating the Church’s ban on artifical contraception at a time of the sexual revolution, Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae vitae was instantly controversial. (Photo: Stephanie Pratt) superstitious and harmful view of sex onto people who, given their better education and actual experience, simply knew better. This consensus against Humanae vitae would come to be strictly enforced. Though many Catholics have the “Charles Curran affair” at the centre of their narrative in this regard, his case would prove to be the exception. The Catholic University of America’s board of trustees denied the tenure of Fr Charles Curran after the professor publicly disagreed with the encyclical’s teaching. In recent decades the consensus against Humanae vitae has been so strong that theologians and even Catholic priests can feel quite safe in their dissent. The occasional fingerwagging or bad book review from the institutional Church serves to do little beyond increasing the prominence of the thinker and their book sales.

Keeping mouths shut But those who’ve been sympathetic to the document have, for their most part, been forced to keep their mouths shut and their pens dry—at least if they want to remain respectable in cultural circles of power. The narrative that only backward-thinking dogmatists could take it seriously became the received wisdom. But now, on the verge of the doc-

ument’s 50th anniversary, a new cultural moment has arrived. Pope Paul warned that the separation of sex from procreation and committed relationships would have disastrous effects, and there is now strong evidence to show that he predicted better than he knew. Consider these cultural trends: l The #MeToo movement has demonstrated that our sexual culture is fundamentally broken and often violent. Far from liberating, “hookup culture” is a particular instance of what Pope Francis calls the “use and throwaway” culture. People are dehumanised and mutually used as mere objects of desire in a sexual marketplace—a marketplace now widely expanded and facilitated by smartphone applications. l Pornography dominates the Internet and the script for Western sexual encounters. But it has done so in ways which normalise hookups, violence against women, and even sex between family members. As a result, even liberal countries like the United Kingdom and Iceland have recently tried to ban porn. Lurking right behind porn in separating sex from genuine relationships are sex robots. Many are already worried that, given current assumptions and practices, there will be little to stop them from radically disconnecting sex from unification with another person.

l Hookup culture is impossible to imagine without widespread access to contraception as an enabling technology. And the riskier sex created by this culture, perhaps counterintuitively for some, has actually led to more sexually-transmitted infections, not fewer. For evidence-based approaches, contraception no longer appears to be the solution to our epidemic of STIs, sexually transmitted infections. l More and more progressive and even secular women are starting to react negatively to the health problems created by the large doses of hormones in the Pill and longacting contraception. Dubbed by some the “Pro-Kale, Anti-Hormone” movement, many women with the means to do so are avoiding the Pill’s substantial side effects by using versions of natural family planning. In a related story, some secular social justice advocates are challenging the growing movement (pushed in part by pharma companies who stand to profit) to put poor people of colour on long-acting contraception with high levels of hormones. l Most countries which had a sexual revolution now have a fertility crisis. A culture needs to have 2,1 children per woman to replace its population, but every European country is well below this threshold: Germany is 1,47; Britain 1,8; Italy 1,37; Poland 1,32; and so on. Tax incentives to have more children aren’t working. The problem was so bad in Russia they came up with a “Day of Conception” in which everyone is given the afternoon off work to go home and have sex. Japan’s fertility crisis has resulted in trillions in lost GDP and a population decline of a million people, all within just the past five years. l The move from procreation to reproduction has accepted the logic of consumer culture. Given the perceived need for a culturally determined income and lifestyle, the market decides if and when one should have a child. Child-bearing is therefore often delayed until it is much more dangerous for both mother and child. In vitro fertilisation, at least as practised by the uber-profitable fertility industry in the Unites States, is another example of the use and

What does Humanae vitae say? BY DENNIS SADOWSkI

OPE Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical Humanae vitae upholds the Catholic Church’s long-standing teaching that it is immoral for married couples to use artificial contraception. At 7 000 words, the encyclical is divided into three sections: the question at hand, doctrinal principles, and pastoral directives. In opening the encyclical, Pope Paul reviewed the arguments of those who urged a change in Church teaching. He acknowledged concerns about population growth; changing social and economic conditions that impact the size of families, including a new understanding of the dignity of woman and her place in society; and scientific advances giving couples more control over nature. He also reviewed theological arguments calling for a new understanding of the role of procreation in marriage. In starting his analysis of doctrinal principles, Pope Paul stated that conjugal love is grounded fundamentally in “God who is love”. Given that understanding, he explained that such love is total, faithful and exclusive until death. Such love, he stressed, exists to “bring new life into being”. “Marriage and conjugal love are by their nature ordained towards the procreation and education of children. Children are the supreme gift of marriage and contribute to the highest degree to their parents’ welfare,” he wrote. At the same time, husband and wife are

Pope Paul VI, author of the encyclical Humanae vitae, headed the Catholic Church from 1963-78. He will be canonised in October. (Photo: Giancarlo Giuliani, Catholic Press Photo) called to responsible parenthood, that is being open to the possibility of creating new life in every conjugal act, he said. Pope Paul said it is acceptable for a couple to engage in the conjugal act when the women is not fertile “since they always remain ordained towards expressing and

consolidating their union”. However, he maintained that the deliberate attempt to prevent pregnancy is immoral in all circumstances. The pope warned of several consequences to using artificial contraception, including a “wide and easy” road to marital infidelity, a lowering of sexual morality—especially among young people—and the danger of men losing respect for women and reducing them to “a mere instrument of selfish enjoyment”. After presenting his arguments, Pope Paul acknowledged that the Church’s teaching “will easily appear to many to be difficult or even impossible to fulfil”. He urged couples to develop “solid convictions concerning the true values of life and of the family” and to work together to achieve the discipline needed to follow the Church’s teaching. He predicted that couples who did so would find their lives and marriage enriched. The pope also: l Asked educators and the media to develop programmes more favourable to chastity. l Urged government authorities not to permit contraception, abortion or sterilisation as means to regulate births. l Asked scientists to improve natural family planning methods “providing a sufficiently secure basis for a regulation of birth founded on the observance of natural rhythms”. l Called on priests to widely share the Church’s teaching on marriage and to show patience and understanding toward those who had difficulty following that teaching. —CNS

The front-page of The Southern Cross following the release of Humanae vitae featured mixed reactions from South African bishops. Cardinal Owen McCann counselled loyalty to the pope while noting that the encyclical was dogma but not infallible; Archbishop Denis Hurley was dismayed; Archbishop John Garner applauded the pope; and Bishop Gerard van Velsen drily noted that the document has the status of a “discipline rather than doctrine”. throwaway culture—with thousands and thousands of embryos discarded as so much rubbish. This practice also has created a situation in which women are used for their eggs and uteruses—a marketplace which abuses poor women such that countries like India have banned commercial surrogacy. These cultural trends are so different from where they were 50 years ago that Humanae vitae may finally get a genuine hearing. The obvious surrender of our sexual culture to consumerist market forces, particularly after #MeToo, has led many different kinds of people to look for alternatives. If 1968 was one of the worst years possible for Humanae vitae to be heard, then 2018 may be one of the best. Let the conversation begin. n Charlie Camosy is an associate professor in the theology department at Jesuit-run Fordham University in New York.

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The Southern Cross, July 18 to July 24, 2018

PERSONALITY

The man who sent Mary around the world An ordinary Catholic doing extraordinary things inspired an author to write a book on Fatima. PAuL DE MARCO tells the story.

VERY now and then you come across someone exceptional in life—just an ordinary person, but someone who has a passion to do extraordinary things. For me, José Camara is one such man! Southern Cross readers may know his name, and parishioners in many churches around the country will have seen evidence of his faith-filled generosity: he is the retired businessman who has donated more than a thousand statues of Our Lady of Fatima to churches in South Africa and around the word. Mr Camara is now 78 years old and lives in Cascais, Portugal. It was probably his Catholic, Portuguese upbringing that sowed the seeds of his devotion to Our Lady as a young boy. On April 7, 1947, at the age of just seven, he travelled with his family to watch the statue of Our Lady of Fatima being carried through the streets of Funchal in Madeira. This was the statue that is kept at the chapel of Apparitions at Fatima, and it left a marked impression on the young José. When he was 14 years of age, José went to Cape Town to stay with his uncle so that he could study English. He liked the city so

The front-page of The Southern Cross of January 9, 2013, on which José Camara’s offer to donate 12 statues of Our Lady of Fatima to South African churches was first published. The 12 statues ended up being more than a thousand. much that he decided to stay on. After completing his studies, José started work as a door-to-door salesman, selling sewing machines. At that time, there was a community of Catholics living in Manenberg, a poor township into which the apartheid regime was settling those whom it had removed from other areas. That community didn’t have a Catholic church for many years. After along time of fundraising, they eventually succeeded in building a church in 1969—but they lacked the resources to buy any fittings with which to decorate it. Mr Camara recalls going to see

Fr Thaddeus Oranusi, then of kuils River, Cape Town, which was among the first to receive a statue of Our Lady of Fatima donated by José Camara. One of the conditions of receiving a statue was that the recipient parish would recite the Rosary as a community from May through to October on the 13th of each month.

the Franciscan priest in the new church and immediately feeling sorry for him because it was a bitterly cold day and the priest was wearing sandals. The young man offered to buy a statue of Our Lady of Fatima for the parish, but the priest suggested that a statue of the Holy Family might be more appropriate, because the church was to be dedicated to the Holy Family of Nazareth. Mr Camara agreed to this, even though he had absolutely no idea how he was going to pay for it. But he had heard of a sculptor named José Ferreira Thedim who lived in Fatima, and he knew that Thedim was well-known for making magnificent statues of Our Lady. So he asked Thedim to make a statue of the Holy Family. The sculptor agreed.

A shocking bill When the statue finally arrived, Mr Camara was ecstatic with joy— until he opened the envelope and looked at the invoice inside! The bill was for R 945, which in those days was an absolute fortune (a litre of petrol cost 8 cents at the time). Mr Camara had many sleepless nights worrying about how he was going to find the money—and so he prayed to Our Blessed Mother for help. He needed help. To make matters worse, he then had a phone call from the Receiver of Revenue asking him to attend a meeting to discuss a problem with his income tax. Mr Camara became increasingly anxious that he was now going to have to pay a tax shortfall as well as having to pay for the statue. But at the meeting, he was astonished to hear that the Inland Revenue actually owed him money because they’d been taxing him as a single man even though he’d been married for three years and had two children. And the value of the rebate? Well, it was R945—the exact amount that the statue of the Holy Family cost. Mr Camara took this as a sign, and he believes to this day that whatever good you do for others, it will come back to you. The sculptor died in 1971. Years later, after a successful career in business, Mr Camara returned to his native Portugal. In 2012, he flew to Cape Town to give thanks to God for all the blessings in his life. He knew that there was nothing that he could give to God, as the Lord has everything already, and so he decided to help Our Blessed Mother. His goal was to take Mary to the world, and to take the world to Mary. He contacted The Southern Cross

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Carlo Acutis and Alexia Gonzalez Barros, two teenagers whose sainthood causes in Italy and Spain respectively have been advanced by Pope Francis who recognised their heroic virtue. It is the first formal step towards canonisation. A miracle attributed to that person's intercession is needed for beatification, the next step towards sainthood. Carlo died in 2006; Alexia in 1985.

gation for the Causes of Saints this month, naming them Venerable. T h e o t h e r t e e n a g e r w ho s e c a u s e h a s b e e n advanced is Alexia Gonzalez Barros, who offered her sufferings from a malignant tumour for the Church. Alexia was born in Madrid in 1971. She made her first Communion in Rome and the following day attended the weekly general audience of May 9, 1979. She ran up to Pope John Paul II as he greeted pilgrims and received a blessing and a kiss from the pope. Several years later, her life dramatically changed when doctors discovered a tumour that gradually paralysed her. Throughout her illness, she offered her sufferings for the Church and the pope and would often pray, "Jesus, I want to feel better, I want to be healed; but if you do not want that, I want what you want.” She died at 14 on December 5, 1985. The other two lay people are Pietro Di Vitale (1016-40), an Italian layman and a member of the Third Order of St Francis, and Giorgio La Pira. Mr La Pira was a mayor of Florence and a member of the Third Order of St Dominic. He was an advocate for peace during the Cold War and despite his stature in the internaWa tional community, he lived in a small cell in the basilica of St Mark in Florence. He died in 1977.

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(From left) Bishops Jan de Groef and Stanislaw Dziuba with former Acts chaplain Fr Michael Hagan and current chaplain Fr Mthembeni Dlamini at the silver jubilee Mass of the Association of Catholic Tertiary Students. (Photo: spotlight.africa) honour. The Schoenstatt priest ser ved the organisation as its chaplain from 1996 to 2010. To loud applause, he was presented with a stole and a chasuble adorned with the Acts logo. Acts is an outreach of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference to Catholics studying at tertiar y institutions in South Africa. It was formed in 1993 when the previously mostly black Catholic Students Association and the mostly white National Catholic Federation of Students effectively amalgamated. Acts is presently active on campuses in seven provinces. Coinciding with the silver jubilee celebrations, Acts elected its new national executive for 2018/19. Sizwe Vilakazi from the Eastern Cape was elected as president, Karabo Rallele (Gauteng) as secretar y-general, Nozipho Ntshangase (KwaZulu-Natal) as treasurer-general, and Khethiwe Maphosa (KwaZulu-Natal) as secretary for media and publicity.

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Since that first article in The Southern Cross, Mr Camara has had 1 146 statues of Our Lady of Fatima handmade and distributed to churches, schools, convents and prisons in 47 countries—all at his own expense. “The organisation that went into this effort is immense, but the rewards are immense too! Wherever a statue of Our Lady of Fatima has been placed, there has been an increase in prayer and devotion to Our Blessed Mother, and prayer groups have started where there was none before—even in prisons,” said Mr Camara José touched my life in a special way too. I first met him by chance several years ago when he was visiting London, as his granddaughter attended the same school as my own two children. We struck up a conversation in the playground,

576 AM

Bishop to students: Be missionaries ORE than 150 students and graduates aswell as two bishops came together to celebrate the 25th anniversar y of the founding of the Association of Catholic Tertiary Students (ACTS). At the Mass for the celebrations, held at S t J o h n Vi a n n e y S e m i n a r y i n P r e t o r i a , Bishop Stanislaw Dziuba of Umzimkulu encouraged the young Catholics to sometimes go against the tide to ser ve the greater good. The liaison bishop for the youth encouraged young people to love Jesus Christ. “Our life is a response to his call and you will be happy and will build your life well if you can answer to this call. May you feel the Lord’s presence in your life. He is close to each one of you as a companion, as a friend, who knows how to help and understand you, who encourages you in difficult times and never abandons you.” Bishop Dziuba said that “in prayer, in conversation with him, and in reading the Bible, in receiving [the] sacrament of reconciliation and Holy Mass, you will discover that he is truly close”. “You will also learn to read God’s signs in your life. He always speaks to us, also through the events of our time and our daily life: it is up to us to listen to him.” He called on the people to live lives of active charity, but noted that this is possible only with spiritual formation and a relationship with Jesus Christ. He encouraged the young Catholics to always “be the missionar y disciples of Jesus”. Bishop Dziuba said that Acts and its members receive the support from local parishes, priests, chaplains and diocesan bishops, “as it is the whole Church’s responsibility to accompany young people on their journey of faith”. Concelebrating the Mass was Bishop Jan de Groef of Bethlehem, liaison bishop for the laity. At the celebrations, long-time Acts chaplain Fr Michael Hagan was a special guest of

1146 statues to 47 countries

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to run an initial offer for 12 statues. The response to that offer in the issue of January 9, 2013, and subsequent articles in The Southern Cross, was overwhelming. In a short time, word spread first to neighbouring countries and then around the world.

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José Camara (centre) is seen with Bishop João Rodrigues of Tzaneen and Southern Cross editor Günther Simmermacher in Fatima in 2014. Starting with an offer for 12 statues of Our Lady of Fatima in The Southern Cross in 2012, the Portuguese businessman has donated 1 146 statues, made and handpainted in Fatima, to various parishes, schools and convents—and even jails—in 47 countries.

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and in time, he discovered that I’d written a book which gave scientific evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. Mr Camara then asked me to help him raise awareness about Our Lady’s message for mankind at Fatima, by writing a book about the apparitions, the lives of Jacinta, Francisco and Lucia, as well as the Miracle of the Sun. I hesitated, but just as he couldn’t refuse that Franciscan priest in Manenberg back in 1969, I couldn’t simply walk away. In the end I wrote the book, titled Fatima 2017—because of him. At Fatima in 1917, Our Lady called on us to turn from sin and to repent, and to adopt the devotion of the First Five Saturdays for our own benefit and for the benefit of mankind. José Camara has done a great deal to foster that devotion throughout the world by donating all those statues of Our Lady of Fatima. He kept the promise that he made in 2012, to take Mary to the world, and to take the world to Mary. n Paul de Marco has written ten books of which six are on the subject of Christianity. Fatima 2017 was published by lulu.com.

The Southern Cross, July 18 to July 25, 2018

CLASSIFIEDS

Sr Carmen Brokamp OP

OMINICAN Sister Carmen Brokamp died on May 23 at the age of 83. Born on November 4, 1934, as Maria Margarete Brokamp in Bergheim, Germany, she trained and worked in practical nursing before she entered the Oakford Dominican Novitiate in Neustadt in 1961, receiving the name Carmen. She made her first profession in October 1963 and spent the next nine months nursing at the Marienkrankenhaus in Flörsheim while waiting for a visa to enter South Africa. After spending six months at the Mother House in Oakford, Sr Carmen found herself teaching nurses at the Cala hospital in the Transkei. Sr Carmen had never wanted to be a tutor and had not wanted to enter a convent where there was the possibility of that happening, but the Lord had planned differently, and she found herself in Cala doing what she hoped she wouldn’t be doing—but working at it with all her heart and with great success. Sr Carmen moved to various communities in South Africa, caring for the health of the poor and under-privileged, and training as a midwife at the Mater Dei Hospital in East London, and as a tutor while living at Marymount, Johannesburg. In 1968 she was transferred

to the Dominicans’ Osindisweni Hospital, where she spent the next 23 years as tutor at the newly opened nursing school for local nurses and later as matron responsible for the whole hospital. Sr Carmen was committed to study, first in nursing and later in sociology and theology. For two years she served as local superior. To all the communities she was assigned to, Sr Carmen brought a quiet sense of calm and stability. She instilled confidence and courage in her student nurses and won the respect of her colleagues. She was a good listener and many sisters trusted her with their concerns and difficulties, knowing that all would be kept confidential. In 1991 she was called to

serve as a member of the congregation’s leadership. In the 12 years she served as congregational councillor, she was greatly appreciated for her positive attitude towards her sisters in the congregation, for her humility and approachability. Her name Carmen means “Song” in Latin and that is what she managed to plant in the hearts of all who knew her. Her deep love of God who had called her to serve him as a Dominican Sister of Oakford remained evident in her readiness to serve in any way she could. As local prioress at the Bluff and as administrator of St Dominic’s House of Prayer, she was known to many for her hospitality, availability and consideration for the needs of the retreatants. Many deep and lasting friendships were established during this time. As a consequence of deteriorating health, she saw the need to move to Pietermaritzburg. Her willingness to serve continued to show in the responsibilities she took on. There were always visitors coming in and out of her room. No one went away for disappointed. Sr Carmen had a twin brother, Josef, whom she survived. Her only remaining sibling is her sister Hortense, who is now over 90 years old. Sr Helen-Veronica Wagner OP

Prayer for an unborn child Humble Mary of Nazareth, you were chosen by God to bear within you our world’s greatest gift, the Saviour of all humanity. We come to you now on behalf of [mention name] who prays for the health and safety of the child that God has graced her to conceive. We ask for your intercession in guarding this life that God has created, and protect the mother God has chosen for this child. Let your gentle hands assist in her delivery so that this baby will know good health and lasting happiness. May her child be favoured with the grace of Holy Baptism, and grow to love our Lord Jesus Christ above all else in this world. Amen.

community calendar

To place your event, call Mary Leveson at 021 465 5007 or e-mail m.leveson@scross.co.za (publication subject to space) cAPe tOWN: Retreat day/quiet prayer on the last Saturday of each month except December, at Springfield Convent in Wynberg, Cape Town. Hosted by CLC, it runs from 10.00-15.30. Contact Jill on 083 282 6763 or Jane on 082 783 0331. Perpetual Adoration chapel at Good Shepherd parish, 1 Goede Hoop St, Bothasig, welcomes all visitors. Open 24 hours a day. Phone 021 558 1412.

Helpers of god’s Precious infants. Mass on the last Saturday of every month at 9:30 at Sacred Heart church in Somerset Road, Cape Town.This is followed by a vigil at the abortion clinic. Contact Colette Thomas on 083 412 4836 or 021 593 9875 or Br Daniel SCP on 078 739 2988. DURBAN: Holy Mass and Novena to St Anthony at St Anthony’s parish every Tuesday at 9:00. Holy Mass and Divine Mercy Devotion at 17:30 on first Friday of every month. Sunday Mass at 9:00. Ph 031 309 3496 or 031 209 2536. St Anthony’s rosary group. Every Wednesday at 18:00 at St Anthony’s church opposite Greyville racecourse. All welcome and lifts available. keith Chetty on 083 372 9018. NelSPRUit: Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is held at St Peter’s parish every Tuesday from 8:00 to 16:45. This is followed by Rosary, Divine Mercy prayers, then a Mass/communion service at 17:30.

Liturgical Calendar Year B – Weekdays Cycle Year 2 Sunday July 22, 16th Sunday of the Year Jeremiah 23:1-6, Psalm 23, Ephesians 2:13-18, Mark 6:30-34 Monday July 23, St Bridget Micah 6:1-4, 6-8, Psalm 50:5-6, 8-9, 16-17, 21, 23, Matthew 12:38-42 Tuesday July 24, St Sharbel Makhlouf Micah 7:14-15, 18-20, Psalm 85:2-8, Matthew 12:46-50 Wednesday July 25, St James 2 Corinthians 4:7-15, Psalm 126, Matthew 20:20-28 Thursday July 26, Ss Joachim and Anne, parents of Mary

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iN MeMORiAM

letORD—Roger. In loving memory of Deacon Roger Letord of Durbanville, who passed away nine years ago on July 19, 2009, aged 96. Will always be remembered by his family Helen, Stephen, Matthew, Thérèse and kieran, Janet, Dean, Michael and kyle, Anne, Basil, Sarah, Warren and Jessica, and Joan Swanson. May his soul rest in peace. WilliAMS—Owen. In loving memory of our former colleague of The Southern Cross, who died July 20, 2007.

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31:10-13, Matthew 13:18-23 Saturday July 28, St Victor Jeremiah 7:1-11, Psalm 84:3-6, 8, 11, Matthew 13:24-30 Sunday July 29, 17th Sunday of the Year 2 Kings 4:42-44, Psalm 145:10-11, 15-18, Ephesians 4:1-6, John 6:1-15

PRAYeRS

O HOlY ViRgiN, in the midst of your days of glory, do not forget the sorrows of this earth. Cast a merciful glance upon those who are suffering, struggling against difficulties, with their lips constant pressed against life’s bitter cup. Have pity on those who love each other and are separated. Have pity on our rebellious hearts. Have pity on our weak faith. Have pity on those we love. Have pity on those who weep, on those who pray, on those who fear. Grant hope and peace to all. Amen. MAY All i DO today begin with you, O Lord. Plant dreams and hopes within my soul, revive my tired spirit: be with me today. May all I do today continue with your help, O Lord. Be at my side and walk with me: be my support today. May all I do today reach far and wide, O Lord. My thoughts, my work, my life: make them blessings for your kingdom; let them go beyond today. O God, today is new unlike any other day, for God makes each day different. Today

God's everyday grace falls on my soul like abundant seed, though I may hardly see it. Today is one of those days Jesus promised to be with me, a companion on my journey, and my life today, if I trust him, has consequences unseen. My life has a purpose. I have a mission. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. God has not created me for naught. Therefore I will trust him. Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. God does nothing in vain. He knows what he is about. John Henry Newman

DeAR SAiNt JOSePH, you were yourself once faced with the responsibility of providing the necessities of life for Jesus and Mary. Look down with fatherly compassion upon me in my anxiety with my present inability to support my family. Please help me find gainful employment very soon, so that this great burden of concern will be lifted from my heart and that I am soon able to provide for those whom God has entrusted to my care. Help me guard against discouragement, so that I may emerge from this trial spiritually enriched and with even greater blessings from God. Amen.

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17th Sunday: July 29 Readings: 2 Kings 4:42-44, Psalm 145:10-11, 15-18, Ephesians 4:1-6, John 6:1-15

NE lesson that we need to learn about God, over and over again, is that God is utterly generous, in ways that we cannot begin to imagine. That is the message of the readings for next Sunday. In the first reading, we watch as Elisha, the “man of God”, takes 20 barley loaves, “with fresh grain in the ear”, and tells his servant to “give it to the people to eat”. His servant objects, “How am I to put this before a hundred men?”, but Elisha simply insists, prophetically, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Eat, and there shall be a remainder.’” And what happens? Yes, you have it correctly: “They ate, and they had some left over, in accordance with the Lord’s word.” This may be something that we have to remember next time we doubt God’s generosity. The author of next Sunday’s psalm, of course, does not need to be told about God’s generosity, and neither does God’s creation, it seems: “All your works give you thanks, O Lord, and your saints bless you, they shall speak about the glory of your kingship and tell of your great deeds.” For the Lord is unfailing in generosity: “The Lord supports all those who have fallen and raises up those who are oppressed.” It is,

S outher n C ross

God’s unfailing generosity of course, the particular mark of God’s generosity that he is on the side of those who are most oppressed. The poet sings to God, “You give bread to them to eat at the right time”, which fits nicely into our first reading for today (and to the Gospel), and goes on, “You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living creature.” The author is stunned by how good God is: “The Lord is just in all his ways and loving in all his deeds.” And, better still: “The Lord is close to all who call on him in integrity.” The second reading is not really about looking after the hungry; here the concern is one of expressing God’s generosity in terms of rebuilding the unity of God’s church: “Behave in a manner appropriate to the calling in which you have been called.” The mood is captured as one of “humble attitude, gentleness, patience, and putting up with one another in love”; here you and I are invited to reflect on the generosity of God in our dealings with each other. Then he goes into a meditation on “oneness”: “Keep the oneness of the Spirit, chained together in peace…one body, one

general than those who are married or who are sexually active outside of marriage? This must be adjudicated, I believe, by looking at the deepest intentions of sex itself and, from there, assessing where both married persons and celibates for the most part tend to end up. What’s the ultimate intention of sex? What is this powerful archetypal energy meant to do in us? Generically, the answer is clear: Sex is meant to lead us out of aloneness, out of selfishness, into altruism, into family, into community, into generativity, into mellowness of heart, into delight, and ultimately (perhaps not always this side of eternity) into ecstasy.

Conrad

iewed through the prism of this criterion, how do marriage and vowed celibacy compare? Mostly we see parallels: Some people get married, become healthily generous and generative, remain faithful to their spouses, and age into wholesome, happy, forgiving persons. Others marry (or are sexually active outside of marriage) but do not become more generous and generative, do not remain faithful to their commitments in love, and age instead in bitterness and unhappiness. The same is true for vowed celibates: Some become healthily generous and generative, remain faithful to the vow, and age into wholesome, happy, forgiving persons. For some others, their celibacy does not lead to becoming more selfless, generative, mellow, or happy. Instead, like some of their sexually active contemporaries, they

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Sunday Reflections

spirit, just as you were called in one hope… one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.” If we show this kind of generosity, then we shall simply be reflecting the way God is with us, “the Father of all, who is over all and through all, and in all”. All of which sets up the powerful story that is next Sunday’s Gospel. It starts with Jesus once more “across the Sea of Galilee (Tiberias)”, John using here a name for the lake that was not used in Jesus’ lifetime. Jesus is surrounded by crowds “because they were contemplating the signs he was doing upon the sick”. Once again, therefore, he is showing the generosity of God to those in greatest need. Like Moses before him, “Jesus went up into the mountain” and (unlike Moses) “sat down there with his disciples”. Now we wait for what God’s generosity might be about to do. First though, we look at the calendar: “The Passover was near, the festival of the Judeans.” And the alert reader knows, of course, that it would be at another Passover that Jesus was going to die. Then he sets a test for Philip. “From where”

Conspiracy against celibacy OU should not judge a religion by its worst expressions but by its best, its saints, according to renowned commentator on world religions Huston Smith. That’s also true in terms of judging the merits of vowed, consecrated celibacy. It should be judged by its best and not perverse examples, as is true too for the institution of marriage. I write this apologia because today consecrated celibacy is under siege from critics in almost every circle. Celibacy is no longer understood or deemed realistic by a culture which basically refuses to accept any restrictions in the area of sexuality and in effect sees all celibacy, lived for whatever reason, as frigidity, naiveté, or a misfortune of circumstance. Our culture constitutes a virtual conspiracy against celibacy. More critical still is how consecrated celibacy is being judged in the wake of the clerical sexual abuse scandal. More and more, there’s a popular conception—both within society and within Church circles— that sexual abuse in general and paedophilia in particular is more prevalent among priests and religious than in the population at large, and that there’s something inherent in consecrated celibacy itself that makes priests and vowed religious more prone to sexual misconduct and emotional ill-health. How true is this? Are celibates more prone to sexual misconduct than their non-celibate contemporaries? Are celibates more likely to be less healthy and happy in

Nicholas King SJ

[a phrase which in John’s Gospel almost always refers to the Father from whom Jesus came] “are we to buy loaves for these people to eat?” The point is, of course, that we don’t have to buy from God; but Philip has not got the joke, and gets out his electronic calculator and indicates that even 200 denarii would be insufficient for the purpose. So then Andrew offers the unexpected figure of a small boy with “five barley loaves and two bits of cooked fish”, the point being that this is an absurdly small amount. And of course, in the generosity of God, it all works out: 5 000 men [we are not told what happened to the women and children] ate and took what they wanted, and were full! Not only that, but they took up no less than five baskets of leftover fragments. So of course the people wanted to make Jesus a king. But that is not the way God’s generosity works, so Jesus ends the story “in the mountain, himself, alone”. God’s generosity is very surprising, but devastatingly effective.

Southern Crossword #820

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

also grow bitter and unhappy. Sometimes this is the result of breaking their vow, and sometimes it’s the result of an unhealthily repressed sexuality. In either case, their vow generally leads to unhealthy compensatory behaviours. Celibacy, admittedly, comes fraught with some extra dangers as marriage and sex are the normal path God intended for us. As Thomas Merton once put it, in celibacy we live inside a loneliness which God, himself, has condemned: “It is not good for man to be alone!” Sex and marriage are the norm and celibacy deviates from that. But that doesn’t mean celibacy cannot be highly generative, meaningful and healthy. Some of the most generative and wholesome people I know are vowed celibates, ageing into an enviable peace. Sadly, the reverse is also true for some celibates. Of course, all of this is equally true, both ways, for the married people that I know. “By their fruits you shall know them.” Jesus offers us this as a criterion for judgment. But in judging celibacy and marriage (just as in judging religions) we might add Smith’s counsel that we should judge each by its best expressions, by its saints, and not by its unhealthy expressions. Looking at marriage and celibacy, we see in each both healthy and unhealthy manifestations; and it doesn’t seem that either side trumps the other in terms of manifesting sanctity or dysfunction. That’s not surprising since, in the end, both choices demand the same thing; namely, a willingness to sacrifice and sweat blood for the sake of love and fidelity. Some celibates are unfaithful, and some are paedophiles, but some become Mother Teresa. It’s worth mentioning too that Jesus was a celibate. Some married persons are unfaithful, some are abusive, and some murder their spouses, but some give tangible, embodied, holy expression to God’s unconditional love for the world and Christ’s unbreakable bond with his Church. Sexuality is a reality that can be lived out in different modalities, and both marriage and celibacy are holy choices that can, sadly, go wrong.

ACrOSS

3. Pique about ringing sound, while getting supplies (9) 8. Come and hug heavenly saint inside (4) 9. Regards with suspicion (9) 10. Body wrap? (6) 11. Let many of them rejoice or be glad (Ps 97) (5) 14. Lord of a Belgian city? (5) 15. Not all twelve will have a light sleep (4) 16. Death, where is your ...? (1 Cor 15) (5) 18. Eager to wail at the funeral (4) 20. Done in the open trove (5) 21. Old fashioned boy took out girl (5) 24. Solemn hymn (6) 25. Calculating the Day of Judgment? (9) 26. Canon hides very soon (4) 27. One at the head of the school grades (9)

DOwN

1 Similar to the spirit (9) 2. Aged giver is resentful (9) 4. What Latin word for a pound? (4) 5. Greek letters in small amounts (5) 6. How preacher interrupted himself dramatically (6) 7. Written down it changes the tone (4) 9. Deceives Des up inside (5) 11. Homer’s epic tale (5) 12. Object that is unspeciﬁed (9) 13. I’m tense about New Testament feeling (9) 17. Papal decoration I get in on my way out (5) 19. Cloth needed for short sleep with relatives (6) 22. Boredom from forgotten nuisances (5) 23. Prophet with sharp eyes? (4) 24. Prophetess who returns Solutions on page 11 the same (4)

CHURCH CHUCKLE

addy was the bad apple in Fr Murphy’s parish. He’d drink and gamble, visited houses of ill repute and blasphemed a lot. One day, Fr Murphy collared his wayward parishioner. “Paddy,” he said, “I fear we shall never meet in heaven.” “Oh dear, Father,” replied Paddy, visibly alarmed, “what have you done now?”

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