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Tlhagale: Halo of priesthood is now broken

BY CHRISTEN TORRES

A Bishop Duncan Tsoke and Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg bless newly-ordained Fathers Oupa Raymond Matseke, Daniel Sefako Satwana, Boshom Victor Mpentsheni and Abel Emmanuel Maluleka in Christ the King cathedral. (Photo: Khanya Litabe)

Star backs SA priest’s book STAFF REPORTER

A

JOHANNESBURG priest has published his first book of poetry—and had a world-famous singer write a foreword

to it.

Fr Lawrence Mduduzi Ndlovu’s anthology In Quiet Realm will be officially launched on November 22 at St Augustine College in Johannesburg.

The forewords to the book were written by US opera superstar Jessye Norman and Lindiwe Mabuza, the South African ambassador to the United Kingdom.

Fr Ndlovu credits Ms Mabuza, herself a renowned poet, for giving him confidence “in my own language and poetry”.

“After she read some of my poems, she gave such inspiring feedback that I started feeling confident about them,” the priest said. “She also assisted me often with editing some things here and there.”

The Soweto-born priest said he has written poetry “from my high school days, stopping and picking up at different times”.

“I have always written poems in order to process or even let out some thoughts that have lingered in my mind, but I have not always had the intention of publishing them,” Fr Ndlovu told The Southern Cross.

“Some were written for a specific purpose

Fr Lawrence Ndlovu and the cover of his new anthology of poetry (Photo: Khanya Litabe) and were meant to be published. For example, ‘Waters of Wars’ was written to mark the centenary of the sinking of the SS Mendi and it was published on the day of the centenary,” he said.

“After a while—years really—I discovered that I had poems on my computer and on USB sticks and in my old diaries, so I decided that maybe I should publish some of them.”

Fr Ndlovu doesn’t think of himself as a classical kind of poet. “I don't always think about form, rhyme and so on. I am a historical, autobiographical, philosophical, theological kind of poet. Some poems are like short stories. My style is varied.”

Continued on page 3

RCHBISHOP Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg has called for the excommunication of all priests who abuse minors, and spoke with concern about the anger of young South Africans at what he called “broken promises”.

The archbishop’s homily at the ordination of four priests at Johannesburg’s Christ the King cathedral received coverage in secular media for his call to excommunicate abusers.

But his first priority, which escaped media notice, was to speak about the plight of the youth in South Africa today.

He noted that young South Africans have become disillusioned as a result of unemployment, and therefore find “meaninglessness” in their lives.

Archbishop Tlhagale said communities are frustrated by ‘’broken promises’’ concerning electricity, water, housing and decent sanitation.

“Their dignity is being trampled underfoot, just like in the old apartheid days,” he said, saying that their palpable anger results in “destroying public facilities to make their voice heard”.

The archbishop also detailed how the problems of the country are all a result of things such as greed, self-enrichment, corruption and state capture, saying that these ills point to there being “something fundamentally wrong in the state of South Africa”.

Archbishop Tlhagale then focused his homily on the ills within the Catholic and Christian Church, describing the “disjuncture between the action of a priest as priest, and the moral integrity of a priest”.

He referred to the recent trial of Timothy Omotoso, the Nigerian head of the Jesus Domination International Church, who has been charged with multiple counts of sexual assault and rape.

“Your ordination, gentlemen, to the priesthood, takes place against this unhappy background,” Archbishop Tlhagale told the four ordinands.

He also referred to the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. Condemning the cri-

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sis, he called for the excommunication of all priests who are guilty of abuse.

Archbishop Tlhagale explained that automatic excommunication, as detailed in canon law, is applicable to priests who, for example, marry while still ordained or assist in abortion, but not to priests who abuse minors.

“Perhaps the abuse of minors by a priest, considering its moral gravity, ought to be considered as [grounds for] an automatic excommunication,” he said. “In other words, when a priest is found to have abused a child, (it) should be included in the list of those acts that bring about automatic excommunication.”

Referring to the scandal of “silence and cover-ups”, Archbishop Tlhagale said that “the halo of the Catholic priesthood has been broken”.

“The Church is castigated because it appears to have claimed to have a holier-thanthou attitude. We priests claim to be the ‘other Christ’. We have set the bar high but fail fundamentally to live up to that moral standard,” Archbishop Tlhagale said, adding: “Hence the messiness and harsh criticism.”

He warned all those who abuse minors: “Child abuse should simply not happen!”

Archbishop Tlhagale urged a reform within Continued on page 2

6-16 October 2019

CATHOLIC FRANCE Led by Bishop Joe Sandri

Archbishop Buti Tlhagale preaches during the ordination Mass in Johannesburg’s Christ the King cathedral. (Photo: Khanya Litabe)

2

The Southern Cross, November 7 to November 13, 2018

LOCAL

Catholic Filipino settlers honoured

BY STEVE HERBERT

M Assumption Convent School in Germiston, Johannesburg, took top honours in the Speculator category of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s national investment competition. The winning team (from left) are Panita Pillay, Daniella da Silva, business studies teacher Kyle Lauf, Eleni Glavovic and Daniela Domingues.

Convent wins JSE’s national challenge

A

T a ceremony in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s Sandton centre, four Grade 11 students and their business studies teacher from Assumption Convent School in Germiston were announced the winners in the Speculator category of the JSE’s national Investment Challenge for schools.

The team beat over 18 000 learners from high schools across South Africa who participated.

The Investment Challenge is an investment simulation game, where high school contestants are given a fictitious sum of R1 million to invest in listed shares on the stock exchange.

Students are required to research and understand the types of shares

available in South Africa, and what influences their price fluctuations.

Then they need to buy and sell these shares, accumulating profits that track the movements of the actual share prices.

Assumption Convent’s winning team of Panita Pillay, Daniella da Silva, Eleni Glavovic, Daniela Domingues and teacher Kyle Lauf called themselves the “Bull Traders”.

Winners in all categories were treated to a five-star lunch, received gifts including Bluetooth/wireless headphones, and were given substantial monetary prizes provided as Satrix investments.

The JSE runs the game as part of its financial literacy campaign across South Africa.

ORE than 300 people, most of them descendants of Filipino settlers, witnessed the renaming and blessing of a flight of steps at Kalk Bay, Cape Town, as Manila Steps.

The naming of the Manila Steps was accompanied by an atmosphere of happiness that the “Manilas”, as the 19th-century Filipino migrants to the harbour suburb were known, had finally received recognition.

The group walked along Gatesville Road down the steps to the old graveyard at the end of Upper Quarterdeck Road, where many of their ancestors were buried up until 1903.

Cape Town’s deputy mayor Ian Nielson made a brief speech confirming the city’s support for this heritage project At the old graveyard, Fr Mark Pothier of the local St James’ church stood on what was known as the “Pulpit Stone” and blessed those buried there many years ago.

Imam Shafiek Ariefdien of Kalk Bay mosque then said a prayer for

all assembled. Fr Wilfred Meyer of the Anglican Holy Trinity church in Kalk Bay blessed the steps.

Fr Rico Talisic, a Catholic priest from the Philippines based in District Six, prayed in his native language Tagalog, which last was heard

in Kalk Bay 100 years ago when the oldest Filipino settler died.

The ceremony was completed when an information board erected by the Kalk Bay Historical Association was unveiled by the Philippines’ ambassador Joseph Angeles.

Little Eden to hold annual Christmas concerts

L

ITTLE Eden, which is home to 300 children and adults with profound intellectual disability, will present its annual Christmas concerts this month.

The Domitilla and Danny Hyams Home in Edenvale, Johannesburg, will hold its concert on November 16 an 17, while the Elvira Rota Village in Bapsfontein will hold its concert on November 23 and 24. Concerts

A NEW WAY OF HELPING THE SOUTHERN CROSS There is a NEW way to become part of The Southern Cross through a monthly contribution to the Associates’ Campaign.

Fr Mark Pothier blessed the old ground.of the old Filipino cemetery at the foot of the newly-named Manila Steps in Kalk Bay, Cape Town.

will start at 10:00. Entrance is free.

The Christmas concerts are the highlight of the year at Little Eden.

The concert practice forms part of residents’ care and stimulation therapy programme.

Traditional nativity scenes are woven into the concert themes of “Our colourful emotions” and “7 days of the week”.

After the concert, visitors will

have the chance to browse through Little Eden’s Christmas stalls, enjoy refreshments, meet the children, and see the facilities.

Those joining the Bapsfontein concert are asked to bring comfortable shoes and a sunhat if they plan to tour the facilities or meander down to the wetlands. n RSVP to info@littleeden.org.za or 011 609-7246.

SA priest to succeed Fr Rolheiser as head of US theology school STAFF REPORTER

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SOUTH African Oblate has been appointed to head a prestigious United States school of theology, succeeding Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI. Fr Sylvester David OMI, currently vicar-general of Durban archdiocese and a former head of St Joseph’s Theological Institute in Cedara, KwaZuluNatal, has been appointed president of the Oblate School of Theology (OST) in San Antonio, Texas.

Fr Rolheiser, whose column appears weekly in The Southern Cross, headed the OST for 23 years.

He will remain in residence there.

Fr David will be the institution’s first African head when his renewable five-year term begins next year. His appointment followed two years of dialogue between the Oblates in the US and SA. Fr David plans to move to San Antonio in January. Before he takes office, he will shadow Fr Rolheiser.

Fr Sylvester David OMI, vicar-general of Durban archdiocese and former head of St Joseph’s Theological Institute, is to succeed Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI as head of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas, in the US.

Salesian Father John Thompson celebrated his last Mass at St John Bosco parish in Robertsham, Johannesburg, before leaving for a new post in Lesotho.

Fellow Salesian priests Frs Tumelo Pone, Canice Dooley, Joy Sebastian and Tim Wrenn, Deacon Victor Ho, and the Robertsham congregation were there to bid him farewell.The Knights of da Gama CL2 formed a guard of honour as Fr Thompson emerged from the church. (Photo: Alexis Santana Callea)

Tlhagale to new priests Continued from page 1 the Church, asking the newly ordained priests—Frs Oupa Raymond Matseke, Daniel SefakoSatwana, Boshom Victor Mpentsheni and Abel Emmanuel Maluleka—to take part in the change.

“As you enter the Catholic priesthood, you must be prepared to carry the burden and stigma of the moral failure of Catholic priests.

And if you were to initiate any reforms within the Church, you are to start with yourselves first.”

Archbishop Tlhagale urged the new priests to become “genuine pastors and credible shepherds in the Church”, and explained that “you [priests] have a moral duty, at least, not to make matters worse than they already are”.

“Strive in earnest to be the other Christ who brings hope to the people of God,” he said.

LOCAL

The Southern Cross, November 7 to November 13, 2018

3

Now for a synod on women in the Church STAFF REPORTER

A

SOUTH African representative to a Catholic women’s conference in Rome last month has called for a synod on women.

“I think that the Church should create spaces for dialogue, have more conversations with women,” said Radio Veritas presenter Sheila Pires, proposing “a synod that would look at the role of women in the Catholic Church”.

At the Catholic Women Speak conference in Rome, she noted that the needs of Catholic women in Africa or India differ from those in Europe or the US. “What I gathered from the conference is that we have different approaches,” said Ms Pires, who represented Southern Africa alongside theologian Nontando Hadebe.

“For example, in South Africa, Catholic women have prominent positions in the Church through so-

dalities and other lay movements,” she said.

“However, in other African countries that are still trying to recover from civil wars or are working on legislation concerning the rights of women, women are not that worried about leadership positions in the Church as they serve the Church.”

Ms Pires said Catholic women from other parts of the world, such as India, face similar challenges, whereas European or North American Catholic women want to see a Church that gives them more prominent positions.

Her trip to Rome coincided with the Synod of Bishops on the youth.

“The youth have a deep desire to walk with the Church and to be heard, but they feel abandoned” she said. “Hence the main point, repeated over and over again, was ‘Listen to young people.’”

Ms Pires said young people long

Radio Veritas presenter Sheila Pires in a studio at Vatican Radio in Rome.

Ms Pires was a Southern African representative at the Catholic Women Speak conference in Rome.

for more engagement with priests, parents and elders.

“Young people want a place they can call home in an era filled with fake news. The Church and parents need to move with the times, to

make use of the digital world we live in, and listen to young people.”

She recalled many highlights of her Rome trip, including chairing a discussion at the conference on “Sharing our stories: Cultures and

Catholicism”, and “meeting strong and powerful women who are unafraid to fight for change”.

From the perspective of a radio journalist, Ms Pires was inspired by interviewing many Catholics, and by “my daily walks to Vatican Radio and meeting the staff there”.

“Seeing Pope Francis in person on several occasions—that was more than I had bargained for,” she said.

Another unforgettable moment was attending the Mass for the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, celebrated by Cardinal Arlindo Gomes Furtado of Cape Verde.

“To be with the Cape Verdean community in Rome was an emotional experience—to meet people from my grandfather’s home,” Ms Pires said. n Sheila Pires’ “Catholic View” programme broadcasts on Radio Veritas on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 18:30 to 19:00.

New guide on praying the Scriptures Diva backs SA priest’s book

BY CHRISTEN TORRES

A

FORMER teacher and religious Sister says her book on praying the Scriptures is the first of more to come.

Bernadette Chellew’s Praying the Scriptures: 8 Chapters of Lectio Divina Reflections makes use of JudeoChristian Scriptures, as well as the ancient Lectio Divina practice of scriptural reading, meditation and prayer, with the author promising to explore the “eight aspects of prayer” with readers.

“It’s a type of handbook to which we can keep going back as a revolving circle going deeper and deeper into the truth of our relationship with God, self and other,” Ms Chellew told The Southern Cross.

The former rector of the Catholic Bible College and former coordinator at St Augustine College describes herself as “the teacher who wanted to make herself redundant”.

Ms Chellew wrote the book to help readers “gain insight into the Word of God and therefore want to read the Bible more widely and deeply”.

“The book is about prayer and

Bernadette Chellew with a copy of her new guide to prayer, Praying the Scriptures. about reading and reflecting on passages in the Bible. I hope that readers will gain a deeper insight into prayer and how important it is as conversation with God”, she said.

The book is for use by individuals as well as by small groups of people in Christian group sessions.

Catechists and religious leaders will also find assistance regarding prayer

and teaching, Ms Chellew said.

Praying the Scriptures is the first in what Ms Chellew hopes will be an upcoming series of books.

“I am more than halfway on my second book, ‘Praying the Scriptures II’, and I hope to write a series on ‘Praying the Psalms’ and ‘Women and Prayer in the Scriptures’,” she said.

Ms Chellew also writes daily reflections on Facebook, where she shares prayers, guidance for spiritual journeys, and home retreats.

She said she relies “on the power and purpose of God for my life as an instrument of faith, hope, love, joy, care and prayer”.

The book’s blurb describes life in modern society as demanding of our time and attention, leaving little time to encounter God but proposes that “Bernadette offers a path”. n Praying the Scriptures: 8 Chapters of Lectio Divina Reflections is available as a softcover book at R150 plus packaging and postage or as an eBook in PDF format at R100, delivered by email. Order online from www.light formypath.co.za

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Continued from page 1 Fr Ndlovu has long been a great fan of United States soprano Jessye Norman.

“I remember seeing a clip of her singing the French national anthem at the official state celebration of the bicentenary of the French Revolution,” he said.

“That event was watched by millions present at the Place de la Concorde that night and millions across the world.

“What I saw that day was an African-American, a descendant of slaves, singing the Marseillaise, that masterpiece of civilian freedom,” Fr Ndlovu recalled.

“She, who was born during the racist Jim Crow time in the American South, was the herald of freedom: fraternity, liberty and equality!”

Fr Ndlovu wrote the poem titled “I shall be heard” about this, which appears in the book, and sent it to the soprano via the Jessye Norman School of the Arts in Augusta, Georgia.

“Months later I received an e-mail from her. We kept in touch and later I requested that she write the fore-

Soprano legend Jessye Norman word to my book—and she said yes.”

Ms Norman wrote: “Fr Lawrence would have us remember to hold close in our minds and hearts all that we are, all that has made us, and all that we are empowered to be.”

The book, with a cover designed

by Southern Cross editor Günther Simmermacher, is published by Write-On Publishing (www.writeonpublishing.co.za) and sells at a recommended price of R180.

It is also available on Amazon or from Radio Veritas, and will be in bookshops soon.

The November 22 launch at St Augustine College will start at 17:30.

To attend, e-mail mahadi. buthelezi@gmail.com

4

The Southern Cross, November 7 to November 13, 2018

INTERNATIONAL

Trappist Father Thomas Keating (left) receives a gift from the Dalai Lama, Fr Keating, who was one of the principal architects and teachers of the Christian contemplative prayer movement, died at age 95. (Photo: Jessica Rinaldi, Reuters/CNS)

Centering Prayer founder dies at 95

A

FUNERAL Mass was celebrated in Massachussetson November 5 for Trappist Father Thomas Keating, a leading figure in the centering prayer movement that got its start in the 1970s.

Fr Keating died at 95 on October 25 at the abbey where he had been abbot for two decades in the 1960s and ’70s.

Pledging to God to become a priest if he survived a serious childhood illness, Joseph Keating entered the Cistercians’ monastery in Valley Falls, Rhode Island, in 1944 and was ordained a priest in 1949. He took the religious name Thomas due to his admiration of St Thomas Aquinas.

He turned to centering prayer—a technique of praying silently to God without words—based on the encouragement issued by Pope Paul VI during the Second Vatican Council to rediscover the contemplative tradition.

Fr Keating helped to found Contemplative Outreach for centering prayer practitioners in 1984, serving

as its president from 1985-99.

The irony for the Trappist is that, to promote centering prayer, he left the confines of the monastery to speak at conferences worldwide, including a visit to South Africa. “Human nature has a dimension that requires silence,� Fr Keating said in 1990. “The tendency had been to put people interested in the contemplative life in a convent or monastery to protect them from us —or us from them,� he joked.

Fr Keating was a prolific author.

The Contemplative Outreach website has a page listing 28 books—several of which made the Catholic bestseller lists. He described in 2001 how one gets started in centering prayer. “The great battle in the early stages of contemplative prayer is with thoughts,� he wrote. “When we speak of developing interior silence, we are speaking of a relative degree of silence. By interior silence, we refer primarily to a state in which we do not become attached to the thoughts as they go by.�—CNS

African Church: Beware prosperity gospel lies

BY JONATHAN LUxMOORE

A

FRICAN Church leaders have cautioned churchgoers against a false “gospel of prosperity� after a bishop in Ivory Coast said it was gaining ground in Catholic parishes. “People seeking quick solutions are being hypnotised into believing a single prayer can become a magic formula for riches and the good life,� said Fr Paul Sandi, secretary-general of the Inter-territorial Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Gambia and Sierra Leone. “Although it isn’t rampant yet in the Church, we’ve had to caution charismatic priests not to encourage the prosperity gospel, especially when it’s brought in by outsiders,� he said.

The priest’s concerns echoed a warning from Bishop Ignace Bessi Dogbo of Katiola, president of the Ivorian bishops’ conference, who has urged theologians to defend the Church against “drifts and deviations� in teaching.

Fr Sandi said each Catholic diocese had its own pastoral plan for tackling prosperity gospel notions, which are being driven by widespread poverty.

Mgr Lazarus Anondee, secretary general of the Ghanaian bishops’ conference, confirmed the rising popularity of the prosperity gospel as Christian preachers attract young people with promises of jobs and economic rewards. “The Church will never endorse such ideas, which deceive people into thinking that, by some so-called

The cathedral of St Paul in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. African church leaders have cautioned churchgoers against a false “gospel of prosperity�. (Photo: Thierry Gouegnon, Reuters/CNS) miracle, manna will fall from heaven,� he said. “You have to work to achieve something, and the Church would rather empower people through education and vocational training,�

Mgr Anondee said.

Associated with several US televangelists, the prosperity gospel suggests God rewards financial donations to a church with material benefits and physical well-being. The concept has gained influence since the 1980s among Pentecostal and charismatic movements in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

It draws on biblical texts to highlight God’s will that people should be happy and prosperous. It sees sickness and misery as curses alleviated by a devout faith and selfless giving.

In an address to Catholic theologians in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast,

Bishop Dogbo said he was concerned prosperity gospel concepts were finding their way into the Catholic Church as gullible parishioners erred in seeking material salvation.

He added that “charlatan priests� abused their training in theology and canon law to promote false teachings. “It’s not uncommon now to see adverts for evangelisation campaigns at which miracles are promised and prosperity offered with waves of a magic wand,� Bishop Dogbo said.

Mgr Donatien Lolo, assistant secretary general of the Ivorian bishops’ conference, said the Church feared the gospel of prosperity was being “preached more and more in place of the Gospel of Jesus Christ�. He said efforts would be made through parish vigils, bible study and prayer groups to persuade Catholics to “deepen true understanding of the Church and Scripture�. “The evangelisers of prosperity have gained a foothold here because of the crises affecting our countries and the search for an escape from poverty and instability,� he said. “We now need to help Christians reorient themselves against these popular misconceptions and misplaced expectations. You can look to the gospels to solve many problems, but not as a means of material gain,� he explained.

Governments in South Africa and Kenya have expressed concern about popular prosperity gospel preachers, some of whom are listed by Forbes as among Africa’s richest residents and who control massive media empires.—CNS

Vatican invokes diplomatic immunity in abuse trial

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HE Vatican has invoked diplomatic immunity in refusing to deliver a French court summons to the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), Cardinal Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, in a case against a French cardinal.

The Holy See informed the French ministry of foreign affairs in September that it would not notify Cardinal Ladaria of an order to testify before the Lyon court regarding a letter he sent while secretary of the CDF. A Vatican court ruled that the summons was not valid, since the letter was sent in Cardinal Ladaria’s capacity as a minister of Vatican City State and is pro-

tected under international law.

The Spanish cardinal was first called to testify last year in a case against Cardinal Philippe Barbarin of Lyon and six other officials of the archdiocese of Lyon, who are being prosecuted for allegedly failing to report accusations of abuse by a priest to the police.

The accused abuser, Fr Bernard Preynat, was charged with having committed sexual abuse against minors from 198691, though prosecutors dropped his case in 2016. Preynat was removed from ministry by Cardinal Barbarin in 2015.

Victims of Preynat are the plaintiffs in the trial, which is scheduled to begin in January 2019, after two postponements

Asia Bibi released

P

AKISTAN'S Supreme Court has set aside the death sentence of Asia Bibi, a Catholic convicted of blasphemy, and ordered her release from prison.

The apex court ruled that Ms Bibi be released from death row immediately if she had no other case registered against her, re-

ported ucanews.com.

Members of Tehreek-e-Labaik, an extremist group, initiated protests and blocked roads after the verdict.

Khadim Rizvi, leader of the group, recently warned the judges, the government and local as well as international nongovernmental organisations

caused by a lack of response from Cardinal Ladaria.

In Cardinal Ladaria’s letter to the archbishop of Lyon, which was found in a police search of the archdiocesan offices, he advised Cardinal Barbarin to take disciplinary action against Preynat, “while avoiding public scandal�.

The plaintiffs’ lawyers want Cardinal Ladaria to testify as to whether the direction to prevent scandal was intended as an injunction to avoid going to court.

Cardinal Barbarin has maintained his innocence of the charges brought against him, though he acknowledges the action he took, after learning of abuse allegations in 2007, was “belated�.—CNA of “dire� consequences if Bibi was set free. “We will hold massive protests and not let the government function if it releases Asia Bibi to appease the United States,� said Rizvi.

Ms Bibi was sentenced to death in 2010 on charges of making derogatory remarks about the prophet Muhammad during an argument with a Muslim farm worker.—CNS

Holy Land cemetery vandalism slammed

BY JUDITH SUDILOVSKY

H

OLY Land Church leaders have expressed concern after a Catholic cemetery was desecrated by what they suspect are Israeli extremists.

The cemetery of the Salesian Monastery at Beit Jamal, west of Jerusalem, was vandalised, including broken crosses and damage to tombs.

The monastery, which has good relations with its Jewish neighbours, was vandalised two years ago, and in 2017, vandals desecrated the monastery's church. No suspects have been arrested in either case.

The Assembly of the Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land in a statement called on Israeli authorities to increase efforts to find the culprits and for more

public education campaigns to prevent future attacks.

About 50 incidents of vandalism on Christian holy sites have occurred in the last six years, according to several sources.

The ordinaries called on people to “learn to coexist with each other in love and mutual respect, regardless of the diversities among them�.—CNS

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, November 7 to November 13, 2018

Synod: Listen to and include young people

BY CINDY WOODEN

T

HE Catholic Church and all its members must get better at listening to young people, taking their questions seriously, recognising them as full members of the Church, patiently walking with them, and offering guidance as they discern the best way to live their faith, the Synod of Bishops said.

While the synod’s final document spoke of friendship, affection, sexuality and “sexual inclinations”, those issues were not the centre of concern in the lengthy document.

The synod brought together 267 voting members—cardinals, bishops, 18 priests and two religious brothers—and 72 experts and observers, including three dozen men and women under 30 to discuss “young people, the faith and vocational discernment”.

For the vote on the final document, 249 bishops and priests participated; two-thirds approval or 166 votes were required to keep a paragraph in the document. The version they voted on had 167 numbered paragraphs.

The focus of the final document was on improving ways to support young Catholics’ baptismal call to holiness, to welcome the contributions they make to the Church, and help them in their process of growing in faith and in deciding the state of life that would best correspond to what God wants from them.

The emphasis on the Church listening to young people also led to an emphasis on the Church listening to all people—including women—and renewing communities and structures for a “synodal Church” where all members listen to, support and challenge one another and share responsibility for the Church’s one mission of spreading the Gospel.

“Listening is an encounter in freedom, which requires humility,

patience, willingness to understand and a commitment to working out responses in a new way,” the document said. “Listening transforms the hearts of those who live it, above all when they take on an inner attitude of harmony and docility to the Spirit of Christ.”

The bishops said they heard from many young people a need for “courageous cultural conversion and a change in daily pastoral practice” to promote the equality of women in society and in the Church.

“An area of particular importance in this regard is the presence of women in Church bodies at all levels, including in leadership roles, and the participation of women in Church decision-making processes while respecting the role of the ordained ministry,” the document said. “This is a duty of justice.”

However, the final document was amended to remove one specific suggestion on where to begin promoting greater equality in the Church.

The draft document had called for “avoiding the disparity” at the synod between the men’s Union of Superiors General, which has ten voting members at the synod, and the women’s International Union of Superiors General, which had three non-voting observers at the assembly.

The document acknowledged how, in some countries, young people are moving away from the Church or question its teachings, especially on sexuality.

The Church’s response, the synod said, must be a commitment of time and patience as it helps young people “grasp the relationship between their adherence to faith in Christ and the way they live their affectivity and interpersonal relationships”.

Church teaching that all people are called to chastity and to refraining from sexual relations outside the bond of marriage between a man and a woman must be presented clearly, but not with a judgmental attitude, it added.—CNS

Synod observers participate in a pilgrimage hike from the Monte Mario nature reserve in Rome to St Peter's basilica. Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna said synodality refers to all the baptised taking responsibility for the Church and its mission, each according to his or her talents and role within the Church. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS)

What does ‘synodal’ even mean?

BY CINDY WOODEN

S

YNODALITY, a key concept of Pope Francis’ papacy, was used repeatedly in the final document of the Synod of Bishops on young people, the faith and vocation discernment.

In simple terms, “synodality” means “walking together” with every member of the Church, recognising that the grace of baptism makes one part of the body of the Church and, therefore, responsible for its life and mission.

“The fruit of this synod, the choice that the Spirit has inspired in us through listening and discernment, is to walk with young people going out to all to witness to the love of God,” the final document said.

“We can describe this process by speaking of synodality for mission, that is, missionary synodality.”

The International Theological Commission, a group of theologians appointed by the pope and working under the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, published a lengthy document in March on

“Synodality in the Life and Mission of the Church”.

In its Catholic understanding and usage, the commission wrote, synodality “promotes the baptismal dignity and co-responsibility of all, makes the most of the presence in the people of God of charisms dispensed by the Holy Spirit, recognises the specific ministry of pastors in collegial and hierarchical communion with the bishop of Rome, and guarantees that synodal processes and events unfold in conformity with the deposit of faith and involve listening to the Holy Spirit for the renewal of the Church’s mission”.

In other words, consulting and listening to all members of the Church is essential for discerning a path forward, but those decisions cannot violate the truths of the Christian faith and must be verified by a priest, bishop or the pope.

As members of the Synod of Bishops reviewed a draft of their final document and prepared amendments to it, some bishops told reporters they thought the emphasis on synodality was exaggerated, since

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very few synod participants mentioned the term during the assembly.

Others cautioned that for people living in countries with a large percentage of Anglicans or Protestants, the term could lead to confusion, almost as if the synod was saying it wanted a Church where decisions were made prayerfully, but democratically.

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna admitted that the term was not discussed in depth at the synod, but “it is what we have been doing for a month”.

While the Second Vatican Council's call for “collegiality” refers to the College of Bishops acting with and under the pope, he said, “synodality is much wider” and refers to all the baptised taking responsibility for the Church and its mission, each according to his or her talents and role within the Church.

“It is to walk together, to be together on the way of faith and that concerns everybody,” Cardinal Schönborn said. But “it doesn't take away the difference of function and ministry and roles.”—CNS

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Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops on young people, reads a letter from the synod fathers to the youth during the synod’s closing Mass. (Photo: Paul Haring/ CNS)

Pope: Forgive us

BY CAROL GLATz

S

PEAKING on behalf of all adult Catholics, Pope Francis formally closed the Synod of Bishops by asking young people for forgiveness.

“Forgive us if often we have not listened to you; if, instead of opening our hearts, we have filled your ears. As Christ’s Church, we want to listen to you with love” because young people’s lives are precious in God’s eyes and “in our eyes, too”, the pope said in his homily.

The Mass, celebrated in St Peter’s basilica, closed a monthlong synod on young people, faith and vocational discernment. The pope thanked the 300 synod members, experts, observers and ecumenical delegates for working in communion, with frankness and with the desire to serve God’s people.

“May the Lord bless our steps, so that we can listen to young people, be their neighbours and bear witness before them to Jesus, the joy of our lives,” he said.

“We want to imitate Jesus and, like him, to dirty our hands, just as the Lord has dirtied his hands for each one of us,” he said. “Let us look at the cross, start from there and remember that God became my neighbour in sin and death.”

When “we too become neighbours, we become bringers of new life. Not teachers of everyone, not specialists in the sacred, but witnesses of the love that saves,” Pope Francis said.

Living the faith and sharing it with the world, especially with young people, entails going out to those in need, listening, being close to them and bearing witness to Jesus’ liberating message of salvation, Pope Francis said.

“How often,” the pope lamented, “instead of this liberating message of salvation, have we brought ourselves, our own ‘recipes’ and ‘labels’ into the Church!”

“How often do people feel the weight of our institutions more than the friendly presence of Jesus! In these cases, we act more like an NGO, a state-controlled agency, and not the community of the saved who dwell in the joy of the Lord.”

Just as Jesus journeyed in his ministry with others, “we too have walked alongside one another” during the synod on young people, the pope said.

Before praying the Angelus with people gathered in St Peter’s Square, the pope said the synod did more than produce a final document—it displayed a method of listening to the voices of the people of God and discerning responses in the light of Scripture and the Holy Spirit.

While the document was important and useful, he said, the methods employed during the synod and its preparations showed “a way of being and working together, young and old, listening and discerning, so as to reach pastoral choices that respond to reality”.—CNS

6

The Southern Cross, November 7 to November 13, 2018

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Answers on Jesuit abuse case A

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

The profit in war

A

HUNDRED years ago on November 11 at 11:11, the “war to end all wars” concluded, bringing to a close a global conflict that changed the world.

After four years of war, three once-powerful empires had fallen: the German, Austrian and Ottoman empires. The demise of the latter created a toxic political realignment in the Middle East which to this day is the venue of war, mostly of the kind that is stoked by the superpowers.

The idea that World War I would end all wars proved to be naïve, even as the establishment of the League of Nations gave brief rise to hope. Within 21 years a new and even more destructive world war began (a timespan that is equivalent of today and 1997).

It would be the devastating conflagration of World War II that set Europe on a course of peaceful stability.

A continent whose powerful nations over centuries were at regular war with one another are now committed to peace in Europe. Most of these nations are united and tied to one another through the European Union, a guarantor of peace in Europe.

Other regions have been less fortunate since the end of World War II. Colonial and post-colonial warfare and other forms of Western aggression (which can range from full-scale invasion to strategic interference) have done much to destabilise many regions in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Superpowers such as Russia and China have further created stages of tension and conflict.

Profit-mongers who feed rampant consumerism are contributing to warfare in their pursuit of control over the natural resources of the underdeveloped world, especially in Africa.

M

uch as the European Union underwrites peace within Europe, many of its members— especially Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands—are responsible for the slaughter of innocent people in countries around the world through their manufacture of and trade in arms.

The United States and Russia are the worst offenders in the global arms trade—each sells more armaments than all other countries combined. China and Israel complete the Top 10 of arms traders.

Pope Francis has called arms traders “merchants of death” and their business “the industry of death”.

Addressing the US Congress in 2015, Pope Francis said: “Why are deadly weapons being sold to those who plan to inflict untold suffering on individuals and society? Sadly, the answer is, simply for money: money that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood. In the face of this shameful and culpable silence, it is our duty to confront the problem and to stop the arms trade.”

Alas, the pope offered no recipe as to how we might go about stopping the military-industrial complex—a term coined

by US President Dwight Eisenhower in 1961, by way of warning against it.

The capitalist dictates of profit trump all calls for peace. The politicians whom Pope Francis addressed in Washington in 2015 are the same people who, by backing the trade in arms to aggressors, legitimise evils such as Saudi Arabia’s destruction of Yemen or Israel’s obliteration of Gaza.

P

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.

ope Francis has pointed out that it is hypocritical to talk of peace while at the same time fuelling the arms trade which serves only the “merchants of death”.

While the pope holds that it is licit to fight wars to “solve a problem”, he has also said: “It’s an absurd contradiction to speak of peace, to negotiate peace, and at the same time, to promote or allow the arms trade.”

Pope Francis has warned that we are already in a third world war. But where World War I was about geopolitical, military and economic primacy (and vanity), and World War II about stopping the hegemony of the evil Nazi regime, the incremental World War III is fed by the profit-driven military-industrial complex.

“When all the world is, as it is today, at war—piecemeal though that war may be; a little here, a little there and everywhere— there is no justification,” Pope Francis has said.

He added: “And God weeps.

Jesus weeps.”

Let the centenary of the “war to end all wars” animate the world’s people of goodwill to work for peace, through prayer and action, that all wars may indeed end.

LTHOUGH all the issues raised have been addressed in numerous media recently, the Southern Cross letter “Clear answers now on abuse” (October 24) posed questions regarding the sexual abuse of William Segodisho by Fr Bill McCurtain. I thank you for this opportunity to clarify the questions regarding the case.

Fr McCurtain is a member of the British Province of the Society of Jesus, and so falls under the jurisdiction of that Province. Like many religious, he came to South Africa to work for a limited period of time before returning to his home Province.

See purgatory as joyful purification

Y

OUR October 24 edition featured a traditional interpretation of purgatory, with a plea to offer prayer and indulgences for the “suffering souls” to release these “suffering children” from this frightening “place of torment”.

The writer, Professor Michael Ogunu, tries to define temporal and eternal punishment, and rightly encourages all Christians to assist the faithful departed.

And so we must; sacred scripture is very clear that this state of purgation is a reality for “Nothing defiled can enter heaven” (Rev 21:27), and “You shall not get out till you have paid the very last penny” (Mt 5:26; Lk 12:59).

Peter is certain that our faith and love is ultimately “tested by fire… and you will be filled with joy so glorious that it cannot be described” (1 Pet1:7-9) Of course, we know the famous text from 2 Maccabees 12:46, praying for the dead “that they may be cleansed from their sins”.

Now, the editor very wisely, on that same page, posted a different understanding on this subject by Mgr Francis Mannion, which is excellent and more to my limited understanding of this mystery.

I think we should see purgatory as the “hospital of a merciful God”, rather than a place of torment.

Indeed we have a mystery to ponder, for passing from this material world there is no place and no time. We enter God’s world: Eternity. No beginning, no end!

The soul of man is created by God and yearns to return to its creator.

Listen to Psalm 42: “Like a deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is longing for you my God.” I understand this loving, burning yearning for what lies ahead is the necessary state of purification and sanctification, for who would dare face the all-beautiful, uniquely

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Fr McCurtain returned to the United Kingdom over ten years before the allegations were made known to the Jesuits in 2002. He did not return to Britain because of anything related to abuse.

The Jesuits were not aware of the abuse until they received an allegation from Mr Segodisho. Fr McCurtain was then immediately removed from ministry and an investigation initiated; as part of this, Mr Segodisho saw a psychologist.

A legal process led to a grant of financial assistance to Mr Segodisho so that he could receive some training and counselling. Fr McCurtain has

pure and holy God with even the slightest speck of dirt?

I cannot help but see this purgatory as a joyful state, and also recall that “Love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Pet 4:8).

And our souls do, in fact, long to be totally enveloped in this divine, eternal and majestic Love—and that, surely, is heaven.

Fr Ralph de Hahn, Cape Town

Trinity is three distinct persons

F

ATHER Ralph de Hahn, in his letter “Never lose power of Pentecost” (June 27), says young people appear not to appreciate the sacrament of confirmation.

He says he fears we are lacking the right approach for many young people to feel and experience the power of Pentecost, and adds that they are not conversant with the actual happenings on Pentecost.

I agree with Fr De Hahn that we are lacking the right approach to young adults.

I feel part of the problem is the Church’s outdated doctrine of the Trinity, which distracts from the blessings and guidance we receive when confirmed.

The Church teaches that there are three persons in one God, which there are not, rather, there are three distinct persons making up the Trinity, being God the Father; God’s son Jesus; and a gift from God to mankind, the Holy Spirit.

Jesus makes this clear in his preaching while on this earth. He refers to his Father on numerous occasions in the Gospels, and God himself refers to Jesus as his beloved Opinions expressed in The Southern Cross, especially in Letters to the Editor, do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor or staff of the newspaper, or of the Catholic hierarchy.

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never been allowed to minster again.

Mr Segodisho re-made contact with the British Province’s safeguarding officer in 2017. As a result of this, the British provincial wrote him a letter of apology in January 2018 and attempts were made to find a way to get him further help.

Mr Segodisho has now opened a case in South Africa with the SAPS. The matter was, before this, reported to the Dorset police.

The Society of Jesus absolutely condemns the abuse of minors as both criminal and sinful. It is committed to cooperating with the civil authorities in this matter.

Fr David Rowan SJ, Regional superior Society of Jesus in South Africa

Son several times too.

At the end of his life, nailed to the cross, Jesus says: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Then, in terrible agony, he cries out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

When Jesus knows he is dying, he says: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

If Jesus was God, the above statements by him would make no sense.

At no time in the Gospels does Jesus refer to himself as God, or intimate that he is God. Instead, he stresses on a number of occasions that God is his Father.

The Gospels refer to the Holy Spirit too. But it is always made obvious that the Holy Spirit is a gift sent by God. The last time in the Gospels when the Holy Spirit is mentioned is by Jesus himself, when he tells the disciples that his Father is going to send the Holy Spirit down upon them, to give them help to go out and preach to all nations.

There was no mention of God or three persons coming to them.

I believe that if our youth, when preparing for confirmation, were taught that they were going to receive a gift from God, the Holy Spirit, they would be able to accept it fully, it would become part of them, and they would be able to tell the story with faith and conviction.

I sincerely hope the Church will change the doctrine of the Trinity from that of a mystery of three persons in one God to that of the Trinity as what it is meant to be: three distinct persons, God the Father, Jesus his Son, and the Holy Spirit as a gift from God to mankind.

Peter Hoar, Waterfall, KNZ n For the authentic Catholic teaching of the Holy Trinity, defined at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325 and clarified in subsequent councils of the Church, please refer to the Catechism of the Catholic Church paras 232267.—Editor.

PERSPECTIVES

Let the statues fall O NE of my favourite songs is “Viva la Vida” by British rock band Coldplay.

It starts with the lyrics: “I used to rule the world, seas would rise when I gave the word. Now in the morning I sleep alone, sweep the streets I used to own.”

It gives a haunting tale of how easy it is to be held tightly in the claws of Power and how it can, in one gasp, loosen its grip to release you into the abyss of powerlessness.

Power comes in many forms. It is a sleek, dapper suit complemented by leather brogues. It is a crocodile-skin handbag and a Burberry coat. It is putting a signature on a contract worth millions.

In this era of Big Data, it is having access to the smartphones, laptops and smartwatches of millions of people around the world.

Power knows just how powerful it is. It presents itself innocently, smiling at those around it. Unknown to its prey, it goes on the prowl, looking for those who are greedy and easily tempted.

Human beings can be weak and selfish creatures, and so before the sun sets, before the roads have quietened down and before the windows have been closed shut for the evening, Power will acquaint itself with all of your flaws and insecurities. This is done with the sole intention of exploiting them.

You will be its friend and it will be yours, and all will be well for a time. And then you will begin to wonder what it would be like to have more. The smell of it makes your mouth salivate. You start to reach, only gently, and you exclaim: “Oh goodness gracious, this is delicious!”

It is not enough, you must have more and so you grab, pull and grasp for it.

But there are, in your wake, in the

blood-stained path behind you, the bits and pieces of the dignity of others that you destroyed to get to where you are.

Where there once stood skyscrapers of tolerance and monuments of respect, there is now a desolate space littered with ashes and debris.

A

nd then, ever so slowly, the tight and firmly held grip on the raging stallion that is Power begins to loosen. The reins fall from your hands and you are thrust from the saddle. It will charge into the wilderness freely, even recklessly.

It is certain that someone will be bold enough to step into its path, take hold of it and attempt to tame it. There you will be with a jaw full of dust and your limbs bruised. In your most fragile state and swelling vulnerability, there will come the ghosts of former friends and colleagues and enemies to take their vengeance upon you.

You can no longer laze about the cosy

“Once it was hoped that passers-by would gaze at the statues of power with admiration—but now they look on in horror and disgust,” writes Nthabiseng Maphisa.

(Photo: Felix Mittermeier)

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extensive majesty of the ocean. Each in its own way tells a story worth reflecting on for each experience is part of our journey. he water's edge, that meeting between water and dry land, is a special place.

Walking a river bank along a narrow path or track, you are aware of your own security on dry land and the risk that a mistaken footfall might lead to a trip and the subsequent need of at least dry clothing.

When we see the floods that are the consequence of extreme weather we realise the narrow edge between our survival and loss, for the sheer power of a torrent of water challenges our feeble effort to prevent damage.

Watching images of people wading waist deep through flooded streets is hard to comprehend, watching young children gathering water from polluted pools for their family is heartbreaking.

Yet there is beauty in water about us.

Being alone at the water's edge on a beach

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lounge of Power. There you were protected by bodyguards, security cameras and weapons. But now, alone and unguarded, you are left in their hands.

The advent of the #MeToo movement and the sex abuse scandals in the Church begs us to look into the face of Power and those who chase after it.

It can be said that, although there is enormous sexual perversion that is evident in these scandals, it is clear that there is also an abuse of power.

This can be seen in corporations and among some members of the clergy alike.

Sexual abuse is not only a cruel, horrendous expression of sexual desire but it is also a wicked attempt to exercise control over another human being. One fuels the other, and the results are catastrophic.

In corporations, cinema and sadly within the Church, there are structures held firmly in place that have allowed for evil deeds to be covered. They stand tall like statues in a town square. Now it is necessary that the statues fall.

There have been children, teenagers and young adult men and women whose pain has been hidden in the shadows of these statues.

These grandiose contraptions are expensive to erect and maintain. It was hoped that passers-by would gaze at them with admiration—but now they look on in horror and disgust.

Let these statues fall! They should have been icons of hope and strength and all that can be attained when Power is used for good. Instead we are made to observe their fading shine and the crumbling of their stone.

Yes, it is time to let the statues fall.

Point of Church

“Apart from the necessity of water for our survival, there is also the aesthetic beauty of water, be it in a flowing river, a lake, a downpour of rain or the extensive majesty of the ocean,” writes Chris McDonnell.

T

Pop Culture Catholic

Chris McDonnell

Give me a drink!

W ORK songs are part of a tradition that spreads across the planet.

People sang as they worked, partly to pass the time through boredom with the task at hand, such as cotton picking in the South of the US, and partly to inspire cooperation and rhythm at work as with sea shanties.

The lyrics tell a story, remember a lost homeland, or reflect the arduous nature of work.

One short song from 1936 by the African-American singer Lead Belly focuses on the thirst of hard work and toil in a hot climate. It begins with these words: “Bring me little water, Sylvie, bring me little water now. Bring me little water, Sylvie, every little once in a while.”

The need to slake a thirst every so often, to have moisture in a dry mouth is the heartfelt plea made to a mythical Sylvie. It is a plea made every day in many countries where drought is endemic—including parts of Southern Africa—or the quality of drinking water is poor.

All forms of life on earth depend on water. Much of that life actually lives in the vast swathes of ocean, ranging from the massive whales to the smallest krill.

There are now clear indications that life on dry land originated in water, adapting to new conditions over many millions of years.

Numerous instances in the Gospel narratives are centred on water, from the Lord's baptism in the Jordan to his meeting the woman at the well, from the storm on the lake to his plea of thirst uttered from the cross. Water brings with it life, for without it, we have little chance.

Apart from the practical necessity of water for our survival, there is also the aesthetic beauty of water, be it in a flowing river, a lake, a downpour of rain or the

Nthabiseng Maphisa

early in the morning, with the sun beginning to rise over the distant sea horizon, washing out the yawn of sleep or seeing that same sun setting in a riot of colour at the end of the day can be special moments of gratitude.

It is a time when the smallness of our being is measured against the immensity of the creation that surrounds us. It is a place of solitude where only gulls wheel and screech hunting for food, a place of isolation where your voice calling across the strand receives no reply, a place of peace where you walk the sea edge, expecting nothing, and no-one calls your name. Idle time spent by water is never wasted.

We bless ourselves with water as we enter a church, just as we were first blessed at our baptism, just as we will be blessed when friends gather for our Requiem.

Water permeates our lives from beginning to end, be it the drops we drink or the daily cleansing of our bodies. Without it we have no substance.

Today, it is a time of aridity in the Church. So much has happened that has left us parched and thirsty, casting about, looking for a drink to satisfy our thirst.

It is a time when we need to sustain each other, offer our hearts as an outstretched hand in a time of grief, responding to the needs of others just as we hope they will respond to us.

We need Sylvie, in whatever form she may appear, to bring us a little water every little once in a while. n This article was first published in the Catholic Times.

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7

Tony Magliano

Point of Justice

The war that didn’t end all wars

O

N the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month in 1918 an armistice was declared, effectively ending one of the worst conflicts in history—World War I. On November 11 many nations will observe the 100th anniversary of that historic day when the warring nations of the world finally stopped all the killing, injuring and destruction which filled the years between 1914 and 1918.

On December 7, 1914, Pope Benedict XV pleaded with the warring parties to observe a Christmas truce. He asked “that the guns may fall silent at least upon the night the angels sang”.

He was hoping that such a truce would lead to sincere peace negotiations. Tragically, his plea was officially ignored.

But on Christmas, opposing soldiers along various spots on the Western Front inspiringly declared their own unofficial truce (see www.scross.co.za/2016/12/ww1_christmas_truce).

Later, a courageous Catholic American named Ben Salmon, walking in the footsteps of the non-violent Jesus, refused to kill. He was sentenced to death, which was later commuted to a lengthy prison sentence of hard labour.

World War I caused over 8 million military deaths. And the civilian death toll was even worse at approximately 13 million—largely due to starvation, exposure, disease, military encounters and massacres.

“The war to end all wars” instead became a precursor to the even more horrible World War II—the worst war in human history—and scores of wars since ever since. Honestly, for what?

And the veterans who survive wars very often come home with serious physical, mental and spiritual wounds. Why do Christians allow our governments to put them in harm’s way?

Shouldn’t followers of the non-violent Jesus demand an end to this sacrilege—the sacrilege of war and war preparation?

For the sake of helping create a culture which opposes war and war preparation, a culture which decries sending more young men and women into one senseless war after another, we need to de-emphasise the nationalistic fervour of flag waving and military parades associated with Remembrance Day, and instead recapture the prayerful and peaceful meaning that was central to what this day was originally called: Armistice Day. In a June 4, 1926 congressional resolution officially recognising the end of World War I, the US Congress declared that the recurring anniversary of the day when hostilities ceased “should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through goodwill and mutual understanding between nations”.

On November 11, let’s reclaim Armistice Day by saying no to more war, and demanding justice and peace at home and abroad. n Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated social justice and peace columnist.

Oberammergau & Holy Land 2020

The Southern Cross will host a pilgrimage to the Passion Play in Oberammergau and the Holy Land in SEPTEMBER 2020, led by a very special Spiritual Director.

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8

The Southern Cross, November 7 to November 13, 2018

COMMUNITY Students at Assumption Convent School in Germiston, Johannesburg, celebrated Drop Everything and Read Day by dressing up as their favourite book characters.

Corpus Christi parish in Wynberg, Cape Town, celebrated the First Communion of 2018 candidates. They are seen with (back from left) Deacon Lionel Cooper; Fr Camilo Simoes SAC, the Pallottine provincial visiting from India; Fr Chrisu Amal Raj; parish priest Fr Manuel Fernandes; and altar servers.

Francis Graham of St Thérèse parish in Edenvale, Johannesburg, was ordained to the permanent diaconate. Deacon Graham (centre with palms together) is seen with (from left) Deacons Robert Johnson, Dennis Gregory, Mike Carol, Stuart Allen and Thami Mayisela, Archbishop Buti Tlhagale, and Deacons Craig Gadd, Simon Koenane, and Tony Bishop. (Submitted by Barbara Gregory)

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Twelve young people were confirmed at St Benedict’s cathedral in Eshowe, Kwazulu-Natal.

With the candidates are (far left) cathechist Ori Vaarmark, Bishop xolelo Kumalo, and (far right) Fr Victor Chavunga OSB. (Submitted

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Southern C ross

October 31 to November 6, 2018

Eight more of Top 40 Marian shrines

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Page 9

Page 7

Church leaders condemn state plundering STAFF REPORTER

Saints on the colonnade of St Peter’s Square are pictured as the sun sets at the Vatican. In Southern Africa the feast of All Saints, which in the universal calendar is on November 1, is transferred to the next Sunday, this year on November 4, to enable all Catholics to meet their holy day obligation. The transfer of a feast does not preclude its celebration on the actual date in parishes or in private. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS)

Slattery: We’re on right track STAFF REPORTER

T

HE spokesman for the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference has reiterated on a television documentary that the Catholic Church’s response to clerical abuse has been under “better control since 2000”.

Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria appeared on eNCA’s “Checkpoint” programme to respond to the case of William Segodisho, who was abused as a teenager by English Jesuit Father Bill MacCurtain in the late 1980s.

The archbishop stressed that all allegations of abuse must be reported to the civil authorities for investigation and prosecution.

Archbishop Slattery acknowledged that the Catholic Church had failed to deal with the incidence of clerical abuse. “We really apologise for that,” he said.

He also noted that most cases of abuse and their mishandling precede the 2000s when the local Church introduced progressively tighter protocols.

In the programme, Mr Segodisho outlined how Fr MacCurtain groomed and then sexually abused him.

Initially, the priest gave the teenager from Limpopo gifts and special favours, and arranged for the Church to sponsor Mr Segodisho’s schooling.

“I was feeling very special because there was a white priest taking care of me,” he said.

It felt like “a present from God”.

When the abuse started and continued, culminating in rape, Mr Segodisho recalls: “I felt so helpless, so tired, so defeated, because he [Fr MacCurtain] let you know the alternative was the streets.”

Fr MacCurtain was suddenly transferred to England in 1990. The Church soon stopped paying Mr Segodisho’s fees.

Mr Segodisho filed a formal complaint in 2001, and subsequently received a payment of R22 000.

His lawyer, Ian Levitt, is now seeking the extradition to South Africa of Fr MacCurtain, who is now 84 and living in Bournemouth.

In a letter, the priest has apologised to his victim, but without addressing him directly.

Mr Segodisho hopes that his testimony will encourage other victims of abuse to come forward and for the Church to heal itself.

“I don’t think the Catholic Church is an evil institution, but I want to affirm, from my personal experience, that there are people within that institution who do not deserve that title of ‘priest’,” he said.

“Unless the Church starts doing something about these people, they will continue to tarnish the good name of the Church and the good work it strives to do the world over.”

L

EADERS of all significant South African churches, including the Catholic Church, have condemned the evident “plundering of public resources”, blatant waste of taxpayers’ money, prevailing corruption, and weakening of public institutions.

The National Church Leaders’ Consultation (NCLC) reflected on the state of the nation at their annual meeting, held at OR Tambo International in Johannesburg.

The Catholic Church was represented by Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town, president of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

Reflecting on the moral, political, economic and social situation in South Africa since democracy in 1994, the Church leaders acknowledged “with appreciation the achievements of our government in asserting constitutional democracy, shifting state resources to the poor in the areas of grants, housing, water and electricity, [and] working towards a transformed and inclusive society.”

However, they also were alarmed by “the increasing evidence of the plundering of public resources as so far revealed in the commissions and reports addressing state capture, the VBS heist, the South African Revenue Service and the Public Investment Corporation”, among others.

The Church leaders noted the widespread service-delivery protests and violence which “attest to the fact that the numbers of unhappy people are seriously escalating”.

They also recognised “the growing pain in the feeling of exclusion and marginalisation of the coloured community; and the emerging political attack on the Indian population which undermines the quest for nation building.”

With a view to the 2019 elections, the Christian leaders pledged to refuse being “captured by State propositions, ideologies and party-political interests”.

They called for events that will “soak the electoral season in prayer”.

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of the Church as we exemplify the life and teachings of our Lord, Jesus Christ, live the Gospel imperatives, proclaim good news to all and advance the ideals of the Kingdom of God,” they said.

They committed their churches to: • Speak truth to the Church and to power, • Reclaim the prophetic voice of the Church; • Work against racism and xenophobia in our public discourse; • Act against violence and the exploitation of women in Church and society.

• Uphold morals, values. and serve the common good of society; • Contribute towards the development of “responsible and accountable leadership” in all spheres of life, including Church, politics, business and labour; • Work towards the unity, reconciliation and peace of the “rainbow nation”; • Restore partnerships that are effective in addressing the needs of the poor and create opportunities for the youth, women and children; • Engage “courageous conversations” to address difficult issues such as land expropriation, racism, service delivery, and so on; • Provide leadership and guidance to political leaders and the nation in the lead-up to the elections; participate in processes to ensure a free, fair and violence-free election; and monitor the development and implementation of election promises after the election.

The churches committed themselves to use their “expertise and skills in various areas to help us address issues in our country”, including in areas such as education, social justice and land reform.

On the latter issue, the NCLC has appointed a task team on “Land and Justice”, saying: “We are committed to playing a vital role as churches in addressing the issue of land reform and redistribution.”

The meeting also emphasised the need for ecumenism and to build inter-faith cooperation. To that end, the NCLC is seeking to reconstitute the National Religious Leaders’ Forum.

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Bishop Vincent zuniga and the Port Elizabeth deanery celebrated the funeral Mas of 95-year-old Vincentian Father Ignatius Out. Fr Out came to Port Elizabeth to minister to the city’s Chinese Catholic community. (Submitted by Darryl Date Line)

CHURCH

The Southern Cross, November 7 to November 13, 2018

9

How martyrs defeated Nazi executioners November 10 marks the 75th anniversary of the execution of three anti-Nazi priests and a Lutheran pastor whose witness and friendship across sectarian lines inspired ecumenical relations, as GÜNTHER SIMMERMACHER writes.

A

S the three Catholic priests and the Lutheran pastor—the martyrs of Lübeck—serenely went to their execution on November 10, 1943, they won a victory over the Nazis.

Shortly before Fathers Johannes Prassek, Eduard Müller and Hermann Lange and Lutheran pastor Rev Karl Friedrich Stellbrink were led from their cells in a Hamburg jail, they were given pen and paper to write their farewell letters.

The content of these letters, so in defiance of the physical brokenness and months of mental anguish their writers had suffered, angered the Nazis who never sent them on to the addressees.

Minutes later, the four men were beheaded, one after another at intervals of three minutes, their martyrs’ blood running together on the floor to give concrete witness to ecumenical friendship and courage.

That friendship had begun in 1941, the year before their arrest, during a funeral in the historic northern city of Lübeck, about 65km north-east from Hamburg.

Fr Prassek, born in 1911, met the 17 years older Rev Stellbrink at a funeral in 1941. A friendship across denominational lines grew, one which was unusual at the time, more so in a historically Protestant city.

Rev Stellbrink had initially been a keen supporter of Hitler, but living under Nazism cured him of that. In 1937 he was expelled from the NSDAP, the Nazi party, for refusing to denounce his friendship with Jews. Then there was the war, of course, but the tipping point was a funeral for some local party bigwig at which the Nazis demanded that the crucifix be covered.

His friendship with Fr Prassek and the other two priests at the city’s Sacred Heart church, Frs Müller and Lange, solidified the once strongly anti-Catholic pastor’s opposition to Nazism Among Lübeck’s Lutheran clergy, Rev Stellbrink stood alone; his diocese was loyal to the regime.

Catholics against Nazism The Catholic priests at Sacred Heart, meanwhile, were quietly active. Fr Lange, the intellectual of the trio—all of whom were born between 1911 and 1912—was the most political of them all.

Highly influenced by the renewal movement proposed by the Catholic philosopher Romano Guardini (whose work later influenced an Argentinian Jesuit by the name of Mario Jorge Bergoglio), Fr Lange went so far as to advise young Catholics that it was immoral to fight for Germany in the war.

Fr Müller, the gentle youth chaplain, was the least political of the three, but not ignorant of the regime’s poisonous anti-Catholicism. He saw himself as a “soldier for Christ” who was ready for his persecution. Indeed, he predicted that one day he would land up in a concentration camp.

Fr Prassek was also aware of the dangers of speaking out. But, as he once told a friend: “If even the priests won’t speak out, who will?”

With loyal parishioners the three copied and distributed the sermons of the Catholic bishop of Münster, Count Clemens von Galen, who was a thorn in the Nazis’ side. It is believed that Rev Stellbrink also copied Galen’s sermons.

It is a sign of the parish’s solidarity that for a long time the Nazis were oblivious to the extent of the

priests’ subversive activities, one Gestapo raid in 1941 aside.

On the night to Palm Sunday 1942, March 28-29, Lübeck became the first German city to be bombed by the British.

The medieval district around Sacred Heart church was in flames, including the Lutheran cathedral up the road, an imposing 13th-century building. Fr Prassek distinguished himself by rescuing patients from the burning Catholic St Mary’s hospital across the road from his church. For his bravery, the city awarded him a medal.

A fatal sermon

The Martyrs of Lübeck: Frs Johannes Prassek, Hermann Lange and Eduard Müller and Lutheran Rev Karl Friedrich Stellbrink, who were executed together by the Nazis 75 years ago on November 10.

The next day, at a confirmation service, Rev Stellbrink preached a claimed: “At last this nonsense has sermon in which he characterised come to an end.” the air raid as God’s punishment. In Propaganda minister Joseph the back pew, a Gestapo spy was Goebbels was pleased with the outbusy making notes. He didn’t need come. He wrote in his diary: “I urge to: the whole city was talking about that the death sentences will in fact the sermon. be carried out.” His wish would be After a Gestapo raid on his granted. home, Rev Stellbrink knew that his The four men were transported arrest was imminent. On April 7 he to Hamburg where they were held cycled to the Gestapo headquarters, until their execution, for which no located in the old arsenal building date was set. in the shadow of the now severely In the afternoon of November damaged cathedral, to find out 10—the day before the papal nunwhat they had on him. He never cio was going to communicate Pope came home. Later, his Pius XII’s plea for family was told to colclemency—the four conlect his bicycle.

There were demned men were told that The three priests, they would be executed two parish employees 1 600 political that evening at 18:00. and 16 lay parishioners They were given pen and were arrested in the executions in paper, and told to write weeks after. Kept in solitheir farewell letters. In tary confinement, the nazi Germany those letters, all four were clerics were accused of in 1943, but in upbeat, approaching their treason, including illedeath with serenity and gally listening to the this case even even joy.

BBC (which the Nazis Rev Stellbrink wrote to hitler involved knew to be true, thanks his wife: “Now all the waitto a Gestapo informhimself ing has come to an end; the ant). way ahead is clearly laid Their case was imout, and for us Christians portant to the Nazis. While the the destination is well known. How regime had killed many Catholic often I talked about it in my serpriests already (but not yet any mons, and now it soon will be acProtestant clergy), here they had a complished.” chance to discourage any notions of Fr Prassek wrote to his bishop: cooperation across sectarian lines.

“Today I shall be allowed to die. I Moreover, the trial of the three truly regard it a great privilege and priests from Lübeck would serve as fortune to be allowed to die under a prosecution by proxy of Bishop these circumstances…To be allowed von Galen, who was considered un- to die fully conscious and quietly touchable. prepared is the most beautiful thing There were 1 600 political execu- of all.” tions that year, but in this case even And to his family, he wrote: Adolf Hitler involved himself. The “Tonight will be the time when I Führer himself formulated the will be allowed to die. I am so charges and instructed prosecutors happy, I can hardly express how on their strategy. He also ordered happy. God is so good to have given that the prosecution omit any men- me several lovely years in which to tion of Bishop von Galen. be his priest. Do not be sad! What is waiting for me is joy and good forSend in the Hanging Judge tune, with which all the happiness A hanging judge was dispatched and good fortune here on earth to Lübeck for a showtrial. In the cannot compare.” morning of June 23, 1943, Rev StellVirtually taunting his executionbrink was tried and swiftly sen- ers, he asked: “Who can oppress tenced to death. one who dies?”

In his verdict, the judge castiChrist defeats Nazis gated Rev Stellbrink: “As a Lutheran cleric, you did not hesitate to join None of the letters were forces with representatives of the passed on. The Nazis were so anti-Protestant Catholic Church in angered by their serene the fight against the state.” It was tone, by that defiant acceptan involuntary admission of the ance of their cruel fate, that case’s ecumenical dimension. they withheld them from The Catholic priests were sen- the men’s families and tenced to death in the afternoon. bishop. And to release them Surprisingly, the 16 lay accused would have allowed for were exonerated, but the two parish these clerics to be regarded employees were sentenced to jail as martyrs. terms.

Written by men with no As he was led away, Fr Prassek ex- temporal power, these letters

A plaque at St Vicelin’s church in the northern city of Neumünster remembers the martyr Bl Eduard Müller, a son of that parish before he moved to Lübeck. (Photo: Günther Simmermacher)

testify to their victory in Christ over their executioners. And the regime which put everything into controlling the minds of its subjects was not going to disseminate that subversion of their supremacy.

For six decades the letters did not exist. Until in 2004, the historian Prof Peter Voswinckel found them in dusty archives. At least Rev Stellbrink’s surviving daughter had the solace of reading her father’s final words, more than 60 years after his death.

The Stellbrink family did, however, receive another letter soon after that November 10, 1943: an itemised bill for the pastor’s execution. The family was forbidden to mourn in public, even to the point of being told not to wear black clothes.

The family of Rev Stellbrink received no support from the Lutheran Church, which rehabilitated him only 50 years later, when it noted its “pain and shame” at the disgraceful treatment of the heroic pastor.

Frs Prassek, Müller and Lange, on the other hand, were immediately

venerated as martyrs in the local Catholic Church. The day after their execution, a memorial service was held in Sacred Heart church.

Even though it was billed as being for all deceased clergy, the grieving congregation knew exactly why they were there.

The three priests were beatified in 2011 in Lübeck’s Sacred Heart church, with Rev Stellbrink being honoured in a special way.

A year earlier, Pope Benedict told the German ambassador to the Holy See: “The attested friendship of [the martyrs of Lübeck] is an impressive testimony of the ecumenism of prayer and suffering which flourished in various places during the dark period of Nazi terror. We can look to these witnesses as luminous indicators for our common ecumenical journey.”

The blood of these four friends, commingled on the floor of a Nazi execution chamber 75 years ago, was the seed for the growth of ecumenical cooperation in Lübeck, giving an example of friendship across sectarian lines to all of Germany and all of the Christian Church.

Lübeck’s Sacred Heart church in front, with the 13th-century Lutheran “Dom” (or cathedral) towering behind it. Sacred Heart was where the three martyred priests served. (Photo: Günther Simmermacher)

10

The Southern Cross, November 7 to November 13, 2018

CHURCH

Top 40 Marian shrines: Places 16 to 9 Part four of GÜNTHER SIMMERMACHER’s virtual journey to the world’s Top 40 Marian shrines takes us to Germany, Argentina, France, Bosnia, Ireland, the Philippines, Palestine and Italy.

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HE penultimate instalment in the countdown of the world’s Top 40 Marian shrines takes us into the Top 10.

Of course, these sites of apparitions and miracles are ranked in an approximate and entirely subjective order of popularity and importance.

If one shrine or the other grabs your attention, why not read up on them, on the Internet or in the library?

So here are numbers 16 to 9 in our countdown of the world’s Top 40 Marian shrines.

16. Altötting, Germany More than a million pilgrims come annually to pray before the Black Madonna in the Gnadenkapelle (Chapel of Grace) of Altötting, “The Religious Heart of Bavaria”.

The carved wooden figure of Mary, 64cm in height, came from France to Altötting in 1330, but it was more than 150 years later that the place became a pilgrim shrine, now Germany’s most popular.

In 1489 two miraculous healings were attributed to the Madonna of Altötting, one involving the reviving of a drowned boy who later became a priest. Many more followed, as the 2 000 votive plaques of thanks around the chapel show.

The hearts of many Bavarian monarchs are interred in the chapel, including that of King Ludwig II, the builder of the famous Neuschwanstein castle.

Pope Benedict XVI, who was born just 11km from Altötting, visited the shrine in 2006. There, he placed his episcopal ring, which he had worn when he was elected pope a year earlier, before the figure of Mary. It is now kept in the sceptre of the lavishly dressed Black Madonna.

Before him, Popes Pius VI in 1782 and John Paul II in 1980 visited Altötting.

15. Our Lady of Luján, Argentina Argentina’s national shrine owes its location at Luján, around 70km from Buenos Aires, to obstinate beasts of burden.

In 1630 a settler was returning from Buenos Aires to his home region where he was going to set up a shrine, with a terracotta statue of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception from Brazil as its centrepiece. But at present-day Zelaya, the oxen in the caravan refused to move—until a crate containing the image of Our Lady was removed from their load.

This was seen as a sign that Our Lady wanted to remain at that place. The figure was placed in a

local chapel where it stayed for 40 years before it was moved to Luján.

Many popes have honoured Our Lady of Luján. One of them was Pope Pius IX, who as Fr Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti made a pilgrimage there in 1824. Thirty years later, as pope, he declared the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.

Pope Pius XII placed Argentina under the protection of Our Lady of Luján, and Pope John Paul II became the first serving pontiff to visit the shrine in 1982—in the midst of the Falklands War. As archbishop of Buenos Aires, Pope Francis spent many weekends at the shrine to minister to young people.

Above left: Altötting’s Chapel of Grace and shrine church in Germany; (right) The basilica of Our Lady of Luján in Argentina. (Photos: Dieter Ludwig Scharnagl; Dario Alpern/Commons)

14. Rue de Bac, Paris Between July and December 1830, a 24-year-old novice of the Daughters of Charity, Sr Catherine Labouré, reported three apparitions of Our Lady, following earlier visions of Christ and the heart of St Vincent de Paul, co-founder of her order. All took place in the chapel at 140 Rue de Bac in Paris, built in 1813.

In her apparitions, Mary instructed Sr Catherine to have medals struck featuring the image in which the Blessed Virgin appears inside an oval frame, standing upon a globe, with her hands coming out as rays of light—and the invocation: “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”

After some investigation by the archdiocese into Sr Catherine’s claim, this was done.

Shortly after, in February 1832, Paris suffered a cholera epidemic which killed 20 000 people. The Daughters of Charity distributed the medals at that time and many survivors attributed their cure to the protection received through it.

And so it became known as the Miraculous Medal. It remains a very popular devotion in the Catholic Church worldwide.

The Miraculous Medal chapel, which over the years has undergone several remodels, is a very popular destination for pilgrims in Paris, whose famous cathedral, the Notre-Dame, is, of course, also dedicated to Mary.

13. Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina Disapproved of by the local bishops and still awaiting approval by the Vatican, the sanctuary of Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina is nonetheless a hugely popular pilgrimage destination.

The sanctuary is based on reported apparitions to a group of young people that started in 1981 and are claimed to still go on today.

A recent Vatican commission suggests that only the first six apparitions can be said to be credible—which raises the question of what the commission believes the other thousands of claimed apparitions are.

Either way, while Pope Francis has cast doubt on the recurring apparitions there, he has also noted the evidence of Medjugorje’s pastoral and spiritual fruits.

Miraculous Medal chapel in Paris; and the shrine of Our Lady of Medjugorje. (Photos: Günther Simmermacher & Paul Haring/CNS )

The sanctuary of Knock; and the shrine of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, Philippines. (Photos: Günther Simmermacher & Ninya Regalado/Wikipedia)

ing his illness. Soon miracles were reported—including the resurrection of a dead dog—and the devotion grew.

The image was stolen in 1981 and was missing for a year before it was returned.

A week-long festival is held every September during which the statue is transferred amid great ceremony on a barge from its chapel to the local basilica.

10. Milk Grotto, Bethlehem The Holy Land obviously is the place where Mary lived, so there are sites associated with her everywhere, from her reputed birthplace in Jerusalem to the spot of the Annunciation in Nazareth to the place where she fell into eternal sleep on Mount Zion. But none of these places have a history of miracles comparable to that of the Milk Grotto in Bethlehem.

Tradition has it that the Holy Family hid in this cave, now a church, during Herod’s Massacre of the Innocents before fleeing to Egypt, when Mary dropped milk on to the ground while breastfeeding Jesus. Suddenly, the legend goes, the rock of the cave turned white.

Pious devotion has it that drinking a mixture that includes the powder of the chalk stone, accompanied by prayer, boosts a woman’s fertility.

The small Franciscan chapel, built in 1872 on the site of a former 5th-century church near the basilica of the Nativity, is a lovely spot, built into the cave and decorated with several images of Our Lady breastfeeding.

9. St Mary Major, Rome

The Milk Grotto in Bethlehem, Palestine; and the basilica of St Mary Major in Rome. (Both photos: Günther Simmermacher)

12. Knock, Ireland Around 1,5 million people annually visit the shrine of Knock in Ireland’s rural County Mayo—such numbers in small Ireland that an airport was built near the shrine.

On August 21, 1879—at a time of famine and rural strife under the British occupation—at 8pm on a rainy night, Our Lady appeared to 15 people on the gable of the local church of St John the Baptist. They also saw St Joseph, St John the Evangelist, angels and Jesus in the form of the Lamb of God in visions that lasted two hours. Unusually, this was a silent apparition.

A Church commission found that all the testimony of the witnesses was trustworthy and satisfactory. In 1936, a new commission interviewed the last two survivors.

They confirmed the testimony received by the first commission.

Many healings are reported at the place known in Gaelic as Cnoc Mhuire (Hill of Mary).

Pope John Paul II visited Knock in 1979 and Pope Francis in August 2018.

11. Our Lady of Peñafrancia, Philippines The Marian shrine of Our Lady of Peñafrancia is one of the most popular in all of Asia.

The tradition goes back to 1712 when the son of Spanish officials, a seminarian named Miguel, fell seriously ill. His parents prayed to Our Lady of Peñafrancia—a devotion linked to the veneration of a wooden statue in the Spanish city of Salamanca—while Miguel held an image of her to his chest.

If cured, Miguel promised to build a chapel in honour of Our Lady of Peñafrancia. He was cured, and after his priestly ordination he built that chapel.

Inside the chapel he placed a wooden statue of Our Lady, based on the image of Our Lady of Peñafrancia which he had held dur-

S outher n C ross Pilgrimage

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There are many churches dedicated to Our Lady in Rome, but this one has a very special regular pilgrim: Pope Francis, who comes here before and after each foreign trip to pray before the icon of Salus Populi Romani (Salvation of the Roman People. Possibly the oldest Marian image in Rome, it resides in the basilica’s Borghese chapel.

The icon’s history can be traced back to 590 AD, when it arrived from Crete in Rome; pious legend claims that it was painted by St Luke himself, on wood from the table of the Last Supper.

The basilica’s very construction is shrouded in a Marian legend. A story that can be traced back to the 1400s goes that in the early 5th century a Roman patrician named Giovanni and his unnamed wife pledged in their prayers to Mary to give all their possessions to the Church if only Mrs Giovanni could fall pregnant— but they asked for a sign.

So on August 5, in mid-summer, it snowed, and the same night the couple had an apparition of Our Lady. In obedience, they funded the building of the basilica, on the spot where the snow fell.

Alas, there is no record of the miracle until a thousand years later.

Still, on the August 5 feast, white rose petals are dropped from the dome in memory of the miracle of the summer snow. n The Top 8 Marian shrines will be revealed next week.

CLASSIFIEDS

Fr Michael Chebli

F

ATHER Michael Chebli, long time pastor to the South African Lebanese Maronite community, died in Lebanon on October 27, aged 95.

Fr Chebli was born on February 5, 1923, in the Valley of the Lady, Wadi el-Sitt, near the town of Beit el-Dine in Lebanon. He was one of four brothers and one sister.

Fr Chebli went to the village school, then to Saint Maroun’s College near Majid el-Mahouch, where he was a weekly boarder.

His theological training commenced at the College of the Apostles of the Kreim. After World War II, Fr Chebli was sent to Rome to complete his studies in philosophy and theology, obtaining his masters in both.

During his six years in Rome, he became friendly with Fr John Hess from Pretoria, Fr Dominique Boardman from Durban, and Fr Ignatius Ou, who was to settle in East London (see Page 8 for Fr Ou’s funeral).

Fr Chebli was ordained on December 21, 1952, in Rome, by Pope Pius XII, who was to have a great influence on his life.

In 1953 he returned to Lebanon. For nine years he was an assistant to the master of novices at the Mother House in Ghosta, near Harissa. Fr Chebli, fluent in Arabic, French, Italian, and later Spanish and English, taught the novices Latin and French.

Then, in 1962, he was sent as a missionary to South Africa, after the death of the Lebanese Maronite community’s Fr Peter Alam, who had served the community with distinction from 1928 to 1962.

Fr Chebli settled in the parish of Our Lady of Lebanon in

IN MEMORIAM

T

Lebanon, opened his heart and his home to help organise tours there, and promoted Lebanese businesses.

In 1984, Lebanese consul to South Africa Toni Breidi bestowed Fr Chebli with the national award of Knight of the Cedars.

In 1992, he was called back to Lebanon by his superiors, but returned to South Africa in 2002. To welcome him back were the choirs of the church of Our Lady of Lebanon, singing hymns in Arabic and English.

All Fr Chebli said was: “It’s been ten years!”

He was then escorted to the new missionaries’ home, Our Lady of Cedars church in Woodmead, Johannesburg North.

When Fr Chebli was posted to Argentina in 2005, 1 000 people gathered to bid him farewell at a function of the Lebanese Family Club at Our Lady of Cedars.

Fr Chebli had served the community for a total of 33 significant years with unsurpassed humility, dedication, and loyalty to the needs of his people.

Ken Hanna and Fr Charbel Habchi

Sr Dietmund Walter OP

K

ING Williams Town Dominican Sister Dietmund Walter died on October 13 at the age of 93.

Born Henriette Catherina Walter on March 20, 1925, in Düsseldorf, Germany, she studied both music and architecture.

Her love for music remained with her throughout her life.

On July 25, 1950, Henriette left home and entered the convent in Schlehdorf, where she received the religious name Dietmund. She made her first profession on March 12, 1952, and soon after left for South Africa.

Her first assignment was to Springs Convent, where she taught music, the sound of which filled her heart.

Four years later Sr Dietmund was transferred to Ermelo.

She also gave music lessons

to pupils in Klerksdorp, King Williams Town and Witbank. Sr Dietmund’s passion to pass on her love of music excelled in Witbank, and she was organist at Witbank cathedral for many years.

Having taught musical in-

struments for 62 years, Sr Dietmund retired to Bethany convent in Brakpan at the end of 2008 and later to St Mary’s in Hyde Park, Johannesburg.

She was a compassionate, caring, loving and friendly person. Her heart was open to everyone she met.

Sr Dietmund’s love for God and people was paramount, and this resulted in her great concern for others, and helped to strengthen the faith of those who came to her doubting their ability to meet the challenge of a difficult piece of music, or any other difficulty in life.

Sr Dietmund died at St Mary’s in Johannesburg. Her legacy of joy and friendship, music and deep faith in God, lives on in the lives of all who knew her.

Sr Teresa Marie OP

Br Rudibert Wieser CMM

M

ARIANNHILL Missionaries Brother Rudibert Wieser died on October 28 in Germany.

Born on February 3, 1941, in Germany, he made his final profession as a Brother in the Congregation of Mariannhill Missionaries on September 29, 1962, before coming to South Africa to serve at the monastery in Mariannhill.

At Mariannhill, Br Wieser was responsible for mainte-

nance. He was known as a wizard in electronics and security.

For decades he was known as the “good spirit” of the monastery.

Ill health forced his return to Germany in February this year, to be cared for at the St Josef’s old age and care home of the congregation at Reimlingen in northwestern Bavaria, where he died.

His Requiem Mass was celebrated at Reimlingen on November 2.

YOUR CLASSIFIEDS

11

Anniversaries • Milestones • Prayers • Accommodation • Holiday accommodation Personal • Services • Employment • Property • Parish notices • Thanks • Others Please include payment (R1,80 a word) with small advertisements for promptest publication.

Fordsburg, Johannesburg.

This was more than just a parish, it was the entire Lebanese community, and a demanding one-priest mission.

Fr Chebli set off visiting individual families’ homes, accompanied by parishioners who would introduce him. At times he went to “up country” destinations such as Ventersdorp, and even Cape Town. he community of Mayfair and Fordsburg rallied around their priest, and soon Fr Chebli earned the respect of all. He was a holy man, uninterested in material things, who never asked the community for money, regularly said Mass in people’s homes, and was available 24 hours a day.

Fr Chebli served all, irrespective of race, colour or creed, and would always support the underprivileged and down-andouts.

He loved reading, and had a fine library. Today, many of his books are housed at the Cedar Park church library.

Fr Chebli went beyond the call of duty, unreservedly supporting sporting and youth organisations, Club 18, the Cedar Park Club, and all news publications serving the Lebanese South African community.

During the 70s, 80s and early 90s, the Cedar Leaf magazine always had messages from Fr Chebli, and was sent to every Lebanese family in South Africa, irrespective of whether they paid or not.

He also backed the World Lebanese Cultural Union, and attended the Second World Maronite Lebanese Congress in New York.

Fr Chebli supported trips to

The Southern Cross, November 7 to November 13, 2018

PARIS—Joseph Albert.

Passed away on November 11, 1979. In loving memory of our grandfather and greatgrandfather (Oupa). Many years may have passed but the wisdom you shared will remain with us forever. Always in the thoughts and prayers of Gloria, Ruben, and children Randall, Grant, Nadine and Robert.

PARIS—Joseph Matthew.

Passed away on November 15, 1998. In loving memory of our father and grandfather. Fondly remembered and always in the prayers of your daughter Gloria, son-inlaw Ruben, and grandchildren Randall, Grant, Nadine and Robert.

PRAYERS

HOLY ST JUDE, apostle and martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke you, special patron in time of need. To you I have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg you to come to my assistance. Help me now in my urgent need and grant my petitions. In return I promise to make your name known and publish this prayer. Amen. MK.

PERSONAL

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HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

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

Come to Kolbe House, set in beautiful, spacious gardens in Rondebosch, nestled just under Devil’s Peak. Selfcatering, clean and peaceful, with spacious gardens. Safe parking. Close to all shops and public transport. Contact Pat 021 685-7370, 073 2632105 or kolbe.house@ telkomsa.net CAPE TOWN: Strandfontein: Fully equipped selfcatering two-bedroom apartment with parking.

R700 min or R175 p/p (4-6 persons) per night .

Phone/WhatsApp Paul on 061 446-9665 or e-mail vivilla@telkomsa.net MARIANELLA SIMON’s TOWN: Guest house.

“Come experience the peace and beauty of God with us.” Fully equipped with amazing sea views. Secure parking, ideal for rest and relaxation. Special rates for pensioners and clergy. Malcolm Salida 082 784 5675, mjsalida@gmail.com

PARISH NOTICES

JOHANNESBURG: St Anthony’s church in Coronationville is calling for donations of tinned fish,

peanut butter, jam, butter and juice for their soup kitchen. Contact Faried and Nadine Benn on 073 906 6037 or 083 658 2573.

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

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

Helpers of God’s Precious Infants. Mass on last Saturday of every month at 9:30 at Sacred Heart church in Somerset Road, Cape Town.

Followed by vigil at abortion clinic. Contact Colette Thomas on 083 412 4836 or 021 593 9875 or Br Daniel SCP on 078 739 2988.

DURBAN: Holy Mass and Novena to St Anthony at St Anthony’s parish every Tuesday at 9:00. Holy Mass and Divine Mercy Devotion at 17:30 on first Friday of every month. Sunday Mass at 9:00. Phone 031309 3496 or 031 209 2536.

St Anthony’s rosary group.

Every Wednesday at 18:00 at St Anthony’s church opposite Greyville racecourse. All are welcome and lifts are available. Contact Keith Chetty on 083 372 9018.

NELSPRUIT: Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at St Peter’s parish every Tuesday from 8:00 to 16:45, followed by Rosary, Divine Mercy prayers, then a Mass/Communion service at 17:30.

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 836. ACROSS: 3 To pay Paul, 8 Icon, 9 Medically, 10 Patted, 11 Rebel, 14 Route, 15 Saul, 16 Saved, 18 Grim, 20 Endow, 21 Canal, 24 Differ, 25 Basilicas, 26 Soon, 27 Womanlike. DOWN: 1 Disparage, 2 Soft music, 4 Obed, 5 Alice, 6 Phases, 7 Ugly, 9 Medes, 11 Revel, 12 Land of Nod, 13 Flowering, 17 Denis, 19 Manila, 22 A will, 23 Halo, 24. Dark.

Liturgical Calendar Year B – Weekdays Cycle Year 2 Sunday November 11, 32nd Sunday of the Year 1 Kings 17:10-16, Psalm 146:7-10, Hebrews 9:24-28, Mark 12:38-44 Monday November 12, St Josephat Titus 1:1-9, Psalm 24:1-6, Luke 17:1-6 Tuesday November 13 Titus 2:1-8, 11-14, Psalm 37:3-4, 18, 23, 27, 29, Luke 17:7-10 Wednesday November 14 Titus 3:1-7, Psalm 23, Luke 17:11-19 Thursday November 15, St Albert the Great Philemon 7-20, Psalm 146:7-10, Luke 17:20-25 Friday November 16, St Margaret of Scotland, St Gertrude 2 John 4-9, Psalm 119:1-2, 10-11, 17-18, Luke 17:26-37 Saturday November 17, St Elizabeth of Hungary 3 John 5-8, Psalm 112:1-6, Luke 18:1-8 Sunday November 18, 33rd Sunday of the Year Daniel 12:1-3, Psalm 16:5, 8-11, Hebrews 10:11-14, 18, Mark 13:24-32

GOD BLESS AFRICA Guard our people, guide our leaders and give us peace.

Luke 11:1-13 The

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the

33rd Sunday: November 18 Readings: Daniel 12:1-3, Psalm16:5, 8-11, Hebrews 10:11-14, 18, Mark 13:24-32

T

HE Church’s year is rushing to its end now, and in the liturgy you can feel things falling apart. You may also feel that in this country today things may be rather falling apart, and that we need the help of God. If that is how you are feeling, then the readings have something to say to you.

Our first reading is written for those who were enduring a systematic attempt to destroy their ancient religion; and to them the promise is made that “at that time Michael [“who is like to God?”] will arise, the great prince who stands over the children of your people”.

The author foresees a terrible time, “a time of distress which never was before, since nations began”. But all will be well: “Your people shall escape.”

And there is even a hint of Resurrection: “Many of those sleeping in the dust of the earth shall rise up…the wise shall be radiant with the splendour of the firmament, and those who teach righteousness to the multitudes shall be like the stars, forever and a day.”

It is a lovely vision, and we should use it to give ourselves courage.

The author of our psalm for next Sunday has grasped something of this: “Lord, you are my portion and my cup; you have made my

S outher n C ross

lot secure”, he begins, and continues, “I keep the Lord always before me, for if the Lord is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.”

And although he is well aware of what lies in wait for him, he is not going to lose faith in God: “So my heart is glad, and my body rejoices, my flesh shall dwell in confidence.”

There is a real assurance here, that we shall do well to listen to: “You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; you will not allow your beloved to see the Pit.” He ends on a high: “abounding joy in your presence, delight at your right hand forever”.

This is not a gallant pretence; our singer is quite clear-eyed about how awful life can be. It is just that he knows perfectly well that God is somewhere in there, and cannot let us down.

In the second reading we have our last glimpse of the Letter to the Hebrews that we have been following for some weeks now.

Its basic message is that Christ is the “real thing”; and at the heart of what our author is saying is that what Jesus has done means that God is in charge, so that instead of “offering frequent sacrifices, which can never take away sin”, Jesus has “offered a single sacrifice for sins forever, and has sat down at the right

‘I

Classic Conrad

that cauldron of all those other energies and fears we do not consciously deal with and into which we dare not venture.

The anthropologist Ernest Becker speaks of something he calls “the denial of death” and suggests that our refusal to meet and respect death as a natural process rather than as an aberration impoverishes us in untold ways.

When we falsely fear death, then the inchoate sense of our own mortality becomes a dark corner from which we stay away.

We pay a price for this in that, paradoxically, by falsely fearing death we are unable to properly enter into life.

T

he philosopher Martin Heidegger affirms much the same thing in his understanding of life.

He suggests that each of us is (in his words) a “being-towards-death”, that is, from the second we are born we already have a terminal condition (called life) and we can only be free of false fear if we consciously live out our lives in the face of that non-negotiable truth. We are dying.

His language around this can leave us depressed but, like Fr Illich, he makes a positive point. For Heidegger, in the end, we don’t die because of bad medicine or bad luck.

We die because nature has its course and nature runs that course—and we will, in fact, enjoy our lives more if we respect that natural course because that accept-

Sunday Reflections

hand of God”.

Do you see the confidence that this reveals? If Jesus is at God’s right hand, then the battle is already won, even if it feels as though things are falling apart. Our author uses a very biblical image for the victory, that of the “enemies as a footstool for his feet”.

This distinguished thinker now takes matters deeper: “You see, in a single offering he has made permanently perfect those who are being made holy.” It is all God’s work, through Jesus, and that gives us grounds for hope.

Then he ends with a series of Scripture quotations: “This is the covenant that I shall make with them after those days…giving laws in their hearts…and I shall not remember their sins any more. Where there is forgiveness of sins, there is no longer any offering for sin.”

It is a most engaging picture, this.

The Gospel likewise looks with clear eyes at the awfulness: “In those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give its radiance, the stars shall be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens shall be shaken.”

That sounds pretty grim; but see what happens next: “Then they shall see the Son of

We must not fear death DO not want to die from some medical condition; I want to die from death!”

The Croatian-Austrian philosopher Fr Ivan Illich wrote that.

What’s meant here? Don’t we all die from death?

Of course, in reality that’s what we all die from, but in our idea of things, most often, we die from a medical condition or from bad luck through cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, or as the victim of an accident. Sometimes, because of how we think of death, we do die from a medical condition.

That’s what Fr Illich is trying to highlight here. Death is meant to be met and respected as a normal human experience, not as a medical failure.

Death and its inevitability in our lives are to be understood as a growth point, a necessary maturation, something to which we are organically and spiritually destined—and not as an aberration or unnatural intrusion into the life cycle (an intrusion that could have been avoided except for an accident or failure of medicine.)

We need to understand death the way a woman carrying a child contemplates its delivery; not as some aberration or risky medical procedure but as the full flowering of a life process.

We pay a price for our false idea of dying, more than we imagine. When death is seen as a medical failure or as tragic bad luck, its threat then becomes a menacing spectre and a threatening darkness inside

Nicholas King SJ

God will never pass away

Man coming in clouds, with much power and glory.” And it does not stop there: “Then he will send his angels and gather his chosen ones from the four winds, from end of the earth to end of heaven.”

The point is that God’s power is absolute.

Then he tells them to watch out for the signs (just as they would tell by gazing at a fig-tree that summer is coming): “So you, when you see these things happening, be aware that it is near at the doors.”

It is, he emphasises, coming soon: “This generation shall not pass away until all these things happen; heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”

That does not mean, however, that we can get out our calendar and predict when it is all going to happen.

“No one knows the day, or the hour, not even the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

Things may indeed be falling apart; but God remains in charge, whatever it may look like to you.

Southern Crossword #836

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

ance will help us to value more how precious our moments of life and love are.

Ironically, euthanasia, for all its sophisticated claims to be something that lets us control death, would have us die precisely from a medical condition and not from death (which is a natural process).

Of course, wanting to die from death and not from a medical condition does not mean we do not value medicine and what it offers for our health and the preservation of our lives. We are obliged by our nature, by our loved ones, by common sense, and by an inalienable principle right within the moral order itself to take all ordinary medical measures available to preserve our health.

Modern medicine is wonderful and many of us, including myself, are alive today thanks only to modern medicine.

But we must be clear too that when we come to die, it won’t be because of a medical failure but rather because death is our natural end. Just as we were once born from our mother’s womb, there comes a time when we need to be born again from the earth’s womb.

Moreover, accepting death in this way is not a negative stoicism which robs life of delight and joy. To the contrary, as anyone who has ever had a health crisis that brought him or her close to death will tell you, facing death makes everything in life all the more precious since it is no longer taken for granted.

One cautionary flag: This kind of talk is not necessarily for the young in whom the denial of death is, for a good reason, very powerful. While young people should not be willfully blind to their own mortality or live their lives as if life here were to go on forever, they shouldn’t yet be focused on death. Their task is to build a future for themselves and the world. Death can be dealt with later.

Metaphorically speaking, they need to be focused more on nurturing the embryo than worrying about its delivery.

At the centre of Jesus’ teaching lies a great paradox: “Whoever clings to life will lose it and whoever lets go of life will find it.”

Ivan Illich, it would seem, agrees.

ACROSS

3. Why Peter was robbed?

(2,3,4) 8. Image on the coin? (4) 9. This way, if proved possible, it’s no miracle (9) 10. Stroked Patrick and Edward briefly (6) 11. One who opposes authority (5) 14. Outer way round to get there (5) 15. He came from Tarsus (4) 16. Rescued (5) 18. Stern-faced (4) 20. We nod and bestow (5) 21. Waterway learner follows where Jesus made the wine (5) 24. Be unlike (6) 25. Important Roman churches (9) 26. Anon (4) 27. The appearance of a female person (9) Solutions on page 11

DOWN

1. Gasped air to denigrate (9) 2. It may be the air in the background in the church (4,5) 4. King David’s grandfather (Ruth 4) (4) 5. Lewis Carroll character with a band (5) 6. Shapes of the moon (6) 7. Plug lyrics partly. They are not pretty (4) 9. With the Persians their law is irrevocable (Dan 6) (5) 11. Pull back the lever for a lively time (5) 12. Cain settled in this place (Gen 4) (4,2,3) 13. Blossoming (9) 17. Patron saint of France (5) 19. Filipino bishop may live here (6) 22. Where you have it you will find a way (1,4) 23. It makes a saint lightheaded (4) 24. 500 before Noah’s ship after nightfall (4)

CHURCH CHUCKLE

T

HE catechist asked her Grade 1 class: “What was Jesus’ mother’s name?”

“Mary,” they all shouted. The teacher then asked: “And who knows what Jesus’ father’s name was?”

Silence, until one little boy said: “The Verge.”

The teacher sasked: “Where did you get that?”

“Well,” the boy said, “you know they are always talking about The Verge ’n Mary.”

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