190130

The

S outher n C ross

January 30 to February 5, 2019

reg No. 1920/002058/06

Retreats for trauma of abortion

Page 2

No 5120

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r10 (incl VAT rSA) associates-campaign

Interview with Bishop Abel Gabuza

The Domitilla and Danny Hyams story

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SA Catholic at joint parliament session in Panama

BY GÜNTher SIMMerMACher

A

SOUTH African Catholic addressed a joint sitting of the Latin American parliament in Panama.

Denzel Swarts, of St Timothy’s parish in Tafelsig, Mitchell’s Plain, Cape Town, spoke to the parliament within the framework on a conference on “Laudato Si’: Three Years Later”.

In his address, titled “To Be or Not To Be: Climate Challenge to Humanity”, Mr Swarts noted that ecological responsibility is “mostly geared towards the fact that we continue promoting greenhouse energy, and environment-friendly and biodegradable packing”.

However, these initiatives tend to increase the prices of such goods—with the “poor and vulnerable bearing the brunt of such costs” which they cannot afford, Mr Swarts said.

“They will then continue to buy cheap products which are not environmental friendly,” he pointed out.

Moreover, because of their situation, “Most often will not even be worried about reuse and recycling.”

In effect, therefore, “We actually are not making the changes we’re hoping for, but if we can start at the root cause of production, and ensure that business manufacturers make use of environment-friendly products, then the consumer will have no choice but to support,” he told The Southern Cross in Panama City, where he was the only South African volunteer at World Youth Day. “I know the question of cost will be the issue, so in this instance I proposed that governments offer a subsidy for businesses that go green and keep the cost of products unchanged,” he said.

“However, if businesses don’t do so, they would pay a penalty, which in turn would help fund some of the subsidy cost,” said Mr Swarts, the son of farm workers.

The International Relations Ministry of Panama invited volunteers, pilgrims and activists to the conference, which was jointly organised with the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, diplomat Ernesto Castillero Pimentel, and the foreign ministry of Panama.

Guest speakers included Honduran Óscar Rodríguez Maradiaga, who spoke about the importance of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, Prof essor Jeffrey Sachs, former director of the Earth In-

A World Youth Day pilgrim offers his confession to a priest in a Panama City park.

The 250 confessionals used for the sacrament of reconciliation in the park were made by prisoners from La Joya and Nueva Joya prisons, giving substance to Pope Francis’ wish to include those at the peripheries in the event. Don’t miss our special 4-page World Youth Day round-up next week. (Photo: Chaz Muth/CNS) South African Denzel Swarts with vicepresident Isabel Saint Malo of Panama, who is also the minister of foreign affairs, at a joint sitting of Latin American parliaments. stitute at Columbia University in the United States, and Argentine Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

Mr Swarts is the founder of the Son of the Soil Wines and Leadership Foundation, which he described as “a response programme to assist Grade 10 learners from previously disadvantaged and rural communities to complete school by mentoring and supporting them through that journey.

What the journey offers these young people is an opportunity to travel to an international destination and continue to learn about themselves and other youth”, and thereby assume leadership qualities.

“Our biggest focus is to form young people who will become authentic leaders in society,” Mr Swarts told The Southern Cross.

“We need between R7 500 to R12 000 per person per year for the first two years since they have quarterly breakaways and immersion. In their third year the cost could go up to R35 000 since in that year, if they complete and pass, they go on their international immersion experience, which is a reward for remaining in the programme and completing school,” he said. n For more information go to www.sonofthesoil wines.wixsite.com/leadershipfoundation

Vatican launches mobile app and online prayer platform

BY CAroL GLATz

P

OPE Francis helped launch a new mobile app and online platform connecting people around the world in prayer.

The pope presented “the official platform of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network: Click To Pray,” after praying the Angelus with visitors gathered in St Peter’s Square.

Joined by Jesuit Father Frederic Fornos, head of the international prayer network, who held a tablet displaying the platform, the pope said it would be “here that I add my intentions and prayer requests for the Church’s mission.”

The prayer network, formerly called the Apostleship of Prayer, is a Jesuit-run outreach that has given Catholics the pope’s monthly prayer intentions since 1890. The global prayer network started offering prayer intentions on video over social media in 2016.

“I above all invite you, young people, to download the app Click To Pray,” the

pope said, asking them to keep “praying together with me the rosary for peace, especially during World Youth Day in Panama”.

“The Internet and social media are a resource in our era, a chance to stay in touch with others, to share values and plans, and to express the desire to be a community. The web can also help us pray as a community, to pray together,” Pope Francis said.

The website www.clicktopray.org and the mobile app, available for Android and iOS, are offered in six languages: Spanish, English, Italian, French, Portuguese and German. A version will soon be available in Vietnamese and Chinese, the site said.

Users are invited to “pray with the pope” using his monthly prayer intentions, to “pray every day” by receiving notifications and inspirational thoughts for prayer or reflection three times a day, and to “pray with the network” where users, including Pope Francis, can share their prayers with others.—CNS

S outher n C ross Pilgrimage

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For more information or to book, please contact Gail at info@fowlertours.co.za or phone/WhatsApp 076 352-3809

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2

The Southern Cross, January 30 to February 5, 2019

LOCAL

Retreats aim to help heal abortion trauma STAFF rePorTer

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ETREATS are being offered in Cape Town and Johannesburg for anyone who has been affected by the trauma of abortion.

The Rachel’s Vineyard Weekend retreats in March and May are for anyone who has been affected by the trauma of abortion—the mother, father, sibling or grandparent.

Many counsellors, clergy and lay persons in post-abortion work recognise that there is more to “just having an abortion” than most people care to acknowledge. It is an area of healing that requires an intensive process to deal with the unique nature of the abortion wound, according to Marie-Anne Te Brake, who is running the retreat in Johannesburg.

Complicating the matter, some mental-health professionals who

rachel’s Vineyard is offering retreats for those affected by the trauma of abortion.

are on referral lists have their own unresolved issues with abortion loss, which makes it difficult for them to help others through any kind of grieving or healing process, said Ms Te Brake.

“Still others in the mental-health community believe that abortion is safe, legal and beneficial, and in fact most psychological organisations and associations across the globe deny that abortion causes any significant mental-health problems at all—so counsellors and psychologists simply are not being trained to even recognise the symptoms,” she said.

“The abortion wound is often best described as a traumatic experience or memory. A trauma-sensitive process is necessary to release the deep feelings of anguish, grief, numbness, and denial in an environment of safety to heal this wound before one can internalise

and accept the grace and mercy of God,” Ms Te Brake explained.

“That is why many women and men confess their abortion, and even do some initial counselling or healing work, but still do not feel peace. They may repeat their confession many times or feel stuck in their therapy,” she said.

“Clergy typically do not have the time to journey with a woman or man through the many sessions that would be required to accomplish the tedious work of grief, not to mention the more complex and complicated symptoms of trauma, which can accompany abortion.”

Rachel’s Vineyard aims to address some of these problems and provide a safe and effective treatment that will be the same no matter where one reaches out for help.

“It provides a standard of care that responds to the wounds with

an integrated spiritual and psychological process,” Ms Te Brake said.

“The Rachel’s Vineyard weekend retreat and support group model developed an approach that utilises some of the ‘steps of healing’—but where the stages of healing are incorporated into a spiritual journey using scripture exercises, meditation, therapeutic techniques, rituals for grieving, and the sacraments to help the individual bring the deep pain and grief of their abortion to the Cross of Christ,” she explained.

“The Rachel’s Vineyard process has proven to be an invaluable resource for ministries responding to those traumatised by abortion.” n Contact Angie at 082 852-1284 for the Cape Town retreat March 28-30 or Marie-Anne at 083 449-1129 for the Johannesburg retreat May 10-12. All calls are treated with the utmost confidentiality.

‘Pretoria’s black Catholic Mother church’ nears 100 years

BY DALuxoLo MoLoANToA

Mass, parish priest Fr Harry Kalonga noted that the 98 years of the mission were a celebration of people coming to the knowledge of God. “As with the Three Wise Men who searched for the baby Jesus, the six village men also faced a difficult journey filled with uncertainties. But their resolve and unwavering steadfastness got them through,” he said.

The mission was administered by Oblates of Mary Immaculate priests from 1921 to 1960. The Stigmatine

I

N two years’ time Pretoria’s oldest black mission will turn 100, and this January the Most Holy Redeemer Mission church in Mmakau Village celebrated its 98 years by looking back at its rich history.

The church was founded in 1921 when six men from Mmakau walked the 80km to Pretoria, over three days, to ask the Catholic Church to establish a mission in their village.

In his homily at the celebration

Mother Teresa visited the historic Most holy redeemer parish in Pretoria during her 1988 visit to South Africa. She is seen with Archbishop George Daniel and the late Fr Michele D’Annucci.

congregation has presided over the mission since 1961. It was from Most Holy Redeemer that all of Pretoria’s black township parishes grew, hence it is referred to as “Pretoria’s black Catholic Mother church”.

The mission had a special visit from Cardinal Giovanni Montini in 1962. A year later he became Pope Paul VI. It also hosted Mother Teresa on her 1988 visit to South Africa.

Cecilia Moloantoa of the parish’s centenary celebrations committee recalled the mission’s early days under the Oblate priests.

“We were most privileged to have priests from different places.

Some from France, some Germany, and some from Italy. They all taught us a little of their languages and cultures as children, and we did the same in return,” she recalled.

She said that the parish should look back on its 98 years with appreciation, but also look to the future with expectant faith and abundance.

Sr Letta, a Sister of St Brigid and a heritage specialist, spoke of the significance of celebrating the mission’s 98 years of existence, and urged the community to ensure that its her-

heritage specialist Sr Letta and parish centenary celebrations committee member Cecilia Moloantoa with the centenary banner. itage was recorded for posterity.

“You, as the Most Holy Redeemer, [are] a mother in terms of faith. You have given birth to various Catholic communities in Pretoria. You should take pride in the lasting legacy your forefathers have bestowed upon you, and use this as motivation to plant your own seeds

for future generations,” she told the congregation.

The Holy Redeemer Centenary Celebrations Committee plans on organising a major celebration in January 2021. n For more information contact Cecilia Moloantoa on 083 528-0334 or holyredeemercentenary@gmail.com

Become an Associate - Your contribution makes a difference The Associates Campaign is an integral support to The Southern Cross ensuring that it continues its apostolic outreach, developing the means of transmitting our Catholic values in the new forms of media and safeguarding its future in these uncertain economic times.

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• Enable us to develop our presence on the constantly evolving technological platforms to meet young Catholics where they are. This is a substantial but absolutely essential undertaking which our income from sales and advertising simply cannot cover.

• Support our apostolate to prisoners to help them convert to a life with Christ. As St Paul admonishes us: “Keep in mind those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them… since you too are in the one body” (Heb 13:3). Our outreach currently serves 24 prisons as well as six army bases; it is funded entirely by the Associates Campaign.

• Ensure that all our seminarians may have access to The Southern Cross so that they remain in touch with the events and thinking of the local and worldwide Church.

• Help us give young journalists a foundation in religious reporting at a time when the secular press covers our Church only in relation to bad news.

Cardinal Owen McCann Associate - annual contribution is R1500 or more. Cardinal Owen McCann Associates will receive a free postal or digital subscription to The Southern Cross St Maximilian Kolbe Associate - annual contribution of between R500 and R1499.

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The Southern Cross, January 30 to February 5, 2019

LOCAL

Salesian lay group launches savvy earth-friendly products BY erIN CAreLSe

S

ALESIAN Life Choices, a lay organisation under the Don Bosco ethos, has started a social enterprise called Nurturer, a range of local, affordable, earth-friendly personal care and cleaning products.

All the net profit generated by Nurturer will revert back to the work Life Choices does to support youth.

Since 2005, Salesian Life Choices has followed its passion of providing quality services to youth to tackle inequality.

It has had an impact on over 200 000 lives with choices and not charity, and has continuously overcome obstacles, primarily the raising of capital.

In 2013, with the world in economic turmoil, the organisation nearly shut down. Through the experience and a period of self-reflection, Salesian Life Choices members were challenged to run themselves more like a business and generate their own income in order to continue giving Cape Town’s young people a fair chance in life.

Because they are on a mission to transform South Africa, they did not get fazed by the challenge. They believe that doing good is good business, and having already mastered the doing good part, took the next step of doing business.

That’s when the Nurturer earthfriendly personal care and cleaning range was established. Nurturer products’ ingredients policy is

based on two factors: safety for people and the planet, and cost-effectiveness. The range of products includes items for personal care, kids’ care, zero-fragrance, home cleaning, water saving, and business cleaning.

The personal and kids’ care product’s ingredients are 100% natural plant-based, and the home and business cleaning products are environmentally friendly, biodegradable, and safely formulated. They are not tested on animals and all products are suitable for vegan use.

The range is manufactured locally in Cape town in an SABS-audited factory, and complies with international ingredients-safety lists.

Nurturer only uses packaging that can be recycled. For maximum recycling efficiency and to decrease plastic consumption, it has refills for all its products.

The Salesian Life Choices team is a multicultural and multi-religious group working with young people.

The members believe that the human spirit is remarkably resilient—and that even in the worst circumstances, there is endless potential waiting to be freed.

They believe in working together with anyone who shares Don Bosco’s philosophy of life, whichever denomination they belong to. n Find out more about Nurturer at www.nurturer.co.za and join the movement by buying a product on Takealot.co

Salesian Life Choices, a lay organisation that works to give young people a fair chance in life, has launched a range of local earth-friendly personal care and cleaning products. All profits will be used for its youth work.

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3

The Stigmatines held a celebratory and historic Mass at St Francis xavier mission in Mohale’s hoek, Lesotho, attended

by Church and government dignitaries. Though the Stigmatines arrived in South Africa in 1960, this is the first time they have been invited to work in Lesotho.

Stigmatines celebrate first presence in Lesotho STAFF rePorTer

T

HE 2019 feast of the Epiphany marked a special day in history for the Stigmatines, when Bishop John Tlhomola SCP entrusted them with pastoral care of the first mission in Lesotho, St Francis Xavier, at Bethel in Mohale’s Hoek diocese.

Though the Stigmatines arrived in South Africa in 1960, they have not until now been invited to work in Lesotho.

The Oblates of Mary Immaculate were the first missionaries to bring Catholicism to the country, establishing missions across Lesotho.

Later, St Francis Xavier was entrusted to the pastoral care of Mohale’s Hoek diocese, one of four dioceses under the Lesotho Catholic Bishops’ Conference

Inauguration Mass The Stigmatines’ inauguration Mass at St Francis Xavier mission was graced by many Stigmatine priests, Bishop Tlhomola’s representative, priests from the diocese and various parts of Lesotho, and Oblates from Botswana.

Dignitaries attending included Lesotho’s minister of tourism, and the principal chief of the area.

Many visitors from Lesotho and South Africa were present too, among them various sodalities.

Fr Clement Senekane CSS, newly

appointed parish priest of St Francis Xavier mission in Bethel, was the main celebrant of the day, aided by Fr Michael Motlhamme CSS, his assistant priest Fr Benedict Leseteli CSS, and 10 other concelebrating priests.

When the Stigmatine congregation in South Africa opened the way for its first African initial formation, during the 1980s, many young people from Lesotho joined together with other young people from the surrounding Southern African countries. As a result, the first African Stigmatine to make the perpetual profession in 1989 came from Lesotho.

Today St Francis Xavier mission still has the traditional identity of Catholic missions.

Apart from being a centre for spiritual growth for the people of God, it is also a hub of social development projects and activities catering for the poor people of the area.

The mission runs a primary school, high school and vocational school, plus a health centre, students’ residence, and farm.

During his homily at the Stigmatine inaugural Mass, Fr Leseteli urged the people of Bethel to rejoice, not only for the feast of the Epiphany but because they have seen the salvation of the Lord.

“You are going to experience the great light through those who have been sent to serve you; who have received the sign of light,” he said.

“Like the Magi they have said yes to coming to Bethel for your own sake. They are going to work together with you to become the light of the world, by proclaiming the Good News to all, and you will know them because of the light they are carrying in their hearts,” Fr Leseteli said.

New role for Stigmatines At the end of the celebratory Mass, Fr Patrick Rakeketsi CSS, representing the provincial superior of the Stigmatines, presented a short history of how the Stigmatines landed in Bethel.

Fr Rakeketsi emphasised that those sent to come and serve the community followed their vow of obedience and left their places of responsibility to join the mission. He called them soldiers ready to die for their commitment.

“When the Stigmatines first moved outside South Africa to establish a new mission in Botswana, Fr Senekane became one of the pioneers. He has good experience in initiating a new mission so the people of Bethel are lucky,” Fr Rakeketsi said.

He called on the community to work in unison with the two priests to advance the Kingdom of God. Lesotho has a strong foundation of Catholicism and has influenced the spreading of the Church to the neighbouring Southern African region.

SA’s National Catholic Weekly Newspaper

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ST ANTHONYS CHILD and YOUTH CARE CENTRE Keeping Children safe within families

The successful candidate will: • Have a degree or recognised diploma in journalism • Have excellent written and verbal communication skills in English • Display attention to detail and problem-solving skills • Be a self-starter who is keen to learn • Be able to work on print and digital platforms • Contribute to the implementation of our social media strategy • Proofread both hard and electronic files • Be able to source news for both print and digital • Ideally have knowledge of Wordpress

we offer: • Hands-on training in print and digital journalism with a great scope for development in a small, dedicated team • A monthly stipend of R3,500

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

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e-mail applications with a motivating covering letter and CV to: editor@scross.co.za Deadline 8 February 2019 The Southern Cross reserves the right not to fill this position.

4

The Southern Cross, January 30 to February 5, 2019

INTERNATIONAL

Environment in focus at World Youth Day Y

The Swiss Guards’ new helmet is presented at a press conference.

(Photo: Daniel Ibanez/CNA).

Swiss Guards don new 3D-printed helmets

A

S the Swiss Guards celebrated their 513th anniversary, they donned for the first time their new light-weight helmets, which are made of black PVC and 3D printed.

The plastic helmets replace those made of metal, which were easily dented, and which would get so hot from the Roman sun in the summer months they could cause blisters on the guards’ ears.

Printed in Switzerland, the new helmets were unveiled by Swiss Guard Commander Christoph Graf during a press conference last May, but were formally added to the uniform as part of the anniversary celebrations of the world’s smallest-but-oldest standing army.

Per tradition, the day’s anniversary festivities began with Mass in the Church of Santa Maria della Pieta in the Vatican’s Teutonic College, followed by a march of the Swiss Guards from the chapel to the Swiss Guard quarters on the opposite side of Vatican City.

The march follows a path under

the Arch of the Bells and across St Peter’s Square in commemoration of the arrival of Swiss mercenaries to the Vatican on January 22, 1506, the year the Swiss Guard was founded.

Also on January 22, the Guard released the first in a series of short videos illustrating the daily life of a Swiss Guard. The series, called “1506-The Swiss Guard Presents”, will publish new videos throughout the year on the 20th of every month.

The Vatican’s Swiss Guard barracks is currently undergoing a renovation, which the website says was needed because it has not been renovated since the 19th century, had a lack of proper insulation, and had started to become run-down.

The renovation will be funded by the Vatican and the Swiss Guard Foundation, which will conduct fundraising in Switzerland and abroad.—CNS

OUNG people attending World Youth Day called attention to the world’s environmental problems, issuing what they called a “manifesto” for the “care of the common home”.

“We, young Catholics from World Youth Day in Panama, would like to raise our hearts and minds in praise, joy and gratitude for the beautiful gift of our beloved ‘Sister, Mother Earth,’ in the beautiful words of St Francis,” they said in a statement. “At the same time, we are painfully aware, as Pope Francis reminded us, that ‘our common home is falling into serious disrepair’.”

They called Church officials and other young Catholics to repentance and conversion before environmental conditions—including the increasing of the planet’s temperature, lack of biodiversity and loss of ancestral lands for indigenous people—put the poor, youth and future generations in “grave danger”.

“For a long time, humanity has embarked on an irresponsible path of environmental destruction that still makes our present precarious and affects the future,” the state-

The skyline of Panama City is framed by trees at el Parque Natural Metropolitano outside the city.

World Youth Day 2019 is being celebrated in Panama City. (Photo: Bob roller/CNS) ment said.

While some may see the urgent calls as Doomsday predictions, they should not be met with irony or disdain, they said. Bishops from around the world have admitted that present generations have left the planet in less-than-healthy conditions, and some of those have resulted in conditions that have forced populations, particularly the poor, to migrate from their homes.

To seek reversal or to find solutions, “indigenous peoples have a

critical role to play in protecting their ancestral homelands from indiscriminate exploitation activities”, the statement said.

“Time is running out and leaders from all sectors are showing very low ambition regarding the rapid transformation that is needed to protect our precious common home and all its inhabitants,” the statement said, adding that they will pray so that the pilgrimage to Panama for young Catholics will prove an important milestone as Christians in a commitment to integrate “the role of creation care in our faith”.

“We are mindful that we, young Catholics, are not doing enough.

Despite commitments assumed in earlier Laudato Si’ conferences on the safeguarding of Creation at World Youth Day 2013 and 2016, we still are not mobilising enough for our common home,” they said.

“We will study and better understand the ecological issue, in the quest to better prepare ourselves to advance the transformation that is needed at all levels: in our families, schools, universities, work environments, sports circles and through media and culture.”—CNS

Vatican denies prior knowledge in Argentine bishop abuse case T HE Vatican denied having prior knowledge of sexual abuse allegations against Argentine Bishop Gustavo Oscar Zanchetta before his December 2017 appointment to a Vatican office.

In a statement, interim director

THE CATHOLIC BISHOPS’ FOUNDATIO N

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The Bishop’s Foundation is a registered charitable PBO and as such is able to issue Section 18A certificates to claim Tax relief when doing your end of year tax returns.

This is an invitation to anyonewho would like to make a donation (cash or EFT) to the Foundation before the tax year ends on the 28 February and receive a 18A certificate to be able to claim tax relief.

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Name of account. SACBC Foundation, Branch 160445, Account number: 1604879564, Reference. Your name and phone number.

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“Here I am Lord” cell: +27 72 769 7396, or +27 83 471 6081 e-mail: vocation.office@dehonafrica.net www.scj.org.za

of the Vatican Press Office Alessandro Gisotti “resolutely” repeated an earlier Vatican statement that said no sexual abuse charges had yet emerged against Bishop Zanchetta at the time Pope Francis appointed him to the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA) in December 2017. Mr Gisotti said the charges only emerged later.

The Vatican’s latest statement came in response to recent articles on the Zanchetta allegations carried by several news outlets. Mr Gisotti said it was necessary to correct “some misleading reconstructions”.

He also confirmed that Bishop Zanchetta’s case is being studied and

that “information will be forthcoming regarding the results” of that process.

Bishop Zanchetta, 54, was ordained a priest of the diocese of Quilmes in 1991. He remained there until his 2013 appointment by Pope Francis as bishop of Orán. In July 2017, he announced his resignation as bishop, citing health problems and “an incapacity to govern the clergy”.

Shortly thereafter he was appointed to the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See. The accusations of abuse against the bishop have apparently been levied by priests and seminarians.— CNA

Venezuelan bishops back protest marches T HE bishops of Venezuela have voiced support for peaceful opposition demonstrations across the country. At one of these marches in Caracas, opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president.

Mr Guaido is head of the National Assembly, the oppositioncontrolled legislature. He pledged a transitional government and free elections.

Soon afterwards US president Donald Trump said he recognised Mr Guaido as president, saying the National Assembly is the sole “legitimate branch of government” in Venezuela and that Nicolas Maduro's presidency is “illegitimate”. Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, and Costa Rica have also reportedly recognised Mr Guaido.

Since Maduro succeeded Hugo Chávez as president of Venezuela in 2013, the country has been marred by violence and social upheaval.

Under the socialist government, the country has seen severe shortages and hyperinflation, and millions have emigrated.

Earlier this month, the bishops called Maduro’s swearing-in for a second term as president “illegitimate”. Maduro won a May 2018

People listen to Venezuela’s National assembly during an opposition rally against Nicolas Maduro in Caracas. (Photo:Federico Parra/AFP/Getty Images). presidential election which was boycotted by the opposition and has been rejected by much of the international community.

The marches were organised by the National Assembly, which the Venezuelan bishops’ conference's Justice and Peace Commission said was “elected by the free and democratic vote of the Venezuelan people” and “is currently the sole organ of public authority with the legitimacy to exercise its powers with sovereignty”.—CNA

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, January 30 to February 5, 2019

5

The decisions that could shape the pope’s summit A Pope Francis greets youths as he arrives at Tocumen International Airport in Panama City. The pope visited Panama for World Youth Day. (Photo: Paul haring/CNS)

Papal visit to Japan confirmed

BY JuNNo AroCho eSTeVeS

D

URING the flight from Rome to Panama, Pope Francis was asked by a Japanese journalist if he will be visiting the country.

“I will go to Japan in November.

Get ready!” Pope Francis replied.

He also told another journalist aboard the flight that while there are no immediate plans to travel to Iraq, he hopes to visit one day.

“I want to go, I told them that I wanted to go, but they were the ones who told me, ‘Not right now, it isn’t safe’,” the pope said. “But I do want to go and I am following the situation closely.”

The pope, visiting Panama for World Youth Day, thanked the journalists for their work in covering the event and led them in a moment of silence and prayer for Alexei Bukalov, a journalist for the Russian news agency ITAR-TASS, who died

in December.

His voice trembling with emotion, Pope Francis remembered Mr Bukalov as “a man of great humanism”, whom “I cared for very much”.

“He was a man capable of synthesizing reports in the style of Dostoyevsky. I am sure that we will all miss him,” the pope said.

As is his custom, Pope Francis greeted each of the 70 journalists on the plane, smiling and exchanging words with them, accepting letters and posing for photographs.

An Italian journalist told Pope Francis of a recent visit he made to Tijuana, Mexico, where he witnessed the plight of the caravan of migrants making their way to the US border, only to find a wall that “reaches all the way to the ocean”.

A wall that goes to the ocean “is madness”, the pope said. “It is fear that makes us crazy.”—CNS

S the Church continues to wrestle with the fallout of last year’s sexual abuse scandals, the Vatican faces a series of crucial decisions in the coming weeks. How they are resolved, and in what order, will likely set the tone for the rest of the year.

On February 21 the heads of the world’s bishops’ conferences will gather in Rome for a special summit to address the abuse crisis. Ahead of that meeting, the Vatican has attempted to lower what it has called “excessive” expectations.

These efforts notwithstanding, the credibility of its discussions and conclusions will likely play a large part in shaping wider assessments of the Church in 2019. But before the three-day meeting begins, two other events could do much to frame how the February session will be seen from the outside.

The first of these events is the replacement of Cardinal Donald Wuerl as archbishop of Washington DC. The second is the conclusion of the penal process handling the allegations against Cardinal Wuerl’s predecessor, Archbishop Theodore McCarrick. Both are expected imminently, and both seem sure to cast a shadow, for good or for ill, on February’s meeting and whatever it produces.

As has been previously reported, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith recently concluded the investigative phase of its handling of the McCarrick case. The CDF also confirmed that, instead of a full

canonical trial, McCarrick was facing a penal administrative process - ordinarily reserved for handling cases where the evidence is clear and compelling.

Officials in different Vatican departments, if not the CDF itself, have already begun pointedly referring to the former cardinal as “Mr McCarrick” in a nod to his likely laicisation if he is found guilty of sexual abuse.

While Rome appears intent on ensuring the McCarrick case is resolved—one way or another—before the February meeting, how much detail the CDF makes public about the resolution will be important.

I

f McCarrick is found guilty of abusing seminarians over a period of years, it will be far harder for the February meeting to ignore the growing calls for an expansion in law of the definition of “vulnerable adults” to include victims like McCarrick’s.

On the other hand, if no decision is reached, or publicly acknowledged, on those charges, the seminarians who submitted their testimony as part of the CDF process may well feel ignored, and their suffering marginalised all over again.

Either result is likely to inform perceptions of the Vatican summit next month and present a serious obstacle to those hoping to force through a narrower focus and agenda based only on the abuse of minors, about which there is less disagreement among the bishops.

Meanwhile, the replacement of Cardinal Wuerl in Washington re-

mains a significant and increasingly urgent priority for Rome.

Just months ago, before the scandals of last summer, Cardinal Wuerl seemed likely to continue in office until he was nearly 80, well past the normal retirement age for bishops, which he passed when he turned 75 three years ago. His resignation, submitted in 2015, was accepted last October (with obvious reluctance by the pope) due to mounting pressure on the cardinal following the Pennsylvania grand jury report—in which he was named more than 200 times— and questions about what Cardinal Wuerl did or did not know about his predecessor.

Recent weeks have seen confirmation by Cardinal Wuerl that, despite his earlier denials, he was aware of accusations against McCarrick involving misconduct with seminarians as early as 2004.

If both McCarrick and Cardinal Wuerl’s different situations can be resolved in the next few weeks, it may offer some breathing room before the February summit. But even assuming the most positive outcome and reception in both cases, little seems likely to dampen expectations for what many are calling a make-orbreak meeting in Rome.

Senior figures, like former member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors Marie Collins, are already warning that the meeting must produce a “practical” outcome and not merely “more talk”.—CNA

Chinese bishop: I’ll work to adapt religion to Chinese influences

T

HE president of China’s statesanctioned bishops’ conference has pledged to work with the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association to develop the Sinicisation of religion in the communist nation.

Ucanews.com reported that Bishop Joseph Ma Yinglin of Kunming spoke after Wang Zuoan, deputy minister of the United Front Work Department, visited the patriotic association and the bishops’ conference of the Catholic Church in China in Beijing.

Bishop Ma said the association and the conference would live up

to the trust of the Communist Party and the government.

“In the new year, they will work hard, unite as one heart, think seriously, strive to practise, work according to the situation, and continue to make greater and better progress on the path of the development of Sinicisation for gaining a satisfactory result for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China,” he said.

On his visit to Beijing, Mr Wang said work on the election and consecration of bishops and the transformation of underground bishops must be done well.

Mr Wang called on the patriotic association and the bishops’ conference to “maintain a high sense of responsibility and mission and lead the believers of the Catholic Church to continue to study through Xi Jinping’s new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics”.

They also should “make progress on the road of independence, autonomy and self-administration of the Church and operating the Church democratically”.

Mr Wang said it is necessary to constantly explore and practise the direction of Sinicisation—modify-

NY bishops decry new bill to expand abortion limits

N

EW York state “has become a more dangerous one for women and their unborn babies” with the passage of a bill to expand abortion called the Reproductive Health Act and Governor Andrew Cuomo’s signing it into law, said the New York State Catholic Conference.

The new law was fully backed by Governor Cuomo, a Catholic.

Ahead of the final vote, Albany Bishop Edward Scharfenberger issued an open letter to Mr Cuomo in which he urged the governor not to let the bill, which he termed a “Death Star”, become law and warned that he and many fear it will lead to the determination that one day “being pro-life” will be “a hate crime in the state of New York”.

Two days before his letter appeared, the New York State Catholic Conference released a statement signed by all the Catholic bishops of the state urging the bill not be passed.

Among the new bill’s provisions are: granting non doctors

ing by Chinese influence—to strengthen the revision and improvement of systems, while it is important to “let the five-star red flag fly high in church courtyards”.

He said it is also important to formulate a plan for managing dioceses appropriately.

Bishop Ma was ordained as a bishop in 2006 without a papal mandate. In 2010, he was elected president of the bishops’ conference and vice-chairman of the patriotic association.

Neither organisation is recognised by the Vatican.

On September 22, 2018, Pope Francis lifted the excommunica-

tion of Bishop Ma and six other bishops appointed by the Chinese government without a pontifical mandate. That came a few hours after the Vatican and the Chinese government had signed a provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops.

The pope’s forgiveness was seen as part of the process towards healing the Chinese Church.

“Pope Francis hopes that, with these decisions, a new process may begin that will allow the wounds of the past to be overcome, leading to the full communion of all Chinese Catholics,” the Vatican said in a statement.—CNS

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Mother Agnes Mary Donovan, superior general of the Sisters of Life, prays during a Prayer Vigil for Life at St Patrick’s cathedral in New York City. (Photo: Gregory Shemitz/CNS) permission to perform abortions; removing protection for an infant accidentally born alive during an abortion; and allowing late-term abortions.

In its statement, the Catholic conference thanked all who partnered with the Catholic Church “in the 12-year-long fight to stop this horrendous policy, and all pro-life New Yorkers who made their voices heard in an effort to stop it”.

“Let us all pray for the conversion of hearts for those who celebrate this tragic moment in

the history of our state,” it said.

“And we pray in a special way for the lives that will be lost, and for the women of our state who are made less safe under this law.”

More than 500 people gathered at St Patrick’s cathedral for Mass at the time the bill was signed.

Homilist Fr Richard Veras, referencing Jesus’ words from the cross, said, “This is a hard night to say, ‘Father forgive them for they know not what they do.’”—CNS

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6

The Southern Cross, January 30 to February 5, 2019

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

No mercy or sense in spurning cohabitors

Editor: Günther Simmermacher Guest editorial: Michael Shackleton

T

God cannot be cheated

C

ORRUPTION is the catchword of the day. It is not a new word. It has appeared in many history books describing the perennial dishonesty and downfall of empires and individuals.

Awareness of this phenomenon is now escalating. Internationally it is being recognised as having a significantly serious economic impact on nations and their citizens.

Public money legitimately collected in taxation from people in the street is finding its way into the private pockets of deceitful officials.

In 2006 the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace held a conference titled “The Fight against Corruption”, defining corruption as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain which hurts everyone who depends on the integrity of people in positions of authority.

Corrupt practices are found even in the New Testament. A pertinent example is that related in Acts 5 where the disciples shared their possessions so that everything was held in common for the common good.

When Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold their property to pass its value into the common fund, they handed over only a portion of the value. They retained the rest for themselves and lied to the others that what they had presented was the full sum realised.

Their punishment for the deception was swift and absolute.

Peter’s rebuke was that they had not simply cheated human beings but had cheated God. Christians today must feel the same way. All forms of deception in which individuals or groups hijack the means to the common good for their own private good are an attempt to cheat God.

Bribery, graft, extortion, nepotism, patronage, human and drug trafficking, money laundering, and the like are familiar examples of corruption. But their perpetrators do not necessarily see their wrongdoing as a way of cheating God who is Truth and who cannot deceive or be deceived.

Corrupt officials in politics, commerce and trade can be caught out by the law of the land.

However, they often escape jail terms because the law itself is corruptible. What may be illegal is not consistently recognised as immoral.

Downright dishonest practices do not only place a heavy burden on a people’s economic growth.

They also cause a deep distrust of and disrespect for public institutions.

When these kinds of conditions prevail and become socially tolerable, the Church must react in the name of justice and morality. Consciences must never be numbed to the point of inertia.

The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace appealed to the Church’s social doctrine as a guiding principle in the battle against injustice.

Corruption, it declared, exploits human persons and uses them for selfish interests. It is an obstacle for achieving the good of all citizens because it is based on individualistic criteria of selfish cynicism and illicit special interests.

In nutshell, corrupt practices that benefit a powerful elite to the detriment of the less powerful are not only illegal but also inherently immoral and, in the Church’s book, sinful.

Clever lawyers protect clever rogues in the courts of justice. In our own land, as well as beyond, the Church’s mission is to spell out to the corrupt elite that neither their fellow citizens nor God himself can be cheated.

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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.

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

Luke 11:1-13

HE letter recommending the ostracisation of cohabitors from Church activities (“No marriage prep for cohabitors”, January 16) seems particularly lacking in mercy, to me.

And Jesus calls on us to have mercy: “But go and learn what this means: ‘I require mercy, not sacrifice.’

For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” Matthew 9:13.

The assumptions, and they are assumptions, that cohabitors are living in sin and/or practising chemical contraception are very judgmental, a function better left to Our Lord.

Who is qualified to cast the first stone? I cannot recall Jesus ever being reported as avoiding the company of sinners; indeed, he sought them out. Denying anyone associa-

Crystals are not demonic threat

I

FOUND the article “The Church problem with crystals” (January 16) rather disturbing—if not pathetic. It seems to take us back to medieval times.

If the Church is going to condemn the use of crystals as “demonic” or “New Age”, then it needs to react equally strongly against the use of, for example, reflexology, yoga, therapeutic hypnosis and Tai chi. And heaven forbid the listening to music by Bach—famously and scientifically proven to have medicinal and healing effects!

Really, if crystals are such a “threat” to our faith and Church, then I think we have not moved any further than the Pharisees of old.

Our Church has many more issues to focus on, let’s not become distracted by such triviality.

Please supply proof as to why crystals are to be feared so much. I think kissing or touching relics (whether they are actually proven to truly be what they’re claimed to be to begin with) is far more questionable.

Christ taught us love and compassion. Why would the “belief” that hanging a crystal around your neck can relieve anxiety or that placing it over a painful joint can relieve pain be seen as anti-Christian?

Wake up and smell the incense!

Dr Steven van der Merwe, Simon’s Town, Western Cape

Neverending: now it’s nuns stealing

W

HAT I have learnt from the sexual abuse cases in the Catholic Church, and in other religious denominations, is how the credibility of the Church has been tainted.

I now look at Church leaders

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through different eyes. The trust and respect is no longer there.

The Church is just another money-making organisation, run by men and women living off the hard-earned wages of the community in return for a few words of “thou shalt” and “thou shalt not”.

With all that’s going on in the Church now, one can’t help feeling for Pope Francis, as he has to take the flak for the scandalous behaviour of clerics.

In my opinion, the pope who should have been dethroned and defrocked is Pope John Paul II. Having occupied the papal chair for two decades, surely he knew all about the sexual abuse and monetary payouts, and must have played a major part in the secrecy and cover-up?

Then there’s the recent scandal hitting headlines in the US media of two American nuns who stole $500 000 (R7 million) from the school where they worked to splash out on travel and gambling in Las Vegas.

Sisters Mary Margaret Kreuper and Lana Chang are facing criminal charges, their order confirmed.

These nuns admit to stealing money over a decade!

What’s next? Drugs?

Let us pray for those victims sexually abused at a tender age for so long by clerics.

Mickey Roberts, Cape Town opinions expressed in The Southern Cross, especially in Letters to the editor, do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor or staff of the newspaper, or of the Catholic hierarchy. The letters page in particular is a forum in which readers may exchange opinions on matters of debate.

Letters must not be understood to necessarily reflect the teachings, disciplines or policies of the Church accurately. letters can be sent to PO Box 2372, cape town 8000 or editor@scross.co.za or faxed to 021 465-3850

derstand, to be helpful, that was his contribution. I do not know the whole outcome, it’s not my business, but the Catholic is to this day at Mass every Sunday, regular as clockwork. He was not chased away.

I am a product of Catholic schooling in the 1950s, and I am familiar with the extremely restrictive conditions imposed by the Church at that time—we lived in constant fear!

We have come a long way since, largely due to the efforts of several enlightened popes, particularly the present incumbent.

I wonder what Pope Francis’ contribution to this discussion might be?

Have mercy.

Cecil Cullen, Alberton, Gauteng

Church absent in history textbooks

T

HE state has announced a review of the CAPS (Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements) history syllabuses of Grades 4 to 12.

So far, these history syllabuses have made no mention of the Catholic Church’s contribution to South Africa, including mission schools and hospitals.

Lest we forget, 85% of South Africa is Christian.

The early years of Indian settlement in South Africa saw Church mission schools and they did a splendid job.

The ideology of apartheid saw the white National Party government create the tricameral parliament in the 1980s, with a separate Indian House of Delegates and coloured House of Representatives.

These group parliaments drew up their own education syllabuses for Indian and coloured schools.

HOD textbooks for subjects such as history were written by Indian authors, and the Indian history part made little mention of sugar farmers, focusing more on Gandhi.

There was never anything on mission schools, hospitals, and so on run by the Church. (Catholic and other Christian HOD educators did not appear to be part of working history committees.)

This failure to record the Church’s history in South Africa is still the case under the CAPS syllabus.

The CAPS history syllabus is now under review, but apparently with the same absence of Christian role players. There will likely still be no true history.

Of course, we have private schools with IEB syllabuses, but even there, nothing of the Christian contribution to the development of South Africa is discussed.

QX Nobin, Pietermaritzburg

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tion with Church activities does not seem conducive to evangelisation.

Our mission is to be helpful to our fellows, much as we may not agree with their ideas. Our mission is to be as merciful to them as we are able, to show kindness and understanding in the hope that our example will attract them to our faith.

I was present at a family faith meeting in my parish when the non-Catholic partner in such a couple publicly professed her disbelief that anyone could condemn her Catholic partner for continuing to practise his faith as far as possible.

Our parish priest did not condemn them—he invited them to meet with him after the gathering.

Compassion, an attempt to un-

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The Southern Cross, January 30 to February 5, 2019

PERSPECTIVES

Michael Shackleton

Getting the homeless on voters’ roll I Raymond Perrier HOPE by now the advertising by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has got through to you. So not only are you aware that later this year South Africa will host its sixth democratic general election but you have actually registered to vote (or confirmed that you are already registered to vote).

Citizens of all countries should cherish the right to vote; but none more than South Africans. After all, it took many bitter decades of campaigning and sacrifice to get to that first historic vote in 1994.

Our own Archbishop Denis Hurley was among the religious leaders who fought hard for a universal franchise.

And then having secured the vote you need to use it. Failing to exercise your vote can lead to painful long-term consequences.

If young voters in Britain had voted in the European referendum with the same turnout as older voters, the result would have been a forceful rejection of Brexit—and yet it is those young voters who will most have to live with the consequences of the narrow win by the “Leavers”.

Last weekend the IEC conducted a major national drive to update the electoral roll. If you missed out, though, don’t worry since you have until 5pm on the day that the election is officially gazetted to go to an IEC office and add your name.

You can also check by going online to www.elections.org.za/content/ or by sending an SMS with your ID number to 32810 at R1 per SMS. Universal suffrage—in which all citizens above a certain age are entitled to vote—is something we now see as normal but that has clearly not always been the case.

Notoriously in South Africa, people were excluded from voting because of the colour of their skin.

Every country at some stage excluded women—the UK has only just celebrated 100 years of women being able to vote and Saudi Arabia only extended the franchise to women in 2015!

Another frequent test was property ownership, which meant that poor people were excluded from the ballot. In fact, the very limited number of non-white people on the electoral roll of the Cape Colony (before the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910) were there because of their property rights.

The poor are no longer excluded per se from being voters but they are much less

likely to register and they are much less likely to vote. This is true of most poor groups and even more true of homeless people.

At the Denis Hurley Centre in Durban, we work with the 4 000-plus homeless people who stay in the city centre. About 90% of them are South African citizens but only a handful are registered to vote. But I am pleased to say that, working closely with the IEC, we are trying to change that in time for this year’s election.

One stumbling block had been the need to give a residential address. After all, if people are homeless they do not have an address! If they gave the address of where they are from, they would have to go back to that town to register and to vote, making it almost impossible for them.

But the IEC has accepted that, if someone can assert that they slept on a particular bit of pavement or in a park for three of the previous seven nights, that counts as an address for these purposes and they can be registered to that place.

A bigger stumbling block though is ID cards. These are necessary in order to register and in order to vote. In fact, they are necessary for accessing almost everything official in South Africa—from getting a grant, to buying a cellphone, to opening a bank account.

A person without an ID (or equivalent) is in effect a non-person. That is how many homeless people are treated by society anyway—as non-persons.

An initiative of the DHC to turn beggars at robots into newspaper sellers had an un-

homeless men from the Denis hurley Centre participating in a democracy workshop run by the university of KwazuluNatal’s street law project.

open Door

Ending death penalty echoes the Gospel

Faith and Society

Why has Pope Francis suddenly made a change in the Catechism (2267), with regard to the just sentencing to death by the state of identified criminals? We are now taught that the death penalty is totally forbidden by the Church.

Why? It was never forbidden before.

Theo DDRESSING his followers in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5) Jesus recalled the commandment: You shall not kill. He gave it a new interpretation: We must not merely refrain from causing someone’s death but also reconcile with anyone with whom we are angry.

The Church has taken these instructions to heart. It recognises that each individual person has a special dignity because we are all created in God’s image and likeness (Gn 1:26). This means that our human life is sacred.

Jesus’ teaching concerning respect for human life has taken time to penetrate the hearts and minds of his people. History reveals a wretched track record of Christian kings and nations ignoring what their faith tells them about not deliberately retaliating against offenders by killing them.

In more recent times, Pope John XXIII and his successors have deplored the death penalty, even begging heads of state to show mercy and commute a death sentence to life imprisonment.

The Church had not officially condemned capital punishment in the past as it had not initially condemned slavery. Yet both have been shown up to be inhumane and repugnant.

In his 1995 encyclical The Gospel of Life, Pope John Paul II reaffirmed the sanctity of human life but reluctantly conceded that the death penalty was acceptable in cases of absolute necessity in societies with no other way to defend themselves.

Consequently, the wording of the Catechism (2267) afterwards was: “The cases in which the execution of an offender is an absolute necessity are very rare, if not practically non-existent.”

Pope Francis’ reformed text now reads: “The Church teaches in the light of the Gospel that the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person, and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide.”

An American nun, Sr Helen Prejean, who ministered to those on Death Row in a Louisiana prison (her moving 1993 book Dead Man Walking was made into a memorable movie), was reported to react to Pope Francis’ new rule with this comment: “Even those who have done terrible crimes have an inviolable dignity. And part of that dignity is not to be strapped down and rendered defenceless and killed by an intentional act. That’s what’s changed in this. No exceptions.”

She stressed that all loopholes are now shut off by the pure power of the Gospel.

expected consequence.

The paper vendors all wear uniforms with their names clearly shown, and one of them told me that, as a vendor rather than a beggar, what has changed is not how much money he makes, but how he is treated by drivers.

“Before, they would drive past me and look through me as if I wasn’t there. Now, even if they do not buy a paper, they notice me, they smile, they even call me by my name. I have become a person to them!”

It is interesting how so often in the Gospels by calling someone by their name—the tax collector, the blind man—Jesus brings a marginalised person back into society.

Unfortunately, almost half of homeless people do not have IDs and so have become non-people. In some cases, they lost them or they were stolen—in far too many cases they disappeared when police were raiding the places where the homeless were sleeping or confiscating their meagre belongings.

To our surprise, our local Home Affairs has been co-operative in helping us to secure IDs for the homeless. But a further problem is that, while a first ID is free, a replacement costs R140: too much for the homeless person and indeed for the DHC. We are starting an appeal specifically to raise funds so homeless people can replace their IDs. But we are also hoping that Home Affairs will soften its heart and come up with a discounted rate so that more homeless people can join those who are now registering. We want everyone to have the chance to be politically empowered.

Those who have signed up are now sporting wristbands—in a staunchly apolitical grey colour—which carry the words “I can now vote—can you?”

Homeless people encouraging each other to get politically involved is the next step in our programme and we have, with the help of the University of KwaZuluNatal’s law school and a grant from the US government, been training homeless leaders as political mobilisers.

Continued on Page 11

A

Christian-Muslim feuds mar Nigeria Arinze T Joseph Ani HE ongoing feud between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria has led to the loss of millions of lives and the destruction of countless properties.

The uneasy relationship these two major religions had elsewhere, before their arrival in Nigeria, has continued in the competition, suspicion, hostility, and sometimes killings between Christian (largely in the south) and Muslim (largely in the north) communities.

The struggle has often been for increased membership, territorial expansion, and the use of religion to gain political capital.

At the launch of the 2018 Religious Freedom Report by Aid to the Church in Need, an international Catholic non-profit group, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos, in Nigeria’s Plateau State, presented a paper on Christians and Muslims.

“The poor and conflicting relationship between the adherents of the two major religions in Nigeria (Christianity and Islam),” the archbishop said, “has been attributed to what existed in the different roots of the two religions and unnecessary pursuits for increase in followership and faith superiority; among other factors.

“This has been a problem between the two religions from time immemorial. Unfortunately, this not-too-cordial-relationship has continued to grow in intensity, with attendant negative consequences,” he said.

“Even many centuries after bitter encounters between adherents of Islam and Christianity, we in Nigeria continue to feel the hangover, as attested to by the way the umbrella Muslim organisation, Jama’atu Nasril Islam and the Christian Association of Nigeria behave and act towards each other,” Archbishop Kaigama noted.

Dating back to 1953, there have been a series of deadly religious crises, including: • The Igbo massacre in 1966 was a military-instigated massacre of the majority-

n Send your queries to Open Door, Box 2372, Cape Town,

8000; or e-mail: opendoor@scross.co.za; or fax (021) 465 3850. Anonymity can be preserved by arrangement, but questions must be signed, and may be edited for clarity. Only published questions will be answered.

Letter from Nigeria

A Nigerian soldier on guard during the religious riots in the city of Jos in 2010. The tension and outbursts of violence are ongoing between Muslims and Christians.

Christian south-eastern Igbos by Muslim locals and military officers. This led to the brutal, three-year Biafra civil war, with the loss of over 1.5 million lives.

• The 1980s Maitatsine crisis in the city of Kano (in a Muslim-majority state) where hundreds of thousands were murdered after a false Muslim preacher brainwashed young Muslims and encouraged them to attack Christians and, to an extent, the government itself.

• The 1991 massacre of over 500 Christians by Muslims when Kano planned a religious revival event featuring popular German evangelist Reinhard Bonnke.

• The Kaduna riots over the introduction of sharia law in Kaduna State in 2000, in which over 1 500 Christians were murdered.

• The Jos riots in 2001 over the appointment of a Muslim politician to coordinate the federal poverty alleviation programme.

Jos, in central Nigeria, is historically majority-Christian, with Muslim newcomers from the north. Both Christians and Muslims lost their lives, 1 000 in all, in the fierce religious/political clash.

• The Miss World riot in 2002 where over 500 were killed by Muslims claiming that Christians were blasphemous in an article covering the Miss World pageant in London that year.

• The Yelwa massacre in 2004. Yelwa, a town in central Nigeria, saw Christians and Muslims attack each other.

• The Jos riots again in 2008, over a local political win disputed by Muslims, and in 2010.

Today, since 2010, over 1 million Christians have lost their lives due to the insurgency in northern Nigeria by Islamist terror group Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen.

The north-south religious polarisation thus sees Nigerians competing for religious, political and economic power. The historical divide and rule policy of the British before independence, and the contrast between knowledge-skills Christian education and Koranic Muslim education, further entrenched the north-south divide.

Also, control of politics and the economy by the three major tribes (Hausa, Ibo and Yoruba) is another major concern.

At the 2018 religious report launch, Archbishop Kaigama outlined the efforts of the Church in Nigeria—through agencies such as the Justice, Development and Peace Commission, Caritas Nigeria, and the Dialogue, Reconciliation and Peace Centre and Interfaith Youth Vocational Training Centre in Jos—to douse religious tension in the country and promote religious harmony through dialogue and practical activities.

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The Southern Cross, January 30 to February 5, 2019

COMMUNITY

A First Communion Mass was held at St Francis Catholic church in richards Bay, Kwazulu-Natal. The 24 young communicants are seen with parish priest Fr Bongani Sebastian xulu and catechist rachel Chetty.

Permanent deacons and their wives of Witbank/ eMalahleni diocese in Mpumalanga gathered for an annual retreat at the diocesan pastoral centre in Lydenburg/ Mashishing with Bishop Joe Sandri MCCJ.

The Top 10 2018 matriculants at Marist Brothers Linmeyer in Johannesburg all achieved an average of above 82% in their IeB NSC results.

(Standing from left) Veeral Bhaga, Caitlin de haas, erin renfrew, Vanessa reis, Siobhan Slater, and Daniel de Sousa. (Seated from left) Pamela Ferreira, Karisham Kara, Candice Low Yeun, and zeenat Moolla.

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pics@ scross. co.za

PRICE CHECK

Assumption Convent School in Germiston, Johannesburg, welcomed its new Grade 1s on their first day at school. The group are seen with teachers Angela Moore and Janet Brown.

St Anthony of Padua church in Kraaifontein, Cape Town, held its third annual rosary rally. Parishioners were joined in the procession by their priest Fr Audecius Tindimwebwa AJ, Fr John Paul Achi CMF of hout Bay, and four Sisters from Koelenhof.

Six young people were confirmed by Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria at holy Trinity parish in olifantsfontein, Midrand. With the confirmants are parish priest Fr Joseph Puliyikat MSFS and catechist hope Mlotshwa. (Submitted by Jeanette Joalane M Lesisa)

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January 23 to January 29, 2019

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Priest: WYD needs more promotion

BY CHRISTEN TORRES

On their way to World Youth Day in Panama, the group of the diocese Mariannhill stopped over in the Spanish city in Salamanca, where they where hosted by the local Congregation of Mariannhill Missionaries. They are seen here in the city’s Plaza Mayor. The group also had the opportunity to visit nearby Alba de Tormes, where the tomb of St Teresa of Avila is kept. With the group are Bishop Stanislaw Dziuba of Umzimkulu (right) and Mariannhill provincial Fr Bheki Shabalala CMM (front left).

Pope ‘has grasp of Africa’

BY FR PAUL SAMASUMO

S

OUTH Africa’s ambassador to the Holy See, George Johannes, has said that he is very impressed with Pope Francis’ grasp of events in Africa.

Recalling the pope’s annual address to members of the diplomatic corps in the Vatican this month, Mr Johannes said the pope spoke passionately about Africa.

“What touched me the most is that Pope Francis has a very good feeling and understanding of what is happening in Africa,” the ambassador, who himself is a Catholic, told Vatican Radio.

“I spoke to Pope Francis, and I said to him: ‘Your Holiness, we need you in Africa…

Your presence carries a certain message for Africa.’”

Mr Johannes hopes that another visit to African countries by Pope Francis would boost peace efforts and encourage national cohesion that is under threat from a new type of fractionalism.

Africa faces a new type “of fractionalism where communities and societies of Africa are being broken down. These need to be mended”, the ambassador said. He hopes the presence of Pope Francis in Africa would contribute significantly towards this healing.

The Holy Father is aware of the severe situations from which most migrants arriving in Europe are fleeing, Mr Johannes observed.

“When we look at the scenes of those coming on the boats, you mainly see Africans— African black people who are coming—and Ambassdor George there is a reaction in EuJohannes. (Photo: rope against them.

“I don’t want to beVatican News) come too political about it [but] we were very accepting when the colonial masters came to our countries, and in many cases, they even deprived people of their land and culture and imposed their way of life on the people of Africa,” he said.

“People need to be reminded about where we come from,” Mr Johannes added.

These migrants “are running away from real, serious problems in Africa, and these are the things that the Holy Father is making us aware of”, the ambassador said.

“One could feel in the way that he was speaking, when he addressed issues of Africa, that he felt very passionately about them.”

T

HE national youth chaplain has urged World Youth Day pilgrims to speak about their experiences and promote future events.

“What I have discovered is that many parishes do not know much about World Youth Day, including priests, adults and youth,” said Fr Mthembemi Dlamini CMM. “I hope that when groups return from Panama, they will be able to go around their dioceses to give testimonies of their experiences and to encourage parishes to send at least one young person to the next one.”

World Youth Day (WYD) is held this week in Panama City, closing with a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis on January 27.

Among the expected 200 000 WYD pilgrims from around the world are around 160 from South Africa. Most of them attended the Week in the Dioceses in various areas of Panama before moving to the capital for the main festival.

Most of the Southern African pilgrims are from the archdioceses of Johannesburg (86 pilgrims) and Durban (31), with other groups representing the dioceses of Mariannhill, Manzini in Eswati, and Gaborone and Francistown in Botswana.

A group of around 40 from Namibia is also attending.

Among clergy representing the SACBC region, besides Fr Dlamini, are Bishop Stanislaw Dziuba of Umzimkulu as liaison bishop for the youth, Cardinal Wifrid Napier of Durban, Bishop Victor Phalana of Klerksdorp (leading the Johannesburg group), Fr Bheki Shabalala CMM (leading the Mariannhill group).

Fr Thulani Mbuyisa, the superior-general of the Congregation of the Missionaries of Mariannhill, is also attending.

Cardinal Napier and Bishop Dziuba have been invited to lead catechesis sessions, which are open to all WYD pilgrims.

Bishop Dziuba was to lead Holy Hour for

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

The WYD group of the archdiocese of Durban, led by Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, was interviewed by Panama’s national TV on arrival in Panama City. all SACBC pilgrims on January 22, with the theme “Praying for Vocations”.

Fr Dlamini said attending WYD is a learning experience for him. “Hopefully it will assist us in the future as we prepare our Mini World Youth Day,” he said, referring to the local youth festival which was last held in Durban in December 2017.

Fr Dlamini noted that there is a problem with people’s understanding of World Youth Day, and with the follow-up by pilgrims themselves.

“It’s unfortunate that some groups, after attending the WYD, do nothing to promote the next one, and sometimes such information is kept within the group,” Fr Dlamini said.

“Our SACBC region has sent 160 people to WYD this year, but with more vigorous promotion we can send more than 500,” he noted.

Fr Dlamini advised dioceses and youth leaders to start planning for the next WYD early, especially to keep flight prices down and to give ample time to fundraise for pilgrims.

The theme for this year’s World Youth Day derives from Luke 1:38—“I am the servant of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

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LIFESTORY

The Southern Cross, January 30 to February 5, 2019

9

The early lives of two Jo’burg saints Domitilla Rota Hyams was the saintly founder, with the help of husband Danny, of the Little Eden Society for intellectually disabled children in Gauteng. In the first of a series of four articles, DALuxoLo MoLoANToA looks at how they met in Italy in the 1940s.

D

OMITILLA Rota loved her Italian homeland. In a diary entry dated May 10, 1947, she wrote: “One’s native village is always beautiful.”

She then described her village of Albenza, near the northern city of Bergamo and not far from the birthplace of St John XXIII: “My little village is situated halfway up the mountain, and its back is Mount Albenza, from which it derives its name. Rocky and white in parts, the mountain shields us from storms and hurricanes. To the west, it opens up to a vast and sweeping plain going as far as the eye can see into the distant horizon.”

Leaving one’s home is never easy—especially when departing for a foreign land, with a foreign language, foreign customs and a foreign climate. So it was when Domitilla bade her family and beloved home village farewell to begin a new life as a married woman in South Africa.

It was a Monday, December 8, 1947—exactly three months after her wedding to South African Danny Hyams.

But let’s first rewind to May 7, 1918, the day Domitilla Maria Rota was born in the Albenza house of her grandfather, Carlo Pietro Rota.

His house was known as “Grumello”, and Domitilla was the last of the Rota grandchildren to be born at “Grumello”.

The place had been her grandfather’s vineyard before he added living quarters to it.

She had two siblings from the union of her father, Carlo Guiseppe Rota, and her mother Elvira Mazzoleni. She also had two step-brothers and a step-sister.

Carlo was a widower when he married Elvira. At just under two years of age, Domitilla lost her father. Life became an uphill battle for her mother Elvira, and the family.

Domitilla rota and Danny hyams as young people in the 1940s, and (right) in their latter years. The archdiocese of Johannesburg has approved the beginning of the cause for the beatification of Domitilla, who founded the Little eden Society for children with profound intellectual disability in 1967.

She died in January 2011, Danny in December 2012. (All photos courtesy Little eden Society) Apart from serving the role of mother and father to six children, Elvira and the household also accommodated Domitilla’s cousin Renza (who had lost her mother at birth), Uncle Pio, Aunt Teresa and their four children.

Despite the dire situation, Elvira assumed the role of family matriarch with boldness and imparted strict discipline, a deep spiritual grounding, and strong family values in the children—no less so in Domitilla.

Rudimentary education Without the financial means and in a rural environment which was lacking in facilities, Domitilla attended rudimentary school until she was ten years old.

She helped around the household by looking after the few animals in the meadows, collecting wood and chestnuts in the forest, and attending to work in the fields.

In spite of her basic level of education, her passion for intellectual stimulation remained infused, as witnessed by her self-studies in her early teens, in music, the Italian language, mathematics—and above all a keen desire for her own spiritual development.

Like most other village families, the Rota family had close ties to the parish of San Rocco. This is where Domitilla was baptised, and within its walls she became engrossed with the notion of living in service to her fellow man. Specifically, she dreamt of becoming a missionary worker in Africa.

She recounts the time in her diary: “I liked to pass my free time in contact with nature, gathering chestnuts and cherries, looking after the cows in the fresh air of the green fields, or riding my bicycle to my music lessons in the nearby small town of Bergamo. I also liked to pray, and dreamt of being of service to others through missionary work in Africa.”

Daniel George Hyams was born province of Limpopo.

Little Flower, run by the Flemish on June 1, 1921, in Jeppestown, Johannesburg. He was the second Brothers of Charity, provided the child of Louis George Hyams and two brothers with a sound grounding in academics, spiritual develophis wife, Mary Joseph Hyams.

Louis was of Jewish extraction ment and sports.

Danny completed his secondary and traced his family’s roots to a district of Spitalfields, in the east schooling at the tender age of 16, end of London. His parents had left and as head boy and an accomEngland and joined the many oth- plished track and field runner. After high school he enrolled ers in coming to seek their at the University of Witfortune in the proliferating watersrand for studies in gold mines of JohannesDomitilla accounting. burg at the turn of the cenwanted to live With the outbreak of tury.

Although he was Jewish World War II, and after himself, Hyams senior in- in service to persistent persuasion, sisted that his two sons others, with Mr Hyams finally rehave a Catholic upbringlented and allowed his adream of youngest son to take the ing, in accordance with their mother’s religious oath to volunteer for acbecoming a tive background. service in North Accordingly, on March Africa with the Rand missionary 10, 1922, Daniel George Light Infantry (RLI). His Hyams (or simply Danny, older brother, and boyin Africa. as he came to be known hood hero Louis had althroughout his life), was ready joined the baptised by Fr Francis in St Anne’s recruiting queues of the various regCatholic church in the eastern Jo- iments and services. hannesburg suburb of Belgravia, Mobilisation orders arrived for with his maternal grandfather Louis Danny on June 8, 1940, a week after Bretton and aunt Lucy Bretton as his 19th birthday. Almost a year sponsors. later, on June 21, 1941, Danny disFrom the very early age of four, embarked from the IIe de France at both Danny and his older brother Port Tewfik, at Egypt’s Suez Canal, Louis Jnr were sent to boarding to participate in the North Africa Alschool at the Dominican mission in lied campaign.

Potgietersrust (now known as Escape from POW camp Mokopane). Later, they attended The dawn of Sunday, June 21, the Little Flower College in Pietersburg (Polokwane) in the northern 1942, saw Tobruk in flames. Corpo-

ral Hyams and other members of the RLI Composite Company started a 100km trek eastwards towards Egypt’s eastern borderline.

After several narrow escapes avoiding Axis Forces, and suffering from a shortage of food and water, the group reached the EgyptianLibyan border, and fate intervened.

On June 27, Danny and his fellow troopers were captured by Mussolini’s fascist insurgents.

A series of transfers to various prisoner-of-war camps took place until they were sent to “Campo Concentrate to Grumellina” in Bergamo.

With the September 8, 1943, Badoglio Proclamation announcing the armistice between Italy and the Allied Forces, the POWs at Grumellina overpowered the camp guards and escaped to the mountains behind Bergamo.

To their relief they were welllooked after by the local population, who shared what they could with the escapees from their own meagre resources.

The POWs had kept remarkably well during the first winter, but later a nasty boil developed below Danny’s chin. Palmieri Piccolbone, a local villager who was allocated the responsibility of looking after Danny, insisted that the corporal get help from La Signora Elvira Rota—Domitilla’s mother—in the neighbouring village of Albenza.

NEXT WEEK: Three men vie for one girl.

The story of Danny “Grumello”, the house in the northern Italian village of Albenzo where Domitilla was born on May 7, 1918.

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

By the end of March 1945, with World War II drawing to a close, Corporal Daniel Hyams was an escaped prisoner-of-war who had spent the previous 20 months living a hide-and-seek existence in the foothills of the mountains to the rear of Bergamo.

Domitilla’s parents elvira and Carlo rota; and Danny (left) with his mother Agnes hyams (née Le Breton), sister Dina and older brother Louis just before World War II.

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10

The Southern Cross, January 30 to February 5, 2019

INTERVIEW

Gabuza on past and new challenges On February 10, Bishop Abel Gabuza will take possession of his office as the coadjutor archbishop of Durban. ChrISTeN TorreS asked him about the diocese he is leaving behind and the archdiocese he is coming to.

Gabuza was ordained a priest in We asked Bishop Gabuza about the archdiocese of Pretoria on De- his time in Kimberley, and what he cember 15, 1984, and served his expects in Durban. archdiocese as a parish priest in What was it like when you were several communities. told you’d become the coadjutor He also lectured at three semi- archbishop of Durban? Were you naries, and served South Africa’s surprised? orientation seminaries in Pretoria I was stunned when [the apostolic and Cape Town as rector from nuncio] Archbishop Peter Wells 1991-94. called me and told me that Pope In the early 2000s, Bishop Francis is appointing me to the Gabuza was one of the leading archdiocese of Durban as the coadforces in the African Catholic jutor.

Priests’ Solidarity Movement.

It never dawned on me that my He became vicar-general of Pre- name would interest those who toria in 1999.

N February 10, Bishop Abel make decisions regarding the apHe was appointed bishop of pointment of bishops throughout Gabuza, currently of Kimberley, will be received as Kimberley on December 23, 2010. the world. I was happy as bishop of the new coadjutor archbishop of He was ordained a Kimberley. It is a Durban, in the presence of the bishop on March 19, small diocese which is bishops of Southern Africa, who 2011—the first of three manageable.

There will gather that week in Mari- successive vicars-general ‘I will attempt to are 31 priests, three of Pretoria to be made annhill for their biannual plenary speak whatever deacons and 15 relibishops. session. gious, women and His successors, Bishlanguage is The Mass of Reception will be men. held at 10:00 on the grounds of St ops Dabula Mpako and I have recently celspoken in Victor Phalana were apHenry’s Marist College in ebrated 34 years since pointed to Queenstown Glenville. whatever part of my ordination and I Pope Francis appointed the out- and Kimberley respechave always considgoing bishop of Kimberley as coad- tively in 2011 and 2014. our country. This ered myself an obediBishop Gabuza is the jutor of Durban in December. This ent son of the position means that he will run the present chair of the Jus- is my privileged Church. archdiocese with its incumbent tice & Peace CommisYes, it was a great archbishop, Cardinal Wilfrid sion of the Southern inheritance from surprise for me when Napier, with the right to succeed African Catholic BishAlexandra I was told that I have ops’ Conference, a posihim. to uproot myself and township’ Cardinal Napier, who will turn tion in which he has go to Durban. I will made several forthright 78 in March, submitted his resignaalways be conscious tion to Pope Francis in 2016 on statements on matters as that I am a servant. I turning 75, but the pope asked him diverse as corruption and the tragic will go where the Church wishes deaths of pupils in latrines. to stay on. When the pope does acHaving served two terms as J&P me to serve. cept the resignation, Bishop Gabuza will automatically succeed chair, he will not be eligible for re- Coadjutor-archbishop is not a election in the February plenary common thing, is it?

Cardinal Napier.

Born on March 23, 1955 in session of the SACBC in Mari- This has never happened before in Alexandra, Johannesburg, Bishop annhill. the history of the Catholic Church in South Africa. Being something new, this will confuse a lot of people.

I will work with Cardinal Napier for some time. He will guide me, show me the ropes, until further notice.

Who shaped you?

There are people who contributed to who I am. My family, Holy Cross Sisters at Holy Cross Convent School in Alexandra township, teachers at St Paul’s Minor Seminary and so many others I have met in my life.

As you are preparing to leave for Durban, what is going to be your memory of Kimberley diocese?

Kimberley diocese is in the main a rural place. There are about 180 000 Catholics, and to the credit of the missionaries, almost in all the villages there is a Catholic structure in the form of a Kimberley is a vast, mostly rural diocese which is not accessible everybig building used for worship, a where by car. So it was when Bishop Gabuza visited the small church of St hall, a preschool and a small prayer house.

Theresa in Manyeledi in the remote Kalahari for the confirmation of 16 There is a lot of travelling and I candidates in 2015. he was advised to get out of the car and leave it on did my best to visit all the commuthe side of the road and was brought into the village by donkey cart.

O

Bishop Abel Gabuza: “It was a great surprise for me when the apostolic nuncio told me that I have to uproot myself and go to Durban. I will always be conscious that I am a servant. I will go where the Church wishes me to serve.” nities in the diocese.

Something that will always remain with me is the generosity of many Catholics.

In the villages one is always confronted by the state of poverty of many people. People struggle to have access to water. The roads are not tarred and the clinics (mobile) are not readily available and with not enough medication.

Yet, our Catholics still give what they have. In the last few years we had managed to raise funds for the education of our seminarians.

The concept of ownership of the Church has been accepted by many Catholics as the way to make the local Church self-supporting.

Together with my co-workers, the priests and deacons, I tried to promote a life of responsible consciousness among Catholics in the diocese.

I believe that the best way of expressing our gratitude to the missionaries of yesterday is to build on what they did and move beyond being Catholics who simply maintain the structures we have inherited.

There is a need to be creative and allow the Word of God to influence us and energise us. See Ephesians 2:19-22.

What do you see as your challenge in Durban?

The archdiocese of Durban is part of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference. In the conference we are aware of the many challenges we face as a Church in this part of the world.

One way of responding to these

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challenges is the production of the Pastoral Plan for our conference area.

There are new questions that need new answers in these challenging times we face as Catholics.

The Pastoral Plan is a way of being willing to embrace our troubled history and taking responsibility for the present and future.

We are now in the final stages of producing the Pastoral Plan. It has taken many years of reflection and prayer to have this plan.

Do you think that it might create certain challenges in Durban that you are not Zulu?

I am a South African. I was raised in the cosmopolitan township of Alexandra, Gauteng. There were all kinds of people who spoke different languages. We even had several people of Chinese descent who had shops in various parts of the township. They lived in the township.

We had to learn and speak several languages spoken in South Africa.

As long I work and live in South Africa, I will attempt to speak whatever language is spoken in any part of our country.

This is my privileged inheritance from the Alexandra township.

And do you have any words of advice for your eventual successor in Kimberley?

There will be storms and waves, but as someone said: “At times the storms are not meant to disrupt one’s life but are meant to clear the path for one.”

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The Southern Cross, January 30 to February 5, 2019

Fr Joseph Knapp MCCJ

C

OMBONI Father Joseph Valentin Knapp, formerly of Witbank and Pretoria, died on January 12, aged 77, in Bolzano-Bozen, northern Italy, six days after he was airlifted by helicopter to hospital from the parish he was living in.

Fr Knapp served in South Africa for 32 years, working in Witbank diocese at Glen Cowie, Luckau, Burgersfort and the Maria Trost Diocesan Pastoral Centre. He also worked in Pretoria archdiocese for several years.

Fr Knapp knew and spoke Northern Sotho very well.

In 2003 he returned to Europe and became the parish

priest of two parishes in Bolzano-Bozen diocese in Italy’s South Tyrol region. The parishioners there will miss him

dearly. Fr Knapp was probably their last resident priest.

He continued to support the Mission in South Africa after having returned to Europe, keeping in contact with people in South Africa and visiting periodically.

Fr Knapp fostered communication as well, organising trips

by South African church choirs—of St Peter Claver in Mamelodi and Sacred Heart in Witbank—to Europe.

He also helped social projects financially and supported other activities in Witbank diocese and beyond.

Fr Jude Eugene Burgers MCCJ

Fr Werner Stafflinger

F

ATHER Werner Stafflinger died aged 83 at Nazareth House in Cape Town on January 12.

Fr Stafflinger was among those whose Church ministry was characterised by deep humility and steadfast self-effacement.

He was committed to a priesthood that excluded the limelight—even to requesting a simple funeral with no homily.

But on January 18, at his Requiem Mass, the man who had served in Cape Town archdiocese since 1962—as a fidei donum priest attached to his diocese of Eichstätt in Germany—was taken from the shadows into the Nazareth House chapel where his work and memory shone.

Archbishop Stephen Brislin set the tone for the Requiem by describing it as a celebration of Fr Stafflinger’s life and ministry.

Fr Brian Gelant,in his compelling homily-tribute, drew on a sustaining culture of discipleship, shared humanity, and generosity of spirit, as well as recollection of personal encounters, impressions, anecdotes, and writings.

Fr Gelant associated Fr Stafflinger with the Beatitudes:

Fr Brian Gelant gave the homily at Fr Werner Stafflinger’s requiem Mass, recalling him as “gentle and merciful”. “a gentle and merciful person … who cared for prisoners”.

He also knew him as a priest with a powerful sense of human dignity. He had given a young man, facing army duty in 1971, a prayer book that highlighted this, saying: “The greatest dignity of all visible creation is that of the human person...Have you had sinned against the dignity of others by contention, hatred or ridicule? Have you harmed another in body or soul?”

Within five years of Fr Stafflinger arriving in Cape Town, Cardinal Owen McCann reported to Eichstätt’s bishop that the priest was “working zealously in the tasks assigned to him, especially through his interest in the youth apostolate”.

Fr Stafflinger was also taken with Cape Town’s stunning beaches and natural beauty, and his German shepherd dog Vicar.

Fr Gelant in his homily noted that Fr Stafflinger was moulded by his German background.

He was born in Lindau, near Nuremberg in Bavaria, and raised with his brother Theodore by their parents Andreas and Katarina Stafflinger. He was 10 when World War II ended, with hard times for the German people.

After schooling, young Werner Stafflinger studied for the priesthood at the seminary of the Catholic University of Eichstätt.

Fr Stafflinger served as curate and parish priest at St Mary’s cathedral, Wynberg, Fish Hoek, Stellenbosch and The Strand—altogether a journey of valued priestly service lasting some 50 years.

By Sydney Duval

A

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Liturgical Calendar

Abbey Cronin BBEY Cronin of Immaculate Conception parish in central East London died on October 26, 2018.

Ms Cronin received the papal Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal in 1994, and was deeply involved in her parish.

She was a sacristan, catechist and extraordinary minister of the Eucharist, and sat on the parish council’s finance committee.

Ms Cronin’s Requiem Mass at Immaculate Conception was concelebrated by parish priest Fr Peter Whitehead, and Frs

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Christopher Slater, Billy Barnes and Benoit Bjese Mwilambwe.

Deacons Wayne Lawrence and Xolile Mafu participated.

At the Mass, the choir was led by Vivian Komani, who sang a solo farewell song. The organist was Rodney Thompson.

Ms Cronin was a “woman for all seasons” and proved the African proverb, “When deeds speak, words are nothing.”

The Catholic community in East London is indeed poorer for her passing.

By Sheila Walsh

Sunday February 3, 4th Sunday of the Year Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19, Psalm 71:1-6, 15, 17, 1 Corinthians 12:31--13:13, Luke 4:21-30 Monday February 4 Hebrews 11:32-40, Psalm 31:20-24, Mark 5:1-20 Tuesday February 5, St Agatha Hebrews 12:1-4, Psalm 22:26-28, 30-32, Mark 5:21-43 Wednesday February 6, St Paul Miki and Companions Hebrews 12:4-7, 11-15, Psalm 103:1-2, 13-14, 1718, Mark 6:1-6

Getting the homeless on voters’ roll

Thursday February 7

Continued from Page 7 A mark of the early success of this was when 40 homeless people recently attended a stakeholder meeting about homelessness convened by the deputy mayor. They comfortably took their places alongside businesses, councillors and ratepayers, making their views known in the very same convention centre that regularly sends out security personnel to eject the homeless.

Mark 6:7-13

This is just the start of a process. We know that democratic education takes a long time. After 25 years, South Africa is still in many ways learning how best to use the political voice that was won in 1994.

We should not forget that 100 years ago the Catholic Church actively campaigned against democracy.

But now Pope Francis and our own bishops’ conference strongly encourage all citizens

to get involved in the democratic project.

To quote the Holy Father: “Politics, according to the social doctrine of the Church, is one of the highest forms of charity, because it serves the common good.”

And he then adds—with an unsettling reference to that famous political leader from the Gospels who exploited and manipulated the crowd: “I cannot wash my hands…”

11

Hebrews 12:18-19, 21-24, Psalm 48:2-4, 9-11,

Friday February 8, St Jerome Emiliani, St Josephine Bakhita

PRAYeRS

MAY All I DO today begin with you, o Lord. Plant dreams and hopes within my soul, revive my tired spirit: be with me today. May all I do today continue with your help, o Lord. Be at my side and walk with me: be my support today. May all I do today reach far and wide, o Lord. My thoughts, my work, my life: make them blessings for your kingdom; let them go beyond today. o God, today is new unlike any other day, for God makes each day different. Today God's everyday grace falls on my soul like abundant seed, though I may hardly see it. Today is one of those days Jesus promised to be with me, a companion on my journey, and my life today, if I trust him, has consequences unseen. My life has a purpose. I have a mission.

I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. God has not created me for naught. Therefore I will trust him. Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. God does nothing in vain. he knows what he is about. John Henry Newman

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Hebrews 13:1-8, Psalm 27:1, 3, 5, 8-9, Mark 6:14-29 Saturday February 9 Hebrews 13:15-17, 20-21, Psalm 23, Mark 6:30-34 Sunday February 10, 5th Sunday of the Year Isaiah 6:1-8, Psalm 138:1-5, 7-8, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Luke 5:1-11

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the

5th Sunday: February 10 Readings: Isaiah 6:1-8, Psalm 138: 1-5, 7-8, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Luke 5:1-11

I

T is an awesome thing to come into contact with the holiness of God; when we encounter it, we feel instinctively that we do not belong. And yet that is not the whole story, for this God is seeking all the time to invite us to join his mission.

That is what we find in the readings for next Sunday. The first reading is the call of Isaiah, rather oddly postponed until we have read no less than five chapters of the prophet.

It takes place in the real world, for it has a date, “the year when King Uzziah died”, which is probably about 740BC, when to his alarm Isaiah “saw the Lord sitting on his throne, high and lofty, and his train filled the Temple”.

So Isaiah, who may perhaps be a priest, is in the Temple; and God is surrounded by seraphim (“burning ones”), each with six wings, and singing the song that we use every time we go to Mass: “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Sabaoth; the earth is full of his glory.”

It is a dramatic scene: “the house was filled with smoke”. Then Isaiah realises he is in trouble, for it is not permitted for humans to encounter the divine, and we listen as he bellows: “Woe is me; I am a man of unclean lips and among a people of unclean lips I dwell—and I have seen the king, the Lord of Sabaoth!”

However, God is always attentive to our needs, and one of the seraphim touches his lips with burning coal, and reassures him: “Look!

S outher n C ross

This has touched your lips and your wickedness is removed, and your sin is purged.”

We breathe a sigh of relief; but it does not end there, for it turns out that the Holy God has a mission to assign: “Whom shall I send?”, we hear the Almighty wondering; and then the future prophet reacts like an excitable adolescent (would that there were many more like him!): “Here I am! Send me!”

This is a remarkable God. The psalmist who wrote our responsorial psalm for next Sunday is not quite in such awe, but he does share Isaiah’s intimacy with God: “I shall thank you, Lord, with all my heart, before the gods I shall sing to you, and worship towards your Holy Temple, and praise your name for your steadfast love and for your integrity.”

And he knows that he can rely on this God: “On the day I called, you answered me, you strengthened my soul...great is the glory of the Lord.”

Like Isaiah, he is aware of the dangers, but trusts in that God: “If I walk in the midst of menace, [the Lord] will guard my life.”

This is a powerful and benevolent God. In the second reading, Paul is reflecting on the Gospel he first preached to the Corinthians; the reason he is doing so is that some of those mavericks in Corinth were denying the

E

Conrad

ever sneers at her name, as if she were an ornament of a bourgeois past, whether he admits it or not, can no longer pray and soon will no longer be able to love.”

Here’s a simpler expression of that. There’s a delightful little African tale that highlights the interconnectedness of everything. The tale goes this way: Once upon a time, when animals still talked, the mice on a farm called a summit of all the other animals. They were worried, they lamented, because they had seen the mistress of the house buy a mousetrap. They were now in danger.

But the other animals scoffed at their anxiety. The cow said that she had nothing to worry about. A tiny little contraption couldn’t harm her.

She could crush it with her foot. The pig reacted in a similar way. What did he have to worry about in the face of a tiny trap? The chicken also announced that it had no fear of this gadget. “It’s your concern.

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final reflection

No worry for me!” it told the mice.

But all things are interconnected and that soon became evident. The mistress set the mousetrap and, on the very first night, heard it snap. Getting out of her bed to look what it had caught, she saw that it had trapped a snake by its tail.

In trying to free the snake she was bitten and the poison soon had her feeling sick and running a fever.

She went to the doctor who gave her medicines to combat the poison and advised her: “What you need now to get better is chicken broth.” (You can guess where the rest of this is going.)

They slaughtered the chicken, but her fever lingered.

Relatives and neighbours came to visit. More food was needed.

They slaughtered the pig.

Eventually the poison killed her.

A huge funeral ensued. A lot of food was needed. They slaughtered the cow.

The moral of the story is clear. Everything is interconnected and our failure to see that leaves us in peril.

Blindness to our interdependence, willful or not, is dangerous. We are inextricably tied to each other and to everything in the world. We can protest to the contrary but reality will hold its ground.

A

Sunday reflections

possibility of Resurrection.

So Paul patiently reminds them of how he preached the Gospel, “that Christ died on behalf of our sins…and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day, and that he was seen”.

Then Paul gives a list of those who saw him: Kephas, the Twelve, upwards of 500 brothers and sisters at once, then James, then all the apostles.

But our interest is in the final appearance, to Paul himself; we should remember that Paul had been persecuting the Church, and yet he could not deny that he too had shared the encounter with Jesus; and not only that, but, like Isaiah, he discovers that he is going to be an apostle!

We are eavesdropping on the turningpoint of his life.

Something of the sort takes place in the Gospel for next Sunday. Luke places this calling of the two sets of brothers at a slightly different point to that at which he found it in Mark, putting it after Jesus’ first sermon in the synagogue.

Once again, it is an encounter with the Holy; and like Paul and like Isaiah, Peter is not at first really alert to what is going on.

He finds this stranger on board his boat, who then bafflingly gives him instructions

We are all inextricably tied VERYTHING is of one piece. Whenever we don’t take that seriously, we pay a price.

Renowned theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar gives an example of this. Beauty, he submits, is not some little “extra” that we can value or denigrate according to personal taste and temperament, like some luxury that we say we cannot afford.

Like truth and goodness, it’s one of the properties of God and thus demands to be taken seriously as goodness and truth. If we neglect or denigrate beauty, he says, we will soon enough begin to neglect other areas of our lives. Here are his words: “Our situation today shows that beauty demands for itself at least as much courage and decision as do truth and goodness, and she will not allow herself to be separated and banned from her two sisters without taking then along with herself in an act of mysterious vengeance.

“We can be sure that who-

Nicholas King SJ

What is your mission?

nd so, we cannot truly value one thing while we disdain something else. We cannot really love one person

while we hate someone else.

And we cannot give ourselves an exemption in one moral area and hope to be morally whole. There are no exceptions. When we ignore that truth we will eventually be snake-bitten by it.

I emphasise this because today, virtually everywhere, a dangerous tribalism is setting in. Everywhere, not unlike the animals in the African tale, we see families, communities, Churches, and whole countries focusing more or less exclusively on their own needs without concern for other families, communities, Churches, and countries.

Other people’s problems, we believe, are not our concern.

From the narrowness in our Churches, to identity politics, to whole nations setting their own needs first, we hear echoes of the cow, pig, and chicken saying: “Not my concern! I’ll take care of myself.

You take care of yourself!”

This will come back to snake-bite us. We will eventually pay the price for our blindness and non-concern and we will pay that price politically, socially, and economically.

But we will even pay a higher price personally. What that snake-bite will do is captured in Von Balthasar’s warning: Whoever ignores or denigrates beauty will, he asserts, eventually be unable to pray or to love.

That’s true too in all cases when we ignore our interconnectedness with others. By ignoring the needs of others we eventually corrupt our own wholeness so that we are no longer be able to treat ourselves with respect and empathy and, when that happens, we lose respect and empathy for life itself—and for God—because whenever reality isn’t respected it bites back with a mysterious vengeance.

about where to direct the vessel, so that it can be a mobile pulpit (the smooth sea doubtless helping to carry his voice to the crowds).

When the teaching is finished, there are further instructions, this time about how to catch fish. Now Simon is a professional, and clearly does not believe a word of this, pointing out that “all night long we’ve laboured, and caught nothing”.

However, he decides to humour the lunatic. Inevitably the result is spectacular, and more fish are netted than they can easily cope with, even when the sons of Zebedee are brought into the action, and “the nets were nearly breaking”.

At this point, like Isaiah, Peter recognises his own sinfulness, and says: “Lord, get away from me—I’m a sinful man.” But instead, Jesus has other ideas, and like Paul, Peter is given a mission: “Don’t be afraid—from now on it is human beings that you are going to catch.”

Then there is a spectacular consequence: “They drew up their boats on the land, and abandoned everything and followed him”.

How will that holy presence of God come to you this week, do you think? And what might your mission be?

Southern Crossword #848

ACrOSS

1. The fool on drugs (4) 3. Paul advises using wine for their sakes (1 Tim 5) (8) 9. Former student (7) 10. You’ll find a Belgian church here (5) 11. Matric students sit for them (12) 13. Humiliate (6) 15. Crowned like a bishop?

(6) 17. Got holy claim about fabled history (12) 20. Boil right in and cook (5) 21. Beds in the nursery (7) 22. Spiritual drill of St Ignatius of Loyola (8) 23. King David’s grandfather (Mt 1) (4)

DOwN

1. Blind alleys at the cemetery (4,4) 2. She’s named after an Apostle (5) 4. Titus can be partly Italian (6) 5. Polyglot, like liturgical texts (12) 6. This char may be less dusty (7) 7. ... and you shall find (Mt 7) (4) 8. Tactic in halo appearance may be against your faith (12) 12. Made an object of worship (8) 14. Dance around it in Our Lady’s month (7) 16. They were watched by night (6) 18. Son of Jephunneh (Nm 13) (5) 19. Competent like the son of Solutions on page 11 Eve, it’s said (4)

CHURCH CHUCKLE

T

HE priest dropped in at a Grade 1 catechism class and asked the children whether they said prayers every night.

Little Thandi raised her hand: “Yes, Father. I pray every night.”

Father was pleased. “And, Thandi, do you also pray every morning.”

“Oh, no, Father,” Thandi replied. “I don’t need to.”

“You don’t need to? But why?” Father asked.

Thandi said: “Because I’m not scared of the light!”

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