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The

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

March 20 to March 26, 2019

Government dept awards Catholic charity

reg No. 1920/002058/06

Cuba: Where the multitudes are fed

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No 5127

r10 (incl vAt rSA)

Understanding Mary’s role in salvation

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Plane crash priest felt South African

By ErIN CArELSE

the youth of Sacred Heart parish in Montclair, Durban, spent a day of prayer and fun at the beach. Joined by other members of the community, they prayed the rosary and played indigenous games. on the same day, they elected the youth committee: (from left).

Nonjabulo Cele, Akhona Ngcongo, Andiswa Khwela, Mpilo Mkhize, thina Mkhize, Mandisa Mkhize and Ngo Sabela. (Photo: Sisanda Nxele)

Martyred priest on fast-track

By JuNNo AroCHo EStEvES

T

HE French archdiocese of Rouen has concluded its sainthood inquiry into the life and death of a French priest who was murdered while celebrating Mass.

Archbishop Dominique Lebrun of Rouen presided over the final session of the diocesan inquiry into the life and martyrdom of Fr Jacques Hamel, Vatican News reported.

Fr Hamel was killed on July 26, 2016, when two Islamic fundamentalists stormed a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray near Rouen while he celebrated Mass. After taking several hostages, the attackers slit Fr Hamel’s throat and seriously injured another parishioner. In a standoff, police killed the attackers.

Traditionally, the formal sainthood process, which includes compiling the candidate’s writings and gathering sworn testimonies about his or her life and holiness, can begin no sooner than five years after the person’s death.

However, Pope Francis set aside the restriction and allowed for the French priest’s sainthood cause to begin in 2017.

The inquiry gathered the testimony of 66 witnesses, including five people who witnessed Fr Hamel’s murder. The documentation from the diocesan inquiry will be sent to the Vatican Congregation for Saints’ Causes, which reviews the gathered information.

Pope Francis has on several occasions recognised Fr Hamel’s holiness and cited him as an example of courage who gave his life for others throughout his life as a priest until his brutal murder.

The pope celebrated a special requiem Mass Fr Jacques Hamel for the slain priest several months after his (Photo: Paroisse death in the chapel of Saint-Etienne via Domus Sanctae EPA/CNS) Marthae, in the presence of Archbishop Lebrun and Fr Hamel’s sister, Roselyne.

Archbishop Lebrun said he had brought a photo of Fr Hamel and asked Pope Francis to sign it with a note for three Sisters who had been with Fr Hamel at Mass that day.

Instead of signing the photo before Mass, the pope “immediately told me to put it on the altar”, the archbishop told reporters later.

“At the end of Mass, when he was greeting everyone, he signed it and said to me, ‘You can put this photo in the church because he is ‘blessed’ now, and if anyone says you aren’t allowed, tell them the pope gave you permission.’”—CNS

F

RIENDS have remembered the Kenyan priest with South African connections who died in this month’s Ethiopian Airlines crash in Addis Ababa as a jovial man with a sense of humour who had an outstanding character, and did what others feared to do.

Mariannhill Missionaries Father George Kageche Mukua, 40, was among the 149 passengers and eight crew members who died in the crash.

Among the other victims was Sr Florence Wangari Yongi, a Kenyan Notre Dame de Angers Sister, who served as a missionary nurse in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. She had been on her way to Nairobi to renew her passport.

Four Catholic Relief Service staff members, all Ethiopians on their way to a training session in Nairobi, were also among the victims.

Fr Francis Ngadi, like Fr Mukua a Mariannhill Missionary, recalled the moment he learnt that his friend had been on the illfated flight to Nairobi.

“This was spine-chilling news to all of us,” he told The Southern Cross, adding: “A painful grimace engulfed us all.”

Fr Ngadi, chaplain at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, and Fr Mukua travelled the road to the priesthood together, beginning with the postulancy programme in Kenya back in 2000. They then proceeded to the novitiate in Mariannhill Monastery and later to St Joseph’s Theological Institute (SJTI) in Cedara, KwaZulu-Natal.

Fr Mukua made his first profession in the congregation on February 2, 2004.

“He was a great handyman and could fix anything,” Fr Ngadi recalled.

“At one point he and the late Fr Vitus Mjengu sacrificed their holidays in order to volunteer and do general renovations. They painted the entire scholasticate building in

S outher n C ross Pilgrimage

Fr George Kageche Mukua’s final Facebook post with the caption: “Kenya here I come”, shared the night before he died in the Ethiopian Airlines crash.

Cedara; something that powerfully resonates with the selfless character of Abbot Francis Pfanner, our founder.”

Fr Mjengu died on November 6, 2018, from injuries sustained in a car accident.

Fr Mukua studied theology at SJTI from 2007-10 and is remembered by the scholasticate’s president, Fr Ewen Swartz OMI, as a hard-working student.

“He was dedicated to his studies and an active member of the institute community.

We were both shocked and saddened to hear Continued on page 11

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2

the Southern Cross, March 20 to March 26, 2019

LOCAL

Brislin: Campaigns over Church land needless

By ErIN CArELSE

R

ESPONDING to media reports about the supposed sale of Catholic Welfare and Development (CWD) property in Athlone, Cape Town, the city’s archbishop has bemoaned “needless campaigns� being waged “at a very difficult time�.

Archbishop Stephen Brislin denied allegations made in the media that CWD, which is now defunct and winding up its operations, had decided to sell its property in Athlone, which had also served as a cultural centre. “CWD is the legal owner of the property; while it is the welfare arm

of the archdiocese, it is autonomous and runs its own affairs under the direction of its board,� the archbishop said in a statement.

He said those behind the allegations have been repeatedly told these legal facts regarding CWD, and suggested that a media campaign had been instituted aimed at pressuring CWD and the archdiocese of Cape Town to retain the building’s use as a cultural hub.

Archbishop Brislin noted that there had been an orchestrated illegal occupation of the property in February, which he said had damaged it and had caused CWD to be granted an urgent court order against

the person behind the occupation. “I am distressed that a needless campaign has been waged against CWD at a very difficult time,� he said.

The Athlone property, which has been in Catholic hands for more than 70 years, was used for community outreach programmes focusing on the arts, social issues, and the environment.

Organisations that have run programmes from the building include the Mountain Club of South Africa, Revolutionary Yoga, and the Athlone Academy of Music. It also houses a library with around 40 000 books.

Athlone residents, including

members of the Catholic community, and community activists have started an online petition to appeal for the building to remain open and be declared a heritage site.

CWD shut down late last year due to overwhelming debts. The archdiocese intervened to ensure the orderly winding down of CWD, and just staff retrenchment packages.

Programmes that can viably continue are receiving the support of the archdiocese.

But some property will have to be sold to pay off debts, Archbishop Brislin said. “Once the debts have been paid, the remaining properties will be

transferred to the archdiocese of Cape Town to be used for future welfare and development work.�

The archbishop has indicated to the CWD board that he would like to retain the Athlone property to be used for welfare and other needs of the Church. “In discerning the welfare needs of the archdiocese of Cape Town, we will consult parishes and the wider Catholic community,� Archbishop Brislin said. “My hope is that the Catholic community can use its building in peace, for the welfare and development work that is still so sorely needed,� he said.

Laid-off Church NGO staff achieve doubled Buckets of Love StAFF rEPortEr

T

HE last project which Catholic Welfare & Development (CWD), the former social development agency of the archdiocese of Cape Town, worked on was its annual “Buckets of Love� campaign.

These buckets contained food and toiletries, and were given to the poor at Christmas.

CWD staff insisted on seeing the campaign through even after having been made redundant—and were rewarded by donors more than doubling staffers’ target number. “In the midst of closing down the organisation, we had set our goal at 2 000 buckets for distribution,� said former staff develop-

ment officer Eugene Jackson. “In the end we managed to distribute a total of 4 604 buckets to parishes and organisations who feed and assist our vulnerable communities,� he said. “We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of our donors and volunteers who came out to assist with the packing of buckets,� Mr Jackson said. “Contributions came in from around the globe to bring a bit of cheer and a full tummy to those in need over the festive period.�

He said that, as with several other CWD projects, “we are actively working towards handing over the Buckets of Love campaign to ensure its continuity into the future�.

Sacred Heart College in observatory, Johannesburg, with technology firm Sun Exchange, has installed solar panels on the school’s roofs. Additionally, Field of Flowers was named by Sun Exchange as the designated charity for the project. Field of Flowers is a fundraising initiative for bursaries to Sacred Heart for deserving learners.

Individuals who bought into the Sacred Heart solar project had the option of donating a proportion of their Sun Exchange revenue to Field of Flowers.

CEOs step up for day in wheelchairs

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ITTLE Eden Society in Johannesburg more than doubled participation in its CEO Wheelchair Campaign over the first event last year, from five companies to 12.

The campaign launch takes place each year in March, Intellectual Disability Month, said Little Eden CEO Xelda Rohrbeck, who led by example in spending the launch day in a wheelchair. “The campaign gives participants an opportunity to put themselves in the shoes of those living with mobility challenges,� she said. “In future, we plan to further increase the number of participants, but most importantly we hope to see a visible impact of the campaign in terms of its awareness element,�

Ms Rohrbeck noted.

She said Little Eden is constantly looking at ways to raise awareness of some of the challenges faced by people living

Paralympian rower Sandra Khumalo addressed the audience at the 2019 launch of Little Eden’s CEo Wheelchair Campaign. with intellectual disabilities.

Among the 12 companies participating in this year’s campaign are the SABC, Discovery Health, Tyres 4 You, Radio 2000, and Mandate Molefi HR Consulting.

Sandra Khumalo, a South African rowing team Paralympian, shared her story of

how she successfully lives her life in a wheelchair.

She said that she would like wheelchair-bound people to be confident, and not cut themselves off from the rest of society.

Nene Molefi, CEO of Mandate Molefi HR Consulting, said one of her company’s key focus areas is diversity and inclusion, which incorporates disability awareness and management. “My involvement with the CEO Wheelchair Campaign seeks to demonstrate my company’s commitment to social inclusion for intellectually challenged members of society,� she said.

Lucy Slaviero, previous CEO of Little Eden Society, spoke of interaction between staff members and residents, and described how the sense of touch creates a strong bond between them.

The CEO Wheelchair Campaign is open to participants throughout March. n For more information contact Nichollette Muthige at 011 6097246 or marketing@littleeden. org.za

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Women’s prayer day another success

By ErIN CArELSE

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OR the fifth year running, the Women’s World Day of Prayer (WWDP) service, held at Regina Mundi Catholic church in Moroka, Soweto, was a great success, according to Mahadi Buthelezi, marketing and events coordinator at Radio Veritas.

Radio Veritas, together with Christian station Radio Pulpit, made history this month as the Church in South Africa joined the global community in praying with and for women at the WWDP service.

Some 3 000 women of different Christian denominations attended the service, led by

Methodist Rev Nomsa Nomqolo.

The keynote speaker was struggle veteran Sophia Williams-De Bruyn, who on August 9, 1956, was among the leaders of the anti-pass law march of 20 000 women to the Union Buildings, the basis of South Africa’s annual Women’s Day holiday.

Other speakers included ambassador Dr Lindiwe Mabuza, and Pastors Gwendoline MatshobaSibeko and Anna Mmotlana.

The WWDP was initiated by the International Women’s World Day of Prayer ecumenical movement some 89 years ago and is celebrated in more than 170 countries.

Ambassador Lindiwe Mabuza (left) with Sophia Williams-De Bruyn at the Women’s World Day of Prayer in Soweto.

the Southern Cross, March 20 to March 26, 2019

LOCAL

3

Group: priests should preach Mthatha childcare centre on violence against women celebrates major award

By ErIN CArELSE

StAFF rEPortEr

A

S

OME 125 people got together in the archdiocese of Durban to discuss the situation of women, girls and nuns.

Held at St Peter’s parish in Montebello, the dialogue was run by archdiocesan Justice & Peace coordinator Kalie Senyane and Cyril Mwandla from Diakonia Council of Churches.

The participants deliberated on issues that affect women in daily life, and spoke of the need for women to liberate themselves from their own situations, at home and work.

“They emphasised the need for women to focus on education, especially in rural areas, instead of depending on men,” Mr Senyane said.

The meeting noted that the question of a “rape culture among families is still a taboo”, he said.

“Victims are often told not to report cases of such a nature as this will bring shame to their own families,” Mr Senyane said.

Participants spoke of the pain in facing rape and other kinds of abuse in their own families, also noting that the state is failing victims as perpetrators often go unpunished.

Sexual abuse, the meeting found, has become a norm in South Africa.

Participants challenged one another to stop gossiping and put their

A dialogue on women, girls and nuns was held in Durban archdiocese and attended by some 125 people. energy into empowering each other.

It was suggested women “start cooperatives to liberate themselves from poverty, as there are no jobs for many as they aren’t educated, especially the elderly,” Mr Senyane said.

One participant emphasised that families should focus on the education of girls to enable them to one day help their families, instead of focusing on boys who “destroy their futures, impregnate girls, and then end up leaving their studies”.

The meeting also deliberated on women and young girls who stay in abusive relationships because they fear losing financial support.

“One mother said some mothers even teach their own children to stay in abusive marriages, because they themselves stayed with their abusive

husbands, and believe that things will change,” Mr Senyane said.

“Many abusers use money to keep women as punching bags,” he said.

Participants challenged the Church to be vocal about violence against women, calling on priests to preach about it and raise awareness.

“I think they are right,” Mr Senyane said. “It is about time we do more to break the silence.”

He said it would be wise to have similar dialogue meetings with men and boys, “and challenge them to not see women as their own subjects to be used and trampled on”.

“We should be communities in which a girl or a woman is protected, knowing there are guys watching out for them so they cannot be harmed,” Mr Senyane said.

CATHOLIC childcare centre in Mthatha has won a prestigious service excellence award.

The Catholic Development Centre (CDC) won the best-performing community-based childcare services category at the second Charlotte Maxeke Service Excellence Awards in the Eastern Cape.

The awards, initiated by the province’s department of social development, recognise non-profit organisations serving communities.

They are named after Charlotte Maxeke (1874-1939), the first black African woman to graduate in South Africa, and one of the first to fight against the exploitative social conditions of African women.

An independent panel of eight judges selects winning organisations. They look at the nominees’ strategies to respond to social ills, governance and management systems, human resources, financial and administrative systems, monitoring and evaluation practices, and the ability to build relations.

CDC implements numerous community development programmes, and its Isibindi Programme won the award. This provides prevention and early-intervention services to children, and CDC has helped more than 2 000 children.

Catholic Development Centre director thembekile Kanise with the award the centre won.

The work is done by volunteers trained as childcare and youth-care workers. Each of the villages in which CDC works has a minimum of 25 such careworkers.

CDC director Thembekile Kanise praised the 130 childcare and youthcare workers, in particular those of Isibindi. He also expressed his gratitude to the administrative staff.

Mr Kanise noted the support of Mthatha’s Bishop Sithembele Sipuka, CDC chair Martin Molefi, and the CDC board of management, and expressed gratitude for the relationships with funders and the social development department.

Paddy Kearney remembered in London English Benedictine to hold contemplative prayer events

By Sr HENry KEANE oP

M

EMBERS of the Denis Hurley Association, several friends, and members of the African desk of Catholic international development charity in England and Wales, CAFOD, met at the Denis Hurley House in Kilburn, London, to celebrate the life and death of our much-admired and loved Paddy Kearney.

It was appropriate that the gathering meet at the home of the Oblate Fathers in Kilburn. Their ongoing “Partners in Mission” programme continues to inspire young adults, in

particular, to focus their time and energy, at home and abroad, on the needs of the poor and marginalised in the context of justice and peace.

Archbishop Hurley and his protégé and co-worker Paddy would undoubtedly have identified with that mission.

Fr Lorcan O’Reilly OMI, who celebrated the Mass, invited all present to share their thoughts and memories of Paddy, which they did enthusiastically.

The celebration continued afterwards with glasses raised to honour Paddy and Archbishop Hurley.

Nazareth Sister veronica of the Cross (Julia Murphy) on the occasion of her platinum jubilee, celebrating 70 years as a nun. Sr Lorraine Akal of Nazareth House African region paid tribute to “our dear Sr veronica”.

T (From left) robina rafferty, Sr Marie-Henry Keane oP, and Janice Burn at the London celebration to honour the late Paddy Kearney.

HE director and spiritual guide of the World Community for Christian Meditation, which promotes contemplative prayer, will visit South Africa in September.

English-born Benedictine Father Laurence Freeman will lead a range of events, such as seminars, workshops and retreats, in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Pretoria from September 5-16.

The visit is arranged by the Catholic Institute of Education and

the Jesuit Institute of South Africa.

Fr Freeman, who worked at the UN, in merchant banking and in journalism before becoming a Benedictine monk, has headed the World Community for Christian Meditation since its founding in 1991.

Before that, he worked closely with the late Dom John Main, with whom he set up the first Christian Meditation Centre in London.

Further details will be made available upon their finalisation.

4

the Southern Cross, March 20 to March 26, 2019

INTERNATIONAL

Pope: ‘Jews, Christians must join to fight hatred’ E

By CINDy WooDEN

Pope Francis greets Benedictine Abbot Bernardo Gianni during the Lenten retreat for the roman curia in Ariccia, Italy. (Photo: vatican Media via reuters/CNS)

Benedictine abbot led pope’s Lenten retreat

By CINDy WooDEN

W

HEN Pope Francis asked 50-year-old Benedictine Abbot Bernardo Gianni to lead his Lenten retreat, the abbot said he told the pope he felt “very inadequate”.

“The pope responded to me that that was a great precondition for doing it well,” the abbot of Florence’s Abbey of San Miniato al Monte told the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano.

Pope Francis and 64 members of the Roman curia left the Vatican and were driven out to the Pauline Fathers’ retreat house in Ariccia, about 32km south of Rome, for the retreat.

During the retreat, Abbot Gianni gave ten meditations. Most of the rest of the time, the pope and curial officials spent time in silence. They celebrated Mass together each morning and ended the day with Eucharistic adoration.

Pope Francis met Abbot Gianni in 2015 when the Benedictine helped organise the national pas-

toral convention of the Catholic Church in Italy, and the pope gave several major talks there.

For the theme of the Lenten retreat, the abbot chose a verse, “The city of ardent desires”, from the late poet Mario Luzi, as well as ideas from Giorgio La Pira, a former mayor of Florence whose sainthood cause is underway.

Abbot Gianni told L’Osservatore that by combining Luzi and La Pira with the teaching of Pope Francis in “The Joy of the Gospel”, he focused on the Christian vocation to transform cities and other earthly realities into places where people would experience God and God’s blessings.

It is not unlike what Benedictine monasteries are called to do, he said. The monks are dedicated to “witnessing love for time, the care of spaces, diligence in work, fraternal life and welcome”.

Everyone in the Church, “from the pope on down”, is called to ignite “ardent desires”—holy desires and a longing for virtue—in cities, towns and communities, Abbot Gianni said.—CNS

NGAGING in any form of antiSemitism is a direct contradiction of the Christian faith, Pope Francis said.

Meeting members of the American Jewish Committee, the pope shared his “great concern” over “the spread, in many places, of a climate of wickedness and fury, in which an excessive and depraved hatred is taking root”, including “the outbreak of anti-Semitic attacks in various countries”.

“It is necessary to be vigilant about such a phenomenon,” he said, because, as the Vatican Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews said: “History teaches us where even the slightest perceptible forms of anti-Semitism can lead: the human tragedy of the Shoah, in which twothirds of European Jewry were annihilated.”

Cultivating good relations, show-

ing respect for others and being vigilant against any signs of hatred and prejudice are “a call from God”, Pope Francis said.

Christians and Jews, he said, must transmit to their children “the foundations of love and respect. And we must look at the world with the eyes of a mother, with the gaze of peace”.

Interreligious dialogue, the pope said, is an important part of efforts to fight hatred and anti-Semitism. The dialogue aims to promote “a commitment to peace, mutual respect, the protection of life, religious freedom and the care of creation”.

Pope Francis urged Jews and Christians to work together, countering the spread of “a depersonalising secularism” by “making divine love more visible for humanity” and engaging in common works of charity “to counter the growth of indifference”.

John Shapiro, president of the

American Jewish Committee, thanked Pope Francis for deciding to open to scholars in March 2020 material in the Vatican Secret Archives covering World War II and the papacy of Pope Pius XII. “We look forward especially to the involvement of the leading Holocaust memorial institutes in Israel and the US to objectively evaluate as best as possible the historical record of that most terrible of times, to acknowledge both the failures as well as valiant efforts during the period of the Shoah,” Mr Shapiro said Members of the group also presented Pope Francis with a certificate testifying that a grapevine dedicated to him would be the first in a “vineyard of the nations”, a vineyard in Israel where each vine is sponsored by a Christian outside the country. In addition, they told the pope, each year he would receive a bottle of wine from his vine.—CNS

How Pell’s team will appeal A USTRALIAN Cardinal George Pell’s legal team will appeal his conviction of sexual abuse on three grounds.

In December, a jury unanimously found that Cardinal Pell, shortly after being named archbishop of Melbourne in 1996, had sexually assaulted two choirboys in the sacristy of Melbourne’s St Patrick’s cathedral.

This month, Judge Peter Kidd sentenced Cardinal Pell to six years in prison. The 77-year-old cardinal will be eligible for parole after three years and eight months.

Cardinal Pell’s appeal is set for June 5-6.

The first ground of appeal is that the conviction by a 12-person jury is “unreasonable” because it relied on the “word of one complainant alone”.

“On the whole evidence, including unchallenged exculpatory evidence from more than 20 crown witnesses, it was not open to the jury to be satisfied beyond reasonable

doubt on the word of the complainant alone,”the lawyers said.

On this ground, the three appeal judges can overturn and expunge Cardinal Pell’s conviction and set him free.

The second ground for appeal is a complaint from his defence team that it was stopped from using a visual aid it wanted to use to show it was impossible for the sexual activities to have taken place in the back rooms of the cathedral.

A final ground is that there was a “fundamental irregularity” by the judge that saw Cardinal Pell not physically enter a not-guilty plea in front of the jury. Lawyers said this was likely because he had done so in a previous trial where the jury was dismissed after being unable to reach a verdict, and the judge advised the new jury of the cardinal’s plea.

On the last two grounds—which are of legal error—the appeal judge s can overturn the verdict but must order a fresh trial.

The Australian cardinal took a leave of absence from his post as prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy in June 2017 to return to Australia to face the charges. The cardinal’s five-year term as head of the secretariat expired in February.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has announced a canonical investigation of the cardinal. The congregation handles the Church process for allegations of child sexual abuse by members of the clergy.

Apart from the civil suit, Cardinal Pell could face further legal battles.

When he was in Melbourne, the cardinal set up a fund for sexual assault victims, who, when compensated, signed away rights to sue the Church. The government in the state of Victoria is considering whether to restore the rights to sue.

Other complainants whose allegations did not get as far as a trial could also sue him under Victoria’s civil laws.—CNS

Pope: Talking to the devil is a waste of time

By JuNNo AroCHo EStEvES

W

HEN facing temptation, Christians should follow Jesus’ example by not engaging in fruitless talk with “the father of lies”, Pope Francis said.

When responding to the devil’s temptations during his 40 days in the desert, Jesus “does not enter into dialogue, but responds to the three challenges only with the Word of God”, the pope said.

“This teaches us that we should not dialogue with the devil, we should not dialogue, we can only respond to him with the Word of God,” he said.

The pope described the temptations as “three paths that the world always proposes with the promise of great success”.

The temptations are “the greed for possession—to have, have, have—human glory and using God,” Pope Francis explained. “These are the three paths that will lead us to ruin.”

In the first temptation, challenging a fasting Jesus to turn a stone into bread, he said, the devil tries to lure Jesus by taking advantage of the human need to eat, to live and to be happy.

Satan, he added, uses the “insidious logic” of greed to tempt Christians to believe that all is

People dress as “devils” during the “Endiablada” festival in Almonacid del Marquesado, Spain. When facing temptation, Christians should follow Jesus’ example by not engaging in fruitless talk with “the father of lies”. (Photo: Sergio Perez, reuters/CNS) “possible without God”.

Next the devil uses the temptation of attaining glory and “enjoying the intoxication of an empty joy that soon fades away”, the pope said.

“A person can lose all personal dignity, can allow him or herself to be corrupted by the idols of money, success and power, in order to reach his or her own self-affirmation,” he said.

The third and final temptation—that Jesus throw himself from the parapet and have God save him—is “perhaps the sub-

tlest temptation” that Jesus resists because it stokes the desire to ask God for “graces that in reality serve and will serve to satisfy our pride”.

Pope Francis said that while all three temptations give the illusion of happiness and success, they are completely foreign to God’s way of acting and “separate us from God”.

He invited the crowd gathered in the square to take advantage of the Lenten season “to purify ourselves and experience the consoling presence of God in our lives”.—CNS

INTERNATIONAL

the Southern Cross, March 20 to March 26, 2019

What food you buy makes a difference

By CAroL GLAtz

T Archbishop Fulton Sheen is pictured at a pulpit giving a homily. the legal battle over his remains has ended. (Photo: CNS)

Dioceses’ spat over Sheen’s bones ends

B

ISHOP Daniel Jenky of Peoria, Illinois, announced “with great joy” that the New York Supreme Court ruled that the remains of Archbishop Fulton Sheen should be transferred from New York to his diocese.

The ruling settled a long-running dispute between the archdiocese of New York and the diocese of Peoria about who could have the TV priest’s bones.

Archbishop Sheen, a Peoria diocesan priest, gained fame in the 1950s with a prime-time television.

He died in 1979 at 84, and was entombed in the crypt at St Patrick’s cathedral in New York.

In 2016, Joan Sheen Cunningham, Archbishop Sheen’s oldest living relative, filed a petition with the courts in New York asking that his body be moved to the Peoria cathedral. She said her uncle would not have objected to his remains being

transferred to Peoria.

The unanimous decision was the third time the New York court system has ruled in Ms Cunningham’s favour, as successive attempts by the diocese of New York to keep the archbishop’s remains there failed.

The Peoria diocese said it looks forward to working with the New York archdiocese to carry out the court decision to transfer of Archbishop Sheen’sremnains to Peoria’s St Mary’s cathedral, where Archbishop Sheen was ordained in 1919.

The first approved miracle necessary for Archbishop Sheen’s beatification has cleared two of the three stages necessary for him to be declared “blessed”.

In September 2015, his cause was suspended indefinitely, when the archdiocese of New York denied a request from Bishop Jenky to move the archbishop’s body to Peoria, and the courts got involved.—CNS

HE food people pick at the supermarket and cook in their kitchens can make a huge difference in helping address the global problems of hunger, obesity and climate change, a number of speakers said at a Vatican conference on sustainable development.

But helping the planet and human health will need more than a change in behaviour, said Vandana Shiva, a quantum physicist and Hindu activist.

“It is about a consciousness shift: How do we live in this world? What is the food we eat? Is my eating helping the bees, butterflies and the farmer? Or is my eating part of the extinction of the bees and the extinction of the farmers?” she said.

The trend in modern industrial agriculture is to get to a point where farming can be done without local, independent farmers, she said.

“If you do farming without farmers, you will have food production without care; it will be toxic food and, even if it is plant-based, toxic food will still make you very ill,” she said.

Ms Shiva, who advocates biodiversity and cultural diversity as part of fighting poverty, hunger and climate change, was one of dozens of speakers invited to the Vatican for a three-day international conference on how religions can contribute to the world reaching the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Even though the problems the UN development goals seek to ad-

Pope meets with Mormons

By CINDy WooDEN

P

OPE Francis welcomed top officials of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the Vatican the day before the officials inaugurated their first Mormon temple in the city of Rome.

The pope met with Russell Nelson, president of the Latter-day Saints Church.

Catholic and Mormon leaders have increased their official contacts in recent years, working together on many social projects and joining forces to promote issues of common concern.

But the Catholic Church does not recognise the baptism conferred by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints to be a valid Christian baptism.

The Catholic position was issued formally in 2001 by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

While the Mormon baptismal rite refers to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Mormon beliefs about the identity of the three persons is so different from Catholic and mainline Christian belief that “one cannot even consider this doctrine to be a heresy arising from a false understanding of Christian doctrine”, said a Vatican explanation of the ruling.

Mr Nelson, who Mormons consider a prophet, and other top officials of the Latter-day Saints church were in Rome for the inauguration of a new temple, where special marriage, baptism and other rites are performed.

The Latter-day Saints’ official website reported that the meeting with the pope lasted 33 minutes.

Describing Pope Francis, Mr Nelson said: “What a sweet, wonderful man he is, and how fortunate the Catholic people are to have such a gracious, concerned, loving and capable leader.”—CNS

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A farmer holds an opened cocoa pod in Anyama, Ivory Coast.

Speakers at a vatican conference on sustainable development said the food people choose at the supermarket can address the global problems of hunger, obesity and climate change. (Photo: Luc Gnago, reuters/CNS) dress are massive and complex, a number of speakers said that an individual’s seemingly small step has a big impact.

The first step, Ms Shiva said, must be with food.

“We can start eating in ways that protect the planet and our health” and not use toxic pesticides, herbicides and other poisons that “contaminate the world”, she said.

Rene Castro Salazar, assistant director general at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, said 16% of all food grown for consumption is left behind in fields and wasted.

The old practice of “gleaning,” in

which people, particularly the poor or marginalised, were allowed to gather what was left behind from a harvest, has been stopped “because it is not good business”.

Another 16% of the food that makes it to supermarkets or sellers is thrown away or wasted because the products, mostly fruit and vegetables, “are ugly”.

Being able to recover and use perfectly edible food from these two areas in the food production and distribution chain “would be enough to feed all the hungry people in the world”, he said.

Experts know what needs to be done to feed the hungry—an estimated 821 million people, he said, because they have the skills and instruments to do it. But the harder challenge, he said, is what to do to stop the other pandemic—the 1,9 billion people who are overweight or obese.

Ms Shiva said hope comes from understanding science and “understanding that our ancient teachings” already teach all the right and just ways people should be living and treating each other and creation.

That is what Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment, “was waking us up to, that we are not here to conquer and master.

We are part of one human family, on one mother earth,” she said.

“It is greed that has caused a billion people to be hungry” and obesity or overeating, which in turn leads to chronic diseases, Ms Shiva said.—CNS

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the Southern Cross, March 20 to March 26, 2019

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

That is the Church

T

HOSE people who regard the Catholic Church as a body in ruins after all the scandals and betrayals don’t know the Church.

Of course, the institution has been devastated by failures of its own makings—but the Church is not the priest, the bishop, the cardinal, or even the pope.

These men are part of the Church and are entrusted with leading it, but they are no more “the Church” than Donald Trump is the United States. The Church is the People of God. By imprecise analogy, we may imagine the clergy and the hierarchy as the leaders of the Pharisees, the group whom Jesus so often confronts in the Gospels that their name has become a byword for hypocrisy. Among them there were incompetent people, misguided people, corrupt people—but mostly they were good people.

So it is in the Church. Among Catholics there are incompetent people, misguided people, corrupt people—and mostly good people.

Catholics have every right to be angry at the priests and the hierarchs who have betrayed us.

But in holding those who have failed and offended accountable, we must not reject the many priests and bishops who serve the Church and her people selflessly and to the best of their ability in spreading the Gospel.

That service must be honoured. Most of our priests celebrate four or more Masses a weekend and the daily Eucharist, work on their weekly homilies, administer the sacraments, conduct weddings and funerals, rush to the bedsides of the dying at all hours, and so on. And they do so while also managing their parish.

That is the Church!

The scandals have cast a shadow over the many charitable programmes run on all levels of the Church—in the Vatican, bishops’ conferences, dioceses, parishes. We must shine a light on these.

This week we report on how staff of the now-defunct Catholic Welfare & Development agency insisted on seeing through their annual Buckets of Love campaign for Cape Town’s poor, despite just having been made redundant.

Their loving service was rewarded by the faithful who do-

nated twice as much as had been anticipated. That is the Church!

In the area of HIV/Aids, South Africa’s Catholic organisations— institutional such as the SACBC Aids Office or community-based such as HOPE Cape Town—were at the forefront of saving lives when government ministers were still prescribing beetroot.

They have adapted their programmes to the needs of the times, still serving those affected by the pandemic in different innovative ways. That is the Church!

In almost every parish, there is a charitable organisation or sodality that goes to the peripheries to serve the poor, the vulnerable, the neglected. They deliver food to the hungry, give impoverished children a chance, visit prisoners, and so on. Their service is selfless. That is the Church!

In many countries, the Church’s social engagement and political advocacy brings hope and relief to the powerless. The efforts by the SACBC’s Justice & Peace Commission on behalf of sick miners, as we reported last week, is an example of that.

At its best, the Catholic Church is a voice for the poor; and sometimes its members pay for their witness with their lives.

That is the Church!

Even the much-maligned Vatican sometimes does good. Those who claim to see nothing holy in the Vatican might have missed the shower and laundry facility set up for the homeless, or the pope’s own efforts at sponsoring refugees in their pursuit of safety.

That is the Church!

These are only a few examples of how the Catholic Church— the People of God—is a force for good in the communities it serves and in the world, even when the institutional structure fails dismally.

The people who do so much good in the world are motivated

by God. And it is God—not the pope, not the cardinals, not the bishops, not the clergy, not the laity—who is at the core of the Church.

We may criticise the human institution and judge the actions of its leaders as harshly as is justified. But no matter how angry we may be with the institutional Church, we must also honour the good that is being done in the Church, which is the Body of Christ.

The Editor reserves the right to shorten or edit published letters. Letters below 300 words receive preference. Pseudonyms are acceptable only under special circumstances and at the Editor’s discretion.

Name and address of the writer must be supplied. No anonymous letter will be considered.

Clericalism leaves no space for true relationship C LERICALISM is a big stumbling block to effective pastoral ministry because it imposes an artificial relationship on the clergy, particularly parish priests, and the Catholic faithful.

As a priest, it can be very irritating when people feel they have to put their best foot forward in Father’s presence, to the point of pretending.

This also prevents us priests from showing our vulnerability, as people perceive us as a caste apart, and expect us to be Super-Christians and masters of the moral life.

Priests can also be made to feel that they belong in the sanctuary and the confessional only, and that that is the extent of their usefulness.

One of my personal experiences as a priest includes finding it very burdensome when, at parish pastoral council meetings, I am made to feel that everything depends on me, whereas most priests would love everyone to realise their shared responsibility for the mission of the Church.

Add patroness to elections prayer

I

T was good to read the printed prayer (February 20) that our SACBC composed and sent out to all to be prayed that the right choices be made in the upcoming May general elections. We need a huge dose of divine intervention!

Many would have hoped that a prayer invoking the assistance of our national patroness, Mary Assumed into Heaven, would be composed or that words regarding her would be incorporated into a general prayer.

It seems to me the SACBC has lost sight of our patroness, proclaimed as such in Durban at the National Marian Congress in 1952, but seldom remembered on a national scale.

I am sure she does care about our nation and awaits our petitions for the right choices to be made.

Is it too late to ask for such a petition?

Francis Boulle, Cape Town

Sometimes though, tempers can rise and seemingly irreconcilable differences need the intervention of the priest to set the tone, reaffirm the bond of charity and the general atmosphere in which the apostolate is discussed and carried out.

Socially, I sometimes allow parishioners to serve me, not out of personal pride and having them serve me simply because I am a priest, but because we are all called to serve.

I look for opportunities to show parishioners that as I am called to serve everyone, so are they.

The hymn “Will You Let Me Be Your Servant?” inspires me.

When I sometimes feel I want to decline being served first, am not given the chance to make myself a cup of tea the way I like it, and am not able to sit at table with my friends because I am assigned to the table with the guests of honour at social events, I remind myself of this hymn.

In order for someone to be a ser-

evated source, is a cause for grave concern, as it logically drives one to the following conclusions: 1. Pope Francis has scant sympathy, and possibly also contempt, for the “pro-life” movement, as he has not levelled the same criticism at other religious entities, who engage only in their special callings, such as poverty alleviation.

2. This papal statement is a logical explanation for the massive decline, worldwide and in our parishes, of anti-abortion activities, especially “pro-life” sermons.

It is an established and commonsense principle that for any entity to achieve success in its aims, it should specialise in its particular objectives, and not also dabble ineffectively in others.

This principle is equally applicable to religious entities.

Damian McLeish, Johannesburg

We are designed to live with God

little great-grandson, and I noPope knocks down A ticed how bright his eyes are. Not pro-life lobbyists only because they are brand-new,

FRIEND of mine has a splendid

T

HE Sunday publication Catholic Link (February 17), which circulates in our parishes, stated the following opinion of Pope Francis regarding “pro-life” activists: “The anti-abortion lobby consists of persons who look down their noses at the efforts of others, or think that theirs is the only one real issue that counts.”

This statement, because of its el-

Catholic news that COUNTS Print or Digital

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but it’s as if the light shines out from within in the newly baptised.

Similarly, it is seen in the passion and idealism of youth. Often, though, the promise of youth gives way to middle-age: compromises are made, troubles mount up and, overwhelmed by the cares of this world, we can easily be “taken out” by the enemy of our souls with his menu of false gods and quick fixes.

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vant, there must be someone who accepts the service and allows that person to serve.

However, I usually soon find a way to show that actually I want to be treated the same as all other guests, without giving offence to the hosts/organisers and the trouble they have gone to.

I am likewise grateful when I am allowed to serve in a human, everyday way. Being part of a religious community affords me ample opportunity to be of service to my confrères, our staff and volunteers.

The younger generation generally tends to question everything, especially those in authority, knows nothing about deference, and can see straight through hypocrisy.

I salute them for their humanity and authenticity.

I am certain that this age group in our Church has long been giving the clericalist mentality a run for its money, and will continue to do so.

Fr Dennis C Ongansie CO, Oudtshoorn 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

So many men fall into alcoholism, pornography, adultery, gambling, and so on.

There are many reasons, but what is central, I think, is forgetting crucial truths. In our age particularly, we have forgotten that we have an enemy devoted 24/7 to our eternal destruction by whatever means.

Alone, we are powerless against the devil. We also have forgotten that we were never designed to live independently of God. We cannot live without God any more than a baby in the womb can without its mother providing all the nutrients it needs.

Our prayer life is rather like an umbilical cord connecting us with God. Our time on earth might be likened to gestation in the womb, growing as we are fed. At death we are delivered into heaven.

We really need to get back to prayer, to be open to God’s grace which is sufficient for all troubles.

Our reliance on God and growing relationship with him, through daily prayer, is the only thing that can keep the enemy of our souls at bay and enable us to triumph.

Stephen A Clark, Manila, Philippines

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PERSPECTIVES

And the award goes to...

A FEW weeks ago, award season in Hollywood came to an end with the annual Academy Awards.

Our favourite actors, musicians, directors, producers and screenwriters sashayed down red carpets and engaged in shameless self-promotion. They flattered highend designers in the hope of getting a custom-made gown or suit. They sneakily tiptoed their way to doctors for liposuction, botox and other means of defying the signs of ageing.

It looked like more of the same old “glitz and glam”.

I used to indulge in watching award ceremonies. I loved the musical performances, the cheesy acceptance speeches, and the charming wit of the host. However, in recent times I have grown weary of the endless fashion critique and the gossip about celebrity divorces.

I have a diminished attention span for the Oscars; a show that lasts for roughly three hours. It is filled with nominations of films that I have been too busy to see or too uninterested to ever see.

I am always bitterly disappointed when films and the actors cast in them are snubbed for nominations and awards. I felt this way about Leonardo di Caprio for a long time. After six nominations for an Academy Award he eventually won for his role in The Revenant. “What about his other movies?” I’d ask. Was Shutter Island not good enough? (Colin Firth won that year for The King’s Speech, fact fans.)

Those who present these awards are in a challenging situation. Should they give recognition for a piece of work that is pop-

ular or for work that may speak a message that has not yet been well received by the masses?

There is a difference between a piece of music or a film that is captivating because of the stellar performance of its cast and crew and one that lights up the imaginations of the viewers of a certain era. The former denotes greatness and the latter popularity.

T

here is a fine line between greatness and popularity. If a piece of work is popular, does that make it great? Should it be rewarded purely for the many viewers whose hearts were awakened by it? If a piece of work is deemed “great” by a few, should it be ignored because it is not popular?

Aside from my frustration at talent ig-

Should the celebs get all the awards? asks Nthabiseng Maphisa. What about those around the world who should be awarded just for staying alive? (Photo: Analogicus)

Nthabiseng Maphisa

Pop Culture Catholic

nored, I am more aware of the abyss of flashing lights and parties in mansions that separates us from them. There is a moat of elitism that divides the famous from the not-so-famous.

We are invited to peer into their lives through the lens of gossip magazines, websites and TV channels as the celebrities display their level of influence—but we do not see beyond this.

We are not privy to the dirty looks shared between nominees. On screen and on radio our favourite performance artists may seem close and even tangible. But in the midst of glittering evening wear I forget their humanity.

I have received very few awards in my life but I feel that there are some I am worthy of, and so are all of us. There should be a prize for “Waking Up in the Dead of Winter to Go Jogging”. There should be an award for “Eating All Your Vegetables”.

There should be a medal given for “Being Able to Walk Into Woolies and Not Embarrass Yourself by Finishing the Food Samples”.

More seriously, there are many men, women and children around the world who should be awarded just for staying alive. I don’t see a red carpet for the survivors of the long civil war in Syria. Where are the flashing lights for the Rohingya refugees?

To all the ordinary people who take the lead roles in their lives; the award for keeping the world turning goes to you.

How to make ‘sacrifices of love’ Toni Rowland S OMEONE said to me the other day that your Lenten sacrifice should be your secret with God. That sounds fine, to a point.

I also know that in my family over very many years, whatever the different members were “giving up” was common knowledge. Kate knew that James shouldn’t be eating biscuits or drinking beer or smoking. There’s merit in that approach too as there is an element of common action involved.

Taking up instead of giving up is excellent too. Maybe the ideal is a combination.

Marfam has over the years published various Lenten calendars for families, calling them “Acts of Love and Sacrifice” which promoted the idea of taking up things in Lent. But it doesn’t work to have everyone trying to do the same act of love on the same day. We’d all be going to visit the sick neighbour or not answer back when being reprimanded.

At boarding school, I seem to remember, there was a lucky-dip system in which one would pick a slip of paper with a suggested act.

In my old age now I have come to the conclusion that different things work for different families, but having a list of suggestions provides plenty of choice and the option for both secrecy and openness (download an example from www. marfam.org.za/lenten-calendar).

For many families, talking to one another is in itself an act of love and sacrifice, and combining that with a family fast day would clock up many brownie points in God’s register.

The aspect of family faith-sharing— which is, in fact, family catechesis—is very valuable in a family’s faith journey and often even noted in Church documents.

Pope Francis in his exhortation of the fam-

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“For many families, talking to one another is in itself an act of love and sacrifice, and combining that with a family fast day would clock up many brownie points in God’s register,” writes toni rowland. ily, Amoris Laetitia (The Joy Of Love), describes it as the task of families to pass on the faith. Lent is probably the best time to start with that (if it isn’t already done), as making the effort is in itself a sacrifice of love of God and of one another.

R

eflecting on the scripture readings of the day is a common practice. Marfam’s “Thoughts For The Day”, which normally include a life-event which is related to the scripture readings of the day, can also be used for sharing. Or use a topic that is current and relevant in a simple four-step method. l Begin with a life event, share thoughts and feelings, and listen well to one another without arguing or judging. l Consider what God says to you personally about that situation, guided by scripture and Church teaching, for exam-

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ple a quotation from Pope Francis. The danger to be avoided here is to generalise. l Draw conclusions and decide on action if possible and necessary. l Bring the matter to God in prayer with spontaneous prayer or a specific prayer; for example for peaceful elections, for peace in the family, for resolution of the abuse scandal, and so on.

This approach to family education, enrichment, strengthening, prayer, Lenten observance—call it what you will—has been promoted for many years. Now these “Thoughts For The Day” are published on www.marfam.org.za/daily-reflections/ or can be e-mailed to you on request, and be followed on Facebook and Twitter.

Other family suggestions could be having a family prayer meal and/or a family reconciliation service. The beauty of this is that those family members who are not Catholic can all participate and Catholics can later on receive the sacrament of reconciliation.

Other Lenten programmes and Stations of the Cross for Families are available too.

An added advantage to such a Lenten practice in our digital age is that older people who do not live with their families can share on the Internet or WhatsApp or Facebook or whatever. And if all else fails, they can keep their loved ones close in prayer.

They and we probably need it too.

May the second half of the season of Lent and Easter bring you the “Joy of Love”.

the Southern Cross, March 20 to March 26, 2019

7

Michael Shackleton

open Door

What’s the point of doing penance?

In Confession the priest gave me a penance of the Stations of the Cross, which I did. What is the purpose of the penance when I know that, because I am truly sorry for my sin, God, through the priest’s ministry, forgives me absolutely? “If we acknowledge our sins, then God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and purify us from everything that is wrong” (1 Jn 1:9). How do the Stations of the Cross or other penance make a difference?

Solomon

S

IN is not only an offence against God’s great love for us, it is also an offence against the community of the Church which, as the Body of Christ, is infused with the Spirit of God. When we are really sorry for disobeying God’s will, we have the sacrament of reconciliation. This sacrament has its basis in Christ’s giving his apostles his own authority to either forgive sin or not: “For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained” (Jn 20:23).

The apostles could decide whether to reconcile repentant sinners with the Church or exclude them for a time from the community. This is where the discipline of doing penance for sin began.

As numbers expanded, some of the faithful fell into various serious sins. The community required them to repent before God and the Church.

Penances were imposed on public sinners, such as to wear penitential clothing or exclusion from the Eucharist for a fixed period. The offender would receive sacramental absolution from the priest only after the penance was suitably done. This is totally different from today’s practice where the priest imposes the penance and then gives absolution.

Historians have noted that some of the ancient penances went on for a long time (that’s why they are called temporal punishment), and it could happen that the sinner would fall ill or die before the required penance could be completed.

With the further expansion of the Church, the practice of public temporal punishment stopped and was replaced by private confession to a priest rather than to the community as a whole.

The priest, acting in the name of the Church and with Christ’s authority, now judges the severity of the sin and gives an appropriate penance as a way of atoning for it.

This penance may not be as hard and embarrassing as in the past, but it allows the penitent to make up to God and the community for the harm done, including to oneself.

When you have done the Stations of the Cross as your penance and made satisfaction for your sin, you can be sure that there will be rejoicing in heaven, as Christ told us (Lk 15:7).

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.

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the Southern Cross, March 20 to March 26, 2019

Station I: Jesus is Condemned to Death o Jesus, help me to appreciate your sanctifying grace more and more.

DEVOTION

Station II: Jesus Receives His Cross o Jesus, you chose to die for me. Help me to love you always with all my heart.

Station III: Jesus Falls the First Time o Jesus, make me strong to conquer my wicked passions, and to rise quickly from sin.

Station IV: Jesus Meets His Mother o Jesus, grant me a tender love for your mother who offered you for love of me.

Follow the Stations of the Cross

D

URING Lent we are called to follow Christ on his Passion journey to the Cross.

This week, at the halfway point through Lent, we take you through the Way of the Cross in San Giovanni Rotondo, above the shrine of Padre Pio in south-eastern Italy.

The photos are accompanied by a very short prayer from Treasury of Novenas, but readers may wish to do the full set of prayers, privately or in the setting of the family or prayer group. A good sample text for Station VII: Jesus Falls a Second Time that is at www.lordcalls.com/dailyprayer/the- o Jesus, I repent for having offended you. way-of-the-cross-the-stations-of-the-cross Grant me forgiveness of all my sins.

Station V: Jesus is Helped by Simon o Jesus, like Simon, lead me ever closer to you through my daily crosses and trials.

Station VI: Jesus and Veronica o Jesus, imprint your image on my heart that I may be faithful to you all my life.

Station VIII: Jesus Speaks to the Women o Jesus, grant me tears of compassion for your sufferings and of sorrow for my sins.

Station IX: Jesus Falls a Third Time Station X: Jesus is Stripped of His Garments Station XI: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross o Jesus, let me never yield to despair. Let me o Jesus, let me sacrifice all my attachments o Jesus, strengthen my faith and increase my come to you in hardship and spiritual distress. rather than imperil the divine life of my soul. love for you. Help me to accept my crosses.

Prayer after the Stations

Jesus, you became an example of humility, obedience, and patience, and preceded me on the way of life bearing your cross. Grant that, inflamed with your love, I may cheerfully take upon myself the sweet yoke of your Gospel together with the mortification of the cross and follow you as a true disciple so that I may be united with you in heaven.

Station XII: Jesus Dies on the Cross o Jesus, I thank you for making me a child of God. Help me to forgive others.

Station XIII: Jesus is Taken From the Cross Station XIV: Jesus is Laid in the Tomb o Jesus, through the intercession of your holy o Jesus, strengthen my will to live for you on earth and bring me to eternal bliss in heaven. mother, let me be pleasing to you.

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Station XV: He is Risen!

the Southern Cross, March 20 to March 26, 2019

FAITH

9

Understanding Mary’s role in salvation What exactly is Mary’s role in salvation? MICHAEL oGuNu addresses a Catholic teaching that is often misunderstood by some Protestants.

O

and bear a son, whose name shall be called Emmanuel.”

After a long period of waiting, God’s plan was materialised in her when she consented to be the mother of the Saviour. God did not force divine maternity on her. He sought her assent when the Angel Gabriel was sent to her.

This is quite understandable. God wanted her consent to be freely given as the mother of his Son “so that just as a woman had a share in bringing about death, so also a woman should contribute to life”.

NE of the most controversial doctrines of the Catholic Church, in as far as it is always attacked by ignorant people, is the role of Mary in the salvation of mankind.

Mary’s free consent Those who do not know the offiBecause of her role as Mother of cial position of the Church in rela- God and Mother of the Church, God tion to devotion to Mary, the preserved her from all stain of sin Mother of God, tend to think that from the first instant of her concepCatholics have placed Mary in the tion. She was given a unique holisame position as Jesus. ness so as to be well-equipped for her Others even say that we have sub- role in the salvation of mankind. stituted Mary for Jesus. They say that This is the reason why the angel we regard Mary as our saviour and greeted her with the words, “Hail mediator, in defiance of the scrip- full of grace” (Lk 1:28). tures. Others say we give the role the After the angel had delivered his Holy Spirit is playing in the salva- message and explained how God tion of mankind to Mary. would bring about the humanly imMary’s role in the salvation of possible conception without mating mankind is a vocation which God or test-tube fertilisation, Mary said: gave her from all eternity. Her phys- “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, ical and moral gift of be it done unto me acbody to Jesus, the Recording to your words” deemer, constitutes a Jesus is the only (Lk 1:38). concrete, real and inner By these words, Mary participation in the one who has consented to the word of work of salvation.

God, became the Mother executive Because she gave her of Jesus, and part and parbody to bear the Repower, which cel in a secondary role of deemer, she participates the redemption of in a unique way in re- he commissions mankind. Since she gave deeming us. her assent wholeheartedly to Mary.

The intimacy of the to God’s plan for redeemmother and the son in ing mankind, she is also the work of salvation an instrument in bringing about salcan be seen at the very moment of vation to the whole world. the virginal conception of Mary beThe intercessory role that Mary cause that conception has nothing played during her lifetime, she conin view other than the salvation of tinues to play today in a pre-emithe world. nent way in the Church.

The work of redemption reached There was no time when she was its apex on the Cross, and there as not united with her Son’s work of well, Mary was not a passive on- salvation, right from the moment of looker. She was actively engaged as her virginal conception till the if nailed completely with Jesus. It is death, resurrection and ascension of as a result of her suffering with her the Lord. son that the Church calls her She participated and associated “Queen of Martyrs”. She was a spiri- with her Son’s sacrifice on the Cross tual martyr. In being a spiritual mar- in her own mother’s heart. As our tyr at the foot of the Cross she Lord stayed dying on the cross, contributed to our salvation.

Mother Mary was interceding for the According to the Second Vatican world. She is still doing that today.

Council, “the Blessed Virgin Mary…

Before our Lord died, he said to under the guidance of the Holy John the Evangelist, “Behold your Spirit made a total dedication of her- mother”, and to Mary he said: self for the mystery of redemption of “Woman, behold you son” (Jn men”.

19:26-27). Theology has interpreted The Bible, as well as the Tradition this to mean that Jesus gave Mary to of the Church, shows the role of us as our Mother; that John repreMary in the plan of salvation. The sented us at the foot of the Cross, Old Testament, in the very first that is, all who seek to be the book, spoke about her prophetical beloved disciple of Jesus. role in bringing about salvation. She It is Jesus who makes Mary our was spoken of in the promise of vic- Mother. tory over the serpent (Gen 3:15).

The Church says in the DocuIsaiah 7:14 prophesied of her: ment of Vatican II on the Church: “Behold the virgin shall conceive “This motherhood of Mary in the

was chosen by the Lord, not as a minister but to be associated in a very special and quite intimate manner in the work of redemption of the human race”.

Mary the Mediator

the Annunciation by the Archangel Gabriel is depicted in a stained glass window in Milan’s Duomo. (Photo: Günther Simmermacher) order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfilment of all the elect.

“Taken up to heaven, she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession, continues to bring us the gifts of salvation. By her maternal charity, she cares for the brethren of her son, who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties until they are led into their blessed home.

“Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix.”

Subordinated to Jesus

PRICE CHECK

All these titles are to be looked upon as being carried out by our Blessed Mother in a subordinate way to her Son Jesus.

Jesus is the only one who has the

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

executive power, which he commissions to Mary. It should therefore be understood that Mary’s role as our Advocate, Helper, Benefactress and Mediatrix does not take away anything nor add anything to the dignity and efficacy of Christ as the one mediator between God and Man. As far as the merit for our salvation is concerned in the fullest and fundamental sense of the term, only Jesus merited for us in strict justice all that is necessary for our salvation.

St Thomas of Aquinas is quoted to have said: “Properly speaking, the office of a mediator is to join together those between whom he mediates, for extremes are united by an intermediary.”

Jesus is the unique mediator between God and man but there is nothing to prevent others from being mediators below Christ, and subordinate to him as secondary mediators But St Albert notes that “Mary

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Anti-crime priests on patrol STA AFF REPORTER

WO priests who go on regular patrol for their local Neighbourhood Wa atches are encouraging other priests to take part in such activities to fight crime and as a way of connecting with people of all walks of life.

Fr Stan Botha of Milnerton/Brooklyn, Cape Town, and Fr Stefan Hippler, chairman of HOPE Cape Town, said that Neighbourhood Wa atch “is one of the most effective ways for neighbourhoods to reduce crime in their surrounding areas”.

“It assists in protecting property, reducing car break-ins and house burglaries, and teaming up with police, other law enforcement and armed response companies means more peace of mind for those living in the area,” said Fr Botha.

“This should also concern the local parishes and their priests—being part of such initiatives is also a great way to connect to people of all walks of life,” he said.

Fr Botha, who moves constantly between his parish’s two presbyteries in Brooklyn and Milnerton, often begins his patrol at 4:00 with his dogs, Donovan and Sipho, a pointer and a

dachshund respectively.

He feels strongly about community, whether Catholic or not, and has roved the neighbourhood with motivated Jews and the local Dutch Reformed dominee.

He said the scariest patrol he experienced was entering railway y tunnels with other Neighbourhood Watch members in late afternoon.

“But people living there are often friendly, though we do find much of our stolen goods, too,” Fr Botha said.

Fr Hippler,, a German fidei donum priest and founder of HOPE Cape To own, lives in the Blaau uwberg neighbourhood of Parklands, and has also been a patroller for years.

In spite of his heavy schedule and frequent trips around the world for HOPE, he finds time to show by example that we can all do a little extra for our communities.

Both priests hav ve been long-standing members of Rotary International and seek to encourage Christians to be involved in the broader community, especially with those most vulnerable.

“Being part of the solution for a peaceful and crime-free society is one way to do so,” said Fr Hippler.

R10 (incl VAT RSA)

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Fr Stan Botha of the C a p e To w n parish of Brooklyn/ Milnerton and his dogs Donovan and Sipho are seen before going on patrol for the local Neighbourh o o d Wa tc h .

The priest is encouraging other clergy to join community crime-fighting activities as a contribution to society as well as a way of connecting with people from all walks of life.

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Reg No. 1920/002058/06

The Catholic heart of Panama City

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admin@stanthonyshome.org www.stanthonyshome.org

Mary shows mercy to her children by extending to us the mercy of Jesus Christ. Tradition has upheld the universal mediating role of Mary. She mediates for us but in a manner subordinated to Christ.

As Mary offered the sacrifice of the Cross with Jesus Christ for us, she mediates for us by making reparation in an ascending order. This is her ascending mediation. Her descending mediation consists in obtaining for us graces from Christ its source, and distributing them to us as the mother of divine grace.

It is our Catholic belief that God is the source of graces which Jesus wins for us in his blood, and that it is the will of God that these graces should come to us through Mary!

Why? That is how God wills it.

Since Jesus Christ, who is the original grace of God, was given to us through Mary, is there anything illogical if all other graces come to us through her?

Our Blessed Mother Mary has been given to us as a source of hope for all. When we call her our hope, we do not mean that she has become our God. Many take exception to this title on the grounds that God alone is our hope. They even quote the Bible to buttress their argument: “Cursed be the man that puts his trust in man” (Jeremiah 17:5). They say Mary is a creature, and how can a creature be our hope? Despite this objection, the Church maintains the titles: “Our Hope” and “Hope for All”.

St Thomas Aquinas says: “There are two ways of placing our hope in a person: as a principal cause and as a mediate one. Those who hope for favour from a king expect it from him as a lord, they hope for it from his minister or favourite as an intercessor. If the favour is granted it comes primarily from him but it comes through the intermediary of his favourite, and in this cause the beneficiary of the favour is right to call his intercessor his hope.”

In a vision the Blessed Virgin Mother revealed to St Bridget “that there is no sinner in the world, however much he may be at enmity with God, who does not return to him and recover his grace”, if he has recourse to her and asks her assistance.

The same saint heard Jesus say of his mother that one day she would be “ready to obtain the grace of God for Lucifer himself if only he humbled himself so far as to seek her aid”.

Would Lucifer do that? Never! If he would do that, the all-compassionate mother would be ready to come to his aid.

Sipuka: After summit we need action

BY ERIN CARELSE

HE Vatican summit on abuse “will be a turning point in the life of the Church— things will not be the same”, according to the president of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC).

Bishop Sithembele Sipuka of Mthatha was among the presidents of bishops’ conferences who were called to Rome by Pope Francis to attend the “Meeting on the Protection of Minors” which aimed to enforce responsibility, accountability, and transparency in the Church as it responds to the clerical sexual abuse crisis (see round-up on page 4).

“This was a very moving meeting for me,” Bishop Sipuka told The Southern n Crooss.

“What struck me the most and made a really big impression on me was witnessing the testimonies of the victims. It made a great impact on me because you were drawn into the experience when you hear people talk about it—it grips you,” said Bishop Sipuka, who assumed the SACBC presidency in early February.

He said the meeting has given him “a heightened awareness and empathy for the victims of sexual abuse”.

“I’m glad that we have this child protection policy,” he said, referring to the SACBC protocols on dealing with reports of abuse by Church personnel which are currently being updated throughout the conference region, a process he believes will receive additional impetus from the summit.

“I think that it’s important that we implement and publicise [the policy] so that people will have a platform,” Bishop Sipuka said, noting that “most of the victims we heard had nowhere to turn to; there was no support and nothing in place—even their parents did not support them”.

The SACBC president said he appreciated the pastoral aspect of the summit, as well as the technical part of it, as this will lead the bishops to formulate very clear policies.

“There were a lot of points that came from

Bishop Sithembele Sipuka, who represented the SACBC at the Vatican’s abuse summit (Photo: Bishop Stanislaw Dziuba) the discussions that will help strengthen and improve the policies. The time has come for revision,” he said.

“With this information now and the sharing of ideas, we need to look at the policies again so that they become more effective and more widespread,” he said.

Bishop Sipuka emphasised: “Wee need to publicise the support structures for the victims and also to listen to them.”

The bishop observed that the issue of clerical sexual abuse are more prominent in the US, Europe and Australia, whereas it is seen as less of an issue in Africa and Asia. He ascribed this to a culture of taboo and a tendency of denial about it in those regions, whereas in the West, people are “more forthright”, which makes it easier to confront the crisis.

He said the Church in Southern Africa will have to talk more openly about abuse, and pledged that he will encourage this.

In an interview with Va atican News, Bishop Sipuka said that he was gratefu ul to the media and to the victims who have raised awareness.

“Wee have been in denial and covering it up. If the victims had not had the courage to Continued on page 3

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TRAVEL

Cuba: Where the multitudes are fed Recently GÜNtHEr SIMMErMACHEr visited Havana, the capital of Cuba. In the first of two articles, he shares his impressions.

M

Y wife shot me daggers as our guide in Havana, Cuba, pointed out that we were staying in a “bad neighbourhood”.

The area of Havana Centro is admittedly not a tourist haven. This is where the locals stay and the renovators haven’t yet come to. Which is one of the reasons why I had booked our apartment here, two blocks away from the Malecon seafront and within comfortable walking distance of the historic La Habana Vieja (Old City) and the more upmarket Vedado suburb.

Here, where the people live, where the houses are still as rundown as the photo essays of Havana promise, where the tourists don’t come—that’s where you see and hear and smell the life of the local people.

“A lot of crime,” César the guide added as Mrs S gave me a look which suggested that she was thinking hard about adding to the crime rate.

After a pause, César added: “Crimes like playing too loud music at night and littering.”

Havana is largely crime-free, certainly for tourists. Local crime tends to arise from interpersonal disputes and smuggling.

One reason for that is that Cuba’s one-party state has no sense of humour when it comes to crime.

Even owning a marijuana joint is going to get the owner locked up for a long time.

Mugging tourists, at a time when Cuba is trying to attract tourism as a major source of income, is not a great career path for the budding thug.

But more importantly, Cuba’s social system makes crime driven by need unnecessary.

Food for everyone In Cuba, every person receives a ration of basic foods, courtesy of the government, through a coupon

system. No Cuban needs to go hungry, and if they can afford to buy more, they can do so (subject to stock).

Should a doctor find that a pregnant woman is lacking certain vitamins or minerals in her diet, the mother will receive a prescription for the appropriate extra rations of food which she then picks up at a special counter at the shop.

All medical care, provided by highly-trained doctors and nurses, is free and relatively easy to access (and talking of training medics, Cuba is currently training 3 500 South Africans to become doctors).

Cuba’s infant mortality rates are among the lowest in the world.

And thanks to free education, up to whatever level you can or want to achieve, adult literacy is among the highest in the world. Cubans are taken care of in retirement, too.

So, what need is there for crime, unless for avarice?

But that might come yet as a new middle class with imported cars and big TVs is emerging, thanks to the proliferating tourism industry.

In a land where a doctor earns only $64 a month, a tour guide or a taxi driver can make that in a day or two. That might breed envy and a new preoccupation with material aspiration.

The threat of a culture of decadence becomes ever closer as the opening of borders with the United States becomes inevitable.

The borders were slammed closed by US President Donald Trump after they had been unlocked by President Barack Obama, through the mediation of Pope Francis, just a couple of years earlier. But it is only a matter of time before they will open again.

Already US tourists are finding their way to Havana, along with ceaseless streams of cruise ships from around the world.

Cuba is embracing the tourism industry, and the government now permits small private enterprises, such as bars and restaurants, tourist guiding, taxis and so on.

The famous 1950s convertibles are now all gleaming taxis. Most of these street cruisers are restored with innovation: a 1952 Chevrolet may drive on a Toyota engine and be steered with a Lada wheel. It’s

Above left: A street in Havana Centro, “a bad neighbourhood”. Right: Women in Cathedral Square in Havana’s old City. (All photos: Günther Simmermacher) Below left: revolution Square with the images of revolutionaries Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos; it has been used to hold three papal Masses. Right: A vegetable stall in Havana Centro.

the Cuban way to make a plan.

At the same time, it seems to me that most Cubans are serene about their material deprivations because they are so rich in spirit, something that finds expression in a vibrant cultural life which fills the streets with music, the bars with dancing, and deprived neighbourhoods with art projects.

The basic needs of the Cuban people are taken care of by the state, and in a culture of little accumulation, there’s lower stress (unless you issue opinions which the regime doesn’t like, of course).

Instead, there seems to be an ingrained sense of solidarity across society which suggests that there is no huge appetite for toppling the regime—though there is a general cautiously expressed desire to make it more competent and less corrupt.

I read recently about a famous barber in Havana’s Old City, a man who had been introduced to President Obama. That barber was asked whether he didn’t feel oppressed by his inability to cash in on his celebrity status. He replied: “What good is it me getting rich while others remain poor?”

That mindset doubtless is the result of communist socialisation. It is also a profoundly Christian attitude.

And that is one of the great ironies: the communist regime that feeds the multitudes and fosters solidarity with the poor has a history of persecuting Christians, the people whose Lord fed the multitudes and urged solidarity with the poor.

enemy of the state.

Things weren’t quite as bad as they were in other communist countries, but the persecution eased only in the 1980s, and matters became increasingly better with the visit by Pope John Paul II in 1998.

It helped that in some ways, the pope spoke the language of the revolution. As the massive steel memorial of Che Guevara loomed over the papal Mass in the huge Plaza de la Revolución, the decidedly anti-communist pope used the language Fidel Castro might have applied in his rambling speeches.

“We thus see a small number of countries growing exceedingly rich at the cost of the increasing impoverishment of a great number of other countries,” Pope John Paul said. “As a result, the rich become richer, while the poor become poorer.”

That first, groundbreaking papal visit, coming at a difficult eco-

Persecution of the Church Coffee on Havana’s Malecon seafront. In recent years, Cuba’s communist government has permitted small private businesses, such as bars, restaurants and taxis. (Photo: Günther Simmermacher)

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After the revolution 60 years ago, the regime of Fidel Castro drove the clergy out of the churches and into exile or re-education camps, while the faithful were made to feel the disadvantages of being associated with the

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A poster in a Catholic church marks this year’s 500th anniversary of the founding of Havana.

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nomic time for Cuba, was preceded a couple of months earlier by the declaration of Christmas as a public holiday.

In 2012, to mark Pope Benedict XVI’s visit, Cuba declared Good Friday a public holiday.

So papal visits seem to remind the communists of their country’s Catholic traditions. But it wasn’t always like that.

It seemed churlish of Castro to turn against the Church which had educated him, at the Jesuit Belen College—which he later closed.

Indeed, without the intervention of Pope Pius XII, Castro would not have been released from jail under Fulgencio Batista’s brutal and thoroughly corrupt regime, enabling him to flee to Mexico where he would meet the Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara.

As so often, the persecution of the Church was driven more by political expedient—the Catholic Church opposed communism, and vice versa—than by hatred of the faith itself, though the former always feeds the latter.

Today, relations between the Church and the regime are good. In the week before our arrival in late January, Cuba’s first new Catholic church since the revolution was opened in the city of Sandino.

It is almost like the regime is seeking to return to the Church.

Welcoming Pope Francis in 2015, then-President Raúl Castro, Fidel’s brother and also a leading revolutionary, publicly mused about becoming a Catholic again.

And Fidel, wearing the triplestriped tracksuit of an imperialist sports goods manufacturer, was holding the hand of the pope—the head of the erstwhile “Enemy of the Revolution”.

Next week: The Catholic faith and tradition in Havana

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‘Art can inspire people to build sustainable future’

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By LIAM MCINtyrE

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N a world of different religions, cultures and languages, art has the capacity to bring people together and inspire them to take action in addressing critical challenges, said a Vatican official.

That is why the official, Fr Augusto Zampini, made sure art and culture played a pivotal role at the international conference he helped organise at the Vatican on what religions could do to help the world reach the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Sponsored by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, the conference brought together representatives from the world’s major religions.

They discussed how spirituality, religious values and sacred texts all point towards safeguarding creation and addressing poverty, hunger, inequality, injustice, environmental degradation and other global problems.

Key to changing hearts That religion, art and culture can and must play a role in building a sustainable future is an idea missing from most international forums, said Fr Zampini, director of development and faith at the dicastery.

“How many conferences have you heard of on development?

Thousands. What is the effect, the consequences, the change, they have produced?” he asked.

Fr Zampini said he didn’t want to organise a conference just to talk about development, but to make a difference.

One way of doing this was using art and culture—not as a sideline diversion for entertainment—but as a valuable part of the conversation, he said.

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Pope Francis watches as violinist Midori performs at a meeting of the International Fund for Agricultural Development. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS) Different cultures and the arts are needed “to talk to our hearts so as to allow us to change”, Fr Zampini said.

Guided by the theme of “Listening to the cry of the earth and of the poor”, the conference opened with delegates listening to a group of children from a Rome creche.

Dressed in matching gym suits, the fidgeting preschoolers tried to focus on a song about nature, but many proved more interested in playing. At this, many in the audience laughed and smiled, as they did too when a little boy at the end happily shouted into the microphone, “Goodbye everybody!” in Italian before running off.

Inside the conference hall, a New Zealand-born visual artist used permanent markers to turn the white of multiple canvasses into a spectrum of colour with images and quotes, capturing the essence of the discussions in ways everyone, regardless of religious or cultural background, could understand.

Vanessa Jane Smith, the visual artist, said she uses her work for “helping people understand complexity”.

‘Leave no one behind’ One of the conference messages was “Leave no one behind”, and organisers invited the Simon Bolivar Orchestra of Venezuela to perform. The members are part of youth music-education programme El Sistema, which provides free classical music education to poor children.

The Venezuelan players also provided the music for artists from other cultural and religious backgrounds, such as the Albanian-Italian dancer Kledi Kadiu, Buddhist Japanese pianist Hiroko Sato, Italian Jewish quartet Progetto Davka, and Tunisian musician Marwan Samer.

Organisers said they hoped the mix of artists at the conference would remind people the world does not belong to any one religion or culture, but is a symphony of voices, and the only way forward is together.—CNS

Plane crash priest ‘felt part of the Church in South Africa’ Continued from page 1 of his untimely passing as well as those of his fellow passengers,” Fr Swartz said.

The institute celebrated a Mass for the repose of Fr Mukua’s soul and of all others who died in the crash.

After Fr Mukua’s ordination to the diaconate, he continued socio-pastoral ministry with the Catholic Development Centre (CDC) in Mthatha where he performed office work and distributed foods to the poor. He conducted outreach programmes for subsistence farmers in the deepest rural corners of the Eastern Cape under the guidance of CDC director Thembekile Kanise.

Fr Mukua was ordained to the priesthood on November 30, 2017, in Kenya.

Soon after, the generalate of the Mariannhill congregation put him charge of coordinating projects and resources in its Roman curia.

Fr Bheki Shabalala, provincial of the Mariannhill Missionaries, said Fr Mukua’s death was a huge loss for the order.

“There are not many words to say. We are all still shocked and devastated, especially as he was ordained a priest only two years ago,” Fr Shabalala said.

“Fr Mukua contributed a lot in terms of funding for the Mariannhill Missionaries so that we can do our ministry,” he said, adding: “We will miss his spirit.”

Anthony Gathambiri, who studied for a while with the Consolata Missionaries, met Fr Mukua at SJTI in 2009. He recalled his friend as a man of humour who would laugh before he even finished his joke.

“Fr Mukua was a perfect model of not

worrying about tomorrow. His sense of humour, and the tone of his light talks, would calm you,” Mr Gathambiri said.

“I knew Fr George as a man who mingled easily with other nationalities. He wasn’t lost in the small tribal, ethnic and national cocoons, but interacted with everyone freely.”

Fr Thulani Gubula, a priest of Queenstown diocese who is studying in Rome, also met Fr Mukua at SJTI. Fr Mukua was a year ahead of him in theological studies.

“At Cedara, we students for the diocesan priesthood were in the minority.

Making friends was not always easy. Fortunately, some of us found ourselves in very enriching friendships,” he said.

“Fr Mukua was one of those who could endear themselves to many with ease. We got to exchange quite a bit of our experiences, on many levels, and it’s probably our faith in Jesus Christ that could get a fellow from Kiambu outside Nairobi in Kenya and one from Ezibeleni outside Komani (Queenstown) in South Africa to relate in such a profound way as George and I did.”

Fr Gubula and Fr Mukua frequently saw each other in Rome. Their most recent encounter was a week before the crash, when the Southern Africans in Rome had a gathering.

“That was the last time I saw him,” Fr Gubula added.

“I could feel that although he was Kenyan, he felt he was part of the Church in South Africa,” said Fr Ncamiso Vilakati of Manzini, Swaziland, who had also seen Fr Mukua just days earlier in Rome.

NOVeNA TO SAINT MARTHA, feast day July 29. O admirable Saint Martha, I have recourse to thee and I depend entirely on thy intercession in my trials. In thanksgiving, I promise to spread this devotion everywhere. I humbly beg thee to console me in all my difficulties. By the immense joy that filled thy soul when thou didst receive the Redeemer of the world at thy home in Bethany, be pleased to intercede for me and my family, in order that we may keep God in our hearts and therefore, deserve to obtain the remedy to our necessities, especially the present situation that overwhelms me (mention request). I implore thee, O Auxillatrice in all needs, help us to overcome our difficulties, thou who so victoriously fought the devil.

Amen. Say one our Father, one Hail Mary, one Glory Be and three times the invocation “Saint Martha, pray for us.” Novena to be said on nine consecutive tuesdays with a lit blessed candle. It is so powerful that one often obtains what one desires before the ninth tuesday.

Liturgical Calendar Year C – Weekdays Cycle Year 1 Sunday March 24, 3rd Sunday of Lent Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15, Psalm 103:1-4, 6-8, 11, 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12, Luke 13:1-9 Monday March 25, Annunciation of the Lord Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10, Psalm 40:7-11, Hebrews 10:4-10, Luke 1:26-38 Tuesday March 26 Daniel 3:25, 34-43, Psalm 25:4-9, Matthew 18:21-35 Wednesday March 27, St John of Egypt Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9, Psalm 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20, Matthew 5:17-19 Thursday March 28 Jeremiah 7:23-28, Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9, Luke 11:14-23 Friday March 29 Hosea 14:1-9 (2-10), Psalm 81:6-11, 14, 17, Mark 12:28-34 Saturday March 30 Hosea 6:1-6, Psalm 51:3-4, 18-21, Luke 18:9-14 Sunday March 31, 4th Sunday of Lent Joshua 5:9-12, Psalm 34:2-7, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

PRAYeRS TO ST JOSePH OF CUPeRTINO FOR SUCCeSS IN eXAMINATIONS. O great St Joseph of Cupertino, who while on earth did obtain from God the grace to be asked at your examination only the questions you knew, obtain for me a like favour in the examinations for which I am now preparing. In return I promise to make you known and cause you to be invoked. Through Christ our Lord. St Joseph of Cupertino, pray for us.

Amen.

O St Joseph of Cupertino, who by your prayer obtained from God to be asked at your examination only the things you knew, grant that I may like you succeed in the (here mention the name of the examination, for example, history paper I) examination. In return I promise to make you known and cause you to be invoked. O St. Joseph of Cupertino, pray for me. O Holy Ghost, enlighten me. Our Lady of Good Studies, pray for me.

Sacred Head of Jesus, seat of divine wisdom, enlighten me.

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 855.

ACROSS: 3 Ephesians, 8 Eros, 9 Honeymoon, 10 Cantor, 11 State, 14 Salve, 15 Exit, 16 Bells, 18 Abut, 20 Mamre, 21 Swarm, 24 Ballet, 25 Hollander, 26 Trio, 27 Underwear. DOWN: 1 Mercy Seat, 2 Cornelius, 4 Poor, 5 Elect, 6 Inmate, 7 Noon, 9 Horeb, 11 Salem, 12 Exemplary, 13 Attention, 17 Smear, 19 Twelve, 22 Renew, 23 Coin, 24 Beta.

Our bishops’ anniversaries We congratulate: March 19: Archbishop Peter Wells, Apostolic Nuncio to South Africa, on the 3rd anniversary of his episcopal ordination March 28: Bishop Jan de Groef of Bethlehem, on the 10th anniversary of his episcopal ordination

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

PARISH NOTICeS

NeW PARISH NOTICeS MOST WeLCOMe: If any parish notices listed are no longer valid, call us on 021 465-5007 or e-mail us at m.leveson@scross.co.za so that we can remove them.

Also, we’d welcome new notices, to run free in the classifieds.

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

St Anthony’s rosary group.

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

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The Southern Cross is published independently by the Catholic Newspaper & Publishing Company Ltd. Address: Po Box 2372, Cape town, 8000. Tel: (021) 465 5007 Fax: (021) 465 3850 www.scross.co.za editor: Günther Simmermacher (editor@scross.co.za), Business Manager: Pamela Davids (admin@scross.co.za), Advisory editor: Michael Shackleton, Local News: Erin Carelse (e.carelse@scross.co.za) editorial: Claire Allen (c.allen@scross.co.za), Mary Leveson (m.leveson@scross.co.za), Advertising: yolanda timm (advertising@scross.co.za), Subscriptions: Michelle Perry (subscriptions@scross.co.za), Accounts: Desirée Chanquin (accounts@scross.co.za), Directors: r Shields (Chair), Archbishop S Brislin, S Duval, E Jackson, B Jordan, Sr H Makoro CPS, J Mathurine, G Stubbs

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4th Sunday in Lent: March 31 Readings: Joshua 5:9-12, Psalm 34:2-7, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Luke 5:1-3, 11-32

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EXT Sunday is Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday in Lent, when you can take a rest from your chosen austerities; and the readings for that day encourage us to rejoice in God’s unshaken fidelity to his people (as well as reminding us that this benevolent God also makes certain demands on us).

The first reading finds the children of Israel having entered the Promised Land (and it takes place just after all the males have been circumcised, so they are undoubtedly feeling the challenge just now).

And what is the first thing they do when they enter the Promised Land? They celebrate Passover, to signal the end of the “reproach of Egypt”; and then on the very next day they eat of the produce of the land of Canaan, as a sign that God has indeed done what he promised, and we rejoice. And, of course, that means manna ceases to come from heaven.

The author of the psalm for the day has no doubt at all about God’s faithfulness: “I shall bless the Lord at all times,” he sings, “his praise constantly on my lips; and my soul will glory in the Lord.”

Then we should notice who is singled out for special attention: “The poor shall hear and be glad.” Not only that, but it is a community

S outher n C ross

endeavour: “Magnify the Lord with me, and let us lift up his name together.”

The poet is well aware, though, that there needs to be an individual response: “I sought the Lord and he answered me…this poor one called and the Lord heard; from all my distress he saved me.”

There is a powerful sense here of the relationship with God. In the second reading, Paul explores what our faithful God has done for us in Christ. He uses the striking image of “new creation” and, echoing Isaiah, says: “The old things have passed—look! They have become new.”

Then he uses another image, from human relations or marriage guidance, that of “reconciliation”, an idea which he employs no fewer than five times: “Everything is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ”; “He gave us the service of reconciliation”; “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself”; “placing inside us the message of reconciliation”; and, finally, to the warring Corinthian Christians a plea, “We are begging you for Christ’s sake: be reconciled to God.” Paul concludes with two images from the Old Testament, that of “a sin-offering of the

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temple in Jerusalem as a place to worship and hold all the people together.

However, inside that apparent strength— perhaps because of it—she had become complacent about her faith and increasing lax in being faithful to it. That complacency and laxity led to her downfall.

In 587 BC, Israel was overrun by a foreign nation who, after taking the land, deported most of the people to Babylon, killed the king, and knocked the temple down to its last stone. Israel spent the next nearly half-century in exile, without a temple, struggling to reconcile this with her belief that God loved her.

However, in the bigger picture, this turned out a positive. The pain of being exiled and the doubts of faith triggered by the destruction of her temple were offset by what she learned through this crisis, namely, that God is faithful even when we aren’t, that our failures open our eyes to our own complacency and blindness, and that what looks like success is often its opposite, what looks like failure is often its opposite.

As Fr Richard Rohr might phrase it, in our failures we have a chance to “fall upward”.

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here’s no better image available, I believe, by which to understand what the Church is now undergoing through the humiliation thrust on it through the clerical sexual abuse crisis within Catholicism and within other churches as well.

To recast Fr Brown’s insight: The Church

Conrad

1 Plein Street, Sidwell, Port Elizabeth

Sunday reflections

one who knew no sin” and “making righteous [or justified]”.

The Gospel is an ideal reading for this Sunday; and brings together all these themes.

It starts with complaints from “the Pharisees and the scribes” about Jesus’ terrible friends, who are “tax-collectors and sinners”, to whom he gives “hospitality and table-fellowship”.

In reply, Jesus tells three stories, the first two of which, about the shepherd who mislays a sheep and a woman who loses a coin, you must read on your own this week.

For next Sunday’s Gospel continues with that loveliest of parables we call “The Prodigal Son” (though some argue it should be called “The Prodigal Father”).

Neither of the two sons in the story behave particularly well, the younger son virtually declaring his father dead, and the elder seething with rage at the father’s tolerance.

What we are invited to notice is the way the father behaves; for when the younger son is overcome, not by remorse but by hunger, and returns home, it is clear that the father has his binoculars trained on the road, hoping that he might come back.

Lessons through failure HAT’S to be learned through failure, through being humbled by our own faults? Generally that’s the only way we grow.

In being humbled by our own inadequacies, we learn those lessons in life that we are deaf to when we are strutting in confidence and pride.

There are secrets, says author John Updike, which are hidden from health. This lesson is everywhere in scripture and permeates every spirituality in every religion worthy of the name.

Biblical scholar Fr Raymond E Brown offers an illustration of this from scripture.

Reflecting on how at one point in its history God’s chosen people, Israel, betrayed its faith and was consequently humiliated and thrown into a crisis about God’s love and concern for them, Fr Brown points out that, long-range, this seeming disaster ended up being a positive experience: “Israel learned more about God in the ashes of the Temple destroyed by the Babylonians than in the elegant period of the Temple under Solomon.”

What does he mean by that? Just prior to being conquered by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, Israel had experienced what, to all outside appearances, looked like the high point of her history (politically, socially, and religiously).

She was in possession of the promised land, had subdued all her enemies, a great king ruling over her, and a magnificent

Nicholas King SJ

Jesus lets you choose

Then we hear his reaction: “He was gutted.

And he ran and fell on [his son’s] neck. And kissed him.” And we notice that he does not wait to hear the son’s carefully prepared speech, but orders “the Number One robe…a ring on his hand…sandals on his feet; and slaughter of the fatted calf. And let’s eat and have a party!”

This God (for it is absolutely clear we are talking about the Almighty here) is infatuated with love for his people; reflect on this fact as you struggle to the middle of Lent.

The elder son finds this absolutely infuriating. He stands outside the house, in rage at the father’s forgiving ways; and the father has to come out to try to persuade him inside.

With consummate artistry, Luke does not tell us whether or not the elder brother agrees to join them and enter the house. And the reason for that is presumably that it is you, the reader, who has to make the difficult decision about joining the party.

What kind of a God is it that you want at this stage of your Lenten journey?

Southern Crossword #855

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final reflection

can learn more about God in the ashes of this crisis than it did during its elegant periods of grand cathedrals, burgeoning Church growth, and unquestioned acquiescence to ecclesial authority.

It can also learn more about itself, its blindness to its own faults, and its need for structural change and personal conversion.

Hopefully, like the Babylonian exile for Israel, this too will be for the churches something that’s positive in the end.

Moreover, what’s true institutionally for the Church (and, no doubt, for other organisations) is also true for each of us in our personal lives.

The humiliations that beset us because of our inadequacies, complacencies, failures, betrayals, and blindness to our own faults can be occasions to “fall upward”, to learn in the ashes what we didn’t learn in the winner’s circle.

Almost without exception, our major successes in life, our grander achievements, and the boost in status and adulation that come generally don’t deepen us in any way.

To paraphrase psychologist James Hillman, success usually doesn’t bring a shred of depth into our lives.

Conversely, if we reflect with courage and honesty on what has brought depth and character into our lives, we will have to admit that in virtually every case, it would be something with an element of shame to it—feeling inadequate about our own body, some humiliating element in our upbringing, some shameful moral failure in our life, or something in our character about which we feel some shame. These are the things that have given us depth.

Humiliation makes for depth; it drives us into the deeper parts of our soul.

Unfortunately, however, that doesn’t always make for a positive result. The pain of humiliation makes us deep; but it can make us deep in two ways: in understanding and empathy but also in a bitterness of soul that would have us get even with the world.

But the positive point is this: Like Israel on the shores of Babylon, when our temple is damaged or destroyed, in the ashes of that exile we have a chance to see some deeper things to which we are normally blind.

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ACROSS

3. Ian’s sheep among the first Christians (9) 8. Greek god that turns sore (4) 9. No money? Oh, after the wedding (9) 10. Chanter in the choir (6) 11. A test about a place like Maryland (5) 14. It will soothe the skin (5) 15. Leave the stage (4) 16. There are clappers in them in church (5) 18. Touch the tuba (4) 20. Abram settled here (Gn 13) (5) 21. Warms to flying creatures (5) 24. Tutu will feature in it (6) 25. He will talk to you like a Dutch uncle (9) 26. Three in a riot (4) 27. Garment against the skin (9)

DOWN

x1. Throne on top of the ark (Ex 26) (5,4) 2. The centurion in Acts 10 (9) 4. Jesus said we’ll always have them with us (Mt 26) (4) 5. Make your choice (5) 6. Prisoner (6) 7. There and back by midday (4) 9. Where Moses struck the rock (Ex 17) (5) 11. Where Melchizedek was king (Hb 7) (5) 12. Serving as a model for your imitation (9) 13. Pay it when you take notice (9) 17. This campaign will hurt your reputation (5) 19. Number of tribes and apostles (6) 22. Restore and resume (5) 23. Caesar’s head was on it (Mt 22) (4) Solutions on page 11 24. Second Greek letter (4)

CHURCH CHUCKLE

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Jesuit and a Franciscan sat down to dinner, after which apple pie was served as dessert.

There were two pieces of pie, one small and the other large.

The Jesuit reached over and took the larger piece for himself.

The Franciscan remonstrated: “St Francis always taught us to take the smaller piece.”

The Jesuit replied: “And there you have it.”

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