The
S outher n C ross www.scross.co.za
April 17 to April 23, 2019
Sipuka: Don’t abuse the ‘gift of car’
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Reg No. 1920/002058/06
No 5132
R10 (incl VAT RSA)
Fr Ralph de Hahn: Was Resurrection a real deal?
Pope’s youth doc must now be put in action
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HE IS RISEN!
Why I still want to be a priest
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The editor and staff of The Southern Cross wish all readers, advertisers, Associates, pilgrims, supporters, contributors, bishops, clergy, religious, and all our friends a blessed Easter filled with the hope and joy of our Risen Lord.
BY ERIN CARELSE
Y
OUTH chaplains and coordinators will meet in Mariannhill in May to discuss Pope Francis’ new document on the youth. The conference on the pope’s apostolic exhortation Christus vivit (“Christ Lives”), which was released this month, will be at Trefontane retreat house in Mariannhill from May 20-23. Presentations will be held on the final document of last year’s Synod of Bishops on the Youth and the apostolic exhortation, which is the pope’s reflection and recommendations on the deliberations of the synod. Fr Mthembeni Dlamini CMM, the national youth chaplain for the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, said that Christus vivit will require time, discussion and studying. He warned that unless there are strong and vibrant youth ministries in parishes, implementation of the document will be difficult. Christus vivit touches not only on what was said during the synod on the theme of young people, the faith and vocational discernment, but also what the youth said during a pre-synod gathering that took place in Rome in March 2018. “You cannot understand the exhortation unless you’ve read the final document on the synod of bishops, because that lays the foundation in terms of what the bishops discussed and what they saw as a need for the young people,” Fr Dlamini said. At the May conference, presentations will be made on the final document and exhortation, and there will be discussions on how the youth ministry in the bishops’ conference region can be helped to grow. “We will start off with discussions on the final document which will lay the foundation and give perspective on the exhortation, and then go more in-depth on [Christus vivit] because it gives practical points on how we can respond to young people and ways of
Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation Christus Vivit will be studied for implementation by youth chaplains in Mariannhill next month. The document contains the pope's reflections on the 2018 Synod of Bishops on young people. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS) how we can apply the exhortation,” Fr Dlamini explained. “These documents need implementation and the SACBC doesn’t have much influence when it comes to what’s going to happen at the parish. We influence the dioceses, but sometimes they don’t engage much with us at the SACBC, which creates more difficulty in terms of the young people, as the parish is where they are,” Fr Dlamini said. The youth chaplain hopes that the diocesan structures will implement the document on the parish level so that the pastors, parish councils and adult parishioners are aware of what needs to be done for young people. “We can’t just throw a document at the young people and say, ‘This is for you; read it’. We have to journey with them in terms of implementation because we have to be a part of it, as adults, as clergy, as religious, as parents,” he said. Christus vivit, which is presented as a letter to young people, concludes with “a wish” from Pope Francis: “Dear young people, my Continued on page 2
Fr John Thompson SDB inserts five grains of incense—representing the wounds of Christ— into the Easter candle, held By Deacon Victor Ho, during last year’s Easter Vigil Mass at the church of St John Bosco in Robertsham, Johannesburg. That evening, the lights in the church were extinguished, parishioners were given unlit candles and asked to move outside where Fr Thompson blessed and lit the Easter Candle from a fire symbolising God the creator of all. The candle is symbolic of Jesus the light of the world. Parishioners were then led inside in procession behind the lit candle. At the door, altar servers lit the congregants’ candles from the Easter candle. Easter this year is on April 21. (Photo: Mark Kisogloo)
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