190501

The

S outher n C ross

May 1 to May 7, 2019

Reg No. 1920/002058/06

Catholic marathon legend wins with the rosary

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No 5133

www.scross.co.za

R10 (incl VAT RSA)

How sermons could be better

A rare breed: Four saintly politicians

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Page 10

Cardinal Napier: Why I published my new book

BY ERIN CARELSE

C The smoke of incense and the light filtering through stained-glass windows interplay to create a stunning effect during the Chrism Mass in Johannesburg’s cathedral of Christ the King.

The Mass was presided over by Archbishop Buti Tlhagale. (Photo: Sheldon Reddiar)

And now for the bad news

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NOTHER year of sharp increases in the production and distribution of The Southern Cross is forcing us to increase the cover price of the newspaper as of next week to R12.

“We realise that this is a significant increase, but we are confident that our loyal readers realise that it is absolutely necessary to ensure the survival of The Southern Cross,” said Rosanne Shields, chair of the board of the Catholic Newspaper & Publishing Company, which publishes South Africa’s only national Catholic weekly.

The only alternative to a price increase was to put the continued existence of The Southern Cross in danger. “This was not a risk we wanted to take as The Southern Cross prepares to enter its 100th year,” Ms Shields said.

The newspaper survives on sales and advertising, and the generosity of the contributors to our Associates Campaign. It receives no Church subsidies.

“We are confident that our readers will remain loyal to us even after the price in-

crease,” Ms Shields said.

She pointed out that The Southern Cross is operating on a very tight budget.

“This year, our dedicated staff have not received a salary increase, something which they accepted because they are dedicated to The Southern Cross and the important work it is doing in South Africa’s Catholic Church,” Ms Shields said.

She added that R12 is still less than half the price of a gossip magazine. “The Southern Cross does one more good than any of those.”

Ms Shields asked parishes to continue or begin to market and promote The Southern Cross, including the digital edition, which is exactly the same as the print edition.

The annual subscription to the print issue will increase to R550, but the rate for the digital edition will for now remain at R420, which works out to just R8 per week!

To subscribe to The Southern Cross (digital or hardcopy) contact Michelle at subscriptions@ scross.co.za or call 021 465-5007. n See also editorial on page 6.

ARDINAL Wilfrid Napier hopes his new book, The Here and Now Christian, will be bought not just for curiosity’s sake, but that it will inspire people about the issues raised.

The book includes Cardinal Napier’s columns in The Southern Cross as well as a previously unpublished interview from 2013 with Günther Simmermacher, editor of The Southern Cross.

The Here and Now Christian, which has been arranged into 28 chapters, gives the cardinal’s response to social issues, reflection on how they affect society, and suggestions of actions .

Speaking to Radio Veritas’ Khanya Litabe, Cardinal Napier recalled how the inspiration for the book’s title came about.

“One of the deacons [in the archdiocese of Durban] was giving a catechism class to the confirmation kids and was explaining what the bishop was going to do. The thought then crossed his mind as to whether these kids even know who their archbishop is? So he asked the question, ‘Do you know who the archbishop of Durban is?’, and a hand shot up and immediately said Desmond Tutu. The deacon was so taken aback by the response that he said he has to do something about this.”

That’s when a group of Catholics in Durban started Catholics Awake.

The aim of the group was to inform the parishes of Durban archdiocese about the life and activities of their archbishop.

They held meetings and functions to promote the group and Cardinal Napier was asked to give talks at these meetings.

“The very first function I was called to speak at was entitled ‘The Here and Now’— and that was how the book was born and subsequently got its title,” the cardinal explained.

In his book, the cardinal speaks about violence in South Africa and suggests: “An essential ingredient for a good life in a good

S outher n C ross Pilgrimage

human society is good people living in good families.

That I think is the secret, that’s the core of how we’re going to get South Africa turned around,” he said.

“Pope Francis after his election, and after having listened very carefully during the pre-conclave talks where the cardinals shared their concerns about the world, the state of their country and Church, heard this call for renewal and for reform and the first things he said was, ‘Let’s have a synod about marriage and the family’,” Cardinal Napier said.

“This shows that he clearly sees it at the starting point for any renewal or reform. If you want good strong family’s you have to have good strong marriages. Marriage and the family have to really be the core interest of our churches.”

In his Radio Veritas interview, Cardinal Napier expressed his thanks to Dawn Haynes, who compiled and edited the book, and Rob Riedlinger, who produced it.

“They’ve laid the book out beautifully, with a little introduction, where it gives the situation of how it fits into what was going on either in my life or the country or the Church, and then right at the end, there are practical suggestions on how you could apply what you’ve just read to situations around you,” Cardinal Napier said in the Radio Veritas interview.

The Here and Now Christian is published by Sunrise Publications and can be ordered online at www.hereandnowchristian.co.za for R200.

A discount is offered on bulk orders, and proceeds from the book will benefit the Napier Centre 4 Healing, an aftercare facility for post-rehab addiction residents.

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2

The Southern Cross, May 1 to May 7, 2019

LOCAL

Communities speak out on sexual abuse

BY RAYMOND PERRIER

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A coalition of faith communities and partners met at a conference to discuss sexual and gender-based violence across South Africa. Among those present were (from left) Anglican Bishop Dino Gabriel of KwaZulu-Natal; Gretta Makhwenke, Methodist Church of Southern Africa Women’s Manyano president; Fr Russell Pollitt SJ, director of the Jesuit Institute; Daniela Gennrich, coordinator of We Will Speak Out South Africa (WWSOSA); Nomabelu Mvambo-Dandala, director of Diakonia Council of Churches; and Rev Bafana Khumalo, deputy-chair of WWSOSA.

Catholic media unite to lead Mauritius trip for papal visit STAFF REPORTER

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OR the first time, South Africa’s leading Catholic media organisations are joining forces to host a shared event.

The Southern Cross, with Radio Veritas and Spotlight.Africa, is headlining a tour to Mauritius to attend the papal Mass with Pope Francis on September 9.

The newspaper has in the past collaborated with Radio Veritas to stage joint pilgrimages, but this is the first time the web-based Spotlight comes “on board”.

The tour to Mauritius from September 7-14 will be led by Fr Russell Pollitt SJ, co-editor of Spotlight and director of the Jesuit Institute.

Southern Cross editor Günther Simmermacher said these collaborations are a sign that the Catholic media are working together fraternally to spread the Good News.

“The various Catholic media complement one another,” he said, “and the fact of the three logos being presented together on the programme gives concrete expression to that.”

Mr Simmermacher appears regularly on Radio Veritas and has contributed to Spotlight, while Fr Pollitt is also a frequent voice on the radio station and in The Southern Cross.

Radio Veritas takes charge of the

distribution of The Southern Cross in Johannesburg.

“We are all interlinked and supportive of one another,” Mr Simmermacher said.

He noted that the trip to Mauritius is not billed as a pilgrimage, even though it includes elements of pilgrimage.

“We are going above all for the papal Mass, of course, and we will tour the important Catholic sites in and around the capital, Port-Louis. And Fr Pollitt will conduct a retreat at the beach, so there is a definite spiritual side to it,” Mr Simmermacher said.

“However, if you are in Mauritius, you probably also want to take advantage of sunshine, sea and beach by enjoying the many leisure activities on offer or just relax a bit, so we set aside a few days for that as well,” he said. “It’s the best of both worlds.” n For more information, contact info@fowlertours.co.za or 076 3523809 or go to www.fowlertours.co.za/ mauritius for the downloadable itinerary with booking form.

COALITION of faith communities and partners working to prevent and end sexual and gender-based violence across South Africa has vowed to speak out.

We Will Speak Out SA held its AGM and a conference at the Diakonia Centre in Durban in April.

About 130 people attended the conference, titled “From Rhetoric to Action”.

Senior faith leaders, including KwaZulu-Natal Anglican Bishop Dino Gabriel, were present, and Fr Russell Pollitt, director of the Jesuit Institute SA, was among the speakers.

Addressing a panel that looked at the progress and challenges in working to ensure that faith communities are safe and free of abuse, Bishop Gabriel spoke from personal experience: one of his own daughters was abused.

He listed the ways the Anglican diocese of KwaZulu-Natal’s gender

ministry focused on education as well as legal and pastoral action.

Gretta Makhwenkwe, president of the SA Methodist Church’s Women’s Manyano, explained how the women’s league has worked in communities to fight abuse in all forms, and outlined how members strengthened their advocacy work after speaking out against high-profile incidents in 2018.

Fr Pollitt spoke about the February abuse meeting called by Pope Francis in Rome.

He also outlined the protocols that have been developed by the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference since the mid1990s.

Fr Pollitt showed how the protocols go further than just abuse.

They demand, for example, that clergy and Church workers are in ongoing formation, that sermons are well-prepared, and that Church administration is done properly and kept up to date.

After the panel presented, there was time for questions, clarification, and discussion.

Members of a second panel, comprising victims of sexual and gender violence, spoke about their experiences and the failure of faith communities to protect them.

Many people present were emotionally moved by the witness of the victims.

While many denominations had a significant presence at the conference, no official representative from the archdiocese of Durban was present, nor priests of the archdiocese in a personal capacity. Fr Pollitt was invited as a guest speaker.

After deep and thoughtful engagements, a number of concrete proposals were made for joint action between faith communities.

These included initiatives in advocacy, communication and education, and the urgent need for further study and the development of theology, especially in the area of gender and sexuality.

Youths reach out to children in care

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OMETIMES reaching out to the peripheries can be child’s play.

That was the experience of Dion Mkhosana, a student at New Bophelong High School in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng, and a member of the Young Christian Students (YCS) movement.

Dion organised an outreach with other YCSers to share donations and play games with the children at Unity Children’s Home.

“We had lots and lots of fun,” he said.

In the YCS movement, young people build their own leadership for the common good. This includes campaigns and projects that benefit the rest of society, Dion explained.

YCS uses the “See-Judge-Act” method to deal with social matters at school, in homes and in the community at large.

YCS members of Sapphire and Bophelong high schools joined Dr Molefi Oliphant High in this outreach, having fun and a good time.

Parents are proud of the students, who received support from teachers, principals and fellow students in this initiative.

Dion encouraged other students “to do good for others”, even beyond their own communities.

Following the children’s home visit, he joined YCS members from Immaculata High School in Diepkloof, Soweto, at the Thato Ke

Members of the Young Christian Students movement joined children and caregivers for a day of fun activities at Thato Ke Matla Care Centre in Orange Farm, Soweto.

Matla Care Centre in Orange Farm.

This centre was started, under difficult circumstances, by a community member who witnessed the neglect and eventual death of a young orphan called Thato.

“Such outreach projects should be duplicated by other young people,” Dion said, “as it helped me

not only to build my own leadership, but with the other YCS members we were able to put a smile on the faces of young children and their carers at the two centres.” n For more information on YCS, contact the movement’s chaplain, Fr Mokesh Morar, at mokeshm@gmail. com

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The Southern Cross, May 1 to May 7, 2019

LOCAL

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Catholic marathon legend does it with a Rosary B

BY ERIN CARELSE

ONGMUSA MTHEMBU, known for crossing the finishing line with his rosary around his neck, has added to his list of accolades by winning the men’s ultra leg of the 2019 Two Oceans Marathon—a race he hadn’t even planned to win.

Of course, he again wore the rosary as he crossed the finish line.

The three-time Comrades Marathon winner won his first Two Oceans crown, thereby cementing his place as the country’s top ultradistance runner in the 50th edition of the world-famous 56km race.

Speaking to The Southern Cross, Mr Mthembu said he was well prepared mentally for the race.

“I’m happy that I won—even though it wasn’t my plan to,” he said.

“The Two Oceans is just preparation and training for my main race,

which is the Comrades Marathon. It was my plan to run and to compete, so to run and win means a lot to me and it’s great for my career,” he said.

“I’m very happy to have finally won it. It was a great victory for South Africa. Now I must recover in time for the Comrades Marathon in June,” he told The Southern Cross.

The 35-year old crossed the finish line in 3 hours, 8 minutes and 40 seconds, the fastest time since Stephen Muzhingi’s win in 2012 and the fastest ever on the Ou Kaapse Weg course.

“It was just a pity and a little disappointing that they changed the route,” he added.

Organisers made a late route change after police warned them of a “credible and real threat to event safety” due to disruptions.

The threat has also forced the cancellation of the inaugural relay race.

The decision was taken to change

Fr Ronald Cairns, parish priest and longtime resident of Alexandra township in Johannesburg, met President Cyril Ramaphosa (centre) and Gauteng premier David Makhura on an ANC elections visit to Alex.

Alex priest meets Ramaphosa

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ATHER Ronald Cairns OMI, parish priest of St Hubert’s in Alexandra and a resident of the Johannesburg township since 1988, met with President Cyril Ramaphosa and Gauteng premier David Makhura to tell them about the challenges the community is facing.

The politicians were electioneering in Alexandra on behalf of the African National Congress.

Fr Cairns has received the Elder of the Struggle and Icon of Alexandra award, and offers this recognition for the glory of God and the witness and presence of the Church.

the route from going through Chapman’s Peak and Hout Bay, and diverted participants over Ou Kaapse Weg instead.

Professional runner, Mr Mthembu, who hails from Bulwer near Pietermaritzburg, has completed nine Two Oceans ultras, winning three gold medals and finishing fifth last year.

“Of course I ran with my rosary again,” he said. “That’s how I grew up, how my mother and my father raised us. For our family, the Church has always been our number one priority.

“The rosary reminds me that everything I have achieved in my career is through the grace of God.” South African Gerda Steyn successfully defended her women's title in 3:31.29. This is the first time that both Two Oceans champions are South Africans since Joshua Peterson and Sarah Mahlangu won in 2000.

Marathon runner Bongmusa Mthembu, seen here winning last year’s Comrades, has won this year’s Two Oceans Marathon, despite not planning to do so. He again wore his rosary, saying the Church is always his first priority.

Students speak of their Lenten paths

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ATHOLIC students in the Eastern Cape offered personal stories of their Lenten journeys in response to a questionnaire.

The executive committee of the Association of Catholic Tertiary Students (ACTS) asked members to reflect on Lent, prompted by several questions. Among them were: • What does fasting mean to you as a student and young person of the Church?

• Is it important to take part in Lenten activities and also set some Lenten goals as an individual?

• Is your lifestyle as a student affecting your prayer life, negatively or positively? Give reasons.

• What have you done as a student to improve the prayer life/faith of others around you during lent?

• What do you hope to achieve at the end of this Lenten period?

What would you like to arise in you when Jesus rises from the dead?

“Fasting means abstinence from the things we love as students,” wrote one member.

“Fasting means sacrificing what you love, as Christ sacrificed for 40

days and 40 nights.

“Lent means doing good for other people, avoiding sinning, and praying more often.

“It also means being able to prepare for the death of Christ, so that he can be born again in our hearts, giving us purer and more sincere hearts.”

Another ACTS student replied: “It is important to take part in Lenten activities because it strengthens you as a Catholic, and helps you to become a better Christian.

“We walk with Christ, and we also ask for the Holy Spirit to be with us, as the Spirit was with Christ during this period.

“It is also important because you learn how to become faithful to the lord the same way he remains faithful to us.”

One ACTS member mentioned that the student lifestyle affects Lent positively and negatively.

“Negatively, it might be difficult

to take no food and water at all, and then go and study. One may also fail to attend prayer services at night because of safety concerns.

“Positively, being a student forces you to pray hard, pray to God for the wisdom to be consistent in your studies.”

Another member said that with Jesus’ Resurrection, Christians should be stronger people spiritually.

“We should be able to trust God entirely with our lives wherever he sends us, because he will not take us where his grace will not protect us.

“We as young people should hope to achieve a greater closeness with Christ and the zeal, courage and strength to know Christ more and to spread his word: to finally stand tall as young people and be an instrument of his peace, love and joy.”

The ACTS Eastern Cape branch also tried to improve other young people’s lives during Lent by inviting them to ACTS sessions and to church, and by encouraging them to join in Lenten fasting, praying and almsgiving.

CE I R P L A I C PE S R E T N I W R C/W O O D C N I Z U-

AL E L G N I S D 00 .

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The Southern Cross, May 1 to May 7, 2019

INTERNATIONAL

‘Septic tank’ grave stories were a hoax

BY MICHAEL KELLY

T

HE commission investigating the historical treatment of unmarried mothers and their children in religious-run care homes in Ireland has dismissed claims that an underground burial plot was in fact a sewage tank.

When news of the common grave on the grounds of the former state-controlled home run by the Sisters of Bon Secours in Tuam was first reported in the media in 2014, an Irish newspaper claimed up to 800 children who died at the home had been buried in a septic tank. The story quickly circled the globe and caused a wave of anger and revulsion.

However, in an interim report, the Commission of Investigation of the Mother and Baby Homes said: “In the light of a great deal of inaccurate commentary about the Tuam site, the commission considers it important to emphasise what it has established and what it has not established”.

It continued, making clear that the “human remains found by the commission are not in a sewage tank”.

But, the report also stated that these chambers were not a recognised burial ground or purposebuilt burial chamber and that it “did not provide for the dignified interment of human remains”.

Reacting to the report, Katherine Zappone, Ireland’s minister for children and youth affairs, also insisted that there is no evidence that children born in the home were secretly “sold” to American couples as has been alleged in some media reports.

The report said there “is little basis for the theory that rather

than having died, the children were ‘sold’ to America”.

Ms Zappone said there is “no evidence whatsoever that could support that theory”.

The report includes findings in relation to the Tuam Home burials, which were uncovered and publicised by local historian Catherine Corless.

The report noted that “the Sisters of Bon Secours who ran the Tuam Home were unable to provide any information about the burials there”.

“The commission is surprised by lack of knowledge about the burials on the part of Galway County Council and the Sisters of the Bon Secours,” it said.

In relation to some other homes, the commission also expressed surprise that while there were records of the deaths, some of the religious congregations involved had no information on where children who died in the homes were buried.

Ms Zappone said there may be people in local communities who have information about the burials. She appealed to those with knowledge of the practices at the institutions to “let us know where they are buried”.

“Please come forward, tell the truth. Let us acknowledge the truth that they lived and died,” she said.

During his visit to Ireland in August, Pope Francis met with former residents of the institutions who told him of their experiences.

He later wrote to Ms Zappone, saying he is praying that efforts by the government and the Irish Church will help “face responsibly this tragic chapter in Ireland’s history”.—CNS

Stonyhurst College yields its mysteries

BY JONATHAN LuxMOORE

Spanish Armada invasion fleet. It intensified following the failed 1605 Gunpowder Plot by Catholic militants against King James I, although Masses continued to be secretly celebrated at great personal risk by undercover Jesuit priests.

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HEN Stonyhurst College was founded at Saint-Omer in the Spanish Netherlands by the recusant Jesuit Father Robert Persons in 1593, persecuted Catholic priests faced a mandatory death sentence if caught ministering in England.

More than four centuries later, Stonyhurst, the world’s oldest Jesuit school, houses a remarkable collection of relics relating to the country’s many martyrs.

“Many things were being destroyed in Reformation England, so when Catholic boys came abroad to the school, they’d bring vestments, manuscripts and precious objects for safekeeping,” explained Jan Graffius, the collection’s curator.

“This makes us part of the story and means we know what it was like to be targeted,” she said. “At a time when people know little about the struggles of the past, these relics provide a graphic reminder of what Catholics faced in upholding their faith.”

Under a nearby glass cover lie two time worn hats once sported by St Thomas More (1478-1535), the English chancellor beheaded for refusing to accept his Church’s break with Rome. There’s also a red velvet Book of Hours carried by Mary Queen of Scots to her execution at Fotheringay Castle in 1587.

In 1794, when the school was forced to flee the French Revolution, its collection was already extensive.

It was lucky to have the current site donated by a former student, Thomas Weld, father of Cardinal Thomas Weld (1773-1837).

The Stonyhurst Collection, now

I Jesuit-run Stonyhurst College, in Lancashire, England. being opened to visitors, has continued expanding.

Its earliest exhibits include a piece of jawbone, documented to early medieval times, said to come from St Stephen. its most recent relic is a piece of the bloodied vestment worn

by St Oscar Romero of El Salvador when he was assassinated on March 24, 1980, while celebrating Mass.

“These objects tell their own stories, and people engaging with them can feel uncomfortable, even revolted. But no one remains indifferent and everyone has questions to ask,” Ms Graffius said.

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ngland’s Catholic Church was effectively outlawed under Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603), who implemented her father’s break with Rome while officially seeking a Protestantled compromise, or “middle way”.

Persecution was stepped up after Pope Pius V declared the queen excommunicated and deposed in 1570, and following the 1588 rout of the

n all, 23 Stonyhurst pupils were executed between 1610 and 1680; three have been canonised as martyrs and a dozen beatified.

The Stonyhurst Collection also contains some macabre items: a piece of the battered skull of the 12th-century martyr St Thomas Becket, preserved after his Canterbury shrine was smashed in 1539; the shoulder blade of a priest executed at Durham in 1590, still bearing knife slashes; and the eyeball of a beatified Jesuit, Fr Edward Oldcorne, brutally killed at Worcester for alleged complicity in the Gunpowder Plot.

Although religious restrictions began to be eased in England after the 1829 Catholic Relief Act, Catholic persecution victims were publicly commemorated only after the canonisation of 40 English and Welsh martyrs by Pope Paul VI in 1970. The keeping of relics, stamped out with the Reformation, has been much less common in England than in continental Europe.

Where they survive, they provide a tangible link with past martyrs and faith witnesses, Ms Graffius said.

“Today, we still ask our children to do the right things in a world not very sympathetic to religious values.

And though conditions are now quite different, Christians are still being persecuted. It isn’t just ancient history.”—CNS

Vatican: St Peter’s won’t burn down Catechism language

BY CINDY WOODEN

A

FTER the devastating fire at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, Romans and tourists could not help looking at St. Peter's Basilica and wondering, “What if?”

But Paolo De Angelis, head of the Vatican fire department, told the Italian news agency ANSA that the structural differences between Notre Dame and the basilica and, especially, the differences in the materials used, make a catastrophic fire at St Peter'’ less likely.

While the attic of Notre Dame was known as “the forest” because of the lattice of oak beams supporting the roof, in St Peter’s, he said, most of the supports are in stone or masonry. The few wood beams, he said, are covered in a fire-resistant varnish and are constantly monitored by an ultramodern fire-alarm system.

In addition, Major De Angelis said: “We have an advantage with respect to Paris in that the response time would be much less. From the barracks, we can see the basilica.

With a fire, response time is crucial.”

One area of particular concern is the Apostolic Palace, which houses the papal apartments that Pope Francis does not use, but also the papal library and formal meeting rooms and part of the Vatican Museums. According to the Attivita della Santa Sede, a volume containing the annual reports of every Vatican office, the firefighters inspect the building's large attic in person every afternoon.

The Vatican fire department has three dozen firefighters, providing round-the-clock protection to the people and buildings in Vatican City State. Most of their work consists in a constant series of appointed rounds to inspect the buildings and

fire extinguishers, hoses and hydrants.

But the firefighters also have had advanced training in flying drones to inspect those hard-to-reach places.

They do get regular emergency calls, especially to free people from blocked lifts and to pump water out of basements and other low-lying areas after a rain.

The Attivita della Santa Sede 2015, the most recent volume published, said only three fires were reported throughout the Vatican, its offices and apartments that year.

In almost every interview, De Angelis has given over the past five years, he has described the most challenging and physically demanding calls as being those to rescue people suffering from a panic attack or a suspected heart attack while attempting to climb the 551 steps from the basilica floor to the top of the dome.

In 2015, firefighters were called 21 times to help someone on the steep, narrow and winding staircase.—CNS

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

‘bad on homosexuality’

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US Cardinal has said that the language used by the Catechism of the Catholic Church to describe homosexual acts is “very unfortunate”, adding that he hopes the Catechism will use different language in its discussion of homosexuality.

“The Church, I think, is having its own conversation about what our faith has us do and say with people in relationships that are same-sex. What should be without debate is that we are called to welcome them,” Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, said in a television interview.

“But how can you welcome people that you call ‘intrinsically disordered’?” the interviewer asked.

“Well, I don’t call them ‘intrinsically disordered’,” Archbishop Tobin answered.

“But isn’t that the Catechism of the Catholic Church?” the interviewer asked.

“That is,” Archbishop Tobin said, adding: “It’s very unfortunate language. Let’s hope that eventually that language is a little less hurtful.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered”, a phrase it also uses to describe other sexual acts taught by the Church as immoral.

The Catechism does not describe homosexual persons themselves as “intrinsically disordered”, though it does say that homosexual inclination, along with other inclinations toward sexual sin, is “objectively disordered”.

In a prior paragraph, the Catechism says that “sexual pleasure is morally disordered when sought for itself, isolated from its procreative and unitive purposes”.

The Catechism adds that “men

Cardinal Joseph Tobin. (Photo: Daniel Ibanez/CNA) and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies…must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.”

Archbishop Tobin endorsed a 2017 book, Building a Bridge, by Fr James Martin SJ, which has also called for the Church to amend the language with which it discusses homosexuality.

The archbishop said of the book that “in too many parts of our Church LGBT people have been made to feel unwelcome, excluded, and even shamed. Fr Martin’s brave, prophetic, and inspiring new book marks an essential step in inviting Church leaders to minister with more compassion, and in reminding LGBT Catholics that they are as much a part of our Church as any other Catholic.”— CNA

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, May 1 to May 7, 2019

5

bishops Columbine survivor Rwandan regret genocide letter who became a nun R

M

ANY years before she entered religious life, Sr Mary Gianna Thornby was an ordinary high school pupil at Columbine High School in the suburbs of Denver in the US. Like many high schoolers, she occasionally struggled with her identity, had experienced some bullying and ultimately just wanted to fit in. She wasn’t raised in a Christian home; at that time, God, faith—and certainly the Catholic Church—didn’t register on her radar.

All that changed 20 years ago on April 20, 1999.

Mary Gianna had a habit, she said, of going to the library to study every single day during lunch period and she and a friend even changed their schedules so they would have two hours off during lunch to study together in the library.

That April morning, sitting in art class right before the lunch hour, Sr Mary Gianna said she felt an overwhelming urge to leave school. She says she remembers thinking: “I’m going to go home, and no one’s going to talk me out of not leaving.”

On that morning, two students— 17 and 18 years old—began shooting people at the high school, ultimately killing 13 and wounding more than 20 others before taking their own lives as well.

The violence perpetrated at Columbine would remain the most deadly shooting at a US high school until February 2018, when 17 students died at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Florida.

“I wondered: why wasn’t I there?” she mused. “Every other day I was there, but that one day—what gave me that urge to leave?”

She remembers being told by someone: “God must have a plan for your life.”

“I realised God existed, and he had a plan, but at the time I didn’t know who God was,” Sr Mary Gianna said.

She said she started drinking, going to parties, looking for other things to offer fulfillment—but she knew in her heart it wasn’t where she was supposed to be. In her final year of school, she said, she felt like she had finally reached “rock-bottom” and lost all hope.

“It was in those moments that I felt like I just couldn’t go on in life that one of my friends invited me to

Sr Mary Gianna Thornby, a survivor of the Columbine High massacre in 1999, who was led to religious life after the attack. the Catholic church of St Francis Cabrini in Littleton, Colorado,” she said.

Sr Mary Gianna said she found that God’s love was that thing she had been missing.

“Not only did God lead me out of Columbine that day—he was leading me home on that day. He was leading me to Himself,” Sr Mary Gianna said.

“And I wanted to say ‘Yes’ with all my heart to God’s plan. I realised that he had a plan, and I wanted to say ‘Yes’ to that plan.”

S

he ended up enrolling at Franciscan University, even though at first her father had misgivings about the cost. Later on, however, it seemed his heart had been changed.

Mary Gianna said her parents were very supportive of her faith and the direction her life took after her conversion.

She went through RCIA at the university, and at the Easter vigil Mass on March 30, 2002, at the age of 19, she was received into the Catholic Church.

Sr Mary Gianna experienced the call to religious life in 2008, when she went to the cathedral of St Paul in St Paul, Minnesota, and prayed that she would be able to enter into the Mass in a way she had never experienced before.

It was through Mass that she felt God’s presence before her. She walked out of the chapel changed; all she wanted was religious life.

Sri Lanka joins the list of Easter bombings

T

HE bombing attacks in Sri Lanka were the latest in a string of Easter terror attacks on churches, with one having occurred now in every one of the past five Easter feasts.

At least 290 people were killed and more than 500 injured in Easter attacks on three churches and three hotels in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan government blamed little-known Islamic group National Thowheeth Jama’ath for the suicide bombings.

The violence was the deadliest the country had seen since a 26-year civil war ended in 2009.

The other Easter attacks on churches this decade wewre: April 2, 2018: Four people were shot dead in an attack targeting Christians in the south western Pakistani city of Quetta on Easter Monday.

April 9, 2017: Bombings at two Coptic Orthodox churches in Egypt on Palm Sunday saw 45 people killed.

March 27, 2016: 75 people died and more than 300 were injured after bombs exploded in a park in a Christian neighbourhood of Lahore,

Police work the scene at St Sebastian church in Negombo, Sri Lanka, after bomb blasts ripped through churches and hotels. (Photo: Athit Perawongmetha, Reuters/CNS) Pakistan, as people celebrated following Easter services; the Taliban claimed responsibility.

April 2, 2015: Christian students were targeted as the University of Garissa, Kenya, was attacked on Holy Thursday; 148 people died.

April 8, 2012: A suicide car bombing at Easter church services in the Nigerian city of Kaduna killed at least 38 people; the Islamist group Boko Haram claimed responsibility.—CNS

She chose a charismatic, Franciscan, contemplative, and missionary order called the Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, which brought her to Prayer Town, Texas. She pronounced her final vows on August 4, 2018.

Twenty years on from the Columbine tragedy, Sr Mary Gianna said she thinks more of her former classmates are finding the strength to talk about what happened that day. She said she keeps in touch with some of her classmates, teachers, and the former principal of the school—especially her friend who left the school with her that day.

They’ve talked about the experience since.

“I often think of the greatest tragedy of Jesus being put to death on the Cross, and how it led to our salvation, and that even in the midst of the tragedy at Columbine, God can bring good,” she reflected.

“That he would bring life out of death. And I think we’ve seen that in a lot of ways.”

The religious sister says the Lord took her from a life of despair and hopelessness to a place of great joy for life, and a desire to share the “fullness of life” with others.

“I really feel like the suffering I’ve had in this life, I think it’s kept me close to the Lord. And I think it’s the call to trust God, that he never allows a tragedy or a heartbreak to happen unless he can bring a greater good out of it,” Sr Mary said.—CNA

The

WANDA’S Catholic bishops apologised for urging the release of some prisoners convicted for roles in the 1994 genocide, saying they realised by the reaction that they had caused much hurt.

The statement followed criticism of a pastoral letter that called for the release of old and ill convicts serving sentences for the mass killings.

“We wrote to Christians, encouraging them to continue promoting unity and reconciliation, while also seeking forgiveness,” the bishops said in a Swahili-language statement.

“This letter caused a lot of hurt, especially for what we requested on behalf of the elderly and sickest who are still in prison for the crime of genocide. We are saddened it offended people—this was not what we intended.”

The bishops said they especially regretted their appeal had caused anguish “at a great moment of mourning”.

More than 800 000 people, mostly from Rwanda’s Tutsi minority, were massacred from April to July 1994 with the connivance of the army, police and Hutu tribal militias.

The anniversary was marked at the Genocide Memorial Centre in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, at a commemoration attended by President Paul Kagame and leaders from Africa and the European Union.

“After this tragedy of genocide against the Tutsis, the light of the Lord’s Resurrection was not quenched—asking and giving forgiveness can become a means of building a tomorrow for everyone,” the bishops said.

Rosaries are seen near skulls of victims of the Rwandan genocide at the Genocide Memorial Centre in Kigali. Rwandan bishops have apologised for a letter asking for the release of ill genocide perpetrators. (Photo: Baz Ratner, Reuters) “There are genocide survivors and those close to them, especially widows and orphans, whom we must help bear the pain and accompany on a journey of self-reliance. There are also those imprisoned for genocide against Tutsi, including the elderly and those with illnesses. These persons should also be assisted.”

France’s La Croix daily said the bishops’ appeal had been criticised by victim groups and politicians in Rwanda, including Justice Minister Johnston Busingye, who said in a statement that the Church had no “moral authority” to demand a general pardon and “should first work on its own history and connections with the genocide regime”.

Catholic Church members makes up around half the 12,2 million population of Rwanda, where at least a dozen clergy were indicted for the genocide by an International Criminal Tribunal.—CNS

S outher n C ross

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6

The Southern Cross, May 1 to May 7, 2019

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

A question of survival

L

ATER this year, The Southern Cross will enter its 100th year of publication, culminating in its centenary in October 2020.

That jubilee will be a good time to reflect on a long history of service in the Church’s social communications apostolate.

In close to 100 years, The Southern Cross has not missed a single week’s publication, a consecutive record of more than 5 000 weekly editions, through the Great Depression of the 1930s, World War II in the 1940s, and the social upheaval of apartheid after that. It is a record that has few, if any, equals in South Africa.

But there are dark clouds on the horizon and above us. The existence of The Southern Cross in print form is in serious jeopardy— and when the print edition goes, so might its digital presence.

Decades of frugal financial management has kept The Southern Cross alive. But with declining circulation—due to the changing reading culture in society and the economic sabotage of the Post Office, on whom we rely on distribution—and simultaneous increases in the cost of producing the newspaper, The Southern Cross this year has to eat into its reserves to continue publication.

There is little more to squeeze out of the stone to effect cost-cutting measures. The present crisis is so severe that our staff have foregone the annual salary increases in March. It is a sacrifice that testifies to the love the people who produce The Southern Cross have for their newspaper and its mission, which is also the Church’s mission.

It is a love that is shared by the Associates of The Southern Cross, whose generous support over the past 17 years has been crucial in ensuring the newspaper’s survival.

Indeed, part of the reserves we now have to eat into are accumulated funds from the Associates Campaign.

B

ut the Associates’ Campaign and sacrifices by our staff alone are not enough to safeguard the future of The Southern Cross.

The lifeblood of a newspaper is its circulation and advertising.

By virtue of its web and social media presence, The Southern Cross has many more readers than just its print circulation, but the digital presence cannot sustain the newspaper. It is the readership of the print and digital editions and the advertisers that keep the publication going every week.

The answer to securing the future of South Africa’s only national Catholic weekly is to promote it in the parishes.

If every parish in South Africa were to increase the number of parishioners who read The Southern Cross by five or ten people, there would be no need to increase the cover price, as we have to do as of next week, and no need for editorials such as the one you are reading now.

The threat to The Southern Cross is not hostility to it but plain indifference—by laity, by priests, and by bishops.

Why do bishops not ask their parishes to proactively promote the national Catholic newspaper, in which they have collectively a 51% ownership? Why do most priests not mention The Southern Cross at Mass? Why do most parishes not have a team of Southern Cross sellers at their doors?

Why do most Catholics not make use of a newspaper which helps them grow in understanding of their faith?

The answer is indifference.

Should The Southern Cross one day go under, its gravestone may read “Killed by indifference”.

What would it say about the local Catholic Church if it doesn’t have a Catholic weekly anymore?

South Africa would be one of the very few major countries in the world where the Catholic Church would not have a national media presence. That would be embarrassing.

S

o, what is to be done? The Southern Cross has never asked the bishops’ conference to bail it out, and it is not our desire to ever do so—much as we are aware that it might be exactly because we never ask them for help that the bishops are oblivious to the crises we face.

But we do need the support of our bishops!

The promotion of The Southern Cross, and all Catholic media, must become an urgent priority before these Catholic media outlets cease to exist.

The bishops, in conference and in their dioceses, must act now.

One way would be to instruct all parishes with the capacity to do so to actively promote The Southern Cross, especially to introduce the newspaper to Catholics who don’t yet know it.

In the medium-term, bishops might form diocesan social communications committees tasked with raising media awareness in the parishes, and help promote Catholic media throughout their dioceses.

Priests can help by increasing their parish’s order of The Southern Cross, and promoting the newspaper every week from the pulpit.

One good way of doing so is by mentioning an interesting item or two in that week’s edition. Even a reference to the “Church Chuckle” might do the trick.

Parish councils can help by making The Southern Cross as visible as possible in the parish. The presence of people standing at the door to sell the newspaper assures better visibility than sticking the week’s edition in a corner of a crowded lobby.

Parishes could also form social communications groups, to promote Catholic media and perhaps its own community’s activities in a coordinated way.

Laypeople might sponsor issues of The Southern Cross for distribution to the housebound, patients in hospitals, residents in homes, to the local school library and other places where such reading material would be welcome and useful.

Business people could place advertisements to support us, as some are already doing, or perhaps sponsor an ad for a charity of their choice.

There must be many other ideas and experiences of promoting The Southern Cross. We would be glad to hear them, and share them with the Catholic community.

And we ask, of course, that you include The Southern Cross in your prayers, that this newspaper may survive by the collective engagement of the Catholic community of Southern Africa.

The Catholic Church in Southern Africa needs The Southern Cross, which represents one of the very few means of uniting a divided local Church.

It cannot be allowed to fade away by indifference. And the time to act to preserve our only Catholic weekly is now.

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.

Does anyone care about what we face?

O

VER the past few years there have been recurring themes in articles published in The Southern Cross, and my view is that they will continue to be merely debated, unless taken seriously and addressed.

Two of the most important issues, which affect all us Catholics, are the survival of our great evangelising newspaper, The Southern Cross, and the promotion throughout the country of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, which engages intimately with climate change.

There has been little serious engagement on either of these two issues by anyone, from the top of the hierarchy down to us parishioners.

There seems to be a built-in lethargy against doing anything by anyone. This malady is not only peculiar to Catholics but to the whole human race in general.

Let’s start with the survival of The Southern Cross. After the appeal for support from the newspaper’s management, I suggested that the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, as the major shareholder, authorise a yearly special collection to be taken up, the proceeds of which would be invested in a special growth fund to ensure the ongoing survival of the paper in its constant endeavour to spread the word of God.

Each priest can renew his parish

I

WONDER if many of our priests realise the importance of the role they play in the affairs of the Church. To justify saying this, I will relate the following.

Over many years my wife and I have visited our relations in England and attended a Catholic church in one of the suburbs of the town of Derby. On three occasions, over a good period of time, we both found the Mass there depressing.

Only the elderly were present, people did not speak to each other after Mass but hurried away, and the church hall stood empty.

As a result, the last time we were in Derby I was reluctant to go to Mass. Afterwards I was so pleased I did, because there had been an amazing transformation.

The resident priest was now a young Chinese man in his early thirties, and the church was full, with many young people. The priest’s homily was exceptional, bringing Christianity right up to date, and delivered with such enthusiasm.

On looking round, it was so pleasing to see that all attending

Up to now there has not been one word of reaction to the idea, giving the impression that neither hierarchy nor laity cares, even after appeals by Rosanne Shields, the chair of the board of directors, a few weeks ago. According to Ms Shields, it is the Associates Campaign that is keeping the newspaper alive.

Apart from the Associates, the unspoken message is that nobody cares. Can that really be so?

W

hich brings me to the subject of the promotion of Laudato Si’, which in essence covers the change in philosophy needed by humanity to preserve itself and the environment for the survival of current and future generations.

It is interesting and important to note that Pope Francis managed to publish his encyclical less than two years after his election as supreme pontiff and in time for the famous 2015 UN Paris Agreement on climate change.

At the Paris talks, all the nations actually agreed that action was needed, but so far this has been very inadequate in the view of the majority of the world’s scientists.

The tenacious grip of neoliberal capitalism exploits and consumes what little there is left of the world’s limited resources.

were wide awake and actively listening to what the priest was saying.

After Mass, most people went into the church hall, where coffee and tea were on sale. People sat at small tables and chatted. It was noticeable that the priest visited each table.

He then came and sat with us. I complimented him on what he had achieved. He gave me his e-mail address and we have corresponded.

My point is this: as a result of the priest’s positive and enthusiastic attitude, the Christian spirit in that church was alive and vibrant, as it should be.

Roy Glover, Knysna

Is it small wonder that it took the perception of 16-year-old Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thunberg to tell the 10 000 international delegates to the COP24 conference in Poland last year that they were too immature to be trusted with finding a solution to climate change, and that young people were not interested in being giving mere hope.

She told the conference delegates she wanted them all to panic now, and feel every day as each young person felt waking up every morning. And she effectively told them: “Keep out of our way from now on, we will do what’s necessary.”

Pope Francis made a point of greeting Greta Thunberg at a papal audience in mid-April.

Are we prepared to face all the vulnerable of the earth and tell them: “We don’t care where your next meal is coming from, whether you have a roof over your head, whether you have clean water to drink every day”?

If we are not prepared to do that, how are we going to love our neighbours as ourselves?

I see very clearly the Hand of God at work among the younger generation worldwide, in their vociferous objection to and rejection of our current way of life.

Antonio Tonin, East London 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

we ought to read each manifesto and not just the ones we prefer.

AR Bissett, Johannesburg

You can vote to oppose abortion

Priest urged us to ARILYN Cheketri is right when M she writes that no major party vote for ACDP opposes abortion (April 17). But

I

N reply to the letter by Marilyn Cheketri (April 17), the African Christian Democratic Party does oppose abortion.

In the parish I belonged to in Cape Town, we were urged to vote for this party because of their stance against abortion.

I don’t know if it is considered a major party, but to be able to vote

there are at least four minor parties (ACDP, CDP, ACO and VF) which not only oppose abortion but also homosexual marriage and pornography.

If all Christians in South Africa would vote for one of these parties, it would mean a hell of a change for the better in South Africa.

JH Goossens, Pretoria

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The Southern Cross, May 1 to May 7, 2019

PERSPECTIVES

How to preach better I ’M inspired by Pope Francis’ ability to be a world pastor, spiritual director and preacher par excellence.

He is known to go off-script and yet be able to deliver passionate homilies. His preaching is read by millions across the globe as his perspectives offer food for thought in a real world. He is in touch with the lived experiences of ordinary people across the world.

Pope Francis seems to be aware that at times priests struggle to deliver relevant and inspiring homilies. Yet it seems he believes it is within the capacity of every priest to preach the Gospel.

He has called on preachers to prepare their homilies diligently and to impart the Word of God with joy.

Pope Francis has asked that homilies not be boring but “touch the heart of the people because they come from your heart”.

According to research, some Catholics who leave the Church to join Evangelical churches do so because of poor homilies.

Many Catholics have lamented the quality of homilies and the challenge of listening attentively to poor ones. Sometimes these homilies may lack context for an adult congregation and could have been delivered to pre-schoolers.

It is in the homily that the level of spiritual depth of the priest is revealed to his congregation, like an open book. He may be seen to be standing firm in his faith and his personal intimacy with the Triune God which is expressed as an inspiring example for parishioners. Or his lack of intimacy with God becomes a damper on people who know what it means to live a true

Catholic faith in a modern world.

Of course, it is not easy to preach a good homily—many priests stress this point.

However, there are priests who preach good homilies—homilies preached from the heart.

Such priests demonstrate strong devotion which is easily observed in their reverence for the Mass. So, what more could be done to assist priests?

T

here is a lot of advice and many ideas on the Internet of what makes a good homily and how to “ace” it.

Lay people advise that preparation is important. Hang out with parishioners to learn to listen and ask questions; focus on the readings; consult resources; set up a small committee whose members can act as homily consultants; do not “talk down” to the congregation and include personal

A priest delivers a homily. Colleen Constable says that even if preaching well is a special skill, there are ways to improve homilies. (Photo: CNS

experiences of faith in the homily.

But there are also personal attributes.

Humility is essential—the priesthood of Christ is a humble priesthood.

Ongoing spiritual development for priests to deepen their faith is obligatory.

Learning never stops, even if we think we are learned.

In parishes, support and skills development in the form of an informal small committee could indeed be helpful.

Such homily advisory committees should comprise prayerful, Spirit-filled parishioners who offer honest feedback to the priest about the quality of his homilies, advise him on areas of improvement, and give him a “reality-check” about the everyday, real-world challenges of parishioners and their spiritual expectations.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that stagnation of a priest’s ministry in a parish is observable after the third year. By the fifth year, some priests are no longer energised by their congregation and vice versa.

There are exceptions, of course. Some priests have succeeded in striking a balance through good-servant leadership, a deep spiritual life, and preaching inspiring homilies.

But it would seem that moving clergy after three-year periods is an advisable option.

Many of us will agree with Pope Francis that homilies should not be boring. Homilies must serve their function of passing on the Word of God to open ears and hearts.

Point of Democracy

A voter’s finger is marked to indicate that this person has cast a vote. In his article, Lionel Flynn argues that voting in an election is a citizen’s duty. adopting democratic rule, but it was not until 1994 that all citizens of South Africa could actually vote.

Before 1994, the majority of South Africans, excluded from democracy, fought for their right to vote, for their right to be equally represented and have a say in the decision-making of the country. In this they were supported by religious leaders who spoke openly against the apartheid regime, and encouraging equal rights for all on the basis of us all being made in the image and likeness of God. Like the early Greeks, the disenfranchised did not want to be dictated to but have a say in policy development.

T

Point of Church

Lionel Flynn

Good reasons to vote W HEN elections draw near, many discussions surround the importance of voting and also challenges regarding the relevance of going to the polls.

Sometimes it can be disheartening when we see injustice, go to the polls to vote for change, then see the same injustice continue over and over again.

At other times we may be disappointed that the manifestos of all political parties do not fully reflect our religious convictions or angered that those parties which do so are an insignificant minority.

Whatever may dissuade us from voting, there are good reasons to vote.

Democracy and subsequent public participation—including voting—are privileges fought for by previous generations of South Africans—and by the early Greeks.

Autocratic states relinquish complete power of governance to one person (the autocrat) who governs the people even though they had no say in the appointment. Usually, autocrats become dictators who serve their own interests instead of those of the people.

Dissatisfied with autocracy, the early Greeks introduced a different form of governance: demos (people) kratain (to rule), or democracy, in which the people governed themselves.

With the later introduction of representative democracy by the Romans, participation and legislation became systematised since individual citizens chose their own representatives and representatives advocated the citizens’ concerns in legislature.

In time, even monarchical societies introduced parliaments which involve the participation of the majority and which regulate the authority of the monarch.

South Africa was one such country

Colleen Constable

ransparency and collaboration are the ingredients for a progressive nation, and fighting for a successful progressive nation is a noble thing to do.

When disputes arise, when we face challenges as a nation, we must not be passive recipients of an imposition, but instead be actively involved in a solution process,

coming together to discuss ways of overcoming the challenges, expressing the situations affecting us.

The power of voting is in giving every citizen an opportunity to express their point of view, to influence the status quo.

Yes, change happens slowly. Yes, party manifestos may not meet our expectations.

Yes, parties that may reflect our religious priorities are a minority. But it is through the vote that we are given the power to change this.

I used to think that the only thing worse than suffering injustice is having no power to stop it. Now I think there is something worse than that: suffering injustice, having power to change it, but not using this power.

Of course we can all agree that our system needs much improvement. And yet, there are so many freedoms we now take for granted as a result of our vote: an inclusive democracy, a sovereign Constitution and a multiracial society, to name but a few.

May 8 is not just any ordinary day. It is a public holiday set aside for the citizens of South Africa to put their heads together to find solutions to the challenges facing this beautiful country.

With 48 options to choose from, the elections represent an opportunity to bring our country closer to its goal of being a place of happiness.

The onus rests on every one of us to make use of this opportunity which comes along only every five years, rather than to sit back and be part of the problem. n Lionel Flynn is a graduate of St John Vianney Seminary and a masters student at the University of South Africa

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7

Mphuthumi Ntabeni

The Public Square

Where rivers are mighty temples NE of the familiar sights on a South African Sunday morning is people in blue and white uniforms gathered around streamlets praying.

These are mostly the members of the Zion Christian Church (ZCC), one of the oldest Christian denominations in Southern Africa.

At roughly 8 million members it is the largest African-initiated church operating across Southern Africa. Its headquarters are at Zion City Moria in Limpopo.

Its size is the reason why you see politicians, especially around election time, go to Moria to pay their homage. And it is also a pressing reason why government should first introduce speed trains to Limpopo and the Eastern Cape to mitigate the traffic and accidents as people travel to Limpopo for pilgrimage and Eastern Cape for holidays.

I am most fascinated by the ZCC’s habit of holding prayer congregations on river banks. It is difficult to understand the origins of this practice, but it definitely has something to do with Khotso Sethunsa, the millionaire medicine man of Lusikisiki.

Khotso’s life was something of a mystery and legend, especially for those of us who grew up in the Eastern Cape and Lesotho.

Legends abound about his life of material wealth and supernatural powers, many of which are corrected in the detailed biography

by Wood and Lewis, which traces Khotso’s life from his birth in 1898 in a remote village on the banks of the Senqu River in Lesotho to his death in a Durban hospital in 1972.

They endeavour to explain the enigmas and paradoxes of Khotso’s life, together with the secrets of his fabulous wealth.

O

’m also greatly interested in the founders of two sects, Ignatius Engenas Lekganyane and Isiah Shembe, who went on to have great influence and personal wealth too by establishing the Church of the Nazareth (Shembe) and the ZCC (Lekganyane).

The business model of these congregations, like many religious organisations, can be said to exploit the common human hopes and fears to the advantage of the leadership/institutional wealth.

Its ethics and mores are similar to those of the Scouts in rigour and principle, with an added aura from the leadership/prophets who claim to be in direct touch with supernatural forces.

This impresses and intimidates often naïve members. It is the formula most Evangelical denominations have adopted, with an added touch of sophistication in the use of supercilious American lingo. It’s the same thing really: promising that supernatural forces will bring great rewards if you obey the precepts, and disaster if you don't; and God being used as a Father Christmas, or abused as an adjudicator and punisher of human affairs.

In his seminal book Living With The Gods, Neil MacGregor says: “Muslim pilgrims to Mecca will try to bring back in special bottles water from the Zamzam spring, which at God’s command started flowing to slake the thirst of Hagar and Ishmael: it is kept for special moments, and may be pressed to the lips of the dying.

“For Jews and Christians the waters of the River Jordan, in which the prophet Elisha ordered Naaman to bathe and be cured of his leprosy, and in which Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist, have a particular significance. The British monarchy to this day uses Jordan water for royal baptisms. Roman Catholics all over Europe accord special properties to water carried home from Lourdes.”

MacGregor notes that for no faith is water— specifically water from the Ganges—as significant as it is for Hindus.

I am intrigued by the riverside worship—a reason why I don’t want to die before I stand on the banks of the Ganges in India.

The Hindus believe the Ganges opens up a channel of communication between heaven and earth, something I suspect the ZCC congregants also lean towards.

All rivers are temples for ZCC members, much as the Ganges acts as the natural permanent cathedral for Hindus.

So the first lament you hear from ZCC members and Hindus is the manner in which we pollute rivers—their sacred places.

They are great custodians of eco-justice, especially when connected with rivers and forests, and the greater ecosystem in general. Other religions can learn valuable lessons from them.

I

8

The Southern Cross, May 1 to May 7, 2019

COMMUNITY Christians joined in an ecumenical Palm Sunday procession through the streets of Estcourt, KwaZuluNatal, which ended at St Matthew’s Anglican church. Fr Sbusiso Dlamini from St John’s Catholic church and Fr Madoda Khumalo from St Matthew’s led prayers.

St Kevin’s parish in Windvogel, Port Elizabeth, started its Holy Week celebrations with a Palm Sunday procession, singing Hosanna.

(Submitted

by Jolindon Petersen)

An ecumenical Palm Sunday procession was held in Fish Hoek, Cape Town, led by (left) Bishop Frank de Gouveia, retired of Oudtshoorn and now serving in Fish Hoek, and Anglican Fr Andrew Holmes (right).

For the third year running, St Mary’s parish in Nyanga, Cape Town, joined in a Palm Sunday procession with Holy Cross Anglican church. Jesuit Father Rampe Hlobo (right) is seen with Anglican Fr Ernest Moeketsi and parishioners of both churches.

Catholic Women’s League members of Our Lady of Fatima parish in Durban North hosted a Paschal meal.

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For further information, contact Faith Basson 082 679-1231 or cyril Basson 076 665-7403 or email stpiusfaith@gmail.com

Primary school pupils at Marist Brothers Linmeyer in Oakdene, Johannesburg, supported the city’s mini-council in collecting Easter eggs. Marist mini-councillors Gabriella Koch and Catarina Camacho collected 17 399 Easter eggs for various charities.

Fr Michael Nadaraju and parishioners of the church of the Immaculate Conception in Pinetown, near Durban, enjoyed a Paschal meal in the week preceding Holy Week.

The Serviam and PR committees at Brescia House School in Bryanston, Johannesburg, ran a campaign to collect 40 pre-loved items over the 40 days of Lent.

The bags of clothing, books, shoes and blankets were all donated to the St Vincent de Paul Society.

www.catholic-pe.co.za/stpius

Pre-primary pupils at St Henry’s Marist College in Glenwood, Durban, re-enacted Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. Rameez Davids (above) was Jesus, and rode on a donkey played by Adam Kalidin, while the children sang Hosanna.

Members of St Anthony’s parish in Sedgefield got together to fold crosses for Palm Sunday. Among them were (from left) Elmarie Eterman, Bridgette Madden, Pam Yeoman, Bobbi Morgan-Smith, Fay Jones and Bernadette Wigmore, with Joan de Jager in front.

St Andrew’s parish in Harding, umzimkulu diocese in KwaZulu-Natal celebrated Palm Sunday in procession with Bishop Stanislaw Dziuba.

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FAITH

The Southern Cross, May 1 to May 7, 2019

9

Five Saturdays devotion explained The Five Saturdays devotion has been adopted in many parishes in South Africa. PAuL DE MARCO explains the background of this personal devotion.

to America were ablaze in red. Scientists put it down to being the greatest Aurora Borealis in recorded history.

Hitler annexed Austria just six weeks later and the world was on the path to a war that would claim 85 million lives.

Later, Russia did spread her errors throughout the world and persecuted the Church. The Holy Father also suffered, with Pope John Paul II being shot on May 13 1981—the anniversary of the first apparition at Fatima!

The pope was convinced that Our Lady had intervened to save him, and on May 13 the following year he visited Fatima and consecrated the whole world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

As a sign of his gratitude, Pope John Paul gave the bullet that injured him in the assassination attempt to the Fatima shrine, to be placed in the crown of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima. It was a perfect fit.

He followed this up with the specific consecration of Russia on March 25, 1984.

There are wonderful benefits to us as individuals and to our world by making the devotion Our Lady called for.

To make the devotion, for five consecutive Saturdays we must attend confession, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and also spend another 15 minutes meditating on the 15 mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to Mary for the sins against her.

These are sins regarding her Immaculate Conception, her perpetual virginity, her Divine Maternity, the sin of sowing in the hearts of children indifference or scorn towards Mary, and blasphemies regarding the treatment of images of her.

Mary has left a wonderful promise for all those who make this devotion, which is that she will assist at the hour of death with the graces required for their salvation. What more could we possibly ask for? n Paul De Marco is the author of the books Fatima (2017) and Lourdes (2019).

W

E’VE all heard of Fatima and know something about the apparitions that occurred there a hundred years ago.

Three children—Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco—claimed to have seen an apparition of the Virgin Mary, and over the course of six visits between May 13 and October 13, 1917, they were given revelations which had a profound effect on world history.

At the time, Europe was embroiled in the horror of World War I, although the sleepy town of Fatima had been largely untouched by the conflict.

On May 13, the three children led a few dozen sheep out to pasture before climbing up a hillside to play, when they were startled by a brilliant flash of light and an apparition of Mary.

This was the first of six apparitions during which Our Lady explained how the sins of mankind were offending God, saying that many souls were going to hell, and that we should pray for the conver- The statue of Our Lady of Fatima in candlelight procession at the shrine dedicated to her in Portugal, with the sion of sinners. basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary in the background. (Photo: Günther Simmermacher) At her third visit on July 13, 1917, Mary showed the children a terrifying vision of hell to show declare that never, before or after who, for five consecutive months, sins committed against me, that I them the reality of this state of ex- October 13, have I observed simi- shall confess, receive Holy Com- come to ask for reparation. Sacrifice istence. lar atmospheric or solar phenom- munion, recite five decades of the yourself for this intention and She gave an assurance that ena.”

Rosary, and keep me company for pray.”

World War I would soon end, but Lucia appealed many times for Fr Joaquin Laurenco also de- fifteen minutes while meditating warned that unless mankind scribed what he saw that day: “I on the 15 mysteries of the Rosary, the consecration of Russia to be stopped sinning the world would looked fixedly at the sun, which with the intention of making repa- made and for the First Five Saturbe punished through a war worse seemed pale and did not hurt my ration to me.” days devotion to be practised, but than the current one.

Our Lady again appeared to the Church did not make the coneyes. Looking like a ball of snow, Mary was highly specific, saying revolving on itself, it suddenly Lucia on June 13, 1929, and said to secration until 1984, and the devothat this war would seemed to come down in a her: “The moment has come in tion of the First Five Saturdays was break out during the zigzag, menacing the which God asks the Holy Father to largely ignored. pontificate of Pius XI, earth. Terrified, I ran and make, in union with all the bishops There are Warnings fulfilled? and she said that a great hid myself among the of the world, the consecration of wonderful people, who were weeping Russia to my Immaculate Heart, sign would be given The warning that Our Lady that this chastisement expecting the end of promising to save it by this means. made came to pass, and on January benefits to and was imminent, which the world at any mo- So numerous are the souls which 25, 1938, during the pontificate of would be “a night illu- us and to our ment.” the justice of God condemns for Pius XI, the night skies from Europe mined by an unknown Dr Domingos Pinto light”.

Coelho wrote an article on world by She said that the the event for the Ordem making the newspaper: Church would be perse" cuted and that the Holy “The sun, at one modevotion The LARGEST Catholic online Father would have ment surrounded with 1-10 December much to suffer, and that shop in South Africa! scarlet flame, at another Our Lady Russia would spread her 2019 aureoled in yellow and We specialise and source an extensive variety of products, called for. deep purple, seemed to be errors throughout the some of which include: *Personalised Rosaries *Priest world. in an exceedingly swift and Chasubles *Altar Linen *Church Items *Bells To prevent this from whirling movement, at *Chalices *Thuribles *Personalised Candles, etc.

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2øæ­¸Ø "ı̇øߺ̋ø̋¸"¬Æß̶" consecration of Russia to her ImAlfredo de Silva Santos was also LED BY FR KA APENA OMI maculate Heart, and the establish- present that day. He wrote: “The " C o n t a c t G a i l a t 0 7 6 3 5 2 3 8 0 9 or info@fowlertours.co.za ment of a new devotion—The sun began to move and at a certain www.fowlertours.co.za/italy Communion of Reparation on the moment appeared to be detached First Five Saturdays. from the sky and about to hurtle on As had been the case with us like a wheel of flame. My wife— Bernadette at Lourdes in 1858, the we had been married only a short villagers and clergy initially refused time—fainted. I fell on my knees in Johannesburg & beyond to believe the children, and so oblivious of everything, and when Mary said that she would perform I got up I don’t know what I said. I a miracle in October “for all to see think I began to cry out like the DStv Audio 870 and believe”. others.” www.radioveritas.co.za Two of the children died within Greatest miracle streaming live two years of the last apparition, The greatest miracle in modern with Francisco passing away at the 41809 MASS followed by Mass Intention history— the “Miracle of the Sun” age of ten in 1919, and Jacinta the 41809 VERI followed by comments of October 13, 1917—was wit- following year at the age of nine. nessed by an enormous crowd, es- Both succumbed to the Spanish flu PO Box 4599, edenvale, 1610 (t) 011 663-4700 timated at 70 000 people, who saw pandemic which claimed at least 50 info@radioveritas.co.za the sun perform movements in the million lives. sky which were impossible in terms Our Lady reappears of physics or astronomy.

Dr Almeida Garrett, professor of Lucia survived and later joined science at Coimbra University, was the religious life, and it was while present that day and this is part of she was at the Dorothean convent what he wrote to describe the in Pontevedra, Spain, that Our Send your overseas friends and event: Lady appeared to her with the “Then, suddenly, one heard a Child Jesus on December 10, 1925. family on an unforgettable clamour, a cry of anguish breaking Our Lady said to her: “Look, my from all the people. The sun, daughter, at my heart, surrounded safari with VIVA SAFARIS whirling wildly, seemed all at once with thorns with which ungrateful 469 Voortrekker Rd, Maitland, Tel: 021 593 8820 to loosen itself from the firmament men pierce me at every moment by 48 Main Rd, Muizenberg, Tel: 021 788 3728 and, blood red, advance threaten- their blasphemies and ingratitude.

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CHURCH

Meet four saintly politicians Few politicians have a reputation for holiness, but there are four Italians of that dirty trade for whom sainthood causes are underway.

As we prepare to vote for our political leaders for the next five years, DESMOND O’GRADY introduces the four politicians of ethics.

W

HAT do Luigi Sturzo, Alcide De Gasperi, Giorgio La Pira and Aldo Moro have in common? They were all Italian Christian Democrat politicians.

But there is another thing they share: they are all being examined for beatification by the Vatican’s Congregation for Saints.

It is a compliment for the Christian Democratic Party because these politicians’ performances in public life will be examined as well as their private behaviour.

However, the party itself ceased existence in 1994—its left-wing allied with former Communists to form the current Democratic Party which governed until this year’s elections.

The quartet being examined for beatification date from the time when politics was considered an exalted vocation. Today’s Catholic politicians in Italy do not seem to have such a vision, which was nourished by Catholic Social Teaching and writers such as Jacques Maritain.

The quartet span the history of the Christian Democratic Party which governed Italy, with various partners and none, for almost 40 years following World War II. However, the party did not have the refreshing experience of a spell in opposition, and eventually, following corruption scandals, fractured.

After Italian forces occupied what remained of the Papal States in 1870, the Vatican, to show its disapproval, dissuaded Catholics from participation in politics and elections. But this attitude changed following the First World War.

1870 invasion.

Fr Sturzo lived first in London, then from 1940 in New York, but returned after World War II and was made a life senator.

He was replaced as leader of the Popular Party by Alcide De Gasperi who was to change its name to the Christian Democratic Party.

The foe of fascism De Gasperi was born in 1881 near Trent, when it was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. He became a parliamentarian in Vienna but, with the return of Trent to Italy after the First World War, he entered the Italian parliament.

After a prison sentence from the fascists, he was given refuge in the Vatican, as were others, including non-Catholic politicians.

He worked in the Vatican library. The fascist government asked that, as an act of courtesy, he be dismissed, but Pope Pius XI responded that it would be an act of cowardice, and that he was giving an honest man the bread which the fascists had denied him.

The wartime anti-fascist resistance—which comprised communists, socialists and Catholics —formed a bond which lasted into the first post-war years. The communists even voted for retention of the Lateran Pacts.

They were expected to win the fiercely contested 1947 elections.

One of the anti-left election posters warned that in the polling booth, “God sees you, Stalin no!”

The Christian Democrats had a surprise victory. A young Polish seminarian studying in Rome, Karol Wojtlya, was a keen observer of the campaign which showed the communists could be defeated even though they claimed the major role in defeating fascism.

As prime minister, De Gasperi ended collaboration with the leftist parties, although some Christian Democrats wanted it to continue.

Politicians and perhaps future canonised saints: (from left) Fr Luigi Sturzo, Alcide De Gasperi and the murdered Aldo Moro.

He insisted on Italian adherence to the Atlantic Alliance and the European Union project. He introduced reforms and sparked an economic boom.

Moreover, he resisted Pope Pius XII’s encouragement of a Christian Democrat alliance with neo-fascists in a local election.

De Gasperi was known for his austere private life. He died in 1954.

The lay Dominican One of those who wrote the post-war Constitution was a brilliant young professor in Roman law, Giorgio La Pira.

Born in 1904 in Sicily, he taught law and lived in Florence, where he had two terms as mayor.

La Pira sided with striking factory workers, successfully. He also organised international conferences on Christian civilisation and peace which brought together diplomats with figures such as the German philosopher Joseph Pieper, the French theologian Jean

The priest politician Fr Luigi Sturzo (1871-1959), a Sicilian priest and sociologist often called the “clerical socialist”, founded the Popular Party. It opposed the Fascist government which came to power in 1922.

In 1924, the Vatican persuaded Fr Sturzo to go into voluntary exile which aided completion of the Lateran Pacts with Italy in 1929. These healed the breach between the Church and the state, which paid substantial compensation for the seizure of Church property in the

Pope Paul VI with Giorgio La Piera, a lay Dominican and former mayor of Florence.

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Daniélou and the novelist François Mauriac.

At these conferences, quicksilver La Pira encouraged reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians and peace in war-torn Vietnam, which he visited with the same aim.

He lived in a Dominican community as a member of their Third Order, with the religious name Raimondo. He died at 73 on November 5, 1977.

La Pira and De Gasperi had firm support from an up-and-coming figure in the Vatican Secretariat, Mgr Giovanni Battista Montini, who embraced the ideas of French thinkers such as Jacques Maritain, which were beyond the pale for curial conservatives.

The terror victim Mgr Montini—the future Pope Paul VI—had been the chaplain of the Catholic University Students’ Federation. One of the students whom he preferred was Aldo Moro, a future Christian Democrat leader and prime minister.

Encouraged by Cardinal Angelo Roncalli, patriarch of Venice and the future Pope John XXIII, the Christian Democrats had accepted an alliance with the socialists, who had abandoned Marxism, by the early 1960s.

But come 1976, the communists, who had broken partially with Moscow, were polling almost as well as the Christian Democrats in that year’s election.

Worried by Italy’s institutional fragility, Moro—the “father of the centre-left” who had been prime minister from 1963-68 and 197476—thought it essential for stability that the Christian Democrats bring the communists into the parliamentary majority through an alliance.

Negotiations for the alliance began, which disconcerted many.

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Reportedly US secretary of state Henry Kissinger warned Moro that he would pay dearly for allying with the communists. The negotiations also shocked some communists who believed in the revolution, rather than reformism and compromise.

On March 16, 1978, a terrorist group, the Red Brigades, kidnapped Moro and held him in what they called a “people’s prison”, demanding the release of political prisoners in exchange for his life.

The Communist Party, anxious to distance itself from the extreme leftist terrorists, refused to negotiate as did the Christian Democrats, but the socialists recommended making the exchange and then capturing all the terrorists.

It was high drama for 55 days as almost daily the terrorists released communiqués in time for the evening television news. Pleading letters arrived from Moro which some argued were false. Now it is agreed that they were authentic.

Finally Paul VI intervened with a heartbreaking letter to “men of the Red Brigades”, begging “on my knees” for the life of his friend.

Nevertheless, on May 9 the terrorists killed Moro. He was 61.

At his funeral, Paul VI asked why God had not heeded his pleas for this “good, mild and innocent man who was my friend”. Three months later Paul VI died.

The pope was canonised last October. The politicians he supported and formed may be canonised after him.

Pope Francis confirmed Giorgio La Pira’s life of heroic virtue on July 5 this year and named him Venerable. Fr Luigi Sturzo’s sainthood cause was opened in 2002 (and is said to be nearing the point of beatification), Alcide De Gasperi’s in 1993, and Aldo Moro’s in 2012. n Desmond O’Grady writes from Rome.

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The Southern Cross, May 1 to May 7, 2019

Sr Charitas Bartilla OP

O

AKFORD Dominican Sister Charitas Bartilla died on March 27 at 97.

Born Gabriela Bartilla on February 2, 1922, near Breslau (then in Germany, now Wroclaw in Poland), she trained in paediatric nursing and worked as a children’s nurse in Breslau.

During World War II, she was employed in factories, orphanages and children’s homes, and as a nurse in a hospital in Breslau.

In January 1945 her family had to flee from the Russians to Bad Altheide, Poland, where she worked in a children’s hospital for refugees. On returning to Breslau she worked in a children’s hospital under the Polish government and Russian occupation forces, until the family moved to West Germany.

Her one desire was to work with the poor. In 1946 she entered the Dominican convent in Schwichterler, with the hope of going to work in their mission in China. However, the Chinese

mission was closed and the Sisters dispersed.

Thus Sr Charitas, as she was now known, entered the Oakford Congregation in Neustadt, Bavaria.

With permission of the Holy See, her first profession was anticipated by four days as she was booked to travel by ship to South Africa. Sr Charitas made her final vows in Oakford in KwaZuluNatal on December 8, 1952.

She completed her midwifery

training at Lady Selbourne Hospital in Pretoria and worked in several Dominican communities in the nursing field, including Ekukhanyeni, Oakford, Marymount, Cala (Transkei), Marifont, and Bendell in Kimberly diocese, as local superior.

Sr Charitas loved her work and was so good with children that one of the orphans in the Oakford clinic claimed her as his mother. When he was asked at school who his mother was, he proudly said: “Sr Charitas”.

She loved to tell stories of her life and the experiences she had in various communities. Her fondest memories were of the people in Bendell, in the Oakford clinic, and in Ekukhanyeni.

During her long wait for heaven, she sometimes got impatient with God, believing God had forgotten her. In his mercy, he finally called her to her reward on Wednesday evening, March 27.

Sr Helen-Veronica Wagner OP

Sr Carol-Anne Vornhusen OP

O

AKFORD Sister CarolAnne Vornhusen died on March 27 at the age of 91.

Born on February 1, 1928, in Vechta, diocese of Münster, Germany, she trained in home economics and in ladies’ tailoring.

She entered the Oakford Congregation in Neustadt, Bavaria, receiving the name Sr Reinhilde. After coming to South Africa, she pronounced her first and final vows in Oakford, KwaZulu-Natal.

Her initial ministries covered 22 years of teaching at St Xavier’s and Sacred Heart schools, both in Oakford.

She was then a novice mistress in Germany, and served on the congregational council.

For some time she served as parish sister in Preston, England. After her renewal course at the Casa di Studio in Rome, she stayed on as cook.

For a number of years Sr Reinhilde served as sub-prioress to the community in Genaz-

zano, Tongaat.

Later, she lived in various communities in Gauteng, and at Belgravia convent with the King Williams Town Dominican Sisters. During this time, she added a further 20 years to her commitment to the education of the young, both in Kliptown, Soweto, and at Belgravia Con-

vent School.

On retiring, she spent some time in the community at Magaliesburg and in the cottage at Bedfordview.

For a few years Sr Carol-Anne, as she had become known, served as a companion to Sr Rita Diel who was at the time the manager of the Carmelite Retreat Centre in Benoni.

She then moved to the Oakford home for elderly sisters at Pietermaritzburg. Adjusting to the retirement routine was difficult for her, especially after those many years in ministry when she was in control and fairly independent.

In the last few weeks of her life, she suffered two strokes.

Sr Carol-Anne was a great fan of St Catherine of Siena, also a Dominican. She would encourage others to read the book of her life, her letters and prayers, and to meditate on their call as a woman in and of the Church.

Sr Helen-Veronica Wagner OP

Liturgical Calendar Year C – Weekdays Cycle Year Sunday May 5, 3rd Sunday of Easter Acts 5:27-32, 40-41, Psalm 30:2, 4-6, 11-13, Revelation 5:11-14, John 21:119 Monday May 6 Acts 6:8-15, Psalm 119:23-24, 26-27, 29-30, John 6:22-29 Tuesday May 7 Acts 7:51--8:1, Psalm 31:3-4, 6-8, 17, 21, John 6:30-35 Wednesday May 8 Acts 8:1-8, Psalm 66:1-7, John 6:35-40

Thursday May 9 Acts 8:26-40, Psalm 66:8-9, 16-17, 20, John 6:44-51 Friday May 10 Acts 9:1-20, Psalm 117:1-2, John 6:52-59 Saturday May 11 Acts 9:31-42, Psalm 116:12-17, John 6:60-69 Sunday May 12, 4th Sunday of Easter, Vocations Sunday Acts 13:14, 43-52, Psalm 100:1-3, 5, Revelation 7:9, 14-17, John 10:27-30

Word of the Week Immaculate Conception: Belief that Mary the mother of Jesus was conceived and born free of original sin (not to be confused with the Virgin Birth, the belief that Jesus was conceived without sexual intercourse).

Apostolic succession: The handing on of authority from the apostles to their successors (bishops). The Church of England also claims to be apostolic, with the same handing down of authority via a 2 000-yearold chain of bishops.

Pastoral letter: A letter sent from a bishop to the parishes of his diocese, often read out to people at Mass.

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LAteGAN: Peter Angus. In loving memory of a dear husband, father and grandfather who passed away on May 5, 2016. We still miss you so much. Lovingly remembered by Beryl and family.

PRAYeRS

PRAYeR tO tHe ViRGiN MARY: O most beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendour of heaven, blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. O Star of the Sea, help me and show me where you are, Mother of God. Queen of heaven and earth, I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to succour me in my necessity.

There is none who can withstand your power. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands. Say this prayer for three consecutive days and then publish.

PRAYeR tO tHe HOLY SPiRit: Holy Spirit, who makes us see all and shows us the way to reach our ideals, thou art in all aspects of our lives with us granting the divine gift to forgive and forget, and in all aspects of our lives with us protecting and opening ways which we thought never existed. We praise and glorify thee and hereby confirm never to be separated from thee, casting aside all material desires.

We pray to be with thee and our loved ones in thy perpet-

ual glory. Say the above for three consecutive days and without asking further, the wish will be realised no matter how difficult it may seem.

Take the obligation to advertise and make public this prayer as soon as your wish has been granted, to his glory.

MOSt HOLY LORD, I see your works here on earth. I stand amazed at the beauty and magnificent scenes before me. Thank you for my joy that is not claimed by life’s sadness and disappointments. I thank you for keeping me in your wings of love. You are so very precious to me and I will forever be yours in faith and hope.

Blessed be your name in all of the earth, I pray. Amen.

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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.

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 861. ACROSS: 4 Scribes, 8 Adages. 9 Decants, 10 Candle, 11 Slaves, 12 Acolytes, 18 Ultimate, 20 Easter, 21 Buddha, 22 Colombo, 23 Celtic, 24 Jezebel. DOWN: 1 Paschal, 2 Rainbow, 3 Really, 5 Chess-set, 6 Isaiah, 7 Esther, 13 Thurible, 14 Bandits, 15 Penance, 16 Salome, 17 At home, 19 Inured.

Our bishops’ anniversaries

This week we congratulate: May 8: Bishop José Ponce de León of Manzini, Eswatini, on his 58th birthday May 9: Bishop Adam Musaliek of De Aar on his 62nd birthday May 12: Archbishop Peter Wells, apostolic nuncio, on his 56th birthday

Neighbourhood Old Age Homes

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OMI STAMPS YOUR USED STAMPS

can help in the education of South Africans for the PRIESTHOOD at St Joseph’s Scholasticate, Cedara, KwaZulu-Natal.

Please send them to: OMI Stamps, Box 101352, Scottsville, 3209

Also, we’d welcome new notices from parishes across Southern Africa to run free in the classifieds. cAPe tOWN: A Holy Hour Prayer for Priests is held on the second Saturday of every month at the Villa Maria shrine from 16:00 to 17:00. The shrine is at 1 Kloof Nek Road in Tamboerskloof. The group prays for priests in the archdiocese, and elsewhere by request.

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

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

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

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

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

St Anthony’s rosary group.

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

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

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4th Sunday of Easter: May 12 Readings: Acts 13:14, 43-52, Psalm 100:1-3, 5, Revelation 7:14-17, John 10:27-30

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EXT Sunday is Vocations Sunday; and that means you, so you can stop looking desperately around to avoid the challenge, for there is no getting away from it.

What might your vocation look like, at this time of year? The readings for next Sunday offer some help.

The first reading is from Acts of the Apostles; and Paul gets to deliver his first homily in a synagogue since his encounter with Jesus. Initially the results are excellent (so you can take confidence about your own vocation): “Many Jews and pious proselytes became disciples of Paul and Barnabas.”

Paul’s opponents are not pleased, however: “They were filled with jealousy, and they contradicted the things that Paul was saying, and they reviled [him].” So be warned: this may happen to you, if you follow the vocation that is yours.

But all is not lost, because this is the opportunity for Paul and Barnabas to redirect the Gospel message to non-Jews: “Since you people are rejecting God’s word, and do not regard yourselves as fit for eternal life, look!

We are turning to the Gentiles.”

The result is that “The Gentiles rejoiced and glorified God’s word…and the word of

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What is your vocation? the Lord was carried through the whole area.”

Paul and Barnabas, however, are “expelled”, and “shook the dust from their feet”.

That is not the end of their vocation story, however, for the story ends in this cheerful mode: “The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”

What does the psalm for next Sunday tell us about our vocation?

It has a very cheerful sound: “Rejoice in the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord in joy, come into his presence with rejoicing.”

It comes, however, with a reminder of who is in charge: “The Lord is God—he made us, not we ourselves; we are [only] his people, the sheep of his flock.”

Our focus has to be entirely on God: “For the Lord is good and his steadfast love is for ever. His truth lasts down the generations.”

Does that help your anxiety about your own vocation?

In Sunday’s second reading we go deeper into understanding our calling, as we look at “a vast crowd…of every nation and tribe and people and language, standing before the Throne and the Lamb, wearing white garments and with palms in their hands”.

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teachings stretch you; let Jesus’ spirit fill you; let high ideals enlarge you.

But the Gospels also invite us to Spiritualities of the Descent. They tell us to make friends with the desert, the cross, with ashes, with self-renunciation, with humiliation, with our shadow, and with death itself. They tell us that we grow not just be moving upward but also by descending downward.

We grow too by letting the desert work us over, by renouncing cherished dreams to accept the cross, by letting the humiliations that befall us deepen our character, by having the courage to face our own deep chaos, and by making peace with our own mortality.

These spiritualities tell us that sometimes our task, spiritual and psychological, is not to raise our eyes to the heavens but to look down upon the earth, to sit in the ashes of loneliness and humiliation, to stare down the restless desert inside us, and to make peace with our human limits and our mortality.

There aren’t a lot of secular counterparts to this spirituality (though you do see this in what’s best in psychology and anthropology). The challenge of the descent is not one you will often hear from a commencement speaker.

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Conrad

ut there is still another genre of spiritualities, a very important kind, namely, Spiritualities of Maintenance.

These spiritualities invite us to proper self-care, to factor in that the journey of

Sunday Reflections

Then we discover that they are martyrs (Yes—this could happen to you too) who “are coming from the Great Tribulation, and have washed their garments white in the blood of the Lamb”.

But they are happy enough (you may be reassured to discover), and “worship God’s Throne day and night in his Temple”.

Next we learn that the One sitting on the Throne will pitch his tent upon them: “They shall not be hungry or thirsty.”

And there is more: “The Lamb will shepherd them” (this vocation of ours turns things upside-down, you see, the sheep turning shepherd) “and will guide them to streams of water of Life.” Then, in an unforgettably lovely gesture, “God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

Does this vocation of yours sound a bit better now?

In the Gospel, we are presented with Jesus as a shepherd: “My sheep listen to my voice”; and it turns out that the vocation of following the shepherd involves a very intimate relationship: “I know them; and they follow me.”

You have probably often enough seen sheep doing precisely that, in their profound

Three types of spirituality HERE should we be casting our eyes? Upward, downward, or just on the road that we’re walking?

Well, there are different kinds of spiritualities: Spiritualities of the Ascent, Spiritualities of the Descent, and Spiritualities of Maintenance, and each is important.

Spiritualities of the Ascent are spiritualities that invite us to strive always for what’s higher, for what’s more noble, for what stretches us and takes us (figuratively) upward beyond the humdrum moral and spiritual ruts within which we habitually find ourselves.

They tell us that we can be more, that we can transcend the ordinary and break through the old ceilings that have up to now constituted our horizon. They tell us that if we stretch ourselves enough we will be able to walk on water, be great saints, be enflamed with the Spirit, and experience already now the deep joys of God’s Kingdom.

These spiritualities tell us that sanctity lies in the ascent and that we should be habitually stretching ourselves towards higher goals. These spiritualities have a secular counterpart, and that counterpart is what we often hear from academic commencement speakers who are forever challenging those graduating to dream big dreams, to reach for the stars.There’s a lot to be said for this kind of an invitation.

Much of Gospels are exactly that kind of a challenge: Keep your eyes trained upward; think with your big mind; feel with your big heart; imagine yourself as God’s child and mirror that greatness; let Jesus’

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wisdom of knowing where they belong, and which way safety lies. This is your story also.

Then Jesus continues, “I give them eternal life”; and we should notice that this is not just life-after-death, but a particular quality of life in the here-and-now.

If we get it right, that is what we should be experiencing in this Easter season. If we get it wrong, it seems, we might be “destroyed” (or destroy ourselves), but Jesus predicts that those who follow their calling “will not be destroyed for ever; and no one is going to snatch them from my hand”.

The Father comes into it, of course; for all vocation is from God, and “what my Father has given me is better than anything” (that should cheer you if you are still feeling gloomy about your vocation).

Not only that, but “no one can snatch them from the hand of the Father”.

Then comes the final, heartening line, which alone makes sense of this vocation of ours: “I and the Father are one.”

We are not alone, you see, in the vocation.

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Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

discipleship is a marathon, not a sprint, and so to take heed of our limits. We aren’t all spiritual athletes, and tiredness, depression, loneliness, and fragile health, mental or physical, can, if we are not careful with ourselves, break us.

These spiritualities invite us to be cautious about both an over-enthusiastic ascent and a naive descent. They tell us that dullness, boredom and ennui will meet us along the road, and so we should have a glass of wine when needed and let our weariness dictate that on a given night it might be healthier for us spiritually to watch a mindless sitcom or a sports event than to spend that time watching a religious programme.

They also tell us to respect the fact that, given our mental fragility at times, there are descents we should stay away from. They don’t deny that we need to push ourselves to new heights and that we need to have the courage, at times, to face the chaos and desert inside us; but they caution that we must also always take into account what we can handle at a given time in our lives and what we can’t handle just then.

Good spiritualities don’t put you on a universal conveyor-belt—the same road for everyone—but take into account what you need to do to maintain your energy and sanity on a marathon journey.

Spiritualities of Maintenance have a secular counterpart and we can learn things here from our culture’s stress on maintaining one’s physical health through proper exercise, proper diet, and proper health habits.

Sometimes in our culture this becomes one-sided and obsessive, but it is still something for spiritualities to learn from, namely, that the task in life isn’t just to grow and to courageously face your shadow and mortality. Sometimes, many times, the more urgent task is simply to stay healthy, sane and buoyant.

Different spiritualities stress one or the other of these: the ascent, the descent, or (less commonly) maintenance, but a good spirituality will stress all three: Train your eyes upward, don’t forget to look downward, and keep your feet planted firmly on the ground.

ACROSS

DOWN

1 and 10. It represents the light of Christ (7,6) 2. The sign of God’s covenant with Noah (Gn 9) (7) 3. Rally around the East.

Truly (6) 5. Bishops are found among this collection on the board (5-3) 6. One of the greatest prophets (6) 7. Shrewdest heroine of the Old Testament hides inside (6) 13. The swinging altar server has got it (8) 14. Robbers have it in bands (7) 15. You do it after a good Confession (7) 16. She was among the women at Calvary (Mk 15) (6) 17. Where you are most comfortable? (2,4) 19. Be accustomed from Solutions on page 11 being ruined (6)

4. Writers in the New Testament (7) 8. Old sayings from modern eras? (6) 9. Pours Mass wine into the cruets (7) 10. See 1 11. Unpaid drudges (6) 12. A small company changes style for altar servers (8) 18. This is the last word (8) 20. Season for fancy supermarket eggs (6) 21. The Enlightened One from the East (6) 22. Where you may find a church in Sri Lanka (7) 23. The cross of the Irish? (6) 24. King Ahab’s wife (1 Kg 16) (7)

CHURCH CHUCKLE

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COUPLE of weeks ago, as Ernie left the Easter Mass, he was greeted by the priest.

After briefly exchanging pleasantries, Ernie issued a criticism.

“Beautiful Mass, Father, but I think you’re in a bit of a rut.”

“How so?”asked the surprised priest.

“Because every time I come to church, you preach about the Resurrection.”

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