190925

The

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September 25 to October 1, 2019

Reg No. 1920/002058/06

No 5154

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Church helps tackle genderbased violence

How we can bring hope to the world

Page 9

Page 7

Dancers formed part of the celebrations of the sacrament of confirmation being conferred

by Bishop Stanislaw Dziuba at the parish of Our Lady of Sorrows in Umzimkulu, KwaZuluNatal. At the Mass, the bishop was assisted by Fr Francis Mbhele and Deacon Mehluleli Dzanibe. As those “Baptised and Sent” through the power of the Holy Spirit, the faithful of the parish renewed their church’s commitment in witnessing to Jesus in the communities.

(Photo from Bishop Dziuba)

Pope for dream-trip in November

P

OPE Francis will finally fulfil his desire to be a missionary to Japan when he visits the country, as well as Thailand, from November 20-26.

Pope Francis, a Jesuit, has said he had entered the order hoping to become a missionary to Japan in the footsteps of St Francis Xavier and other great Jesuits.

He also has spoken frequently of his admiration for Japanese Catholics who kept the faith alive through decades of persecution.

Pope Francis will leave Rome on November 19, arriving in Thailand for a visit from November 20-23. He will then fly to Japan and visit Tokyo, Nagasaki and Hiroshima from November 23-26, said Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office.

Further details about the trip and an exact schedule will be released later.

The bishops of Thailand have chosen the motto: “Christ’s Disciples...Missionary Disciples” as the theme for the papal visit to their country. The visit, they said, will mark the 350th anniversary of the establishment of the apostolic vicariate of Siam Mission.

The website launched for the visit said that, with the creation of the vicariate by Pope Clement IX in 1669, “Roman Catholicism was permanently established in Thailand”.

This year also marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Thailand and the Holy See in 1969. It is also the 35th anniversary of the last papal visit to Thailand, which was made by Pope

Pope Francis, seen here arriving for Mass in Mauritius last month, will fulfil a long-standing dream of going to Japan, where he once wanted to serve as a missionary. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS) John Paul II in 1984.

For their leg of the visit, the bishops of Japan chose the theme “Protect all Life”, drawing the phrase from a prayer written by Pope Francis and included in his encyclical, Laudato Si’.

“In order to ‘protect all life’, we must respect not only each person’s dignity but also the environment,” the bishops said. “However, the earth as ‘our common home’ is now trampled by humankind and groans with pain. Those groans overlap with the distress of all the abandoned people of the world.”

Pope Francis’ visit will also serve as a precursor to next year’s 75th anniversary of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in August 1945.—CNS

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What SA will do for Mission Month 2019

BY ERIN CARELSE

O

NE special task for Southern Africa’s Church during October’s Extraordinary Mission Month is to understand what the missionary discipleship actually means, according to the head of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) in the region.

The Extraordinary Month of Mission was called worldwide by Pope Francis when he declared October 2019 a special month of prayer and action which calls us all to renew our missionary commitment.

Fr Gordon Rees MCCJ, director of the PMS, said the importance of the Month starts with the understanding of the pope’s desire for a missionary-orientated Church.

“I think the biggest problem is that people don’t understand what the word mission means,” the Comboni Missionaries priest said.

“They have a concept of maybe someplace far away in the middle of nowhere where people have given up their lives and are living the mission, and that is also the mission—but it is not the only mission,” he said.

Fr Rees explained that Pope Francis wants the Church to go back to its essence, acknowledging that the Church exists to evangelise.

“We as a Church in Southern Africa have to start looking outward, as we tend to be very inward-looking,” Fr Rees said.

“After 200 years of evangelisation, we still have very few missionary priests [of our own]. We are still reliant on people from outside to come to us—but what are we doing, how many missionaries do we really have?”

Fr Rees said there are a few of South Africans who are actually working in mission outside the country, and that is why becoming more missionary-minded is important.

But missionaries are not just priests and religious who evangelise in strange lands.

“The pope is asking all local churches to start informing people that being baptised has its responsibilities,” Fr Rees noted. Being

The official logo for the Extraordinary Mission Month. a Catholic is “not just a piece of paper, a ceremony, or a sacrament—it’s moving beyond that to understand that every one of us has to get involved in mission”, he said.

“We have to live our lives in a way that we are witnesses to Christ in every aspect and in all circumstances. We need to be in a permanent state of mission,” Fr Rees said.

This is what is implied in the Extraordinary Month of Mission motto, “Baptised and Sent”.

Many local dioceses have started preparing for the Extraordinary Mission Month.

The archdiocese of Johannesburg last month met with 700 catechists. At that meeting Fr Rees spoke specifically about being missionary disciples and how that calls them as catechists.

The archdiocese will launch the Extraordinary Mission Month after its synod, and conclude it at a Mass at St Dominic’s School for Girls in Boksburg on October 19.

That event will begin at 9:00 with a procession of sodalities, groups and parishes, followed by Mass at 10:00. Entertainment and food will be available until 14:00.

Johannesburg archdiocese has also prepared a resource package for all parishes, sodalities and groups. It contains guides for Continued on page 2

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The Southern Cross, September 25 to October 1, 2019

LOCAL

Street bookselling gives homeless income F

BY ERIN CARELSE

IRST a project turned beggars into newspaper vendors; a year later it has turned homeless people into sellers of secondhand books—and the Paper Money project of Durban’s Denis Hurley Centre (DHC) is now receiving national recognition for its initiative. “Most homeless people want to work and be financially independent in a dignified way. Begging or stealing are not the preferred options,� said the centre’s director, Raymond Perrier. “We have ten regular sellers who make enough money—on average R2 000 per month—to get off the streets and into shelters or even their own rooms,� he said.

Mr Perrier said a number of ven-

ues around Durban have been supportive—the ICC, Playhouse, KZNPO, festivals, churches and malls—but, he added, “we know we could empower more sellers if we had more venues�.

The project now plans to scale up by creating mobile bookshops in specially adapted shopping trollies. “Our booksellers could get to many more places and offer quality well-priced books to the many thousands of people who want to read but cannot afford new books.

We submitted our plan to the South African Breweries Foundation Social Innovation Awards and were thrilled to be chosen as one of the 20 finalists out of 2 000 applicants,� he said.

The Paper Money project was recently presented in a “Dragon’s Den� set-up alongside innovations

Brescia House School in Bryanston, Johannesburg, again supported the Catholic Schools’ “Leave Your Print� campaign, also known as “Slip-slop Day�. The project aims to raise awareness of those students who may attend school daily without shoes. Girls were encouraged to wear slip-slops to school and to donate old slip-slops for recycling.

from other parts of the country.

The project has to wait for a few weeks to find out the results, but Mr Perrier said they have already learnt a lot from preparing their submission and from the two-day business skills workshop that preceded the pitch.

The team comprised Mr Perrier and Stuart Talbot, as well as two of the best booksellers, Pat Khumalo and Richard Nzima (featured recently in the DHC’s Homeless 101 exhibit). “You can imagine the look on their faces when these two guys who had been sleeping on the streets were shown their rooms at the Sandton Hilton,� Mr Perrier said. n Offers for venues to host a seller can be directed to Stuart Talbot at stuart@denishurleycentre.org

The Denis Hurley Centre’s presentation to SAB included a mock-up of a bookshop trolley, modelled here by Nkosi Mthethwa. (Photo: Roxy Klein).

Bishops fear revenge on S.Africans STAFF REPORTER

T

HE umbrella body of the bishops’ conferences of the Southern African region has condemned xenophobic violence but also warned against acts of retaliation against South Africans. “The deplorable actions that we have witnessed cannot be condoned in any way,� the Inter-Regional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA) said in a statement signed by its president, Bishop Lucio Muandula of Xai-Xai, Mozambique.

The statement declared its solidarity with victims of the “bewildering violence�.

At the same time, the bishop called on the home nations of those affected “not to raise the stakes� and respond in revenge with violence�.

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“We believe most South Africans, from all walks of life, are also appalled. As they extend apology and friendship, we urge you to take those hands and work together towards a peaceful future,� Bishop Muandula said. “Southern Africa is a region of rich diversity and such a promising future, but also with a painful history,� the statement said, calling on all people of goodwill to “fight this scourge which can only harm the future of our region, for us and for our future generations�.

IMBISA invited all communities to “set aside a day of prayer to ask God to look kindly on us and our region�.

IMBISA comprises the bishops conferences of South Africa, Botswana, Eswathini, Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, SĂŁo TomĂŠ and Principe, and Zimbabwe.

A group of pilgrims from Eldorado Park in Johannesburg, led by Fr Paul Beukes OMI, is seen at the tomb of St Eugene Mazenod, founder of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, in the cathedral of Mary Major in Marseilles, France, where St Mazenod served as bishop. The Eldorado Park churches of St Eugene Mazenod and St Catherine of Siena are run by the Oblates, so the group’s Mass at the founder’s tomb was a special occasion.

The group was guided through Marseilles, St Mazenod’s hometown of Aix-en-Provence and Avignon

by Fr Bongani Majola, a South African Oblate with the order’s community in Aix. On their pilgrimage through France the group also visited Lourdes, Paray-le-Monial and Paris.

What region will do for Mission Month Continued from page 1 para-liturgies and prayer services; teaching material; youth group activities; material to enrich homilies, and so on.

In Cape Town, Archbishop Stephen Brislin, in a pastoral letter, said the Extraordinary Mission Month gives clergy an opportunity to focus their homilies on mission, and to encourage all parishioners to recognise their own call to mission.

The archdiocese has published booklets for small faithsharing groups for the four weeks of October. These are available from the chancery at R15 each.

Cape Town will hold a special Holy Childhood Mass on November 9 at Lansdowne church at 10:30 for catechism children in faith levels 4-7.

Bishop JosÊ Luis Ponce de León of Manzini, Swaziland, said that he welcomed Pope Francis’ call for an Extraordinary Mission Month. But, he added, just one month of focus on mission will not have the impact that is needed to revive and deepen the missionary spirit.

To that end, his diocese has declared an Extraordinary Mission Year, to be launched with a vigil at Manzini’s cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption on Friday, October 18.

During the vigil there will be the lighting of the “Mission Candle�, which features the names of all the diocese’s parishes and the year they were established, from 1914 to 2018.

The Mission Candle is intended to visit every parish for

three weeks. Other plans include the missionary prayer (see page 11) being said during the year, and every parish dedicating 15 minutes to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

Home visits will take place throughout the year, and the diocese will celebrate “Outstation Sunday� where whole parishes are invited to visit one outstation to support it.

A Diocesan Missionary Congress will be held in Manzini (November 21-23), with apostolic nuncio Archbishop Peter Wells, SACBC secretary-general Sr Hermenegild Makoro CPS, and Bishops Victor Phalana of Klerksdorp and Siegfried Mandla Jwara of Ingwavuma present. n See also page 10.

LOCAL

The Southern Cross, September 25 to October 1, 2019

3

J&P works with UN to halt gender violence

BY ERIN CARELSE

A

CATHOLIC activist has called for police stations in informal settlements to give protection to women.

Lerato Makae, spokesperson for Young Women For Life, said violence against women is everywhere, but is worse in such areas.

“Informal settlements in big cities are one of the most dangerous places to live as a young woman. But we do not have another place to go to. All we can do is fight back,” she said.

Ms Makae urged government to commit itself to establishing more police stations close to informal settlements. “There is no protection for us. There are no police stations close,” she said.

Young Women For Life is a United Nations Women (UNW) movement, and was established in South Africa with the assistance of the Justice & Peace Commission of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

UNW considers young women between the ages of 18 to 30 living in informal settlements in the big cities of South Africa a high-risk group, with the highest rate of HIV

Capetonians protest against violence towards women and children outside St Mary’s cathedral. (Photo: Günther Simmermacher) infection, the highest rate of unemployment, and the highest rate of being a victim of rape and violence against women.

Young Women For Life is being pilot-tested in various informal settlements in Gauteng. J&P was invited to provide support to the branches, as they are involved in

pastoral accompaniment of various groups and movements of disadvantaged communities.

Young Women For Life is being tested in weekly dialogues aimed at mindset and behavioural modification, looking at HIV/Aids and gender-based violence issues, and standing in solidarity with fellow

women who are survivors of violence by going with them to the police to report cases, tracking their cases and accompanying them to the courts.

They also identify informal settlement hotspots for rape.

Since the launch of Young Women For Life, the movement has managed to take young women off the streets by forming netball teams competing with others around Mamelodi in Pretoria.

Most of the young women are now more knowledgeable on their rights, are more aware of the dangers linked to HIV/Aids and gender-based violence, and are speaking out.

“We decided that we would be survivors. We will not be victims,” said Ms Makae.

J&P said it is important that the Church gets involved in the pastoral and technical accompaniment of social movements of the poor, in line with the call by Pope Francis that the Church be out there with people and their struggles for justice.

It responds too to the call by SACBC president Bishop Sithembele Sipuka of Mthatha, who in August called for the Church to accompany disadvantaged communities.

The movement also echoes the words of Pope Francis, who recently said: “Violence against women cannot be treated as ‘normal’, maintaining a culture of machismo blind to the leading role that women play in our communities. It is not right for us to look the other way and let the dignity of so many women, especially young women, be trampled upon.”

Bishop Victor Phalana, chair of J&P, said the recurrence of femicide and other forms of gender-based violence in the country speaks to the urgent need for collective action by all concerned parties to root out this deplorable culture.

“The government must take serious and practical steps to stem the tide of femicide and it is therefore imperative that the political leadership puts the security of women and young girls high on the national agenda,” he said.

“We commit our churches and schools as safe places for women and children and as a Church will use our liturgies, catechesis and homilies to sensitise men and boys about the evils of gender-based violence,” Bishop Phalana noted.

Jubilee gives cause for hope

T

Benedictine Father Laurence Freeman, director of the World Community for Christian Meditation, toured South Africa in September. Here he presents a religious education seminar on teaching meditation at Holy Family College in Parktown, Johannesburg. (Photo: Sheldon Reddiar)

HE community of De La Salle Holy Cross College in Victory Park, Johannesburg, community gathered on the high school’s rugby field to celebrate 175 years since Mother Bernarda, foundress of the Menzingen Sisters of the Holy Cross, made her vows.

“How apt that this visionary educator shares a 2019 jubilee with another visionary educator: our founding father, John Baptist De La Salle,” said Mary Hyam, the school’s director of religious education and formation.

In May, the school marked the tercentenary of De La Salle’s death.

The theme of the Mass for Mother Bernarda, celebrated by parish priest Fr Tony Daniels OMI, was “Hope”.

During the symbol procession, the Grade R learners—whom Ms Hyams called “the hope of the fu-

The community of De La Salle Holy Cross College has Mass on the high school’s rugby field ture for our school and our country”—presented their symbols of new life and hope: seedlings.

“Each new day is an opportunity to start over again, to look forward to a fresh start and new opportunities. To symbolise this

the Grade 6 learners presented their paintings of the dawn sky,” she said.

In her address at the close of Mass, Holy Cross provincial Sr Monica Madyembwa repeated the motto that went out from the Holy Cross Sisters’ general chapter held in Rome in June: that each one of us is called to be “Rooted in Christ…a Transforming Presence”.

“How necessary it is that in our country at this time, we heed the call to find hope where there is suffering, and so often a sense of hopelessness,” she said, adding that “we are a people of hope; we are called to transform our lives and by so doing, the lives of others.”

Sr Monica posed a question for reflection: “As people of hope, how can we transform lives in our own contexts?”

4

The Southern Cross, September 25 to October 1, 2019

INTERNATIONAL

Irish abuse survivor disappointed with reforms

BY CHRISTOPHER GUNTY

C

LERGY sexual abuse survivor Marie Collins has said that she is disappointed with the results of the Vatican summit on child protection and efforts toward accountability and transparency.

She presented her assessment at a speaking tour of five US cities, called “The Catholic Tipping Point”.

Ms Collins, who was one of the original members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, resigned from that group in 2017 because she was concerned that promised reforms were not being implemented.

She said the abuse crisis has brought the Church to a tipping point. “The Church has come to a crossroads,” she said. “It’s got to decide where it’s going to go next be-

cause if it doesn’t change, it’s going to lose everything.”

Ms Collins told the group she had been molested by a hospital chaplain in Ireland when she was 12.

She said when she finally reported the abuse to a local priest many years later, she was told that she must have tempted the priest who abused her.

The priest later lied about that meeting, she added.

Ten years later, she reported the incident to the Dublin archdiocese and the hospital where the abuse occurred. The hospital offered counseling and reported the allegation to the police; the archdiocese said at the time that the priest had never had any such allegations against him, which was later found to be false.

“I was lied to in the worst way,” she said. Ms Collins said she later met with the archbishop, who told

Marie Collins, a clerical sexual abuse survivor from Ireland.

(Photo: John McElroy/CNS) her that the archdiocese was allowed to ignore the guidelines because they had no bearing in canon or civil law.

She said that Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, the next archbishop of Dublin, set up a strong child-protec-

tion office—a “gold standard” that other bishops should follow. At the archdiocese’s invitation, she joined a committee drafting child-protection guidelines. “You can’t criticise if you’re not willing to help if asked,” she said. The committee later voted to disband when they were encouraged to weaken the document.

“The document released was very weak,” Ms Collins said, and it noted that a complaint against a layperson would be reported to civil authorities, but a complaint against a priest would be handled internally.

In 2014, she was invited to be part of a new Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

“Sadly, the promises were not kept,” she said. The commission could not get adequate staffing and resources or access to other Vatican departments. She resigned in 2017

when she said it was clear the commission wouldn’t be able to do what it had intended.

“We put forward a lot of good recommendations to the pope,” she said. “None of the recommendations from 2014-18 were implemented.”

Ms Collins thinks Pope Francis has people “whispering in his ear” who don’t have the best interests of children as a priority.

“I believe the pope is doing his best,” she added, “but I believe he’s not being told the truth.”

She said she met with Pope Francis when he visited Dublin in August 2018 for the World Meeting of Families, and on his flight back to Rome, she said the pope said: “Marie Collins is fixated about accountability.”

“I am,” she said, to applause. “I take pride in that.”—CNS

New DRC cardinal’s lifelong passion

BY JONATHAN LUxMOORE

T

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HE Democratic Republic of Congo’s new cardinal will use his position to highlight Africa’s problems, while also bringing a lifelong passion for human rights to the international stage, said Catholic associates.

Mgr Donatien Nshole Babula, secretary-general of the Congolese bishops’ conference, called Cardinal-designate Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa “a zealous pastor and a direct, straightforward man who holds to the truth and knows what needs doing for the good of those entrusted to him”.

Pope Francis announced that Archbishop Ambongo, 59, would be one of 13 new cardinals installed at an October 5 Vatican consistory.

Mgr Nshole said that the cardinal-designate had gained extensive contacts and a deep awareness of conditions across Africa while heading the Congolese Church’s Justice and Peace Commission from 2008-16.

The monsignor said the appointment also was a tribute to Cardinal-designate Ambongo’s “strength of personality” and “intellectual capacity to see

Congolese Cardinal-designate Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa. (Photo: Baz Ratner, Reuters/CNS) wider perspectives beyond the here and now” as well as a sign of the pope’s “concern for the poor and disadvantaged”.

“He’s already done very important work for peace and human rights, insisting everything must be founded on justice. This is what he'll most seek to highlight now on the international stage,” Mgr Nshole said.

Born into a rubber tapper’s family in Boto on January 24, 1960, Cardinal-designate Ambongo took final vows with Capuchin Franciscans in 1987 and

was ordained in 1988 after studying moral theology at Rome’s Alphonsianum Academy.

He taught at Kinshasa’s Catholic university and became superior of the Capuchins’ Congolese province.

In 2004, he was appointed bishop of Bokungu-Ikela and apostolic administrator of Kole, becoming archbishop of Mbandaka-Bikoro in November 2016, and archbishop of Kinshasa in December 2018 after nine months as coadjutor to Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya.

Mgr Andre Masinganda, the bishops’ conference deputy secretary-general, said that Cardinal-designate Ambongo’s reputation for “frank speaking and firmness” had not prevented him from showing “pastoral openness to all” and a “shrewd capacity for synthesis in any given situation”.

“He’s certainly ready to receive and consider the views of others, and able to calm and unify,” the priest said.

“His motto, Omnia Omnibus (All things for all people), implies his doors are open to all, whether in power or opposition.

I think he’ll extend this into the world of politics and diplomacy,” he added.—CNS

Holy See: You can’t have Vatican III

BY CINDY WOODEN

T

HE German bishops’ plans for a two-year process of consultation and deliberation on key issues facing the Catholic Church must conform to universal Church law and must be approved by the pope, said the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect, sent a letter to Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising and attached an analysis by the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts of proposed statutes for the German “synodal way”.

The pontifical council said that, in proposing a process that would include “binding deliberations” on new rules for the Church in Germany, the bishops were, in effect, planning a “plenary council”, which would require prior approval by Pope Francis.

Matthias Kopp, spokesman for the German bishops’ conference said: “The assessment of the pontifical council deals with an older draft. The most recent draft, he said, “no longer contains some passages to which the assessment refers”.

Mr Kopp added that Cardinal Marx has been in touch with Cardinal Ouellet and would meet with him in Rome “to clear up any misunderstandings”.

The German bishops began discussing plans for the gather-

Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising, president of the German bishops’ conference. (Photo: KNA/CNS) ing in September 2018 after they published a study that revealed an estimated 3 700 cases of sexual abuse had been reported in the German Church from 19462014.

In response to the study and to a widespread sense that something needed to change, the bishops and Catholic lay leaders began discussing holding a national gathering of Catholics in a “synodal” style where the experiences and voices of everyone would be welcome and where bishops wouldn’t be the only ones making decisions.

The preparations focused on four key areas: the exercise of power and authority in the Church; sexual morality; the priesthood, including the issue of mandatory celibacy; and the role of women in the Church, includ-

ing the possibility of opening more areas of ministry to them.

In response, the pontifical council asked: “How can a particular Church deliberate in a binding way if the themes dealt with touch the entire Church?”

The pontifical council also objected that the initial draft of the statutes seemed to imply that the bishops’ conference and the lay Central Committee of German Catholics “are equal” and would send an equal number of participants, would share the duties of presiding over the assemblies and would have an equal vote.

“This equality between bishops and laypeople cannot exist ecclesiologically,” the pontifical council said. While all Catholics are called to active participation in the Church, “that does not mean that the Church is structured democratically and that decisions are made by a majority of the faithful”.

In a diocesan synod, a plenary council or the German “synodal way”, the pontifical council said, study, consultation and decisionmaking are separate tasks belonging to different members of the Church based on their role.

And, while the bishops are the only ones who can make binding decisions on most matters, if the question impacts the wider Church, only the pope can decide, the pontifical council explained.—CNS

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, September 25 to October 1, 2019

5

Nuns offer programmes to fight the lure of Europe

BY VALENTINE IWENWANNE

F Prince Charles and his wife Camilla study texts in the Vatican Library.

They are going to attend the canonisation of the English convert Bl John Henry Newman on October 13. (Photo: Clarence House/CNA).

Prince Charles to attend Bl Newman’s canonisation

P

RINCE Charles will attend the canonisation of Bl John Henry Newman next month.

The heir to the British throne will travel to Rome to witness the canonisation Mass of the first nonmartyr English saint since the Reformation.

After the Mass in St Peter’s Square on October 13, the Prince of Wales will attend a reception at the Pontifical Urban College, where Bl Newman studied to become a Catholic priest, the prince’s office announced. “We are delighted that HRH The Prince of Wales will lead the UK delegation for the canonisation of Cardinal Newman,� the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, said after the announcement. “Cardinal Newman’s exploration of faith, depth of personal courage, intellectual clarity and cultural sensitivity make him a deeply admired follower of Christ.

His ministry, especially among the poor, is a permanent sign of the Church’s pastoral compassion and a challenge to us all today,� Cardinal Nichols said.

John Henry Newman was a

19th-century theologian, poet, Catholic priest and cardinal. Originally an Anglican priest, he converted to Catholicism in 1845 and his writings are considered among some of the most important Church-writings in recent centuries.

Tens of thousands of people attended Bl Newman’s beatification in Birmingham, England, in September 2010. At the beatification Mass, Pope Benedict XVI said that Bl Newman’s “insights into the relationship between faith and reason, into the vital place of revealed religion in civilised society, and into the need for a broadly-based and wide-ranging approach to education were not only of profound importance for Victorian England, but continue today to inspire and enlighten many all over the world�.

Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, met Pope Francis in April 2017 during a visit to the Vatican. The Prince of Wales previously met Pope Benedict XVI in 2009 and Pope John Paul II in 1985 with his first wife, Princess Diana.—CNA

ATIMA Atewe, a single mother, had only one thing on her mind: quit her job as a brick loader and migrate to Europe.

The appeal of Europe is widespread among young Nigerians, and Ms Atewe, 23, was no different in her thinking. She could not afford a visa or an airline ticket, but she was determined to travel northward against terrible odds that often leave Nigerians at the mercy of the sea.

Ms Atewe’s journey reflects that of thousands of young Europe-bound Nigerians. She was trafficked across the Sahara Desert and ended up in Libya for more than a year. In Libya, she was forced into prostitution. But Ms Atewe earned more than $2 400 (R35 000) and was able to repay her “buyer� and secure her freedom.

The Africa Faith and Justice Network reported that about 60-80% of Nigerians embarking on the journey have been trafficked to Europe for prostitution. About 95% of those trafficked are from Edo state—Ms Atewe’s home—which has the highest number of cases of human trafficking in the country.

In Edo, the Sisters of the Sacred

Sr Florence Nwaonuma is a member of the Life Counselling and Development Initiative, an anti-trafficking organisation that focuses on rebuilding the lives of returnees. (Photo: Valentine Iwenwanne/CNS) Heart of Jesus are working to fight human trafficking and illegal migration by raising awareness, providing counselling to victims, and teaching young people skills that can lead them to find meaningful work and discourage them from being enticed to Europe. “That was what led us into the fight against human trafficking,� said Sr Monica Omowunmi Rowland, the congregation’s superiorgeneral. “We therefore have chosen

Pope: Pray for your politicians

BY CINDY WOODEN

P

RAY for politicians, government officials and anyone in a position of authority, including priests and bishops, Pope Francis urged during Mass in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae.

The pope said that, today, it seems that everyone is much more willing to insult leaders, inside and outside the Church, rather than pray for them. “Some deserve it,� Pope Francis said of the insults. But the beginning of 1 Timothy 2 urges people to pray “for everyone, for kings and for all in authority�.

Instead, politicians and government officials today seem to be offered a “rosary of insults and swear

Pope Francis urged Catholics to pray for politicians. (Photo: CNS) words�, he said.

But a real Christian who has the good of his or her community, region and nation at heart would not leave that person alone “without asking God to bless� him or her, the pope said.

Red hat won’t slow Islam expert down

BY CAROL GLATZ

O

NCE the key expert on Islam at the Vatican, Cardinal-designate Michael Fitzgerald is unsure whether a new top-ranking title will help or hamper his work ministering in a multicultural inner-city parish in Liverpool, England. “Ask me in a few years� to see how it goes, the 82-year-old former president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and papal nuncio to Egypt and the Arab League said.

Cardinal-designate Fitzgerald said while many people have welcomed his elevation to the College of Cardinals, he is hoping others will not be intimidated and think: “We can’t invite him now. He’s too important!�

Having a high profile isn’t a priority in his day-to-day work reaching out to migrants and Muslims in the city of Liverpool which had the earliest mosque in England and has the oldest Chinese community in Europe.

Since his order, the Missionaries of Africa, are near Chinatown, “our neighbours are Chinese� and the priests are hoping to build relations with them and the evangelical church close by as well, he said.

The cardinal-designate said he thinks it very significant Pope Francis will give red hats to prelates from the Muslim-majority cities of Rabat, Morocco, and Jakarta, Indonesia, as well as the former and the current presidents of the interreligious coun-

Cardinal-designate Michael Fitzgerald. (Photo: Phil Humnicky/CNS) cil. By making them cardinals on the same day, Pope Francis is highlighting “this aspect of the Church’s mission, that reaching out to other believers is important�, he said.

Born on August 17, 1937, to Irish parents in a small town north of Birmingham, England, Archbishop Fitzgerald said that his interest in interreligious dialogue may have stemmed from growing up with friends who were “not all Catholics and not all Irish�.

He pursued his dream of becoming a missionary priest and heading to Africa when he went off to school with the Missionaries of Africa at age 12 in 1949.

He would later earn a degree in Arabic at the University of London.

He was ordained a priest in 1961 at the age of 23 and spent two years teaching courses on Islam to Muslim and Christian students in Kampala, Uganda, during the reign of the dictator

to actively engage in the different activities that can help reduce this evil that has eaten deep into our society.�

The Sisters employ two major approaches in their ministry. They work to raise awareness of the dangers of human trafficking in schools and churches in villages in Edo and help young women gain employable skills so they can stay in their communities. “When we go for a campaign in each of the villages, we have a big screen projecting films of some of our people who have been trafficked and are suffering, so it becomes so real to them,� Sr Monica said.

Sr Florence Nwaonuma is a trained social worker, lawyer and member of the Edo Task Force Fullness of Life Counseling and Development Initiative, an anti-trafficking organisation that focuses on rebuilding the lives of returnees and provides empowerment programmes for them to earn a living.

When Ms Atewe returned to Nigeria, she met Sr Florence and was received by the Edo Task Force. Ms Atewe is now enrolled in a fashion school, where she’s receiving tutorials on how to make women’s clothing to help rebuild her life.—CNS

Idi Amin. He also lived for two years in northern Sudan, carrying out dialogue with Muslims and proclaiming the Gospel to a small Christian community there.

His experience made him one of the Catholic Church’s foremost experts on Islam and the Quran, and in 1987 he was appointed secretary of the Vatican’s Secretariat for Non-Christians, which later became the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. He was ordained a bishop in 1992 and became archbishop in 2002 when he became president of the pontifical council.

In February 2006, he became nuncio to Egypt and served as the Holy See’s representative to the Arab League. He and other nuncios of Muslim-majority nations dealt with the controversy and violence in the aftermath of Pope Benedict XVI’s address in Regensburg, Germany, in which his quoting a medieval emperor’s critique of the prophet Muhammad was misinterpreted as an endorsement of that view.

Even though he retired at age 75 at the end of 2012, retirement for Cardinal-designate Fitzgerald meant going to the Missionaries of Africa community in Jerusalem to welcome pilgrims, teach courses on the Bible and give talks on Islam.

He moved back to England in late 2018 to work in the innercity parish of St Vincent de Paul in Liverpool.—CNS

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

“Who of us has prayed for our leaders? Who of us has prayed for our parliamentarians that they can find agreement and move the country forward?� the pope asked. “It seems that a patriotic spirit doesn’t get to the point of prayer; yes, it reaches demeaning them, hatred, fights, and it ends there.�

Some may not like their leaders’ politics, thinking they are “too communist� or “corrupt�, the pope said, but writing to Timothy, St Paul does not enter that discussion, he simply says to pray for them.

Pope Francis said he thought it would be a wonderful thing if politicians and leaders prayed for the people they govern and people prayed for their leaders.—CNS

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6

The Southern Cross, September 25 to October 1, 2019

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

CWD collapse: Who will be held responsible?

I

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

You are a mission

W

HEN he declared October 2019 an Extraordinary Mission Month, Pope Francis invited us to do more than pray for vocations, important as that is. He issued a call to action in discerning, planning and implementing ways of bringing the good news of Jesus to the people.

This requires of the Body of Christ to redefine, rediscover and renew our mission, collectively and individually.

Pope Francis has given us four cornerstones on which we should build our missionary mandate.

Firstly, by a “personal encounter with Jesus Christ alive in his Church through the Eucharist, the Word of God, personal and communal prayer”.

Before we can go out and evangelise, we ought to put our faith life in order, and chiefly our relationship with Jesus, whom we are called to propose to those who have yet to discover or rediscover him.

Secondly, by the testimony of faith. The pope refers to “missionary saints, martyrs and confessors of the faith, as an expression of the Church scattered throughout the world”.

We have much to draw from the witness of missionaries, especially in South Africa where almost every Catholic has known several priests and religious who came from afar to spread the Gospel.

It should strike us that at the centre of most missionaries’ stories is their service to the poor.

Thirdly, the pope calls for “missionary formation: biblical, catechetical, spiritual and theological”.

It is self-evident that those who communicate the Good News should have the proper formation. But we must not be discouraged if we lack academic qualifications. Of course, we must not articulate the Gospel from a position of ignorance, but if we understand Christ’s mercy and live it with joy, we need no words to evangelise.

And that is the pope’s fourth point: “Missionary charity”.

We needn’t knock on doors to sell Catholicism, stand on soapboxes in the public forum or bang on our keyboards while on social media to shout the odds of our faith. Above everything, we evangelise by modelling Jesus: the Jesus of love, the Jesus of jus-

tice, the Jesus of mercy, the Jesus of charity, the Jesus who embraces, the Jesus who opens the path to salvation.

Pope Francis said last year: “We do not have a product to sell. [Our missionary call] has nothing to do with proselytising; we are not selling a product. We have a life to communicate: God, his divine life, his merciful love, his holiness!”

T

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.

hat needn’t be complicated. A stretched-out hand can be more potent than a hundred books; a simple gesture can touch a heart even deeper than a stirring sermon.

This does not mean that good writings and inspiring homilies have no missionary value; quite the contrary. These can and do persuade on a rational and relational level. Even the newspaper you are reading right now can be used to evangelise.

But sometimes, just two words can do the trick. Some weeks ago we featured the faith journey of TV and radio personality Ursula Chikane, who returned to the Catholic faith after she saw two words in the guestbook of St Charles’ church in Victory Park, Johannesburg: “Welcome home.”

This is how simple evangelising can be: an open door, an open ear, an open heart. For some people and parishes, that requires a renewal.

And we must be prepared for resistance from those who want to keep the Church an exclusive club, those who expect sinners to be transformed before they approach Jesus, instead of letting Jesus transform them.

But Jesus needs no bouncers.

Our Lord made that clear when he repeatedly reprimanded his disciples for trying to limit access to him.

Jesus sent his disciples into the world to spread the good news of salvation to the nations. This special month is intended to amplify that call to us today.

Pope Francis in his message for this year’s Mission Sunday says: “I am a mission, always; you are a mission, always; every baptised man and woman is a mission.”

The motto of Extraordinary Mission Month is “Baptised and sent”. Our task, this month and beyond, is to discern how we, the baptised, are to go out and spread the good news of salvation to the people.

AM writing as a shocked and disillusioned regular donor to Catholic Welfare & Development (CWD), which was a prestigious Catholic institution in the archdiocese of Cape Town, but is now bankrupt and in the process of being wound up, with its properties auctioned off.

I have been given to understand that this tragic situation came about not only through maladministration but mostly through fraudulent misappropriation of its funds by former staff members.

My questions are:

Pell: rape accusers not per se correct

I

NDISPUTABLY, it is absurd that a cardinal in jail has not resigned from office. Cardinal Pell’s refusal to do so is to be deplored. To that extent only, I support the sentiments Günther Simmermacher expressed in his article “Why Pell should resign” (August 28).

But much else of what he wrote is wrong.

His statement that we must “not blame the complainant” is silly. It presupposes that the accuser was telling the truth for, if he wasn’t telling the truth, then he has a lot for which he is to be blamed. I suggest that it would be better to have said that we must reserve judging him.

Mr Simmermacher’s statement that we must “give the victim the benefit of at least some doubt, as all who allege having been abused are entitled to” is biased and stupid. It presupposes the complainant is a “victim” and is telling the truth.

What everyone is entitled to is to be listened to with an open mind.

As to the “benefit of the doubt” being given to the accusers, it does not befit the editor of a Catholic newspaper to invoke the jurisprudence of Pontius Pilate. In judging we try to find the truth and where there is doubt we give the benefit of it to the accused.

Mr Simmermacher’s statement “And for the sake of decency, it is time now to believe the victim of Cardinal Pell’s abuse” is ludicrous.

Again he calls the accuser a “victim” but more troubling still is the implication that out of “decency” we should believe complainants.

This idea has been gaining currency of late. Last year, during the US Senate hearings regarding whether or not Judge Brett Kavanaugh should be appointed as a Supreme Court justice, many argued that the woman who accused him of raping her, Christine Blasey Ford, should be believed as we should, as a matter of principle, be-

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1. Have the fraudsters been identified, and if not, why not?

2. If so, what steps have been taken to bring them to justice and to track down the recipients of potentially stolen funds?

3. Who is the liquidator of the organisation, and when can we expect answers to the above questions, which all donors and Catholics in general are entitled to expect?

Eric Consani, Cape Town n The Archdiocese of Cape Town responds: The new interim board of CWD is responsible for the winding up of CWD affairs and the set-

lieve those who make such accusations—this despite the fact that nobody else corroborated her version, Justice Kavanaugh denied it, it was levelled only 20 years after the event allegedly occurred and, at that, only after she had had her memory jogged in consequence of undergoing therapy.

I have prosecuted and defended many rape cases, and in my experience while children tend to tell the truth about such issues, adults sometimes lie. In short, every case should be approached with an open mind and judged on its merits.

We have not yet heard the end of the Pell saga. People have said he is actually innocent of the offences, others say that he is guilty.

But individuals should reserve expressing personal opinions as to his guilt or innocence until they, personally, have read the record.

Adrian Collingwood, Durban

Pell verdict: My key reservations

A

S one of those Cardinals who continue to have serious reservations about the justice and fairness of the entire process which led to Cardinal George Pell being summonsed to appear before the court in Melbourne on charges of child sexual abuse, and who is advised by your good self to stop voicing any further doubts about the verdict, I believe it is only fair that you should let your readers know why we are doing so.

Apart from having actually celebrated Mass in St Patrick’s cathedral, Melbourne, and therefore experiencing the goings-on in the sacristy on a Sunday morning, especially between the earlier Mass and the archbishop’s Mass at 11:00, which resemble a railways station rather than a trysting place for nefarious actions of the type Cardinal Pell is accused of, I still marvel how such could have taken place unnoticed.

I also find it incomprehensible that two choir boys could sneak away unnoticed and unchallenged from the choir, to be abused in the sacristy, under the conditions in the sacristy, which I experienced not once but at least twice!

A second reason for my doubts is the lingering memory of a visit to an Australian prison and a comprehensive session with a couple of native Australian inmates. That memory alone raises doubts in my mind about Australian justice.

Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, Durban

Abuse talks: Laity left in the dark

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T was with great enthusiasm that I read in The Southern Cross that the Vatican’s Jesuit Father Hans Zollner would visit archdioceses in South Africa to share his perspectives and insights regarding clergy abuse.

I also appreciate the strong leadership from SACBC president Bishop Sithembele Sipuka and Bishop Duncan Tsoke, auxiliary in Johannesburg, in the article “Bishop on abuse: Repent!” (August 14).

The bishops understand that sustainable prevention needs an inte-

tlement of its massive debts. Since the new board and management took office late last year, all donations received have been ringfenced for future welfare work and are not used to settle any debt.

While it is apparent that CWD was mismanaged, the board has yet to find evidence of outright theft of funds. However, it is clear that donor grants were misallocated and misused, sometimes significantly so.

In light of this, the board will be pursuing legal action against those responsible, and expects be able to do so shortly.

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.

Letters can be sent to PO Box 2372, Cape Town 8000 or editor@scross.co.za or faxed to 021 465-3850

grated, holistic approach inclusive of reconciliation and transformation.

Bishop Sipuka’s comments regarding the validity of the priesthood of abusive clergy resonated with me. I have always held a strong personal opinion that such clergy were “mistakenly ordained”.

The context of Bishop Sipuka’s comments also suggests it may now be easier to deal with abusive clergy.

He said that “it will not be a question of him being laicised, but a declaration that they never were priests in the first place, but sick men who were mistakenly ordained and therefor incapable of sacramentally representing Christ”.

There should now be swift action to remove such clergy from the priesthood. This would increase protection of vulnerable groups.

Clergy abuse in the Church in SA is mostly aimed at pre-adolescent and early adolescent girls.

Bishop Sipuka is also applauded for frankly discussing the dynamics within the religious sector. He refers to the “mutual sexual intimacies” that result from friendships between priests and nuns.

Since 1994 the phenomenon of consensual relationships has emerged as a theme in various research on clergy sexual abuse in the Church. It is an old phenomenon that requires urgent intervention.

Bishop Sipuka calls for a change of attitude to eradicate clericalism and emphasises the responsibility of the laity to dismantle clericalism: the faithful should become much more progressive and increase accountability by asking the right questions and raising difficult issues.

The best place to start is to give parish and finance councils effective leadership strategies that produce positive outcomes in ministry.

Second is helping parents on how to effectively deal with difficult decisions regarding clergy abuse, and to encourage them reporting.

Third is the empowerment of all parishioners to encourage sustainable relationships with clergy, without enforcing the “treat-him-as-agod syndrome” and without becoming the “most favourite parishioner”.

Fourth, drop the title “Father” and simply call priests “Brother”.

Given these concerns, I was disappointed to realise that Fr Zollner concluded his visits to the archdioceses without these being open to the faithful by publicising them in any meaningful way.

Who was his audience? Clergy and “selected laity”, or were the events open to the public? Why the secrecy? Who was responsible for communicating Fr Zollner’s visit to the Catholic public?

The secrecy regarding Fr Zollner’s speaking events gives an impression that the Church failed to use this Vatican visit as an effective tool to strengthen relations with the laity. Clergy abuse affects all of us.

Name withheld, Pretoria

PERSPECTIVES

Why ‘baby priests’ get together Fr Runaine P Radine RIESTLY formation never stops. That’s why “baby priests”—those, like myself, who were recently ordained— have to attend the Annual Gathering of Recently Ordained Priests (Agrop).

It is requirement for all priests in the first five years of their ordination. For those of us in the Cape Metropolitan Region (that is, most dioceses in the Western and Eastern Cape), the gathering took place in Cape Town this month.

Since it was my first encounter, it would seem that “kindergarten” would be exciting. But Agrop is no child’s play!

As Pope John Paul II stated in his 1992 document on the formation of priests, I Will Give You Shepherds: “Ongoing formation is a duty, in the first instance, for young priests...to grasp and incarnate the unique wealth of God’s gift which is the

priesthood and to express their capabilities and ministerial attitude” (76).

This gathering fosters communion between the new priests and, in turn, with the priests and bishops with whom they serve. That is why the presence of Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town and Bishop Sylvester David, his auxiliary, added gravity to the meetings.

On each day a different priest led the discussions on various topics aimed at assisting us in our personal lives and in our ministry as priests. These ranged from priestly spirituality to the very nitty-gritty of parish life.

F

or those of us who passed through the corridors of St Francis Xavier Orientation Seminary in Crawford, Agrop brought a sense of nostalgia with a visit to the current staff and students.

We remarked that the Holy Father would be proud that this environmentally-conscious and (mostly) Jesuit-run seminary is “Laudato Si’ in action”, with an effective water- and energy-saving system in place.

We also experienced a uniquely “welcome to Cape Town” atmosphere Archbishop Stephen Brislin and priests who have been in when we visited various parishes for the Sunday ministry for five years or less.

How we can bring hope L AST week we celebrated Heritage Day. This holiday was created in 1995 to celebrate our many cultures during a time of difficult transition for our country.

It was meant to bring healing to a divided nation by rejoicing in what we hold in common and celebrating the richness of our diversity.

Over the last 25 years we’ve had glorious moments in which we celebrated our heritage and the miracle of our transition to democracy.

This month, as we looked back on the life of Chester Williams, we recalled how he and 14 other Springboks represented a country united around its desire to stand proudly among the nations. For a moment, we showed the world what was the best in us. We became Vicky Sampson’s “African Dream”, a song that resonated far beyond that World Cup. In 2010, we welcomed the world for the football World Cup. Our critics thought we’d never be able to pull it off amid concerns of “terrorist attacks” and “incomplete” stadiums and roads.

Once again South Africans of all races and backgrounds rallied behind Bafana Bafana who, buoyed by national euphoria and momentary unity, went on to beat mighty France.

Even after our team left the stage, we were gracious hosts. The tourists left our country with a feeling that truly, there is something magical about this place at the bottom of the African continent.

But this year… I’m not sure there was much to celebrate on Heritage Day. We have shown our worst face to the world.

We have turned on our African brothers and sisters. We have turned on each other.

Driven by desperation, frustration, anger, disappointment, and poverty, we chose to blame foreigners for our problems. We took our impotence and powerlessness out on our women, violating and killing them in barbaric ways.

Increasingly, our diversity seems to be pushing us further apart from one another.

Our actions have made us the pariah of the African continent. Backyard braais and lofty speeches in stadiums can no longer dull us into believing that we are a united nation, a rainbow nation.

The rainbow has vanished behind the

clouds, and an ugly storm is brewing. In the oppressive tension of the storm, we feel suffocated by sadness, anger and fear.

And there seems to be no hope of it changing any time soon.

H

ope. Another word that seems so out of place in our national conversations at present. But yet, as Christians, we must be people of hope.

Of course, it cannot be a naïve hope that everything will all somehow be alright. Nor can it be the hope of blocking out the world and living in my own bubble of personal happiness.

I recently reread Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical Spe Salvi. In it, he calls for a “dialogue with Christianity and its concept of hope”.

He argues that an encounter with hope can come only from an encounter with Christ. However, this encounter, says Benedict, is not “an individualistic understanding of salvation, into hope for myself alone, which is not true hope since it forgets and overlooks others” (22).

He says true hope comes from “communion with Jesus” which “draws us into his ‘being for all’”.

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Paths of Vocation

celebration of Holy Mass. This was most appropriate during Heritage Month but marred by the xenophobic attacks and the violence against women and children in South Africa at the time. It then became an opportunity to pray and reflect together on what kinds of priests we want to be.

The gathering fittingly ended with a two-day retreat based on the apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis, Gaudete et Exsultate, on the Universal Call to Holiness, with a special emphasis on the virtue of humility, learned through prayer, imitating the Lord Jesus who “wants us to be saints and not to settle for a bland and mediocre existence”.

Perhaps all Catholics could think about this during the Extraordinary October Month of Mission, with its theme, “Baptised and Sent”.

This motto has a meaning for our ongoing journey as Christians in the world today, for, as Pope Francis says in Gaudete et Exsultate, “we are all called to be holy by living our lives with love and by bearing witness in everything we do, wherever we find ourselves”.

Sarah-Leah Pimentel

The Mustard Seeds

The pope emeritus says that this relationship with Christ “commits us to live for others”. Similarly, our love of God “leads to participation in the justice and generosity of God towards others….the love of God is revealed in our responsibility for others “(28).

What I take from this is that we can’t ignore what is happening in our country just because it might not have touched us personally. But neither can we throw our hands up in despair or waste endless energy blaming the government, the education system, or the flailing economy.

The bottom line is that we have a responsibility for one another. If we follow Jesus who shows us the way and sends us to share the good news with others, we have a moral duty to draw others into a different way of acting and interacting.

Irrespective of the underlying causes for the violence, and despite the fact that we can’t fix the whole world, we can bring hope to our immediate environment with concrete actions.

We bring hope by speaking from the pulpit about what is happening in our country, and by never ceasing to call for peace, respect, and love of neighbour.

We bring hope by reaching out to those whose lives have been destroyed by violence and loss. We can create spaces where they can mourn. We can provide opportunities for them to receive counselling and spiritual accompaniment, thus equipping them to begin the journey of healing.

We bring hope by beginning a dialogue with the members of our communities who are hurting.

As one priest said to me: both the perpetrators and victims of the violence worship in our churches. People who normally would not interact come together around the Table of the Lord, professing a common faith.

Let us start there. Let us help them to find Christ in themselves and in each other. If they see the Christ they love in themselves and in each other, how then can they continue to inflict violence on their brother?

We bring hope by accompanying our Continued on page 11

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The Southern Cross, September 25 to October 1, 2019

7

Chris Chatteris SJ

Pray with the Pope

SA might need a missionary spring Intention: That the breath of the Holy Spirit might engender a new missionary “spring” in the Church.

HE world, said Bl John Henry Newman, “grows old, but the Church is ever young.

She can, in any time, at her Lord’s will inherit the Gentiles, and inhabit the desolate cities”.

No one puts it quite like Newman. Even today his “Second Spring Sermon”, on his hope for the revival of the Catholic Church in England in the 19th century, is quoted and reflected upon.

The Holy Spirit is ever at work, breathing life into the Church. But because the Church is a very human institution, she has her ups and downs.

Sometimes she seems to be responding more generously to the promptings of the Spirit than at others.

So when we pray that the Holy Spirit initiate something new—another missionary “spring”—I suppose we are praying that we may respond more generously to the initiatives to which the Spirit is constantly inviting us and seize the propitious moment, the kairos, which we are being offered.

We should remember, however, that the missionary activity of the Church is going on all the time and the statistics suggest that the Catholic Church continues to grow in numbers at a slightly higher rate than the rate of the expansion of the global population.

Africa has outperformed the rest of the world in the rate of growth of Christianity. Since the 19th century this growth has been spectacular, and we sometimes forget that it continues today.

It raises the interesting question posed by the theologian Fr Laurenti Magesa as to why African people seem to have found Christianity so attractive.

Obviously we have the Holy Spirit to thank for working so fruitfully with the semina verbi, the “seeds of the word”, as Pope John Paul II described the pre-Christian African cultural and religious foundations which are in harmony with the Gospel, in his exhortation after the First African Synod of 1994.

T

P

erhaps there is an old missionary “spring” here in this continent, and the pope’s prayer intention is more orientated towards the so-called developed world where the Church struggles in an ethos indifferent to faith and suspicious of organised religion.

In the world of Europe and the United States we hear a constant drip of news cataloguing the demise of faith and the “death of God”.

Because the media in those regions are so much more powerful than ours, we tend to be persuaded that the way Europeans and North Americans see the world is the way the world is; is the way the Church is.

Not that we should be complacent about what is happening there. It should pain us to hear that the light of faith is fading in the countries that sent the missionaries who brought the faith to us in Africa. After all, the Church is one, the one Body of Christ, and if one part is in pain, the rest of it should feel that pain.

We should also note the demographic and economic factors which correlate with the loss of faith.

Obviously, as populations fall, numbers of believers will also fall, and since nothing grows forever, population growth in Africa will also eventually fall; indeed, a slowing down of population growth has already started.

As for the economic factors, there is ample evidence that consumer societies which are dedicated to the production of more and more material things are not naturally predisposed to hearing and living the Gospel. The real Gospel I mean, not the so-called “prosperity Gospel” of people like the wonderfully-named Pastor Creflo Dollar!

South Africa is often held up as the most Westernised country on the continent. If that is so, then we need to be doubly careful about complacency with regard to our missionary and evangelising work.

We tend to assume that most people in Africa are naturally spiritual, and that atheism and agnosticism are rare, but that was also the case with Europeans once. Look at the case of “Holy Ireland” for an example of how quickly things can change.

Certainly, the conditions of life have changed dramatically since the first missionaries came to this country, which is now post-colonial, postapartheid, (becoming) post-industrial, and maybe even a touch post-modern.

Could we perhaps be becoming post-Christian? If so, the prayer for a new missionary “spring” is timely and apt.

8

The Southern Cross, September 25 to October 1, 2019

PILGRIMAGE

Fr Russell Pollitt and Radio Veritas’ Khanya Litabe interview Margarida and José de Freitas, who celebrated their 42nd wedding anniversary and received a blessing from Fr Pollitt at Mass.

Some of the pilgrims before their departure from OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg to Port Louis.

Mauritius Papal Mass Pilgrimage in Pics T

The pilgrims during the half-day “Retreat on the Beach”, which was led by Fr Russell Pollitt.

The sunset at the resort where the pilgrims stayed, captured by Fr Pollitt after the half-day retreat concluded.

HIS month, a group of pilgrims set out to see Pope Francis in Mauritius, led by Fr Russell Pollitt SJ. The tour was headlined by The Southern Cross, Radio Veritas and Spotlight.Africa.

It was a journey of many graces, some unexpected. The pilgrims joined 100 000 people at the papal Mass on a hill overlooking Port Louis, saw the city’s historic Catholic sites, prayed at the shrine of the island’s apostle Bl Jacques-Désiré Laval, received the Eucharist at Mass, had a retreat on the beach led by Fr Pollitt—and had time for the relaxation and activities offered in the resort where they stayed.

These photos provide just some of the memorable scenes from this unique journey.

Pilgrims pray inside St Louis cathedral in Port Louis, the exterior of which is seen on the left. It was rebuilt in the early 1800s after a succession of predecessor churches, dating back to the 1750s, were destroyed in cyclones or collapsed for other reasons.

Pilgrims at the tomb of Bl Jacques-Désiré Laval (180364), the Spiritan priest known as the Apostle of Mauritius.

Pope Francis also visited the tomb. Thousands of Mauritians visit the shrine every year.

Pilgrims pray inside the 18th-century church of St Francis of Assisi at Pamplemousses. It is the oldest Catholic church in Mauritius, dating to the 1750s.

Pope Francis arrives for Mass at the sanctuary of Mary Queen of Peace, a terraced shrine on a hillside overlooking Port Louis. He was greeted by people waving palm branches.

The church of St Francis of Assisi at Pamplemousses.

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The pilgrims on their way to the papal Mass on a mountain overlooking Port Louis.

Clara and Chantelle Nzima wait for the papal Mass to begin at the sanctuary of Mary Queen of Peace. About 100 000 people, or 10% of Mauritius’ population, attended the Mass.

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Fr Russell Pollitt with Valerie Kotze and Tanya Manning at the papal Mass.

Pilgrims walk on the waterfront in Port Louis.

CHURCH

The Southern Cross, September 25 to October 1, 2019

9

Why a synod on the Amazon?

The Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region will meet in Rome for three weeks in October. But why did Pope Francis think a synod on that specific topic was necessary? BARBARA FRASER explains that the synod concerns not just one region but the whole world.

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affect them.

Those topics—ranging from threats from oil production and mining to alcohol and drug addiction, and domestic violence—were included in the synod working document and are likely to be discussed when the bishops meet.

1888, some slaves escaped and fled into the forest, forming communities called quilombos.

Their territorial rights are even more precarious than those of indigenous people, because the quilombos lack official recognition as traditional communities.

Importance for the world

Francis not the first

The document highlights the importance of the Amazon basin as an ecosystem that provides 15 percent of the fresh water on the planet and helps regulate the global climate.

By holding the synod in Rome, Pope Francis is stressing the importance of the Amazon for the world, as he did in the encyclical Laudato Si’ (On Care for Our Common Home), published in 2015.

As one of the most biologically diverse areas of the earth, the Amazon region has given rise to great cultural diversity. About 3 million of its 31 million inhabitants are indigenous.

Throughout Latin America, indigenous people generally are among the poorest. The lack of jobs and decent schools in their villages spurs steady migration from rural areas to cities, where indigenous people face discrimination and struggle to maintain their traditions.

At the synod, the bishops are also likely to consider new forms of urban ministry, especially ministry among indigenous people who have settled in cities.

Another group of Amazonian people who suffer prejudice are those of African descent. In Brazil, before slavery was abolished in

Pope Francis is not the first pontiff to focus the Church’s attention on the Amazon.

In an encyclical to the bishops of Latin America in June 1912, Pope Pius X decried the slavery and brutality that accompanied the rubber trade, in which tens of thousands of indigenous Amazonians died.

Bishops from Church jurisdictions in the Brazilian Amazon have gathered periodically since 1954, Bishop Krautler said. When they met in 1972 in the Amazonian city of Santarem, Pope Paul VI sent a message of support.

When the bishops from Latin America and the Caribbean met in the Brazilian city and Marian shrine of Aparecida in 2007, they discussed environmental issues, and a section on the Amazon was included in the final document of that assembly.

The synod will continue that trend, this time highlighting the importance of the Amazon region for the universal Church, Bishop Krautler said.

“It will be a great event of dialogue, of discussion, of proposals,” he said. “We do not hope for pious counsel from the synod. We hope that the synod will be a source of renewed impetus for the Church throughout the world.”—CNS

HEN Pope Francis came face to face with more than 2 000 Amazonian indigenous people in Peru in January 2018, he told them the place where they live is holy ground, and that they and the Amazon region are important to the Catholic Church and the entire world.

From October 6-27, more than a hundred bishops will meet at the Vatican to wrestle with what that means for the Church’s ministry in a politically, culturally and ecologically complex region where indigenous people face increasing threats.

The task for the bishops at the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon is to lay out, as the synod’s title puts it, “new paths for the Church and for an integral ecology”. The decisions they make will reverberate not Geovana Batista de Sousa, 11, peers from the window of her family’s only in the Amazon region, but home in the middle of the Amazon River near Santarem, Brazil. Her family is one of the last holdouts in an area where land is being bought up to elsewhere in the world.

Pope Francis is calling for a build a large port facility. (Photo: Paul Jeffrey/CNS) Church with “an Amazonian face— not a white face, but the face of the then held in Church jurisdictions Priest once a year indigenous person, the river dweller, throughout the Amazon, so In some places, a priest visits the black person, the person of Catholics in the nine countries mixed race”, said retired Bishop only once a year, celebrating the Eu- could discuss the issues that most charist, marriages and baptisms.

Erwin Krautler of Altamira, Brazil.

The diversity of faces reflects the Some communities almost never see a priest. complexity of issues in the region.

That is likely to be a key point on The Amazon region covers an the synod agenda. area more than the size of South The working document contains Africa, all its neighbouring couna proposal for a type of ordination tries, plus Zambia, Malawi, for village elders who are Kenya and Angola. in stable relationships, Although most of it is in In some the viri probati model.

Brazil, eight other counThey would not have all tries share parts of the replaces, a the attributes of priests, gion.

The national priest visits but they would be able boundaries, which are gento preside over euchariserally heavily forested and only once a tic celebrations. far from capital cities, are When the synod docoften lawless areas where year. Some ument was released, drug traffickers, human traffickers, illegal loggers communities that proposal grabbed headlines worldwide, as and illegal miners operate almost never some observers saw it as with impunity. a first step towards alEven away from borsee a priest. lowing married priests. ders, areas inhabited by inBut the pope has said digenous people are coveted by miners, loggers and that is not on the table, and the ranchers eager to expand into the document make clear that the funcAmazon region. Community lead- tions of the ministers would be limers who speak out and defend their ited to celebrating the Eucharist for territories risk harassment, death Amazonian Catholics.

The bishops are also likely to exthreats and assassination.

At least 300 indigenous groups plore new roles for women in the live in the region. A single parish may Church in the Amazon region.

The document calls for them to include scores of widely scattered villages accessible only by boat, and it “identify the type of official mincould take several weeks to reach the istry that can be conferred on women, taking into account the most distant community.

The difficulty and expense of central role that they currently play travel, and the relatively small in the Amazonian Church”.

Pope Francis announced the number of priests and religious, makes it virtually impossible to synod in 2017 and launched it with an initial meeting in January 2018, visit communities frequently.

As a result, unless they live in during his visit to the town of cities or in towns where a parish Puerto Maldonado, in the Peruvian Pray in Medjugorje and visit Rome, with papal audience, Assisi, the town of team lives, Catholics in Amazonia Amazon.

More than 40 assemblies were have little access to the sacraments.

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10

The Southern Cross, September 25 to October 1, 2019

EVANGELISATION

What Mission Month is about Pope Francis has declared October 2019 an Extraordinary Mission Month.

FR DUMISANI VILAKATI explains why and what that means to us.

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HE third Sunday in October is traditionally dedicated to the Church’s missionary endeavours. And October is often seen as “Mission Month”.

Two years ago Pope Francis declared October 2019 an Extraordinary Missionary Month to heighten that focus.

Why this year? The Pope chose October 2019 in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Pope Benedict XV’s apostolic letter Maximum Illud.

That document gave a great impetus to the Church’s missionary activity in the period following the First World War. Pope Francis wishes that the month of October 2019 be not only a celebration of Maximum Illud but also an encouragement to pay attention to the Missio ad Gentes (Latin for “To the Nations”), and indeed in every sphere of Church life.

Even though Benedict XV’s letter was written a hundred years ago, its message is still relevant for the Church today, and, indeed, will be for some time to come.

Mission: Christ to present Benedict XV grounded the mission of the Church in Jesus Christ who commanded his disciples to go and preach the Gospel to every creature. As such, this is a divine mission.

This mission is meant to last forever as the apostles took it so seriously that they also handed it over to their successors.

Such was the dedication of the apostles and their successors that, in spite of persecutions, the Gospel reached many lands in Europe, Africa, the Americas, Asia, and finally Australia and the Islands of the world.

In fact, through the efforts of the missionaries, many people have reached sanctity. Some of these attained sanctity by martyrdom and others by showing a good example of Christian piety. Indeed, a number of missionaries can be counted among the saints as well.

In spite of all the work done over the centuries and the manifest zeal for souls among missionaries, many people still remain outside the faith.

At the time of writing his apostolic letter, Pope Benedict XV indicated that about a billion people had not been reached by the faith.

This explains the reasoning behind the writing of the letter: It seeks to encourage bishops and priests to a renewed commitment in the task of evangelisation.

In encouraging a renewed commitment to missionary work, Maximum Illud presents five important matters as it focuses on the bishops who are already involved in the missions.

In the first place it recognises the visible spirit of the apostolate present among the bishops in the mission territories in spite of the difficulties therein. Benedict XV notes that this spirit needs to be

Musicians of Mariannhill monastery in KwaZulu-Natal, which was founded

by Abbott Franz Pfanner and his fellow missionaries. fostered especially in the cultivation of better relations between bishops, priests and other missionary agents present in the mission territories.

Secondly, Maximum Illud places emphasis on the fact that the mission needs to be extended to all people in the territory where the missionaries find themselves.

A century ago, this allowed for the creation of new vicariates and prefectures, most of which are now dioceses.

Thirdly, in a sense related to the above, Maximum Illud seeks the shunning of any form of exclusivity in the mission territories. Bishops must be open to more religious congregations, nationalities and women.

Fourthly, Maximum Illud underlines the importance of collaborating with neighbouring ecclesiastical territories in order to deal effectively with common problems and challenges. An area of such collaboration is specifically mentioned as the formation of the indigenous clergy.

The fifth point that is emphasised concerns the proper formation of indigenous clergy with the addition that this be done in sufficient numbers.

Their formation should be on par with the clergy in the countries where Christianity enjoys a more ancient tradition. Anything less would give rise to an inferior clergy unable to lead the Church properly in the future.

As such, the importance of seminaries receives special mention in Maximum Illud, with the clear indication that these be established in territories where they did not yet exist.

and is for all people.

• Secondly, Maximum Illud exhorts missionaries to avoid seeking earnings or money but to always seek souls.

• Third is the encouragement that missionaries, or would-be missionaries, acquire special skills which assist in evangelisation.

Mentioned specifically is the need to have some knowledge of the language and culture of the people the missionary is sent to.

This is so that he may have the ability to communicate with local leaders and indeed the general population.

• Fourth is the importance of a holy life marked by chastity, a certain piety, prayer, union with God and respect for those not yet in Christ especially in their culture and ways of living.

Such qualities are viewed in Maximum Illud as important in attracting local people to the Christian way of doing things.

The role of women

The role of missionaries

Having addressed the missionaries directly, Maximum Illud moves on to speak about the involvement of women in mission territories.

It notes that they have, since the beginning of Christianity, been involved in the spread of Christianity. Consecrated virgins are singled out as having excelled in educating the young and taking care of the sick and the poor.

To this end their involvement in the missions is encouraged and in fact required.

Lastly, Maximum Illud turns to those who have already been baptised, noting in particular their duty to assist in mission. In this way they will be giving testimony and thanks to God for having received the gift of faith.

After speaking directly to the bishops on the aforementioned points, Benedict XV turns to the missionaries.

• In the first place he encourages them in this endeavour by pointing out that missionary work is a divine task as all missionaries were sent by Christ himself. As such, it should not be confused with personal or national interests.

It is vital that a missionary gives a good example to the people in the missionary territory. This is so that the local people can recognise that the religion is indeed noble

Benedict XV notes three ways in which the baptised may participate fruitfully in such a noble task.

Firstly, they have to offer prayers so that the work of the missionaries may not be rendered sterile.

Secondly, Maximum Illud notes the need to send more personnel to the mission territories. In this sense it encourages bishops in countries with a longer tradition of Christianity to send diocesan priests as missionaries to the mission territories.

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Religious congregations and other institutes were exhorted to send more personnel to the missions.

Thirdly, Maximum Illud highlights the importance of providing material resources for missionary work. It should be noted that the scarcity of material resources was acutely felt when Maximum Illud was written.

The message of Pope Benedict XV, proclaimed a hundred years ago in Maximum Illud, is still relevant for the Church today.

Of course, it is also a document of its time, especially in seeing evangelisation as just the work of the clergy and religious. Lay people seem to appear where they have to support the works of the missions with prayer and material resources.

Also, the language which Benedict XV uses in some sections, especially in referring to those not yet admitted into the Church, can seem demeaning and in a certain sense representative of a colonial mindset.

The lack of a clear mention of the laity in evangelisation and a more respectable language for those who are not yet Christians would be the great project of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s.

The obvious deficiencies in the document do not detract from its perennial value, however.

Whereas Pope Benedict XV spoke of one billion people who had not yet reached the faith in 1919, we now speak of billions. The commandment of Christ to go and make disciples of every nation has not expired. The need remains on the importance of working together so that this noble task may be at-

tended to accordingly.

Moreover, the lack of personnel and material resources still hampers the work of evangelisation even today.

Relevance for us today In the southern African region, some churches have more human and/or material resources while others remain without.

As such, cooperation and the sharing of resources among churches remain important areas to be further explored.

Moreover, there is still a need to attend to the formation of indigenous clergy. Such formation should be on a par with their counterparts in other parts of the world as well as being in sufficient numbers. This is especially true of diocesan clergy who, at times, don’t see themselves as missionaries, so that they may be ready for the Missio ad Gentes.

Maximum Illud can serve as an impulse for a more renewed missionary engagement and commitment.

Its main points on the cooperation of Particular Churches, formation of the clergy, openness to the involvement of religious congregations in spreading the Gospel, bringing in other nationalities for this noble and divine task, and the inclusion of women are still relevant.

As the baptised people of God, we should never stop praying, providing personnel as well as material resources for the missionary activity of the Church so that this noble task may be attended to accordingly. n Fr Dumisani Vilakati heads the pastoral department of the Inter-Regional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA).

What the Mission Month logo means

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HE logo for the Extraordinary Missionary Month October 2019 shows a missionary cross whose traditional colours recall the five continents.

The cross welcomes the world and connects peoples, in communication between people with the Universal Church and as a link, it creates real bonds between the peoples.

The cross is the instrument and the effective sign of the communion between God and men for the universality of our mission. The Cross is luminous, full of colour, a sign of victory and resurrection.

The world is transparent, because our action of evangelisation has no barriers or boundaries: it is the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Christian charity and the world transfigured in the Spirit overcome distances and open the gaze of our minds and hearts. It is the love of Jesus that knows no limits and boundaries.

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he motto “Baptised and Sent”, which accompanies the image, indicates the two characteristic and inalienable elements of every Christian: baptism and proclamation. From the Cross flows forth baptism for the salvation of the people, to whom we are sent to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus.

The colours of the cross are those traditionally attributed to the five continents: red for America, green for Africa, white for Europe, yellow for Asia and blue for Oceania. Each colour has a symbolic meaning that makes the connection between the continents possible through the peoples, in the communion of God with humanity.

Green is the colour of life, of nature, of vegetation. It symbolises growth, fertility, youth and vitality. Green is the colour that harmonises the whole. The

African continent is called to such harmony even in the midst of the desert and suffering. It is also the colour of hope, one of the three theological virtues.

White is a symbol of joy, the beginning of new life in Christ.

It is the challenge for an old Europe, so that it is able to reappropriate the evangelising force that generated it, thanks to so many churches and so many saints.

Red recalls the blood of the martyrs of the American continent, seeds for a new life in the Christian faith.

It is the colour of the passion of the missionaries who, having arrived in a new country, are interested in the salvation of the people. Red recalls the earth and all that is terrestrial: it is a vivid and communicative colour.

Yellow is a colour of light, which feeds on light by invoking the true Light. Asia is the continent where Jesus was born the Son of God, our Sun, which rises from above.

Blue is the colour of Oceania, formed by innumerable islands scattered in the ocean. It is the colour that is closest to the invisible, recalls the divine life, remembers the mystery and invites us to transcendence in relation to all that is earthly and sensitive.

It is the colour of the water of life that quenches us and restores us along the path to God; it is the colour of our sky, a sign of God’s dwelling with mankind.

The Southern Cross, September 25 to October 1, 2019

Sr Mary Virginia Fredericks SAC

P

ALLOTTINE Sister Mary Virginia Fredericks died on August 14 at the age of 91.

Born Magdalena Fredericks in George on August 25, 1928, she was the youngest sibling of the family.

Magdalena joined the Pallottines in 1970 as a postulant.

Thereafter, she started her novitiate and received the name Mary Virginia. She made her first profession on January 22, 1973 and her final profession exactly six years later.

Sr Virginia served in several places: in Oudtshoorn and George, and in Cape Town at St Joseph’s Home in Montana and St Vincent Pallotti Hospital (formerly St Joseph’s Sanatorium) in Pinelands.

Later, she served in the provincial house as a professional cook, taking great care of her community’s well-being

and that of everyone who visited the house. Sr Mary Virginia was a creative cook and kept her very special secret recipes to herself.

She was also the congregation’s historian and congregational “memory”. If anyone asked about any historical

event, Pallottine Fathers or Brothers, buildings or places, her answer would be: “I remember so well…”

In her later years, living with severe arthritis and problems associated with ageing, Sr Virginia spent much time in prayer and reflection about her life and the hardship and sufferings she had endured.

In Christ she found her true meaning, identity and purpose.

She understood that it is he who reveals to us “who we really are”. He gives meaning and purpose to sufferings and loss.

In Christ she found her answers and saw how pains could be transformed.

Sr Mary Virginia’s Requiem Mass took place at the St Vincent Pallotti convent in Pinelands, and she was laid to rest at Woltemade cemetery..

By Sr Annemarie Niehsen SAC

Your prayer to cut out and collect

How we can bring hope to the world Continued from page 7 families to become more like the Holy Family: families in which abuse has no place.

We can give families tools to help them see the dignity of each member, to realise that each one is loved equally by God and deserves equal love. If we can raise up holy families, we are already playing a significant role in reducing the violence in our society.

Hope is never for ourselves alone. In the words of Pope Benedict: “As Christians we should never limit ourselves to asking, How can I save myself? We should ask, What can I do in order that others may be saved and that for them, too, the star of hope may rise?

“Then I will have done my utmost for my own personal salvation as well.” n For more columns by Sarah-LeahPimentel, see www.scross. co.za/category/perspectives/ sarah-leah-pimentel/

Liturgical Calendar Year C – Weekdays Cycle Year 1 Sunday September 29, 26th Sunday of the Year Amos 6:1, 4-7, Psalm 146:710, 1 Timothy 6:11-16, Luke 16:19-31 Monday September 30, St Jerome Zechariah 8:1-8, Psalm 102:16-21, 29, 22-23, Luke 9:46-50 Tuesday October 1, St Thérèse of the Child Jesus Zechariah 8:20-23, Psalm 87:1-7, Luke 9:51-56 Wednesday October 2, Guardian Angels Exodus 23:20-23, Psalm 91:1-

6, 10-11, Matthew 18:1-5, 10 Thursday October 3 Nehemiah 8:1-4, 5-6, 7-12, Psalm 19:8-11, Luke 10:1-12 Friday October 4, St Francis of Assisi Baruch 1:15-21 (15-22), Psalm 79:1-5, 8-9, Luke 10:13-16 Saturday October 5 Baruch 4:5-12, 27-29, Psalm 69:33-37, Luke 10:17-24 Sunday October 6, 7th Sunday of the Year Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4, Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9, 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14, Luke 17:5-10

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Anniversaries • Milestones • Prayers • Accommodation • Holiday accommodation Personal • Services • Employment • Property • Parish notices • Thanks • Others Please include payment (R1,90 a word) with small advertisements for promptest publication.

iN MeMORiAM

BROWN—Sybil-Ann. In loving memory of Sybil-Ann Brown who passed away on September 21, 2011.You are always in our thoughts and prayers. Your strength has become our strength. Lovingly remembered by your son Ruben, daughter-in-law Gloria, and grandchildren Randall, Grant, Nadine and Robert.

PeiLOW—Mary Teresa Agnes (née Houghton, née Marshall). Eldest daughter of the late Bill and Agnes Houghton, passed away on October 2, 2016 after a courageous battle with cancer. Sadly missed and lovingly remembered by her husband Ben, daughters Catherine and Elizabeth, son-in-law Michael, grandchildren James and Maria, sisters Margaret, Bridget and Barbara, brothers-in-law Walter and Derick and families.

May her dear soul Rest in Peace.

clergy. Malcolm Salida 082 784-5675, mjsalida@ gmail.com

PRAYeRS

LORD, inspire those men and women who bear the titles “husband” and “wife”.

Help them to look to you, to themselves, to one another, to rediscover the fullness and mystery they once felt in their union. Let them be honest enough to ask: “Where have we been together and where are we going?” Let them be brave enough to question: “How have we failed?” Let each be foolhardy enough to say: “For me, we come first.”

Help them, together, to reexamine their commitment in the light of your love, willingly, openly, compassionately.

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HOLiDAY ACCOMMODATiON

CAPe TOWN: Looking for reasonably priced accommodation over the December/January holiday period? Come to Kolbe House, set in beautiful, spacious gardens in Rondebosch, nestled just under Devil’s Peak. Self-catering, clean and peaceful, with spacious gardens.Safe parking.

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HeAR Me, LORD, on behalf of all those who are dear to me, all whom I have in mind at this moment. Be near them in all their anxieties and worries, give them the help of your saving grace. I commend them all with trustful confidence to your merciful love. Remember, Lord, all who are mindful of me: all those who have asked me to pray for them, all who have been kind to me, all who have wronged me, or whom I have wronged by ill-will or misunderstanding. Give all of us to bear each other’s faults, and to share each other’s burdens. Have mercy on the souls of our loved ones who have gone before us. Grant them peace and happiness. Amen.

see His presence in our lives, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, bring us into the joy and peace of the kingdom, where Jesus is Lord forever and ever. Amen

PARiSH NOTiCeS

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

Also, we’d welcome new notices 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.

O ViRGiN Mother, In the depths of your heart you pondered the life of the Son you brought into the world. Give us your vision of Jesus and ask the Father to open our hearts, that we may always

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27th Sunday: October 6 Readings: Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4, Psalm 95: 1-2, 6-9, 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14, Luke 17:5-10

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HATEVER it may feel like just now, you can rely on God. That seems to be the message of next Sunday’s

readings.

In the first reading, Habakkuk is not at all sure that he can rely on God; the Babylonians, rather than the God of Israel, seem to be running the show, and so he asks, “How long, Lord? I am crying for help, and you are not hearing.”

However, he does get an answer: “The Lord answered me and said, ‘Write down the vision and put it on tablets, so that it can be easily read.’ For it will press on to its end and it will not lie. If it delays, wait—for it will certainly come; it will not fail.”

Then there is a contrast, between “the rash one” and the “just man”, who “will live by his integrity”.

The poet who composed the psalm for next Sunday is well aware that you can rely on God, and invites us all to join in: “Come—let us ring out our joy to the Lord, and rejoice in the Rock of our salvation; let us come into his presence with thanksgiving.”

Then he makes it clear that Israel’s God is way ahead of the field: “for the Lord is a great

S outher n C ross

God, and a great king over all the gods”.

And the inevitable invitation to worship necessarily follows: “Come—let us worship, and kneel in the presence of the God who made us.”

This is certainly a God whom we can trust, “for he is our God and we are the people of his shepherding, the flock of his hand”.

But the key thing is for us to listen: “Today if only you would listen to his voice; don’t make your hearts hard.”

Then his hearers are reminded of circumstances when they were not paying attention to God: “at Meribah and the day of testing in the desert”.

What above all we have to do is to avoid imitating the ancestors who “tested me, even though they had seen my works”.

The second reading leaps into the Second Letter to Timothy, where Paul is reminding his correspondent to “stir the free gift of God into a flame, the gift that is in you through the laying-on of my hands”.

And he has to recall what God has already done: “God did not give us a spirit of cowardice—no, it was a spirit of power and love and self-control.”

I

Classic Conrad

In John’s Gospel, Jesus sets out only one condition to come to God: Be honest and never refuse to acknowledge what’s true, no matter how inconvenient.

The key is to be honest! If we’re honest, we will eventually find meaning and that will lead us where we need to go—perhaps even to a church door somewhere.

But even if it doesn’t, God will find us.

The mystery of Christ is bigger than we imagine.

Second: Listen to what’s deepest inside you.

Soul is a precious commodity. Make sure you honour yours. Honour the voice inside your soul.

Deeper than the many enticing voices you hear in the world inviting you in every direction is a voice inside you which, like an insatiable thirst, reminds you always of the truth of this prayer from St Augustine: “You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

Stay in touch with that voice. You will hear it in your restlessness and it will, in the words of Karl Rahner, teach you something that initially is hard to bear but eventually sets you free: “In the torment of the insufficiency of everything attainable, we eventually learn that here in this life there is no finished symphony.”

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hird: Beware the crowd! In the Gospels the word “crowd” is almost always pejorative. For good reason: Crowds don’t have a mind, and the energy of a crowd is often dangerous.

“May we remind you, sister, that Pope Francis said the Church should be like a patient, merciful and understanding mother who always forgives her erring children.”

Sunday Reflections

Above all he has to avoid (as do we) the danger of feeling “ashamed” of our vocation, “the witness to our Lord”; nor of course must he be ashamed of Paul, but “suffer with the gospel in accordance with God’s power”.

And Timothy has something that he can rely on: “a model of healthy teaching which you heard from me, in the faith and love which is in Christ Jesus”.

Not only that, but: “Preserve the good deposit, through the Holy Spirit who dwells among you.”

In the Gospel for next Sunday, the “apostles” are getting a bit anxious about whether they can indeed rely upon God. Jesus has just told them that they should be ready to forgive a fellow-Christian even as many as seven times in the day.

They cannot quite cope with this extravagance, and ask him to “increase our faith”, which is a perfectly respectable request.

Jesus does not make it easy for them, however, and says: “If you had faith like a grain of mustard, you would tell this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’—and it would obey you.”

So the challenge to us is quite rigorous; we

Six tips for young seekers T’S no secret that today we’re witnessing a massive decline in church attendance and, seemingly, a parallel loss of interest in religion.

The mindset within which we worried, sometimes obsessively, about sin, churchgoing, and heaven and hell, no longer holds sway for millions of people. As one parent, worried about the religious state of his children, shared with me recently: “Our old religious concerns never ever darken their minds.” What’s to be said in the face of this?

Admittedly, I may not be the person best-suited to offer that advice. I’m over 70 years old, a spiritual writer whose main focus of research and teaching right now is on the spirituality of ageing, and I’m a Catholic priest, a religious insider, who can be perceived as simply a salesman for religion and the churches.

But, despite that, here are some counsels on faith and religion for today’s generation.

First: Search honestly. God’s first concern is not whether you’re going to church or not, but whether you are staying honest in your search for truth and meaning.

When the Apostle Thomas doubts the reality of the Resurrection, Jesus doesn’t scold him, but simply asks him to stretch out his hand and continue searching, trusting that if he searches honestly, he will eventually find the truth. The same is true for us. All we have to do is be honest, not lie, acknowledge truth as it meets us.

Nicholas King SJ

You can rely on God

need to recognise that discipleship makes serious demands: “If one of you has a slave doing the ploughing or the shepherding, do you tell him, when he comes in from the field, ‘Come and lie down to eat now’?

No—won’t you tell him, ‘Get me something to eat, put on your livery and serve me while I eat and drink; and then you eat and drink’?”

God, you see, is way beyond anything that we can imagine: “Do you thank the slave because he did what he was commanded?”

We have always to remember that God is unimaginably greater than we are, and we do not have rights over God. Therefore our task is not to drift around complaining that “you can’t rely on God”.

Instead what we must do is recognise our lack of worth: “So with you—when you’ve done all that you were commanded, you are to say, ‘We are useless slaves: we have done [only] what we ought to have done.’”

This is strong language; but that is the God with whom we are dealing; and you can rely on him.

Southern Crossword #882

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

So beware of what author Milan Kundera calls “the great march”, namely, the propensity to be led by ideology, groupthink, the latest trend, the popular person or thing, the false feeling of being right because the majority of people feel that way, and the social pressures coming from both the right and the left.

Be true to yourself. Be the lonely prophet who’s not afraid to be alone on the outside.

Dream. Be idealistic. Protect your soul.

Don’t give it away cheaply.

Fourth: Don’t confuse faith with the Churches—but don’t write off the Churches too quickly. When they ask those without religious affiliation today why they aren’t religious, invariably their answer is: “I just don’t believe it anymore.” But what’s the “it” which they no longer believe?

What they don’t believe anymore isn’t in fact the truth about God, faith, and religion, but rather what they’ve heard about God, faith, and religion. Sort that out and you will find that you do have faith.

Moreover, don’t write off the Churches too quickly. They have real faults; you’re not wrong about that, but they’re still the best GPS available to help you find your way to meaning. They’re a roadmap drawn up by millions of explorers who have walked the road before you.

You can ignore them, but then be alert to God’s gentle voice often saying: “Recalculating”. God will get you home, but the Churches can help.

Fifth: Don’t forget about the poor. When you touch the poor, you’re touching God and, as Jesus says, at Judgment Day we will be judged by how we served the poor.

Give yourself away in some form of altruism, knowing, as Jesus puts it, that it’s not those who say “Lord, Lord” who go to heaven but those who serve others.

In your search, you need to get a letter of reference from the poor.

Sixth: Look among your contemporaries for a patron to inspire you. Jean Vanier, Henri Nouwen, Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, Oscar Romero, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Simone Weil, Etty Hillesum, and Dag Hammarskjold, among others—they’ve all navigated your issues.

ACRoSS

4. Legal, ie, for a region of the Holy Land (7) 8. The days of ten novenas (6) 9. Vera Loy put on another altar cloth (7) 10. No man is an … (John Donne) (6) 11. Young swan (6) 12. Magnificent church (8) 18. Parish assemblies (8) 20. You may cross it to attend Mass in Vienna (6) 21. Kind of candle burning for your intention (6) 22. Make a note of the due date (7) 23. Could it be mother or father? (6) 24. Holy Land campaign (7)

DoWn

1. Where you may find a soul with nowhere to go (2,5) 2. Seclude the nuns from the outside world (7) 3. This music is not written in any key (6) 5. He challenges the canonisation for the devil (8) 6. How you may see the poor beggar (2,4) 7. Obliterated from memory (6) 13. Buried in the baptismal water? (8) 14. Roughly 51 fined about the unbeliever (7) 15. Ways up the holy mountain (7) 16. The cardinal in Durban (6) 17. They may hold Swiss passports in the Vatican (6) 19. For him seeing was beSolutions on page 11 lieving (6)

CHURCH CHUCKLE

M

rs Khumalo and Mrs Ndlovu both had made it to a hundred years of age and sat next to each other at a dinner the bishop was giving for centenarians in his diocese.

As they exchanged the stories of their respective lives, their families and their long service to the Church, Mrs Ndlovu said: “But, you know, there’s one thing that’s worrying me a lot.”

“At our age, what can still worry us?” Mrs Khumalo said.

“You see, I am so old that all my friends in heaven must be thinking I didn’t make it!”

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