200916

The

S outher n C ross

September 16 to September 22, 2020

Reg No. 1920/002058/06

No 5203

www.scross.co.za

What’s next The Southern Cross?

Page 2

Bishop Rose: The woes for the corrupt

Page 8

R12 (incl VAT RSA)

Centenary Jubilee Year

Pope Francis: Swat the fly of resentment

Page 5

Bishop advises: Delay weddings

BY MERCY MAINA

W

EDDINGS should be delayed “until it is safe to celebrate the sacrament [of matrimony] with greater freedom and with greater festivity”, the archdiocese of Cape Town has advised.

In the event that a couple is unable to wait until conditions become more favourable, “a marriage may be celebrated with no more than the couple, the witnesses and the immediate family members of the couple in attendance”, Bishop Sylvester David, auxiliary in Cape Town, said in a statement.

“Every precaution must be taken to ensure that persons with comorbidities are not invited,” he advised.

While the government allows for a maximum number of 50 people at such a ceremony, Bishop David said the archdiocese had found it necessary to restrict the numbers to not more than 25 people or even less.

This is in the “interest of safety and with due regard for effective tracing should this become necessary”, he explained Bishop David also said that “only one child at a time may be baptised per celebration”, and “care must be taken to have in attendance only one sponsor and the immediate family members of the child being baptised”.

In line with the archdiocesan guidelines on liturgical celebrations amid Covid-19, the bishop reiterates that no singing is allowed, and directed that the Litany of the Saints and all prayers and responses “be done in a soft voice”.

“In keeping with Canon Law, where the danger of death exists, baptism is to be administered without delay,” Bishop David said.

“We appeal to the discretion of each parish priest/administrator, and expect that where there is extreme danger (for example in hotspots), celebrations of baptisms and

Fr Wim Lindeque celebrates a “Holy Mass of Creation” at the Christian Brothers Centre in Stellenbosch, as part of sacred time in the “Season of Creation” which intends to link humans with nature and God the Creator, in line with Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’.

Church weddings should be deferred due to the Covid-19 restrictions, the archdiocese of Cape Town has advised. (Photo: Josh Applegate) marriages will be deferred until greater safety is assured,” the statement said.

The bishop also announced the archdiocese’s decision to revise Mass attendance numbers upwards, a decision he said resulted from people “becoming accustomed to the necessary safety measures”.

Following this decision, parishes that resumed public Mass with six congregants are advised to increase the number to 15, while those that had 15 are to revise the number to 25.

Those parishes that have not yet started celebrating the Eucharist are encouraged to start by having six persons attending Mass.

“We also depend on the discretion of the Continued on page 3

Life of Bl Daswa remembered

M

ARKING the fifth anniversary of the beatification of Bl Tshimangadzo Benedict Daswa, the promoter of his sainthood cause noted that it had come sooner than was expected.

Bl Daswa was beatified on September 13, 2015 by Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Sainthood Causes.

At Sunday’s celebrations, Sr Tshifhiwa Munzhedzi OP said that “Benedict’s cause for canonisation is that of martyrdom; he died for his faith. We pray and hope that one day he will be canonised.”

She noted that “the process for his beatification proceeded faster than anyone had expected”, and outlined the steps that led to Pope Francis recognising Bl Daswa’s martyrdom.

“That process started around 2000, when

a group of lay leaders were asked to reflect on some deceased Catholics who had led exemplary Christian lives,” Sr Munzhedzi explained.

“Benedict Daswa’s name came up and people shared fondly about the Christian life he had led, and how he died. They recalled that the priests and deacon at his Requiem Mass wore red vestments recognising that he had died for his faith,” said the Dominican Sister who is also the associate secretary-general of the Southern African Bishops’ Conference.

She noted that the local community would gather to pray at Bl Daswa’s grave every year on the anniversary of his death.

Bl Daswa was killed by a mob on February 2, 1990.

“On the tenth anniversary of his death Continued on page 2

Is your parish ready for our magazine?

As you will have seen by now, The Southern Cross will relaunch as a magazine in late September — in print and digitally.

We are very excited about the magazine, which will sell for only R30, and we are certain that many Catholics will be interested in this new publication with a proud history.

RAYMOND PERRIER: On New Beginnings

VOCATIONS: A Lay Journey

TEN GREAT TIPS: How To Be A Happy Catholic

Southern Cross We Are Here!

Est. 1920

T he

The Catholic Magazine for Southern Africa

And for parishes and sodalities which sell The Southern Cross magazine in their communities we have more good news: THE MILLENNIALS’ SAINT: THIS WAS CARLO ACUTIS

For every magazine sold, we give a commission of R5,00!

Of course we are aware that nobody knows when parishes can return to holding their full

October 2020

R30 (incl. VAT in SA)

schedule of Masses. But we could not delay the launch of The Southern Cross magazine any further — the alternative was to close the publication down altogether.

So we need help in the parishes and sodalities to make sure the printed magazine gets into people’s hands. This is a matter of keeping The Southern Cross alive!

We are asking parishes to stock The Southern Cross magazine, and make it known to parishioners through your various channels of communication, like Facebook and WhatsApp: to spread the word about the magazine and to encourage parishioners to order theirs.

FOR YOUR WALL: ST TERESA OF AVILA POSTER

They could fetch it from your parish office while we wait for Masses to resume, or maybe

a kind parishioner might drop copies off at the homes of those who can’t come out.

Or parishes could appoint one of their ministries (like the ushers) or sodalities or the SVP to take charge of making sure that all parishioners who would like the magazine will get it.

Maybe even YOU might volunteer to get together a group of people from your parish to make sure there’ll be a Catholic magazine in as many Catholic homes as possible.

The possibilities to help keep The Southern Cross alive are endless!

Is the magazine the end of Catholic news? Of course not: our website and Facebook page will continue to bring the latest news.

And what will feature in the magazine? Well, an array of articles relating to all things

Catholic: faith and society, interviews, personalities, burning questions, travel, prayer, millennials, family, education, spiritual reflections, a pull-out poster of a Saint of the Month, as well as fun stuff like the popular crossword, wordsearch, trivia quiz, and much more...

We are taking orders already so that we can get the magazine to you by the beginning of October. Parishes and sodalities/organisations/shops can order copies for sale by emailing admin@scross.co.za or calling Pamela on 083 233-1956.

Remember, the cover price is R30, including VAT and we are offering R5 to the parish as commission for every copy sold. You will not be charged for any unsold copies!

The future of our Southern Cross is in your hands! PLEASE help us get the new magazine out there!

2

The Southern Cross, September 16 to September 22, 2020

LOCAL

What next for The Southern Cross?

N

EXT week the final edition of The Southern Cross as a weekly newspaper will appear, in digital format only, as it has been since lockdown began almost six months ago.

By then, the newly-launched monthly magazine, also under the title The Southern Cross, will be in distribution.

Here editor GÜNTHER SIMMERMACHER answers some of the questions that have been put to us.

Why was it necessary to discontinue the weekly newspaper?

The coronavirus lockdown was the final nail in the coffin. We lost virtually all of our points of sale in one swoop when the churches closed. That was our main source of income gone.

But that income had been diminishing before, so we had already considered transitioning to a magazine, which is a form of media that’s more viable than a newspaper.

We have seen how successful such a transition can be in the experience of the Catholic Herald in Britain, which was also struggling in a world where all newspapers are declining. As a magazine, the Catholic Herald bounced back and even expanded.

But for us, all these plans were a matter for the future, to be tackled in 2021, after our centenary. Lockdown accelerated that step.

A monthly magazine is great, but where are we going to get our Catholic news?

The Southern Cross website will continue to meet the mandate to deliver news to the Catholic community.

So we encourage people to send in news, and for religious orders and dioceses to provide obituaries of the faithful servants who have passed away.

Our website is wonderfully active and has a huge archive. One can really spend quality time there.

What can we expect from the The Southern Cross magazine?

We use an alliterative wordplay to define our approach: “Edify, Educate, Entertain.”

We’ll have articles that give insights into our faith, and build us up as Catholics, but also fun stuff like the trivia quiz, crossword and wordsearch.

One special feature will be the “Saint of the Month”, with a pullout poster. The saint in the October issue is St Teresa of Avila. In November it will be St Martin de Porres.

Another feature we expect to be popular is the Q&A section. In a survey we conducted online, that was a request that came

up frequently. We have a team of experts in various fields who will answer readers’ questions on matters of faith.

Readers might find our “Ten Ways to be a Happy Catholic” helpful, and collect the illustrated prayers. One of my personal favourites is the monthly colourised historical photo. In the first issue, it is of the three visionary children of Fatima.

We have retained some popular columnists, but are also introducing lots of new things.

Hopefully readers will give us feedback about what they liked, and what they didn’t.

Have you done any market research?

We conducted an online survey which gave us a lot of ideas about what will work well, and also some great ideas about content for the future.

What was interesting is that our readership is younger than we had expected. Most respondents were between 34 and 54, and a good proportion were younger.

We know that surveys like that aren’t scientific—in fact, there is no such thing as a scientific survey—but it gave us some very helpful pointers. So thank you to all those who took the time to respond—even the chap who took the opportunity to issue pretty nasty insults.

Sounds great. How can I get the Southern Cross magazine?

The new magazine will be available from most parishes and directly from The Southern Cross at a cover price of R30.

If your parish doesn’t stock it, ask your priest or PPC to please do so.

One priest said he won’t stock the magazine because he doesn’t know whether his parishioners will like it. But how will he know when he doesn’t give them a chance to decide whether they do or don’t like it?

There cannot be any doubt that in every community there will be some people who will like a Catholic magazine. Some of them just need a bit of encouragement.

And if the parish doesn’t stock the magazine or is sold out?

Again, speak to the priest and ask for more copies to be ordered for sale.

Alternatively you can subscribe—we have a great offer on print/digital hybrid combos.

And we offer to fill one-off orders for one edition. That’s R30 plus R12 p&p. But if you order in bulk of up to 11 copies with friends, you can save on the postage.

What can be done to help The Southern Cross?

Promote us! Talk about The Southern Cross.

Encourage others. Post photos of yourself reading the magazine on social media—and send those to us. Shout it from the rooftops!

Parishes can promote The Southern Cross through their social media and other forms of communication.

Contact the housebound and those who are self-isolating and ask them if they would like to read the new Catholic magazine.

But many parishes are also struggling financially...

Stocking The Southern Cross is risk-free.

Parishes pay only for the copies they’ve sold.

And the advantage with a monthly, there are four weeks to sell the magazine—and order more when you run out of stock.

And if you don’t get support?

If we don’t get support immediately, with this first issue, we’ll be in deeper trouble.

This magazine is the last chance to keep The Southern Cross alive. The weekly newspaper is gone forever as of September 23. If the magazine doesn’t get support, The Southern Cross will disappear altogether after 100 years.

For so long, The Southern Cross was taken for granted, like it would always be there.

Now we have lost the weekly, and if the three of us freelancers had decided not to make sacrifices to keep it going, we would have lost The Southern Cross forever. And what would replace it?

So the parishes are key to keeping The Southern Cross alive?

Absolutely. This means that we need parishes to promote the magazine, especially now, when restrictions still apply.

One way of doing so is for parishes to appoint a sodality or a ministry in the parish, such as the ushers, to take on The Southern Cross as a project.

We offer an incentive of R5 commission per copy sold, but it’s about more than that.

We must promote Catholic media as a way of getting the Church into people’s homes.

Catholic media builds faith and evangelises, and evangelisation is the task of every Catholic.

But you have had some support?

My colleagues and I have been sustained by the support and prayers of many people during a difficult time. There’s lots of goodwill out there, lots of love for The Southern Cross.

We saw that when people started to spontaneously collect funds to keep us alive, and that has helped financially, but also morally. Every donation we receive, whether it’s R100 or R10 000, tells us, “Carry on, your work is important and valued.” That gives us strength and hope—and it invests us with a responsibility to produce a first-class publication.

I hope we meet that obligation. n Subscribe to The Southern Cross magazine at www.digital.scross.co.za/subscribe. To order individual copies or for parish orders, e-mail Pamela at admin@scross.co.za or phone 083 233-1956

Bl Benedict Daswa remembered SACBC backs Moz bishops Continued from page 1 they had a big celebration and visited the place where he died,” she recalled.

When Bishop Hugh Slattery of Tzaneen heard about this, the diocese decided to investigate the life of Bl Daswa further on how he had lived and died.

“Benedict is known as a man of prayer, a man who loved the Church and would do anything for the Church,” Sr Munzhedzi said.

“That is why he promised his wife he would not build her a house until he had built a church, a house of God—a promise he fulfilled as soon as the church was built. He is known for his charity work, at school, in his community, in the church and with his extended family.”

Bl Daswa would not compromise in matters his faith. “On the day of his death he did two things that had been his character throughout his life: works of char-

T

Sr Tshifhiwa Munzhedzi OP and (inset) Bl Benedict Daswa ity—he took his sister-in-law and nephew to the doctor, gave a lift to a man with a bag of mealiemeal—

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and prayer,” she said, noting that as he was being killed, he was praying.

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HE Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) has issued a message of support for their counterparts in Mozambique concerning “the rapidly deteriorating situation” in the diocese of the region taken over by Islamic terrorists.

The diocese of Pemba in Cabo Delgado province has seen widespread violence, destruction of property, the forced dislocation of over 200 000 people, and loss of life.

“The violence, suffering and death caused by ongoing armed conflict is an affront to all of us,” the SACBC message said.

The SACBC praised the bishops of Mozambique for releasing their prophetic pastoral letter “Hope, Peace and Reconciliation” which, the message said, “clearly sets out the position of the Church and the role it should play. In the words attributed to St Francis of Assisi, we as the Church are to be a channel

of God’s peace.”

They also praised their Mozambican counterparts for their unity “in the face of attempts by those opposed to peace to sow division in Mozambique”.

“We appreciate your call for reconciliation and your commitment to spare no effort in encouraging and supporting the processes of promoting a culture of peace,” the SACBC said.

“Indeed, working for reconciliation is a responsibility placed upon all of us, and as the SACBC, we avail ourselves to cooperate with you in making justice, peace and reconciliation a reality in your country.”

Noting that Pope Francis personally called the bishop of Pemba last month, the SACBC said: “We share the closeness of the Holy Father to you and we would welcome the opportunity of a solidarity visit once international travel between our two countries resumes.”

The Southern Cross, September 16 to September 22, 2020

LOCAL

3

Pope sent Covid gear to Southern African clinics

BY FR CHRIS TOWNSEND

L

OCKDOWN has been a very difficult time for many people. Charity groups and organisations have seen their funding dry up and their needs increase. Many parishes and diocese have seen their incomes disappear.

This has been true of Southern Africa in a hard lockdown, but internationally too.

The Peter’s Pence Collection— an annual collection taken globally to support the charitable works of the Holy Father—was not taken at its customary time this year, having been delayed by lockdown to the first weekend in October.

With the Vatican also having been on a hard lockdown, it has been difficult to assess and assist those in need.

Southern Africa has benefited from the charity efforts of the pope and many supporters.

The Holy Father has sent Personal Protective Equipment and temperature scanners to a number of clinics as a sign of his solidarity and concern for the people of Southern Africa during this difficult time.

Through the kindness of many donors, especially from the US, the nunciature of the Holy See in Pretoria was able to quickly assist many needy dioceses and Catholic institutions with food parcels during this challenging food security crisis.

These places—mainly in rural areas—were overwhelmed by the request for food assistance, some seeing 1 000% increases in demand.

“The response from many, especially in the United States, was deeply gratifying. When people heard about the enormous challenges facing Southern Africa during lockdown, they stepped up to assist the work of the Holy Father,” said Archbishop Peter Wells, the apostolic nuncio.

“For weeks now we have been able to provide over 50 meals a week to people on the street from our own kitchen,” he added.

Marist Brothers Linmeyer in Johannesburg’s staff were impressed with the talent shown by Grade 7 students who were assigned the task of designing and building bridge structures as part of their technology work. They delivered amazing designs and their technology educator, Mrs Karvelas, was very proud of the work that went into creating these bridges.Top: Alex de Azevedo and Dain Reddy, and Kayla and Sienna Marques. Right: Liyah Tavaria.

Bishop: Keep celebrations brief Continued from page 1 priests—for example, while we request priests not to raise the maximum number of people attending Mass, some priests—especially those who minister in hotspots, might find it necessary to keep the numbers lower,” Bishop David said.

In such cases, he said: “The dispensation given by the archbishop at the start of the national lockdown still holds good—as it does with respect to all who, for safety reasons, cannot attend Mass on a Sunday.”

Bishop David recommended that the faithful consider weekday Mass

attendance in fulfilment of their Sunday obligation, but noted that “it might be necessary to give catechesis in this regard”.

“Where livestreaming is possible this option may be used with respect to the Eucharist, baptisms, confirmations, funerals and marriages. Celebrations must be kept brief,” the bishop said.

“It must be borne in mind that the pandemic is by no means over,” he cautioned, adding: “The more we engage with others, the greater the vigilance we need to exercise.”—aciafrica

S outhern Cross

Est. 1920

The

new magazine Coming in September

The Catholic Magazine for Southern Africa

Bizos contribution to democracy ‘immense’

A

CATHOLIC analyst and lawyer has paid tribute to the antiapartheid activist and human rights champion George Bizos, who died on September 9 at 92.

Writing on the Catholic Spotlight.

Africa website, Advocate Mike Pothier remembered Mr Bizos as someone who embodied the kind of integrity we need in South Africa today.

Mr Bizos was “in the best sense a gentle man,” who had “an unshakeable sense of justice; deep courage in the face of the apartheid apparatus; a disregard for status; and always a laugh and some or other recollection of a moment of human warmth”, Mr Pothier noted.

With Mr Bizos’ death, there remains only one living link to the famous Rivonia Trial, the antiapartheid lawyer Denis Kuny.

“Bizos’ death constitutes a coda to one of the most seminal legal and political episodes in our country’s history; and it brings to an end a life of unstinting service and dedication to justice,” Mr Pothier wrote.

He recalled an encounter with Mr Bizos in his own work as an advocate.

“A client of mine wanted to construct a constitutional case around an aspect of the law pertaining to land. If successful, the envisaged litigation might completely alter the approach to land ownership and, with that, to land reform. The only problem was that, in my opinion, the Constitution did not support the client’s cause; his quest was political, not legal.

“We heard that George Bizos was coming to Cape Town on legal business, and arranged to consult with him at his hotel. We put the case to him at some length and, while he supported the end my client had in mind, he confirmed that the Constitution did not provide the means to achieve it,” Mr Pothier recalled.

“A few days later I received a phone call from Mr Bizos. He asked very delicately about my client’s ability to pay for the consultation; if he was not in a position to pay, I should say so. If he was, did I think that R2 000 would be an acceptable fee?

“Now, at that time, senior counsel of one tenth of George Bizos’ experience and ability were happily charging double or triple that amount for such a consultation. When I remarked that this seemed to be a very low figure he laughed and said, ‘Yes, many of my colleagues at the Johannesburg Bar think so too, and they’re not happy about it,’” Mr Pothier wrote.

“For more than 70 years George Bizos personified commitment and dedication to the rule of law and to the values of justice and humanity.

His contribution to South Africa’s journey towards freedom and democracy was immense.”

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The Southern Cross, September 16 to September 22, 2020

INTERNATIONAL

Virtual pilgrimage: Holy Land Catholics ask for donations

BY CINDY WOODEN

T

F

RANCISCAN Father Francesco Patton, custos of the Holy Land, has asked Catholics around the world to make a virtual pilgrimage to the Holy Land and make a real donation to support the Church in the region.

“Here in Jerusalem, we haven’t seen a pilgrim in six months,” he told the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.

Pilgrimages are a major source of support for the Catholic Church in the region, “but most of all they are the exclusive source of income for thousands of families, especially Christians”, who work in the tourist industry, Fr Patton said.

Speaking to L’Osservatore Romano, the priest said he knows Catholics around the world are struggling financially because of the pandemic, but all Christians have a connection to the land where Jesus was born, lived, died and rose from the dead.

“For the life of the Christians of the Holy Land,” Fr Patton said, “it is essential that the collection this year is at least as generous as in the past.”

Ten percent of the collection, he said, goes to support the Franciscan friars who staff the churches at the sites associated with Jesus’ life and death, as well as parishes in Israel,

Pilgrims are seen praying in the grotto of the church of Nativity in Bethlehem, West Bank. (Photo: Debbie Hill/CNS) the West Bank, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus and Rhodes, and to pay for the upkeep of the buildings, a task that continued even in the lockdown.

The other 90%, Fr Patton said, goes to pastoral and social activities, including in Syria where the civil unrest has continued for 10 years and in Lebanon where the economic situation is “disastrous and some 300 000 people were left homeless after the August explosion at the port in Beirut”.

In addition, he said, the Catholic Church is trying to assist hundreds

of thousands of refugees and thousands of foreign workers throughout the region who lost their jobs during the pandemic but are unable to return home because of travel restrictions.

Particularly by running schools that accept both Christian and Muslim students and by offering assistance to everyone in need, the Franciscan said, helping the Church in the Holy Land “means helping a peacemaking operation; it means adding a small, but not insignificant piece, to the process of dialogue and mutual understanding”.—CNS

Pope: Never again a culture of abuse in the Church

BY COURTNEY MARES

P

OPE Francis has written a prologue to a book on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church entitled Theology and Prevention.

“Fighting against abuse means fostering and empowering communities capable of watching over and announcing that all life deserves to be respected and valued, especially that of the most defenceless who do not have the resources to make their voices heard,” he wrote in the introduction to the book.

“In this most recent time in the Church we were challenged to face this conflict, accept it and suffer it together with the victims, their families and the entire community to find ways that make us say: never again to the culture of abuse,” the pope said.

Canadian bishops slam priest’s ‘prophecies’

Theology and Prevention: A Study on Sexual Abuse in the Church, was published in Spanish this month by Sal Terrae and edited by Fr Daniel Portillo Trevizo.

It was the initiative of the Centrefor Research and Interdisciplinary Training for the Protection of Minors, an organisation affiliated with the Pontifical University of Mexico that provides research and training on the protection of minors in Latin America.

Contributors to the book include Mgr Luis Manuel Alí Herrera from Colombia, Benjamín Clariond from Mexico, and Eamonn Conway from Ireland. It touches on the subjects of abuse of power, priestly celibacy, and structural clericalism.

“I am grateful for the contributions of each of the authors who,

from the point of view of theology, invite us to delve into this painful evil of sexual abuse that has occurred in our Catholic Church,” Pope Francis wrote.

In his introduction, the pope wrote that the reality of clerical sexual abuse “demands that we work to raise awareness, prevent and promote the culture of care and protection of our communities and in society in general so that no one sees their integrity and dignity violated or mistreated”.

“I pray for you, for all the good that you do and also that the fruits of your efforts be fruitful in prevention and prophetic in promoting a lively and joyful ecclesial community with the unmistakable flavour of the Gospel,” Pope Francis wrote.— CNA

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WO Canadian dioceses have disavowed the messages and prophecies of a Canadian priest known for predicting doom.

Bishops Gilles Lemay of Amos, Quebec and Robert Bourgon of Hearst-Moosonee, Ontario, disavowed the messages and prophecies of Fr Michel Rodrigue, an Ontario priest.

Fr Rodrigue “has retired as an active priest in the diocese” and has renounced “his pastoral responsibility for the three parishes that I had entrusted to him”, said Bishop LeMay. Bishop Bourgon also refuted the priest’s claim to be “an official exorcist of the Church”.

Fr Rodrigue founded the Apostolic Fraternity of St Benoit Joseph Labre, an association that brings together priests and laypeople, based in Saint-Dominique-du-Rosaire, Quebec.

His prophecies are published on a US website. Fr Rodrigue also gave several conferences in the United States, where he was able to spread his ideas.

During these conferences, the priest affirmed, among other things, that the whole world is controlled by a secret world government made up of the Illuminati worshipping Satan. He talks of an upcoming nu-

clear war that will ravage the planet and predicts the existence of “refuges” where Christians will be led by a small flame produced by guardian angels. Fr Rodrigue also maintains that Satan will use vaccines to make people sick.

“The devil will use your iPhone, your iPad, your tablet...we will have to throw these things out to protect ourselves, throw everything off of your land. You won’t need these things anymore. You have to be faithful in this. Throw them out.

Don’t worry about communication,” he said.

The website hosting Fr Rodrigue’s ideas falsely describes him as “an official exorcist of the Church” who “receives the full support of his bishop” and said all his visions were submitted to his local ordinary for approval.

Bishop Lemay said he was shocked to read the statements and that he never approved the priest’s “prophecies”. He asked that the statement be removed from the website, which it was.

But the bishop received so many calls and letters from anxious and worried people that he has made a point of publicly expressing his disavowal of Fr Rodrigue’s “messages and prophecies”.—CNS

UK survey: 4% won’t go back to church after Covid

BY SIMON CALDWELL

O

NLY a small minority of British Catholics said they would not return to worship in church when the coronavirus pandemic is fully over, according to a new survey.

Just 4% of people interviewed in the study, conducted between May 19 and July 26, said they would abandon going to church when restrictions are finally lifted.

The findings of the poll of 2 500 people by Catholic Voices, a group set up in the UK in 2010 to improve communications between the Church and the media, contradict the predictions of some Catholics that the Covid-19 crisis would irrevocably accelerate the decline of collective worship among the faithful.

Brenden Thompson, CEO of Catholic Voices, said he was “pleasantly surprised by many of the findings”.

“Catholics miss their parishes and church buildings and seem eager to return, not just content with ‘virtual church’,” he said in a statement.

“Many, it seems, by and large,

have backed the bishops, been grateful for the efforts of clergy to livestream, and many have even felt at times closer to God and been more prayerful than usual,” he said.

“That said, the challenges ahead are real, so if we want to capitalise on this goodwill, we need to start thinking seriously about the conversations that need to happen as more and more begin returning to parishes,” he added.

In early September, Cardinal JeanClaude Hollerich, president of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union, said many Catholics in Europe would not return to Mass or parish activities once the Covid-19 restrictions are lifted, which demonstrates the urgency of a new evangelisation based on Catholics actually living their faith.

The British study revealed that 93% of those interviewed worshipped by watching Mass online during lockdown via streams provided largely by dioceses and parish churches, and that 66% appreciated the virtual services.—CNS

Cardinal Tagle tests positive for Covid-19

BY JUNNO AROCHOESTEVES

P

HILIPPINE Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples and president of Caritas Internationalis, has tested positive for Covid-19, the Vatican confirmed.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the result was discovered after Cardinal Tagle, 63, was administered a swab test upon his arrival in Manila on September 10.

“His Eminence does not exhibit any symptoms and will remain in self-isolation in the Philippines, where he is located,” Mr Bruni said.

He also confirmed that Cardinal Tagle had previously tested negative for the coronavirus after he had “undergone a swab in Rome” on September 7. The cardinal last met privately with Pope Francis on August 29.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, has tested positive for Covid-19. (Photo: Tyler Orsburn/CNS) Mr Bruni added that the Vatican is verifying the condition of those who were in contact with the cardinal in recent days.

The news of a Vatican official testing positive for the coronavirus comes at a time when the Vatican is slowly opening its doors to the public.—CNS

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, September 16 to September 22, 2020

5

Court convicts ex-Salvadoran colonel of massacre of 5 Jesuits

BY DAVID AGREN

A

SPANISH court has convicted a former Salvadoran colonel for the murders of five Jesuit priests in 1989—a rare act of justice for an atrocity from El Salvador’s brutal civil war.

In a September 11 ruling, former Colonel Inocente Orlando Montano, 77, was found to have planned and ordered the murders of the five Jesuits priests—all Spanish nationals—on November 16, 1989, at their residence on the campus of the Jesuit-run Central American University in San Salvador.

The five Spaniards were Fr Ignacio Ellacuria, university rector, along with Frs Ignacio Martín-Baro, Juan Ramón Moreno, Amando López and Segundo Montes. Salvadoran Jesuit Father Joaquín López and Julia Elba Ramos, a housekeeper, and her teenage daughter Celina, were also killed in the attack.

The court could rule only on the cases of the five Spanish Jesuits as a condition of Montano’s 2017 extradition to Spain from the United States, where he resided prior to his extradition.

Montano, who appeared at his Madrid trial in a wheelchair, was sentenced to 133 years, four months and five days in prison—26 years, eight months and one day for each murder. He had pleaded not guilty and testified to not having any animus against the Jesuits or the

Pope Francis greets the crowd as he leads the Angelus from the window of his studio overlooking St Peter’s Square at the Vatican. (Photo: Vatican Media/CNS) A painting is seen at the Museum of the Central American University in San Salvador, El Salvador, commemorating the five Jesuit priests who were killed during El Salvador’s 1980-92 civil war. A Spanish court sentenced former Salvadoran Colonel Inocente Orlando Montano (right) to more than 133 years in prison for his involvement in the slaying of the five Spanish priests. (Photo: Luis Galdamez, Reuters/CNS) Catholic Church and even spoke of Fr Ellacuria as a friend.

Witnesses at the trial—held over nine days in June and July—said Montano considered the Jesuits to be “traitors” and saw, along with others in the army, the Central American University as infested with rebels from the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front.

Fr Ellacuria was involved in a peace process to end the civil war, which prosecutors say was seen as a threat by the military command.

Yusshy Rene Mendoza, a former lieutenant and cooperating witness,

testified that perceptions in the military were that Fr Ellacuria supported the guerrilla cause. Mendoza also testified that the orders to kill Jesuits came from the “high command”.

The civil war in El Salvador claimed 75 000 lives and sent thousands more fleeing the Central American country. The conflict pitted right-wing death squads against left-wing rebels; human rights abuses were rife and claimed clergy and religious. The civit war officially ended with a peace agreement in 1992.—CNS

Cardinal: We must return to the Eucharist

I

N a letter to the leaders of the world’s episcopal conferences, the head of the Vatican’s office for worship and sacraments said that Catholic communities should return to Mass as soon as it can be done safely, and that the Christian life cannot be sustained without the sacrifice of the Mass and the Christian community of the Church.

The letter, sent to bishops, said that, while the Church should cooperate with civic authorities and be attentive to safety protocols amid the coronavirus pandemic, “liturgical norms are not matters on which civil authorities can legislate, but only the competent ecclesiastical authorities”.

“In listening to and collaborating with civil authorities and experts,” bishops and episcopal conferences “were prompt to make difficult and painful decisions, even to the point of suspending the participation of the faithful in the celebration of the Eucharist for a long period. This Congregation is deeply grateful to the bishops for their commitment and effort in trying to respond in the best possible way to an unforeseen and complex situation,” Cardinal Robert Sarah wrote.

“As soon as circumstances permit, however, it is necessary and urgent to return to the normality of Christian life, which has the church build-

ing as its home and the celebration of the liturgy, especially the Eucharist, as ‘the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; and at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows’ (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 10).”

Cardinal Sarah noted that “we cannot be without the banquet of the Eucharist, the table of the Lord to which we are invited as sons and daughters, brothers and sisters to receive the Risen Christ himself, present in body, blood, soul and divinity in that Bread of Heaven which sustains us in the joys and labours of this earthly pilgrimage”.—CNA

African Catholic activists warn against pipeline

BY FREDRICK NZWILI

A

S Catholic groups worldwide divest from fossil fuels, some priests, environmental conservationists and activists in East Africa are resisting an oil pipeline taking shape in their region.

They say the proposed 1 442km East African Crude Oil Pipeline also threatens the livelihoods of local communities.

“We are saying no to the pipeline. It is not good for the ecosystem. Our concern is that many people would suffer in case of a spill or leak,” said Ca-

puchin Brother Benedict Ayodi, Global Catholic Climate Movement programme manager for Africa. “Our call is on the partners involved to delay or completely stop the pipeline. It is unacceptable.”

The opposition to the pipeline comes at a time when Ugandan officials are upbeat that the landlocked East African country will become one of Africa’s leading oil producers.

The pipeline would collect crude oil from Kabaale in western Uganda and drop it into storage and load-out facilities at Chongoleani Peninsula near

Tanga, an Indian Ocean port in Tanzania.

Prince Papa, Global Catholic Climate Movement African programme coordinator, said the organisation’s resistance to the pipeline is informed by the teachings of the papal encyclical Laudato Si’, which calls for slowing down the use of fossil fuels and shunning any development with an adverse impact on creation.

“We are calling on all Catholics in Uganda and globally to raise their voices against such projects in Uganda and elsewhere,” said Mr Papa.—CNA

Pope: Swat the fly of resentment

BY CINDY WOODEN

I

F people took seriously the Gospel call to forgive one another, the world would be a much better place, Pope Francis said.

“How much suffering, how many wounds, how many wars could be avoided if forgiveness and mercy were the style of our life,” he said before reciting the Angelus prayer with visitors in St Peter’s Square.

The pope was commenting on the day’s Gospel reading, Matthew 18:21-35, in which Jesus tells his disciples to forgive “not seven times but 77 times”.

“In the symbolic language of the Bible,” the pope explained, “this means that we are called to forgive always.”

In the day’s Gospel passage, Jesus emphasises his point with the parable of the merciful king who forgives the enormous debt of his servant and yet that servant refuses to forgive the small debt of another servant.”

“In the parable we find two different attitudes: God’s—represented by the king who forgives a lot, because God always forgives—and the human person’s,” the pope said.

“The divine attitude is justice pervaded with mercy, whereas the human attitude is limited to justice.”

The

Pope Francis told the people in the square that while he was celebrating Mass that morning, “I paused, touched by a phrase in the first reading from the book of Sirach.

The phrase says, ‘Remember your end and stop hating.’ A beautiful phrase.

“Just think,” the pope said, “you will be in a coffin and will you take your hatred there with you? Think of your end and stop hating, stop resenting.”

Pope Francis said that he knows it is not an easy command to follow because, even when a person thinks he or she has forgiven another, “resentment returns like a bothersome fly in the summer that keeps coming back”.

True forgiveness, he said, “is not something we do in a moment; it is something continuous against that resentment, that hatred that keeps coming back”.

“We cannot claim God’s forgiveness for ourselves if we in turn do not grant forgiveness to our neighbour. It is a condition.”

Pope Francis summarised his talk: “Think of your end, of God’s forgiveness and stop hating. Reject resentment, that bothersome fly that keeps coming back. If we do not strive to forgive and to love, we will not be forgiven and loved either.”—CNS

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Official 7-Day Camino From Lugo to Santiago de Compostela

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6

The Southern Cross, September 16 to September 22, 2020

The

LEADER PAGE

S outher n C ross Editor: Günther Simmermacher

More than hair

T

HIS month’s reaction to the controversial Clicks advert has shown, one again, the stubborn inability of South Africans to listen to one another.

The advert issued by the retail company for a brand of shampoo captioned images of African black hair as “dry, damaged, frizzy and dull”, and that of a white woman’s straight, blond hair as “normal”.

By any reasonable measure, the message of the advert entrenches the notion that things white are intrinsically better than things black.

That view sees European aesthetics of beauty as normative, and African aesthetics as inferior, with the latter being called to aspire to the former. It is a view that helps define white supremacy.

The reaction to the advert was a protest against the message of white supremacy which is at the root of the advert’s message.

And at this point it is important to point out that white supremacy finds expression not only in the bigoted rhetoric of swastika-tattooed racists or in the history of apartheid. White supremacy is in anything that regards white norms inherently superior to black norms.

This is what was at the heart of the initial protests against the Clicks advert, and in that light, it is entirely irrelevant what colour those who created or green-lighted the advert were.

And so Clicks stumbled into a controversy that should have served as a teaching moment, an opportunity to explain rationally how white supremacy works.

That teaching moment even survived the first incompetent and tonedeaf response by Clicks, which sought to shift all the blame to the shampoo company.

But any hopes that the Clicks ad might stimulate a rational debate about white supremacy vanished when the political opportunists latched on to the issue.

The Economic Freedom Front issued a set of demands, which were reasonable, and then instructed its followers to attack Clicks stores, which they duly did, with several incidents of looting, vandalism and intimidation.

The EFF must be held accountable for the destruction and looting that followed Julius Malema’s tweet which unambiguously in-

cited his “fellow fighters and ground forces” to “Attack!”.

No thought was expended on the workers at Clicks stores whom Mr Malema placed at risk of physical harm, for the purpose of a political stunt.

These acts of violence closed all prospects for dialogue.

It reflects even more poorly on the EFF, and its inability to control its members, that some Clicks stores were attacked even after the retailer had met all the EFF’s fair demands.

On the flipside to the EFF, there were the many people, some of them from a liberal background, who sought to shut down the dialogue by trivialising the ad, or diminishing its importance by referring to other problems or invoking variations on the theme of “it’s only hair”.

But it’s not only hair, and the issue at hand is as important as corruption or gender-based violence.

The issue of race remains at the centre of South Africa’s problems. Denying its importance or waving it away is neither helpful nor respectful.

Indeed, the refusal to engage in a dialogue on race by many, perhaps most, white people is in itself an expression of white supremacy. It communicates that white people will decide which discourse is important.

Maybe it is not surprising that the protests against Clicks became violent. Rev Martin Luther King Jr, the tireless advocate for nonviolent resistance, rightly noted: “A riot is the language of the unheard.” A responsibility therefore also rests with those who deny the unheard their voice.

The Clicks controversy was not the first missed teaching moment, nor will it be the last.

Our task must be to identify these moments and be open to entering into a dialogue, even when passions are inflamed by political opportunists.

For many, this means moving out of the comfort zones of entrenched attitudes, which may even need to be confronted.

But this, a dialogue entered into with open ears and hearts, is a necessary step in healing our nation.

Until we find that healing, which must include redress for the inequalities created by the past, we will not be able to let bygones be bygones, because these must still go by.

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

admin@stanthonyshome.org www.stanthonyshome.org

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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.

South Africa’s rulers are parading naked

Y

OUR editorial “A nation of impunity” (August 12) tells of South Africans being angry at its nation plagued by a culture of impunity; and when officials of government are challenged, they insult us with their inane justifications.

Unfortunately, anger, as it is said, is only punishing oneself for the sins of others.

Our anger is just more noise in the stadium of this failing country; a land of fraud, corruption and abuse by its leaders; a land with an apparent inability and/or reluctance by its populace, to end the rampant criminality.

Hans Christian Andersen wrote a folktale in 1837 called “The Emperor’s New Clothes”. The story is about a vain emperor who was deceived by some corrupt subjects into believing that they had made a magnificent set of robes for him.

The king was well-known for spending lavishly on clothing at

This was my friend Thomas Manthata

the state’s expense. Unfortunately, the robes were not real but imaginary.

However, the villainous tailors convinced the king of the robes’ majestic grandeur and told him that only a fool could not see or appreciate the splendid apparel.

So, in his arrogant pride, and not wanting to appear to be a fool, he wholeheartedly agreed and submitted to the bogus scam.

Further to this and because the king had so ruled, his whole court and most of his equally proud subjects supported their king and the absurdity. The king then “donned” the invisible robes.

The tale ends with the king parading down the main street in the nude and a small child, unaware of the fraud and corruption, shouting out the truth to the gross embarrassment of many in the crowd.

In spite of this evidence, proving his stupidity and ignorance, the

M

AY I be permitted to add a more personal memoir to the detailed, formal obituary of Thomas Manthata (pictured) recently published in The Southern Cross?

I had been a friend of Tom Madikwe Manthata for more than 50 years. We met in the late 1960s as part of a small group of Johannesburg Catholics called CARE, concerned to promote the social justice teaching of the Church.

Drake Koka, who was already involved in the Catholic education system, brought him to our meetings, and there friendships were made which lasted even into the 2000s.

The time was, of course, the beginning of the emergence of Black Consciousness, with its direct challenge to my liberal student background and Catholic formation, and to the over-white orientation of the Catholic Church in South Africa, of which we were all committed members.

It was people like Tom and Drake who enabled me to understand that Black Consciousness (even Black Power?) was not racist, that it was (and still is) an essential part of the struggle for liberation.

I edited a lay, religious and political magazine called Challenge through the 1980s. Tom’s name does not appear: he was never a writer on such matters. He was a speaker, an organiser, an inspiring coordinator of the work of others. I never managed to get him to record his memoirs, in his mother tongue Sepedi and English, to add to the heritage of our South African histories and literatures.

Over the decades I have been encouraged by his courage, by his commitment, and, perhaps most of all, by his lack of bitterness.

At the more personal level I have been humbled by his ever-courteous toleration of my political and cultural ramblings. He has enabled me, among many, CASA SERENA to experience some of the The retirement home non-racialism we used to talk about so glibly. with the Italian flair.

Getting to know his 7A Marais Road, wife Barbara (and her Bedfordview, Jhb. mother Rebecca) and their three children, Provides full board Khumo, Fenyi and and lodging, medical Goitse, in later decades services and transport. has been of great personal value to me: it widened Senior citizens wishing and grounded my friendto retire in this beautiful ship in ways different Home, please phone from purely political relationships.

011 284 2917 For me Tom was www.casaserena.co.za deeply conservative in

the best meaning of that word: traditional values continually to be adapted, deepened and broadened to respond to new situations from whatever source or culture—but recognising that this is not fully achieved in our own lives.

Some years ago I took Tom to a day’s cricket in Lenasia. As he did not drive (how many miles did Barbara chauffeur him over the decades!), I drove—just as I drove him to the fateful Sebokeng church service in early September 1984 which precipitated his arrest and later conviction in the notorious Delmas Treason Trial. Robben Island followed.

In 1975 my sister Pam and I sneaked into St John’s Eye Hospital in Soweto to visit him; he had been brought there directly from, and was returned to, police custody. Police brutality had irrevocably damaged his eyesight which became progressively worse over the years. Diabetes and other severe medical conditions, even Covid, came to test his fortitude and the care of his family.

Tom did not easily or often express his inner personal feelings, his doubts or even his successes. His great personal courage in times of detention, trial and imprisonment, as well as in daily living, stands as a direct challenge to us.

Tom had the unstinting support of his wife and children over the years.

Those who come from a very strongly patriarchal society, as Tom and Drake did, might not always have been fully conscious of the demands their public life placed on their families. Just as well Barbara comes from the strong Mathews family: her father served 12 years on Robben Island.

Paul Goller, Johannesburg

Corona warning

A

S a retired lawyer and pro-life activist, I have written the following open letter to Pope Francis: Approximately 100 years ago at Fatima, Portugal, Our Lady warned the world that a serious chastisement would afflict mankind and would continue until it ceased the practices of evil. We should thus all seriously consider the following possibilities: 1. The said chastisement is the present coronavirus.

2. A major portion of the said evil practices is first, the present

corrupt naked king continues processing, more proudly than ever!

The apartheid system was also paraded in South Africa for years and years and years. Lots of anger and much noise was made locally and internationally but it dragged on and on.

No one seemed to be able to address the problem until “small children”, the school children of Soweto, decided in 1976 that enough was enough and it was time to call out the truth and absurdity. In spite of this, it still took another 18 years to bring about the changes.

Surely it’s time for real action.

No one wants riots or violent protests, but someone needs to take greater leadership in ridding this great country of the corrupt ANC government.

How loud does one need to shout to convince people of the truth?

Tony Meehan, Cape Town

worldwide abortion murders of unborn infants, and, second, the widespread termination of infant human lives after conception by methods of abortifacient birth control, such as the “Pill”.

3. Only the said cessation of evils will end this virus. If the vaccines against it presently being tested should prove ineffective, this will add weight to this third possibility.

If Your Holiness should agree with my said convictions and decide to publicise them, I would be most grateful.

Damien McLeish, Johannesburg

Lesson from virus: Be prepared

R

ECENTLY a couple of acquaintances, a Brother and Sister, were found to be Covid-19 positive, although fortunately asymptomatic thus far. Faced with the sudden possibility of death people often have a change of outlook, and reevaluate their lives in the light of a realisation of their mortality.

My thoughts went to the children of Fatima, and particularly Jacinta and Francisco, who died very young during the global pandemic of Spanish ’flu a century ago.

As I recall the story, Our Lady had told them that she would be taking them soon and they asked if they would be going to heaven. The answer was “Yes”, but in Francisco’s case he would have to “pray many rosaries”.

What is interesting is his wholehearted response. He stopped schooling and rid himself of all trivial pursuits, even the play natural for children, and devoted himself to prayer and making sacrifices.

It is hard to imagine someone that young having much to atone for—how much more for those of us whose lives have been many times as long as his already! The need for atonement and sanctification must be very great indeed.

Another thing that makes Francisco’s witness compelling is that the children had all seen heaven, hell and purgatory in a vision, and I imagine this too must have prompted such a resolute response.

In the past few months, as of September 15, almost a million people have died of this virus worldwide. I bet none of them expected to die this year any more than the ones who will join them between now and December do.

If we can draw a lesson from the pandemic I think it’s to “be prepared”, take a moment to reassess the important things in life, consider what happens if..., and focus on making atonement for our sins and through prayer to seek the sanctification we need.

Stephen Clark, Manila, Philippines

PERSPECTIVES

The Southern Cross, September 16 to September 22, 2020

Are we really family-friendly?

Toni Rowland I T’S amazing! What jumped out at me immediately on reading Pope Francis’ message for the World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation was this: “We exist only in relationships.”

Quoting from his encyclical Laudato Si’, the pope said: “Everything is related, and we human beings are united as brothers and sisters on a wonderful pilgrimage, woven together by the love God has for each of his creatures and which also unites us in fond affection with brother sun, sister moon, brother river and mother earth.”

In a way, I hardly need to say anything more, as this is what my column “Family Friendly” has been all about for the many years it has been published. How many I can’t remember, but certainly more than 15. And my involvement with The Southern Cross goes back further, as one of the most significant events in my life, the death of my husband Chris, is still remembered by some who have faithfully followed this column.

The pope’s message makes reference to the theme of jubilee, chosen for the 2020 ecumenical Season of Creation that began on September 1 and continues until October 4, the feast of St Francis.

This year is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, hence the jubilee theme. The pope explains that scripturally, jubilee was a time to remember, restore, rest and rejoice. Is this appropriate for me and for MARFAM, the marriage and family ministry that has recently celebrated 25 years?

As this is my last “Family Friendly” column, I believe it certainly is appropriate to remember how long and hard I laboured to promote the concept of a family focus—“We exist only in relationships.”

The primary and essential relationship in creation is family, as a source of life, reproducing new life, journeying together through life, and acquiring lifeskills. “Parents are co-creators with God,” has been a refrain of mine.

And certainly restoring what family should be has been a constant message, too. In our early days of ministry we began with the beauty of marriage, marriage enrichment, which led to marriage preparation, and wider family enrichment. Along the way it included restoration of hurting marriages and the need to collaborate with other organisations to strengthen the relationships that exist.

But the most recent focus that I have adopted—courtesy of Pope Francis, no doubt—on my journey, while studying the signs of the times, is MARFAM’s current theme: “Our World—A Family of Families”.

St Francis of Assisi has been hovering on the sidelines for many years. Adopting and understanding the vision of animal, plant and human creatures living and growing in family relationships with the specific qualities of love, care, intimacy and commitment speaks of the essence of family. The belonging in families should be a source of rejoicing.

A ‘lone crusader’ However, this pilgrim journey of mine has been a lonely one, too. I’ve been labelled a lone crusader, even a mad prophet, as the particular vision has not

“The essential relationship in creation is family, as a source of life, reproducing new life, journeying together through life, and acquiring lifeskills,” writes Toni Rowland. (Photo: Brad Dorsey)

Family Friendly

gained general acceptance in the Church.

I have asked and reflected whether being truly family-friendly is too challenging, too threatening to an individualism that is more common in today’s society.

Society and the Church do want to heal the hurts caused by religious and lay family people both, through not truly being family.

I would like to note in particular that living the ideals of the African family has been a guiding vision for me since the 1994 African Synod with its image “Church as Family of God”. In my work I have complemented it with the Vatican II image of “Family as Church”.

Now in 2020, after a time of enforced rest due to the coronavirus pandemic maybe, beginning with the Season of Creation, it is time to continue more gently on my journey. Maybe rest a little more, or maybe write of my memories, spend time with family, listen to music, play the piano and revel in some of the other wonders of creation with which God graces us.

My more than 50 year jubilee of life has been a long and growth-filled season, with good companions and encouraging supporters too among the staff and readers of The Southern Cross.

All in all, I thank you and thank God. I hope that as I have shared my journey month by month, I have contributed something meaningful to making society and the Church a little more “Family Friendly”. n After many years, this is the final column

by Toni Rowland in The Southern Cross. We thank Toni for her many insights, often coming from unexpected angles, her tireless activism on behalf of the family, and her conscientious adherence to deadlines.

What kind of Africa do we want?

James Qeqe W HAT is it that we are doing wrong in Africa? Or, what is it that we are not doing at all?

How can there be so many sufferings on the mother continent after so many years of struggles, and eventually independence and freedom, won by the heroes and heroines of our great land of Africa.

At the height of The Troubles in the 1970s, the Irish were asking: “What can we do?” So we Africans too should ask: “What can we do?”

Dr William Nkomo (1915-42) was one of the founders and first president of the militant African National Congress Youth League in 1944. He was a spokesman of the South African “unusual’”group, that visited Northern Ireland to help the Irish in their struggles.

The unusual group included white farmers, ministers of the Dutch Reformed Church and black headmasters. So it was thought that if the Irish were no longer prepared to listen to each other, perhaps they would listen to South Africans.

Do South Africans listen to each other now? Do Africans listen to each other?

A story is told about Dr Nkomo. One day he was driving in his home city, Pretoria. Not realising that some roads had been rerouted for a civic occasion, he drove the wrong way up a one-way street.

A white policeman quite rightly stopped him, but then verbally and physically abused Dr Nkomo who later took the policeman to court.

Just before Dr Nkomo was due to leave South Africa for Europe, the case came up for trial. The policeman was found guilty but discharged without punishment anyway.

Why am I reminding you about this story? Simply because we are still doing the very same thing that was done to us by our oppressors. We even add to the oppression.

Here is an example, today in South Africa, and in other African countries as well. A person kills somebody and is arrested. A few days or so later, they are released and are free. Not that they were not found guilty, but because they have rights, they are free, they are independent.

Are we not saying to them: Continue

Point of Debate

Dr William Nkomo, founder of the ANC Youth League in 1944, with his wife Susan. your evil mission? Are we not fuelling the fire of cruelty to the nation? Should we not be charged, too, for not saying anything?

I don’t speak only about a political perspective, but also about moral obligations.

I do not just speak of political choices, vital though these are. I think, rather, of how people react in a pressure situation, their motives, their compulsions and their aims. These, I think, will decide what system evolves.

But where is the world heading to?

Mankind’s capacity to destroy itself has become commonplace. We face a universal need to rectify the wrongdoings.

Which way, Africa?

As I am writing this, I recall the giant president of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere.

Speaking of colonialism, he reportedly said that “it is preferable for anyone to live in a country ill-run by his own people than well-run by someone else”. One may understand his point, but it would be devastating if that was the only alternative.

Many people ask: “Which way will Africa go?”

Africa has been through a lot, and there are many successful developments and achievements.

But Africa is rather confused, there is a crisis of character. Men who were united when they fought for the freedom of their continent and countries have now allowed self-interest to take precedence in their lives. Is that what they were aiming for? Is that what they wanted?

Unless we can get incorruptible leaders who will not be bought with money, position, fame and the promise of other things, then Africa will be doomed.

We need a new ideology, an ideology that begins when man listens to God. Almost 2 000 years ago, St Paul put it nicely: “I do not understand my own behaviour; I do not act as I mean to, but I do things that I hate. While I am acting as I do not want to, I still acknowledge the Law as good, so it is not myself acting, but the sin which lives in me.

“And really, I know of nothing good living in me—in my natural self, that is— for though the will to do what is good is in me, the power to do it is not: the good thing I want to do, I never do; the evil thing which I do not want—that is what I do.

“But every time I do what I do not want to, then it is not myself acting, but the sin that lives in me. So I find this rule: that for me, where I want to do nothing but good, evil is close at my side...

“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body doomed to death? God—thanks be to him—through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 7) I wish that we’d have to dialogue on what change we want, what kind of Africa we are building. I am saying a dialogue because it may be that the Africa that I want is the Africa that you don’t want. And without dialogue, that will lead to a conflict, and that will lead to another, and another, and so on.

It’s time to wake up, Africans! it’s time to be in the forefront and take our own decisions which will move Africa forward.

That will make the next generation proud of us. n James Yamkela Qeqe is the author of The Unconscious of the Consciousness: Redeeming Ourselves, and the 2018 novel The Bright of Darkness of an African. He is currently studying for the priesthood.

7

Mark Pattison

Point of Media

How to manage kids and screens

M

ANY of our children have been staring at screens since March as they, their classmates and their teachers all figured out how to do distance learning on the fly.

And even now, once the school day is over, the same devices that might have been used for distance-learning are likely used for entertainment, be it TV, movies or video games—and maybe a little bit for homework.

Today, kids are looking at screens for long periods of time. But screens can be like sugar-coated cereal: they are only one part of a complete and nutritious breakfast.

The organisation Children and Screens (www.childrenandscreens.com) talked to a dozen top professionals on how to better manage children's screen usage—particularly in the more impressionable years between pre-school and Grade 8—and came back with many tips: l Create screen-free zones. As a family, agree on times and places during the day when you will just be together, without the disruption of checking your screen. Those can include meals, bedtime, game time and walks. l Pick and choose. While structure is important, worried children may benefit from daily "choices" to help them feel like they can still maintain some sense of control, especially when everything around them seems chaotic.

One example: Tell them it's time to play a game, but they can choose which one. If that doesn't work, offer them one of two options. l Walk it out. Schedule some breaks that involve physical activity and fresh air. Go for a walk, bounce a ball, skip rope; the possibilities are endless when it comes to having fun and connecting with your child. Just make sure to follow social distancing guidelines whenever you leave the house. l Mix it up. Treat your child's mind with respect and kindness by mixing up the day with activities that'll challenge different parts of their brain, such as reading vs math. Monitor your kids for signs of fatigue, increased irritability, distractibility and fidgeting, and take breaks for physical activity when necessary.

Often, screen use only stimulates the visual and auditory part of the brain, ignoring smell, touch, taste and temperature. What the brain doesn't use winds up growing less developed, so varied activities and challenges will help your child develop all of their senses. l Listen with your eyes. Non-verbal behavioural cues such as a shrug of the shoulders or a furrowing of the brow can provide helpful information about a child's understanding of the content being shared with them, be it school homework or a life lesson at home. Ask your child what's not being understood, and renew your effort to help the child understand. l Do your best. Off-screen activities are great, but you won't always have the mental capacity to support non-screen tasks, and that's totally fine.

Sometimes you may need to let your kids have a little extra television time. Just be sure to find media you trust and keep an eye on what your kids are watching. l Get physical. Make digital technology work for you. If you have a streaming music service, have a dance party with your kids. There are also free and subscription-based apps that have family fitness content to provide fun and engaging ways to interact and exercise as a family. l It's OK to be bored. The next time your child complains to you about being bored, don't just thrust a screen at them. Instead, let them sit with their boredom, and maybe even join them.

When not actively engaged in a specific task, our brains are doing important work. Neuroscientists call this the default mode of brain functioning, and it's linked to important skills like self-awareness and empathy.

So let them get bored. Their developing brains will thank you.—CNS

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The Southern Cross, September 16 to September 22, 2020

JUSTICE

Woe to the CORRUPT!

profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?”

The Lord’s words were famously put in the mouth of St Thomas More in the play A Man For All Seasons, when he faced his false accuser. The man had been bribed by being offered the title “Prince of Wales”. In the play, Thomas More adds to the words of Jesus—with apologies to the Welsh—“…lose your soul for the world, but for Wales?”

The corrupt steal from the poor and offend God. BISHOP GRAHAM ROSE counts the ways in which they put their souls and salvation at risk.

3. Woe to those who have betrayed the trust placed in them!

One thinks here of our own country—and tragically of so many others—where public servants make lofty commitments to serve the common good of the country, and especially the poor.

Once elected, they betray this trust.

This is the angry accusation of the poor of South Africa: What has happened to the relief funds?

It is the powerful who are diverting them into their own accounts.

Added to the criminality of such behaviour, one might well go further and label it treasonous.

4. Woe to those who have harmed and neglected the poor!

The Prophet Isaiah is scathing in his criticism: “Woe”, he says, to those “who refuse justice to the unfortunate and cheat the poor among my people of their rights” (10:1-2). And the Psalmist warns: “No man who practises deceit, shall live in my house” (101:7).

We know the harsh words of Jesus when speaking of the Final Judgment: “What you do to the least of my brothers and sisters you do to me” (Mt 25).

It is always the poor who are the first victims of corruption.

5. Woe to those whose mis-

S

OUTH Africans are protesting against widespread corruption in the country. Some of our leaders and their families stand accused of being at the centre of this epidemic.

Notwithstanding the Zondo Commission of Enquiry, the scourge of corruption continues unabated—now with a new wave that has seen relief money being stolen from those in dire need.

The Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) joined the protests with its own message which ends with the searing description of “criminals posing as leaders!”

The Sermon on the Mount is widely recognised as one of the greatest spiritual teachings of all time. It is said that Mahatma Gandhi had a copy of the Sermon

on his office wall in Johannesburg.

Less well-known than the “Blesseds” are the “Woes” which Jesus addressed against the Pharisees. Here I shall attempt to present a “List of Woes against the Corrupt”: 1. Woe to those who assume for themselves absolute ownership of the things of the world!

A central theme in the Biblical worldview is that God is the Creator of all things; we are only the stewards of what is in our possession.

Around a century ago, the Catholic journalist and writer GK Chesterton was at the forefront of a movement in Britain known as Distributism. As the name suggests, this movement sought to bring about a just distribution of the wealth of the country.

Much earlier, the Fathers of the Church had spoken of people as possessing badly where they used badly. Good stewards are called to show solidarity with those who do not have a just share of the earth’s resources.

2. Woe to those who lose their soul!

Jesus asks this telling and disturbing question: “What does it

It’s treason!

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Government officials and their families have stolen fortunes of state money intended for the relief of the poor. But even as they might enjoy their gleaming watches and fast cars, they are facing many woes.

Bishop Graham Rose enumerates these woes, and warns that corruption can start also with any of us. (Photo: Steve Buissinne) deeds God does not forget!

The Prophet Amos has a strong warning for those who say, “By swindling and tampering with the scales we can buy up the poor for money.” He declares to them that God has sworn: “Never will I forget a single thing you have done” (8:5-6).

We have lost a living sense of ultimate responsibility to God. A woman I know, looking directly into the eyes of her rapist, said: “You will have to answer to God for this.” At our terrible peril, we have lost our fear of God.

Beware backsliding

8. Woe to those who forget the God who begets them!

The words of St John Henry Newman still ring out: “I have all that time thought that a time of widespread infidelity was coming and through all those years the waters have in fact been rising as a deluge. I look for the time after my life, when only the tops of the mountains will be seen like islands in the waste of waters.”

This widespread infidelity brings with it a terrible denial of God. Our Lord warns that “the one who disowns me in the presence of men, I will disown in the presence of my Father in heaven” (Mt 10:32).

6. Woe to those who serve the false god of Mammon!

Just say ‘No’ Jesus is strikingly clear in his statement: “No one can serve two But enough of the Woes! There masters… You cannot be the slave are so many good people out both of God and of money” (Mt 6: there who say “No” to the temp24). tation of corruption. “Blessed are I recall one of the Fathers of those who hunger and thirst for the Church reacting with utter what is right!” (Mt 5:6). disbelief as he watched I knew a man who, as newly baptised Christhe general manager of a tians slipping (backmine, was once asked by sliding!) into worship Added to the his children to bring a of the false god of criminality of pencil and a ruler back money. He accused from work. them of amnesia, a loss corruption, It was a winter day and of memory—only rehis children were playing cently freed in Christ, one might go in their warm home. They they again become ennot want to have to further and did slaved! go out into the cold to It will always be a even label it buy the stationery. matter of profound disThe man refused to do treasonous this as it was not right. I appointment to see the heroes of a noble strugknow the story well: that gle for liberation—peoman was my father. It was ple who proclaimed from the an important lesson he taught us. rooftops their option for the Blessed are such teachers! poor—now lose their memory as An important theme runs they succumb to Mammon. It through a number, if not most, of makes me think of one of the sad- the above “Woes”. It is this: We dest refrains of a once noble peo- are accountable to God and God ple: “Once were warriors!” Now no will hold us to account.

Running counter to this corrupmore.

7. Woe to “rich fools” who tion is what the SACBC bishops and many others, including this are not vigilant!

Luke records one of Jesus’ most newspaper in many editorials, hard-hitting parables, sometimes have long criticised as “a culture of known as the parable of the Rich impunity”.

But the challenge takes us furFool.

As the Rich Man embarks on a ther: At what point, if we do not project of great expansion which raise our protest, do we ourselves will increase his personal wealth become accomplices to corrupsubstantially, Jesus responds: tion? It is a disturbing question “Fool! This very night the de- which we cannot avoid.

God grant us the courage to mand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose make our protest, and that we do so by firstly living innocent of will it be then?” (Lk 12:20-21).

What foolishness sees us be- this vice of corruption.

That will make us truly blessed coming obsessed with wealth in a temporary world when we have and will bless the poor who wait been promised permanent pros- upon our virtue. perity by storing treasures for our- n Bishop Graham Rose heads the diocese of Dundee, KwaZulu-Natal. selves in heaven? (Mt 6:19-21)

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RELIGIOUS LIFE

The Southern Cross, September 16 to September 22, 2020

9

Sister: This was my vocation journey Every vocation story is different. Here SR ALETHA MATISWAYIRI MADZIRO tells hers, as a Presentation Sister in Zimbabwe.

Z

IMBABWE was once considered the breadbasket of Africa, a country rising to prominence. It declined into poverty when its leader, Robert Mugabe, initiated a land reform that would return white-owned lands to black Zimbabweans.

Decline and ascendancy have been common cycles for Zimbabwe.

One was marked by a magnificent city, known as Great Zimbabwe or the House of Rock (the meaning of the Shona word “Zimbabwe”), built 900 years ago.

It was so impressive that Westerners often argued that Africans could not have built it. Archaeologists—particularly Gertrude CatonThompson—proved them wrong.

Here I was born and have lived my life.

The first African woman to join the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, part of my story is about how my life was shaped by this ancient culture, and part by how I have navigated intercultural living for the past 47 years of my life.

People often ask me what it was like to be the first African to become a Presentation Sister. There have been challenges, but I have had a happy and adventurous life and am proud to be a Sister.

Sr Aletha Matiswayiri Madziro PBVM (front) celebrates her silver jubilee in Guruve, Zimbabwe, with family and fellow Sisters. (Photos courtesy of the Presentation Sisters) a job at Avila mission, also in Manicaland, even before I knew my certification test results.

It was there I met the Presentation Sisters, who ran a clinic and worked in the mission school.

How I became a Sister

The first four Irish women to open the Presentation mission in Zimbabwe had been missionaries in India. They settled first in Harare and later some went to Mount Melleray mission, a primary boarding school, and Avila mission, a high school and hospital, to teach in the schools.

Later on, the Sisters opened a boys’ school in Harare and a girls’ school in the town of Marondera.

My early life What impressed me was the Born in 1942 into a Catholic family of 12, I lost three brothers way the Sisters related to the poor to Aids and one (at age 15) to heart who came to their door. They were always respectful and kind. problems.

As I spent time with them, the Zimbabwe was under British rule when I was growing up, so I learned desire to be one of them grew in English very young. I started school me. One day the Irish parish when I was nine rather than seven, priest, who saw that I came to because the school headmaster Mass every day, asked me if I had ever thought of being a religious judged my age by how sister. When I said yes, he little I was.

Immediately after The superior priest suggested that I might join the Presentafinishing school I was was happy tion Sisters. invited to enroll in The priest told the sunursing at Regina Caeli but also perior about me. She mission at Nyangha in Manicaland. I refused to surprised that asked me if it was true that I wanted to be a Sisfollow my parents’ deShe was happy, but sire that I be a teacher.

I wanted to ter. surprised, as the Sisters But, getting into the nursing school was not join. They had had not really thought about local vocations. easy, again because of not really I had to wait a long my height. The day I registered, the head thought about time before they let me join. Then they learned nurse refused me, saying: “We do not train local vocations that two other women were also thinking about babies.” being Sisters—but on the Thankfully, the parish priest testified to the Sister day I was to enter, they did not show up! about my age, and she relented.

There was no novitiate in ZimI graduated as a state-certified babwe, so the superior said that I nurse and midwife at 23.

My favourite part of school had would probably have to go to Irebeen the practical part—going out land—but I had another idea.

I knew the Precious Blood Sisto the villages in an ambulance driven by the parish priest, to col- ters, a congregation founded in South Africa, had young women lect women close to delivery.

One adventure I will never for- joining them, so I asked if, instead get was in a village when I deliv- of Ireland, I could do my novitiate ered a breech baby all by myself. I with those Sisters.

The Sisters of both congregahad been trained well and the tions discussed this idea and the baby came out safely!

Later, the same priest found me two groups came to an agreement

that I could join the Precious Blood novitiate.

The Presentation Sisters came to visit me regularly and taught me about their way of life and prayer.

I entered in 1970 with 12 others who became Sisters of the Precious Blood. At the end of the two-year novitiate I took first vows, on January 6, 1973.

My mother, a sister and nephew came, but not my father. He had not supported my choice in life.

But he did come for my final profession.

After profession I went to Hwange Colonial Hospital for a three-month renewal nursing course and was assigned again to Avila mission hospital for two years, until it was time to prepare for final vows.

HE Presentation Sisters, officially the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, are a religious congregation founded in Cork, Ireland, by Venerable Nano Nagle in 1775. The Sisters of the congregation use the postnominal initials PBVM. The Presentation Sisters’ mission is to help the poor and needy around the world. Historically, the Sisters focused their energies on creating and staffing schools that would educate young people, especially young women.

Most of these schools are still in operation and can be found across the globe.

The Presentation Sisters are located in 24 countries including Antigua, Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Commonwealth of Dominica, Ecuador, Great Britain, Guatemala, India, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Slovakia, Thailand, United States of America, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Back to Zimbabwe In 1978, I returned to Nagle House in Zimbabwe, named after the Irish foundress of the Presentation Sisters, and eventually went with an Irish Sister to a new mission, Chiduku.

The people still had the spirit of war. The locals thought they could take over administrative positions in the clinic without any form of training. Hence, they did not welcome Sr Margaret, who was put in charge of the clinic.

This put our lives in danger.

Twice we escaped being killed.

During the first attack we locked ourselves in a tiny closet and spent the night there. In the morning we left to stay at another mission in Rusape.

When we returned that evening, the gang came and hid behind the building. We got a tipoff from a lady who cooked for us, and we managed to escape safely.

After these traumatic experiences, I was assigned for six years to a clinic in Marondera, then finished O-Levels (high school) and did some vocation work.

From there I was missioned to Guruve, a rural mission, where my Sister companions and I helped build a new convent— burning the bricks and digging its foundation!

I spent 20 years in Guruve before being forced into retirement by illness in 2003.

After retirement, I had the privilege of going to Canada, England, Ireland, the Philippines and the Holy Land.

Looking back over all these years, I realise that this work made me experience God’s love and his presence more than I know. I thank God for guarding and working with me in both joyful and difficult moments.

I am so grateful to the Presentation Sisters for their support, for the privileges which made me grow spiritually and emotionally, and for their care in my retirement. May God richly bless them and every other person who made my journey possible. n This article was first published on the www.globalsistersreport.org website and is reproduced with kind permission. Sr Aletha Matiswayiri Madziro now lives in retirement in Nagle House, a convent and education centre in Harare.

Cultureshock in India After a two-year wait for a visa, I was sent to Mater Dei College in Goa, India, for two full years.

It was my first time travelling alone outside Zimbabwe. I felt frightened and worried.

Our first stop was Nairobi, where my passport was taken and I was put under house arrest for 48 hours while authorities investigated me, because there was a rebellion going on in what then was still Rhodesia. An old man from the kitchen secretly brought me food and water.

I finally was released and flew to India, and met more challenges. We landed in Bombay (now Mumbai), where I was told I had no onward ticket to Madras. I got very angry and asked for the manager. He listened, let me go

Aletha Matiswayiri Madziro at Avila mission in Manicaland before she joined the Presentation Sisters.

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and escorted me to the plane.

Two Sisters met me and took me to the convent. I was overwhelmed by the numbers of people on the road.

The change in India was extremely difficult. I had become used to Irish culture, and now I was faced with Indian culture.

The Sisters had never met an African woman before. Because of my dark skin, they took me for being of lower class and treated me this way.

They could not understand my African English, and I speak very frankly—which offended them.

I also missed my own food of vegetables, meat and sadza (what South Africans call pap), often feeling sick from the unfamiliar Indian food.

I did enjoy the studies and got to like the Sisters, especially dancing with them.

The

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10

The Southern Cross, September 16 to September 22, 2020

HOLY LAND

From left: A pilgrim walks on the ancient paving of the church of the Holy Sepulchre • The altar of the Calvary below which the faithful can touch the rock on which the Cross of Christ stood • The “immovable” ladder at the facade of the church of the Holy Sepulchre. (All photos: Günther Simmermacher)

Trouble at the tomb of Christ In part 18 of our virtual pilgrimage to the Holy Land, we return with GüNTHer SiMMerMACHer to the holiest site in Christianity, the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

T

HE destruction of the church of the Holy Sepulchre by the mad caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah of Cairo in 1009 contributed to the papal call for a Crusade to recapture the Holy Land.

When the Crusaders captured the Holy Land 90 years after the caliph’s destruction, they found a smaller, open-domed church that had been built around the edicule that holds the tomb of the Lord once Christians were allowed to return there.

The Crusaders soon set about building a new church of the Holy Sepulchre, first by renovating and extending the edicule, then by adding a series of sanctuaries to form a cross-shaped church.

They finally completed it in the state we know now it, more or less, and the new basilica was consecrated on July 15, 1149—the 50th anniversary of the Crusaders’ conquest of Jerusalem.

Little has changed in the church’s exterior since then. One of the double doors was walled closed before the end of the 12th century.

In 1172 the Crusaders built a 29 metre-high belltower. The upper part of the tower collapsed in 1545 and was never rebuilt, leaving behind the stump to the left of the entrance to the church.

Entering the church through the main entrance one comes to the Stone of Unction, the spot where Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus prepared Jesus’ body for burial in the tomb.

To its right a staircase leads to the altars of the Nails and the Crucifixion, the spot where pilgrims reach through a hole below the altar to touch the rock on which Jesus’ Cross stood.

Directly below the altar of the Crucifixion is the chapel of Adam, in the apse of which there is a crack caused, according to ancient tradition, by the earthquake which occurred at the moment of Jesus’

death. By virtue of his blood falling through that crack and upon Adam’s reputed grave, Christ is said to have redeemed Adam, and therefore mankind.

Passing the Stone of Unction again on the way to the tomb, one may not notice the chapel of the Marys, a canopy that marks the spot where tradition says the grieving women stood as they looked up Golgotha to observe the gruesome scenes of Jesus’ crucifixion.

The Anastasis (Resurrection), below the big dome, is at the centre of the church. The edicule has been replaced several times.

The present, quite ugly, structure dates to the renovations necessitated by a fire in 1808. Following earthquakes in 1867 and 1927 the edicule became so unstable that from 1934 until the renovations of 2016/17 it was held up by permanent metal girders and wooden supports.

The edicule is always guarded by Greek monks, some of whom make up what they lack in charm with the efficient ruthlessness of nightclub bouncers who make it a sport of ejecting those who misbehave.

The interior has two chambers.

First, one enters the chapel of the Angel, which contains a piece of the reputed stone that covered the entrance to Jesus’ tomb.

Then through a low portal one enters the room that marks the Res-

urrection. The bench upon which Jesus’ body was laid is covered by a heavy marble slab.

Until 2016 it had not been opened since 1555, when the Franciscans built a new edicule (which was replaced by the present one). It was the first opening of the tomb since 1009.

Under Muslim control After the consecration of the church of the Holy Sepulchre in 1149, Jerusalem didn’t stay in Christian hands for long. In 1187 Saladin expelled the Crusaders, and for the next couple of centuries control of the church oscillated between the Latins and the Greeks (or neither).

For many years, pilgrims had to pay exorbitant bribes to the sultan to pray in the church. Periodic attacks on Jerusalem damaged the structure, especially an attack in 1214 in which many Christians were slain. The inequitable situation prompted protests, followed by an apology from the sultan to Pope Innocent IV, with a promise to repair the damage.

In order to facilitate access, he placed the keys to the church in the custody of a Muslim family, the Nuseibeh family. The Ottomans appointed a second family, the Judeh, as co-custodians of the keys. Between them, the families have been responsible for opening the door every morning and locking it every night for almost 800 years.

It was not a flawless system.

Control of access to the church was lucrative for the more businessminded generations of keyholders.

Niccolò di Poggibonsi, an Italian Franciscan who stayed for a year in Jerusalem in 1347, reported how the deal would go down if one wanted to pray in the edicule: “And if one wishes to hire the keys from the Saracen who holds them, one agrees with him on a certain sum of money, and he leaves it open for him, and he who has paid can stay there, all day and all night: for the Saracens go out, and lock the sanctuary door.”

Christian hostilities The chapel of the Marys, which recalls the grieving women at the Cross.

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On top of that, the Greeks and Catholics did not always maintain friendly relations.

The Franciscans had control of the church for three relatively calm centuries, from the time Pope Clement VI assigned to the friars

The facade of the church of the Holy Sepulchre. Note the ladder on the window above the sealed entrance. the official custody of the sacred shrines in the Holy Land in 1342 until 1662, a long period during which they liberally shared it with other denominations.

After the Ottoman conquest in 1616, supremacy of the church was subject to the whims and favour of the Muslim rulers in Constantinople, who by dint of geography tended to favour the Greek Orthodox.

By 1767 the Ottoman rulers had grown tired of the constant squabbling. Like a strict parent who has no interest in the justice of the respective cases brought before him by bickering children, the sultan gave the churches control over their own defined areas.

The Orthodox were awarded the prime area of the rotunda (they had occupied it since a violent raid on Palm Sunday 1757) as well as the rock of the Cross. To these, however, they were ordered to allow fair access to members of other denominations.

The division of the church between the Greek, Latin and Armenian communities, and the presence of Coptic and Ethiopian Churches, was confirmed in 1852 by a decree known as the “status quo”.

That should have settled things, bringing about peaceful coexistence rooted in fraternal Christian love. But it hasn’t. The tension finds regular expression in petty acts and frantic finger-wagging.

And once in a while, the pot boils over and (to mix metaphors) the gloves come off.

It seems incongruous and intolerable that some of the most spiteful manifestations of bad relations between Christians should have a permanent residence in the place of Our Lord’s crucifixion and Resurrection.

The immovable ladder On a window ledge facing the courtyard of the church of the Holy Sepulchre there is a ladder which has stood there since at the latest 1757, the year it was first mentioned in an edict by Sultan

Abdul Hamid I. Nobody knows how it got there.

The oldest image of the façade of the church of the Holy Sepulchre that I have found is an engraving which the Franciscans date to 1728. The earliest photograph showing the ladder is from the 1850s. Anyway, one day the ladder was there, and it has remained in the same place ever since.

The sticking point is that, according to the status quo, the window against which the ladder leans belongs to the Armenians, but the cornice on which it stands belongs to the Greek Orthodox. So any unilateral action in moving the ladder from its present position might be interpreted as one church making or ceding its claim of ownership of the window or the cornice.

A consensus about moving it would involve compromise between six churches, and that quality is in very short supply in the holiest place in Christendom, even today.

There has been some welcome improvement in relations. An international conference in 1955 established some form of cooperation concerning urgent maintenance and repair work.

These did indeed begin in 1960 and continue today, preparing for the agreement that led to the restoration of the edicule and the pavement in front of it (the former was conducted by Greeks, the latter will be done by Italians).

But the bitter broth of old hostilities always keeps bubbling below the surface, especially between the Orthodox and Armenians.

So we need not wonder why there can be no agreement on moving a ladder. Indeed, the ladder is a visible symbol of our Christian division, as Pope Paul VI noted in 1964. May it not be moved until we are one. n This is an edited extract from Günther Simmermacher’s The Holy Land Trek. Next week: The journey ends at Emmaus and Jaffa

The Southern Cross, September 16 to September 22, 2020

St Matthew, apostle

S

AINT Matthew, the first-century tax collector turned apostle who chronicled the life and ministry of Christ in his Gospel, is celebrated by the Church on September 21.

Although relatively little is known about the life of St Matthew, the account he wrote of Christ’s ministry—traditionally considered to be the first of the four Gospels—is of inestimable value to the Church, particularly in its verification of Jesus as the Messiah.

The Gospel accounts of Mark and Luke, like Matthew’s own, describe the encounter between Jesus and Matthew under the surprising circumstances of Matthew’s taxcollecting duties. Jewish publicans, who collected taxes on behalf of the Roman rulers of first-century Palestine, were objects of scorn and even hatred among their own communities, since they worked on behalf of the occupying power and often earned their living by collecting more than the state’s due.

Jesus most likely first encountered Matthew near the house of Peter, in Capernaum near the Sea

of Galilee. The meeting of the two was dramatic, as Matthew’s thirdperson account in his Gospel captured: “As Jesus passed on,” the ninth chapter recounts, “he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.”

Matthew’s calling into Jesus’ inner circle was a dramatic gesture of the Messiah’s universal message and mission, causing some religious authorities of the Jewish community to wonder: “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus’ significant response indicated a central purpose of his ministry: “I did not come to

call the righteous but sinners.”

A witness to Christ’s Resurrection after death, as well as his ascension into heaven and the events of Pentecost, Matthew also recorded Jesus’ instruction for the apostles to “go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you”.

Like 11 of the 12 apostles, St Matthew is traditionally thought to have died as a martyr while preaching the Gospel. The Roman Martyrology describes his death as occurring in a territory near present-day Egypt.

Reflecting on St Matthew’s calling, from the pursuit of dishonest financial gain to the heights of holiness and divine inspiration, Pope Benedict said in 2006 that “in the figure of Matthew, the Gospels present to us a true and proper paradox: those who seem to be the farthest from holiness can even become a model of the acceptance of God’s mercy and offer a glimpse of its marvellous effects in their own lives”.—CNA

FROM OUR VAULTS 5 Years Ago: September 23, 2015

South Africa’s first beatification South Africa’s first beatification took place in a field in Tshitanini village outside Thohoyandou in front of a crowd of 35 000 from all over South Africa, presided over by Cardinal Angelo Amato, the prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

It was attended by all Daswa’s eight children, his brother, and mother, Ida, who sat next to Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Fr Augustine O’Brien, who baptised Bl Daswa in 1963, travelled from Ireland for the beatification. Fr John Finn, who performed Daswa’s funeral in 1990, also attended.

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DEATH

DONNELLY—Marge.

Widow of the late Gene and mother of Fr Simon and Martin, passed away after a short illness on September 11. The Southern Cross gives thanks for her life alongside our long-serving managing editor. MHSRIP

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PRAYERS

O MOST beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendour of heaven,

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 932. ACROSS: 5 Wash, 7 Madagascar, 8 Shed, 10 Baldness, 11 Avenge, 12 Savage, 14 Pagoda, 16 Collar, 17 Keep them, 19 Aids, 21 Consecrate, 22 Stet. DOWN: 1 Amos, 2 Fandango, 3 Gamble, 4 Scales, 5 Wren, 6 Swiss Guard, 9 Have a heart, 13 Voltaire, 15 Athens, 16 Compel, 18 Pict, 20 Seek.

blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. O Star of the Sea, help me and show me where you are.

Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth, I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to succour me in my necessity. There is none who can withstand your power. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands. “Say this prayer for three consecutive days and then publish.”

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O LORD may everything we do begin with your inspiration, continue with your help, and reach perfection under your guidance.

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Liturgical Calendar

Pope confesses every 15-20 days Pope Francis has told Portugal’s Catholic Radio Renascenca in an interview that he goes to confession every 15-20 days. “I confess to a Franciscan priest, Fr Blanco, who is kind enough to come here and confess me.”

Laughing, the pope said: “I’ve never had to call an ambulance” to carry him away “in shock over my sins!”

11

Year A – Weekdays Cycle Year 2 Sunday September 20, 25th Sunday of the year Isaiah 55:6-9, Psalms 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18, Philippians 1:20-24, 27, Matthew 20:1-16 Monday September 21, St Matthew Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13, Psalms 19:2-3, 4-5, Matthew 9:9-13 Tuesday September 22 Proverbs 21:1-6, 10-13, Psalms 119:1, 27, 30, 34, 35, 44, Luke 8:19-21 Wednesday September 23, St Pio of Pietrelcina Proverbs 30:5-9, Psalms 119:29, 72, 89, 101, 104, 163, Luke 9:1-6

Thursday September 24 Ecclesiastes 1:2-11, Psalms 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and 17, Luke 9:7-9 Friday September 25 Ecclesiastes 3:1-11, Psalms 144:1, 2, 3-4, Luke 9:18-22 Saturday September 26, Ss Cosmas and Damian Ecclesiastes 11:9–12:8, Psalms 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14,17, Luke 9:43-45 Sunday September 27, 26th Sunday of the year Ezekiel 18:25-28, Psalms 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9, Philippians 2:1-11, Matthew 21: 28-32

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the

26th Sunday: September 27 Readings: Ezekiel 18:25-28; Psalm 25:4-9; Philippians 2:1-11; Matthew 21:28-32 HO are the people whom God loves the most? That is a trick question, of course, because God loves us all equally.

But sometimes we find ourselves thinking that we are a special case, either because “God must love me more than that person”, or, the opposite attitude, because “I am so awful that God cannot possibly love me”.

Both of these are wrong; but underlying them both is an important truth, that it is essential that we find out God’s Will and perform it, not because “You Will Be Punished Otherwise”, but because that is what is going to make us happiest.

So in the first reading, Ezekiel is dealing with those of his fellow Jews who are complaining that “the way of the Lord is not fair”. He throws the charge back in their faces: “Is it not you people whose ways are not fair?”

Then God (or the prophet) gives an example: “If the just person turns back from their justice and does what is evil and dies.”

That is appropriate, it seems; and equally “when a wicked person turns from the wickedness they have done, and does justice and righteousness, then that person shall live…not die”.

W

S outher n C ross

Nowadays we are a bit uncomfortable with the idea of people dying because they have sinned; but the point is that God is a God of love, incapable of behaving badly.

What we simply cannot do (though, alas, it often happens) is set up in judgment over God; instead our task is to do what God wants, uncomplainingly, or, in the prophet’s words, “to follow God’s ways”.

So in the psalm we hear the poet ask: “Make me know your ways, Lord, teach me your paths.” And the reason? “Because you are God my Saviour.”

That is the key fact of our existence, and is what grounds our plea to “remember your compassion and your steadfast love; they are from of old”; because we get things wrong, we need to echo the psalmist’s prayer: “Do not remember the sins of my youth.”

Then, with the poet, we pray: “Remember me for the sake of your goodness, Lord.”

We hope to preserve the memory that “the Lord is good and upright”, and that he “teaches sinners on the way”.

You will notice that the word “way” is mentioned twice more in the context of the

‘T

how anyone might be very frightened in that situation! I can empathise, I know what fear can do to you!” None of that.

The excusable doesn’t need to be excused and the inexcusable cannot be excused. In Peter’s betrayal, as in our own betrayals, there’s invariably some of both, the excusable and the inexcusable.

So what does Jesus do with Peter? He doesn’t ask for an explanation, doesn’t ask for an apology, doesn’t tell Peter that it is okay, doesn’t offer excuses for Peter, and doesn’t even tell Peter that he loves him.

Instead he asks Peter: “Do you love me?”

Peter answers yes—and everything moves forward from there.

Everything moves forward from there.

Everything can move forward following a confession of love, not least an honest confession of love in the wake of a betrayal.

Apologies are necessary (because that’s taking ownership of the fault and the weakness so as to lift it completely off the soul of the one who was betrayed), but excuses are not helpful. If the action was not a betrayal, no excuse is necessary; if it was, no excuse absolves it.

Why excuses are no good

Conrad

An excuse or an attempt at one serves two purposes, neither of them good.

First, it serves to rationalise and justify, none of which is helpful to the betrayed or the betrayer.

Second, it weakens the apology and makes it less than clean and full, thus not lifting the betrayal completely off the soul of the one who has been betrayed; and, be-

Church Chuckles

pented and went off”, while the other (yes, you guessed it) “said, ‘Yes, Lord’ and didn’t go”. The key thing for Jesus, especially in the Gospel of Matthew, is “to do the will of the Father”.

Then he draws the alarming moral: “The tax-collectors and the prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of God ahead of you.”

This is part of Jesus dealing with the anger of the religious leaders in Israel, who are infuriated by that highly political action that we call “cleansing the Temple”, and demand to know what his authority is for performing this gesture.

The answer is, of course, that his authority is that this is what God wills. And in the case of our reading, we have to learn that it is not always the most religious people who succeed in doing God’s will.

Sometimes, it seems, it is the most undesirable people who do it. This is what Pope Francis has been trying to teach us; sometimes it is the most surprising people who understand what God is wanting.

Southern Crossword #932

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

cause of that, is not as helpful an expression of love as is a clear, honest acknowledgement of our betrayal and an apology which attempts no excuse for its weakness and betrayal.

What love asks of us when we are weak is an honest, non-rationalised, admission of our weakness along with a statement from the heart: “I love you!” Things can move forward from there.

The past and our betrayal are not expunged, nor excused; but, in love, we can live beyond them. To expunge, excuse, or rationalise is to not live in the truth; it is unfair to the one betrayed since he or she bears the consequences and scars.

Only love can move us beyond weakness and betrayal, and this is an important principle not just for those instances in life when we betray and hurt a loved one but also for our understanding of life in general.

We’re human, not divine, and as such are beset, congenitally, body and mind, with weaknesses and inadequacies of every sort.

None of us, as St Paul graphically says in his Epistle to the Romans, ever quite measure up. The good we want to do, we end up not doing, and the evil we want to avoid, we habitually end up doing.

Some of this, of course, is understandable, excusable, just as some of it is inexcusable, save for the fact that we’re humans and partially a mystery to ourselves. Either way, at the end of the day, no justification or excuses are asked for (or helpful).

We don’t move forward in relationship by telling either God or someone we have hurt: “You have to understand! In that situation, what else was I to do too? I didn’t mean to hurt you, I was just too weak to resist!” That’s neither helpful, nor called for.

Things move forward when we, without excuses, admit weakness, and apologise for betrayal.

Like Peter when asked three times by Jesus: “Do you love me?” from our hearts we need to say: “You know everything, you know that I love you.”

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Sunday Reflections

“humble”: God “teaches the way to the humble, instructs the humble in the way”.

That is the God with whom we are dealing.

In the second reading, a very famous hymn which Paul seems to have borrowed from some of his Christian predecessors, once again brings us face-to-face with the way in which God is different.

Here Paul is dealing with some tensions in the group at Philippi, and proposes Jesus as their model (“have the same mindset, the same love…no strife or empty-headedness”) “who did not think that equality with God was a snatching-matter; instead he emptied himself, taking on a slave’s appearance”. And so, instead of quarrelling, he “humiliated himself, becoming obedient to the point of death (death on a cross!)”.

That is the way our God behaves, and so Paul brings the argument to its triumphant conclusion: “Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

To make sure that we have got the message, Jesus in the Gospel sets us a riddle about two teenagers, one of whom roundly refuses his father’s invitation to “go and work in my vineyard today”, but “later re-

To move beyond our mistakes HE excusable doesn’t need to be excused and the inexcusable cannot be excused.” Michael Buckley wrote those words and they contain an important challenge.

We’re forever trying to make excuses for things we need not make excuses for and are forever trying to excuse the inexcusable. Neither is necessary. Or helpful.

We can learn a lesson from how Jesus dealt with those who betrayed him. A prime example is the Apostle Peter, specially chosen and named the very rock of the apostolic community.

Peter was an honest man with a childlike sincerity, a deep faith, and he, more than most others, grasped the deeper meaning of who Jesus was and what his teaching meant.

Indeed, it was he who in response to Jesus’ question “Who do you say I am?” replied: “You are the Christ, the son of the Living God.” Yet minutes after that confession Jesus had to correct Peter’s false conception of what that meant and then rebuke him for trying to deflect him from his very mission.

More seriously, it was Peter who, within hours of an arrogant boast that though all others would betray Jesus, he alone would remain faithful, betrayed Jesus three times, and this in Jesus’ most needy hour.

Later we are privy to the conversation Jesus has with Peter vis-à-vis those betrayals. What’s significant is that he doesn’t ask Peter to explain himself, doesn’t excuse Peter, and doesn’t say things like: “You weren’t really yourself! I can understand

Nicholas King SJ

What our God wants

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ACROSS

5. Don’t do it openly with dirty laundry (4) 7. Country of the bishop of Antananarivo (10) 8. Let the leaves fall from the hut (4) 10. Did Samson have it after Delilah’s attentions? (8) 11. Inflict harm in return (6) 12. He is uncivilised and brutal (6) 14. Temple of a god in Pennsylvania (6) 16. Some protocol largely at neck level (6) 17. What we must do with the Commandments (4,4) 19. Am I describing source initially of a disease? (4) 21. The priest will do it during Mass (10) 22. Let it stand with the proofreader (4)

DOWN

1. Part of Samos where the prophet came from? (4) 2. Go and fan wildly in the Spanish dance (8) 3. Take a chance (6) 4. They fell away from Saul’s eyes (Ac 9) (6) 5. Architect songbird? (4) 6. Papal watch (5,5) 9. Show pity (4,1,5) 13. A revolt I find by the Frenchman (8) 15. Greek capitalist’s home (6) 16. Force to be obliging (6) 18. Ancient tribesman from Scotland (4) 20. … and you will find (Mt 7) (4) Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

O

ne day at Benediction, while saying the rosary with his congregation, a priest was called away to take an important call from his bishop. He instructed his altar boy: “Keep the rosary going until I return.”

The urgent matter required longer discussion than expected. When Father returned to the church he was amazed to find the altar boy still saying the rosary, hearing him intone: “The 50th glorious mystery. Peter hits Pontius Pilate on the head with a club.”

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