200819 Free Issue

The

S outher n C ross

August 19 to August 25, 2020

Reg No. 1920/002058/06

No 5199

www.scross.co.za

Assumption Mass at Jo’burg Marian shrine

R12 (incl VAT RSA)

What the editor thinks of The Chosen

All about new Fatima film out this month

Page 2

Centenary Jubilee Year

Page 7

Page 8

Bishops tell president: Earn people’s trust I

N a scathing statement, the bishops of Southern Africa have called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to abandon the politics of expediency and appeasement and restore public trust.

The Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) was responding to a series of corruption allegations against government and ANC officials in the procurements relating to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown “We join the nation in condemning the Covid-19 corruption scandal and the severe lack of ethical leadership that it represents,” said the SACBC statement, signed by its president, Bishop Sithembele Sipuka of Mthatha.

“Although we are deeply appalled, the news of the looting of public resources during the pandemic does not come as a big surprise,” the bishops noted.

“We urge our leaders to take careful note of the way in which they have allowed a culture of impunity around corruption to develop and provide an enabling environment for the current Covid-19 corruption,” the statement said.

“In the previous years, despite serious allegations, there have been no arrests, prosecutions and accountability for politicians and their families,” the bishops noted.

“Anti-corruption institutions continue to be compromised and made less effective by patronage politics and blind allegiance to political factions,” the bishops said.

Quoting Pope Francis, they added that “the corruption of the powerful ends up being paid for by the poor”.

The bishops observed that the current corruption scandal “has further eroded public confidence in the office of the president and its ability to root out the cancer of cor-

T

ruption that is eating away the soul of our nation”.

“We therefore make a special appeal to the president to abandon politics of expediency and appeasement, and [to] take bold steps to restore public trust in the presidency as an institution,” the bishops said.

The president needs this public trust in the nation’s battle against the pandemic and economic recession, and to restore “significant levels” of that trust “requires the immediate intervention of the presidency”, the statement said.

“During this difficult time in our nation, when the lives and livelihoods of millions of people are at stake, the country cannot afford high levels of trust deficit in the government and the office of the president,” the bishops warned.

“The time for inter-ministerial committees, commissions of enquiries and political compromises is now over. We want to see the immediate suspension, investigation, arrests and prosecution of those involved, irrespective of who they are,” the SACBC demanded.

To that end, the bishops called for the reestablishment of a specialised anti-corruption unit, equivalent to the Scorpions, with guaranteed sufficient levels of independence and budget allocations.

They also proposed “specialised courts to handle corruption”, a review of the current tender system in favour of greater transparency and accountability, and the strengthening of the moral regeneration movement.

“In the name of the voiceless and the poor whose means of survival is stolen from them by criminals posing as leaders, we expect an immediate response to these demands,” the bishops said.

Fr Johan Strydom of Mossel Bay in the diocese of Oudtshoorn named this photo he took “A New Dawn” in tribute to his diocese’s Bishop Noel Rucastle, whose episcopal ordination took place this month.

Pope asks Mary to aid Nigeria

BY COURTNEY MARES

P

OPE Francis has prayed for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, “Mother of Hope”, for Nigeria’s persecuted Christians and for peace in conflicts in Africa.

“Today I would like to pray in particular for the population of the northern region of Nigeria, victims of violence and terrorist attacks,” Pope Francis said in his Angelus address on August 15.

“The Virgin Mary, whom we contemplate today in heavenly glory, is the ‘Mother of Hope’, he said. “Let us invoke her intercession for all the situations in the world that are most in need of hope: hope for peace, for justice, hope for a dignified life.”

More than 600 Christians in Nigeria have been killed in 2020 so far, and 12 000 since June 2015.

Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto, Nigeria told the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need that the systematic violence could constitute genocide, adding that many

Muslims have also been victims of violence.

“The inefficiency of the military has made the terrorists bolder and there are also issues of complicity of the various levels of the military,” Bishop Kukah said in the interview published on August 6.

In his prayer for the victims of violence in Nigeria, Pope Francis invoked a title for Mary that was recently added to the Litany of Loreto: “Mother of Hope”.

On Saturday, the pope also said that he is paying particular attention to the negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan regarding the Nile River.

The construction of a dam on the Nile has been a source of tension between the countries since Ethiopia began the project in 2011, with Egypt and Sudan expressing concern that the upstream dam will reduce access to water.

The three African countries agreed to resume talks over the dam—projected to be the largest hydroelectric dam in Africa—in late July.—CNA

What’s the future of The Southern Cross?

he News that south Africa’s only national Catholic weekly will cease to be a newspaper in september has shocked the Catholic community.

The Southern Cross has survived for nearly 100 years on strength of tight financial management and the great sacrifices by its small, loyal staff.

But the closure of our churches in the national lockdown has robbed us of our main source of income: sales at the church door. since April we have made the weekly edition available for FREE on our website, bringing the Church to the people at a time when the people cannot go to church.

The generosity of many people has sustained the publication. It is thanks to those who have made donations that The Southern Cross is still alive.

several weeks. so we hope parishes will order some extra copies.

At the end of July, all staff had to be retrenched. That you are reading this issue is due to three ex-staffers who produce the newspaper on a freelance basis, at significant financial sacrifice.

The same three people will relaunch the newspaper as an attractive, entertaining and faith-building Southern Cross magazine in september.

The cover price will be only R30, to keep the magazine affordable.

T

HOW YOU CAN HELP?

we will need the help of the Catholic community to make sure the magazine will get into the hands of people, especially if restrictions on the size of Mass congregations still apply. we will need parishes to make sure that those parishioners who want to buy the magazine will be able to do so.

If in every parish one or two peo-

ple canvas interested parishioners – perhaps through social media or other means of contact – and then place their order with Pamela (admin@scross.co.za), then we will know how many copies to print. since a magazine remains “fresh” for a whole month, it can be sold over

he Covid-19 crisis has depleted our reserves, and The Southern Cross is operating on the proverbial shoestring budget. we are grateful to the many people who have made donations – big or small – and even started their own campaign to rescue Catholic media.

These donations have sustained us and kept The Southern Cross alive – but our situation remains precarious. we sTIll Need fINANCIAl helP! • Subscribe and encourage people to subscribe to The Southern Cross. Go to digital.scross.co.za/subscribe (or click HERE) or e-mail subscriptions@ scross.co.za • If you run a business, advertising in The Southern Cross is a great way of

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May God bless you and us all!

2

The Southern Cross, August 19 to August 25, 2020

LOCAL

Assumption Mass at Jo’burg’s Marian shrine T

HE feast of the Assumption was celebrated at the Mother of Mercy shrine in Magaliesburg, Johannesburg archdiocese.

The Mass, celebrated by Archbishop Buti Tlhagale with Bishop Duncan Tsoke and priests of the archdiocese, was not

open to the public, due to lockdown regulations, but it was livestreamed on the Archdiocesan News’ Facebook page.

The faithful were asked to pray for an end to the Covid-19 pandemic and the success of the continuation of the shrine.

The photos on this page were taken by Timothy Bernard.

The eyes of Our Lady shine bright in a banner that formed the backdrop to the altar with the Blessed Sacrament.

Clergy of Johannesburg in procession at the Mother of Mercy shrine in Magaliesberg. About 30 priests took part in the Assumption celebrations.

Bishop Duncan Tsoke, auxiliary in Johannesburg, at the Assumption Mass in Magaliesberg.

One of the invited congregants holds the programme for the Assumption feast Mass.

Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg, wearing a facemask branded with the Mother of Mercy shrine logo.

A member of the St Anne’s Sodality prays during the Assumption feast Mass.

Bishop Tsoke holds up the chalice during the consecration at the Assumption feast Mass at the Mother of Mercy shrine.

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Men carry the statue of Our Lady of Fatima in procession at the Mother of Mercy shrine in Magaliesberg.

The Southern Cross, August 19 to August 25, 2020

LOCAL

3

Zim govt attacks bishops over pastoral letter

BY PAUL SAMASUMO

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HE nuncio to Zimbabwe gave pointed support to the bishops of the country after the government there attacked them over a pastoral letter criticising the crackdown on protests.

In the pastoral letter, issued on August 14, the Catholic bishops of Zimbabwe condemned what they called an “unprecedented” crackdown on dissent.

“Fear runs down the spine of many of our people today,” the bishops said.

They pointed out that to have “a different opinion does not mean to be an enemy”, but the government “automatically labels anyone thinking differently as an enemy of the country: that is an abuse”.

“The call for demonstrations is the expression of growing frustration and aggravation caused by the conditions that the majority of Zimbabweans find themselves in.

Suppression of people’s anger can only serve to take the nation into deeper crisis,” the bishops said.

The government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa has widely been criticised for human rights abuses that have seen the country’s police and military unleashed on activists, journalists and the public.

Several observers, such as Amnesty International, paint a climate of fear and brutal repression; forced disappearances, arrests, street abductions, and torture of the government’s critics.

The government’s crackdown on peaceful protests has given rise to the hashtag #ZimbabweanLivesMatter, inspired by the global movement #BlackLivesMatter.

Among those detained in Zimbabwe are Hopewell Chin’ono, an awarding-winning journalist. Also in detention together with many others is Jacob Ngarivhume, leader of Transform Zimbabwe. The two high-profile detainees have been charged with inciting public protests and violence.

Earlier, Mr Mnangagwa appeared to rebuff South Africa’s attempts to mediate and help ease the country’s crisis. Zimbabwe’s bishops describe the failure of South Africa’s emissaries to meet with Church and civil society as regrettable and probably an opportunity missed.

Catholic women to meet for online prayer event

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Archbishop Robert Ndlovu, president of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference. (Inset) Poster for The Sunday Mail reporting the government’s reaction to the bishops’ pastoral letter which criticised the government. (Inset Photo: Getrude Chimange/Justice & Peace Mutare diocese) According to the bishops, the nations’s political leadership needs to take full responsibility and stop blaming others for the country’s misfortunes.

“It is not clear to us…that the national leadership we have has the knowledge, social skills, emotional stability and social orientation to handle the issues that we face as a nation. All we hear from them is blame of our woes on foreigners, colonialism, white settlers, and the so-called internal detractors,” the bishops said.

They issued an “urgent plea for peace and national building through inclusive engagement, dialogue and collective responsibility for transformation”.

In reaction to the bishops’ pastoral letter, Zimbabwe’s minister of information, publicity and broadcasting services, Monica Mutsvangwa, issued a statement attacking the Catholic Church leadership.

This was read in its entirety on national television and other government media.

Although all the country’s Catholic bishops signed the pastoral letter, Ms Mutsvangwa targeted Archbishop Robert Ndlovu of Harare, president of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference, for personal attack.

She referred to the bishops’ doc-

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ument as “shards of a pastoral letter issued under the misguided if [not] evil-minded leadership of the archbishop of Harare”, falsely claiming that the pastoral letter was acting contrary to the wishes and positions held by Pope Francis.

The suggestion that the bishops’ were not in union with the pope on the human rights abuses in Zimbabwe was contradicted by his own ambassador to the country.

The apostolic nuncio to Zimbabwe, Archbishop Paolo Rudelli paid a solidarity visit to Archbishop Ndlovu. While no statement on the visit was issued, it was a symbolic and a visible act of the Holy See's solidarity with all the bishops of Zimbabwe.

The Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ), which represents over 4,5 million Christians, has issued a statement to “categorically state that we stand in solidarity with the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference”.

“We stand with the truth that the Catholic bishops so ably articulated; a truth that affects our people on a daily basis; the truth of a multilayered crisis of the convergence of economic collapse, deepening poverty, food insecurity, corruption and human rights abuses among many others,” the EFZ said.

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HE South African Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations (SAUCWO), an international entity of Catholic women’s groups, is organising an online prayer gathering on August 24 to express solidarity with women who are suffering from solitude and isolation that comes with the Covid-19 lockdown. Among those taking part will be SACBC secretary-general Sr Hermenegild Makoro CPS. SAUCWO secretary Mahadi Buthelezi said that women in South Africa have been adversely affected by the Covid-19 lockdown, which has left some suffering depression from the burden of caring for their families amid harsh economic times.

“Life has never been the same since the Covid-19 lockdown was declared in South Africa. Women, in particular, have undergone immense suffering,” Ms Buthelezi said.

Among the Covid-19-related challenges that are specific to women in South Africa is the psychological burden of worrying for the safety of their families amid their own fears of contagion.

“Everything about this lockdown works against the women, including working from home,” Ms Buthelezi said. “The house chores and the entire family responsibilities have been heaped on women’s shoulders, and now they spend a lot of time worrying about whether their family members are keeping safe and wor-

The

rying about their own safety as well.”

The Covid-19 lockdown has also increased cases of gender-based violence and femicide.

In an address to the nation in July President Cyril Ramaphosa observed that 21 women and children had been murdered within a few weeks.

He likened the spate of femicide to “another pandemic that is raging in our country alongside Covid-19”.

Ms Buthelezi said that the Zoom prayer initiative stemmed from the desire to bridge the sense of solitude and isolation experienced in lockdown, “to support each other and to reinforce a sense of sisterhood in this time of global suffering”.

“When terrible things happen to women, for instance when they are killed, we can’t give them a decent burial due to the Covid-19 restrictions. We pray alone in our houses but we feel lonelier saying those prayers,” she said.

“We hope that praying together, as a big group, will restore the feeling of sisterhood that we need to feel that we are not alone.”

With technology, “women will be able to see each other’s faces in large numbers”, Ms Buthelezi said She expressed regret that the majority of women who cannot afford smartphones and the Internet will be locked out of the event.—ACIAfrica n To book, Whatsapp 083 992 0387 or email mahadi.buthelezi@gmail.com

S outher n C ross

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4

The Southern Cross, August 19 to August 25, 2020

INTERNATIONAL

Mauritian cardinal praises solidarity after oil spill

BY JONATHAN LUXMOORE

C Firefighters work at the ruins of a home residents say was destroyed during a recent shelling in the rebel-controlled city of Donetsk, Ukraine.

(Photo: Alexander Ermochenko, Reuters/CNS)

Teens hide in cellars in grim East Ukraine war

BY JONATHAN LUXMOORE

A

SENIOR Catholic aid worker said humanitarian conditions are deteriorating in eastern Ukraine and urged Western governments and Churches not to forget the continuing six-year conflict between the Ukrainian government and Russian-backed separatist forces.

“We thought we’d overcome war in Europe, but a whole growing generation here now knows only war— teenagers who look like teenagers everywhere, but will tell you how they routinely hide in cellars to escape gunfire,” said Andrij Waskowycz, president of Caritas in Ukraine.

He said with multiple world crises, officials of the Catholic charitable agency did not expect attention to stay focused on Ukraine, “but it’s crucial European countries, institutions and Churches continue showing solidarity with the Ukrainian people in its suffering”.

Mr Waskowycz said that Caritas

was active in the 466km buffer zone between the two sides, taking food, home care and medical services especially to elderly people “abandoned without help”.

However, he added that supplies had been disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and drinking water was also running short because of infrastructure damage.

“Eastern Ukraine now has the highest concentration of old people in a conflict zone, with all the physical and mental health consequences,” Mr Waskowycz said. “It’s also one of the world’s most minecontaminated areas, with landmines still being sown widely before the ceasefire. With transportation deteriorating during the coronavirus, most people see little hope of change.”

“Caritas is trying to deliver humanitarian aid to both sides, but this is very difficult since we cannot cross the contact line and have to rely on trucks from the UN and Red Cross,” he added.—CNS

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ARDINAL Maurice Piat of Port-Louis, Mauritius, has praised public responses to an oil spill that devastated the island’s coastline, as one prominent lay Catholic demanded “honest information” about the disaster.

“Numerous families are afflicted by a pestilential and persistent odour—fishermen and all those living from the sea are suffering particularly, while ecological treasures in our coastal bays and islets are gravely damaged,” said Cardinal Piat.

“Amid the pain shared by so many, I salute the beautiful outpouring of active and enterprising solidarity now showing itself in a bid to save what might still be saved.”

The 79-year-old cardinal issued the message as desperate efforts continued to contain oil from a Japanese bulk carrier, MV Wakashio, which ran aground on a coral reef off Pointe d’Esny. The ship flew a Panamanian flag, which allows it to avoid marine regulations imposed

by Japan.

Cardinal Piat said he was encouraged to see “civil society awakening” with a “fine ecological conscience”, in ways that he said should be “taken into account by economic and political decisionmakers”.

However, a senior lay Catholic warned that the Indian Ocean country’s unique marine ecosystem, one of the few remaining worldwide, looked set to suffer lasting damage and said that the disaster left “many

A volunteer attempts to clean spilled oil at the Mahebourg coast in Riviere des Creoles, Mauritius, after a Japanese oil carrier ran aground on a reef.

(Photo: Sumeet Mudhoo, L’Express/Reuters/CNS) unanswered questions” about the Japanese tanker’s presence.

“This ship ran aground in the worst possible place—a habitat for many protected species, when our country was still closed to tourists because of Covid-19—it’s an ecological catastrophe,” said Martine Lajoie, assistant chief editor of the Church’s La Vie Catholique weekly.

“Mauritius is facing another crisis as well, when those running the country are not trusted. Even if they say truthful things, people won’t believe them,” she added.

The tanker, owned by Nagashiki Shipping, became stranded on July 25 off the south-east coast, with 3 800 tonnes of heavy oil and 200

tonnes of diesel, and was reported to be breaking up on August 3.

Pravind Jugnauth, prime minister of Mauritius, said that most of the remaining fuel had now been transferred to shore by helicopter.

However, Greenpeace Africa said the oil slick had spread over 26km2

by August 11, leaving thousands of rare species “at risk of drowning in a sea of pollution”.

Fr Jean-Pierre Arlanda, rector of Our Lady of the Angels parish at Mahebourg, one of the worst-affected ports, said that local Catholics had “mobilised immediately”, using knowledge and skills, as well as staging “cycles of prayer and solidarity”.—CNS

Sixty years after JFK, wait continues for the second Catholic US president

BY MARK PATTISON

bias, broke a WASP stranglehold on the White House, and led political parties to consider characteristics other than regional difference to balance presidential tickets.

In the absence of a Catholic sitting in the Oval Office, a sizable to-do was made over the election of Bill Clinton in 1992, as Clinton had graduated at the Jesuit Georgetown University in Washington.

He became the first graduate of a Catholic university to make it to the White House.

T

HIRTY-three men between George Washington and John F Kennedy served as US president. Until Kennedy, all were white Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) men. It took 172 years for a Catholic to win the presidency.

The wait for the next Catholic president sits at 60 years—and could be longer, if former Vice-President Joe Biden, a practising Catholic, fails to unseat the Republican incumbent, Donald Trump.

By comparison, 140 years had elapsed before a Catholic was part of the presidential ticket, from the time of Washington’s election in 1788 to the Democrats’ nomination of New York govenor Al Smith to run for president in 1928.

Smith, the first Catholic major-party presidential nominee, was hounded by charges of “rum, Romanism and rebellion” by his political opponents in Prohibition-era America. He lost in a landslide to Herbert Hoover.

The rum-Romanism-rebellion trope was a holdover from the 1884 presidential campaign. James Blaine of Maine, a Republican, was a Presbyterian, as was his father. But his mother was a Catholic, and his parents agreed to raise their sons as Presbyterians and their daughters as Catholics. One of Blaine’s cousins was a nun who founded the first US convent for the Sisters of the Holy Cross.

A last-week anti-Catholic campaign slur by a key Republican, which Blaine did not counter, energised Catholic voters in New York against Blaine. He lost New York and its 36 electoral votes by 0,10% against Grover Cleveland. Had Blaine won New York, he would have had an advantage of 17 electoral votes—and the presidency.

K

ennedy never got to serve his full term, being assassinated in Dallas on November 22, 1963—the most recent president to be slain by an assailant’s weapon.

Less than a year later, William Miller, a congressman from New York, was nominated to seek the vice-presidency by the Republicans in support of Barry Goldwater at the top of the ticket. That made him the first Catholic candidate for the

I US President John F Kennedy shakes hands with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican on July 2, 1963. (Photo: CNS) vice-presidency. He faded into such obscurity that, in the mid-1980s, he made one of the “Do you know me?” advertisements for the American Express card.

It was not until 2012 when another Catholic appeared on the Republican ticket, when Paul Ryan of Wisconsin ran as Mitt Romney’s vice-presidential pick.

The current vice-president, Mike Pence, was raised Catholic but became an evangelical Christian in adulthood. No Catholic, despite the Republican Party’s ardent courtship of Catholics in recent decades, has ever graced the top of the ticket.

In 1968, JFK’s brother, New York Senator Robert Kennedy, launched an 11thhour campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Whether he would have captured the nomination is a question left to history. He was assassinated inside a Los Angeles hotel where he had just given a victory speech after winning the delegate-rich California primary.

Sargent Shriver, an in-law to the Kennedys, was George McGovern’s running mate in 1972, but the McGovernShriver ticket was swamped by the Richard Nixon reelection bid.

Kennedy’s election as president, in which he squarely took on anti-Catholic

t was not until 2004, though, that another Catholic, John Kerry, captured the Democratic nomination. During primary season, before Kerry became the nominee, then-Archbishop Raymond Burke of St Louis famously said in an interview that if Kerry presented himself for Communion while campaigning in the archdiocese, he would refuse Kerry the Eucharist because of his “pro-choice” stand on abortion.

In 1984, Geraldine Ferraro, a Catholic, became the first woman on a presidential ticket, although she and presidential hopeful Walter Mondale lost badly to the reelection campaign of Ronald Reagan.

In fact, Reagan became the first president to have been divorced before winning the White House, and Donald Trump, in 2017, became the first twice-divorced US president.

It took 24 more years following Ferraro before a woman was placed on a major-party ticket, when Republican standard-bearer John McCain made Sarah Palin his VP pick in 2008. Palin was baptised a Catholic but grew up in Pentecostal churches. The McCain-Palin ticket lost to the Barack Obama-Biden ticket, which made Biden the nation’s first Catholic vice-president. Obama, of course, became the first African-American major-party nominee—and president.

Mr Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has chosen Senator Kamala Harris of California as his running mate, which makes her the first black vice-presidential candidate. Her mother was born in India, making Harris the first major-party nominee with a South Asian heritage.—CNS

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, August 19 to August 25, 2020

5

Covid-19 awakens Kenyan rural parishes’ social ministry

BY FREDRICK NZWILI

I

N the collection baskets, priests in rural Kenya have been counting a shilling or two or even five, which congregations have been giving to boost the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a significant way, parishioners have responded to the Church’s call for help, delivering bags of foods and other essentials items such masks and sanitisers to priests. The support is meant for the less fortunate—in the villages, towns and cities—as part of Catholic social ministry.

The priests say the pandemic has reawakened social ministry in rural parishes, in a visible shift from the traditional focus on liturgical activities. The giving is little by little, but priests say it is vital. For example, a bag of mieliemeal can meet the food needs of a family for months.

“This is a reality. A lot of charity is being experienced from Christians at this time of Covid-19. Those who feel the need to help are coming out,” Fr Bonaventure Luchidio, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Kenya said.

“Parishes have been the centres of mission.”

At a time when Covid-19 has swapped responsibilities between rural and urban families, the change is being viewed as timely. Initially, relatives working in cities and towns sent support to villages, but now villagers are sending food to their relatives in urban centres.

In Kenya, like elsewhere in the world, the pandemic has disrupted family, economies and lifestyles,

Pope Francis touches the case holding the Shroud of Turin after praying before the cloth in 2015 at the cathedral of St John the Baptist in Turin, Italy. The Taizé New Year pilgrimage to Turin and the extraordinary exhibition of the Shroud of Turin for those pilgrims has been postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS) People wearing protective masks pray during Mass in late July at the cathedral basilica of the Holy Family in Nairobi, Kenya, during the Covid19 pandemic. Priests in rural parishes say the coronavirus pandemic has reversed a trend: Now, people in rural areas are donating whatever they can to help those in cities. (Photo: Thomas Mukoya, Reuters/CNS) leaving many people without jobs or sources of livelihood.

It has also created immense fear among communities as both infections and deaths rise. But the priests say there is a “silver lining” in the crisis. For them, the disease has taught the local congregations how solve their own problems, while supporting others.

“Covid-19 is teaching the Kenyan Church that, while foreign support may still be needed, it is critical to build a foundation for self-sufficiency and to nurture existing resources for the support of the Church,” said Fr Luchidio.

He said the actions at the parishes have helped the bishops develop and launch assistance models such as “Adopt a Family” or “Help Family”.

“We are seeing a family adopting another needy one in an informal settlement. The family says it will share a meal with the other in the slums,” said the priest.

In the diocese of Marsabit, challenges such as droughts, floods, high temperatures and erratic rainfall have impoverished the herder communities, but the people are also donating livestock and livestock products as part of their ministry.— CNS

Italy’s abortion pill rule will ‘privatise’ abortion A FTER the Italian health minister confirmed on Twitter plans to approve the administration of abortion-inducing pharmaceuticals outside of hospitals, Catholic commentators reacted with concern, especially for women who could be at home, cramping and bleeding.

Current national guidelines require women seeking use of the drug commonly known as RU-486 to be hospitalised for three days.

During the coronavirus lockdown, abortion proponents and physicians who perform abortions had demanded the government make such provisions, especially because hospitals were overwhelmed

and anyone who did not have the coronavirus was advised to stay away.

The new guidelines apparently will advise against foregoing hospitalisation for women who would be alone at home, who are very anxious or who have a low threshold for pain.

“The indications speak for themselves, confirming what we already know about this abortion procedure, which does not change the nature of the act: the suppression of a human life remains, whatever technique is used,” wrote Assuntina Morresi, a professor of chemistry and member of Italy’s National Bioethics Committee.

Writing in Avvenire, the Italian Catholic daily newspaper, Prof Morresi said that given the pain, bleeding and potential complications from a chemical abortion, politics is the only motivation for dropping the requirement of hospitalisation.

“RU-486 is part of a process, already seen in other countries, of ‘privatising’ abortion and removing it from the public scene,” she said.

“The spread of the pharmacological procedure implies the spread of a method by which women can abort at home as if the abortion was just any medical act that regards only the private life of the person who chooses it.”—CNS

Pope: Assumption greater than landing on the moon

O

N the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope Francis said that Mary’s Assumption into Heaven was an infinitely greater achievement than man’s first steps on the moon.

“When man set foot on the moon, he said a phrase that became famous: ‘That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.’ In essence, humanity had reached a historic milestone. But in Mary’s Assumption into Heaven, we celebrate an infinitely greater achievement.

Our Lady set foot in Heaven,” Pope Francis said.

“This step of the little Virgin of Nazareth was the giant leap forward of mankind,” the pope added.

Speaking from the window of the Vatican’s apostolic palace to the pilgrims spread throughout St Peter’s Square, he said that in Mary’s Assumption into Heaven, one sees life’s end goal: “not to gain the things here below, which are fleeting, but the patrimony above, which

is forever”.

“Our Lady set foot in Heaven: she went there not only in spirit, but with her body as well, with all of herself,” Pope Francis said. “That one of us dwells in the flesh in Heaven gives us hope: we understand that we are precious, destined to rise again. God does not allow our bodies to vanish into nothing. With God, nothing is lost.”

The life of the Virgin Mary is an example of how “the Lord works wonders with the little ones”, the pope explained.

God works through “those who do not believe themselves great but who give great space to God in life.

He enlarges his mercy in those who trust in him, and raises up the humble. Mary praises God for this”, he said.

Pope Francis said that Mary’s witness is a reminder to praise God each day, as she did in her Magnificat prayer in which she exclaimed: “My soul glorifies the Lord.”—CNA

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Taizé Turin Shroud pilgrimage postponed

BY CINDY WOODEN

T

ENS of thousands of young Christians from across Europe were expected to see in the New Year with chants and silent prayer, including before the Shroud of Turin. But the December 28 to January 1 Taizé pilgrimage to Turin has been postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Marco Bonatti, who runs the official shroud website for the archdiocese of Turin, confirmed that with the postponement of the Taizé pilgrimage, the extraordinary display of the shroud has also been postponed.

Archbishop Cesare Nosiglia of Turin, other Christian leaders in the city and the France-based Taizé ecumencial community announced that the pilgrimage would be postponed to December 2021.

It will be the first time since the New Year pilgrimage began in 1978 that the event will not be held. In recent years, depending on the city chosen to host the European event, between 10 000 and 45 000 Christians aged 16-35 would gather for fellowship and, especially, the distinctive Taizé prayer, which mixes Bible readings and long periods of absolute silence with simple songs using phrases from the psalms repeated over and over.

The archdiocese of Turin and the local Waldensian, Baptist, Romanian Orthodox, Lutheran and Adventist Churches began planning the event in 2017. And the

archdiocese, which is the custodian of the shroud, announced in January that it would include a special display of the shroud just for pilgrimage participants.

The 4,2m-by-1,2m linen shroud has a full-length photonegative image of a man, front and back, bearing signs of wounds that correspond to the Gospel accounts of the torture Jesus endured in his passion and death. The Church has not recognised it officially as the burial cloth of Christ, but recent popes have referred to it as an “icon” of Jesus.

Kept in a metal case in a chapel in the Turin cathedral, the shroud is put on public display only occasionally. The last public exhibition was in 2015, but in April Archbishop Nosiglia led a livestreamed prayer service in front of the shroud as part of a Holy Saturday prayer for an end to the coronavirus pandemic.

Announcing the postponement of the Taizé gathering, the archdiocese of Turin said that “uncertainty about the possibility of contagion, now and in the coming months, is an important element, but not the only one” influencing a decision to move the event back one year.

The pilgrimage “must take place in conditions of serenity and security for all”, including the thousands of families in Turin and throughout the Piedmont region who were going to host pilgrims, the statement said. One more year of preparation will allow that to happen.—CNS

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6

The Southern Cross, August 19 to August 25, 2020

REFLECTION

Pandemic calls us to acts of kindness Recalling acts of kindness he has experienced in precarious situations. FR DICK O’RIORDAN suggests that the suffering created by the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown call all of us to acts of kindness.

I

N 1974 the isiXhosa- and SeSotho-speaking rural districts in South Africa “received” independence from the South African government.

The purpose of these homelands/reserves was in the grand plan of apartheid: to disenfranchise millions of black South Africans of their citizenship of South Africa.

Apartheid government minister Dr Piet Koornhof had observed that the word “apartheid” had become discredited. A more accurate term, he said, would be “parallel pluralisms”, absurdly claiming that the homelands were just like the Swiss cantons!

I came to live in the Transkei “canton”, styled an “independent republic” in 1980.

One day, early in January 1986, two security police came to visit me at Zingisa minor seminary in

Mthatha (then still known as Umtata). In silence they handed me a sheet of paper.

It read: “In terms of the Aliens Act of 1974 of the Republic of Transkei you are ordered to leave this Republic immediately, by the nearest border post.”

It was a deportation order. Ah yes, they had not come to answer questions!

Having searched my office for hours, one of them found a booklet by the president of Tanzania, Julius Kambarage Mwalimu Nyerere, entitled African Socialism. He shouted out to me: “Do you not know that in Transkei we are antisocial?” Biting my lip, I could only reply: “You bet you are, sir.”

I felt like a householder in the presence of two thieves who had broken into my house and were now busy ransacking it. I felt very nervous, afraid they could do anything they liked to me. I was desperate to tell somebody what was happening to me.

I was under arrest They told me that I was under arrest—which, I felt, was indeed a little antisocial. Later in the afternoon they took me to Wellington prison in Mthatha. I was allowed to bring a bible and a blanket.

I do remember their kindness on the way when they stopped at a café to allow me to get some chocolate. I shared it with them.

Fr Kizito Gugah Fr Kizito Gugah of Tafelsig (centre) is seen bringing food to people in need.

As we walked through the prison gates in silence, I felt like a lamb being led to the slaughter.

The noisy chattering in the distance went silent as we passed by the “criminal” section. One of them shouted out to me: “Welcome broer, you are the only umlungu in Wellington,” using the isiXhosa word for “white person”.

I was locked up in the special section with the ANC and PAC prisoners. I got more welcomes from my neighbours. One of them named Joe recognised me, as he had been a student at Zingisa.

“Don’t worry, Father, we will look after you.” Such kind words. I felt a great relief. To think that some people called them “terrorists”.

As it was after 16:30, it was time for lockup in our cells for the night. It was lockup and lockdown.

But this is when Joe came alive. Fr Dick O’Riordan, the author of this article, with a friend.

At antisocial distance he would lead us in singing our church CMM and Fr Winfried Egler CMM, friends and priests and parishhymns with great fervour. After who came to plead for me with ioners who prayed for us. They this they would sing some free- the security police. phoned us, sent us messages, and dom songs with even greater My thanks to Nomonde Matiso lifted us up with their love. gusto. who came to “buy a hymnbook” My thanks to my archdiocese I remember one of them, “Uphi after the police had arrived. for arranging that we would be uSlovo? uSlov ‘usehlathin’ Bafana, My thanks to Phumelele Twazi well cared for. wenzani na? uyaqeqesw’ amajoni”. who happened to phone me as the Now: “What return can I make It means, “Where is Slovo? Slovo police were searching my office. to the Lord for all I have reis in the bush, young men. What’s He spread the word. ceived?” Please read on. he doing there? He is training the My thanks to Cardinal Owen Acts of kindness soldiers”.

McCann who came These informal sesfrom Cape Town to On May 26, Bishop Sylvester sions would end with plead for me with the David made an appeal to the The security Transkei prayers.

Then they authorities. priests and deacons of the archwould ask me to give police told me They would allow him diocese of Cape Town, which he them a blessing. This only to send me a letter serves as its auxiliary bishop. He that I was blessing was not in the in the prison. wrote: “Justice informs us that book but I was learning.

My thanks to the stu- every human being has a right to under arrest, dents who sang songs as food. Our churches are closed, They lifted my spirits yes! Our feeding of the poor is a during detention. And which I felt I left Zingisa.

My thanks to Petrus major outreach at this time.” some people called was a little Mehlwana, Br Mario Through the kindness of many them “terrorists”.

Colussi and the Broth- people the archdiocese, and the We were given dry anti-social ers, who kept the show hard work of our priests and deamielepap for breakfast on the road. cons, food has been brought to each morning. One of My thanks to Fr the hungry. “Give them somemy fellow detainees would negotiate milk powder and Michael Riedener CMM, the thing to eat yourselves” (Matthew sugar for me from the other sec- prison chaplain, for a brief visit 14).

I know an Italian lady who and a bag of sweets. tion.

My thanks to the Dominican with food donations prepares deDuring the day Joe would arrive back with a transistor radio so we Sisters Carmel Ford and Kathleen licious Italian meals (“as if Pope could keep in touch with the Keary, who came to the prison but Francis himself was coming for news, especially from Capital were not allowed to see me. My dinner”). Every week she brings thanks to the warden who gave those meals to “my friends” who Radio based in Port St Johns.

Our one-hour daily exercise me the message. It was inspiring live on the streets. What an inspiring example to us all. ended up in the courtyard with to know I was not alone.

One of our priests, Fr Kizito My thanks to my priest friends Joe and company updating the from Port Elizabeth who came to Gugah, parish priest of St Timowardens on the struggle.

All the while I lived with that see me, and then saw me off at thy’s church in Tafelsig, Mitchells Plain, is also deeply involved in gnawing tension of not knowing Mthatha airport. this work of charity. what was going to happen to me.

My Covid-19 isolation He serves not only in Tafelsig, My thanks to Fr Cas Paulsen I was reflecting on this Fr Gugah is also chaplain to the prison experience a few weeks 19 Malawian communities scatago. I had tested positive for tered around the Cape. Most of Covid-19 and went into isola- them have no “official” residence tion for three weeks. It was a papers and so do not qualify for great shock. I lived in contin- government help, and most have uous tension not knowing no work. what was going to happen to He serves, among others, me and when.

Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay, The kind nursing carers Samora in Mitchells Plain, Lwanand Sisters at Nazareth House dle in Somerset West, Masiin Cape Town looked after me phumelele in Kommetjie, Joe well. And I had plenty time to Slovo in Milnerton, Atlantis, reflect.

Dunoon in Table View, Zwelihle I thought of the kindness in Hermanus and nearby Stanof the two security police and ford, and so on, ministering to the chocolate. I had the warm their needs. Food is their greatest feeling of the love and care of need now.

Bishop Sylvester said: “This Joe and his companions in prison. I had never met them [feeding the hungry] is the most before, and I have never met viable form of ministry right them since. But their kind- now.” Jesus said: “I was hungry and you gave me food” (Matthew ness touched my spirit.

My thanks for the time of 25:35)..

I certainly did not expect it, isolation. It helped me realise that we always need the help but Joe and his companions ministered to me in my time of great and kindness of others.

My thanks to the catering need, both materially and spiritustaff at Nazareth House who ally.

You may be touched to reach have come every day since March to cook and care for out and help those who are in us. There is a poster on the greatest need during this pangrounds, “Heroes Are Work- demic.

We may not realise it, though ing Here”.

My thanks to the three car- many are suffering and many ers and the Nazareth nursing more are hungry, there are also reSister Gladys who cared for ports that some among us are starving. us.

“They all ate as much as they My thanks for the privilege and joy of celebrating the Eu- wanted…” (Matthew 14). charist, even if it is alone. n Fr Dick O’Riordan is a retired priest My thanks to all the of the archdiocese of Cape Town.

PERSPECTIVES

The Southern Cross, August 19 to August 25, 2020

7

Invite us, Lord, back to your table!

Nthabiseng O Maphisa NCE I thought it was only a symbol, that by looking at it I might know in part who Christ is. I thought it a great scandal when I heard it was truly the flesh of Christ.

I had thought it impossible that earthly creatures might consume bread and wine transformed into the Body and Blood of the Saviour.

I thought it unfathomable that a sacrifice upon a cross would bring together heaven and earth, and I thought myself unworthy of approaching that ordained minister to receive Holy Communion.

But now I think it necessary for my journey to God and his dwelling place.

As many churches remain closed or heavily restricted in the numbers that may be admitted, I imagine that for most of us attending Mass, if at all possible, is a bit of a roll of the dice.

On the one hand, it is comforting that we may now participate in the Eucharist, albeit under severe restrictions.

On the other hand, I think many of us are wrestling with the idea of walking into a church and sharing oxygen with other people.

Some parishes have remedied this with “drive-thru” Communion; also known as (perhaps rather awkwardly) “Jesus on wheels”.

I’m quite uneasy about this solution, but I must admit that I have great admiration for those who receive Communion in this way, as it requires greater effort to have reverence.

But, it must be said, what once was a place to adore the Blessed Sacrament is now a place of fear of contracting a potentially lethal disease.

Our minds become trains of thought speeding through doubt, confusion and suspicion. What if I am unknowingly carrying a mutated version of the virus? I feel okay but I have a slight cough.

Maybe it’s just a cold? Or maybe I’m sick; perhaps very sick? I think I should stay home. No, I should rejoin the human race and get my personality back. But then I could get sick and make others sick.

Sigh, how did we get here?

Once it was too easy Despite the storms in my mind, occasionally the clouds clear and I am made aware of my need for the Eucharist.

In her column, Nthabiseng Maphisa prays that the darkness of separation from the Eucharist will pass soon.

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I suppose before all the chaos, I had taken it for granted how central it was to my relationship with God. Too easy it was to pass by a church and go for adoration, to walk in nonchalantly in the knowledge that it would always be there.

Too easy it was to genuflect before the tabernacle and mumble my Mass intentions to the Lord.

Too easy it was to daydream of one day striking it rich while the lector was reading.

Too easy it was to doze off during the homily and return my sharp focus when it was time for the consecration.

Too easy it was to walk away after the final blessing without contemplating what had just taken place.

These and many other trespasses—too easy it was indeed.

The catechism describes the Eucharist as a “sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace and a pledge of future glory is given to us”.

I hope that in this time, when we all feel a big hole growing in our hearts, God will draw us to himself.

Invite us again, Lord, to that sacred celebration. Look upon us with favour and unite ourselves with you through the Blood of the Saviour.

Sometimes, just shut up and listen Chris L McDonnell ISTENING is not a one way process but should be a matter of mutual concern, each paying attention to the other.

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus concludes the parable of the Sower with the words: “Listen, anyone who has ears to hear.”

Talking is not enough. If real communication is to occur, everyone has to listen to the other.

There is a pertinent exchange recorded in the performance of Johnny Cash when he gave a concert in San Quentin prison, the oldest prison in California.

When talking between songs, Cash is interrupted by a prisoner shouting a remark. The rejoinder was swift: “Excuse me I couldn’t hear you, I was talking.”

How often do we talk over each other when, if we actually listened, there would be a more fruitful exchange? Impatience to respond with our own eloquence gets in the way, and the result is confusion.

I would suggest that one of the significant responsibilities of the poet is to listen in many and varied ways; listening to the voices of others, listening to the mood of the times, and then after due reflection, responding to circumstance.

When it comes to making a response, the carefully crafted choice of words is the valued skill of the poet.

It is a skill demonstrated in much of Seamus Heaney’s work, the listening poet making available to others the consequence of his attention.

He heard cheeping far in but because the men had once shown him a rat’s nest in the butt of a stack where chaff and powdered cornstalks adhered to the moist pink necks and backs he only listened.

As he stood sentry, gazing, waiting, he thought of putting his ear to one of the abandoned holes and listening for the

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“How often do we talk over each other when if we actually listened there would be a more fruitful exchange? Impatience to respond with our own eloquence gets in the way, and the result is confusion,” writes Chris McDonnell. silence under the ground.

The collection North was his response to listening to the voices of people during Ireland’s troubled decades of the late 20th century.

This collection of poems, published in 1975, dealt directly with the conflict that had broken out a few years earlier.

It looks frequently to the past for images and symbols relevant to the violence and political unrest of that time.

In his words Heaney offers his readers the chance to listen in a perceptive manner to the conflict of their own time and so begin to understand the consequence of participation.

Obligations of listening Listening is not without responsibility.

Those attending last year’s synod in Rome on the Amazon region listened to the anxieties of the people.

Listening too was the Bishop of Rome, himself a native of that continent, called

in 2013 to leave his country to assume leadership of the Church.

It has been the unbroken thread of Pope Francis’ papacy: a willingness to listen to those for whom he has responsibility.

Time and again in Scripture we hear the lament: “My people would not listen to me.”

Listening demands a good filter to remove extraneous noise. It demands a focus on issues that allows for due consideration and an informed response.

We first experience this need to listen within the context of our families. Young children listen to the advice, admonition and loving care of their parents, anxious to help them navigate a difficult path through an uncertain world.

Later, when they reach older years and have left home, we are still called on to listen, only now the relationship has changed.

As we listen to their stories, sharing joy and sorrow, our ability to solve problems is diminished, the times of a plaster on a cut knee and a hug to make it better have long past. Yet still the hug is important, the knowledge of our “being there” supportive.

Heaney’s line from North—”Whatever you say, say nothing”—might serve as safe advice in times of political strife.

Within the context of family, it must be replaced by attentive listening and the gentle touch of a cared-for hug. n This article was first published in the Catholic Times.

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Jesus (Jonathan Roumie) at the Wedding in Cana in The Chosen. (Photo: Vidangel Studios)

Günther Simmermacher

Point of Television

Why The Chosen is binge-worthy

T

HE producers of a new series on the ministry of Jesus say they’ve created binge-worthy TV—and they’re not wrong. Leaving aside the terminology of binging, which calls to mind the sin of gluttony, The Chosen is captivating viewing. I watched the eight episodes of Season 1 in just two sittings.

Even the backstory to the series is inspiring.

Since Hollywood doesn’t exactly stand in line to produce Bible-themed dramas, Christian filmmaker Dallas Jenkins decided to crowdfund a venture on the life of Jesus. The project raised $11 million—a record for a film production.

Supporters had a glimpse of what Jenkins had in mind with a half-hour film he produced for his church in 2017. It told the Nativity story from the point of view of one of the shepherds to whom God announced the birth of the Messiah.

The Chosen takes similar innovative and daring turns. In Season 1, which is freely available through an app and on YouTube, Jesus doesn’t even feature until the third episode. The focus is first on Mary Magdalene, Simon Peter, Andrew and Matthew.

When Jesus does appear, he first makes friends with local children before he gets out in public.

Jennings is planning seven seasons of The Chosen, so there is no need to rush.

The series takes time to establish context and backstories for those who knew Jesus. Of course, that requires the subjective act of imagining their lives, as the Gospels provide very little information about these people.

A view into the context of Gospels We do know that Peter was married at some point, since he healed his mother-in-law (in The Chosen, that episode is handled with delicious humour). But we don’t know Mrs Peter’s name, nor whether she’s still around when Jesus turns him into a “fisher of men”.

The Chosen invents a backstory. Mrs Peter is around. She has a name (Eden) and a personality, and valiantly agrees to let her husband go off to do God’s work.

Is that true? Who knows? Is it untrue? We don’t know. But seeing Peter relating with his wife and his parents gives us an idea of the context from which he and the others emerged to be recorded for posterity in the Bible.

The Chosen humanises them, with an alert eye, compassion, and some gentle humour.

The biggest challenge, of course, is to humanise Jesus without stripping him of his divinity.

The series meets that challenge well, which has as much to do with the deft script as it does with the casting of the actor who plays Jesus.

Jonathan Roumie, a Catholic convert, is a most persuasive and accessible Jesus. The 46-yearold looks the part, no doubt aided by his Middle Eastern heritage. But he captures something undefinable about Jesus which I’ve missed in most other portrayals the Lord.

There is an unpretentious joy in his portrayal, a playful tenderness, an understated strength.

Roumie clearly is no stranger to Jesus.

Bible scholars and historians will find plenty to quibble about in The Chosen. Some stories, and even characters, are conflated. A whole invented storyline involves Nicodemus, the Pharisee friend of Jesus, travelling to Galilee, leading up to his meeting with Jesus in John 3. The presence of the Romans is overstated. And so on.

The scholars and historians may well nitpick, but The Chosen is not a documentary. It’s a drama which, by its nature, demands and must be granted creative licence.

As a chronic nitpicker myself, the fiction very rarely distracted me. Importantly, none of the artistic liberties taken weaken the faith.

By giving context and depth to the Gospel narrative, it will surely send some, maybe even many, viewers to look up the source material, and perhaps even study it by further reading. And that’s a good thing.

8

The Southern Cross, August 19 to August 25, 2020

MOVIES

New Fatima film to hit SA cinemas

BY SOPHIA MARTINSON

A

LONG-ANTICIPATED feature film about the story of the children of Fatima will finally come to the big screen in South Africa on August 28.

The historical drama, directed

by Marco Pontecorvo, was originally scheduled for worldwide and South African release on April 24, the second Friday of Easter. But like many films this year, Fatima was pushed back because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Fatima stars Harvey Keitel as well as Goran Visnjic (E.R.; Timeless), Joaquim de Almeida (Queen of the South), Lucia Moniz (Love Actually), Sonia Braga (Kiss of the Spider Woman; Aquarius) as Sr Lucia in later life, and Stephanie Gil (Terminator: Dark Fate) as the child Lucia.

Its theme song, “Gratia Plena”, is performed by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli.

Fatima tells the story of Lucia dos Santos, the young Portuguese visionary who became a nun and outlived her two younger cousins, Jacinta and Francisco Marto, by

Jacinta, Lucia and Francisco are interrogated in the new film Fatima, which opens in South Africa on August 28. more than eight decades.

In 1917, the three young shepherds reported receiving visions of Mary near the town of Fatima, Portugal. While the children’s testament inspired thousands of

believers, it also incited anger from government officials and put their lives at risk.

Jacinta and Francisco, who fell victim to the global flu pandemic of 1918, were canonised in 2017.

Coming in September

Lucia, who became a cloistered Carmelite nun in Coimbra, Portugal, died in 2005 at age 97.

While some distribution companies have opted to make their films available via streaming, Fatima has followed the path of blockbuster titles whose release dates have been delayed entirely, such as No Time to Die, Mulan and Wonder Woman 1984.

“We really felt that this movie is about community, and we believe that the theatrical experience is the best way to see the movie,” Bob Berney, CEO of Picturehouse, told Angelus, the online news outlet of the Los Angeles archdiocese.

According to Mr Berney, the new date for releasing the film was partially inspired by its proximity to the feast of the Assumption, which is on August 15.

A news release summarising the production of Fatima emphasised the prominence of the story that turned a small Portuguese town into a major pilgrimage site.

“The power of its legacy has brought together an eclectic international group of cinema artists

who believe that Fatima’s miraculous message of faith and peace, which galvanised the world over a century ago, is more important than ever,” the release said.

As a remake of the 1952 film The Miracle of Our Lady of Fátima, this movie seeks to make the story newly accessible for a modern audience.

“To tell this story like it was told in 1952 wouldn’t work today,” producer Rose Ganguzza stated in the news release. She explained that putting the events of Fatima in the context of early 20th-century Europe, which was embroiled in military conflict and religious violence, is crucial.

Despite the series of disruptions, Mr Berney remains confident that Fatima will still have a widespread positive impact.

“The message of the film, which is really peace and hope and praying, seems more relevant than ever,” he told Angelus. “I think the crisis we’ve been through will make people more attuned to the message.” n See next week’s issue for more on the Fatima film.

Director Marco Pontecorvo prepares Stephanie Gil, playing Lucia, for a scene in the new film Fatima.

Where Fatima movie was filmed – and how

T

HE movie Fatima was filmed entirely in Portugal, including Tapada de Mafra, Coimbra, Tomar, Lisbon, Cidadelhe, Ourém and on soundstages in Lisbon.

The medieval town of Tomar stood in for Ourém, which a century ago was the administrative centre that included Fatima, and the village of Aljustrel, the home of Lúcia, Jacinta and Francisco near Fatima.

“To find these locations I went all over Portugal,” said Italian director Marco Pontecorvo, 53, whose first film, Pa-ra-da, received several award nominations.

“Finding the right village was really difficult, but we eventually found Cidadelhe, a beautiful old stone village in the north of Portugal. It was like a ghost town because it’s perfectly preserved for the period, but there are still people living there,” he said.

“Some of the houses had lost their roofs, so we replaced them in visual effects, and others we actually built so the actors could enter or exit. All around are fields and it looks a lot like the place where the story really happened,” said Mr Pontecorvo, who previously served as cinematographer on TV hits like Game Of Thrones and Rome.

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“Lisbon is a fantastic location and a beautiful city,” he said. “We built the interior of Lúcia’s house on a soundstage there. The actual house was very small and would have had no room for the crew and all the equipment. We built it so we could open the walls and bring in cameras, even if it’s a tiny room.”

Mr Pontecorvo’s extensive experience as a cinematographer enabled him to work closely with his director of photography, Vincenzo Carpineta, to create Fatima’s glowing outdoor scenes and candlelit interiors.

After speaking at length about framing and colour, they decided to forgo the use of sepia tones to imply another era.

“We finally arrived at a very desaturated look that gives the idea of being in another time without being cliché,” said the director.

“This is an intimate movie, even if the story is quite important and spectacular. I would describe it as moody, because of the candlelight.

Vincenzo managed to always find the right atmosphere to tell this story.” n Fatima is released in South Africa on August 28. Click to see the trailer.

Fatima shrine endorses film

O

FFICIALS of the shrine of Fatima have endorsed the new film on the 1917 apparitions of Our Lady in Portugal.

In a message dated January 2020, it said that director Marco Pontecorvo “conveys with dignity and integrity the actions of those who

experienced the Fátima event”.

“The film leads us to reflect that 100 years later, the light of God that the Virgin Mary shone upon Francisco, Jacinta and Lucia still lights the way for those who commit to a life of faith in the Gospel,” the shrine said.

The Southern Cross, August 19 to August 25, 2020

SAINTHOOD

9

Church must be alert in saint-making Catholics love their saints, but the Church’s reputation can be on the line when it judges the sanctity of candidates for canonisation, as JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES explains.

I

N the Catholic Church, a person’s canonisation is almost always preceded by decades of meticulous investigation into the minute details of the candidate’s life.

Thousands of saints have been raised to the altars after these thorough investigations, while the causes of many other candidates are usually suspended or closed when there is insufficient evidence of one’s sanctity or the lack of miracle.

Yet, there are also causes that have been closed or delayed due to doubts or, worse, due to proverbial “skeletons in the closet” uncovered during the investigations into their lives.

The delay in the sainthood cause of Fr Joseph Kentenich, founder of the international Schoenstatt Movement, was the most recent example of that last scenario, after allegations of abuse of power, uncovered during an apostolic visitation in the early 1950s, were made public last month.

His cause was opened in 1975 in the diocese of Trier, Germany, and was in the diocesan phase, which is the first step in a candidate’s cause before it is sent to Rome for further investigation.

German scholar Alexandra von Teuffenbach, a former professor of Church history at Rome’s Pontifical Regina Apostolorum University, discovered documents in the recently opened archives of the pontificate of Pope Pius XII that revealed allegations of sexual abuse and abuse of power against Fr Kentenich.

The revelations led Bishop Stephan Ackermann of Trier to announce the formation of a historical commission charged with collecting and studying the new evidence found in the Vatican Apostolic Archives concerning Fr Kentenich, to determine whether to proceed with his cause.

Cardinal Angelo Becciu, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, said although Fr Kentenich’s cause was not yet in the hands of the congregation, his office received several negative reports regarding the priest’s cause and immediately informed Bishop Ackermann “so he could proceed

Pope Francis celebrates the canonisation Mass for five new saints in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican last October. Cardinal Angelo Becciu (inset), the head of the dicastery dealing with sainthoods has said that the Church has to be very cautious as causes for canonisation proceed. (Photos: Paul Haring/CNS) with the necessary verifications”.

“Certainly, if the accusations that have come to the forefront were to be considered wellfounded, there would be no hesitation in shelving the case,” Cardinal Becciu said in an email to Catholic News Service.

It “may come as a surprise to learn that causes are stopped quite often in the congregation”, he said. In most cases, “it is a temporary halt, but it always has the aim of arriving at an objective judgment on the sanctity of the candidates. If the gaps or doubts are not removed, we do not proceed.”

New examinations Cardinal Becciu stressed that every sainthood cause is taken seriously, and should “an allegation, or even a simple report, emerge when the cause is at an advanced stage, it is immediately examined, evaluating every aspect of the matter scrupulously and seriously”.

“New witnesses will be heard, new archival research will be carried out and the diocesan tribunals and the apostolic nunciatures—when it comes to countries other than Italy—will be involved,” he explained. “In short, nothing is left unturned.”

Among the causes that were halted in recent memory, he noted, was that of Fr Léon Dehon

(1843–1925), a French priest whose beatification was suspended in 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI to investigate “alleged antiJewish expressions” in his writings.

US Archbishop Fulton Sheen was another well-known cause that was postponed.

In December, the diocese of Rochester in New York said it had “expressed concern about advancing the cause for the beatification of Archbishop Sheen at this time without a further review of his role in priests’ assignments” when he headed that diocese.

The diocese also said “there are no complaints against Archbishop Sheen engaging in any personal inappropriate conduct, nor were any insinuations made in this regard”.

Cardinal Becciu said that Archbishop Sheen’s cause was suspended “out of respect for the US civil authorities, who must express their views on cases of sexual abuse that indirectly affect the period” when he led the diocese of Rochester.

The cardinal also said the congregation recently intervened in the sainthood cause of an unnamed group of martyrs who were recently beatified.

“It was necessary to intervene to remove the names of two people from the list who were sus-

pected of sexual abuse and for which there was no possibility of clarification. The group of martyrs were declared blessed, minus those two,” he said.

However, the cause of Fr Kentenich stands out in that, despite the fact his cause opened decades ago, the allegations against him were discovered in documents only recently made public.

Such circumstances raised several questions, particularly whether there should be a longer waiting period before a candidate’s cause is opened.

Cardinal Becciu said he believed the Church must always “maintain a healthy balance” when opening a sainthood cause.

“A cause should not start too late in order not to lose the wealth of data that can come to us from eyewitnesses,” he explained.

“On the other hand, archival research—which is now required for every cause of beatification— must be serious and carried out by experts in the field.”

Can we ‘de-canonise’?

Another question was whether the Church follows any specific protocol if a credible allegation of abuse is discovered after a person is beatified or canonised.

“That’s a good question and, hopefully, something like that will never happen,” Cardinal Becciu said.

Tony Wyllie & Co.

The Kentenich case

BY JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES

I

N July, German scholar Alexandra von Teuffenbach publicised documents uncovered from the recently opened archives of the pontificate of Pope Pius XII which revealed allegations of sexual abuse and abuse of power against Fr Joseph Kentenich, the founder of the Schoenstatt movement.

Reports of the apostolic visitation, made in the early 1950s by Dutch Jesuit Father Sebastiaan Tromp, included testimonies, letters and conver-sations with members of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary, as well as Father Kentenich, which Ms von Teuffenbach said revealed “a situation of complete subjugation of the nuns, concealed in a certain way by a sort of family structure applied to the work”.

The Schoenstatt movement was founded in Germany in

1914 by Fr Kentenich as a way “to help renew the Church and society in the spirit of the Gospel” and is present in over 100 countries around the world, including South Africa. It includes priests, nuns and lay members.

The process of beatification of Fr Kentenich was opened seven years after his 1968 death.

Fr Juan Pablo Catoggio, superior of the Schoenstatt Movement, has acknowledged Fr Tromp’s visitation in 1950 and the accusations against Fr Kentenich, “which led to the 14year-long exile of the founder” to Wisconsin in the United States.

However, Fr Catoggio said, “these issues were discussed and clarified during the process of beatification opened in 1975” and all documents regarding the allegations were “made available to the competent Church authorities”.

“If doubt regarding the

“The Catholic Church does not recognise the institution of ‘decanonisation’, that is, the procedure of the deprivation of the title” of saint or blessed.

Cardinal Becciu said that while there is always room for improvement in the sainthood process, the current procedure is “quite serious” and has “so far proved reliable in its various passages of judgment”.

“According to a wise practice of the Church, after a thorough and articulate human judgment on the life of a candidate to the altars, the approval of a miracle is required as divine confirmation of the conclusions reached by men and women.”

Fr Kentenich’s case also raised concerns regarding the cult of personality often yielded by founders of religious congregations and movements, as well as the possibility that followers may seek to protect their founder’s legacy by hiding allegations.

A similar case was that of German Doig, co-founder of Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, whose sainthood cause was opened after his death in 2001 and who was promoted as a model of holiness by the group’s members.

His cause was closed a decade later after credible accusations of sexual abuse surfaced against him and the founder of the movement, Luis Fernando Figari.

Cardinal Becciu said that while the Catholic Church takes a cautious approach to all sainthood causes, it “pays careful attention” to causes involving the founders of movements and religious institutes “precisely because of the role they play and their ascendancy among their followers”.

Canonical legislation, he said, dictates that those who testify during the investigations should not belong to the same movement or congregation as the candidate, thus allowing witnesses to voice their opposition to a person’s canonisation.

“As an example, I can say that this was the case in the causes of St Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer [founder of Opus Dei], the Servant of God Chiara Lubich [founder of the Focolare movement], and others,” Cardinal Becciu said.

Nevertheless, the cardinal said that clarity and transparency were necessary elements of the sainthood process and that “any negative elements that emerge must be investigated with meticulous diligence”.

“Not only is the judgment on a person’s holiness at stake here, but the credibility of the Church itself,” he said.—CNS

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The Southern Cross, August 19 to August 25, 2020

HOLY LAND

From left: The door to the church of St Peter in Gallicantu, the place of the High Priest’s palace on Mount Zion • Pilgrims in the dungeon where Jesus was kept the night before his crucifixion • The Cenacle, or Upper Room, of the Last Supper and first Pentecost (All photos: Günther Simmermacher)

Where Jesus went on trial In part 14 of our virtual pilgrimage to the Holy Land, we go with GünTHeR SiMMeRMACHeR up Mount Zion in Jerusalem.

The Upper Room

Not far from the Church of St Peter in Gallicantu as one ascends Mount Zion is the multi-faith complex which houses David’s Tomb and the Upper Room (or Cenacle), the site of the Last Supper and the first Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples.

PARE a thought for poor Jesus In fact, the building houses as he pondered whom among neither. his disciples he should pick as The imposing velvet-draped the rock on which to build his sarcophagus in the tomb, first Church. mentioned as a place of prayer in A football team worth of good 1172 by Benjamin of Tudela, does men they certainly were, but even not contain David’s earthly rethe most obvious captain among mains. It is a place of memorial them, Simon bar-Jonah, had rewhich the Franciscans set up vealed himself to be inadequate in many centuries ago. the face of divinity.

And the Upper Room, which It should surprise us that the pilgrims visit today, is a Crusader New Testament is quite so candid chapel, the surviving remnant of about the deficiencies of the a larger church dedicated to Our Church’s first leaders. If the Lady.

Gospels really were fabricated The mourning disciples gather around the lifeless body of Mary as we The chapel was appropriated in propaganda, as its detractors like see Christ holding his mother in swaddling clothes. This reversal of life1552 by the Muslims under giving roles is depicted in Dormition Abbey. to accuse, then surely the evangelSuleiman, as an Arabic inscription ists would have drawn Simon of the time explains, and then Peter as the model of intrepid used as a mosque. After the Musvirtue, a leader among leaders, a Peter engaging with the slave girl haps the ruins of the high priest’s lims commandeered the chapel, and a Roman soldier, all gathered palace, or perhaps a small house man who truly merited the confiaround a column on which church of the kind that was wide- Christians were not allowed here dence Jesus invested in him. for almost 400 years, until the esInstead, the Simon Peter of the perches a rooster, ready to crow. spread in the region. tablishment of the state of Israel The Latin phrase “non novi illum” There are experts who believe Gospels is a fallible human being. in 1948. (“I do not know him”), from Luke that Caiaphas’ palace would have Peter is like any and all of us.

Being a Crusader (or possibly The story of his denial of Jesus 22:57, captions the statue, as if to been located not on the sheer cliff medieval Franciscan) structure, it halfway down Mount Zion, but is one of the most dramatic in the rub in the shame. obviously is not the Despite its name, the focus of on its peak, where an Gospel. real Upper Room of the the church, built in 1931 and Armenian church Peter, to his credit, does have Last Supper, Christ’s The Apostles post-Resurrection the courage to follow the captive maintained by the French As- marks the spot. Indeed, visit Jesus to the high priest’s palace. sumptionist Fathers, is mostly on an earlier church stood and the first Pentecost. were a football here in Byzantine Jesus.

But when he is recognised as one But archaeologists have Many believe that it stands times. of the prisoner’s sidekicks, the disteam worth of found ancient paveThe legendary, late ciple loses his nerve, and—con- above the remains of the palace of ments beneath the trary to his earlier pledges of the high priest Josephus Ca- Catholic guide Rimon good men, but complex, as well as the Makhlouf persuasively loyalty—denies his Lord three iaphas, the place where Jesus was remains of what apeven the times before, as Jesus had warned interrogated and jailed before his posited that both theopears to be a first-cenries might be correct: Passion. him, the cock crowed. captain was tury house church. the lower site was the These remains of a 12-room The story of the crowing cock Etched into one humiliates Peter. On the other mansion include a jail, in which official palace of the inadequate in piece of plaster on the hand, his defenders might some of the early followers of high priest and forum pavement is the line: the face of counter that his denial of Jesus Christ would have been flogged of the Sanhedrin, as ar“O Jesus, that I may chaeological finds was not such a deplorable act of for preaching the Good News live…” This might well divinity. cowardice after all, but a judicious (Acts 5:40), and an unfinished pu- show. And Caiaphas’ be the site of “the little residence rification pool or cistern, which domestic bid at self-preservation. church of God” menwould have been on What might we have done in probably served as a dungeon. tioned in 130 AD by Epiphanius of the peak of Mount Zion, a place of Peter’s shoes?

If this was indeed Caiaphas’ Salamis as having stood on that palace, then Jesus was most likely status.

St Peter in Gallicantu One thing we can be absolutely spot—and this would place the inheld in the dungeon in the dark The church of St Peter in Galli- hours before his condemnation certain about is that Jesus walked stitution of the Eucharist and the cantu (literally, “Peter at the by Pontius Pilate and subsequent on a flight of steps, part of which birth of the Church right there.

In the popular image of the is preserved next to the church of cock’s crow”) on Mount Zion execution.

Last Supper, based on the famous St Peter in Gallicantu.

Coming practically forces us to reflect on The earliest church known to Peter’s weakness. have been built here dates back to from the Garden of Gethsemane mural by Leonardo da Vinci, Jesus There is a rather excellent 457. We don’t know what was he was led up these steps in cap- and his twelve disciples are statue in the courtyard of the here before that first church, one tivity, for there was no other route arranged on one side of a clothcovered table, striking a variety of church which depicts an agitated of significant size, was built. Per- to take. dramatic poses as they learn that one of them will betray their Lord.

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Have a parish pilgrimage?

The fortress-like Dormition Abbey on Mount Zion marks the place where tradition holds Our Lady closed her eyes for the final time.

Scripture records that Mary, the mother of the Risen Lord, was present. Just around the corner from the Cenacle is the place where Mary probably lived, at least in the final stages of her life.

Mary’s final residence The pilgrim Arculf reported in 700 that he saw a square church on the site of the Last Supper and nearby “the spot where the Virgin Mary died”. That spot is where the Benedictine Dormition Abbey now stands.

We have Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm II to thank for the church, a mighty Teutonic fortress with thick walls and four towers which incorporates the older Benedictine Hagia Maria Sion monastery.

The complex is built on the site of a Byzantine church, one of Jerusalem’s oldest, which fell victim to the Persian sack of 614.

Over the centuries several churches dedicated to Mary had stood here, but in 1898 the land was in the hands of the ruling Ottomans.

When Kaiser Wilhelm visited Jerusalem that year, the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II (who would become infamous for presiding over the Armenian genocide in the early 20th century) sold the land to the Germans so that a church could be built there.

Dormition Abbey was completed in 1910.

In the crypt of the church, a lifesize ivory and cherry wood effigy of Mary on a bier marks the reputed place where Our Lady closed her eyes for the last time.

Various murals from all parts of the world adorn the vaults of the crypt.

Facing the foot-end of the effigy of Our Lady is a most remarkable image: Jesus is holding a tiny Mary, in swaddling clothes, in his arms. In Heaven, their roles are reversed. n This is an edited extract from Günther Simmermacher’s The Holy Land Trek. Next week: The Via Dolorosa.

The Southern Cross, August 19 to August 25, 2020

St Monica, patron of unbelievers

O

N August 27, one day before the feast of her son St Augustine, the Catholic Church honours St Monica, whose holy example and fervent intercession led to one of the most dramatic conversions in Church history.

Monica was born into a Catholic family in 332, in the North African city of Tagaste located in present-day Algeria. She was raised by a maidservant who taught her the virtues of obedience and temperance.

While still relatively young, she married Patricius, a Roman civil servant with a bad temper and a disdain for his wife’s religion.

Patricius’ wife dealt patiently with his distressing behaviour, which included infidelity to their marriage vows. But she experienced a greater grief when he would not allow their three children—Augustine, Nagivius, and Perpetua—to receive baptism.

Monica’s long-suffering patience and prayers eventually helped Patricius to see the error of his ways, and he was baptised into the Church one year before his death in 371.

Her oldest son, Augustine however, soon embraced a way of life that brought her further grief, as he fathered a child out of wedlock in 372. One year later, he began to practice the occult religion of Manichaeism.

In her distress and grief, Monica initially shunned her

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oldest son. However, she experienced a mysterious dream that strengthened her hope for Augustine’s soul, in which a messenger assured her: “Your son is with you.” After this experience, which took place around 377, she allowed him back into her home, and continued to beg God for his conversion.

But this would not take place for another nine years. In the meantime, Monica sought the advice of local clergy, wondering what they might do to persuade her son away from the Manichean heresy. One bishop, who had once belonged to the sect himself, assured Monica that it was “impossible that the son of such tears should perish”.

Without saying goodbye to his mother, Augustine boarded a ship bound for Rome. Yet even this painful event would serve God’s greater purpose, as Augustine left to become a teacher in the place where he was destined

to become a Christian.

Under the influence of the bishop St Ambrose of Milan, Augustine renounced the teaching of the Manichees around 384.

Monica followed her son to Milan, and drew encouragement from his growing interest in the saintly bishop’s preaching. After three years of struggle against his own desires and perplexities, Augustine yeilded to God’s grace and was baptised in 387.

Shortly before her death, St Monica told him: “Son, for myself I have no longer any pleasure in anything in this life. Now that my hopes in this world are satisfied, I do not know what more I want here or why I am here.”

St Monica died at age 56 in 387. In modern times, she has become the inspiration for the St Monica Sodality, which encourages prayer and penance among Catholics whose children have left the faith.—CNA

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LOOK down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, while before Thy face I humbly kneel and, with burning soul, pray and beseech Thee to fix deep in my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity; true contrition for my sins, and a firm purpose of

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 928. ACROSS: 4 Psalter, 8 Echoes, 9 Snoozed, 10 Virgin, 11 Fiends, 12 Untiring, 18 Undevout, 20 Wanton, 21 Pickup, 22 Mislead, 23 Reborn, 24 Chancel. DOWN: 1 Fervour, 2 Charity, 3 Senior, 5 Son of God, 6 Loosen, 7 Emends, 13 Inundate, 14 Look for, 15 Stipend, 16 Parish, 17 Stolen, 19 Edited.

O MARY Immaculate Queen, look down upon this distressed and suffering world. Thou knowest our misery and our weakness. O Thou who art our Mother, saving us in the hour of peril, have compassion on us in these days of great and heavy trial.

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Liturgical Calendar

A visit to Aliwal North In his series of travels through South Africa, Mgr Frederick Kolbe visits Aliwal North where Mgr (later Bishop) Franz Demont drove him to the convent school. There the children greeted him with tears of joy, “and we had a truly gay time”. At a mission school, there was an explosion of celebration when Mgr Demont announced a half-holiday.

11

Year A – Weekdays Cycle Year 2 Sunday August 23, 21st Sunday of the Year Isaiah 22: 19-23, Psalms 138: 1-2, 2-3,6, 8 (8bc), Romans 11:33-36, Matthew 16:13-20 Monday August 24, St Bartholomew Revelation 21: 9b-14, Psalms 145: 1011, 12-13, 17-18, John 1: 45-51 Tuesday August 25 2 Thessalonians 2: 1-3a, 14-17, Psalms 96: 10, 11-12,13, Matthew 23: 23-26 Wednesday August 26 2 Thessalonians 3: 6-10, 16-18, Psalms 128: 1-2, 4-5, Matthew 23: 27-32

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17-year-old cured at Lourdes Just after spinal tuberculosis sufferer Esther Doyle, 17, of Liverpool was carried to Lourdes she was anointed with the Last Rites. After the second day of being taken to the baths, she sat up, moved her limbs freely and declared herself free of pain.

Thursday August 27, St Monica 1 Corinthians 1: 1-9, Psalms 145: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, Matthew 24: 42-51 Friday August 28, St Augustine 1 Corinthians 1: 17-25, Psalms 33: 1-2, 4-5, 10-11, Matthew 25: 1-13 Saturday August 29, Martyrdom of John the Baptist 1 Corinthians 1: 26-31, Psalms 33: 12-13, 18-19, 20-21, Mark 6: 17-29 Sunday August 30, 22nd Sunday of the Year Jeremiah 20: 7-9, Psalms 63: 2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 (2b), Romans 12: 1-2, Matthew 16: 21-27

Editorial: Hear us Catholics In his editorial, Mgr John Colgan bemoans the lack of understanding of Catholicism by Protestants and the state, much of it innocent but informed by the propaganda of anti-Catholic historians. “All that we Catholics ask of the educationalists, professors and teachers is that they...should do us the bare justice of listening to what we have to say in defence of our faith.”

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22nd Sunday: August 30 Jeremiah 20:7-9; Psalm 63:2-6, 8-9; Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 16:21-27

I

T is not at all easy, this business of following God, as you may have noticed during this strange time of the coronavirus and lockdown. There is something of that theme in all our readings for next Sunday.

In the first reading, Jeremiah is pouring out the climax of his “confessions”. Not for the first or last time in his life, he is very cross indeed; and the object of his wrath is the God who invited him to his prophetic vocation.

“You seduced me, Lord; and I let myself be seduced,” he bellows.

Like many of us, he hates undergoing mockery; and he is getting it in fistfuls: “All day long they are all mocking me, for the word of the Lord has brought me disgrace and contempt all day long.” But it is no good him trying not to listen to God (have you ever done that?): “I said, ‘I shan’t mention him, or speak in his name anymore.’ But then it is like a fire burning in my heart, locked up in my bones—I can’t do it at all.”

The point is that (like all of us) Jeremiah has this longing for God, beautifully expressed in the psalm for next Sunday.

“God, you are my God; my body yearns for you, my soul thirsts for you, like a land that is parched and lifeless, with no water”—the image is a very powerful one in the setting of that arid country—”so I look for you in the sanctuary, to see your might and your glory.”

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Just do God’s will is what the psalmist says to the Lord: “Your steadfast love is better than life.” And the poet is captivated by this God of his: “So I shall bless you in my life, in your name I shall lift up my hands…you are a help to me; and in the shadow of your wings”—the lovely image comes, of course, from that of the chick protected by the mother bird.

The poet is well aware that life can be tough, but the presence of God makes everything possible.

In the second reading, Paul is coming towards the end of his massive, and far from easy, Letter to the Romans; he has constructed the great argument that the Gospel is for Gentiles as well as Jews, and then given three chapters (9-11) to demonstrating how the Jews retain their status as Chosen Race, and how God has not withdrawn his favour from them.

For the remainder of the letter he is drawing conclusions about how they are therefore to behave, aware that there are racial and religious tensions in the community, between Jewish and non-Jewish Christians.

It all comes back to God, of course, and Paul uses language taken from the Jewish cult in the Temple: “I beg you, brothers and sisters, through God’s compassion [a very important word, this], to offer your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, pleasing to God,

Pornography and the sacred T

biggest addiction in the whole world. No credible analyst or critic will deny that.

Like all addictions, it’s also deadly. Yet, more and more we see our society become casual and even indifferent to it.

Pornography is everywhere, is often seen as harmless, and it’s not uncommon to see mainstream sitcoms on television speak of someone’s porn collection as they might speak of his collection of toy airplanes.

Beyond that, we have more people positively challenging those who speak out against pornography. I’ve had colleagues, Christian theologians, say: “Why are we so uptight about seeing sex! Sex is the most beautiful thing God left us, why can’t it be seen?”

W

hy can’t it be seen? We might begin with psychologist Carl Jung’s statement that one of our greatest naiveties is that we believe energy is friendly and always something we can control. It isn’t.

Energy is imperialistic—it wants to take us over and control us. Once it takes hold of us, it can be hard to turn off. That’s one of the reasons why pornography is so dangerous. Its energy takes hold like a “demonic” possession.

But pornography is not only dangerous, it’s also wrong, badly wrong. Those who protest that sex is beautiful and there should be nothing wrong in seeing it are, in fact, half right; sex is beautiful…but its energy and nakedness are so powerful that it should not be seen, at least not without the deities of love, propriety, and shame in attendance.

As Christians, we don’t believe in a pan-

Conrad

HE ancient Greeks had gods and goddesses for everything, including a goddess of shame called Aidos.

Shame for them meant much more than it normally means to us. In their mind, shame brought with it modesty, respect, and a certain needed reticence before things that should remain private and hidden. The goddess of shame instructed you as to when you were supposed to turn your eyes away from things too intimate to be seen.

Shame, as the ancient Greeks understood it, contained a modesty and reverence you were supposed to feel in the presence of anything sacred or when you were receiving a gift or when making love.

They had an intriguing myth undergirding this: Aphrodite, the goddess of love, is born out of the sea; but, as she rises above the waves in her stunning beauty, her nakedness is shielded by three deities: Aidos, the goddess of shame; Eros, the god of love; and Horai, the goddess of propriety. They protect her naked body with love, propriety, and shame.

For the ancient Greeks, this was a religious truth, one which taught that without these three deities of protection, the naked body should not be seen. When nakedness (of any kind) is not protected by these deities, it is unfairly exposed and dishonoured.

I cite this myth to make a case against pornography, since today it is too naively accepted in the culture and its real harm is mostly unrecognised.

Let me begin this way. First, Internet pornography is today, far and away, the

Church Chuckles

what they have to expect, and Peter is roundly told off: “Get behind me, Satan: you are a stumbling-block [literally ‘scandal’] for me; you are not thinking God-thoughts but human thoughts.”

Then the lesson is driven home: this is not just for Jesus, or for Simon Peter, but also for us: “If a person wants to be my disciple, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

Then he gives the (uncomfortable) explanation: “For anyone who wants to save their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will save it.”

Then Jesus backs this up by making a perfectly obvious point, in the form of two questions: “How will a person be helped if they gain the whole world and get deprived of their life? Or what will a person give as an exchange for their life?”

He adds the slightly chilling reminder that we all have eventually to give an account of ourselves: “The Son of Man is going to come with his angels; and then he will offer to each in accordance with their actions.”

Not much comfort here, you may say. But, as Jeremiah well knew, is there really any other way to go?

Southern Crossword #928

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

theon of gods and goddesses, we believe in only one God; but that God contains all other deities, including Aphrodite, Aidos, Eros, and Horai (Beauty, Shame, Love, and Propriety).

Moreover, that God is always shielded from our look, shrouded, hidden, not to be approached except in reverence, and for a reason. Our faith tells us: no one can look at God and live.

That’s why pornography is wrong. It isn’t wrong because sex isn’t beautiful, but rather because sex is so powerful as to carry some of the very energy and power of the divine. That’s also why pornography is so powerfully addictive—and so harmful.

Sex is beautiful but its naked beauty, like the naked body of Aphrodite arising out of the sea, may be looked at only when it’s properly attended by love and propriety and protected by shame.

In the end, all sins are sins of irreverence, and that irreverence always contains some impropriety, disrespect and shamelessness.

Pornography is a sin of irreverence.

Metaphorically, it is standing before the burning bush with our shoes on as we watch Aphrodite arise naked out of the sea without being accompanied by love and propriety, without shame shielding our eyes from her nakedness.

That’s why the world of art makes a distinction between being naked and being nude, and why the former is degrading while the latter is beautiful.

The difference? Being naked is being unhealthily exposed, exhibited, shown, peeked at, in a way that violates intimacy and dignity. Conversely, being seen nude is to have your nakedness properly attended to by love and propriety and shielded by shame so that your very vulnerability helps reveal your beauty.

Pornography degrades both those who indulge in it and those unhealthily exposed in it. It is wrong from both a human view and the view of faith.

From the human view, Aphrodite’s naked body needs to have divine shields.

From the view of faith, we believe that no one can look at the face of God and live.

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Sunday Reflections

your rational worship.” This is language that the Jewish Christians in Rome would immediately have recognised; and it would have made them feel a great deal better.

Paul is not cross here, unlike Jeremiah in the first reading, but he tells them (and us) what they (we) are to be like: “Not shaped to this world, but transfigured to the newness of your mind, so that you may check out what is the will of God, that which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

As Jeremiah and the psalmist would agree, the only thing that matters is that we find out what is the will of God and then do it.

Something of that is what is going on in the Gospel reading for next Sunday. We are right in the middle of Matthew’s Gospel, and Simon, leader of the disciples, has just got Jesus right. “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God,” he exclaims, and is rewarded with the nickname of “Rocky” or “Peter”.

However, the consequences of that turn out to be altogether too uncomfortable for him. For when Jesus talks about going to Jerusalem, and the need for him to “suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised on the third day”. Peter cannot cope with this, and “rebuked” him: “Steady on, Lord! No way is this going to happen to you.”

But, alas, for Jesus and his disciples, this is

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ACROSS

4. Fallen plaster reveals the book of sacred songs (7) 8. Sound reflections (6) 9. Parishioners did it during the tedious sermon (7) 10. Paradoxically, she is the Mother of Jesus (6) 11. Friends have no right to become bad spirits (6) 12. Continuing prayer at the same rate (8) 18. Without religious piety (8) 20. Taiwan tongue contains some unrestrained activity (6) 21. Kind of truck to lift you up?

(6) 22. How the shepherd will take a wrong turning (7) 23. Brought back to life like some Christians (6) 24. The sanctuary in the church (7)

DOWN

1. Intense feeling in prayer (7) 2. It raises money for those in need (7) 3. He could be a church elder (6) 5. Food song composed for Jesus (3,2,3) 6. Set free (6) 7. Corrects me back at the finals (6) 13. Overwhelm in the Flood (8) 14. Go in search (4,3) 15. The clergy’s service charge (7) 16. Where a priest is in charge (6) 17. Pinched (6) 19. The head journalist did it (6)

Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

F

reddie the atheist wedding planner approached the local priest to inquire about the possibility of engaging the services of the parish’s choral group for the reception of his new clients.

“Hello, Mr Father,” Freddie said, “how much to hire your church singing group?”

Father shook his head and said: “You mean, a choir.”

Slightly annoyed, Freddie tried again: “All right, then. How much to acquire your church singing group?”

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