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Music maestro shares tunes on Radio Veritas

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Centenary Jubilee Year

Lockdown is addictive, bishop warns

Why you must SMILE with your eyes

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Bishop: We need healing from racism The Southern Cross staff were joined by directors and Bishop Sylvester David as they said goodbye to each other after all staff were retrenched. Three former senior staff are now producing The Southern Cross on a freelance basis while planning the launch of a monthly Southern Cross magazine in late September. Seen outside the old office building are (from left): Erin Carelse, Pamela Davids, Desirée Chanquin, Michelle Perry, Rosanne Shields (chair of the board), Bishop David, Jean van der Westhuizen, Günther Simmermacher, Mary Leveson, Claire Allen, Yolanda Timm, and Sidney Duval (director). (Photo: Claire Mathieson)

Syria to build new Hagia Sophia

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YRIA’S Assad government plans to build a replica of Hagia Sophia, with support from Russia, as a protest against Turkey turning the famous former Byzantine cathedral in Istanbul back into a mosque.

Greek Orthodox Bishop Nicola Baalbaki of Hama has approved the construction of a new church built as a replica of Hagia Sophia (pictured) in the city of Suqaylabiyah, which has a heavily Greek Orthodox population, according to Lebanon’s Al-Modon media.

The idea for the new church originated with Nabeul Al-Abdullah, a leader of the National Defence Forces militia, which supports the Syrian government. He has donated land on which the replica will be built and secured approval for the project.

Russia has supported the Syrian government against Turkish-backed rebels in the western part of the country during the nation’s ongoing civil war.

Located in modern-day Istanbul, Hagia Sophia was built in 537 as a cathedral, the biggest church in the world. After the Ot-

toman capture of Constantinople in 1453, the basilica was converted into a mosque.

In 1934, under a secularist Turkish government, the mosque was turned into a museum.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a decree on July 10, converting it into a mosque.

As a mosque, the Christian mosaics in Hagia Sophia will have to be covered during prayers, as will as the seraph figures located in the dome.

The

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ORE than a quarter of a century after apartheid, we are called to a new struggle to overcome the legacy of apartheid, according to the bishop of Tzaneen.

Bishop João Rodrigues noted that “white superiority and black inferiority attitudes were passed on to successive generations” in South Africa, reinforced by what he called “the demonic laws of apartheid”.

Even though “we live in a new democratic nonracial South Africa, we all carry the wounds of the past and inherit the spiritual and psychological complexes of our ancestors, be they black or white”, said the bishop of the Limpopo diocese.

Cape Town-born Bishop Rodrigues has headed Tzaneen diocese since 2010.

“We are called to take part in this new struggle for healing, for justice and equality, and it is an ongoing struggle for everyone in South Africa to work on,” he said.

“It is a complex struggle and requires constant evaluation and vigilance and planning within the various political, civil and religious and economic organisations to which we all belong.

“And every victory in this new struggle, no matter how insignificant it may seem, is a vital contribution towards the building of a truly united and democratic South Africa protected by God in the family of nations,” Bishop Rodrigues said.

The bishop hailed the “wonderful new constitution which took effect from 1997”, but noted that “we are still like the old South African generations in our prejudiced attitudes and behaviour”.

“Of course, I am generalising, because there are many wonderful South Africans who are genuine heroes of this new struggle as well as many more ordinary South

Bishop João Rodrigues of Tzaneen (Photo: Günther Simmermacher) Africans who go about their daily tasks with a genuine attitude of respect and inclusivity irrespective of the colour or culture of people in their relationships.

“But we also have to be honest and face the uncomfortable truth that because life is hard and challenging, in certain instances of crisis or pain, we easily retreat into our old racial attitudes and blame people who are different from our own colour and culture for all our problems. And this is racism,” Bishop Rodrigues said.

He stressed that racism is a sin, “because the revelation we have received from our Creator is that all human beings are created in the same image and likeness of God. There are no two different images of God.” The bishop described racism as “a terrible sickness in the mind and spirit of a human being because it denies one’s basic common humanity with everyone else”.

Any expression of racism “is a crime and Continued on page 3

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The Southern Cross, August 5 to August 11, 2020

LOCAL

Radio Veritas host promotes his musical passion

BY DALUXOLO MOLOANTOA

taught me the basics of music theory, and a whole lot more on voice production techniques,” he said.

O

NE of the things that is impacted by the Covid-19 crisis is social activities: classes, groups and gatherings.

The Internet has already partially saved our social lives, via apps such as Zoom for chatting with our family, friends and colleagues. For Catholics, there is a plethora of livestreamed Mass and other services.

Still, in spite of these services, our hymnals are neatly stacked away, and our churches no longer reverberate with song.

Enter chorister and Radio Veritas show host Thulasizwe Ndlovu.

The KwaZulu Natal-born and married father of three hosts the popular music variety programme “Soothing Melodies” on Sundays at 14:00 on the station.

The programme serves to promote Catholic gospel and choral music from across Southern Africa.

It also aims to share weekly reflections from a variety of sources, most especially members of the clergy and lay people.

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r Ndlovu, who is himself an accomplished singer and choral maestro, fell in love with music due to family influence.

“My late parents met in the church choir at my hometown parish in Ladysmith in northern KwaZulu-Natal. My mother was a choir conductor, and my father was a bass singer,” he explained.

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Radio Veritas host Thulasizwe Ndlovu, who was raised with a passion for music, hosts “Soothing Melodies” on Sundays at 14:00. He holds a fulltime job as well as his radio slot and is chair of the Pretoria Archdiocese Catholic Choirs Music Association.

He matriculated at the wellknown Benectine-run school Inkamana High in Vryheid, in KwaZulu Natal. He went on to further his studies at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and Unisa.

A qualified engineer, Mr Ndlovu works on a fulltime basis as a

The Southern Cross is our region’s only Catholic weekly, and so it is crucial in bringing Catholic news and thought to the People of God. Without it an important Catholic voice will be lost.

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He said that, apart from the influence at home, he was reared with a love for music by his highschool choir conductor, John Gregory.

“Mr Gregory was a musically very generous Welshman who

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r Ndlovu started working at Radio Veritas in March 2018, after some short stints as host and presenter of both the SABC1 choral music performance programme “Imizwilili”, and the Old Mutual National Choir Festival.

His road to anchoring a show on Radio Veritas began with meeting ex-programme host Fr Thabo Mothiba OMI, through a connection with the Catholic twin-sister singing duo The Light (who featured in the May 30 issue of The Southern Cross).

“In 2018, after learning about my music backround, Fr Mothiba invited me to cohost a music variety programme with him on Radio Veritas. I appreciated the opportunity, and took it with both hands,” Mr Ndlovu said.

“Due to his pastoral responsibilities, in early 2019 Fr Mothiba was forced to relinquish the programme’s cohost position. I have since revamped the programme, and have been flying solo as a main host.”

Apart from his fulltime occupation and radio show, Mr Ndlovu is also the current chair of the Pretoria Archdiocese Catholic Choirs Music Association, and also the secretary of the Inter-dioscesan Catholic Choirs Music Association.

He said he loves music and

radio equally. “They are too closely intertwined to separate. Music is my passion, and my platform on the radio affords me the opportunity to practise and promote this passion.”

As a media man in the Church, Mr Ndlovu believes that Catholic media workers must be exemplary role models to the faithful and, especially, non-Catholics.

“While we display our pride in being Catholics in media, we also have to be accommodating and appreciative of others, especially to those foreign to our Catholic backround. This necessitates that we know, comprehend and live the essence of the word ‘Catholic’,” he said.

“Our Catholic media platforms, such as Radio Veritas, should strive to promote the Catholic voice in our larger society. Invariably, they should also take an unequivocal stand against those who aim to deliberately or unintentionally tarnish the Catholic ‘brand’,” he added.

For the immediate future, Mr Ndlovu hopes to firstly grow his radio show. Secondly he would like to make an impact on young people’s lives through music training.

“My other dream is to create a platform to nurture and promote young musicians to reach their full potential. When passion meets with purpose, even the sky’s not the limit,” Mr Ndlovu said.

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YOUR GIFT MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE

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The Southern Cross, August 5 to August 11, 2020

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GBV campaign to launch on Women’s Day T HE Justice Desk will launch its 2020 Gender-Based Violence (GBV) make campaign aimed at men, #YourActionsDefineYou, on Women’s Day, August 9.

“In South Africa, a woman is murdered every three hours, and over one in three women have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence,” the organisation said in a statement.

“The dominant, erroneous narrative states that GBV and Violence Against Women is a social issue experienced by women, and should therefore be responded to and challenged by women.

“However, men are the main perpetrators of all forms of violence and GBV in South Africa,” it said.

“Many men think of GBV neither

as an issue that they are responsible for, nor one that they have the responsibility to end,” the Justice Desk said, adding that victims are left to eradicate the violence and “find solutions to a problem they are not responsible for”.

The campaign aims to challenge these socially-accepted norms.

It will comprise a two-part message conveyed through a combination of online videos and print, including billboards and buses. The images will feature familiar settings and characters: a married couple, working professionals, and public transport commuters.

The Justice Desk hopes to encourage “transformative conversations” within communities with the campaign which “challenges the societal

kneejerk reaction that ‘not all men’ are abusers by highlighting that, in reality, any man could statistically be a potential abuser of women and children”.

“Accordingly, men’s role in addressing the root causes, such as toxic forms of masculinity and the lack of accountability structures for men, is vital,” the statement said.

“The core message is intentionally broad, to reiterate that there is no specific demographic for a perpetrator in terms of race, nationality, occupation or age,” it said.

“While all sectors of society have openly denounced GBV, men are rarely held accountable for their actions. Perpetrators are seldom sentenced for their crimes, and patriarchal structures within South

Africa continue to uphold the false belief that men hold more value than women,” the Justice Desk said.

“Therefore, it is assumed that ‘not all men’ have the responsibility to respond to this issue, resulting in a lack of decisive action in addressing the fact that GBV is a man’s issue.

“As The Justice Desk, we believe it is both unreasonable and unacceptable to expect only the female half of the entire population of South Africa to find a solution to GBV, and therefore call on men to play their vital role in ending GBV,” said Jessica Dewhurst, Justice Desk CEO and founder.

The campaign will run throughout the year. An online petition will accompany the campaign at www.justicedesk.org.

This poster is part of the #YourActionsDefineYou campaign by The Justice Desk launching on Women’s Day.

Bishop warns: Lockdown is addictive

An open-air air Mass was held at Immaculate Heart of Mary parish in Stilfontein, Klerksdorp diocese. Bishop Victor Phalana (inset) hailed the innovative approach of the parish and called for the reopening of churches under strict conditions.

L

OCKDOWN “is addictive”, a bishop has warned as he called for the judicious opening of churches for Masses, in compliance with government regulations.

Churches and other religious structures have been allowed by government to reopen for worship under stringent regulations since early June. These include limitations

on congregations, social distancing, screening, registration, compulsory wearing of facemasks, and a rigorous sanitisation regime.

Most dioceses in South Africa have not reopened for Masses, or only under restrictions exceeding those prescribed by the government.

Some churches have experimented with innovations such as

drive-in Masses, or the celebration of the Eucharist outdoors.

One parish that adopted the latter option is Immaculate Heart of Mary church in Stilfontein, Klerksdorp diocese.

Bishop Victor Phalana of Klerksdorp hailed the parish for “being innovative while most of our parishes in South Africa are still under lockdown”.

The bishop said he is grateful to “some of our brave and courageous pastors who have tried their best to comply with our rigorous government protocols to render services to the People of God”.

He warned that “lockdown is addictive”, adding that “you take one bite, you will never want to go back to normal”.

“We can only do our best to minimise the spread of the virus, but none of us can live as if we are not affected by this pandemic. It is here up to, at least, 2021. When will it ever be safe to open?” he wrote on

his Facebook @bishopvictorpha lana.

Calling for churches to open while following the prescribed health and safety regulations, the bishop proposed: “Why don’t you use Holy Mass as an intercession against Covid-19? Why don’t you use the parish Eucharist, under lockdown restrictions, to pray for a vaccine, a cure, protection for our people and strength for those in the frontlines, the poor and the sick?”

Bishop Phalana said that “lockdown supports laziness and selfpreservation. Yet, we are a Church that is well-known for the spirit of self-sacrifice, self-giving and ‘calculated risks’ to save the souls of the faithful.”

Therefore “innovative ways of ministering to the flock of God in the midst of a pandemic” must be found now—“not after the pandemic”, he wrote.

“It might take the lives of some priests and bishops, but that will be

a true sign of a relevant Church, committed to its mission of evangelisation in the midst of a storm called coronavirus. We must either submit to corona or choose, like the martyrs of old, who ministered during persecutions, to do our sacred duties during this dark period of disease and death,” Bishop Phalana said.

“I invite you to continue to live and support our priests and deacons.

I am grateful to our priests and deacons who have come to collect PPEs,” he said.

“Make your parish a safe place for worship through fumigation, disinfection, sanitisation, screening, social distancing, a limited number of worshippers—50 or less—and the use of masks. Pray. Hope and trust the Lord. He says, ‘I am with you always’! Pray for our pastors who are at high risk. May the Lord protect them. Be blessed,” Bishop Phalana wrote, also offering his prayers for the sick.

Bishop: We need healing from the evil of racism Continued from page 1 should be punished by law”, Bishop Rodrigues said.

“Racists suffer from a deep spiritual sickness of perceiving another person as inferior to themselves.

They see themselves as superior and of greater dignity than others who are different from themselves,” he said.

Healing from racism requires more than “simply seeing people ‘as equal’, because even thieves can regard themselves as equal to other thieves”, the bishop said.

“This sense of an undignified equality does not bring healing but, in fact, deepens the sickness in people’s mind and spirit.

“To be healed of racism means having an understanding of the profound dignity of one’s humanity and realising that this same profound dignity exists in everyone else, irre-

spective of their culture or colour or origins,” Bishop Rodrigues said.

“And this profound understanding and attitude is possible if we are healed by the Spirit of Christ Jesus so that we can sense that profound Christ-like dignity in ourselves and by extension in all others. God can forgive and heal racists as long as they acknowledge their sin of racism, repent and seek healing,” he explained.

The Church should not be “a place where racists can find a home”, the bishop warned.

“Rather, racists should be confronted by the Gospel of Christ Jesus and challenged to repent and believe in order to be accepted by the Church community. All the sacraments call us to conversion in order to receive the Spirit of Christ and live accordingly.”

The Church also has a part to play

in healing from “the wounds of being a victim of racial violence”.

“The trauma of suffering from racist violence needs to be healed, and this is possible if the victim revisits that painful past and places that pain prayerfully and in faith before Jesus Christ for healing,” Bishop Rodrigues said.

“Unfortunately many victims have learnt to repress the painful memories, and by so doing they remain wounded, which has a continual negative impact in their present relationships and attitude in life,” he noted.

“You will know you are healed when you can recall those hurtful experiences in your life yet remain at peace in yourself. The Lord Jesus was treated badly, abandoned by all, tortured and cruci-

fied to death although he had no sin or guilt. Yet the first words of the Risen Jesus to his disciples were ‘Peace be with you’ (John 20:19),” the bishop said.

As Christ revealed his glory and victory over sin and all the powers of death, so can victims of racism “also experience victory over the trauma of the past by sharing their trauma with the Lord Jesus in faith and imploring his glorious Spirit to heal them of their pain so that they can enjoy the peace of Christ in their own spirits”, he said.

“You will know you are healed

when you can share the past bad and painful experiences and see in them a new strength and personal victory because they no longer hold you hostage with their previous unbearable pain.

“You no longer act with bitterness or a feeling of wanting revenge every time you remember past suffering and injustices. Instead, because you are healed, you are able to act with dignity and offer your family, community, nation and the world a better way of relating to self and others which is inspired by the Spirit of Christ,” Bishop Rodrigues said.

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The Southern Cross, August 5 to August 11, 2020

INTERNATIONAL

Jesuit call to shine a light on abuse of Sisters

BY CAROL GLATZ

T

HE abuse occurring within women’s religious orders deserves more attention from the media and must be remedied, said an influential Jesuit journal.

Novices and women religious, especially those who have been assigned to a country where they don’t know the language, can be particularly vulnerable to abuses of power and conscience by superiors, and sexual abuse by their formators, said an article in La Civilta Cattolica.

“The dynamics of women’s religious life turn out to be very different from that of men in many ways. The education and many pastoral opportunities of those who receive Holy Orders allow men religious to live with greater openness and autonomy,” even in a religious community, said the article, written by Jesuit Father Giovanni Cucci, a professor of psychology and philosophy at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University.

The article is titled “Abuse of authority in the Church: Problems and challenges of women’s religious life”.

It cited different forms of abuse

known by the author through his own work and from interviews given

by Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

While much attention has been given to the abuse of minors and vulnerable people, and abuse perpetrated by priests, not enough has been said about the kinds of abuse women religious and novices have experienced within their own religious communities, the article said.

The Second Vatican Council called on religious orders to renew and revitalise their charisms and make needed reforms, it said. However, some orders failed in that task or they stuck with the old ways of doing things, particularly in their form of governance.

“Unfortunately, history teaches that without that effort of confronting the issues and seeking new pathways, the charism risks losing its vitality, triggering a slow, but unstoppable decline,” the article said.

Some dangers, it said, include when a superior-general exploits the enthusiasm and trust of young

novices, targeting women with “generous hearts, but also vulnerable to manipulation”.

Sometimes unscrupulous leaders arbitrarily decide on who gets to continue their education, turning it into “a kind of prize given to the most loyal and compliant, excluding those who express thinking differently”, it said.

An abusive leader may see her position as coming with “exclusive privileges”, such as getting the best medical care, while the other members are not allowed to see an optician or dentist because “we have to save money”, the article said.

The same thing can happen when it comes to clothing, holidays, a day off, even just going outside for a walk —these activities can be wielded as rare “privileges” that must be approved of according to the whims of the superior.

This kind of abusive leader, who might also be offering favours to family members or have inappropriate control and use of the institute’s funds, “clearly equates governance with privilege, to the detriment of the weakest”.—CNS

Anti-Christian crime rises in India despite lockdown

H

ATE crimes against Christians in India increased by 40% in the first half of 2020 despite a three-month nationwide lockdown, according to a new report.

The report, published by the ecumenical group Persecution Relief, said it had documented 293 incidents between January and June, including six cases of murder and five of rape by fundamentalist Hindus.

“Compared to last year’s number of 208 incidents, this year has seen a disconcerting rise of 40,87% in spite of the complete nationwide lockdown which was imposed for almost three months,” the report said.

The authors highlighted persecution in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, where 63 hate crimes took place. Describing Uttar Pradesh as “the most hostile state against

Christians in India”, it accused local authorities of assisting extremists.

The report said that the next worst state for Christians was Tamil Nadu, in southern India, which recorded 28 cases, followed by the state of Chhattisgarh, with 22 cases.

Persecution Relief, founded by the Indian Christian Shibu Thomas, has documented more than 2 000 incidents since it was launched in 2016.

Mr Thomas said: “The vicious cruelty of these crimes exposes the tainted mentality and attitude of the religious extremists of this day and age. This frightening and dangerous crusade of religious nationalism and intolerance has now peaked at new inhuman altitudes.”

India, which is expected to overtake China as the world’s most pop-

ulous country within the next decade, is ranked as the 10th-worst persecutor of Christians worldwide by the charity Open Doors.

Open Doors said that persecution of religious minorities has increased since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party gained power in 2014, with thousands of incidents every year. It accused the ruling party of allowing extremists to attack Christians with impunity.

In a note introducing Persecution Relief’s report, Mr Thomas asked: “How did all of this happen amidst the world’s largest and longest lockdown in recent times? Wasn’t every citizen supposed to be following government protocol? Who should be held responsible for the barbaric attitude of the religious extremists in India?”—CNA

Funeral workers wearing personal protective equipment sanitise each other after a burial at a cemetery near Johannesburg, during the coronavirus pandemic. Cardinal Philippe Ouedraogo of Ouagadougou of Burkina Faso, who tested positive for Covid-19 in late March, is urging the public to have courage as the coronavirus tears through Africa. (Photo: Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters/CNS)

African cardinal urges courage as Covid-19 rises

BY FREDRICK NZWILI

C

ARDINAL Philippe Ouedraogo, president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), has urged courage in Africa, as cases of Covid-19 increase amid adoption of containment measures and prayers to defeat the pandemic.

The cardinal from Burkina Faso said across the continent, there were increasing food shortages due to lockdown, loss of jobs and the destruction of small businesses.

Before Covid-19, there already were floods, droughts, locust invasion and poor harvests—disasters that remain serious challenges, the leader said, in reference to a recent report by Caritas Internationalis, the worldwide umbrella organisation for Catholic charities.

“This situation has given rise to several questions and agitations.

For those in the grip of anguish and misery, it is easy to conclude that God has abandoned us, and the pandemic is punishment for our

sins, individual and communal,” Cardinal Ouedraogo said in a statement. “Amidst the current situation, we say, ‘Courage brothers and sisters; do not give in to despair.’”

Each year on July 29, African bishops lead Catholics in celebrating the day SECAM was founded 51 years ago. Three days after its founding, Pope Paul VI launched the organisation at the cathedral in Kampala, Uganda.

The churches use the celebrations to pray for the continent, the Christian faith, and for unity, communion and solidarity of the bishops, clergy, religious and laity.

Cardinal Ouedraogo said it was shameful and regrettable that not even Covid-19 had deterred violence and terrorism in some countries in Africa.

“We continue to kill ourselves on a daily basis. We join our voice with the Holy Father, Pope Francis, and other world leaders to call for an immediate end to violence everywhere in Africa and the world,” the cardinal said.—CNS

Pope condemns firebomb attack on cathedral

P

OPE Francis has denounced a firebomb attack on a cathedral in Nicaragua.

Speaking after his Angelus address, the pope condemned the incident in which an unidentified man threw a firebomb into a chapel of Managua’s cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, severely damaging the chapel and a devotional image of Christ more than three centuries old.

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The nearly 400-year-old statue in the chapel of Managua cathedral in Nicaragua, damaged in a firebomb attack.

31 amid rising tensions between the Church and the Nicaraguan government.

Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes of Managua described the attack as “a terrorist act”.

Speaking from a window overlooking St Peter’s Square, the pope said: “I am thinking of the people of Nicaragua who are suffering because of the attack in the cathedral of Managua, where an image of Christ that is highly venerated, that has accompanied and sustained the life of the faithful people for centuries, was greatly damaged—almost destroyed.”—CNA

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, August 5 to August 11, 2020

5

Warning: Covid-19 a threat to democracy

BY CINDY WOODEN

H

UMAN lives and jobs are not the only things threatened by the coronavirus pandemic: In many countries, democracy and efforts to build a more just world also are under-attack, said Fr Arturo Sosa, superior-general of the Jesuits.

“Democracy can be one of the victims of the pandemic if we do not take care with our political condition,” Fr Sosa told Vatican News.

“At this time, for example, many governments—including so-called democratic governments—are taking the path of authoritarianism.”

The interview was published on the eve of the July 31 feast of St Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits. Pope Francis, also a Jesuit, joined Fr Sosa and his confreres for a feast-day lunch at the order’s headquarters near the Vatican.

In the interview, Fr Sosa said many governments are using the pandemic as an excuse to restrict or end their assistance to migrants and refugees, “which is a great mistake if we want to make the world more fraternal and just”.

“To discriminate against migrants would be and is a great danger and would be a sign of a world that we do not want,” he said.

The Jesuit superior said he is also concerned about how some businesses are using the pandemic as an excuse to fire workers or reduce salaries and benefits, including for healthcare.

“In other words, the pandemic is an occasion to take steps forward or to take steps backward,” he said.

“And we must be very aware of this as the Catholic Church and as people committed to justice and peace, so that we can build a more welcoming, more democratic society.”

Inspired by St Ignatius, Fr Sosa said, Jesuits and other Catholics know that being close to the poor is always important, but especially during this pandemic.

“If we are not capable of looking at the world up close, sharing the point of view of the poor, which is the point of view of the crucified Jesus, then we will make mistakes in our decisions,” he said.

“The heart of the Ignatian experience and, therefore, of Ignatian spirituality, is a personal and profound encounter with Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, which leads to such a familiarity with God that one can find him in every thing and every moment,” Fr Sosa said.

That intimate relationship becomes a source of true freedom because it helps a person be “fully available to do only that which God desires, without attachments to any person, place or institution”.—CNS

Rescued migrants line up to be checked by UN High Commissioner for Refugees workers upon their arrival in Valletta, Malta, during the Covid-19 pandemic. (Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi, Reuters/CNS)

Catholic peace giant dies at 83 Pope at Medjugorje: Be inspired by Mary C ATHOLIC Nobel laureate John Hume, a major leader in the effort to secure peace in Northern Ireland, died on August 3 at the age of 83.

He is the only person to have won the Nobel Peace Prize, the Ghandi Peace Prize, and the Martin Luther King Award. Some have compared to him Rev Martin Luther King Jr. In 1998 Mr Hume and David Trimble, leader of the strongly Protestant Ulster Unionist Party, were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Northern Ireland, secured under the Good Friday Agreement.

Mr Trimble, a former first minister of Northern Ireland, recounted that the laureates and their allies came together to celebrate after the Nobel Prize ceremonies.

“When the ceremony was over and we retired to the hotel, we found that hotel was assuming that the one party would be in one room and the other party would be another room,” Mr Trimble told the PA news agency.

“We said, no, we’re going to relax and celebrate the achievement together with all our companions that had come with each of the

Nobel Peace laureate John Hume, who died on Monday. (Photo: Peter Muhly, AFP/Getty Images/CNA) parties there.”

In prior decades, Mr Hume’s outreach to paramilitary groups and to politicians could be deeply controversial, especially his approach to the then-illegal Irish Republican Army’s political wing Sinn Fein in the 1980s.

Mr Hume’s 1994 meeting with Irish Taoiseach Albert Reynolds and Gerry Adams of Sinn Fein led to a key declaration committing to democratic, peaceful means to resolve the conflict in Northern Ireland.

As a young man Mr Hume en-

tered the seminary at Maynooth but did not pursue the Catholic priesthood. He became a French teacher and married his wife Patricia in 1960.

Mr Hume became a civil rights leader to help Catholics secure equal rights and housing.

This led him to politics. He was elected to the parliament of Northern Ireland in 1969, but the parliament was suspended in 1972 because it could not maintain order in the Troubles.

Mr Hume would later be elected to the restored Northern Ireland Assembly, then serve in the European parliament from 1979-2004, and the UK parliament from 1983-2005.

In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI named him a Knight Commander of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St Gregory the Great, recognising “his outstanding services to Catholic social teaching in the area of peace”.

In his later years Mr Hume suffered from dementia. He died on Monday after a brief illness at a nursing home in Derry, Northern Ireland, and was to be buried from the city’s St Eugene’s cathedral on Wednesday, with the funeral broadcast live by Ireland’s national broadcaster, RTE.— CNA

P

OPE Francis has urged young people gathered in Medjugorje to imitate the Virgin Mary by abandoning themselves to God. He issued the appeal in a message to an annual youth meeting in Medjugorje, read out by Archbishop Luigi Pezzuto, apostolic nuncio in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“The great example of the Church that is young in the heart, ready to follow Christ with new freshness and fidelity, always remains the Virgin Mary,” the pope said in the message.

“The power of her ‘Yes’ and her ‘Let it be done unto me’ which she said before the angel, delights us at all times. Her ‘Yes’ means to participate and take risks, without any guarantee except knowing that she is the bearer of the promise.

Her ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord’ (Luke 1:38) is the most beautiful example which tells us what happens when a man, in his freedom, surrenders himself into God’s

Mass burials common as Nigerians face daily violence

Brazil bishops slam government F

BY LISE ALVES

T

HE draft of a letter signed by Brazilian bishops and scheduled to be presented to the executive committee of the bishops' conference is causing an uproar in the Brazilian media and Church.

In the letter, more than 150 bishops accuse the federal government of “inaction and omission” in combating the coronavirus pandemic and of “inability and incapacity” to face the crisis.

“Closing its eyes to the appeals of national and international entities, the federal government demonstrates omission, apathy and rejec-

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tion of the poorest and most vulnerable of society, namely, indigenous, quilombolas [communities of former Afro-Brazilian slaves], riverside communities, the populations of the urban peripheries, and the people who live on the streets, by the thousands, all over Brazil,” said the letter.

According to the signatories, the contempt shown by the government of President Jair Bolsonaro for the sectors of education, culture, health and diplomacy is “appalling”.

Bishops contacted by Catholic News Service (CNS) said the draft would be presented to the executive committee of the bishops’ confer-

ence at a meeting on August 5.

On July 30, more than 1 500 priests released to the media a letter supporting the bishops’ draft letter.

The priests said government officials have a duty to act in favour of the entire population, especially of the most vulnerable, but that “this has not been the project of the current government”.

Some Brazilian newspapers have hinted at a deep division among Brazilian bishops. Those interviewed

by CNS, however, said that although differences of opinion among bishops have always existed, there is no disunity within the bishops’ conference.—CNS

hands,” he said.

“Let this example inspire you and be your guideline!”

Pope Francis approved Catholic pilgrimages to Medjugorje in May 2019, but he has not made a deliberation on the authenticity of the alleged Marian apparitions reported at the site since 1981.

On the return flight from a visit to the Marian shrine of Fatima in May 2017, the pope spoke about the final document of the Medjugorje commission, sometimes referred to as the “Ruini Report”, after the head of the commission, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, calling it “very, very good”, and noting a distinction between the first Marian apparitions at Medjugorje and the later ones.

“The first apparitions, which were to children, the report more or less says that these need to continue being studied,” he said, but as for “presumed current apparitions, the report has its doubts”.—CNA

AITH communities in Nigeria face daily violence and persecution, the International Committee on Nigeria has said. It called for intervention after an Islamist terrorist group executed five men abducted while providing assistance in north-eastern Nigeria.

While Christians, particularly preachers, “are clearly the targets” of militants in the West African country, Muslims are killed too, said Archbishop Matthew Ndagoso of Kaduna, who chairs the bishops’ committee on justice, development and peace.

Militants and also bandits act with impunity, he said, noting that all Nigerian civilians feel vulnerable and “let down by the government”.

The United Nations said it was “utterly shocked and horrified” after

a video surfaced showing five men kneeling and blindfolded before they were shot dead. The men—three were aid workers—had been travelling in Borno state when they were kidnapped.

With abductions commonplace along Nigeria’s roads, people are terrified to use them to go about their daily business, Archbishop Ndagoso told Catholic News Service. Mass burials have become very common, he said.

President Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim and a former military ruler, won office in a democratic transfer of power in 2015 and is in his second term. In 2018, Nigeria’s bishops criticised the president's lack of action against Fulani militia and linked his inaction to his religion.—CNS

6

The Southern Cross, August 5 to August 11, 2020

The

LEADER PAGE

S outher n C ross Guest Editorial by Rosanne Shields

The grand old lady

T

HE grand old lady of Catholic publishing, our beloved Southern Cross newspaper, has been around to observe a world war, Vatican II, the horrors of apartheid, and the transition to a new century.

She has felt bewildered by falling circulation, had to adjust to the digital age, and been let down repeatedly by a failing post office system.

Like all of us, she has made mistakes. But, despite the challenges, she has arrived in Catholic homes every single week, without fail, since October 1920.

Our Southern Cross has given readers a platform to express their views and ask questions, columnists a home for their writing, and it has shone a light on the groundbreaking work being done by ordinary people intent on bringing about justice.

She has provided a valuable space for our bishops to communicate with their people, and carried news coming out of Rome for nine pontificates.

In 1995 she was “laicised”, appointing her first lay editor, Michael Shackleton, followed in 2001 by Günther Simmermacher.

Between them they have served her as editors for a quarter of her life. At a time when we are all called to break the hold of clericalism on the Church, this is an important achievement.

First with Mr Shackleton, and then Mr Simmermacher, the paper thrived as its content and appeal broadened. Mr Simmermacher was the first professional journalist to be appointed as editor and has steered the paper through the shifting sands of modern media, having to adapt to “going online”.

He approaches his work as a ministry, with a deep faith and total commitment to sharing God’s message of love and hope with readers. It is his legacy that The Southern Cross is well respected, here and abroad.

After he retired in 2001, Mr Shackleton stayed on as consulting editor, making sure that the Church’s theology, doctrine and social teachings were always accurately reflected, while different viewpoints were explored, as they should be in any Church that is alive. His contribution to The Southern Cross has been long and distinguished and we thank him for this.

For the last ten years Mr Simmermacher has been assisted by our digital editor, Claire Allen,

who through sheer hard work and determination has dragged us into the 21st century. We would not have a thriving website and Facebook page, in particular, without her contribution.

Often behind every great woman is another great woman—in this case Pamela Davids, who joined the administrative staff in December 1973 and ended up doing a stint in every position within the business team, culminating in running this department since 1995.

Ms Davids has made personal sacrifices for the company that have literally kept it afloat.

These three former staff members will continue to work on a freelance basis to produce a weekly edition of The Southern Cross online and then to launch the monthly magazine later in the year. As a board we thank them and pledge our support.

Huge thanks must now go out to the rest of The Southern Cross team who finished their jobs on July 31: Mary Leveson after seven years and Erin Carelse after three years as indispensable members of the editorial team; Michelle Perry after five years of handling dispatch and subscriptions; Yolanda Timm after four years of securing advertising; Jean van der Westhuizen as office assistant for 11 years.

Special thanks to Desiree Chanquin after 19 years of service in accounts.

These six women have nurtured our newspaper, protected it when the post office collapsed, solved queries, answered requests, and shared their faith through their work. May God guide and protect them.

The Southern Cross has had to put up with some inexplicable behaviour, such as a lack of cooperation in promoting the paper, or some in Church leadership taking offence at viewpoints which they didn’t share. It seems that, like the faithful women of the Church, she must simply be there when needed, working away, but must not expect to be supported adequately.

Well, this old lady may be ailing at present, infected with the coronavirus, but fortunately she will recover. This she will do with the support of loyal readers, associates, donors and advertisers, and above all, God’s helping hand and the intercession of Mary, our Mother. n Rosanne Shields chairs The Southern Cross’ board of directors.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

What God might say to us now

A

NSWERING humanity’s question why he didn’t intervene in this or that disaster, I imagine God saying something like the following: Perhaps I should remind humanity of the terms of our covenant.

I created a universe which includes the planet Earth, suitable in every way for the support of human life.

Then I created people, imbuing them with an inborn awareness of my existence, and granting to them the gift of free will, which enables all people to determine their own fate—do as you will and accept the consequences.

Having given to humanity the gift of free will, it would be an abrogation of this gift to interfere unasked in any occurrence on earth—it would rob people of that gift of free will. How would it be possible to claim to have free will when interference from me could override human behaviour?

I do not intervene unasked, and

Amazing memory with special priest

I

WISH to pay tribute to my late spiritual director, Fr Chris Lockyer OMI, whose obituary you published in the issue of July 15.

I first met Fr Chris at St Augustine’s Hospital in Durban when I was admitted there in around 1991.

Thereafter our little group, “The Little Souls”, managed to get him to be our spiritual director around 1993.

He also became my personal spiritual director from then on.

If it wasn’t for his support, perpetual Eucharistic adoration might not have started in 1998 in South Africa. Neither might the Divine Mercy devotion have started in South Africa, a little before that.

One day, when he heard that I had grown up at Ingogo, near Newcastle in northern KwaZulu-Natal, Fr Chris said to my amazement that he had been there. I wondered what he was doing in Ingogo, which is just farmland.

Fr Chris told me that when he was a little boy, he and his family were travelling from Johannesburg to Durban. Their car began to “boil” quite near to a farmgate at Ingogo.

So his dad stopped.

The farmer approached them and advised that the family sleep over at the Ingogo Valley Inn, a little motel, as it was already late, and then drive slowly the 20km to Newcastle in the morning, to get help there.

Well, I remembered that one day my dad was a little late for supper.

When he came in he told us that he had tried to help a man and his

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there’s the nub of the problem. I am ever-ready to come to the assistance of any person who asks for my help, who raises his or her prayers to me. I have said this while with my people: “Ask and you will receive.”

I am Love, a love that is so large that it cannot be measured, and my requirement of the creatures I made is that they return that love, and that they in addition treat all their fellow creatures with that same attitude, with love.

I love my creatures; why would I see them suffer unnecessarily? But how could I override my gift of free will, robbing you of the independence you now have? And that is exactly what I would be doing should I interfere unasked in any earthly occurrence.

Today the people are beset by an unseen enemy, by a virulent pandemic. And a very large percentage of people have forgotten about me, or perhaps are inattentive to me, preferring to rely on their own efOpinions expressed in The Southern Cross, especially in Letters to the Editor, do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor or staff of the newspaper, or of the Catholic hierarchy.

Letters can be sent to editor@scross.co.za

family whose car was “boiling”. He then advised them to drive slowly to the Valley Inn, spend the night there, and in the morning drive slowly to Newcastle.

Fr Chris was about 11 years old and I was about eight.

When I told him, Fr Chris laughed and recalled killing spiders on the ceiling of his motel room that night.

Fr Chris always promised that he would look after me from heaven.

Farewell, Fr Chris. Till we meet again.

Moira Gillmore, Durban

What vanity!

S

ADLY, I’m no longer surprised that Cardinal Wilfrid Napier had to “scurry back” to find the letter in which he withheld support for The Southern Cross, as he revealed in his response to G Samuels (July 29).

While the staff of The Southern Cross are losing their jobs, all this cardinal does is to argue with readers who clearly can understand what he said.

To remind Cardinal Napier, I quote from his letter of April 15, written when The Southern Cross was appealing for help to keep going.

In the opening paragraph, her wrote: “Every time I read appeals to ‘Save The Southern Cross’, a number of thoughts immediately come to

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forts in battling the scourge.

There are some who ask, “Where is God?” They ask why I don’t intervene. But how many have asked for my help; how many have prayed; how many even believe that I exist?

Should I react to the prayers of the few when the problem involves the whole world, and how would this aid in the world’s salvation, its return to the path of righteousness, its acknowledgment of its Creator?

I said, “If my people will return to me, I will heal their land”, and the intention remains. But my help must be sought, I do not intervene unasked.

Many ask: “What good would my little prayer do?” And this is a fair question, but perhaps that single little prayer would tip the scales—there are already many “little” prayers.

So, my people, turn to me, return to me, ask for my help, and I will heal your world.

That’s what I imagine God would say…

Cecil Cullen, Alberton mind. Some are very personal or even selfish, like, ‘What has The Southern Cross done for me, for the bishops, for the Church?’”

In the same edition, as other readers have pointed out, the Southern African Bishops’ Conference stated its support for The Southern Cross.

Later in his letter, Cardinal Napier commented on the publication of a Letter to the Editor that had been critical of him.

“So, logic demands that we ask: ‘Who in his right mind is going to support, let alone encourage, the clergy and faithful to subscribe to a publication that regularly carries negative reports about him or about bishops in general?’”

Supposing that the cardinal believes himself to be of “right mind”, this is an obvious denial of support.

To summarise, Cardinal Napier wrote that he can’t support The Southern Cross because readers are critical of him, and because the editor didn’t take his advice (or order?) to serialise the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

For that, he was prepared to accept that the staff of The Southern Cross would lose their jobs! What vanity!

Despite the cardinal’s poor behaviour, The Southern Cross has shown magnanimity towards him by printing his letters and even last week dedicating a big space to his 50th ordination anniversary.

And yet Cardinal Napier asks: “What has The Southern Cross done for me?” That he dares to ask speaks volumes.

Paul Collins, Johannesburg

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PERSPECTIVES

Why you must smile with your eyes Jill M Williams Y English teacher would share nuggets of wisdom with us every now and then. When I was in about Grade 11, she shared one such nugget which I never thought I’d need.

“Girls,” she said determinedly, “you must learn to smile with your eyes.”

I remember practising in the mirror for weeks after she challenged us, but soon I completely forgot about it. That was, till masks became the new norm.

For people who smile often, such as myself, it is quite frustrating to offer a smile to someone, only to realise that they most probably did not even notice.

Author Stanley Gordon West’s theory of “smile and the world smiles with you” isn’t as promising when all people see is the “Covid veil” below our anxious eyes.

Without reciprocation, smiling feels pointless.

They say that genuine laughter can be generated from fake laughter, as the body responds similarly in both instances (except that the affected brain region has higher activity levels in the case of genuine laughter). Smiles, however, are not in the same group, unfortunately.

Studies have shown that people can sense the genuineness of a smile by looking at the person’s eyes. Muscles contract around one’s eyes when the smile is genuine. In fake smiling, muscles in the cheeks are used, not those around the eyes.

I believe God gave us this deciphering

ability as a means of discerning a person’s intentions.

Another well-known phrase applies here too: “The eyes are the windows to the soul” (Matthew 6:22-24).

Is it possible that we have been hiding behind fake smiles to avoid confrontation about our internal state? Have the facades we readily portray on social media become an escape from the reality that we are not really happy?

Why hast thy countenance fallen?

(Genesis 4:6)

Let God give you joy God sees through our veils and our “windows”—all the way to our hearts. He knows what we are dealing with right

To tell a genuine smile from a fake one, look at the eyes, recommends Jill Williams. (Photo: Sam Manns/Unsplash)

Point of Reflection

now, and he knows what we will deal with tomorrow.

We don’t need to hide from God (Songs 2:14), but instead, “present ourselves as a living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1) to him.

Any attempt to just appear to be joyful is futile. Joy can be seen only in the eyes of someone whose heart rests in God’s provision and protection.

We cannot be certain what the future holds for us, or if our lives will ever be the same again. What we can do, today, is to be intentional about re-evaluating the position we find ourselves in spiritually, and joyfully make way for the King of Glory to enter in (Psalm 24:9).

So the next time you have to put on that mask, take a decision to smile with your eyes—genuinely.

This is not only for your sake: hope for humanity lies in that smile. When everything is uncertain, the only thing that can be assured is the living hope that Jesus, who rose from the dead, is able to deliver us.

That’s a promise worth smiling about! n Jill Williams writes from Pretoria.

Looting SA: The great betrayal T Imelda Diouf HE South African Constitution has been touted as one of the best in the world.

Constitutional rights are frequently expressed during community and sector protests, by the media and as part of civic education lessons where children are taught about their rights.

Yet, again and again, Covid-19 is magnifying the chasm between promises of the Constitution and reasonable expectations of the citizens.

And bear in mind that citizen-rights are most acutely experienced not as individuals but as family units in households and connected clans in which relational value is built over generations.

The gap between the state and families is growing. Notions of common good, public benefit, active citizenship and family wellbeing are being brushed aside in the name of a virus.

The Bill of Rights espouses democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom—but rights expressed on paper do not necessarily translate into substantive rights.

Security of the person, adequate housing, healthcare, food, water and social security are the most basic of human rights, yet the mindset of “not now because of Covid” is a growing trend. It does not give expression to these rights which are being eroded daily.

Scandalous news just last week uncovered the escalating theft of personal protective equipment (PPE) which has left the health sector struggling to provide services and citizens complaining that corruption is more dangerous than Covid-19.

This comes on top of mismanagement of food parcels that never got to needy, vulnerable households. The term “covidpreneurs” has entered the South African lexicon.

Statement of disgust The South African Council of Churches (SACC) provided leadership by immediately releasing this scathing statement; “We are extremely disgusted by the revelations of the shameless looting of funds, through alleged irregularities in Covid-19 procurement processes.

“It is shocking that taxpayers’ money, which was dedicated for lifesaving measures related to tackling the Covid-19 pandemic that is crippling the whole country, was shamelessly taken advantage of by greedy individuals who, like vultures and hyenas over dead bodies, saw the pandemic as an opportunity for a feeding frenzy, with no concern for the poor people.”

Interviewed on July 30, the anger in the voice of SACC general-secretary Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana was palpable as he expressed his disgust and disappointment at the lack of concern for poor and struggling people.

The Family Brief

The poor go hungry while “covidpreneurs” loot the funds meant to aid the struggling, our healthcare, and our nation.

He castigated the thieves that live in our midst and pointed to the reality that these people are, notionally, also our family members. Strong words indeed.

“Where are the family values?” he asked.

The common good, societal wellbeing and family values gone, as we steal from ourselves.

Just strong words?

South African citizens are repeatedly reminded of the social compact between government and citizens.

The National Development Plan (NDP) 2030, the State of the Nation Address (SONA) 2020, as well as the declaration of the Covid-19 State of Disaster on March 15 keep returning to the cohesion theme.

“Achieving consensus and building social compacts is not a demonstration of weakness. It is the very essence of who we are,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said at this year’s SONA. Strong words indeed... again!

The NDP 2030 goes into detail about the need to foster a social compact which at the core is an “agreement among individual people in a society or between the people and their government that outlines the rights and duties of each party while building national solidarity”.

It further states that “the government needs citizens to speak out when things are going wrong. Several objective conditions can contribute to citizen activism and solidarity.”

Covid-19, however, has opportunistically decreased the possibility of action against corruption. We speak out, and due process must be followed. This would be the constitutionally correct way.

But Covid-19 is a barrier to speaking out against the actions of unscrupulous

Change of number

Please note that The Southern Cross’ office landline telephone number will not be in use any longer. Please call 083 233-1956 and Pamela will assist you.

individuals and a corrupt system.

There is already proof of this inability to act against corruption: the long speeches on citizens’ rights, even longer sitting task-teams and a never-ending commission of inquiry, which in very polite language asks corruptors and corruptees to explain themselves.

Families struggle; looters thrive Even as people struggle to manage families during this difficult time of the pandemic, political representatives and government officials (who lose no salary during Covid-19) are looting the state.

The state responds with more laws and regulations to further lock down its citizens. Go back to your homes and families, to curfews, to masks and social distancing, to the pain and discomfort of unemployment, increased levels of violence, and the sting of knowing it’s all about saving lives.

Can we trust the connected politicians and public officials who talk about rights but act with no concern for the health and welfare of citizens? Trust is being eroded.

There is always the subtext that Covid19 is a new situation and that lives must be saved, even as we lose hard-fought-for rights and human dignity.

Our much touted Constitution is proving itself to be as useless as paper. As the trust deficit between citizens and state grows, those well-chosen phrases are no longer based on what is valuable to the society. Valuable to citizens. Valuable to families.

The words drawn up by clever constitutional lawyers and leaders of the movement towards democracy have been founded on perceived, not real, values.

“In a society in which the values that guide life are no longer ‘founded’ but simply chosen with subjective options, good life presents itself as an always problematic and somehow unreachable goal,” wrote the Italian sociologist Pierpaolo Donati in his 2017 book The Good Life as a Sharing of Relational Goods.

The health of a nation is weakened by the virus—but not more than the foundations of our democracy and the crumbling bridge between the state and families.

“They have sunk deep into corruption.

God will remember their wickedness and punish them for their sins” (Hosea 9:9).

Is there any comfort in the statement released by the SACC?

The Southern Cross, August 5 to August 11, 2020

7

Archbishop Abel Gabuza

Point of Reflection

The glass is half-full

T

HE Covid-19 pandemic is a dark cloud in our lives. A global crisis of immense proportions has been created by the pandemic.

We have been forced to stop and take a long pause in our normal activities. Our spaces of education, business, sports and other social activities have been put on hold. Our way of visiting the sick, our way of coming together to worship, has taken a serious dent.

When we have to bury our loved ones, we are being rushed for our dead to be put away, without us doing proper closure. We are experiencing a painful and soul-searching moment in our lives.

We can feel the abject helplessness in our veins.

The Covid-19 pandemic is a test of our faith, hope and love. We can be dominated by paralysis, fear and despair. It can be difficult to have any positive attitudes about the future.

As members of the Body of Christ, it is imperative that we remind ourselves of the virtues of hope, faith and charity. As we respond to the crisis, we are to let go of being cynical and giving up. A situation of helplessness and despair can convince us that our situation is like a half-empty glass.

Lately we have been reading about the prophet Jeremiah. The life of Jeremiah was infused with courage and faith. Indeed, he wept when he saw destruction, suffering, numbness and sin around his people. He did not give in to hopelessness. He had faith in God. Our situation may have given birth to many cynics. There are voices that are loud and they keep saying that we are being punished by God. God has had enough of our wickedness, and now we deserve punishment. The reality is that we will always have prophets of doom in our midst.

In this crisis, God is with us What we need to state is that God is in this situation with us. God is not distant and far away.

God is enmeshed with us in our human situation.

We believe and hold that at the heart of our identity and mission as members of the Body of Christ is the Incarnation.

The call for us today in the midst of the Covid19 pandemic is to continue the journey of staying spiritually healthy. As people of faith we are presented with challenges we cannot ignore. It can be easy to be swallowed by hopelessness and despair.

This crisis is a particular prophetic moment in our lives. It calls us to remain strong, steadfast in our faith, love and hope.

One of the ten counsels given by Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI is the importance to “have a contemplative practice each day that includes prayer”.

He maintains that the way to survive and thrive in this situation of Covid-19 is to be creative with all the time we have in order to free ourselves from being bored, frustrated and paralysed.

This pandemic has taught us to redefine who we are as followers of Christ. I find the following message from the book of Joshua more relevant and more real than ever before. Joshua was assured by God: “Remember that I have commanded you to be determined and confident! Do not be afraid or discouraged, for I the Lord your God, am with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

This calls us to be rooted in prayer. I think prayer affords us the opportunity to be planted in deeper ground. Prayer helps us to be people of hope. It matters greatly to have hope. We cannot live without hope.

Let your half-full cup be the source of your strength, because it is not empty, but half-full. We need to keep hope alive, we have no choice. We must be people of hope.

As we wake up, let us see each new day as a gift.

Let us face each day with courage and hope. n Archbishop Gabuza is the coadjutor archbishop of Durban.

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8

The Southern Cross, August 5 to August 11, 2020

MEDIA

Farewell and look to the future Last week The Southern Cross’ retrenched staff came together one last time for a sad farewell — and some to chart the way for the publication’s future, as SYDNEY DUVAL writes.

A

S a window on the Catholic world, and beyond, The Southern Cross found itself turning another page in its history on July 29, just several weeks short of the centenary of its foundation. But this was no celebration.

Rather, it was a sad moment, played out as a cinematic drama approaching surreal dimensions in the old St Mary’s High School in Cape Town’s Tuin Plein, which serves as a roadside boundary for the Catholic campus in Cape Town, from the Grimley building, bookshop and schools down to the cathedral, presbytery and chancery.

Board members and staff served as the cast—masked and socially distanced. The script was a mix, first of lively dialogue in the boardroom in a meeting that charted the future of the publication, then muffled words in the main office as the retrenched staff of the newspaper gathered for one final time.

The props comprised stacks of bound volumes for archiving, old files for dumping, and office brica-brac awaiting the auctioneers.

This paraphernalia was going, but was not yet gone. They stood as stark remnants reminding us that the old newspaper and staff were active casualties of Covid-19, of reprehensible incompetence by the postal service, and of a disqui-

eting indifference within the Catholic Church itself.

Some R500 000 from a sympathetic donor would have made a material difference in a time needing generous responses.

Also there—masked, prayerful and reflective—was Cape Town’s Auxiliary Bishop Sylvester David, who sprinkled us with holy water, an asperges of refreshing raindrops for the road ahead.

We had formed a lopsided rosary for this brief but uplifting liturgical action, so impressive in its elemental simplicity.

This was part of the farewell blessing for the nine staff who were no longer going to be employees of The Southern Cross.

They included Pamela Davids, the admin manager who served the newspaper for close to 47 of its 100 years.

But Ms Davids will continue to serve The Southern Cross, alongside editor Günther Simmermacher and online editor Claire Allen to bring out the weekly edition digitally until late September, when The Southern Cross will relaunch as a monthly magazine.

It is a sign of their unwavering loyalty to Catholic media that they are prepared to do so as freelancers, at a significant financial sacrifice.

Planning the future This was the purpose for the meeting of some board members and these three loyal servants of The Southern Cross.

We met to consider practical steps to keep the weekly newspaper afloat in critical times. We had reviewed the projected cash flow, the A4-size magazine option, printing sources, distribution, paper quality and quotes.

At noon, chairperson Rosanne Shields and the rest of us joined the other staff and Bishop David for the farewell blessing and for

Digital editor Claire Allen (left) in conversation with business manager Pamela Davids. Both will continue to serve The Southern Cross on a freelance basis as the publication prepares to relaunch as a monthly magazine in September.

souvenir photographs in the office and on the pavement outside.

Ms Shields spoke with profound gratitude for the work, support and sacrifices the staff had shared in keeping the paper going in unprecedented circumstances (see this week’s guest editorial for her comprehensive narrative).

She read a compelling message from former editor Michael Shackleton, who was advised not to attend due to the health risks of Covid-19. His words touched us deeply.

“You are right to see this moment as one to look ahead, to express the solid virtue of Christian hope in these oddest of times. Life comes and passes, and it is always mysterious, because it flows from our Lord who is himself mysterious to us,” Mr Shackleton wrote.

“Looking back, I am gladdened that I have known and worked with and for The Southern Cross for a long time. Looking forward, I have no doubt that all our work and prayers are important and God is with us, even when we are bewildered.”

He recalled the episcopal motto of Cardinal Owen McCann, who himself edited The Southern Cross twice, as a priest in the 1940s and after his retirement as archbishop of Cape Town. His motto was: “Nisi Dominus in vanum”, which means: “Without the Lord (we labour) in vain.”

“We have not laboured in vain,” Mr Shackleton wrote.

“Thanks to you, Rosanne, to our board of directors and to all who have kept The Southern Cross on course. Thanks to our brilliant staff, especially to Günther, who has had to carry a particularly heavy load with his dependable vigour and strong faith,” he wrote.

He concluded: “I look forward to the plans now in place to get our engines running smoothly again into the years ahead. We say in the liturgy: Life is changed, it is not ended. So be it. Love and prayers.”

In his brief homily, Bishop David echoed Mr Shackleton’s sentiments with words and experiences of his own.

The bishop said he had grown up reading The Southern Cross. He had associated the name and value of the newspaper with the Southern Cross constellation of stars which had served as reliable pointers to help guide the early sailors in their voyages down the African continent.

80 years of memories I have been reading The Southern Cross for nearly 80 years—and writing for it for some 50 years.

I recall its coverage of the un-

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Bishop Sylvester David, auxiliary of Cape Town, blesses the outgoing staff of The Southern Cross at a farewell function on July 29. At left is outgoing subscriptions manager Michelle Perry. All staff of The Southern Cross have been retrenched; three staff members are appointed on a freelance basis to continue bringing out the weekly digital edition and launch The Southern Cross monthly magazine in late September. (Photos: Sydney Duval) forgettable Marian Congress in Durban 1952; its staunch support for the Bishops’ Campaign to save Catholic schools from the clutches of Bantu Education in the ‘50s; its reports criticising the injustice and oppression that flourished under apartheid; its coverage of the Catholic schools remaining steadfast in opening their schools to all, regardless of colour or creed, and retaliatory action from the government; its gathering of news concerning the spiritual, liturgical, pastoral and socio-economic outreach of the Church in other parts of the world —keeping us in touch with journalism that found creative energy from a more holistic scaffolding.

A recent headline that caught my eye expressed the scope of the paper’s coverage of contemporary events from local to the wider world: “From the Cape Flats to the pope’s open door.” The paper’s own door has been opening very wide.

At heart, The Southern Cross is a lighthouse that keeps the Good News alive.

The evangelising disciples and St Paul themselves were journalists who recorded the signs and deeds of their times. Their ministry was an early form of social communications, in writing and speaking, to keep families and communities connected in their Christian faith.

For us now, keeping The Southern Cross alive in digital and affordable print format would be a valiant mission worth struggling for. This country needs all the help it can get as it grapples with a deadly pandemic, unemployment, hunger, murderous violence, and endless corruption and looting of funds that should be alleviating the suffering of the poor.

Sustaining critical voices that raise these concerns, that find the courage to speak truth to power, should be a shared mission for our local Church, from the hierarchy and priests and religious, to the parishioners and sodalities who kneel in church benches all over the country… in cities, towns and villages.

A message of encouraging hope from a resounding voice from the past is a message that can continue to help bind us together in spirit, mind and heart in forming communities that serve humanity today. As St John says: “In the beginning was the Word…”

We have been taught and formed to listen to, and to communicate the Word. This is a gift for all ages and seasons.

As a journalist on the old World newspaper that was once banned, I interviewed a woman from Soweto. I asked her what she considered important in her life.

She replied: “That my children learn to read and write. They must have words.”

If the Catholic Church community could cooperate some 70 years ago to save its schools from Bantu Education, could it not join hands today in a spirit of solidarity to uphold The Southern Cross as the messenger with words that can help both heal and transform our land?

Better together This narrative ends with two moments from my work as chancery assistant in Cape Town in May 1989.

Archbishop Stephen Naidoo was to host Archbishop Derek Worlock of Liverpool and Julian Filochowski, director of CAFOD, a major source of support for Catholic Aids projects in South Africa.

They were accompanied by Anglican Bishop David Sheppard, also of Liverpool, the former England cricket test player who had struck a blow for nonracial sport when he refused to play against South Africa over the treatment of Basil d’Oliveira (a Catholic).

Archbishop Worlock and Bishop Sheppard had formed an ecumenical alliance to minister to Liverpool’s disparate communities.

The party arrived in Cape Town on May 23—the morning after Archbishop Naidoo had been taken to hospital. It became my job to drive them to socioeconomic development projects on the Cape Flats.

Cardinal McCann hosted us to dinner where the talk soon fixed on the political and social inequities of apartheid—and what to do about them.

At one stage the cardinal suddenly got up from the table, with these words: “There is something we can all do together and that is to pray for our country.” He led us into his private chapel where he soon had us kneeling in prayer.

At the airport for their return flight home, Archbishop Worlock said to me: “We have something for you.” It was a signed copy of their book on their Liverpool ministry, entitled Better Together.

We have lost Catholic Welfare and Development.

Together, let us not lose The Southern Cross. n Sydney Duval is a veteran journalist, Church worker, and director on the board of The Southern Cross.

CHURCH

The Southern Cross, August 5 to August 11, 2020

9

How Mother Church treats women The role of women in the Church remains a contested space. As we prepare for Women’s Day on August 9, MAHADI BUTHELEZI examines biblical representations of women.

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trauma support, mostly by women, in the face of the current pandemic of Covid-19. The majority of health workers and caregivers are women, who are at the forefront of the battle against the virus. Current feeding schemes are also mostly championed by women in various communities.

The role of women in the Church has become a controversial topic in Catholic social thought.

The Catholic Church has influenced the status of women by condemning infanticide, divorce, incest, polygamy, and counting the marital infidelity of men as equally sinful as that of women.

The Church holds abortion and contraception to be sinful, recommending only natural birth-control methods.

New feminism and feminist theology deal extensively with Catholic attitudes towards women.

Yet, the blessed Virgin Mary remains the most important human figure in the Catholic Church after Jesus Christ.

The difference between the law of God and the law of the land, is that the law of God is a commandment coming from the origin of pure love, while the law of the land is about equality and freedom without regard for consequences.

The law of God says “you shall not kill”, whereas the law of the land legalises abortion, which has long-term effects on those who participate in it, even if they do not recognise it.

As a Christian community we are challenged not to recklessly pursue human rights at the expense of our morals and ubuntu.

Similarly, patriarchy in our society should not be pursued in a blind adherence to the letter, rather than the spirit, of the scriptures.

We recognise that there is a need to address toxic patriarchy, which is against the emancipation of women and continues to seek dominance of women.

Healthy patriarchy must be equally yoked with healthy matriarchy in order to bring about balance in the influence of both genders in the community.

There should be no competition between genders because we need to acknowledge our differences and our strengths to bring about unity despite our diversity. n This article was first published by Spotlight.Africa

CRIPTURE and Church practice seem to be at odds regarding the place of women in society and in the eyes of God. Some biblical texts exalt womanhood and emphasise that women are created in the same image and likeness of God as men (Gen 1:26-28). But other biblical authors, like St Paul, depict women as being at the service of men.

Similarly, the Church upholds the model of virginal womanhood in the person of Mary, the mother of Christ, as the first Christian and the first to proclaim the message of Christ. However, the Church’s refusal to ordain women suggests that the role of women in the Church is subservient to that Women in church. in her article, Mahadi Buthelezi argues that the Church still has a way to go before it of men.

The creation story in Genesis meets God’s original plan of equality between men and women. reveals how God recognises that men and women are equal and he gives them custodianship of all submits to Christ, so also wives plan, as we saw in Genesis 1:26-28.

The role of women living things.

This is why Mary’s role beshould submit to their husbands As a woman, I believe that we “Let us make human beings in in everything” (Eph 5:24). comes so pivotal. God chose should be questioning the justifiour image after our likeness. Let To understand St Paul, we also Mary, a female, to be the mother cation of quoting St Paul’s writthem have dominion over the fish need to understand the cultural of the Saviour of the World. ings and instructions that women of the sea, the birds of the air, the context of his time and the role St Irenaeus of Lyons in the sectame animals, all the wild animals that women had in society. ond century explained that should be silenced.

How is it that the mother of and all the creatures that crawl on Women did not have any status or Mary’s role is precisely to undo the earth. God created mankind identity outside of their relation- Eve’s sin and restore humanity to my Saviour can give birth to the in His image, in the image of God, ship to their fathers and/or their God’s original plan for humanity. living Christ and yet not be alHe created them, male and female husbands.

He wrote: “By disobeying, Eve lowed to preach the Gospel?

Another example is that of He created them. God blessed These biblical qualities appear became the cause of death for herthem and God said to them, be to be are diametrically opposed to self and for the whole human Mary Magdalene, who was the fertile and multiply.” the current popular culture of race. In the same way Mary, first witness to see the risen Lord, This is the original plan of “the modern woman” with rights. though she also had a husband, but because she was a woman, the what God intended.

Human rights are governed by was still a virgin, and by obeying, other disciples did not believe her In the history of Christianity, a fundamental principle that each she became the cause of salvation testimony. Why then did Christ no woman has been as honoured person is free to exercise their for herself and for the whole appear to her first?

When you hurt a woman, you as Mary, the mother of our Lord rights as long as these do not in- human race” (Adversus haereses hurt a nation. When you bless a Jesus Christ and the mother of the fringe on another’s persons rights. 3:22).

Church.

The special role accorded to woman, you bless a nation. God These rights are violated, howWomen look up to Mary as a ever, when women of faith are Mary and Marian devotion has understood that our salvation was role model on how to serve God confronted with patriarchy, both been a central theme of the safe in the hands of a woman.

To heal our land and our and the Church community. From in society and in the Church.

Catholic Church. Because of the role of Mary, women in the Church we must first acknowlthe beginning, when the Angel Gabriel visited Mary, she re- Restore God’s original plan Church and in society should be edge the vital role women have In fact, patriarchal societies celebrated for the many contribu- played throughout the ages, from sponded with wisdom, humility often use the scriptures to justify tions they make to make the the beginning of time, from our and obedience. original sin to our salvation and Mary accepted the role of be- the continued subservience of world a better place.

A woman’s role is not just a our Saviour being born of a virgin coming the mother of Christ women.

We live in a patriarchal society nurturing one, but also one of woman. without hesitation. She showed We have seen an increase in humility by putting God’s plan that is designed to undermine the healing the innermost parts of the role of women, in the human being. evangelisation, counselling and ahead of hers.

Church and in society.

When the Angel of The challenge then, is the Lord approached We live in a when the laws preher, her obedience scribed by St Paul conpatriarchal showed that she was tradict the laws of the willing to serve the Lord. Even though it society designed land.

In the South African brought her humiliato undermine context, our Constitution and suffering, she tion promotes equality the role of accepted God’s call. of all genders before As a mother, she women in the the law. This contrawas a caring and lovbreeds coning not only to her Church and in diction tempt and disunity in son, but to all of us. the community. This Her willingness to sacsociety power “given” to men rifice for the sake of can often be abused to others, and to be faithful to God and her husband, dominate women in an unjust Joseph, is a great example of how way.

St Paul says: “Let your women to live our lives according to keep silent in the Churches, for God’s plan.

In his ministry, Jesus con- they are not permitted to speak, firmed that women also play an but they are to be submissive as the law says” (1 Cor 14:34). important role in discipleship.

It is fair to interpret it as a rule There is a wonderful moment in Matthew where Jesus stretches made with special reference to his hand towards his disciples and time and circumstances, and obvisays: “Here are my mother and ously admitting to exceptions to my brothers. For whoever does the rule.

Christianity emancipated the will of my Heavenly Father is my brother, and sister and women, but it did not place them on an equal footing with men; mother” (12:49-50). they continue to live with the Signs of contradiction punishment of having disobeyed We find the first contradiction God in the garden: “I will make in the writings of St Paul, in your pains in childbearing very which women are depicted as sub- severe; with painful labour you Subscriptions will be converted will give birth to children. Your servient and inferior to men. when we relaunch as a magazine!

A particularly jarring sentence desire will be for your husband, is this instruction to wives, which and he will rule over you” (Gen modern women find difficult to 3:16). reconcile: “Now as the Church But this was not the original

10

The Southern cross, August 5 to August 11, 2020

HOLY LAND

From left: Olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane, with the church of All Nations at the back • The facade of the church of All Nations, built from 1919-24 • The altar above the tomb of the Blessed Virgin, the site of the Assumption. (All photos: Günther Simmermacher)

Jesus’ agony and Mary’s Tomb In part 10 of our virtual pilgrimage to the Holy Land, we go with GüNTheR SimmeRmAcheR to the Garden of Gethsemane and the place of Mary’s Assumption.

A

T the foot of the Mount of Olives, which we explored in the last two issues, is the Garden of Gethsemane, which in Jesus’ time was an expansive olive grove.

The name Gethsemane derives from gat-smane, the Aramaic word for oil press.

The olive groves are long gone—as part of their destruction of Jerusalem, the Romans cut them down—but here, where Judas delivered his Lord to the High Priest, a few ancient olive trees stand outside the Church of All Nations.

Nobody knows how old they are, but, given that olive trees regenerate themselves when cut down, some of them are almost certainly descendants from those trees that stood here when Jesus was arrested. Scientists once determined that the roots of the trees are about 2 300 years old.

The adjacent church of All Nations—another of architect Antonio Barluzzi’s masterpieces, perhaps his greatest—bears its name in acknowledgment of the international funding that financed its construction from 1919-24.

The nations (or the Catholic Church in those countries) that funded the church are recorded in the twelve small domes on the ceiling and on the apse of the church.

It is the third church on the site to mark the place of Jesus’ anguish before the arrest (Mark 14:34-42), which is why it is also known as the church of the Agony.

Previously there was a 4th-century church, which was destroyed in an earthquake in 746 (mosaics from which can be seen inside the modern church), and then a small Crusader chapel.

While the Barluzzi church is Catholic, an open altar in its yard is being used by the faithful of all other denominations, as well as by

Catholics who have not booked a Mass inside the church.

Above the Corinthian columns on the church’s front portal, which faces the busy Jericho Road, is a large and magnificent triangular mosaic which depicts Christ mediating between God and humanity.

Designed by the Florentine artist Giulio Bargellini, it is instantly recognisable from vantage spots on Mount Zion and on Temple Mount. Below the mosaic are statues of the four evangelists.

Inside, the violet windows filter only a little light, so the church is dark, recalling the nocturnal character of our Lord’s agony.

The bright spot is the altar that presides over the Rock of the Agony on which Jesus is said to have prayed that dreadful night of his arrest.

The vulnerable Jesus Around the rock, a low metal crown of thorns serves as an altar rail. It is here that we encounter the Son of Man at his most vulnerable, at his most human.

Not too long ago we followed him performing supernatural acts in Galilee and in Bethany, preaching powerfully in synagogues, teaching timeless lessons in public places, healing the weak, challenging the authorities.

Here we find the powerful yet powerless Jesus in torment, asking God to let him evade, if at all possible, the ghastly fate which he knew was awaiting him.

It is here that we encounter his disciples at their most unimpressive, something which clearly disappointed Jesus—none more so, of course, than the one who arrived later, militia in tow.

Of course, we know how the story will unfold, culminating in triumph. But here, in Gethsemane, Jesus is terrified of what will come before that victory.

It is profoundly affecting to contemplate the white rock of Our Lord’s anguish and the sculpted crown of thorns, the anticipation of his looming torment.

At this place, more than any other in the Holy Land, pilgrims connect with their own torments and fears, especially those who are privileged to have Mass or Holy Hour here.

Bidding prayers at the Rock of the Agony tend to focus on di-

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Pilgrims pray at the Rock of the Agony in the church of All Nations in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jerusalem. This is believed to be the rock on which Jesus wept and prayed to be spared his bitter cup. verse sufferings, some of them intensely personal—often for loved ones suffering physical or mental illness, drug addiction, unemployment, marital strife, loss or bereavement... May their prayers be heard.

Gethsemane has been a place of Christian pilgrimage for at least 17 centuries, perhaps even since apostolic times. Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea wrote in his 4th-century Onomasticon: “The faithful at present still betake themselves there to pray.”

Matthew and Mark specifically named the location in their Gospels, within living memory of the events they described.

Living tradition would suggest that the location of the explicitly named place would have been retained in the collective memory, especially at an age when people had much better powers of recollection than we have now.

Mary’s Tomb Across the Jericho Road are the grotto of Gethsemane and Mary’s Tomb.

The grotto is believed to be the cave where the disciples were catching some sleep while Judas led the arresting party to Jesus.

It might have served as a regular meeting place and shelter for Jesus and the disciples. The chapel, which has been used since

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the 6th century, is still recognisably a cave.

Nearby are the remains of the 5th century church of the Assumption: the crypt of Mary’s tomb.

The crypt is owned by the Greek Orthodox Church, which shares it with the Armenian Apostolic Church, as well as with Syriacs, Copts and Abyssinians—but not with the Catholic Church.

Remarkably, Muslims are also represented. Muslims revere Mary, whom they call Maryam, and regard Jesus, or Isa, as a prophet. In fact, Mary is the only woman in the Qur’an to have a Sura, or chapter, dedicated to her.

The gloomy crypt’s ceilings are black from centuries of candle smoke and incense, and many icons are so covered by soot, it is difficult to make out what they represent.

To the Western mind, the place is at once somewhat eerie and garish. It is far removed in ambience from the usually light artistic depictions of the Assumption.

Mary’s tomb itself is housed in an edicule, or enclosed shrine. The pilgrim can touch the stone bench on which Mary’s body rested through holes in a wall.

Many churches stood above the crypt and were destroyed, but none of the various Muslim rulers destroyed the crypt because it is the tomb of Mary, mother of the prophet Isa. To reach the crypt now, one enters through a door in the façade and descends the 47 broad steps of the remains of a Crusader church.

Where did Mary live?

Scripture is silent on Mary’s Assumption into heaven, never mind when and where it took place.

The popular proposition that the course of Mary’s life ended in Ephesus in Turkey is fairly new. It is first mentioned in the 5th century by Nestorius (he of the Nestorian heresy), based on the

tradition that John the Apostle went to Ephesus, and the attendant presumption that he must have been accompanied by Mary, who at Calvary had been placed

by Jesus into John’s care.

But the Ephesus idea did not gain traction until the 19th century, through the visions of the German mystic Sr Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824).

Successive popes have visited Ephesus and the supposed place of Mary’s dormition (or “falling asleep”) and Assumption. The popes never approved the site as authentic—they couldn’t possibly do so—but the Ephesus narrative has taken hold.

On the other hand, ancient tradition places Mary’s dormition and subsequent Assumption in Jerusalem, where we last encounter her in Scripture.

The “Acts of St John by Prochurus”, written by one Lencius around 165, acknowledges St John’s presence in Ephesus, but also points out that he went there only after Mary’s death.

Paul, who in his epistles often mentioned people by name, makes no mention of John or of Jesus’ mother in his first letter to the Corinthians, which he wrote in Ephesus, nor does he refer to them in his missive addressed to the Ephesians, which he wrote from jail in Rome.

But by then Mary’s earthly life might already have ended.

In 451 St Juvenal, the bishop of Jerusalem, wrote that Mary’s tomb had been opened in the presence of all the apostles in Jerusalem.

The gathering presumably included James the Greater, the son of Zebedee and brother of John, who was the first of the apostles to be martyred, in 44.

If that tradition holds true, then Mary drew her final breath before then.

The Transitus Mariae, an apocryphal document which forms a basis for our belief in the Assumption, suggests that Mary was no older than 50 when she closed her eyes.

By that calculation, if one postulates that Mary was no younger than about 13 when she gave birth to Jesus, and that Jesus was born around 4 BC, then the Blessed Virgin was born around 17 BC, or earlier.

If she was indeed 50 years old when she passed on, then that would have been in the year 33, very soon after the crucifixion.

According to Bishop Juvenal, when the apostles opened Mary’s tomb, they found it was empty.

This is at the core of the belief in the Assumption.

There is nothing to suggest that the apostles congregated in Ephesus to open the tomb; indeed, the idea seems preposterous. So Mary most likely ended her earthly sojourn in Jerusalem, the city in which her life probably began. n This is an edited extract from Günther Simmermacher’s The Holy Land Trek. Next week: Jerusalem.

The Southern Cross, August 5 to August 11, 2020

Covid-19 prayer for schools God, our loving Father, We, at this school, are all your beloved sons and daughters.

We humbly come to you, our only hope.

We are nothing without you.

We thank you for the gift of life.

We acknowledge your mighty power.

We place all the people of the world under your mighty power during this time of pandemic.

Your beloved son Jesus said: Ask and you will receive, knock and the door will be opened to you, seek and you will find.

Therefore we humbly come to you with trust and hope.

We ask you to protect the whole world which is in trouble with Covid-19.

Your apostles were once in trouble during a storm at sea. Immediately they turned to you because they knew you would save them.

Be merciful to us by blessing us with your all-powerful hand.

Bless all our doctors, nurses and healthcare workers who risk their lives to save those infected with the coronavirus.

Help our scientists find a vaccine to bring the virus to a swift end.

Give healing and recovery to all who are suffering from the virus.

Bless all our teachers who are helping us to prepare for our end of the year exams. We thank them by cooperating with them in doing all our school work well.

Bless all our staff who clean our school and provide our meals.

Bless also our parents who worry about us when we are at school that they may trust in your care and protection for all of us.

Console the families who have lost their loved ones and give them hope of life.

Those who have passed away, please accept them in your heavenly place.

To those who have not yet been infected please

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PRAYERS

protect them with your powerful hand.

Mary, our Mother, please intercede for us with your son Jesus, as you did at Cana of Galilee so that joy and celebration may return after this moment of trial.

Finally, help us to be ever-mindful to love and care for one another.

May we protect not only ourselves from getting infected but also those we come into contact with by regularly washing our hands, the wearing of our facemasks. While doing social distancing, may we never distance ourselves from your love, for our hearts are restless, 0 Lord, until they rest in you.

Amen Catholic Board of Education

FROM OUR VAULTS 76 Years Ago: August 9, 1944

FATHER, you have given all peoples one common origin. It is your will that they be gathered together as one family in yourself.

Fill the hearts of mankind with the fire of your love and with the desire to ensure justice for all. By sharing the good things you

Nuns survive bomb The famous Tyburn convent in London has been hit by a flying bomb. There were no casualties, but three nuns were injured. A passing US soldier was first on the scene and carried the prioress over the debris to safety. Archbishop Bernard Griffin of Westminster later told the nuns that their survival was a miracle.

give us, may we secure an equality for all our brothers and sisters throughout the world. May there be an end to division, strife and war.

May there be a dawning of a truly human society built on love and peace. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

O HOLY VIRGIN, in the midst of your days of glory, do not forget the sorrows of this earth. Cast a merciful glance upon those who are suffering, struggling against difficulties, with their lips constant pressed against life’s bitter cup. Have pity on those who love each other and are separated.

Have pity on our rebellious hearts. Have pity on our weak faith. Have pity on those we love. Have pity on those who weep, on those who pray, on those who fear. Grant hope and peace to all. Amen.

O GLORIOUS St Clare!

God has given you the power of working miracles continually, and the favour of answering the prayers of

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 924. ACROSS: 1 Fume, 3 Probable, 7 Vandals, 8 Found, 10 Mockingbird, 11 Novice, 13 Shinto, 15 Psalm number, 17 Spurt, 18 Killing, 19 Distress, 20 Ages. DOWN: 11 Five minutes, 2 Manic, 4 Resign, 5 Bounden, 6 Latin chant, 8 Faithfully, 9 Discourages, 12 Vapours, 14 Smokes, 16 Bring.

those who invoke your assistance in misfortune, anxiety, and distress; we beseech you, obtain for us from Jesus, through Mary, His Blessed Mother, what we beg of you so fervently and hopefully, if it be for the greater honour and glory of God and for the good of our souls.

O LORD may everything we do begin with your inspiration, continue with your help, and reach perfection under your guidance. My past life, O God to your mercy, my present life to your love, my future life to your providence.

Connect with us on Facebook! facebook.com /thescross

Liturgical Calendar

Pope Pius XII speaks to South Africa Pope Pius XII has made his first radio broadcast to South Africa—the first to an Allied country since the liberation of Rome from Nazi occupation in June.

In his English address, which was followed by a short Italian one for Italian prisoners of war, the pope called on South Africa specifically to uphold the inalienable rights of the individual and to solve social and economic problems. Church and state must face these problems together.

The pope also said that he had seen several South African officers at his daily audiences, and was thanked for his efforts on behalf of South African prisoners of war in Italy.

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Year A – Weekdays Cycle Year 2 Sunday August 9, 19th Sunday 1 Kings 19:9, 11-13, Psalms 85:9-14, Romans 9:1-5, Matthew 14:22-33 Monday August 10, St Lawrence Second Corinthians 9:6-10, Psalms 112:1-2, 5-6, 7-8, 9, John 12:24-26 Tuesday August 11, St Clare of Assisi Ezekiel 2:8-3:4, Psalms 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131, Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 1214 Wednesday August 12, St Jane Frances de Chantal Ezekiel 9:1-7; 10:18-22, Psalms 113:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, Matthew 18:15-20 Thursday August 13, St Hippolytus Ezekiel 12:1-12, Psalms 78: 56-57, 58-

59, 61-62, Matthew 18: 21 - 19:1 Friday August 14, St Maximilian Kolbe Ezekiel 16:1-15, 60, 63, Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6, Matthew 19:3-12 Saturday August 15 Revelation 11:19; 12:1-6, 10, Psalms 45: 10, 11, 12, 16, 1 Corinthians 15:20-27, Luke 1:39-56 Sunday August 16, 20th Sunday, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Isaiah 56:1, 6-7, Psalms 67: 2-3, 5, 6, 8 (4), Romans 11:13-15, 29-32, Matthew 15:21-28

World war was not willed by God The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano has written in a front-page article that the present world war “was not willed by God (nor even with his permission) but by man, and [man] will have to answer for it…before history and before God”.

Although Christ came to bring light into the world, “humanity remained then and now in the dark”. For humanity to be able to see, it must turn to Christ, the article said.

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Assumption of Our Lady: August 16 Readings: Revelation 11:19,12:1-6,10; Psalm 45:10-12, 16; 1 Corinthians 15:2027; Luke 1:39-56

N

EXT Sunday, we are celebrating South Africa’s patronal feast, the Assumption of Our Lady (according to the ordo; your bishop might decide not to transfer the feast).

And what are we to say about these muchloved and familiar readings? One thing that we must always say is this: anything we say about the Mother of God is not really about her but about her Son. That is what is going on in the first reading, where the Book of Revelation gives us a glimpse of what is going on in heaven: “God’s Temple was opened, and the Ark of the Covenant was seen in God’s Temple.”

In Christian terminology, this “Ark of the Covenant” is often used as a symbol of Mary, and that is the case here: “A woman clothed in the sun, and the moon beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head.” Not only that, but she is “pregnant, and crying out in the agony and pain of giving birth”.

Then comes the menace, a kind of grotesque parody of God’s project: “A great fiery dragon…and its tail swept a third of the stars of heaven and flung them into the sea.”

Then it settles down to “gobble up her child when she should give birth”.

We watch, nervously, but this is God’s project, and the dragon cannot win: “The child was snatched up to God and to God’s

Throne.” And the woman is also protected: “She fled into the desert, where she has a place prepared for her from God.” Then we are given another glimpse of what is going on: “A great voice in heaven, ‘Now has come the salvation and power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah.’”

Look at the plight of Christianity in our world (indeed in this country) today, and recognise that however difficult things may appear to be, God’s project is safe.

The psalm for next Sunday is the second half of a coronation-song, where the king’s new wife (who is a foreigner, by the way) is being encouraged; she is extravagantly clothed “in gold of Ophir”, and carefully warned to “forget your people, and your father’s house, and the king shall desire your beauty; for he is your Lord, and you are to honour him”, and we watch as her companions “enter the palace of the king”.

You see how this paints a picture of the lady who gazes in awe upon the Son of God. Does this fit Our Lady on this feast of the Assumption?

The second reading makes it quite clear that the feast has to do with the victory of her Son over death.

It is Paul, talking to his quarrelsome Corinthians about the Resurrection, which

some of them have been questioning.

The beginning and end of the argument is that “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep”. Then he links what Christ has done (“they shall be made alive”) to what Adam did (“they all die”); so it is not just Christ but also “those who belong to Christ in his coming”.

It is Christ who dominates the story: “He will hand over the Kingdom to his God and Father…he must reign until he places all the enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be conquered is Death.”

And that is where next Sunday’s great feast comes in: Mary’s death is conquered entirely because of what her Son has achieved, and that is where our focus must be.

Likewise the Gospel for next Sunday; it is all about the son whom Mary is carrying as she makes her hazardous journey to the hillcountry of Judah. We have just been witnesses to her encounter with the Angel Gabriel, and that “annunciation” is what gives us the clue: it is by God’s will that she is carrying the “Son of the Most High”.

What happens next is very interesting indeed; we watch Mary as she enters “Zechariah’s house”, and then discover that the focus of the story is on the two mothers; Elisabeth hears her salutation, and her infant

Don’t fear God, don’t be afraid R

wondering where souls went after they died, sometimes looking at a dark horizon after the sun had set and wondering whether people who had died were out there somewhere, haunted in that endless darkness, still suffering for what they’d had not got right in life.

I knew that God was love, but that love also held a fierce, frightening, exacting justice.

Those fears went partially underground during my teenage years. I made my decision to enter religious life at the age of 17 and have sometimes wondered whether that decision was made freely and not out of false fear.

Looking back on it now, however, with 50 years of hindsight, I know that it wasn’t fear that compelled me, but a genuine sense of being called, of knowing from the influence of my parents and the Ursuline nuns who catechised me, that one’s life is not one’s own, that one is called to serve.

But religious fear remained unhealthily strong within me.

S

o, what helped me let go of that? This doesn’t happen in a day or year; it is the cumulative effect of 50 years of bits and pieces conspiring together.

It started with my parents’ deaths when I was 22. After watching both my mother and father die, I was no longer afraid of death. It was the first time I wasn’t afraid of a dead body since these bodies were my mother and father of whom I was not afraid.

My fears of God eased gradually every time I tried to meet God, with my soul

Conrad

ECENTLY in a radio interview, I was asked this question: “If you were on your deathbed, what would you want to leave behind as your parting words?”

The question momentarily took me aback. What would I want to leave behind as my last words?

Not having time for much reflection, I settled on this. I would want to say: “Don’t be afraid. Live without fear. Don’t be afraid of death. Most of all, don’t be afraid of God!” I’m a cradle Catholic, born to wonderful parents, catechised by some very dedicated teachers, and I’ve had the privilege of studying theology in some of the best classrooms in the world.

Still it took me 50 years to rid myself of a number of crippling religious fears and to realise that God is the one person of whom you need not be afraid.

It has taken me most of my life to believe the words that come from God’s mouth over 300 times in scripture, and are the initial words out of the mouth of Jesus whenever he meets someone for the first time after his Resurrection: “Do not be afraid!”

It has been a 50-year journey for me to believe that, to trust it. For most of my life I’ve lived with a false fear of God, and of many other things.

As a young boy, I had a particular fear of lightning storms, which in my young mind demonstrated how fierce and threatening God could be. Thunder and lightning were portents which warned us, religiously, to be fearful.

I nursed the same fears about death,

Nicholas King SJ

SA’s national feast

‘I’m just afraid the dog might catch it...’

The

Sunday Reflections

in the womb reveals to her that Mary is “Mother of my Lord”, and she is “filled with the Holy Spirit”. So Elisabeth has affirmed the divinity of Christ, and is not at all focusing on her newly-arrived kinswoman, except insofar as she is the “Mother of God”.

Then Mary confirms this extraordinary picture by singing the thoroughly subversive hymn that we call the Magnificat; and once again we see how the focus is on God, not on the lady whose feast we shall celebrate next Sunday: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.”

Mary regards herself as utterly insignificant, speaking of “the low status of [God’s] slave-girl”. And if future generations “shall call me blessed” it is because “the Powerful One has done great things for me”. The story then ends with what seems to be a focus on Mary: “She remained three months with [Elisabeth], and went home.” So she was present for the birth of John the Baptist, and now must face the embarrassment of her own pregnancy.

But we, the privileged reader, know that it is all about her Son, not her, and about what God is up to. That is what we are invited to pray over in the next few days.

Southern Crossword #923

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

naked in prayer, and came to realise that your hair doesn’t turn white when you are completely exposed before God; instead you become unafraid.

My fears lessened too as I ministered to others and learned what divine compassion should be, as I studied and taught theology, as two cancer diagnoses forced me to contemplate for real my own mortality, and as a number of colleagues, family, and friends modelled how one can live more freely.

Intellectually, a number of persons particularly helped me. The theologian and poet Fr John Shea helped me realise that God is not a law to be obeyed but an infinitely empathic energy that wants us to be happy.

Psychologist Robert Moore helped me to believe that God is still looking on us with delight. The Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor helped me to understand that God wants us to flourish.

The bitter anti-religious criticism of atheists like Frederick Nietzsche helped me see where my own concept of God and religion needed a massive purification.

And an older brother, a missionary priest, kept unsettling my theology with irreverent questions like, “What kind of God would want us to be frightened of him?”

A lot of bits and pieces conspired together.

What’s the importance of last words?

They can mean a lot or a little. My dad’s last words to us were, “Be careful”, but he was referring to our drive home from the hospital in snow and ice.

Last words aren’t always intended to leave a message; they can be focused on saying goodbye or simply be inaudible sighs of pain and exhaustion; but sometimes they can be your legacy.

Given the opportunity to leave family and friends a few last words, I think that after I first tried to say a proper goodbye, I’d say this: “Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid of living or of dying. Especially don’t be afraid of God.”

ACROSS

1. It could be sharp or flat (4) 3. Confuse (8) 9. Not indoors and lacking something (7) 10. City of St Ambrose (5) 11. From ill mate I find I’m everlastingly with God (8,4) 13. Gadget used in heraldic design (6) 15. Sad Don amalgamates (4,2) 17. They won’t brighten the altar (5,7) 20. Glamorgan’s the place for church instrument (5) 21. Compassionate pope?

(7) 22. Took a leisurely walk (8) 23. It is legally concealing water around it (4) Solutions on page 11

DOWN

1. Archaeological fresh discoveries (3,5) 2. Pole confused by motet (5) 4. Cricketer who’s bowled (3,3) 5. Meal for parents and children (6,6) 6. Raises heart and mind (7) 7. Perfectly cooked (4) 8. Kind of service for the prisoners (12) 12. Liqueur from St Aniete (8) 14. Drink for crucified Jesus (Mt 28) (7) 16. It may hang around in winter (6) 18. Vegetables sounding like dripping (5) 19. Theatre gallery for divine ones (4)

CHURCH CHUCKLE

A

nd the Lord said unto Moses: “Thou shalt bring my people out of Egypt. Into which land do you want to bring them?”

Moses, who we know had something of a stutter, replied: “I-I wa-want to go to Ca- Ca- Ca-…”

“Well, fine, this land is hot and dry and surrounded by enemies, but if you want to go to Canaan, I want to lead you there too,” said the Lord.

“Oh, this blasted stuttering,” Moses thought in silence, “I actually wanted to go to Cape Town!”

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