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TWO EASTER RECIPES: Eat like a saint at Easter

OUR HOLIEST SITE: Place of Cross and Tomb

WHAT DO YOU KNOW? Two pages of puzzles & quizzes

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April 2021

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SA’s newest bishop:

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Welcome

Easter, education and a new bishop Dear Reader,

E

VEN SOME CATHOLICS NEED REMINDING from time to time that Easter is not just the day that signals liberation from our Lenten sacrifices but also the beginning of a new, holy season. Easter does not stop once all the chocolates have been eaten; it goes on for 50 days, until the feast of Pentecost (this year on May 23).

To mark the Easter season in this issue, we go to the very location of the Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection: the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. It never ceases to puzzle me why not every Catholic has a burning desire to go on pilgrimage to this ancient church.

What experience could be holier than to touch the actual rock on which the cross stood, and pray at the very place where the Lord rose from the dead? There is abundant evidence to support the authenticity of the site of these two events without which, as St Paul taught, our faith is useless (1 Corinthians 15:14).

Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection is our ticket for salvation, but we always depend on God’s grace and mercy. This month, Fr Ralph de Hahn unpacks these two complex concepts — divine mercy and grace — with admirable clarity. It is the sort of article one may do well to revisit from time to time, one that provides a good reason for collecting the monthly issues of The Southern Cross magazine.

I do hope that every edition has valuable content which merits repeated reading. So even past issues of the magazine have a long shelf-life, because much of our content is timeless. That is also a good reason why parishes may see benefit in making unsold issues available for sale (of course, past issues can be ordered directly from The Southern Cross. Please contact Pamela Davids at admin@scross.co.za).

accomplishments of our Catholic schools — independent, such as those displayed in these pages, as well as state-funded, especially in townships and rural areas — merit our admiration every year, because they consistently outperform their counterparts, besides imparting to their students the values of the Gospel. But the matric Class of 2020, and their teachers, deserve special applause for the difficult circumstances under which they attained their achievements.

The state of education is the business of us all, and Anne Baker of the Catholic Institute of Education this month reviews how our schools have faced the pandemic. The crisis has emphasised the stark inequalities in South Africa’s education system. After more than a quarter of a century since democracy, successive governments have failed to correct the apartheid-decreed distortions.

O

n April 25 the Church observes the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. We will take a look at vocations, specifically to the priesthood, next month. But this month, we are looking at one sacerdotal vocation in particular: that of Bishop Robert Mphiwe. Our interview with the new bishop of Rustenburg reveals a thoughtful, faith-filled leader whom the people of his diocese will doubtless take to their hearts. He succeeds a giant of our local Church, Bishop Kevin Dowling CSsR. Let us pray for Bishop Mphiwe on his new journey in Rustenburg, for Bishop Dowling in his retirement, and for all our bishops, especially in these trying times.

Thank you for reading The Southern Cross! And Happy Easter!

R

eaders will notice that this month’s issue carries several advertisements (one on the facing page) in which Catholic schools celebrate their achievements in the matric exams of the very difficult year 2020. The

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Contents APRIL 2021

10

Ireland’s shameful chapter Sydney Duval discusses how the collusion of state, Church and society caused great pain

16

A visit to our faith’s holiest site What is Jerusalem’s church of the Holy Sepulchre, and why no is site holier

23

Mercy and Grace Fr Ralph de Hahn reflects on the difference between divine mercy, compassion and grace

24

Why homilies are no joke Fr Chris Chatteris SJ gives tips on better preaching — and public speaking

28

12 Interview with Bishop Mphiwe

New book on prayer reviewed Is Fr James Martin’s new book worth reading?

T he

34

EVERY MONTH 5 FROM OUR VAULTS We review a Southern Cross from 51 years ago

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED You ask, and our team of experts replies

26

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Have your say: Two pages of letters!

29

THE MILLENNIAL CATHOLIC Nthabiseng Maphisa on Star Wars and mission

30

RAYMOND PERRIER This was Jesus’ great wish

31

18 Nisan 3793

Church and Covid vaccines A Vatican official explains why the Church supports Covid vaccinations

6

Cross a ale alem al eru erus e J er Past the Passover: Now clean-up begins

1 Quadran (incl .VAT)

Go West: Where to eat in Emmaus

The Pontius Pilate Column: What is truth?

Claims: Executed man has come alive again Page 3

POLITICAL REPORTER in reigned ONFUSION Jerusalem this week after supporters of a political agitator who was executed on Friday claimed yesterday that their leader had “risen from the dead”.

Jesus of Nazareth, who is reported to have been in his 30s, was the head of a group of itinerant Galileans who conducted preaching and healing events in Galilee and Judea. He was condemned to death last week in Jerusalem by Pontius Pilate, Roman governor of Judea, for attempted sedition, and executed by crucifixion on Friday at Golgotha, alongside two other convicts.

By permission from Pilatus, Jesus was interred in a cut-stone tomb owned by Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin. According to sources, the tomb was sealed with a rolling stone. In light of Jesus’ celebrity, a guard was positioned outside the tomb.

On Sunday morning women who came to the tomb to complete the body’s anointing reported the tomb to be empty, and the guard unconscious. They alerted the leaders of the Jesus Group who then rushed to the scene to ascertain these reports.

“My colleague John ben Zebedee and I arrived to find an empty tomb. The stone had been rolled away and no guard was in sight,” Simon the Rock, known as Petrus, told The Jerusalem Cross.

Widely regarded as the group’s deputy leader, Peter noted that the burial garments had been carefully folded inside the tomb. “If our master’s body had been stolen by grave robbers, they wouldn’t have taken the time to fold these cloths,” he suggested.

Another member of the group, Mary of Magdala, Galilee, claimed to have seen the allegedly resurrected Jesus. “At first I thought he was the gardener,” the woman

Caiaphas said he had been concerned by the public adulation Jesus had received upon entering Jerusalem on donkey-back from the Mount of Olives. “I don’t know if the people thought he was a socalled ‘freedom fighter’ or some kind of ‘messiah’, of whom we see far too many these days, but I note that none of them were there to protest against the Nazarene’s execution,” Caiaphas said.

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ources close to Caiaphas told The Jerusalem Cross that he had been fuming over an incident in which Jesus had vandalised the moneychangers’ department in the Temple. The high priest was “raging with anger” at suggestions of corruption against him and the temple authorities.

Caiaphas rejected reports that Jesus had risen from the dead.

“This kind of talk just causes more trouble. I think this Jesus fellow has caused us enough trouble already. His followers stole his body, simple as that.”

But not all members of the Sanhedrin shared Caiaphas’ conclusion. Arimathea, a wealthy Jerusalem businessman and member of the Pharisee party, said he had made his private tomb available for Jesus’ burial because he thought the Nazarene’s messianic claims might have merit.

“Our party has been divided about Jesus’ claims and conduct,” Arimathea said. “I am myself looking for the kingdom of God, and found Jesus to be a just man. So I couldn’t consent to the decision and actions of my colleagues in the Sanhedrin” which led to Jesus’ execution.

“But I will say this,” he added in reference to the reports of Jesus having risen from the dead, “if there are witnesses to Jesus having come back to life, by whatever circumstance, then that is all the proof we need that this man was indeed the Messiah.”

S The empty tomb after the mysterious disappearance of the body of excecuted Jesus of Nazareth (inset), who his followers claim has risen from the dead.

said, “but when he spoke my name, I knew it was him.” hile our society places no value to the testimony of women, Jerusalem is abuzz with confusion by reports that Jesus of Nazareth was seen by several men following his execution on Friday, even though Jesus had been confirmed to be dead by the “lancetest”, which involves the victim being pierced in the side with a spear.

“There is no way Jesus was alive when I performed the lance-test,” said Longinus, the soldier who conducted the examination. “We didn’t even have to break his legs, that’s how dead he was.”

However, Petrus confirmed that he and his associates had met Jesus on Sunday night at the Upper Room, a Mount Zion estab“He was physically lishment. there — not a ghost or anything like that — and even had a bite to eat with us,” he said.

Petrus added that two followers, not part of his Galilean group, had reported having met Jesus on Jaffa

W

Road as they were heading home to Emmaus after the Passover.

According to Petrus, Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah — or Christ in Greek — and “the son of the living God”.

The authorities are tight-lipped about the reported resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. A spokesman for Pilatus referred all questions to High Priest Caiaphas.

Contacted for comment, Caiaphas denied that Jesus had risen from the dead or that the executed man was the Messiah.

“Jesus of Nazareth was a blasphemer and political agitator who is now dead,” said Caiaphas, leader of the Sadducee party.

The high priest confirmed that he had pushed for Jesus’ execution. “Our task, as the Sanhedrin, is to make sure the laws of our religion are obeyed, and to ensure public safety, especially during the busy time of the Passover. This man from Nazareth posed a threat to both, and it was better that one man should die for the people than that the whole nation might perish.”

The news in April 33 AD

18 The Southern Cross

FR RON ROLHEISER OMI The meaning of Jesus’ death

32

PRAY WITH THE POPE Fr Chris Chatteris SJ reflects on the pope’s universal prayer intention for April

33

PRAYER CORNER Prayers to cut out and keep

35

COOKING WITH SAINTS Grazia Barletta offers TWO Easter recipes

36

TWO PAGES OF PUZZLES Two Crosswords, Wordsearch, Catholic Trivia Quiz, and Anagram Challenge

40

...AND FINALLY History in Colour, Inspiring Quotes and a Last Laugh

With t u pull-o ! poster

8

Catholic schools in a time of plague

19

The story of St George

51 Years Ago: April 29, 1970

FROM OUR VAULTS Communion may be in hand

The Vatican has approved a request from the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference to permit reception of Holy Communion in the hand. The practice will be permitted only with the permission of the local bishop. The archdiocese of Pretoria will allow Communion in the hand as of Sunday, May 10, according to a statement by Archbishop James Garner. Communion in the hand was the common form of reception until the 9th century, when Communion on the tongue was first introduced in France, from where it spread to other regions.

Ex-Singing Nun sings again

Seven years after having a global hit with “Dominique”, Jeanine Decker — widely known in 1963 as Soeur Sourire (Sister Smile) or the Singing Nun — has made a new record. The 35-year-old former nun intends to supplement a catechetical programme aimed at primary-school children.

The hippies are coming

In his editorial, Fr Louis Stubbs says that, despite the public contempt for “drop-outs”, they recall the rejection of St Benedict of his society in the 5th century. Unlike the saint, they are not motivated by adoring God, but “hippies could have some important part to play in jigging Christians back to reality in their protest against inconsistency” between what Christians do and what their faith teaches.

What else made news in April 1970:

• In the whites-only South African elections on April 22, the ruling National Party wins 54,9% of the vote, and the opposition United Party 36,9%. Helen Suzman retains her seat as the sole representative of the liberal Progressive Party, which gains 3,4% of the total vote.

• Spacecraft Apollo 13 lands safely in the Pacific after travelling through space for 90 hours following the explosion of its oxygen tank.

• 46 schoolchildren in Egypt are killed and more than 50 wounded when their elementary school is struck by air-to-ground missiles and bombs dropped by fighter jets flown by the Israeli Air Force.

• US President Richard Nixon launches an attack on North Vietnamese bases in Cambodia.

• After just over seven years since their first hit, Paul McCartney announces the split of The Beatles.

The choir and soloists who took part in an interdenominational Easter recital at St Patrick’s parish in Empangeni, Eshowe diocese. A collection of R45 was given to the Zululand Homes for the Aged.

An advert for the Society for the Propagation of the Faith (now known as the Pontifical Mission Society), with a message from director Mgr Desmond Hatton of Cape Town.

The Southern Cross

5

Did the Church ‘steal’ Easter from pagans?

Q. Every year I am confronted by claims from non-believers that our celebration of Easter is actually based on a pagan celebration. Is there truth to that?

E

ASTER AS THE CELEBRATION OF Christ’s resurrection is entirely Christian. But it is true that in our celebration, we also draw from Hebrew and, much less so, pagan traditions.

The timing of Easter has historical roots. Jesus was crucified at the time of the Jewish Passover, which is celebrated during Nisan, the first month of the Hebrew lunar year, in March/April.

So the early Christians, many of whom were Jews, added the memorial of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection to their observance of the Pascha (Passover), the word from which we derive the term “paschal” to describe the feast of Easter.

The month of Nisan coincided with the first weeks of spring in the northern hemisphere, so unsurprisingly pagans had many rites to welcome the change of seasons. One of such rites was celebrated, like the Passover, after the vernal (or spring) equinox. Germanic pagans might have dedicated their festival to Auströ, or the red dawn. This may be the etymology of Eostre, the pagan spring goddess whom the English historian Bede mentioned in his history of 788 AD. To complicate things, most scholars think Bede

made the goddess up, so as to give meaning to the name for the AngloSaxon celebrations he knew about.

That’s bad news for those who trade in the myth that the Christian celebration of the resurrection actually honours a pagan goddess named Eostre.

But the English name Easter, as the German Ostern, might have been adapted from the pagans by missionaries, as a way of tempting non-believers to become Christians, and linking the festival of the seasonal dawn with the new dawn of Christ’s resurrection. But this applies only to some language groups. In other Germanic regions, such as those around Cologne, the word for the celebration of Christ’s resurrection was Päscha, associating it

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firmly with the Hebrew tradition.

In most languages of the world, the Hebrew/Christian tradition is evident in their names for Easter: Afrikaans (Paasfees), Zulu and Xhosa (iPhasika), Sotho (Paseka), Swahili (Pasaka), Italian (Pasqua), Portuguese (Páscoa), Spanish (Pascua de Resurrección), French (Pâques), Dutch (Pasen), Swedish (Påsk), Russian (Pashka) and so on. There is no trace of pagan goddesses, real or invented, in any of those languages.

Even Easter traditions such as the Easter Bunny or Easter eggs may have Christian rather than pagan origins (in the case of the bunny, possibly due to a mistranslation by St Jerome of Psalm 104:18). In any case, none of these extramural wildlife and groceries are at the core of what we celebrate at Easter: the resurrection of the Lord, which is entirely unrelated to pagans.

So, in short, our secular friends who claim that the Christian feast of the resurrection is based on pagan festivals are mistaken, though in some regions we may give them half a point for a little etymological knowledge.

Did the Risen Christ have a real body?

Q. Was the Risen Christ in a physical body or in a spiritual form?

I

T IS A FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH OF Christianity that Jesus rose from the dead in his physical body. Christians believe that the Jesus who appeared to more than 500 witnesses after Easter (1 Corinthians 15:6) was not a ghost but was actually there — walking, talking, even eating.

When Jesus showed himself to the disciples in the Upper Room on Easter Sunday night, they were at first terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. But he said to them: “Why are you troubled? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones

6

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as you can see I have.” He then ate in front of them (Luke 24:38-42). A week later, still bearing the wounds of the crucifixion, Jesus told Thomas to touch his wounds (John 20:27).

At the same time, though, it needs to be said that Christ’s postresurrection body was somewhat different from his physical body on earth, since it was now glorified — incorruptible and free of suffering, a promise of what our own bodies will be like in heaven.

He could enter closed rooms, for example, even though the door was locked (John 20:19), and he was able to disappear, as he did when he vanished from the sight of the disciples

Close-up of a mosaic of Thomas touching one of Jesus’ wounds, in the church of Nativity, Palestine

on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:31); and, of course, he was able to ascend into heaven (Acts 1:9).

(Fr Kenneth Doyle)

Where should the tabernacle be kept?

Q. In older churches, the tabernacle used to be in the sanctuary, but the modern trend has been to move it away from the sanctuary. Where should the tabernacle be?

A

FELLOW PRIEST ONCE TOLD ME that the pope receives dozens of letters every year from pious Americans, begging him to place a tabernacle on the papal altar at St Peter’s basilica. The fact that their request is not granted — and that the tabernacle remains in a special chapel devoted to private prayer — tells us much about Catholic liturgy and ecclesiology.

Unlike the ancient pagan cults and some modern non-Christian religions, Christians do not claim to house God in a temple or shrine. Even though Jesus Christ is mysteriously present in the consecrated bread and wine, he is not restricted to the tabernacle. He is present everywhere, especially in us who are the Body of Christ in the world. We build churches pri-

marily as gathering places in which we can offer liturgical worship, not as temples to the Blessed Sacrament.

It is the altar that is the central focus, not the tabernacle.

In the early Church there were no tabernacles. When the Christian community was still very small, and there was greater trust among its members, people took the consecrated bread home with them after the celebration of the Eucharist so that the sick could receive Holy Communion. Later, tabernacles began to appear in the worship space, in a wall niche or on a free-standing tower, or even suspended from the roof. Its purpose was firstly to reserve Holy Communion for the sick, and secondly as a focus for devotional prayer outside of the time given to liturgical prayer.

Later still, in the Baroque period (around 1600 to 1750), tabernacles became more ornate and more central, and yet people of that time received Holy Communion very infrequently.

They became passive observers gathering in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, rather than active members of “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people set apart”.

Since Vatican II we have seen a conscious rediscovering of our most ancient traditions. In many ways, our liturgy now is closer to that of 450 AD than that of 1950. In reclaiming Patristic practices, not only will we will find common ground with the Eastern Catholics and Orthodox, but we should rediscover how Christ makes us a holy people “worthy to stand in his presence and serve him”.

(Fr Thomas Plastow SJ)

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School in a time of

PLAGUE The coronavirus pandemic has imposed challenges on schools which call us to faith, as ANNE BAKER explains.

T

O SAY THAT THE CHILDREN AND THE STAFF OF schools have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic is an understatement. Who could have predicted in January 2020 that the entire country would shut down and that, virtually overnight, schools would be required to shift their entire teaching structure to online lessons?

Teachers scrambled to change their mode of teaching, parents struggled to cope with supervising their children’s learning.

And teachers with children of their own faced the double burden of having to teach their classes while simultaneously trying to keep their own children focused.

Of course, not all schools were able to make this transition.

Online learning continues in some schools, but for the vast majority of children in South Africa, there has been little to no schooling. Even with the best efforts, those without access to technology and data could at best get a printed worksheet from the school — effectively an education without context.

One year ago all schools closed, at only four days’ notice.

It is here where the inequality in South Africa became even more apparent. In spite of much effort, our school system continues the entrenched divide that is our legacy from apartheid.

As the pandemic progressed and we became aware that it was not going to be a five-week but an indefinite process which would span 300 days of solid restrictions, schools were opened and closed based on the assessment of health advisors. Due to extensive lobbying, independent schools bestplaced for online learning were allowed to reopen at times when public schools were restricted, making the inequality in influence and access even starker and more devastating.

For some learners across the country, the closure of schools also represented a hunger sentence — an issue that affected

8

Covid-safety posters issued by the Catholic Institute of Education

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The new normal: Learners at St Teresa’s School in Johannesburg masked up for Valentine’s Day this year.

even developed countries such as Britain.

Access to the Internet and digital platforms is largely available only in independent and some public schools in well-resourced areas. Most schools have no access to these basic tools for teaching and online learning. Independent schools and well-resourced public schools were able to move to online learning fairly rapidly. Other schools had to experiment and discover which methods of communication were the most effective. Preparing packs for learners and keeping parents and learners informed through WhatsApp was a common approach. But high data costs meant that communication had to be limited. Some free-access platforms were developed by means of TV and radio programmes.

Comfort from Pope Francis

Last Easter, the stark effects of Covid-19 could be clearly seen as Pope Francis spoke to a desolate St Peter’s Square in his Urbi et Orbi address. The impact of the pandemic was also echoed in his words as he told the story from Mark’s Gospel of the disciples in the boat in the storm — afraid and alone. The pope likened us to these disciples: “We were caught off-guard by an unexpected, turbulent storm. We have realised that we are in the same boat, all of us fragile and disoriented.” He used the refrain: “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” And this continues to be a challenge to us today. While vaccines are now becoming available, we can still ask: Why are we afraid? Because a microscopic pathogen has invaded our lives? Because it has crippled our livelihoods; separated us from our friends and families; caused so many people to suffer and die? Because for so many people life will never be the same again? Or is it perhaps above all because there is still so much that is unknown, with no way for us to predict or plan for the future.

Pope Francis’ concluding words may help us: “You ask us not to be afraid. Yet our faith is weak and we are fearful. But you, Lord, will not leave us at the mercy of the storm. Tell us again: ‘Do not be afraid’ (Matthew 28:5). And we, together with Peter, ‘cast all our anxieties onto you, for you care about us’ (cf. 1 Peter 5:7).”

However, writing last April in the Wall Street Journal, columnist Peggy Noonan challenged whether we are indeed in the same boat: “We are not all in the same boat. We are in the same storm... Some are in yachts…and some have just one oar…some will sail through, health and profession intact, some will lose one or both.” This is the reality of the Catholic schools’ network in South Africa — some are in yachts, and some are in boats without even one oar and perhaps even a hole in the bottom of the boat. For others, the boat might have sunk a long time ago, leaving the occupants struggling to swim in deep waters and across turbulent currents — an analogy

many in education would sadly recognise.

The truth is that many of these small boats were already sinking, buffeted as they were by poverty, government neglect and corruption. Covid-19 made this even more apparent.

The Catholic response

So how did the Catholic education network respond? The Catholic Institute of Education and local Catholic School Offices value their relationship with schools and school leaders. Of equal importance is the quality of the relationship among those who serve our Catholic schools. This began an adventure into Zoom meetings, which have proved an effective way of sharing issues and of leading formation events for staff. Early on in these online meetings we focused on how to support schools, and it was decided that it was vitally important to keep contact and offer support and encouragement throughout lockdown by means of digital tools. While data costs are high, WhatsApp is inexpensive and widely accessed, which meant some communication could happen on this platform. The response of mobile operators to provide free data services and cheap WhatsApp became a lifesaver for many schools and management staff.

What quickly became evident was the fear and anxiety that this disease engendered, especially among teachers and parents. To help schools deal with that, the CIE partnered with Dr Gloria Marsay, an educational psychologist and researcher into emotional and social learning. Dr Marsay’s research has led her into examining how we do hope rather than just have hope. She ran online seminars with CIE staff and local Schools Office staff, as well as with school leaders and teachers, offering tools for “doing hope” and adding a personal spiritual aspect, which proved very helpful for participants.

Preparing for the reopening of schools added to the strain felt by school leaders and teachers. After in-depth consultation with stakeholders, the Department of Basic Education issued excellent Standard Operating Procedures. These spelt out numerous safety aspects that needed to be implemented and which continue in our schools, with the aim of trying to keep staff and learners free from the virus. Public schools received Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) from provincial departments but independent schools needed to buy their own. The CIE sourced these necessities for independent Catholic schools as well as funding to cover the costs for low-fee independent schools. Posters to encourage handwashing and mask-wearing were also developed.

One cannot underestimate the strain that Covid-19 compliance places on schools. One only has to stand outside a school during learner arrival to see the responsibility carried by teachers — keeping children socially distant is very difficult, especially for the young. Human beings need physical contact with others and this pandemic has stopped this normal human action. The long-term effects of this time will be studied for years to come. However, children are adaptable, so masks have become a way of life and hand-sanitising is now almost second-nature for children.

The major challenge, of course, continues to be ways to assist teachers and learners who test positive for the virus.

With concern for the wellbeing of the entire community at heart, contact tracing is an added stress for school management. Some schools have created bubbles by limiting mixing of grades. With schools having to stagger attendance to keep numbers within safe limits, there’s extra work and planning.

The most important aspect of being a Catholic school is gathering for communal prayer at assemblies and Mass, and schools with a good digital platform have found ways to overcome the limitations on gatherings, even having all learners online at the same time and offering streamed Masses.

One Catholic school principal reflected on this time as follows: “We need to trust in God at all times. We need to be together and supportive of each other in times of difficulties and forget differences and stop blaming each other. We need to be open-minded and understanding and not become rigid in our own thoughts and ideas especially in difficult times.

Be patient, open to advice, accept criticism, and avoid naivety and rigidness.

“As a leader, no matter how difficult and challenging the situation and circumstances are, remain strong, focused, open and accept blame, insults and whatever is thrown at you. Try not to be emotional — though at times, this is very difficult or seems impossible. Pray often, do some meditation, go for debriefing and read the word of God. Your courage and strength which at times we think is not visible because of our weaknesses, might look very small and minute, yet we know that it can make a huge difference and impact in other people’s lives.”

The teachers in our Catholic schools have been witnesses in care, compassion and the extra efforts they have offered.

We honour those teachers, learners and family members who have sadly died from the plague of our time. May their souls rest in peace. n Anne Baker is the deputy-director of the Johannesburg-based Catholic Institute of Education.

Teachers in Catholic schools have given care, compassion and effort

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A shameful chapter for a Church and a state The complicity of Ireland’s society, state and Catholic Church in the shameful treatment of young unmarried mothers over decades has been revealed in a recent report by a commission of inquiry.

SYDNEY DUVAL sums up what happened and how Church leaders responded.

E

VEN WEEKS AFTER THEY WERE internationally televised, the revelations of what Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin described as “a dark, difficult and shameful chapter of Irish history” of the treatment young mothers received in homes run by Catholic nuns and the Irish State, remain a haunting.

The judicial inquiry into motherand-baby homes, headed by Judge Yvonne Murphy, was set up in 2015 following extensive worldwide media coverage of an article by a local amateur historian. Catherine Corless had documented the deaths of 796 babies and toddlers at the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, County Galway, during its decades of operation.

Investigations have supported Corless’ findings, except her highly-publicised contention that babies had been disposed of in septic tanks.

The commission was tasked to investigate the records and practices from 1922-98 at 18 homes — some of them government institutions and a few run by Protestant organisations — where unwed women, including teenagers, were sent to deliver their babies in often harsh and traumatic circumstances. What we learnt was heartbreaking — and the Church has acknowledged that.

This was a time when parents told daughters not to come home unless they wore a wedding ring, and when some priests doubled as enforcers to ensure that no parish community would suffer “the shame” of an unmarried mother and illegitimate child in their midst.

The commission found that “Ireland was a cold, harsh environment for

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many, probably the majority, of its residents during the earlier half of the period under remit” — and “especially cold and harsh for women” in what it called a “stifling, oppressive and brutally misogynistic culture”.

Lack of compassion

It noted that the responsibility for the “harsh treatment” of unmarried mothers “rests mainly with the fathers of their children and their own immediate families”. But that, it added, “was supported by, contributed to, and condoned by, the institutions of the State and the churches”. At least the Catholic Church offered a refuge “when the families provided no refuge at all”, yet too often it was a harsh refuge. The Church evidently was not a beacon of compassion.

Established in the 19th and 20th centuries, the institutions housed women and girls who became pregnant outside marriage. Some 56 000 unmar-

This was a time when parents told daughters not to come home without a wedding ring ried mothers and 57 000 children were in the 18 homes investigated by the commission. Some were the victims of rape and incestuous abuse.

It got worse. The homes — whether run by the State or Church — had an “appalling level of infant mortality”. It detailed that some 9 000 children — one in seven of those born in the institutions under investigation — had died in the homes between 1922 and 1998.

That’s double the infant mortality rate in the general population! During the 1930s and ‘40s, over 40% of “illegitimate” children died before their first birthday in mother and baby homes.

The report said the most commonly recorded causes of death among the infants were congenital debilities, infectious diseases and malnutrition.

Many children born in the homes were adopted, a large number by families outside Ireland, or taken to orphanages run by Catholic nuns — not always with the consent of the mothers. The commission could neither prove nor disprove allegations of large sums of money being given to religious orders and agencies which arranged foreign adoptions.

Church apologies

The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin, issued an unreserved apology, noting that the Church was part of a culture in which “people were frequently stigmatised, judged and rejected”.

He said: “For that, and for the long-lasting hurt and emotional distress that has resulted, I unreservedly apologise to the survivors and to all those who are personally impacted by the realities it uncovers. I believe the Church must continue to acknowledge before the Lord, and before others, its part in sustaining what the report describes as a ‘harsh… cold and uncaring atmosphere’.”

The Sisters of Bon Secours ran St Mary’s home in Tuam from 1925-61. Sr Eileen O’Connor, the current area leader of the congregation, acknowledged that the Sisters “did not live up to our Christianity when running the

home. We failed to respect the inherent dignity of the women and children who came to the home. We failed to offer them the compassion that they so badly needed. We were part of the system in which they suffered hardship, loneliness and terrible hurt. We acknowledge in particular that infants and children who died at the home were buried in a disrespectful and unacceptable way. For all that, we are deeply sorry.”

But it was President Michael D Higgins who presented a challenging response: “The interaction of institutions that stands behind what was an abuse of women and infants has to be considered in terms of how those insti-

tutions came to be; the assumptions on which they were based and operated; the responsibility not accepted by fathers; the exclusion of family members on the basis of perceived threats to the status of families; the abuse of spiritual and religious belief through what was disguised as a pastoral relationship, but reflected an authoritarian fundamentalism; the collusion of those in roles of responsibility in the local and central State who were given details, including the death in shocking numbers of infants, but who put the cloak of institutional secrecy over the rights of the most vulnerable of citizens.”

He noted that the state “is charged

with safeguarding the welfare of its most vulnerable citizens, and it is the state that must bear primary responsibility for failing to provide appropriate supports for these tens of thousands of young women and their children”.

This is undoubtedly true. But he also noted that Ireland, as a newly-independent state in the 1920s, “was captured by a judgmental, authoritarian version of Church/State relations that sought to be the sole and ultimate arbiter of morality”. The fallout from that will be a challenge to the Church in Ireland for many years to come.

The commission has made 53 recommendations, including compensation and memorialisation.

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A convert in the service of the Church On February 27, Bishop Robert Mphiwe was ordained the third head of Rustenburg diocese, succeeding Bishop Kevin Dowling. DALUXOLO MOLOANTOA spoke to him.

T

HE LIST OF CONVERTS TO the Catholic faith — clergy and lay — is long. Among them have been bishops, such as Archbishop Emeritus George Daniel of Pretoria. And many years ago, he received a young man into the Church who would become a bishop himself: the new head of the Rustenburg diocese, Bishop Robert Mogapi Mphiwe. It was through a friend’s family that Bishop Mphiwe was introduced to the Catholic faith. It was, he said, “the moment I found my true home”.

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Born on March 14, 1972, the 48year-old was raised by his mother and maternal grandmother in Garankuwa township, north of Pretoria. “I grew up with little contact with my father. The only people that I had a relationship with on the paternal side of my family was my father’s older sister and her children,” Bishop Mphiwe told The Southern Cross in an interview.

Like his mother and grandmother before him, Robert was an only child.

“My wish was always to have an older sister to spoil me rotten, or a little sister to look after,” he recalled. “I never cared much for having a brother.”

His was a materially deprived upbringing, compounded by his mother’s disability as a deaf person. “At home there were times when things were hard economically, but we were fortunate that we were surrounded by kind people. I do not recall a day going to bed on an empty stomach, because our neighbours were always there to help. I do not remember going to school without a proper uniform and all the required school material. The little money that we had was spent on my education. For that I am grateful to my late grandmother and my mother,” he explained.

Young Robert did all his primary and high school in local government schools. “I regret that I never got an opportunity to attend a C a t h o l i c school,” he noted. Being the only child at

home, he had no choice but to spend most of his time with friends. He became close to the local Molobi family, who took him in as one of their own. “I spent most of my time with them. It is through them that I was introduced to the Catholic faith. I will always treasure my friendship with them because it was through them that I found my true home in the Catholic Church.”

Many great influences

Robert Mphiwe was confirmed and later ordained to the diaconate and priesthood by Archbishop Daniel, but he was baptised by Archbishop Dabula Mpako, then still a deacon and now the head of the archdiocese of Pretoria. As priest, Fr Mpako would become his rector in the first year of seminary formation. And it was Fr Mpako “who inspired me to become a priest”, the new bishop of Rustenburg said. “I felt drawn to him, and I spent many Sunday afternoons in his company. When he left our parish to work in the seminary as rector, I also spent most of my holidays with him in the seminary. I grew very close to him, and I wanted to be a priest like him.”

Another priest played an important role in his decision to become a priest: the late Stigmatine Father Michele D’Annucci. “He was so inspiring in his work, energy, preaching and creativity.

As a young man I saw in him and in his fellow Stigmatine priests abundant happiness and joy in their vocations and execution of their work. Though I had no intention of joining their congregation, they were always of great inspiration and support,” Bishop Mphiwe remembered.

“Also instrumental in guiding me in my faith and throughout my seminary formation was the Congregation of the Sisters of St Bridget. During my seminary holidays, the convent was my second home. I was always welcomed with such kindness and love. A parish without nuns is missing out on so much motherly care and prayer of the Sisters,” he said. The congregation has its base in Rustenburg, so Bishop Mphiwe immediately felt at home in his new diocese.

But for all the inspiration he received, young Robert’s decision to pur-

sue his calling to priesthood did not come easy — because he was the only grandson in his family. “It was difficult for my grandmother. Her hope was that one day I would marry and grow the family. But for my mother it has never been a big issue. I don’t remember a single day that she discouraged me from going to the seminary.”

His grandmother died during his third year in the seminary. After her funeral, some family members pleaded with him not to return to the seminary.

“The reasons they gave were sound.

They were worried about my mother’s security. Because of her being deaf, they strongly felt that she needed somebody with her in the house. Another reason was that they felt sorry for her living all alone. They pleaded with me to stay home and start a family to give her the joy of grandchildren. I couldn’t understand the second reason because I was still young. How in the world was I supposed to provide for her grandchildren?”

In general, many of his relatives and neighbours did not understand his decision to return to the seminary.

“Many a time I felt misunderstood by them,” he remembered. “But towards the end of my studies, many came around. They slowly showed interest in my studies and life as a future priest.”

Then-Fr Robert Mphiwe (right) with Archbishop William Slattery, now retired of Pretoria, and then-Fr Dabula Mpako, the present archbishop of Pretoria, in 2010.

Becoming a priest Fr Mphiwe was ordained to the priesthood on November 1, 1997, and served the parishes of Marapyane (1997-99), Atteridgeville (2009-10) and Centurion (2011-20). He also was a lecturer and trainer at St Peter’s Seminary in Garsfontein (2000-01 and 2005-08),

Photo: Mathibela Sebothoma

and later at St John Vianney Seminary.

Fr Mphiwe joined the chancery staff of the archdiocese of Pretoria in early 2011, under Archbishop William Slattery, and was in the office of the archbishop until 2015, when he was appointed vicar-general.

Remarkably, Bishop Mphiwe is the

Bishop Robert Mphiwe with Bishop Kevin Dowling, his long-serving predecessor as bishop of Rustenburg. Both bishops removed their masks for this photo.

fourth successive vicar-general of Pretoria archdiocese to be appointed bishop, after the late Archbishop Abel Gabuza (Kimberley in 2010, made coadjutor archbishop of Durban in 2018), Archbishop Dabula Mpako (Queenstown in 2011, since 2019 archbishop of Pretoria), and Bishop Victor Phalana (Klerksdorp in 2014).

“My ten years in the chancery was a good experience, though there were days when things were hard. But I always found great support from other members of the chancery and from friends,” Bishop Mphiwe said. His greatest challenge was balancing his work in the chancery with parish work and teaching at St John Vianney Seminary. “Eventually I left teaching because I could no longer manage my time well.”

Lessons from archbishops

The new bishop has learned a few lessons from the archbishops under whom he served. “I have learnt that each bishop brings his own uniqueness into the ministry entrusted to him. I have learned that while expected to offer leadership and direction in all areas of the life of the Church, as an individual each bishop has his own personal areas that he wants to give his absolute best. For example, one may enjoy the area of administration while another is at home with teaching and formation. Notwithstanding these different managerial skills and styles of working, what is common is that they do all they can for the love of Christ and his people.”

A common challenge expressed by many bishops is loneliness, as people tend to treat them differently. “Lone-

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liness is a challenge,” Bishop Mphiwe said, “but I believe that it is important to keep alive those long-term relationships that were built before the new responsibility. These are the ones that have nourished and sustained me in the past, and they will continue to do so in the future — and new ones will emerge on the new path.”

In Rustenburg, Bishop Mphiwe has stepped into the shoes of the much-loved Bishop Kevin Dowling, who had led the diocese for almost 30 years. In a 2016 interview, Bishop Dowling was asked what advice he would give a new bishop. He said:

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“Start off very slowly, listen deeply to your people. Allow them to teach you how to be a bishop who serves in humility and love for his people. Be patient, do not have unrealistic expectations of your people. Always encourage and support everyone in your diocese. ‘Be’ with them!”

Bishop Mphiwe knows Bishop Dowling as a kind person. “He has been working hard to make sure that the transition in the diocese is smooth. His kindness and compassion are evident in his contribution to the struggle for freedom in South Africa, especially in his constant battles with the Mangope government of the thenhomeland Bophuthatswana.”

Bishop Dowling’s kindness is also evident in the care he has given to those who are affected by the HIV/Aids pandemic. “The Tapologo HIV Centre, a sanctuary which Bishop Dowling initiated, treats HIV-positive people with immense compassion and dignity. I think that Bishop Dowling’s 30 years as bishop of Rustenburg can be summed up in one sentence: Compassion for the downtrodden and the outcasts of our society,” Bishop Mphiwe said.

His immediate plans for the diocese are straightforward. “My first assignment is to familiarise myself with the priests, people, and the pastoral life of the diocese. I need to find out, together with the clergy and the faithful, how far have they travelled, what their hopes are, their dreams as a diocese, and how we can work together to make them a reality.”

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The events on Good Friday and Easter took place exactly where the church of the Holy Sepulchre has stood for the almost 1700 years. GüNTHER SIMMERMAcHER explains.

W

E CAN LOCATE EVEN TODAY MANY OF THE places where events in the Gospels took place in the Holy Land, some with precision. The most important of these is the site of Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate and on the third day rose again. Golgotha is covered by the church of the Holy Sepulchre, the holiest site in our faith.

What was Golgotha?

Golgotha was a disused limestone quarry just outside the city walls with a public garden dotted with rock-cut tombs. Because of its elevation and location, the Romans found the hill a good place for public executions by crucifixion, giving the grisly scene maximum visibility to serve as a deterrent.

So the church is actually outside Jerusalem?

No, today it is in the middle of Jerusalem’s Old City. The city’s walls were extended within just a decade of Jesus’ crucifixion to include Golgotha. Over the centuries its boundaries were extended further.

of Jesus’ body for burial. But, of course, the most important places in the church are the altar of the crucifixion, known as Calvary (the word is a Latin corruption of Golgotha), and the tomb of the resurrection, the sepulchre which gives the church its name. Being at those spots is the most awesome experience for a Christian.

Another significant place is in the crypt of the church, which is the cistern were the True Cross was found by Queen St Helena, the emperor’s mother who financed and presided over the excavation of holy sites and the construction of churches. The True Cross was lost when the Crusaders were defeated by al-Saladin in the Battle of Hattin in 1187.

Can you go inside the tomb?

Yes, you can. In normal times, you can also touch the rock on which the cross stood, by crouching below the Calvary altar and putting your hand through a hole. But don’t expect to get much time in the tomb: when it’s busy — as it usually is — there are long queues of people waiting to enter the

How old is the church?

The first church of the Holy Sepulchre was built just a few years after Christianity was legalised in the Roman Empire. It was dedicated on September 17, 335. Much bigger than the current structure, it was almost entirely razed to the ground by the mad Caliph Al-Hakim in 1009. This act was one of the reasons for the First Crusade that culminated with the reconquest of Jerusalem in 1099.

The current structure was built by the Crusaders, and dedicated in 1149. It hasn’t changed much over the almost 900 years since.

What’s inside the church?

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The final four Stations of the Cross are inside the church.

That means that there is the chapel of the Nailing to the Cross, and the Stone of Unction, representing the preparation The Southern Cross

The edicule, which holds the site of Jesus’ burial and resurrection, in the church of the Holy Sepulchre.

(Photo: Debbie Hill/CNS

From left: The Stone of Unction; the courtyard of the church of the Holy Sepulchre; and Calvary (the rock where the cross stood is below the altar).

Photos: Günther Simmermacher

tomb. You have enough time to say a prayer and give thanks.

But what a place to say a prayer and give thanks: at the very spot where Christ rose from the dead!

How do we know that the church is on the real site?

History, archaeology and common sense assure us that this is the authentic place. Let’s start with common sense: is there any possibility that the Christians of Jerusalem would have collectively forgotten where their Lord and Saviour, the Son of God for whom many were prepared to die, was crucified and rose again? It is inconceivable that they would have let that bit of information slip away.

A century after Jesus’ crucifixion, Emperor Hadrian rebuilt Jerusalem as a Roman city. On the spot of Golgotha, he built a pagan temple. On the highest point, a protruding bit of rock which Christians had been venerating as the spot where Jesus’ cross stood, the Romans installed a statue of Aphrodite. So for generations of Christians, the Romans signposted the place of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.

In 325 AD, the patriarch of Jerusalem, Macarius, obtained permission from Emperor Constantine to dismantle the temple. In their excavations the Christians found many tombs.

They most likely identified Jesus’ tomb by graffiti from early pilgrims (we know that early Christians would carve prayers and their names on walls of holy sites).

In the 1960s, the Italian archaeologist Fr Virgilio Corbo OFM found that the site had indeed once been a quarry and a garden. He also discovered several 1st-century rock-cut tombs. All the information we had about the church was confirmed by Fr Corbo’s findings.

What about the “Garden Tomb”?

In the 19th century, British general Charles George Gordon claimed to have found Golgotha in a garden to the east of the Old City. Its rockface has the appearance of a skull (Golgotha means “Place of the Skull”), and there were tombs. But these tombs, archaeology confirms, predate those at the church of the Holy Sepulchre by centuries. And cranium-shaped rockfaces aren’t exactly rare. In short, no reputable scholar considers that site to be authentic. It is a lovely place for prayer, though.

Who owns the church of the Holy Sepulchre?

Churches fought for centuries over ownership, even though the church itself was built by the Roman Catholic Church. It is now shared by three churches: Greek Orthodox, Catholic, and Armenian, with the Ethiopian, Coptic and Syriac Orthodox Churches also having a presence. Each Church has its own territories, which are jealously defended.

Calvary and the tomb are both controlled by the Orthodox, who must however give other denominations time for

their own worship at the tomb. Pilgrims of all faiths (and none) may enter the tomb or venerate the rock of the cross.

Can you have Catholic Mass in the church?

Yes, there are five public Catholic chapels, and the lucky few can even have Mass in the tomb. Early morning Mass, before the church opens to the public, is possible in the beautiful Franciscan chapel of the Nailing to the Cross, next to the altar of the cross.

There are two chapels just metres away from the tomb; one is the altar of St Mary Magdalene in a space opposite the edicule (the structure which holds the tomb). That is a noisy place, but the adjacent chapel of the Apparition is enclosed and quiet. At the back of it, passing through a vestry, is a Crusader chapel dedicated to St Joseph of Arimathea. n Günther Simmermacher is the author of The Holy Land Trek.

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Claims: Executed man has come alive again Page 3

POLITICAL REPORTER

in reigned ONFUSION Jerusalem this week after supporters of a political agitator who was executed on Friday claimed yesterday that their leader had “risen from the dead”.

Jesus of Nazareth, who is reported to have been in his 30s, was the head of a group of itinerant Galileans who conducted preaching and healing events in Galilee and Judea. He was condemned to death last week in Jerusalem by Pontius Pilate, Roman governor of Judea, for attempted sedition, and executed by crucifixion on Friday at Golgotha, alongside two other convicts.

By permission from Pilatus, Jesus was interred in a cut-stone tomb owned by Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin. According to sources, the tomb was sealed with a rolling stone. In light of Jesus’ celebrity, a guard was positioned outside the tomb.

On Sunday morning women who came to the tomb to complete the body’s anointing reported the tomb to be empty, and the guard unconscious. They alerted the leaders of the Jesus Group who then rushed to the scene to ascertain these reports.

“My colleague John ben Zebedee and I arrived to find an empty tomb. The stone had been rolled away and no guard was in sight,” Simon the Rock, known as Petrus, told The Jerusalem Cross.

Widely regarded as the group’s deputy leader, Peter noted that the burial garments had been carefully folded inside the tomb. “If our master’s body had been stolen by grave robbers, they wouldn’t have taken the time to fold these cloths,” he suggested.

Another member of the group, Mary of Magdala, Galilee, claimed to have seen the allegedly resurrected Jesus. “At first I thought he was the gardener,” the woman

Caiaphas said he had been concerned by the public adulation Jesus had received upon entering Jerusalem on donkey-back from the Mount of Olives. “I don’t know if the people thought he was a socalled ‘freedom fighter’ or some kind of ‘messiah’, of whom we see far too many these days, but I note that none of them were there to protest against the Nazarene’s execution,” Caiaphas said.

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ources close to Caiaphas told The Jerusalem Cross that he had been fuming over an incident in which Jesus had vandalised the moneychangers’ department in the Temple. The high priest was “raging with anger” at suggestions of corruption against him and the temple authorities.

Caiaphas rejected reports that Jesus had risen from the dead.

“This kind of talk just causes more trouble. I think this Jesus fellow has caused us enough trouble already. His followers stole his body, simple as that.”

But not all members of the Sanhedrin shared Caiaphas’ conclusion. Arimathea, a wealthy Jerusalem businessman and member of the Pharisee party, said he had made his private tomb available for Jesus’ burial because he thought the Nazarene’s messianic claims might have merit.

“Our party has been divided about Jesus’ claims and conduct,” Arimathea said. “I am myself looking for the kingdom of God, and found Jesus to be a just man. So I couldn’t consent to the decision and actions of my colleagues in the Sanhedrin” which led to Jesus’ execution.

“But I will say this,” he added in reference to the reports of Jesus having risen from the dead, “if there are witnesses to Jesus having come back to life, by whatever circumstance, then that is all the proof we need that this man was indeed the Messiah.”

S The empty tomb after the mysterious disappearance of the body of excecuted Jesus of Nazareth (inset), who his followers claim has risen from the dead.

said, “but when he spoke my name, I knew it was him.” hile our society places no value to the testimony of women, Jerusalem is abuzz with confusion by reports that Jesus of Nazareth was seen by several men following his execution on Friday, even though Jesus had been confirmed to be dead by the “lancetest”, which involves the victim being pierced in the side with a spear.

“There is no way Jesus was alive when I performed the lance-test,” said Longinus, the soldier who conducted the examination. “We didn’t even have to break his legs, that’s how dead he was.”

However, Petrus confirmed that he and his associates had met Jesus on Sunday night at the Upper Room, a Mount Zion estab“He was physically lishment. there — not a ghost or anything like that — and even had a bite to eat with us,” he said.

Petrus added that two followers, not part of his Galilean group, had reported having met Jesus on Jaffa

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Road as they were heading home to Emmaus after the Passover.

According to Petrus, Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah — or Christ in Greek — and “the son of the living God”.

The authorities are tight-lipped about the reported resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. A spokesman for Pilatus referred all questions to High Priest Caiaphas.

Contacted for comment, Caiaphas denied that Jesus had risen from the dead or that the executed man was the Messiah.

“Jesus of Nazareth was a blasphemer and political agitator who is now dead,” said Caiaphas, leader of the Sadducee party.

The high priest confirmed that he had pushed for Jesus’ execution. “Our task, as the Sanhedrin, is to make sure the laws of our religion are obeyed, and to ensure public safety, especially during the busy time of the Passover. This man from Nazareth posed a threat to both, and it was better that one man should die for the people than that the whole nation might perish.”

Saint of the Month: St George

The ‘dragon-slayer’ was real St George slayed no dragons, but he certainly was a real person who was martyred 1 700 years ago.

GüNTHER SIMMERMAcHER looks St George’s life.

St George at a glance

Born: 3rd century in Cappadocia (modernday Turkey) Died: April 23, late 3rd/early 4th century Canonised: 496 AD Feast: April 23 Attributes: Soldier with lance, often depicted slaying a dragon Patronages: Soldiers, scouts, farmers and field workers, shepherds, equestrians, skin disease sufferers, lepers, syphilitic people, England, Ethiopia, Georgia, Palestine (unofficial)

moved to her old home in HE LEGEND OF ST GEORGE Palestine. After his mother’s and the dragon may tempt us death, George joined the army. to dismiss this martyr of the From here on it gets a bit early Church as a character of murky. The earliest extant verlegend who never existed. To be sure, sion of the hagiography says the slaying of the dragon is a legend George was persecuted and (or metaphor) that had its roots in the martyred by one Dadianus, 11th century — but St George most whom history doesn’t record at all. So certainly did exist, and his cult is one later texts changed the persecutor’s of our faith’s oldest. name to Emperor Diocletian, who inThough England has claimed St deed was a brutal persecutor of ChrisGeorge as its own — the English flag tians (and other non-pagans) in 303 bears the St George’s cross — the man AD, especially within the military. All was from modern-day Turkey and died texts agree that George met his end by a martyr’s death in Palestine, probably decapitation on April 23, but nobody in the late 3rd century or shortly after. knows in which year.

Other than a few ancillary facts, this is Legend has it that the execution all we know for certain. But ancient was witnessed by Alexandra of Rome writings, going back to the 5th cen- — who, according to tradition, was the tury, fill in the basic story of St George. wife of either Diocletian or the prefect According to these writings, Dacian — prompting her conversion George was born of a Greek father and to Christianity and subsequent martyrPalestinian mother, named as Gerontius and Ploychronia, in St George puts Cappadocia, in modern-day his foot on the Turkey. Both parents were vanquished dragon, in a Christians. Eventually George painting by followed in his father’s footMattia Preti steps to become a Roman sol(1613–99) in dier.

St George’s

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George’s legends

There are three main streams of tradition on the life of St George: Latin, Greek and Muslim (he is venerated in Islam as well). We will consider the two Christian traditions, which go back to at least the 5th century, and probably to the 4th century, when the Palestinian historian Eusebius noted the popular veneration of St George.

In the Greek version, Gerontius was martyred for his faith when George was 14, whereafter mother and son

cathedral, Malta.

dom. After the execution, George’s body was taken to Diospolis in Palestine (later Lydda, now Lod in modernday Israel) for burial. There the local Christians venerated him as a martyr, and his tomb is still there.

Who killed George?

The Latin version, which was recorded no later than the 6th century, agrees with the Greek narrative up to the martyrdom. Here the persecutor is Dacian, called the “Emperor of the Persians”. There was no such emperor, and the prefect Dacian was persecuting Christians in modern-day Spain, far from where George was martyred.

Later versions of the Latin legend supposed that Dacian might have been a Roman judge serving under Diocletian or maybe Emperor Decius (249-51). Or might St George have met his end in the region of Dacia, which included Romania and was a Roman province until 271 or 275 AD? George’s death, according to the Latin legend, was preceded by 20 tortures over seven years, and these inspired 40 900 pagans who witnessed these to convert to Christianity, including Alexandra of Rome. And when George finally died, legend claims, the ghastly persecutor Dacian was carried away in a whirlwind, never to be seen again.

Continued on page 22

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St George

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The

St George slays the dragon; represented at St Catherine’s church in Bethlehem, Palestine.

The slayer of dragons

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ID ST GEoRGE REALLy SLAy A dragon? That story goes back to the 11th century and Eastern Europe, and from there to the West. It was an ancient story even then, having been told in variations in pagan Greece. And before it was attributed to St George, its protagonists were other saints, including St Theodore of Tiro.

The legend goes that St George found himself in Silene, in modern-day Libya, where a vicious dragon was terrorising the people. At first the people tried to assuage the beast by sacrificing sheep to him. But when they ran out of sheep, the city’s people decided to make human sacrifices.

Time came when the king’s daughter was drawn by lot to be sacrificed. Gallantly, George was having none of that, and in short order killed the troublesome dragon

Whatever the facts of his death, veneration of St George spread quickly.

One of the earliest churches in the Holy Land, built in the first half of the 3rd century at Lydda and financed by Emperor Constantine, was almost certainly dedicated to St George. And in 494, Pope Gelasius I, acknowledging gaps in the hagiography of St George, hailed him as one of the saints “whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose actions are known only to God”.

And what about the dragon? That story goes back to the 11th century and was based on a legend which was told in variations even in ancient Greece. But once the dragon-slaying was credited to St George, the saint became even more popular than he had already been. (See sidebar above.)

St George, the patron

St George is the patron saint of England, as well as Ethiopia (an image

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The tomb of St George in Lod (previously Lydda), Israel. Photo: Common Licence

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with his lance. The people of Silene, all 15 000 of them, converted to Christianity.

The grateful king sought to shower George with riches, but our hero gave all he received to the poor.

The story of St George and the dragon was obviously a myth, and we’d be arrogant to think that the people of the day were all so foolish as to take it literally. But as an allegory, the story is powerful, and it spoke profoundly to Christian sentiment.

Thus the legend grew. It became hugely popular in medieval Europe when it appeared in The Golden Legend, a collection of hagiographies by Jacobus de Varagine.

Even before The Golden Legend, it was popular with Crusaders, who had no problem associating the dragon with the Saracens. In two battles, at Antioch and Jerusalem, the Crusaders reported having

of St George slaying the dragon featured on the standard of Haile Selassie I) and Georgia. Veneration in England goes back to at least the 800s, though St George didn’t become the country’s patron until the 14th century, after the soldier King Edward III put his Order of the Garter under the banner of George. The saint is popular in many countries, almost invariably through his association with the military. In Spain, he is credited with the patronage that helped reconquer the land from the Moors. Many depictions of knights feature the red cross of St George on warriors’ shields.

In Germany, St George was counted as one the Fourteen Holy Helpers, a devotion that had its roots in the bubonic plagues of the 15th century, and lately found renewed popularity during the coronavirus pandemic (see www.bit.ly/39FlVI0).

As a Palestinian saint, St George is very popular among Christians, and many Muslims, in the Holy Land. In times of crisis, many go to the shrine of St George in the village of Beit Jala, near Bethlehem. Every year Palestinians — Christians and Muslims — celebrate the feast of St George, called al-Khader, on May 5, the eve of the Orthodox date of the saint’s feast day.

Many traditionally popular names can be traced back to the Bible or saints.

Few saints’ names have been as popular as George — or, as rendered in the original Greek, Georgios, meaning “farmer” — in various local forms, such as Jorge in Spanish and Portuguese, Jürgen in German, Joris in Dutch, Jerzy in Polish, Jørn in Danish, Göran in Swedish, Jordi in Catalan, Jiri in Czech, or Dung in Vietnamese.

A fresco of St Theodore and St George slaying the dragon. Fresco from c. 10-11th century in the “Snake church” in Göreme, Turkey. been aided by apparitions of St George (and other saints, including St Theodore of Tiro).

Thus the lance with which St George killed the dragon became known as Ascalon, after the city of Ashkelon, today in Israel.

And St George, a soldier in real life and a dragon-slayer in myth, has been credited with protection in many battles.

St George, in a bronze copy of a marble statue

by Donatello (1386–1466).

Mercy and Grace The difference between

The parable of the Prodigal Son, depicted here in a 1773 painting by Pompeo Batoni, is an example of God’s mercy.

FR RALPH DE HAHN reflects on the nature of God’s grace and infinite mercy.

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HE GOSPELS, AS A WHOLE, breathe the spirit of mercy, for the mercy of God, it seems to me, is a central point in Christian revelation. Mercy is the humbling and forgiving love of the Almighty God for sinners. God’s mercy is far beyond man’s limited comprehension.

What if God should judge us according to the measure of true justice?

The psalmist asks: “If thou, O Lord, should mark our iniquities, O Lord, who would survive?”(130:3). So how is our mercy related to justice? Mercy is a specifically divine virtue par excellence.

Mercy impels us to overstep the measure of justice; it is the overflow beyond the merits of justice. Mercy presupposes some misery, that is, some wretchedness in the object. Psalm 113 tells us something: “Who is like the Lord our God? He stoops down from the heights...from the dust he lifts up the lowly, from his misery he raises the poor and sets him in the company of princes.”

The parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15) is a most powerful manifestation of God’s mercy, so is the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10), and the one of the master who released his servant of his huge debt (Matthew 18:23).

I certainly cannot forget the Lord’s death on the cross, when, dying in agony, he prays for his executioners — and for us (Luke 23:34).

We have the testimony of Bible stories where God uses imperfect people to accomplish his purpose. In the Old Testament we meet the likes of David, an adulterer and murderer; Abraham, who was fearful and lied; Jacob, a swindler; Moses, who was stubborn and doubting;

Rahab, a prostitute; King Saul, wicked and jealous; to mention only a few.

Then in the New Testament we encounter the doubting Thomas, and Peter, who betrayed his Master. There is Saul (later named Paul), the fanatical persecutor of the first Christians, and Mary Magdalene, who once was possessed by many demons. On Golgotha, the penitential thief hangs alongside Jesus on his cross.

There are so many “broken vessels” in our deeply troubled Church history which speak loudly of the indispensable intervention of God’s most wonderful mercy and grace, without which there is no hope for all humanity.

Mercy is not compassion

So how do mercy and grace interact? It seems to me that mercy is the act of withholding deserved punishment, while grace is the act of endowing unmerited favours. In his mercy God does not give us the punishment we deserve — for example hell — while in his giving of grace, he offers the gift we do not deserve — and that is heaven! “It is through grace that you have been saved...and not by anything of your own, for nobody can claim credit,” St Paul wrote to the Christians of Ephesus (2:4-9).

But we must not confuse mercy with compassion, which is a very human emotion. Compassion suffers with the sufferer; mercy does not. Compassion is between equals, while mercy is towards an inferior (that is, one with less power, which in relation to God, is all of us). There is a gesture of condescension inherent in all mercy which, we must acknowledge, is more deeply

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spiritual than compassion. This mercy is eminently a profound supernatural virtue, which glows with radiant beauty in God, and in God alone.

We often refer to divine mercy.

Mercy is a compassionate love to the weak and grace is a generous love to the unworthy. Mercy takes us to the path of forgiveness, while grace will hopefully lead us to reconciliation: “What I want is love and mercy, not sacrifice” (Hosea 6:6). And we know the Divine Love is eternal and so also his mercy, and the only love that is untarnished and unconditional.

The book of Lamentations mentions that truth: “We know of Yahweh’s favours in the past yet his kindness is not exhausted” (3:22). We need to heed the Master’s teaching: “Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7). And then take to heart James’ warning that “there is a judgment without mercy for those who have not been merciful themselves” (2:13).

God has indeed displayed his mighty power in all creation and his infinite love and mercy in his work of redeeming us.

n Fr Ralph de Hahn is a priest of the archdiocese of Cape Town.

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PREACHING

Why homilies are no joke In the second part of his series on homilies (and public speaking!), FR cHRIS cHATTERIS SJ focuses on delivery.

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XTENDING LAST MONTH’S flying metaphor for preaching, let us look at the crucial business of getting “airborne”. It’s extraordinary how, in an era of sophisticated public-address systems, preachers can still be inaudible. If the congregation can’t hear the preacher, this is less of a crash and more like a cancellation; the communication of the Gospel doesn’t even get off the ground.

Sometimes it’s simply a failure to make sure that the public-address system and the microphone are both turned on. A crisp “Can’t hear Father!” would save the day, but this might be considered disrespectful. We would do it to a politician but might hesitate with a preacher. That is a pity. The discipline of checking the hardware, especially in an unfamiliar church, should be a routine of our preaching professionalism.

What pilot would dream of taking off without running through the pre-flight tests?

A more fundamental problem is skimping on the PA equipment itself.

This has to be the ultimate ecclesiastical false economy. We build and maintain churches at great expense, and then we subvert the very aim of their existence by installing cheap PA technology put in by an amateur who happens to be the pastor’s friend. If we are going to install a system to enhance the hearing of the Word of God, it’s obviously worth raising the money for the best system.

No ritual grovelling

“Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking.” “I find myself completely overawed standing before such a distinguished gathering of intellectual luminaries.” These faux-humble clichés are a kind of ritual self-abasement before an audience and they’re used to gain its sympathy or to pre-create an excuse for possible failure. Fishing for the sympathy of the audience by announcing one’s incompetence or unworthiness is

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a dangerous tactic. It invites the cynical thought: “Well if you’re that hopeless, why are you talking to us at all?” My advice if tempted to apologise for oneself as a preacher: Don’t!

Rather develop a proper understanding of the public speaker’s authority. When a group invites someone to speak to them, it implicitly gives that person the authority to do so. For the duration of the talk, the person is authorised to speak while others listen. If the assembly has given you the authority to speak, then it’s good to take them at their word. This shouldn’t create an attitude of arrogance but of confidence.

Granting someone the authority to proclaim and/or interpret the word of God is not something to be taken, or indeed given, lightly. That is why readers and preachers should be carefully chosen.

Bleating about the bush

Take-off is perhaps the most dangerous moment of the homily. Another surefire way to crash on take-off is to complain to the congregation about how difficult it was to prepare the homily. “When I saw these readings my blood ran cold and I fell into despair!

What could I possibly say about them?”

At this point some members of the con-

gregation are thinking: “Well, all our jobs entail difficulties, Father, so why should yours be any different?”

It is possible to engage the interest of a congregation by telling them about the process of preparation that goes into a homily, but it’s so freighted with the danger of self-pity and irrelevance to the message that it should, in my view, always be avoided. The homily is not all about the homilist; it is supposed to be about someone else and his Gospel.

It is not easy to resist the temptation of the opening joke. “Let’s wake them up right at the beginning with a joke.” The aim of focusing the attention of the congregation is achieved, but the question is where that attention has been focused. Unfortunately, it’s probably well away from the sacred scripture that they’ve just heard. And the funnier the story is, the harder it will be to redirect their attention to the Word. At the end of the homily, most people will take away only the joke. “Great story, Father” is the most likely comment afterwards, not “Great commentary on the Gospel”.

But we protest that we were all told in our homiletics classes about the importance of “story preaching”. True, but as with every powerful instrument, it depends on how you use it. Its very power can spell disaster. Hence, we must be very clear that the primary function of a story in a homily — indeed in any kind of talk — is not to wake people up but to serve the central ‘Look, Father has chosen a long joke for the homily today.’

message. A story may have the important secondary benefit of focusing the attention, but we want that attention to be on the message of the scripture, not on the story itself.

Crosswind take-offs

Airline pilots would concur: straight down the runway and straight into the wind is recommended, but a crosswind take-off is a temptation many preachers find difficult to resist. Rather than introducing the theme in a clear and straightforward manner, the preacher broaches it indirectly in an attempt to snare the congregation’s interest.

But we all know the confusing experience of not quite getting where a speaker is going.

David Buttrick, the author of a classic work on preaching, warns that as “a general practice, the convention of the oblique start is devastating”. He means that it destroys the hearers’ attention. Buttrick also labels this approach the “fuzzy start”. Although some people may enjoy the game of “Where is the preacher going?”, many just switch off in confusion.

In contrast, one preacher described his method: “First I tell them what I’m

going to tell them, then I tell them, then I tell them what I’ve told them.”

No confusing, oblique starts for him; rather the power of the straightforward enunciation of the theme. Note this challenging quotation from Buttrick on losing the attention of the hearers: “When congregations drift off into wanderings of the mind it is always [my italics] the fault of the speaker.”

Do they really need to be woken up at all? The assumption that people have to be shaken from their slumber after

However, Buttrick adds the caveat that the preacher has but a few sentences, perhaps only three, to engage that attention before it relaxes and diminishes. The attention is there, but if it is not fairly quickly engaged and stimulated, it can be quickly lost. Take-off thrust must be sufficient to achieve the expected altitude.

The level of attention after the scripture readings will depend to a great extent on how well they have been proclaimed. A well-read text holds out the hope that it will inspire some interesting reflections. So if the congregation, rather than being in a stunned state of somnolence, is fully alert and expectant, a joke obviously chosen to rouse them from slumber is redundant and even patronising.

So away with the idea that the people of God are a dull, sleepy mass who are likely to nod off the moment preachers opens their mouths. The truth is very much the reverse. People are hungry for the bread of the Word to be broken for them. Hope springs eternal, in fact, and it is sad how often that hope is dashed.

‘When congregations drift off, it is always the fault of the speaker’ the readings is highly questionable. Buttrick’s research reveals that, contrary to popular belief among preachers, most congregations do not need a wake-up call after the readings. According to him, after the pause between the hearing of the scripture and the beginning of the homily, congregations are usually attentive, alert and expectant. This pregnant pause is the moment to capitalise upon.

n Fr Chatteris teaches at St Francis Xavier Seminary in Cape Town. Part 3 of his series will run in the July issue.

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2020/12/27 10:01 PM Page 26

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Do we need labels?

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DENTIFYING “LABELS” ARE sometimes important and even necessary.

It’s nice to know if one is a cardinal, an archbishop, an Italian, Irishman, priest or professor. At times, however, labels can take on an inessential racial slant, and may even subtly promote some discrimination and further perpetuate an unnecessary and undesirable stigma.

Being a previously advantaged white person, I am truly hesitant to comment about racism and will never fully compreWho were the Your hend the horQuestions first black bishops? answered ror of this T despicable ideology. Knowledge and cognition of history can easCan non-believers go to heaven? ily be acquired, W but never the emotion and hurt that was and is involved.

As with the South African apartheid system and the Nazi concentration camps and the many other similar systems in the world, no one unaffected can ever offer sufficient consolation or understanding to those affected.

With humility and hopefully without prejudice, I would like to suggest that racial labels should be seriously researched for their true efficacy and helpfulness in the pursuit of human dignity and Christian equality. As the “K” word has been legislatively banned, so should all other labels referring unQ. Can you tell meL Who was the first black bishop in the world and in South Africa?

HE FIRST BLACK BISHOP GOES back to the times of the early Church, when Christianity was active and influential in northern Africa and even as far south as Ethiopia, which was evangelised by the Apostle Matthias and adopted Christianity as its official religion in the early 4th century — long before the evangelisation of much of Europe.

Pope Victor I, who became the Bishop of Rome in around AD 189, was an African, probably from present-day Libya. He is said to have been a Berber (as was St Augustine), and they were black.

In the modern Church, the United States received its first black bishop, James Augustine Healy of Portland, Maine, in 1875. The son of a slave, he had been ordained to the priesthood in 1854, before the abolition of slavery, and thus also became the United States’ first black priest.

South Africa received its first black bishop on April 26, 1954, some 56 years after the ordination of the

Q. Our faith urges us to love and serve God and our neighbour in the hope of the reward of eternal life in the heavenly kingdom. What about those who have no faith or are indifferent to religion? Will they get some heavenly reward if they live a virtuous life?

E CAN IDENTIFY THREE KINDS OF people around us who don’t show interest in faith in God. Firstly, those who are aware of God but are ignorant of how to know and love him, for example, in 1 Timothy 1:13.

Secondly, there are those who are simply not interested in God or religion as a result of the secularisation of society.

Thirdly, there are those who deliberately reject faith in God and religion.

The reward of heavenly happiness is what Christ’s life and death has won for all who

6

country’s first black priest. Bishop Pius Bonaventura Dlamini FFJ first headed the newly-created diocese of Umzimkulu in KwaZulu-Natal. In that position, he attended three sessions of the Second Vatican Council.

In 1967 Bishop Dlamini, a descendant of Chief Namagaga born at Mariathal in 1908 and ordained in 1937, was appointed auxiliary bishop of the bigger diocese of Mariannhill, serving in that position until his death on September 13, 1981.

The diocese of Umzimkulu would remain vacant until the appointment of Bishop Gerard Ndlovu in1986. For a while it was administrated by Bishop Peter Fanyana Butelezi OMI, who would go on to become South Africa’s first black archbishop.

Bishop Dlamini and Archbishop Butelezi

sincerely seek God. Vatican II teaches that those who don’t know Christ but want to do the divine will through the dictates of their conscience can win eternal salvation (Lumen gentium, 19).

So, the first group of people mentioned above can hope for salvation because their ignorance is blameless. The second group may be blameless or not depending on how

Do you have question s about our Send them faith? with your name and location to: editor@ scross.co.za Subject line: Q& A

Born in 1930 and ordained a priest of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in 1957, Butelezi was appointed auxiliary bishop of Johannesburg in 1972 before his appointment as bishop of Mthatha in 1975. Three years later, on April 27, 1978, he was appointed archbishop of Bloemfontein. He died in office at the age of 66 on June 10, 1997.

The second black archbishop in South Africa was Archbishop Stephen Naidoo, a Redemptorist who succeeded Cardinal Owen McCann in Cape Town in 1984. He died at only 51 on July 1, 1989, and was succeeded a year later by his auxiliary, Archbishop Lawrence Henry, who thus became South Africa’s third black archbishop. He died at 80 in 2014.

(Günther Simmermacher)

they knowingly treat others with love and respect (see Matthew 25: 31-46). The third group are culpable of willingly denying God’s free offer of eternal life, and this refusal may lead to their eternal loss.

Despite widespread indifference to faith and religion, the Church must confront secularism with the same courage as shown by her martyrs of yesterday and today. Notwithstanding scandals that have lately shaken the Church and its image, we must never be shy of showing the world what our faith means to us and the good it does for humanity. This is our Christian and missionary task.

Matthew 5:16 should jog our conscience every day: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

(Michael Shackleton)

The Southern Cross

DEATH

VoGT – HElEN (née Hatfield) passed away peacefully in her sleep at Woodlands, Randburg 27th January 2021 aged 91. She is survived by her children – Ingrid, Declan and Adrian, who live in the UK and Australia. A Requiem Mass was held 3rd February at St Charles Church, Victory Park, Johannesburg.

26 The Southern Cross

DEATH

SWANSoN – JoAN AGNES Passed away peacefully after a short illness, bravely fought, on 15 Feb 2021 at the age of 91. She is now reaping the rewards of her years of loving service, safe in the arms of Jesus and his Holy Mother, Mary. Lovingly remembered by her family Helen, Stephen, Matthew, Thérèse and Kieran, Janet, Dean, Michael and Kyle, Anne, Basil, Sarah, Warren and Jessica.

May her dear soul rest in peace.

necessarily and purposelessly to race.

In the December 2020 issue of The Southern Cross, there were a number of interesting reports and facts: Sr Hermenegild Makoro CPS retired at the end of December as secretary-general of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference. Bishop Pius Bonaventura Dlamini FFJ, a descendant of Chief Namagaga, was appointed bishop of Umzimkulu in 1954. Bishop Peter Fanyana Butelezi OMI was appointed archbishop of Bloemfontein in 1978. In the United States, Kamala Harris was elected recently vice-president to Joe Biden.

Do any of these good people really need race “classification” labels? I pray that one day soon we can just look at each other as Christ did and not continue labelling ourselves “Samaritans”, as did the woman at the well (John 4:89). Jesus is interested only in forgiveness and reconciliation.

Tony Meehan, Cape Town

On your conscience

I

N HER ARTICLE “MORAL conscience needs more than the catechism” (February 2021), Sarah-Leah Pimentel strives to prove that we cannot make a fully informed moral choice with regard to the use of abortion-contaminant vaccines until we know what the Church teaches and through exercise of our free will.

With regard to the gift of free will, the writer concludes that “ultimately, God will not judge us on the decision that we took, but rather on the spiritual growth that led to that decision”.

But is this, in fact, the case? The supreme arbiter of our actions is not the

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created’s free will but Moral conscience needs the Creator’s express more than the catechism command. God’s fifth F commandment, “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13), clarifies the use of abortion-contaminant vaccines as illicit and sinful.

Killing is not morally imputable to an innocent bystander. The possibility of the use of our free will — albeit with prayer — knowingly to benefit from the fruits of the historical murder of an aborted child is. Our free will is not an end in itself but a means to an end: obedience to the Law of God. Nicholette Whittle, Kroonstad n The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith declared in December: “All vaccinations recognised as clinically safe and effective can be used in good conscience with the certain knowledge that the use of such vaccines does not constitute formal cooperation with the abortion from which the cells used in production of the vaccines derive.” According to the Church, therefore, Catholics can receive Covid-19 vaccinations in good conscience.—Editor RefLECTION

How do we grow in light of the Church’s teachings? The answer isn’t as simple as it might seem. SARAH­LEAH PIMENTEL explains.

OR MANY GENERATIONS OF Catholics, religious formation began in the early years of our lives. There are holy pictures in our homes and we learn the names of Mary, Jesus and the favourite saints of the household at around the same time as we learn the names of our family members.

Our parents teach us our first prayers.

The Church takes up the formal task of catechism for the parish children. For many, this formation begins at the age of six or seven and continues until confirmation. Confirmation used to happen at the age of about 10 or 11. Only more recently have we waited a little longer for our children to mature before asking them to confirm their commitment to the faith, at around the age of 16.

After this, all formal education around the faith ends. Somehow, we hope, the lists of do’s and don’ts and lessons around a relatively small range of moral decisions (which in the teen years seem to concentrate on sexual choices) are enough to guide the average Catholic through the ups and downs of life.

Perhaps in earlier generations, when people lived simpler lives supported by cradle-to-the grave communities that remained unchanged for decades, this might have been enough. Life had its rhythms and limited choices. So did the Church. Together, the community and Church formed a sufficient foundation for most of life’s moral challenges.

This is no longer the case. Many Catholics today live in large, diverse societies in which one can choose to be anything and do anything. All is seen as valid and almost all is permissible. As a modern woman, I am delighted by the many choices life has offered me. My cosmopolitan existence has allowed me to encounter and befriend people from

all walks of life. Some share my religious background. Many do not.

Two basic choices?

The lack of boundaries in modern living also makes it far harder to make those moral choices. It is almost as if modern Catholics have two basic choices. One is to return to the simplistic lists of dos and don’ts we learned as children and try to make all of life fit into those categories. In some ways, it makes things easier. Things are good or bad.

Black or white. You don’t get lost in the

life becomes complicated) does not offer enough of a foundation which can help them in making moral decisions. This is so for several reasons. Firstly, childhood catechism is taught at the level that the child is at. “Do not steal sweets from your friend” is a very concrete message for a child. But as an adult, the lines of what could constitute theft can become very blurred. Paying tax to a government that misuses taxpayers’ money, or cutting back on employee benefits to maximise profit, or opting to purchase cheaper resources from companies abroad that exploit their workers, are just a few examples.

Can any of us honestly remember from our childhood catechism the Church’s teachings about bioethics? Or rather, did we even cover this topic?

Recently we were faced with social media claims that a cell line of an aborted foetus has been used to manufacture a Covid-19 vaccine. The pharmaceutical companies very strongly denied this, and the Vatican has said that “it is morally acceptable to receive Covid-19 vaccines that have used cell lines from aborted foetuses” in the research and production process when “ethically irreproachable” vaccines aren’t available to the public. But the “licit” uses of such vaccines “does not and should not in any way imply that there is a moral endorsement of the use of cell lines proceeding from aborted foetuses”. As individuals, we cannot possibly make a fully informed moral choice on this, and a plethora of other issues, until we know what the Church teaches.

But even that is not enough. Ultimately, to be a Catholic is not simply to

To be a Catholic is not simply to follow a set of rules moral abyss of doubt. But it also makes it far harder to experience or show mercy.

The other option is to delve into the difficult moral questions of a globalised world that no longer has the Catholic Church and its teachings as the moral centre of civil life. It is an uncomfortable space. It challenges the Christian to test,

so to speak, the Church’s teachings against the myriad choices that society offers.

Unfortunately, the ten or so years of formal catechism that most Catholics receive before the age of 18 (that is, before

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26 The Southern Cross

More than Mass

M

ICHAEL OGUNU PROVIDED A dozen benefits of going to Mass, citing the 18th-century Franciscan St Leonard of Port Maurice (February 2021). Some of these I found a little hard to swallow.

I suggest that achieving a “greater degree of glory in heaven” might not be one of them, and 12 benefits of going to Mass venial sins being forgiven by virtue of A attending Mass another. The Divine might help us with sins that so easily cling to us as the gentle light of heaven intervenes for our benefit — but reparative actions should accompany the religious routine. Many Mass-goers never say sorry to people they’ve hurt because 2020/12/27 10:04 PM Page 29

Can livestreamed Masses take the place of the real thing?

Prof MICHAEL OGUNU doesn’t think so and outlines 12 benefits congregants receive by going to Mass.

T THE LAST SUPPER, THE night on which he was betrayed, Jesus instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood, “in order to continue the sacrifice of the Cross through the centuries until his return” (Sacrosantum Concilium, 47). Thus every Mass is worth as much as the sacrifice of our Lord’s life, sufferings and death.

The saving effects which every sacrifice of the Mass produces in the souls of those who devoutly participate in it are great. These favours or benefits, as listed by the 18th-century Franciscan friar St Leonard of Port Maurice, include: • The Holy Mass is the most powerful atonement for your sins.

• At the hour of death, the Masses you have participated in will be your greatest consolation.

• Every Mass will go with you to judgment and plead for pardon.

• At Mass you can diminish temporal punishment due to your sins, according to your fervour.

• By participating devoutly in the Holy Mass you render to the sacred humanity of our Lord the greatest homage.

• It supplies for many of your negligences and omissions.

• God forgives the venial sins which you have not confessed. The power of Satan over you is diminished.

• You afford the souls in purgatory the greatest possible relief.

• You shorten your purgatory each time you devoutly participate in the cel-

ebration of Holy Mass.

• Every Mass wins for you a higher degree of glory in Heaven.

• You receive the priest’s blessing which our Lord ratifies in heaven.

• You are blessed in your temporal goods and affairs.

No human tongue, said St Lawrence Justinian, can enumerate the benefits derivable from devout participation in the sacrifice of the Mass. “The sinner is reconciled with God, the just man becomes more upright, sins are wiped away, vices eliminated, virtue and merit gain growth and the devil’s schemes are frustrated.”

Mass in Johannesburg’s Christ the King cathedral.

Photo: Mark Kisogloo

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The Southern Cross

29

Photo: Egmont Oppermann

the religious act of attendance justifies the offence in their minds.

It is not the show of turning up at Mass that counts, but the heart. Pray for your enemies, remember charity, fear God (and not the priest). Pray also at home behind a closed door, for what God sees is more important than what others do.

Lucy Rubin, Pretoria

What the bell?

I

AM RESEARCHING THE ORIGINS of certain bells that must have belonged to a Catholic church or chapel in KwaZulu-Natal, and hope there might be someone among your readers who might have relevant information. In the course of my research I have been in touch with the Vatican Archives, which has been helpful and also interested in this story.

In 1988 a young German found a large bell alongside the debris of two smaller, broken bells “in the bush of Natal near a ruined church”, apparently near Izotsha. The story of the finding of the large bell is sketchy because the man who found and then took it is not inclined to provide any further information. The debris of the

was found, or whether it was given later to that church by another parish, is an open question.

I would be interested to know what church or chapel these bells came from (and if the finder’s story is accurate). Can anybody help? I can be contacted at rainer.bruchmann@ t-online.de or through the kind office of the editor.

Rainer Bruchmann, Munich, Germany

smaller bells may still be at that location.

What is of interest is the Latin inscription on the bell, which was later donated to a Lutheran church in Johannesburg. The bell (see photo) bears the imprint of the word “Johannae de Arc”, and mentions Bishop Henri Delalle, vicar-apostolic of Natal from 1904-46, as well as the bell’s donor, Patrick Joseph Farrell (born 1856 in Ireland, died 1941 in Port Shepstone).

It was made in the Fonderie de Bronze de Bretagne in Brest, France, and was presented to the bishop in 1931.

So it would appear certain that the bell was originally in a Catholic church in the vicariate of Natal.

Whether it was made for the apparently disused church next to which it

Cruciverbal mystery

D

ID APRIL’S FOOL COME EARLY in your February issue? The solutions given for the Southern CrossWord fit in the grid, but they didn’t correspond with the clues. For a while I thought the clues were unreasonably cryptic, but I’m sure the solutions were referring to another set of clues.

Helen Sutton, Durban

n Thank you for making us aware of the misplaced solutions. The problem arose from an editing error; our cruciverbalist (or crossword-setter) is innocent of being inexplicably cryptic. We apologise for the error and run, belatedly, the correct solutions on page 38 this month.

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The Southern Cross

27

BOOK REVIEW

How to PRAY well Review by Mitch Finley

Learning to Pray: A Guide for Everyone, by James Martin SJ. HarperOne (2021). 386 pp.

T

HIS IS AN IMMENSE BOOK ON prayer, but don’t let the size of the volume intimidate you.

Each and every page is worth reading.

Jesuit Father James Martin is articulate and exceptionally knowledgeable about his topic, and he is gifted when it comes to discussing even the most esoteric theological topics in language the average person can understand.

In 18 chapters, Learning to Pray addresses one prayer-related topic after another, and in the end the reader can’t help but be well-informed about the meaning and practice of personal — not liturgical — prayer.

Whereas many contemporary books on prayer insist on being as brief as possible, the virtue of Fr Martin’s book is that it insists on relating to the reader as an adult who may well have serious questions about prayer. Brevity may be attractive, but depth can be more valuable.

28 The Southern Cross

Chapters include “Everyone Can Pray”, “Why Pray?”, “Praying Without Knowing It”, and a first-rate chapter on petitionary prayer.

Indeed, petitionary prayer has, in certain circles, a bad reputation. But Fr Martin’s pages on the topic are so sensible, practical and theologically reliable that the publisher should consider excerpting this chapter to issue as a small book all by itself. Titled “Everyone Needs Help”, this chapter on petitionary prayer is a joy and an inspiration to read all by itself.

“Why,” Fr Martin asks, “do so many of us have a difficult time with petitionary prayer? Perhaps we don’t want to ask God for help because it’s what we did as children. Or perhaps we were told — by a priest, a spiritual director, an author, a friend (who got it from some theologian) — that it’s wrong or selfish to ask for things in prayer. To which I say, ‘Baloney’.”

“Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep” is the chapter on rote prayers and formal prayers in general. And it would hardly be a book on prayer by a Jesuit if it did not include a chapter on St Ignatius of Loyola’s “Daily Examen”. The reader also gets chapters on a few popular

prayer styles including Lectio Divina, centering prayer and nature prayer.

Learning to Pray is a very good book on prayer, and it’s too bad someone didn’t write it a long time ago. It’s a book that whistles up a renewed interest in prayer for veteran “pray-ers”, gives wise counsel for beginners, and is a guide many readers may well choose as a gift to give to friends and relations.

Here’s the thing. Fr James Martin has something of a habit of writing books on religious topics that become wildly popular bestsellers. Guess what?

He’s done it again.—CNS

n Mitch Finley is the author of more than 30 books of popular Catholic theology.

Copies of the book can be ordered from the Catholic Bookshop in Cape Town and online stores.

The source of mission

Nthabiseng Maphisa: Millennial Catholic

I

HAVE A CONFESSION TO MAKE, one which I know might lose me some friends and even some respect. Here it goes: I have never watched a Star Wars movie. Well, I watched the first 15 minutes of the Star Wars reboot and found it just a little too sci-fi to encourage me to continue watching.

I have never bought Star Wars book covers or pencil cases or even a T-shirt.

I do, however, have a friend who used to doodle sketches of Yoda on my lecture notes during our time at university, so I suppose I am a part-time fan by association.

From my investigation into the Star Wars phenomenon (and by that I mean asking Google), it would appear that the characters are always on a mission for something and are at times interrupted by opposing forces. That sounds a little like the lives of Jesus and the apostles, too. The Easter season, which also includes Vocations Sunday on April 25, is a good time to ponder the meaning of mission.

“Go forth and make disciples of all nations,” Christ says to his apostles (Matthew 28:19). I dare say, one must admire the trust that Jesus shows here.

Not many would have such confidence in people who had denied them in front of others and abandoned them at the hour of their death. It is even more surprising when we consider that Jesus entrusted the apostle with such a serious and important task.

I do think, though, that all of us can see something of ourselves in Christ’s apostles. They had love for Jesus and felt close to him. They listened to him preach, watched him heal the sick, saw him cast out demons, and were astonished at his authority over nature. And yet, they must have wondered, “Why me? Why us? Why now?”

I hope that in fulfilling their mission

A scene from the 2015 movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Nthabiseng Maphisa notes that characters in the Star Wars films are always on a mission. Photo: Disney/CNS

they were able to get answers to their questions.

On reflection, spiced with a little speculation, I can think of a few possible answers. Perhaps they began to see the infirm and the ignored of society who were in need of Christ’s mercy. I imagine they encountered those tormented by evils beyond their control.

All of these afflictions existed before,

Why now?” These are all difficult questions and very few will find the answers. In our modern age, being called to a mission by God may be difficult to understand.

There may be a number of reasons why this is so. Perhaps it is because we think we need to have it all in order to serve God. We may think that we are not financially secure, or too insignificant or maybe too ordinary..

Maybe we close our hearts and minds to pursuing the mission because it does not involve lightsabers, space travel, or the name Skywalker. Would you be more inclined to go on a mission if it included a sojourn through the galaxy?

I know I would.

In the end, the call to mission arises from God’s love for us. We are called to mission not because God needs us or because we can do something to add to his glory, but because God desires that we share in his plan for salvation. In our “going forth”, we can ask God for joy, peace and zeal.

And in the words of Yoda, we must “do or do not. There is no try”.

The call to mission arises from God’s love for us

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but they now saw their impact through God’s eyes. I think this helped them to continue their own mission, and to help others “go forth”.

Mission in 2021

Even almost 2 000 years later, as we find ourselves in the year 2021, we can see among us disciples from all nations.

God, through Jesus Christ, still calls people to mission Those who are called also wonder: “Why me? Why all of us?

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Jesus’ great wish

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The Southern Cross

the “separated brethren”.

Much progress has been made in the last century, with the ecumenical movement dating its modern origins to a conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1910. It is said that it was the experience of Christians living and dying side by side in the trenches of World War I soon afterwards that helped members of different denominations see how much they had in common. The World Council of Churches has been operating since 1948. Though the Catholic Church is still an “observer” and not a full member, it is a very active observer. And there is Catholic participation in national and local ecumenical bodies.

The presence of leaders of other Christian traditions at Vatican II meant, some argue, that it was the first truly universal council since the 10th century. And the embraces of consecutive popes — from John XXIII onwards — with Orthodox patriarchs, Anglican archbishops of Canterbury, and Lutheran presidents have been the stuff of legend.

Photo: Paul Haring/CNS

I

S IT A COINCIDENCE THAT IT WAS at the Last Supper, according to John 17:21, that our Lord prayed, “That they may all be one”? On the very brink of his passion and death, Jesus feared disunity among his followers. And we have more than lived down to his pessimistic expectation!

Already in the Acts of the Apostles and in Paul’s letters, we read about break-ups and rivalries between followers of Christ, and these have continued through two millennia. And that is to say nothing of the major schisms: between East and West; between popes and anti-popes; and between those who protested for reform and those who did not. Whenever men — and it is usually men — gain power, it leads to competition and division, in the Body of Christ no less so than in the body politic.

So in the Easter season, as Jesus’ prayer is ringing in our ears, we need to reflect on this shared failing. And it is a shared failing. The Second Vatican Council in the 1960s recognised this when it strikingly acknowledged: “Quite large communities came to be separated from full communion with the Catholic Church — for which, often enough, men of both sides were to blame” (Unitatis Redintegratio, 3). After centuries of blaming the schismatics, heretics and protesters for the breakdown in unity, it was revolutionary that the Church accepted clearly that there were failings on the Catholic side as well: we all have to reform if there is to be unity between

together to serve the homeless has been just one particularly visible example. And that has been replicated. We have networks of churches in local areas (for example, in Musgrave and in Durban North) who work together each week to prepare sandwiches and deliver them to the Denis Hurley Centre, since they are not currently running feeding schemes.

“That they may be one” is certainly a desire that we should act together and if, in your church, you are running an outreach scheme for your area which is not in collaboration with neighbouring churches, you are missing a great opportunity to fulfil Christ’s wishes. But it is also a desire that we should pray together. Vatican II recognised that this is harder, but no less desirable. After all, as

Working together

Perhaps Jesus’ prayer for unity came just before his death because he wanted the apostles to realise that their ongoing mission Pope Francis and other Christian leaders at an — to “bring the good news to the ecumenical prayer service in Geneva in 2018. world”, to build God’s kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven” — would always be better achieved if people worked Christians we know “nothing is impossitogether rather than against each other. ble to God”.

In South Africa, that was clearly characPalms at supermarket terised by the partnership between the Catholic Archbishop Denis Hurley, the Do Holy Week and Easter offer opAnglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the portunities for this? When I was living in Dutch Reformed Dominee Beyers Naudé, a Jesuit parish we had a lovely tradition. and many others in challenging The local ministers realised that, even if apartheid. Could they have achieved the second part of the Palm Sunday servwhat they did working on their own? ice had to be separate, the blessings of Institutionally, it was seen in the na- palms was something that could easily be tional role of the South African Council conducted ecumenically. So on Palm of Churches. In KwaZulu-Natal it was op- Sunday morning, communities from erationalised at the local level by Diako- seven or eight different churches met at nia in Durban and PACSA in a central point — in front of a big local Pietermaritzburg (though tragically, both supermarket! The ministers collectively organisations have now virtually col- read the Scripture, blessed the palms and lapsed due to poor management and lack led the hymns. And then we each processed back to our respective of governance).

Fighting for justice and serving the churches promising — at least figurapoor have both proven to be great oppor- tively — to reunite again in the joy of the tunities for ecumenical collaboration. At resurrection seven days later.

The best-known example of this in the Denis Hurley Centre in Durban, our experience of Christians of all traditions South Africa is the Good Friday Walk of (and, indeed, people of all faiths) coming Witness in Durban. This was conceived

in 1985 by Archbishop Hurley and Paddy Kearney as a political act (to show solidarity with political detainees) but also as an ecumenical act: a chance for Christians to come together in a joint and public witness on this most holy of days. The Durban Walk of Witness continued for 34 years, until Covid got in the way. This year the Denis Hurley Centre is developing new ways of giving ecumenical witness that are appropriate for these times: the theme of walking with Christ and walking with the poor never changes, but the way in which we witness to that can and should develop with each age.

Get started!

It is sad that this idea was not taken up widely across South Africa, whereas most towns in Britain have an ecumenical walk of witness on Good Friday. The hardest part with such initiatives always is getting started. When I worked in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2003, I was astonished that they did not have such an event “because no one had organised one”.

Being a pesky Jesuit novice with time on my hands, I said I would organise one. All but one of the churches in Glasgow participated in that first walk and continued to do so for years thereafter.

This was especially important in a city with a history of sectarian violence. Apparently, police officers volunteered to accompany the walk specifically because they wanted to see with their own eyes “Left Footers” and “Prods” (the derogatory terms for Catholics and Protestants) walking side by side rather than fighting each other!

This year, Covid is making processions and marches and walks nearly impossible, but that means we have to find other ways of showing ecumenical solidarity.

If you have access to the Internet and use it to attend services in your own church, why not take time to “visit” an online service from another Christian tradition and pray alongside them.

As we gaze at Christ dying on the cross, and remember his prayer “that they may be one”, let us all commit to one act during this holy season to do something to bring about Christ’s deepest desire for us.

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

The meaning of Jesus’ death

T

HE CLEAR MESSAGE FROM LUKE’S account of the crucifixion is that Jesus’ death washes everything clean, including our ignorance and sin.

Each of the four Gospels has its own take on the passion and death of Jesus.

These Gospel accounts are not journalistic reports of what happened on Good Friday but more theological interpretations of what happened then. They’re paintings of Jesus’ death more so than news reports about it — and, like good art, they take liberties to highlight certain forms so as to bring the essence. Each Gospel writer has his own interpretation of what happened on Calvary.

For Luke, what happened in the death of Jesus is the clearest revelation — ever — of the incredible scope of God’s understanding, forgiveness and healing. For him, Jesus’ death washes everything clean through an understanding, forgiveness, and healing that belies every notion suggesting anything to the contrary. To make this clear, Luke highlights a number of elements in his narrative.

First, in his account of Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, he tells us that after one of his disciples cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest, Jesus touched the man’s ear and healed him. God’s healing, Luke intimates, reaches into all situations, even situations of bitterness, betrayal and violence. God’s grace will ultimately heal even what’s wounded in hatred.

Then, after Peter denied him three times and Jesus is being led away after his interrogation by the Sanhedrin, Luke tells us that Jesus turned and looked straight at Peter in a gaze that made Peter weep bitterly. Everything in this text, and everything that comes after it, suggests that the look from Jesus that caused Peter to weep bitterly was not one of disappointment and accusation, a look that would have caused Peter to weep in shame. No, rather it was a look of such understanding and empathy as Peter had never before seen, causing him to weep in relief, knowing that everything was all right and he was all right.

Pilate and Herod

And when Luke records Jesus’ trial before Pilate, he recounts something that’s not recorded in the other Gospel accounts of Jesus’ trial, namely Pilate sending Jesus to Herod Antipas and how Pilate and Herod, bitter enemies until then, “became friends that same day”. As the late biblical scholar Fr Ray Brown, commenting on this text, puts it: “Jesus has a healing effect even on those who mistreat him.”

Finally, in Luke, we arrive at the place

where Jesus is crucified. As they are crucifying him, he utters the famous words: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Those words, which Christians forever afterwards have taken as the ultimate criterion as to how we should treat our enemies and those who do us ill, encapsulate the deep revelation contained in Jesus’ death. Uttered in that context — as God is about to be crucified by human beings — these words reveal how God sees and understands even our worst actions: Not as ill-will, not as something that ultimately turns us against God or God against us, but as ignorance — simple, non-culpable, invincible, understandable, forgivable, akin to the selfdestructive actions of an innocent child.

The ‘Good Thief’

In that context too, Luke narrates Jesus’ forgiveness of the “Good Thief”.

What Luke wants to highlight here, beyond the obvious, are a number of things.

Firstly, that the man is forgiven not because he didn’t sin, but in spite of his sin; secondly, that he is given infinitely more than he actually requests of Jesus; and finally, that Jesus will not die with any unfinished business, this man’s sin must first be wiped clean.

Finally, in Luke’s narrative, unlike those of Mark and Matthew, Jesus does not die expressing abandonment but rather complete trust: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Luke wants us to see in these words a template for how we can face our own deaths, given our weaknesses.

What’s the lesson? The French writer Léon Bloy once wrote that there is only one true sadness in life, that of not being a saint. At the end of the day when each of us face our own death, this will be our biggest regret — that we’re not saints. But, as Jesus shows in his death, we can die (even in weakness) knowing that we are dying into safe hands.

Luke’s account of the passion and death of Jesus, unlike much of Christian tradition, does not focus on the atoning value of Jesus’ death. What it emphasises instead is this: Jesus’ death washes everything clean, each of us and the whole world. It heals everything, understands everything, and forgives everything — despite every ignorance, weakness, infidelity and betrayal on our part.

In John’s passion narrative, Jesus’ dead body is pierced with a lance and immediately “blood and water” (life and cleansing) flow out. In Luke’s account, Jesus’ body is not pierced. It doesn’t need to be.

By the time he breathes his last he has forgiven everyone and everything has been washed clean.

The Southern Cross

31

PRAY WITH THE POPE Every month FR CHRIS CHATTERIS SJ reflects on Pope Francis’ universal prayer intention

Is our democracy strong?

Universal Intention: We pray for those who risk their lives while fighting for fundamental rights under dictatorships, authoritarian regimes and even in democracies in crisis.

I

T WOULD SEEM AS THOUGH POPE Francis has covered all the bases when he refers to “dictatorships, authoritarian regimes and even in democracies” in his universal prayer intention for April. We must indeed pray for all those — Christian and non-Christian — who fight for human rights under regimes which threaten them.

That’s a great deal to pray for.

Recent examples readily spring to mind. Not long ago we saw the Russian critic of the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin, Alexy Navalny, with admirable courage, returning to Russia to confront the state that recently had tried to poison him. We saw the Ugandan opposition leader Bobby Wine fight an election in a climate of violence, fear and duplicity against the sphinx-like and apparently immutable President Yoweri Museveni.

And we recall how in October 2018

the dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered in Turkey by the secret service of Saudi Arabia. Indeed, one of the more dangerous professions in the world at the moment is that of political journalist. In 2020 the number of journalists deliberately killed in retaliation for their critical reporting was double that of the previous year. We should pray for critical journalists who risk their lives for the sake of publishing the truth.

But I wonder whether Pope Francis has indeed covered all the bases. Our own country is normally considered to be a stable democracy, and yet even here, those who fight for their rights sometimes risk — and lose — their lives.

Assassination in SA

Last October, in Ophondweni in KwaZulu-Natal, the environmental activist Gogo Fikile Ntshangase died in a hail of bullets for standing up for her rights and those of her community.

Ntshangase (it’s her face in the graphic above) was part of a group of people who refused to sell their land to a coal mine seeking to extend its activities.

The assassination was a clear message from someone as yet unidentified to everyone standing in the way of the mining company’s plans: Don’t!

This happened in a country with an

advanced constitution protecting the right to protest. It happened in a country which ended the death penalty to raise the respect for the right to life. Unfortunately, it was not an isolated incident of one person losing their life for the right to protest. The massacre of the miners of Marikana in 2012 is the most serious post-apartheid example. The killing of Andries Tatane by the police during a service-delivery protest is another.

Every week scores of South Africans have their inalienable right to life taken from them through institutional and criminal violence. The accounts of these events no longer make front-page news, so routine have they become.

In January, we looked with a mixture of horror and fascination at the invasion of the United States Capitol.

Immediate journalistic musings went along the lines of “US democracy in crisis”. Could our own democracy be a “democracy in crisis” and are the terrible incidents mentioned above but symptoms of this fact? Are we quite sure that the governing party under a lesser person than the current president would accept defeat graciously, or would we have our equivalent of a denial of the result and an invasion of the Union Buildings by supporters of a leader who simply refuses to accept his obvious defeat?

Successful, functioning democracies require democrats, and those who would kill rather than argue with you don’t meet the criteria. The fact is that it continues to be dangerous to speak up for human rights, even in states, like our own, which believe in them.

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The Southern Cross

EASTER SUNDAY PRAYER

Prayer Corner Your prayers to cut out and collect Do you have a favourite prayer? Please send it with a reference to its origin, to editor@scross.co.za

St Anselm Prayer O Father, most merciful, in the beginning You created us, and by the passion of Your only Son You created us anew. Work in us now, both to will and to do what pleases You. Since we are weak and can do no good thing by ourselves, grant us Your grace and heavenly blessing, that in whatever work we engage we may do all to Your honour and glory.

After our departure, give us pardon of all our sins, and receive us to eternal life; through Him who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever.

Amen

LORD, death could not hold You. Because of the Resurrection, we, too, can live. Thank you that the grave is only a journey into the presence of God. You have removed the sting of death and empowered this thing called life. Now I will live in Your presence forever.

Amen

OUR PRAYER For those who are near to us and are very dear to us...We pray And for those who are far away yet live in our hearts night and day...We pray That God with special care will keep the dear ones while they wake or sleep, and give their Guardian Angels power to guide and help them hour by hour.

For He who hears and answers prayer can see the absent everywhere...Can tell them all we think and say and make them hear us while we pray. Amen

PRAYER OF

E

ternal God, eternal Trinity, You have made the Blood of Christ so precious through His sharing in Your Divine nature.

You are a mystery as deep as the sea; the more I search, the more I find, and the more I find, the more I search for You.

But I can never be satisfied; what I receive will ever leave me desiring more.

When You fill my soul, I have an ever greater hunger, and I grow more famished for Your light.

I desire above all to see You, the true Light, as you really are.

Amen The Southern Cross

33

Why Covid vaccines are SAFE People should not be worried that Covid vaccines are unsafe, writes MGR RENzO PEGORARO, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy for Life

P

EOPLE CAN BE CONFIDENT that the approved Covid-19 vaccines are safe and ethical and that receiving the vaccine is an expression of solidarity and our responsibility to work for the common good.

The worldwide commitment of many scientists and public and private institutions, the availability of scientific knowledge in the virological and oncological fields, the relevant funding and the reduction of certain bureaucratic steps all have made it possible to have tested vaccines in a few months — vaccines that are safe and approved by the competent authorities.

By vaccinating a large number of people now, it will be possible to offer real protection while subsequently studying the duration of immunity to define future protocols more accurately.

This whole process has been the subject of ethical reflection, including by the

Catholic Church, considering the entire “life cycle” of the vaccine from its production to its approval, through to its distribution and administration.

Ethical criteria

The note of the Covid-19 Vatican Commission, “Vaccine for All: 20 Points for a Fairer and Healthier World”, was published on December 29, 2020, in collaboration with the Pontifical Academy for Life. As the title states, it is essential and urgent that approved vaccines are made available in every part of the world, including in the poorest and most remote areas. It is also necessary to define the priorities for administering the vaccine.

There is a general agreement in many countries to start with medical staff and healthcare practitioners and nursing homes for the elderly and then proceed with other individuals engaged

Sr Mary Modesta Piwowar, 96, holds up a sign after receiving her Covid-19 vaccination at her convent in Livonia, Michigan.

Photo courtesy Felician Sisters

in essential public services, and to more vulnerable and fragile groups of people.

On a personal level, as individual believers and as Christian communities, Continued on page 38

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Gina Fornasari ϴ ŝƐƟŶĐƟŽŶƐ

Adriano Manferdini ϴ ŝƐƟŶĐƟŽŶƐ

Melina Manferdini ϴ ŝƐƟŶĐƟŽŶƐ

Alexandra Wilson ϴ ŝƐƟŶĐƟŽŶƐ

Georgina Woodin ϴ ŝƐƟŶĐƟŽŶƐ

Katherine Brislin ϳ ŝƐƟŶĐƟŽŶƐ

Adriano De Abreu ϳ ŝƐƟŶĐƟŽŶƐ

100% Matric Pass for the 34th ĐŽŶƐĞĐƵƟǀĞ LJĞĂƌ ŽĨ the amalgamated College.

214 subject ĚŝƐƟŶĐƟŽŶƐ͘

“Last year was certainly not what the Class of 2020 could have ever imagined. While many things did not ŐŽ ƚŽ ƉůĂŶ͕ ƚŚĞ ĞdžƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞƐ ŵĂĚĞ ƚŚĞŵ ƚŚĞ ĞdžĐĞƉƟŽŶĂů ŐƌŽƵƉ ŽĨ ǁŚŽŵ ŽƵƌ ĐŽŵŵƵŶŝƚLJ ŝƐ ƌŝŐŚƞƵůůLJ ƉƌŽƵĚ͘ Their resilience, courage and empathy epitomise just some of the ideals that we cherish at the College”.

- Atholl Murray, Headmaster of De La Salle Holy Cross College.

ϵϴ͘ϳй ŽĨ ƉƵƉŝůƐ ǁŚŽ ǁƌŽƚĞ ƚŚĞ / ĞdžĂŵŝŶĂƟŽŶƐ ŽďƚĂŝŶĞĚ Ă ĂĐŚĞůŽƌƐ͛ ĞŐƌĞĞ WĂƐƐ͘ ϭ ƉƵƉŝů ŽŶ ƚŚĞ / ŽŵŵĞŶĚĂďůĞ ĐŚŝĞǀĞŵĞŶƚƐ ůŝƐƚ͘ ϭϯ ƉƵƉŝůƐ ǁĞƌĞ ƉůĂĐĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ dŽƉ ϭй ŽĨ / ĐĂŶĚŝĚĂƚĞƐ ƉĞƌ ƐƵďũĞĐƚ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ϳ ƐƵďũĞĐƚƐ͘

Robyn Duncan ϳ ŝƐƟŶĐƟŽŶƐ

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Jonathan Faller ϳ ŝƐƟŶĐƟŽŶƐ

ŚĂĚ DĂƌƟŶ ϳ ŝƐƟŶĐƟŽŶƐ B E FI RS T,

THAT YOU MAY BE OF SE RV

IC E

Cooking with Saints Every month GRAZIA BARLETTA prepares a recipe from the history of the Church in her Cape Town kitchen, and shares it with our readers in text and photos taken by the chef herself.

FoR EASTER, GRAZIA PREPARED TWo DISHES

Pastiera Napoletana

T

HE MODERN PASTIERA, OR BARLEY Easter cake, was invented in a Neapolitan convent. One of the nuns wanted that cake, symbol of the Resurrection, to have the perfume of the citrus flowers which grew in the convent gardens. She mixed a handful of grains with white ricotta cheese, and then added eggs, symbol of the new life, and candied citron and grated lemon zest.

We know that the nuns of the ancient convent of San Gregorio Armeno in Naples, Italy — its church holds the relics of St Patricia of Naples, whose blood is said to liquefy periodically — were considered to be geniuses in the complex preparation of the pastiera.

The cake has to be prepared over three days, starting no later than Good Friday to be ready

by Easter, to allow fragrances to mix properly and result in its unique flavour.

Preparation: 3 days • Baking: 45-50 min Servings: 4 large tarts (freezes well) PREPARAtIOn - dAY 1:

1. Place 250g of barley in a bowl and add enough water to cover the grains. Add 10ml salt and leave to soak overnight. dAY 2:

Once the barley is swollen, transfer it to a pot, and throw out the soaking salt water.

T

Add fresh water, just enough to cover the barley in the pot. cook till soft.

Add the following ingredients to the soft barley and cook till creamy: • 500ml milk • 20ml cinnamon • 1 lemon rind • 50g butter Let cool, then refrigerate overnight. dAY 3:

Use these ingredients for the pastry: • 500g self-raising flour • 150g butter • 5 large eggs • 40ml sugar • 2ml salt • 5ml vanilla extract or essence

Easter Chocolate Truffles

HE TRADITION OF EATING cHOcOLATE at Easter is tied to Lent. The egg was adopted by early christians as a symbol of the resurrection of Jesus christ on Easter.

Eggs are believed to represent rebirth and new life, as well as christ’s tomb with the shell representing either the sealed tomb or the stone used to seal it. The first chocolate eggs were made in Europe in the early 19th century.

Aside from Easter eggs, there are so many other chocolate options. I have chosen a delicious and easy recipe for dark chocolate truffles, which is a confectionery made with a ganache (melted chocolate and cream) centre coated in cocoa powder, coconut or chopped toasted nuts, usually in a spherical shape, which can be made without using any moulds or equipment.

If you prefer, you can substitute and use milk or white chocolate instead of dark.

Preparation: 160 minutes • Makes 15-20

combine all ingredients to form a soft dough, then roll out to a thin layer, and cover the base of four foil pie-plates.

For the filling use: • grated zest of 2 lemons • 100g candied citrus peel • 2 tubs of ricotta cheese • 5ml vanilla extract or essence • 6 large eggs • 100ml sugar • 40ml coffee liqueur (optional) 1. Add all the ingredients together with the barley mix from the fridge. Stir with a spoon till it’s smooth, with bits of barley visible. Taste to make sure you are happy with the sweetness.

2. Add filling to the pie-plates.

3. With the spare dough, make lattices for the tops of the tarts: three horizontal and three vertical layers (see photo).

4. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°c till golden (around 30-45 minutes; check with a skewer to make sure it’s cooked in the middle).

5. Sift icing sugar over the cakes once they are cool.

6. Enjoy and say a prayer to St Patricia of Naples!

IngREdIEntS:

• 200g of good-quality dark chocolate, broken into pieces (I used a 70% dark variety) • 120ml heavy or thickened cream • 40g cocoa powder PREPARAtIOn:

1. Finely chop dark chocolate with a serrated knife, and place in a heatproof bowl.

2. In a small saucepan, warm cream on medium heat until it is simmering, just before it starts to boil.

3. Immediately pour the warm cream over the chocolate, cover and let sit for 3-5 minutes. Then whisk the chocolate cream until smooth.

4. cover with clingwrap and place in the fridge for at least 90 minutes.

5. Sift cocoa powder into a separate bowl.

Once the ganache has become firm, use a

spoon to roughly scoop out one level tablespoon of ganache per truffle. Roll smooth using your hands.

6. Drop the truffles into the cocoa powder (or coconut flakes or nuts), and roll around until completely coated before removing and setting on a plate. continue until all the truffles are done. Store in the fridge.

7. Enjoy on Easter Sunday with your loved ones, giving thanks to Jesus for his gift of New Life.

The Southern Cross

35

SA Bishops Word Search

Anagram Challenge 1

Find the names of these 15 SA bishops, past and present, in the puzzle above:

BUTELEZI

HURLEY

NKUMISHE

MCCANN

RODRIGUES

MPHIWE

TLHAGALE

DOWLING

LOBINGER

GABUZA

MPAMBANI

FITZGERALD HENNEMANN

PHALANA

SLATTERY

Unscramble the clues below to work out which GoSPEl loCATIoNS hide in these words

A CA R P ME N U

2

N o F o U L Mo TI V E S

3

A B o TTo M R U N

4

SE E A G A LE F o I L

5

I To P MU TA N T F o o TME N

6

G o DF A THE R G E N E S A ME N

Southern Crossword ACROSS

1. He shall … them with a rod of iron (Rv 2) (4) 3. Deliveries from the pulpit (8) 9. Moses’ staff turned into it (Ex 4) (7) 10. Subject of conversation (5) 11. Evangelical poetry? (6,6) 13. Please let the time pass (6) 15. One holding the lease (6) 17. Poison a pilot about his resistant attitude (12) 20. Vatican bureaucracy (5) 21. Have a vision of the future (7) 22. Struggled against temptation (8) 23. Home for off-key choir members (4)

36 The Southern Cross

dOWn

1. Autographed again, then departed (8) 2. There are bishops among the noblemen (5) 4. The seventh day after the feast day (6) 5. A mediator like christ (12) 6. Make someone admire you (7) 7. Plunder the dry white wine (4) 8. Hymns during the procession out (12) 12. Heading for the underworld at all costs? (4-4) 14. Is ambitious and praises wildly (7) 16. Flick through the pages of the Bible (6) 18. Alan’s upset and nosey (5) 19. Mark of the wound (4)

Solutions on page 38

Quick Crossword

CODEWORD: Combine the letters in the yellow shaded boxes to form the name of a Holy Week site ACROSS

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

1. catholic US TV show host (7,7) 2. Emperor who legalised christianity (11) 3. Radio Veritas presenter … Litabe (6) 4. Hometown of St Teresa (5) 5. Night before Easter (5) 6. Plate for communion host (5) 7. The church is the ... of christ (5) 8. Jesus called himself the “Son of ...” (3) 9. OT prophet (5)

10. Whom Jesus told us to love (7) 11. OT prophet of doom (4) 12. Nicean or Apostles’ (5) 13. Name of Franciscan cross (3)

dOWn

1. Vatican II constitution (5,7) 2. SA catholic university (2, 9) 3. Meeting that elects popes (8) 4. Forgive us our … (10)

The Catholic Trivia Quiz

1. Parts of which modern-day country did St Thomas evangelise? a) Armenia b) Ethiopia c) India

2. In which present-day diocese was the Sacred Heart Sodality of South Africa founded? a) Kokstad b) Mariannhill c) Umzimkulu

Medal c) Sacred Heart

6. Who is the patron saint of football players? a) Allucio of Campugliano b) Luigi Scrosoppi c) Vitalis of Assisi 7. In which Italian city would we find Leonardo da Vinci’s original “The Last Supper”? a) Florence b) Milan c) Venice

3. In a series of movies, which priest did battle with the communist mayor 8. To which order does Bishop Vincent of an Italian village?

Zungu of Port Elizabeth belong? a) Don Camillo b) Don Candido a) Franciscans b) Oblates of Mary c) Don Carmine 4. Which is the Bible’s shortest book? Immaculate c) Salesians a) Daniel b) Obadiah c) Wisdom 5. Which devotion can we trace to St Catherine Labouré? a) Eucharistic Adoration b) Miraculous

5. Priest’s vestment (8) 6. Town of Marian apparitions (7) 7. Author of Father Brown books (surname) (10) 8. Name of three women at the cross (4) 9. Roman basilica (2,4,5) 10. First catholic bishop in Durban (5,7) 11. Saint for lost items (7) 12. country of Benedict XVI (7) 13. Title of Jerusalem’s archbishop (9)

9. Which pope’s Italian civil name translates as “Jimmy Church”? a) Leo XIII b) Pius X c) Benedict XV 10. Which of these contemporary

Q3: Catholic priest vs communist mayor

pop stars is not a Catholic? a) Billie Eilish b) Lana del Rey c) Taylor Swift 11. What is the formal name for the first part of the Mass? a) Greetings of the Presider b) Liturgy of the Word c) Prayers of the Faithful 12. Which Gospel tells the parable of the Prodigal Son? a) Matthew b) Luke c) John The Southern Cross

37

Crossword Solutions: ACROSS: 1. Rule, 3. Homilies, 9. Serpent, 10. Topic, 11. Gospel verses, 13 Elapse, 15. Lessee, 17. Oppositional, 20. Curia, 21. Foresee, 22. Resisted, 23. Flat DOWN: 1. Resigned, 2. Lords, 4. Octave, 5. Intermediary, 6. Impress, 7. Sack, 8. Recessionals, 12. Hell-bent, 14. Aspires, 16. Riffle, 18. Nasal, 19. Scar

Catholic Trivia Quiz: 1. c) India;

1. Capernaum; 2. Mount of Olives; 3. Mount Tabor; 4. Sea of Galilee; 5. Mount of Temptation; 6. Garden of Gethsemane

Crossword Solutions (February)

Anagram Challenge:

Quick Crossword: ACROSS: 1. Stephen

Colbert, 2. Constantine, 3. Khanya, 4. Avila, 5. Vigil, 6.

Paten, 7. Bride, 8. Man, 9. Micah, 10. Enemies, 11.

Amos, 12. Creed, 13 Tau DOWN: 1. Lumen Gentium, 2. St Augustine, 3. Conclave, 4. Trespasses, 5. Chasuble, 6. Lourdes, 7. Chesterton, 8. Mary, 9. St Mary

Major, 10. Henri Delalle, 11. Anthony, 12. Germany, 13. Patriarch. — CODEWORD: Golgotha

2. c) Umzimkulu (at Centecow); 3. a) Don Camillo; 4. b) Obadiah (just 21 verses); 5. b) Miraculous Medal; 6. b) St Luigi Scrosoppi; 7. b) Milan; 8. a) Franciscans (Order of Friars Minor); 9. c) Benedict XV (Giacomo – or James – Chiesa); 10. a) Billie Eilish; 11. b) Liturgy of the Word; 12. b) Luke

ACROSS: 1 Excess, 4 Remand, 9 Tender-hearted, 10 Creator, 11 Prone, 12 Speak, 14 Tempt, 18 Agape, 19 Licence, 21 Spiritual ones, 22 See-saw, 23 Covets DOWN: 1 Entice, 2 Contemplative, 3 Sweat, 5 Example, 6 Acts of penance, 7 Dodges, 8 Third, 13 America, 15 Lapses, 16 Cloud, 17 Verses, 20 Cello

Vatican official on safety of vaccines

Continued from page 34

to get vaccinated can be recognised as a moral responsibility to protect one’s health and that of others — especially those unable to do so due to the presence of other pathologies — and to help achieve a sufficient “herd immunity” to safeguard all people.

It should be recalled also that falling ill with Covid-19 leads to an increase in hospital admissions with the consequent overloading — and even possible collapse — of healthcare systems, hindering access to health facilities for other patients

with often equally or more serious conditions.

There is a responsibility to practise real solidarity, in the light of that “we” on which Pope Francis strongly insists, because by vaccination we save ourselves together. The relationship between personal health and public health creates an interdependence and a deep bond that must be taken care of by all of us.

Caring for oneself and for others is a moral commitment and, as Pope Francis said: “Everyone must take the vaccine.” On the other hand, it is

Sacred Heart College MARIST OBSERVATORY Education with heart

also important to inquire, possibly by talking to your doctor, resolving doubts and overcoming unjustified prejudices and fears.

An atmosphere of trust in scientists and doctors and an attitude of participation and hope would help to practically express the solidarity that will help all of us to emerge soon from the pandemic. n Mgr Renzo Pegoraro is chancellor of the Pontifical Academy for Life which is dedicated to promoting the Church’s consistent life ethic. It also does related research on bioethics and Catholic moral theology.

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Final Words Great Quotes on

GOD’S MERCY

History in Colour

A snapshot from the past, colourised exclusively for The Southern Cross

‘I live by the mercy of Jesus, to whom I owe everything and from whom I expect everything.’

– St John XXIII (1881-1963)

‘How happy I am to see myself as imperfect and to be in need of God’s mercy.’

– St Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-97)

‘We do pray for mercy; And that same prayer doth teach us all to render the deeds of mercy.’

– William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

‘God’s mercy is so great that you may sooner drain the sea of its water, or deprive the sun of its light, or make space too narrow, than diminish the great mercy of God.’ – Rev Charles Spurgeon (1834-92)

‘The ground of mercy is love, and the working of mercy is our keeping in love.’

– Julian of Norwich (1343 – after 1416)

‘Apart from the mercy of God, there is no other source of hope for mankind.’

– St John Paul II (1920-2005)

‘You cannot conceive, nor can I, of the appalling strangeness of the mercy of God.’ – Graham Greene (1904-91)

‘Trust the past to the mercy of God, the present to his love, and the future to his providence.’

– St Augustine (354-430AD)

‘It is by God’s mercy that we are saved. May we never tire of spreading this joyful message to the world.’

– Pope Francis (1936-

)

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Cape Town’s St Mary’s cathedral, mother church of South Africa, was consecrated 170 years ago, on April 28, 1851, ten years after Bishop Patrick Raymund Griffith laid the foundation stone. The cathedral, dedicated to Our Lady of the Flight Into Egypt, is seen here around 1870, before the belltower was built. Two successive buildings stood next to it; the second was torn down in 1938. In 1870, the parliamentary buildings on the other side of Stal Plein did not exist yet, though Tuynhuis had already stood there since 1682. Construction for the old Assembly Building began in 1875.

The cathedral was built, after a design by German architect Carl Otto Hager, on land that was Wachtenburg Garden and a piece of ground in front known as Tanner’s Square. Over time, the block behind the cathedral was bought by Bishop Griffith’s fellow Dominicans for the construction of schools — most of these buildings are still in Catholic hands. The present chancery, formerly the private Union Jack Club and located in the area behind the house on the right, was bought in the mid-1950s.

The last laugh

A

T EASTER MASS TWO YOUNG religious Sisters are about to take their final vows when a pair of rabbis enter the church and take their seats at the right-hand side of the central aisle.

After a beautiful ceremony in which the two young women became the “Brides of Christ”, the priest notices the presence of the two rabbis.

“I would like to welcome two rabbis from the Jewish faith to our church today. It is wonderful to see you here as a concrete sign of improving interfaith relations,” the priest says.

“Our brothers in faith, may I inquire of you what brought you here today?”

The elder of the two rabbis rises and replies: “Oh, we’re family of the groom.”

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