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Pe op l e o f

he D u r b a n

PREPARE YOUR HEART FOR THE LENTEN SEASON.

Beginning on Ash Wednesday, Catholics mark a time of hope and re ection known as Lent. For 40 days, we prepare ourselves to receive the Lamb of God, to share in Jesus’ su ering and death, and to be reborn with the risen Christ.

We invite you to experience Lent more fully with EWTN. Get answers to your questions in easy-to-understand language. Deepen your faith with engaging Lenten programming, pray the Stations of the Cross, and sign up for a free eBook of Lenten Re ections.

For your complete guide to this holiest of seasons, visit ewtn.com/lent.

For more info, go to ewtn.com/lent or contact: africadesk@ewtn.com

AVAILABLE ON:

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L E A D E R S H I P T E A M: Editor: Günther Simmermacher editor@scross co za

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Features Writer: Daluxolo Moloantoa daluxolo@scross co za

Advisory Editor: Michael Shackleton

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

R Shields (chair), Bishop S Sipuka, Bishop S David OMI (alt), S Duval, E Jackson, B Jordan, C Mathieson, N Mpushe, Fr H O’Connor, R Perrier, D Shikwambana, G Stubbs

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Return of the Passion

Dear Reader,

AT L A S T, T H E D U R B A N PA S S I O N Play will take to the stage from April 6-16, three years after the pandemic stopped its performance at a day ’s notice. We salute the fortitude of the Durban Catholic Players Guild in starting all over again to make sure it will stage the “Oberammergau of Africa”, 71 years after it made its debut.

We published a brief history of the Durban Passion Play last month. In this issue, on pages 22-23, we meet some of the people who perform in it this year, including couples who found love thanks to the play Our cover shows Jesus, played by Dale Collings, at the Last Supper

T h e D u r b a n Pa s s i o n P l ay i s p e rfo r m e d e ve r y f i ve ye a rs T h e re i s a n u n ex p e c te d u p s i d e to t h e d e l ay fo rc e d b y t h e p a n d e m i c i n 2 0 2 0 : i f t h e G u i l d m a i nta i n s i t s f i ve -ye a r r hy t h m , t h e p l ay w i l l b e sta ge d i n 2 0 3 3 , t h e 2 0 0 0 t h a n n i ve rs a r y o f C h r i st ’s Pa s s i o n a n d Re s u r re c t i o n . A n d m a ny o f t h o s e ta k i n g to t h e sta ge t h i s ye a r w i l l s u re l y d o s o a ga i n i n 2 0 2 8 , a n d e ve n i n te n ye a r ’s t i m e

We hope that in 2033, The Southern Cross will still be around to cover that ver y special jubilee. This year we have launched a series of events to promote The Southern Cross, starting in parishes in the archdiocese of Pretoria whose Archbishop Dabula Mpako has been greatly supportive of our national Catholic magazine (see below left).

These promotions are spearheaded by Daluxolo Moloantoa, whose articles are familiar to regular readers The

excitement about The Southern Cross among people who never knew the magazine, or maybe had certain misconceptions about it, has given us, who produce the magazine, renewed energy. See some joy ful photos from promotion campaigns below.

We are happy to make available sample copies of The Southern Cross for parishes who would like to run their own promotional campaign

This issue is also one of “goodbye”, as we inter view the outgoing papal nuncio, Archbishop Peter Wells. There’s no false sentiment in saying that he will be missed in our region, as a representative of the pope and as a good friend to the Church in Southern Africa and its people.

Archbishop Wells has been a most accessible and unassuming nuncio Those who met him, having practised the formal address of “ Your Excellency ” , may have been taken aback when the archbishop introduced himself by his first name, as he so often did

In that spirit, we wish His Excellency Peter well in his posting in Asia, and look for ward to welcoming his successor

And we thank you for reading The Southern Cross Please tell your friends about your monthly Catholic magazine, and ask you parish to promote it!

G d bl

Günther Simmermacher (Editor)

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Cardinal Warns of Nuclear Conflict

In an interview with The Southern Cross, Vatican Cardinal Peter Turkson speaks about war and peace

Mr Tlhapane’s 93 Years of Wisdom

Meet Thomas Tlhapane, a veteran parish builder

Farewell Interview with Nuncio

Outgoing papal nuncio Archbishop Peter Wells on his experience of serving in Southern Africa

100 Years of Papal Representatives in SA

We look back at a century since the first papal delegate came to South Africa

With Faith at the Centre

A review of the memoirs of Catholic activist Peter Sadie

The People of Durban’s Passion Play

The Durban Passion Play will be staged in April, and we meet some of the people appearing in it

Where Holy Week Happened

We visit the sites in the Holy Land where the events of Holy Week actually took place

It Is a Good Morning Indeed

Poet and writer Tlalane Manciya reflects on the greeting ‘Good Morning’

EVERY MONTH

5 FROM OUR VAULTS

The Southern Cross 79 years ago

6 YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

You ask and we answer questions about the dating of Easter, the physical appearance of the Risen Christ, and the Apostolic Succession

17

SAINT OF THE MONTH

How St Catherine of Siena got the pope to return to Rome plus a pull-out poster

26

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Have your say! 28

RAYMOND PERRIER

On morality, Church and the law

29

FR RON ROLHEISER OMI

How God gave us the ‘Second Light’ 30

PRAY WITH THE POPE

Fr Chris Chatteris SJ reflects on the pope’s prayer intention for April on weapons

Did

our

31 PRAYER CORNER

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Your illustrated prayers, to cut out and collect

TWO PAGES OF PUZZLES

Two Crosswords, Wordsearch, Dropped Letters, Catholic Trivia Quiz, and Anagram Challenge

COOKING WITH SAINTS

Grazia Barletta tries out recipes inspired by faith. This month: Easter Simnel Cake

...AND FINALLY

digital edition, all links to websites are live Just click, and the site opens in your browser! Try IT! C o v e r i m a g e : D a l e C o l l i n g s a s C h r i s t i n t h e D u r b a n P a s s i o n P l a y 2 0 2 3 ( P h o t o : D a w n H a y n e s )

The People of Durban Passion Play

We interview outgoing nuncio

Where Holy Week happened

With pull-out poster!

War austerity in the Vatican

Pope Pius XII is feeling the world war with his flock, the recently published Vatican “Yellow Book” reveals According to the book, which chronicles events in the Vatican and the pope’s activities, the pontiff instructed that heating in Vatican buildings be suspended indefinitely. The suspension, ordered at the beginning of winter and scrupulously obeyed, includes the papal apartment Food rationing has been introduced at the Vatican and ration cards have been distributed Pope Pius has also denied himself holidays at the papal summer residence Castelgandolfo since 1940, and has left the Vatican only to console air raid victims

Old church to be replaced

The oldest permanent church in the Transvaal, built in Barberton in 1886 during the goldrush on the De Kaap Goldfields, will soon be replaced at a nearby site For the last ten years the small Catholic community has collected funds, and on March 19, Mgr Johannes Riegler, prefect of Lydenburg, blessed and laid the foundation stone for Barberton’s new church of St Anthony

Editorial: Let films inspire

In his editorial, Southern Cross editor Fr Owen McCann applauds the American Legion of Decency for its “wonderful work by warning us against unsuitable films” However, to utilise the powerful medium of film as a way of combating indifference among Catholics, movies must be made which are neither indifferent themselves nor “definedly Catholic”, but depict the life of Catholics and yet “reflect the dogmas on which that ordinary wholesome Catholic life is built”.

P r e v i o u s “ F r o m O u r Va u l t s ” a r t i c l e s a t w w w s c r o s s c o z a / v a u l t s

What else made news in April 1944:

• Just Nuisance, the only dog ever to be officially enlisted in the Royal Navy, dies on April 1 at the age of seven The Great Dane had served on the HMS Afrikander in Simon’s Town, Cape Town, since 1939 and was buried with full military honours.

• After training for a year in Egypt, troops of the 6th South African Armoured Division land in Taranto, Italy.

• Soviet forces begin to expel German forces from the Crimea.

• Adolf Hitler suspends all laws in Berlin and appoints Joseph Goebbels sole administrator (or quasi dictator) of the German capital.

• Allied bombers misidentified Schaffhausen, a city in neutral Switzerland, as their target of Ludwigshafen in Germany About 50 Swiss citizens die in the bombing

• The film Double Indemnity, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray, is released in the US

Why are there two dates for Easter?

Q W h y d o t h e R o m a n C a t h o l i c a n d O r t h o d o x C h u rc h e s h a v e d i ff e re n t d a t e s f o r E a s t e r ?

BE F O R E T H E C O U N C I L O F N I C A E A o f 3 2 5 A D , d i f f e r e n t C h r i s t i a n c o m m u n i t i e s c e l e b r a t e d E a s t e r o n d i f f e r e n t d a t e s T h e c o u n c i l d ec i d e d t h a t f o r t h e u n i t y o f t h e C h r i st i a n c o m m u n i t y a n d i t s w i t n e s s , E a s t e r w o u l d b e c e l e b r a t e d o n t h e f i r s t S u n d a y a f t e r t h e f i r s t f u l l m o o n a f t e r t h e s p r i n g e q u i n o x

B u t t h e J u l i a n c a l e n d a r , w h i c h i s w h a t C h r i s t i a n s u s e d i n t h e 4 t h c e nt u r y , b e c a m e i n c r e a s i n g l y o u t o f s y n c w i t h t h e a c t u a l s o l a r y e a r , s o M a r c h 2 1 g e n e r a l l y a s s u m e d t o b e t h e d a t e o f t h e n o r t h e r n h e m i s p h e r e ’ s s p r i n g e q u i n o x g r a d u a l l y “ d r i f t e d ” a w a y f r o m t h e a c t u a l e q u i n o x I n 1 5 8 2 , P o p e G r e g o r y X I I I , r e l yi n g o n t h e w o r k o f t h e b e s t a st r o n o m e r s o f h i s t i m e , p r o m u l g a t e d t h e r e f o r m e d G r e g o r i a n c a l e n d a r , w h i c h w e s t i l l u s e t o d a y , d r o p p i n g t e n d a y s a n d m a k i n g t h e e q u i n o x f a l l o n M a r c h 2 1 a g a i n M o s t E a s t e r n C h r i s t i a n s d i d n o t a d o p t t h e n e w G r e g o r i a n c a l e n d a r , l e a d i n g t o a s i t ua t i o n w h e r e E a s t e r o c c a s i o n a l l y i s o n t h e s a m e d a y i n t h e W e s t , b u t E a s t -

e r n C h r i s t i a n s ’ c e l e b r a t i o n c a n b e a s m u c h a s f o u r w e e k s l a t e r S o m e C h r i s t i a n c o m m u n i t i e s m a k e t h e b e s t o u t o f t h e d i f f e r e n t E a s t e r d a t e s I n t h e H o l y L a n d , f o r e x -

a m p l e , O r t h o d o x C h r i s t i a n s j o i n C a t h o l i c s f o r t h e i r E a s t e r c e l e b r a t i o n s a n d v i c e v e r s a a f t e r a l l , o n e c a n ’ t

What was the shape of the risen Lord?

Q D i d t h e r i s e n C h r i s t h a v e a h u m a n b o d y ?

IT I S A F U N D A M E N T A L T R U T H O F

C h r i s t i a n i t y t h a t J e s u s r o s e f r o m t h e d e a d i n h i s p h y s i c a l b o d y T h i s d i f f e r s , f o r e x a m p l e , f r o m t h e d o ct r i n e o f J e h o v a h ’ s W i t n e s s e s , w h o h o l d t h a t t h e p o s t - r e s u r r e c t i o n C h r i s t w a s s p i r i t u a l , n o t p h y s i c a l

C h r i s t i a n s b e l i e v e t h a t t h e J e s u s w h o a p p e a r e d t o m o r e t h a n 5 0 0 w i tn e s s e s a f t e r E a s t e r ( 1 C o r i n t h i a n s 1 5 : 6 ) w a s n o t a g h o s t b u t w a s a c t ua l l y t h e r e w a l k i n g , t a l k i n g , e v e n e a t i n g W h e n J e s u s s h o w e d h i m s e l f t o t h e d i s c i p l e s i n t h e U p p e r R o o m o n E a s t e r S u n d a y n i g h t , t h e y w e r e a t f i r s t t e r r i f i e d a n d t h o u g h t t h a t t h e y w e r e s e e i n g a g h o s t . B u t h e s a i d t o

t h e m : “ W h y a r e y o u t r o u b l e d ? L o o k

a t m y h a n d s a n d m y f e e t , t h a t i t i s I

m y s e l f T o u c h m e a n d s e e , b e c a u s e a g h o s t d o e s n o t h a v e f l e s h a n d b o n e s a s y o u c a n s e e I h a v e ” ( L u k e

2 4 : 3 8 - 3 9 ) .

Seeing them still amazed, Jesus asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of baked fish, which he then ate in front of them (24:41-42) A week later, still bearing the wounds of the crucifixion, Jesus appeared to the sceptical Thomas (see illustration) and said: “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side” (John 20:27)

L a t e r , a t t h e S e a o f G a l i l e e , J e s u s

m a d e a f i s h b r e a k f a s t f o r t h e d i s c i -

p l e s w h o h a d b e e n t o i l i n g i n t h e i r

b o a t t h e w h o l e n i g h t ( J o h n 2 1 : 9 - 1 4 )

G h o s t s c a n ’ t b r a a i !

A t t h e s a m e t i m e , t h o u g h , i t

n e e d s t o b e s a i d t h a t C h r i s t ’ s p o s t -

P h o t o : G ü n t h e r S m m e r m a c h e r

Your Q u e s t i o ns answered

D o y o u h a v e q u e s t i o n s a b o u t o u r f a i t h ? S e n d t h e m t o : e d i t o r @ s c r o s s . c o . z a

c e l e b r a t e t h e r e s u r r e c t i o n o f t e n e n o u g h ! R e c e n t l y , P o p e F r a n c i s r e a f f i r m e d t h e C a t h o l i c C h u r c h ’ s w i l l i n g n e s s t o a l i g n i t s E a s t e r d a t e s w i t h t h o s e o f t h e E a s t e r n c h u r c h e s , i f E a s t e r n C h r i st i a n s a g r e e o n a w a y t o d e t e r m i n e a c o m m o n d a t e f o r E a s t e r T h i s d i s p o s it i o n w a s s t a t e d i n a n a p p e n d i x o f t h e S e c o n d V a t i c a n C o u n c i l ’ s 1 9 6 3 “ C o ns t i t u t i o n o n t h e S a c r e d L i t u r g y ” , b u t i s s u b j e c t t o “ t h o s e w h o m i t m a y c o nc e r n , e s p e c i a l l y t h e b r e t h r e n w h o a r e n o t i n c o m m u n i o n w i t h t h e A p o s t o l i c S e e , [ g i v i n g ] t h e i r a s s e n t ” T h e n e x t t i m e E a s t e r f a l l s o n a c o m m o n d a t e w i l l b e , f i t t i n g l y , i n t h e H o l y Y e a r 2 0 2 5 ( o n A p r i l 2 0 ) , w h i c h a l s o m a r k s t h e 1 7 0 0 t h a n n i v e r s a r y o f t h e C o u n c i l o f N i c a e a

f e r e n t f r o m h i s p h y s i c a l b o d y o n e a r t h , s i n c e i t w a s n o w g l o r i f i e d i n c o r r u p t i b l e a n d f r e e o f s u f f e r i n g , a p r o m i s e o f w h a t o u r o w n b o d i e s w i l l b e l i k e i n h e a v e n H e c o u l d e n t e r c l o s e d r o o m s , f o r e x a m p l e , e v e n t h o u g h t h e d o o r w a s l o c k e d ( J o h n 2 0 : 1 9 ) , a n d h e w a s a b l e t o d i s a p p e a r , a s h e d i d w h e n h e v a ni s h e d f r o m t h e s i g h t o f t h e d i s c i p l e s o n t h e r o a d t o E m m a u s ( L u k e 2 4 : 3 1 ) ; a n d , o f c o u r s e , h e w a s a b l e t o a sc e n d i n t o h e a v e n ( A c t s 1 : 9 )

Can apostolic succession be traced

Q T h e C h u rc h t e a c h e s t h a t b i s h o p s a n d p r i e s t s a re t h e s u c c e s s o r s o f t h e a p o s t l e s . C a n t h i s l i n e re a l l y b e t r a c e d b a c k t o o n e o r a l l o f t h e o r i g i n a l a p o s t l e s ?

THE TWELVE APOSTLES were the privileged eyewitnesses sent to proclaim the teachings of Jesus The Gospel of Matthew (28:1920) reflects the fact that Christ, following the resurrection, commissioned the apostles and guaranteed his help: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

It is the further belief of the Church, in what is known as the doctrine of apostolic succession, that bishops and priests (since they must be ordained by a bishop) are linked in an unbroken line to those same original apostles It is the Church’s ancient belief that a bishop cannot have regular or valid orders unless he has been consecrated in this apostolic succession

This means that every bishop throughout all ages was consecrated by other bishops, themselves consecrated similarly in a succession going back to the apostles That is attested to in the First Epistle of Clement, which was written in the second half of the first century: “Our Apostles, too, by the instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ,

knew that strife would arise concerning the dignity of a bishop; and on this account, having received perfect foreknowledge, they appointed the abovementioned as bishops and deacons: and then gave a rule of succession, in order that, when they had fallen asleep, other men, who had been approved, might succeed to their ministry.”

Ancient office

The office of bishop existed from the earliest time St Ignatius of Antioch who lived from around 35 to 107 and is believed to have been a disciple of the apostle John wrote: “For we ought to receive every one whom the Master of the house sends to be over his household, as we would do him that sent him. It is manifest, therefore, that we should look upon the bishop even as we would upon the Lord himself ”

T h e v i s i b l e s i g

the New Testament onward, has been the imposition of hands. Thus, the transmission of the apostolic ministry is achieved by that ritual, together with the prayer of the celebrant that the ordinand be granted the gift of the Holy Spirit to accomplish the ministry for which he has been chosen

Can apostolic lines be traced back to the original apostles? This might not be possible as documents have been lost over the past 19 centuries However, there is no evidence of a point in history when the principle and teaching of apostolic succession was abandoned or disrupted Available documented records tend to go back to the 16th century

The photo illustrating this article shows the feet of Bishop Victor Phalana during his episcopal ordination in Klerksdorp in 2015 Bishop Phalana was consecrated by Archbishop William Slattery, who in turn was consecrated by then-Archbishop Wilfrid Napier, who was consecrated by Archbishop Denis Hurley, who was consecrated by Archbishop Martin Lucas, who was consecrated by Cardinal Pietro Fumasoni Biondi, who was consecrated by Cardinal Domenico Serafini, and so on, with the documented record going back to Cardinal Scipione Rebiba, who lived from 1504-77

‘We ar e closer t han ever t o a nucl ear war’

For the past 14 years, cardinal peter turkson from Ghana has been the Vatican s point-man on issues of Justice and peace. Günther Simmermacher interviewed him.

TH E W O R L D I S C L O S E R T O A n u c l e a r w a r t h a n i t h a s e v e r b e e n i n i t s h i s t o r y, C a r d i n a l P e t e r Tu r k s o n h a s w a r n e d , s a y i n g t h a t o n i t s 6 0 t h a n n i v e r s a r y, P o p e J o h n X X I I I ’s e n c y c l i c a l P a c e m i n Te r r i s ( P e a c e o n E a r t h ) r e m a i n s a c u t e l y r e l e v a n t I n a n i n t e r v i e w w i t h T h e S o u t h e r n C ro s s d u r i n g h i s r e c e n t v i s i t t o S o u t h A f r i c a a n d E s w a t i n i , t h e c u r i a l c a r d i n a l r e c a l l e d t h a t 6 0 y e a r s b e f o r e R u s s i a ’s i n v as i o n o f U k r a i n e i n 2 0 2 2 , t h e C u b a n M i s s i l e C r i s i s o f 1 9 6 2 b e t w e e n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d t h e S o v i e t U n i o n h a d b r o u g h t t h e w o r l d t o t h e b r i n k o f a n u c l e a r c o n f l i c t T h e c r i s i s p r o m p t e d P o p e J o h n ’s l a n d m a r k e n c y c l i c a l , w h i c h w a s i s s u e d o n A p r i l

I n A f r i c a , t h e r e i s t h e i n v e n t o r y o f h a t e b y t h e j i h a d i s t m o v e m e n t B o k o H a r a m , f o r e x a m p l e G l o b a l l y, t h e r e a r e s o m a n y, m a n y f l a s h p o i n t s o f v i o l e n c e , a l l o f w h i c h a r e i m p o r t a n t a n d r e l e v a n t f o r t h e C h r i s t i a n c o m m u n i t y t o r e f l e c t o n ”

F o r t h a t r e a s o n , P a c e m i n Te r r i s r e m a i n s a c u t e l y r e l e v a n t , h e s a i d

T h e e n c y c l i c a l , r e l e a s e d l e s s t h a n t w o m o n t h s b e f o r e P o p e J o h n ’s d e a t h ,

The Church’s critical contribution to the development of the country will give Catholics a voice

u r g e d t h e p r o m o t i o n o f n o n - v i o l e n t p e a c e - b u i l d i n g a n d r e s o l u t i o n o f c o n f l i c t , j u s t i c e , h u m a n r i g h t s

1 1 , 1 9 6 3 “ T h e t h r e a t o f n u c l e a r w e a p o n s i s a v e r y r e a l p r o b l e m m o r e r e a l t h a n i t w a s 6 0 y e a r s a g o a n d i t i s v e r y i m p o r t a n t t h a t w e s e e k w a y s o f d i f f u s i n g t h e t e n s i o n a n d b r i n g i n g b a c k p e a c e , ” C a r d i n a l Tu r k s o n s a i d

T h e 7 3 - y e a r - o l d c a r d i n a l s e r v e d a s t h e p r e s i d e n t o f t h e P o n t i f i c a l C o u n c i l f o r J u s t i c e a n d P e a c e f r o m

2 0 0 9 a n d s i n c e 2 0 1 7 t h e D i c a s t e r y f o r P r o m o t i n g I n t e g r a l H u m a n D e v e l o p m e n t , w h i c h a b s o r b e d t h e J u s t i c e a n d P e a c e c o u n c i l T h e t h r e a t t o p e a c e i s g l o b a l , w i t h t h e p r o g r e s s i o n o f w h a t P o p e F r a n c i s h a s t e r m e d a “ T h i r d Wo r l d Wa r i n p i e c e s ” , C a r d i n a l Tu r k s o n n o t e d “ U k r a i n e i s a b i g f l a s h p o i n t r i g h t n o w, b u t i t ’s n o t t h e o n l y o n e

G r e a t e r c o o p e r a t i o n Tu r n i n g t o t h e f l a s h p o i n t s i n A f r i c a , t h e G h a n a i a n c a r d i n a l c a l l e d f o r c l o s e r c o o p e r a t i o n b e t w e e n r eg i o n a l b i s h o p s ’ c o n f e r e n c e s , e v e n a c r o s s t h e w h o l e c o n t i n e n t H e p r a i s e d t h e r e c e n t u n i f i c a t i o n o f t h e F r a n c o p h o n e a n d A n g l o p h o n e b i s h o p s ’ c o n f e r e n c e s o f We s t A f r i c a A t t h e s a m e t i m e , h e s a i d , A f r i c a ’s p r o b l e m s r e q u i r e r e s p o n s e s t h a t a r e s p e c i f i c t o t h e p a r t i c u l a r a f f e c t e d r eg i o n s “ T h e r e s p o n s e s w i l l p r o b a b l y b e f o r m u l a t e d d i f f e r e n t l y f r o m r e g i o n t o r e g i o n F o r e x a m p l e , t h e t h r e a t o f v i o l e n c e w e h a v e i n We s t A f r i c a c o m e s f r o m j i h a d i s t I s l a m Yo u d o n ’t h a v e a n y t h i n g c l o s e t o t h a t i n s o u t h e r n A f r i c a , e x c e p t t h e i n s t a n c e s

i n t h e C a b o D e l g a d o p r o v i n c e i n M o z a m b i q u e , w h i c h I t h i n k h a s b e e n p r e t t y m u c h w o r k e d o u t ” O t h e r r e g i o n s h a v e d i f f e r e n t p r o b l e m s , h e s a i d , p o i n t i n g t o e x t r e m e p o v e r t y o r b a d g o v e r n a n c e t h a t p r e s e n t t h e r i s k o f p o l i t i c a l u n r e s t a n d v i o l e n c e W h i l e t h e C a t h o l i c C h u rc h i s a t i n y m i n o r i t y i n m o s t A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s , t h e n a t i o n a l b i s h o p s ’ c o n f e r e n c e s s t i l l h a v e a p a r t t o p l a y i n h e l p i n g t o c r e a t e p e a c e a n d t h e C h u rc h i s n o t p o w e rl e s s i n d o i n g s o “ O n a c c o u n t o f t h e C a t h o l i c C h u rc h ’s i n s t i t u t i o n a l c o n t r i b u t i o n w i t h i t s n e tw o r k o f s c h o o l s a n d h o s p i t a l s a n d o t h e r s o c i a l a m e n i t i e s i t c a n a l s o b e o f s e r v i c e a n d m a k e c r e d i b l e s u gg e s t i o n s t o g o v e r n m e n t s E v e n i f w e a r e a s m a l l m i n o r i t y, w e c a n n o t a v o i d d o i n g s o j u s t b e c a u s e o f o u r s m a l l n u m b e r s O u r c r i t i c a l c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e c o u n t r y w i l l g i v e u s a v o i c e T h a t ’s w h y I s u g g e s t t h a t w h e r e s u c h s e r v i c e s e x i s t , w e s t r e n g t h e n t h e m , a s a g a t e w a y f o r d i a l o g u e , ” C a r d i n a l Tu r k s o n s a i d “ S o I w o u l d i n v i t e e p i s c o p a l c o n f e r e n c e s t o f i n d t h e i r v o i c e w i t h t h e i r g o v e r n m e n t s , t o f i n d s o m e r a p p r o c h e m e n t w i t h t h e m , s o a s t o b e a b l e t o s p e a k t o g o v e r n m e n t s ”

D i a l o g u e w i t h I s l a m C a r d i n a l Tu r k s o n a l s o c a l l e d f o r a n i n t e n s i f i c a t i o n o f d i a l o g u e w i t h o t h e r f a i t h b o d i e s , i n c l u d i n g M u sl i m s , E v a n g e l i c a l s a n d P e n t e c o s t a l s

H e n o t e d , h o w e v e r, t h a t t h e c h a r a c t e r o f I s l a m i n A f r i c a i s c h a n gi n g i n w a y s t h a t m a k e s u c h d i a l o g u e d i f f i c u l t . “ I n t h e p a s t , I s l a m i n o u r s u b - r e g i o n w a s o p e n t o d i a l o g u e w i t h r C h r i s t i a n C h u rc h e s . B u t e o f I s l a m i s b e i n g r e p l a c e d a m w h i c h i s l e s s a n d l e s s d i a l o g u e . T h e i r a i m i s t h e t i o n ’ o f I s l a m , a n d t h a t , n a t e l y, c r e a t e s i n t o l e r a n c e . ” F r a n c i s ’ r e c e n t A b u D h a b i e , w h e n h e a n d t h e g r a n d A l - A z h a r, A h m e d e l - Ta y y e b , h e “ D o c u m e n t o n H u m a n y f o r Wo r l d P e a c e a n d L i v i n g ” i n F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 9 , o f f e r s p e f o r f r u i t f u l d i a l o g u e , w i l l n o t n e c e s s a r i l y f i l t e r t o j i h a d i s t g r o u p s a n d t h o s e o w t h e i r l e a d . p r o b l e m h e r e i s t h a t t h e r e n g l e c e n t r a l a u t h o r i t y o r a t i v e v o i c e i n I s l a m . E v e r y i m a m i s t h e f o c u s o f h i s m o s q u e , a n d t h a t m a k e s t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f r e a c h i n g a c o m m o n p o s i t i o n d i f f i c u l t t o t h i n k a b o u t , ” C a r d i n a l Tu r k s o n s a i d S t i l l , t h e A b u D h a b i d e c l a r a t i o n i s “ s o m et h i n g t h a t c a n b e r e f e r r e d t o i n c o nv e r s a t i o n s o n l o c a l l e v e l s ” w h e r e t h e s e c a n t a k e p l a c e

Africa needs food security

C a r d i n a l Tu r k s o n s a i d t h a t A f r i c a

C a r d i n a l P e t e r T u r k s o n i s t h e c u r r e n t h e a d o f t h e V a t i c a n ’ s D i c a s t e r y f o r P r om o t i n g I n t e g r a l H u m a n D e v e l o p m e n t

n e e d s t o f i n d w a y s t o d e a l w i t h p o v e r t y a n d s p e c i f i c a l l y f o o d s e c u r i t y Te c h n o l o g y a p p l i e d t o f o o d p r o d u c t i o n c a n h e l p i n t h a t r e g a r d , h e s a i d A s a n e x a m p l e , h e c i t e d S o u t h S u d a n , w h e r e t h e N i l e b r e a k s o u t i n s e v e r a l s t r e a m s T h i s c a n b e u t i l i s e d f o r m o r e e f f e c t i v e i r r i g a t i o n a n d t h e c u l t i v a t i o n o f r i c e t o s u p p o r t t h e r e s t o f t h e c o u n t r y T h e c a r d i n a l c a u t i o n e d t h a t f o r e i g n i n t e r f e r e n c e , e s p e c i a l l y f r o m t h e g l o b a l We s t , a n d t h e a c c u m u l at i o n o f d e b t r e d u c e s t h e c a p a c i t y o f A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s t o g r o w, e s p e c i a l l y w h e r e t h e q u a l i t y o f g o v e r n a n c e i s i n a d e q u a t e T h a t a f f e c t s e v e n

d e m o c r a c i e s w h e r e g o v e r n m e n t s a r r a n g e t h e m s e l v e s w i t h t h e p o s s i b i li t y o f s e r v i n g o n l y a s i n g l e t e r m , a n d r u n u p b i g d e b t s w h i l e t h e y c a n d u ri n g t h e i r f o u r o r f i v e y e a r s i n o f f i c e . “ T h e b o r r o w i n g c u l t u r e o f s e v e r a l c o u n t r i e s i n c r e a s e s t h e s t r a n g l e h o l d o f c a p i t a l i s t s t r u c t u r e s a n d i t m a k e s t h e s e c o u n t r i e s s i n k f u r t h e r i n t o p o v e r t y, ” C a r d i n a l Tu r k s o n s a i d . I t i s n ’t a l w a y s t h e c a s e t h a t a c o u n t r y i s p o o r b e c a u s e o f i t s l a c k o f p r o d u c t i o n o r p r o d u c t i v i t y, b u t s o m e t i m e s l o a n s o r i n v e s t m e n t c o n d i t i o n s l e a d a c o u n t r y m o r e d e e p l y i n t o p o v e r t y, t h e c a r d i n a l e x p l a i n e d . T h e p r o t e ct i o n o f f o r e i g n i n v e s t o r s c a n f u r t h e r l e a d t o t h e v u l n e r a b i l i t y o f c o u n t r i e s , a n d v i o l a t i o n s o f j u s t i c e , h e n o t e d . “ O f t e n t h e c o m m o n g o o d i s l e s s a n d l e s s p r o t e c t e d b y g o v e r n m e n t s , a n d i n s t e a d p r i v a t e i n t e r e s t s a r e b e i n g p r o m o t e d , s o m e t i m e s w i t h t h e h e l p o f b u s i n e s s o r c a p i t a l i s t s t r u c t u r e s f r o m o u t s i d e w h i c h a l s o w a n t t o m a k e p r o f i t s , ” C a r d i n a l Tu r k s o n s a i d A s t h e C h u rc h , t h e c a r d i n a l s a i d , “ w e s h o u l d c a l l f o r a c e r t a i n a m o u n t o f r e - e x a m i n a t i o n o f p o l i t i c a l p o l i c i e s a n d t r a j e c t o r i e s o f g o v e r n m e n t s b y s t u d y i n g i s s u e s l i k e t h e c o m m o n g o o d a n d s o l i d a r i t y p r i n c i p l e s , a n d t h e n e e d f o r u s t o w o r k t o g e t h e r f o r a n a t i o n a l c o m m o n g o o d ”

93 years of wisdom

WISDOM, THE BOOK OF Job says, “belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old” (12:12), reminding us of the value of knowledge implanted in the elderly. Over his 93 years of life, Thomas Tlhapane has accumulated such wisdom in abundance

Those have been years of living in faith, and a true commitment to his family, community and the Church And years punctuated by an indefinite mountain of stories to tell about the Church and about significant periods of life past in South Africa.

Mr Tlhapane was born on December 18, 1929, in Tsitsing village near Rustenburg and was raised the third of five children in a single-parent household headed by his mother.

At the age of ten years he started his education at a local Lutheran missionary school. In 1944, he enrolled at St Eugene Vocational College at Ga-Monnakgotla, near Randfontein “Upon arrival at the college, I chose to convert from Lutheranism to become a Catholic I was baptised on the Easter Sunday of 1946 at the St Eugene church, which was part of the college,” Mr Tlhapane recalled While at the college, he acquired various vocational skills, mainly in livestock farming and agriculture

In 1948, the college was forced to close due to the newly-elected apartheid government’s forced removals policy The school’s staff and students were transferred to Glen Cowie Catholic Mission School, near the town of Jane Furse in the Northern Transvaal (now Limpopo) When Mr Tlhapane completed his studies in 1950, he was appointed boarding-master for the male students at the school and tasked with the job of teaching the boys livestock farming and agriculture.

Because of his braver y in dealing with the hazards of an “outback” type of environment, including constant encounters with snakes and other menaces of nature, the German missionaries gave Mr Tlhapane the nickname Tau, meaning lion

He also taught the boys boxing “I had been an amateur boxer since my days at St Eugene Vocational College. A normal school day would start with me waking the boys up at five in the morning. Then we would go on a 10km-run to the edge of the mountain traversing the mission There we would conduct some exercises and a bit of sparring and shadow boxing In winter we would make use of the animal shelter for the exercises. From there we would run the 10km again back to the dormitories,

girl from nearby Botshabelo Since she was still at high school at Motse Maria College, a Catholic missionary boarding school near Polokwane, he had to wait for Magdalena to complete her schooling before they could marry. He returned to Glen Cowie to marry his bride on December 27, 1957 at the mission church there. They went on to have seven children Magdalena died in 2006

wash and get ready for the day ”

Among the boys he taught to farm and box was Fr Smangaliso Mkhatshwa, future secretary-general of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference and political activist, and Dominic Phaahla, father of current health minister Joe Phaahla.

Life at the Glen Cowie mission centred around prayer “Ever y weekday morning the entire school students, staff, priests, religious would attend morning Mass, conducted in Latin, in the mission church. Every evening at six we would all be back in the church for evening prayers, usually led by the religious Sisters or Brothers,” he said. The priests and Brothers were German Oblates The nuns were mainly British Sisters of Loreto and mainly African Handmaids of Christ the Priest

Move to Pretoria

Move to Pretoria

In 1955 Mr Tlhapane moved to Pretoria and soon after joined the South African Railways and Harbours Agency (SARHA), a government parastatal “I was part of the team which was responsible for installing the train signals on the new railway track from Pretoria to Messina,” he recalled.

While at Glen Cowie he had fallen in love with Magdalena Lephaka, a local

After the completion of the railway route to Messina, Mr Tlhapane was roped in as one of the first black train ticket examiners for the new trains connecting Johannesburg’s Park Station to Soweto’s stations But this marked the beginning of yet another period of moving due to forced removals

“To be close to my workplace, I rented a room in Sophiatown One of my neighbours was Dr Eduardo Mondlane, who would later lead the Frelimo Movement in toppling the Portuguese colonial government in Mozambique It was a time when the government was intensifying its forced removal campaign to move the people of Sophiatown to the newly-built Meadowlands settlement in Soweto Instead of moving to Meadowlands, I decided to move back to Pretoria,” Mr Tlhapane said.

Forced removals

Forced removals

In Pretoria he settled in Lady Selbourne As fate would have it, the apartheid government had also targeted that settlement for removals. The choice presented to the black residents of Lady Selbourne was for them to be moved to the new townships of Mamelodi in the west or Atteridgeville to the east of Pretoria He settled for Mamelodi township

There he became friends with Dr Fabian Ribeiro, a fellow Catholic and the local community surgeon who in 1981 would be assassinated alongside his wife

In his 93 years, Thomas Tlhapane has lived a life of faith and leadership. He told Daluxolo Moloantoa about his experiences.

Because of his bravery in dealing with snakes, he was nickname Tau – lion

Florence by apartheid forces (the couple was profiled in the January 2023 issue)

In 1967 the community in their part of Mamelodi was informed that the area had been earmarked for another development by the apartheid government Once again, a forced removal was on the horizon. The Sotho, Nguni and the Shangaan people were moved to Soshanguve township (the name is an abbreviation of the three ethnic groups) As Motswana, the Tlhapane family was moved to Garankuwa township, north of Pretoria, in the early 1970s

In Garankuwa Mr Tlhapane became an acolyte, altar assistant and catechist. In 1974, he co-founded the Catholic Men’s Association (CMA), which soon spread to the surrounding areas Today it covers most parishes in Pretoria’s townships and beyond Mr Tlhapane also became a member of the local Sacred Heart Sodality, for whom he helped draft its rulebook

In 1979 he was among the local Catholics who, along with Stigmatine Father Charles Mittempergher, founded the second parish in the township, the Maria Mater Ecclesiae church It has been the Tlhapane family’s parish ever since “Before this happened, we would hold our Mass services in various classrooms at the schools in our vicinity. Eventually, we identified a site for a church. I was the one to manage the removal of big rocks and to lay the foundation on the site,” Mr Tlhapane recalled His Marian devotion led him to head the building of a parish grotto soon after the church building was completed

Fruits of pilgrimage

In 1981 Mr Tlhapane was chosen to represent the archdiocese of Pretoria at the International Eucharistic Congress in Lourdes He extended his trip to go on a pilgrimage to Rome and other holy sites in France, Spain and Portugal It was a dream trip for him, as it enabled him to visit the holy sites of Lourdes and Fatima

“One of the items he brought back with him was a picture of the Black Madonna and Child,” daughter Anastacia recalled “It was the first time that my family and many Garankuwa Catholic families were seeing a representation of Mother Mary and the baby Jesus as black people. Remember those were the days of apartheid when we, as black people, were made to believe that every important fig-

ure in history and Christianity was white It changed a lot of people’s ideas about what we had always thought to be true about Jesus and his roots, taking into account that the picture was coming from Europe.”

A number of his children have followed Mr Tlhapane on international travel for Church business. One travelled to Chile for a youth pilgrimage, another to Germany as part of a Garankuwa

tion offices As soon as we walked through the gates we found apartheid police waiting for us. Mind you, this was at the height of the State of Emergency, with a horde of local and international reporters following the mayhem of apartheid oppression everywhere in the country,” he remembered

parishes marimba music group, while another went to Rome for a youth conference One worked for the SACBC, while another headed the children’s centre at the Christ the New Man church in Garankuwa

Police massacre

Mr Tlhapane also worked closely with the late Fr Michele D’Annucci CSS who was noted in the archdiocese of Pretoria as an active voice against apartheid Mr Tlhapane recalled an ecumenical protest against the Bophuthatswana homeland government, of which Garankuwa was part, in November 1985

“I participated in the march as part of the local Catholic leadership alongside Frs D’Annucci and Mittempergher I was chosen to carry a big cross at the front of the march, followed by the various church ministers and hundreds of protesters behind us We marched down the road from the local magistrates courts and into the grounds of the administra-

“A policeman instructed us through a loudspeaker to disperse in the next five minutes, or else they would force us to disperse We refused to disperse All hell broke loose, and in the end 18 protestors were killed by the apartheid police We knew that the police would try and confiscate the cameras of the newsmen By quick thinking, the reporters handed all their cameras to Fr D’Annucci who hid them under his cassock and swiftly made his way out of the crowd back to his car parked a short walk away. At the end of the chaos, he handed the cameras back to the reporters The next day the news made front-page headlines in some local and international newspapers,” Mr Tlhapane recalled

T h e s e d a y s , M r T l h a p a n e s p e n d s m o s t o f h i s d a y s i n h i s r u r a l h o m e s t e a d i n Ts i t s i n g , h i s b i r t h p l a c e H e s p e n d s h i s t i m e t e n d i n g t o h i s p l a n t s a n d v e ge t a b l e g a r d e n a n d s t i l l p l a y s h i s p a r t i n s e v e r a l c o m m u n i t y i n i t i a t i v e s S o m e t i m e a g o , a t h i s l o c a l p a r i s h , h e h e l p e d w i t h t h e i n s t a l l a t i o n o f a l a r g e c r o s s m a d e o f t w o e l e c t r i c i t y p o l e s a l o n g s i d e t h e v i l l a g e m o u n t a i n . I t d i r e c t l y f a c e s h i s h o u s e

“I can see the cross from my kitchen door. Every morning as I open the door, I look up at the cross on the mountain, thank the Lord for the long years of life that he has given me, and I make the sign of the cross ”

‘I look up at the cross and thank the Lord for the long life that he has given me’

Interview with outgoing nuncio: I’m leaving many good friends

ARCHBISHOP PETER BRYAN WELLS, born in 1963 in the US city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was appointed apostolic nuncio to South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia and Lesotho in 2016 In that role he has served the pope both as representative to the local Churches and as ambassador of the Holy See to these states

In February it was announced that Archbishop Wells would be transferred to serve as the apostolic nuncio to Thailand and Cambodia, and the apostolic delegate to Laos.

As he had done soon after the nuncio’s arrival in South Africa in 2016, Southern Cross editor Günther Simmermacher interviewed Archbishop Wells, as the outgoing nuncio was preparing for his departure from the Pretoria nunciature.

When you came to Southern Africa in 2016, you were faced with the prospect of helping the pope to appoint successors in three of our five archdioceses, and eventually also for our second-most populous diocese, Mariannhill. For Durban you had to do that twice, following the sudden death of Archbishop Abel Gabuza Was that the biggest challenge during your term?

Actually, the appointment of the archbishops was not as challenging as one might think Typically, we tend to look at candidates who are already bishops Accordingly, they already have ample experience as pastors and have shown

themselves to be good leaders and administrators

The untimely death of Archbishop Gabuza, however, came as a great blow. The entire Church in the region was shocked by his death For many, including myself, it was not only a loss of an excellent pastor but also a loss of a friend

There have been 12 new bishops ordained since my arrival in the region. One of the real challenges is finding

How do you see the Church in Southern Africa? What are our strengths and weaknesses?

candidates for the episcopacy As you know, we do not have an abundance of priests in this region Therefore, finding someone with the preparation and skill set necessary for such a position is not easy Not only must they have a pastoral heart, but they must also have a certain age, experience, leadership qualities and administrative acumen In this area we are also challenged by linguistic requirements Finding a suitable candidate for a particular area can be a real challenge. Another challenge we faced was the unexpected resignation of five bishops in the region and the untimely death of Bishop Joseph Sandri [of Witbank, in 2019] These were factors that complicated our work and planning.

As far as I am concerned, the Church in Southern Africa is incredibly vibrant and alive One cannot help but be inspired by the liturgy and participation of our faithful We do have our challenges, however. Ironically, one of our greatest strengths is also our greatest challenge, and here I am speaking about our youth. The Church here is incredible young. I am always impressed when I am in our parishes, especially those in rural communities and the townships, at how many children and young adults are present This is something you don’t see so much in the West anymore but is very evident in Africa and Asia It shows that there is an extraordinarily hopeful present and future for our Church

However, it comes with a caveat. I hear often how frustrated our young people are They are discouraged that there are few opportunities for them here The lack of gainful employment, the social conditions they experience, systemic racism, violence and so on at times leaves our youth with little hope They want the Church to be there for them, to offer them the practical and spiritual support they need Often they feel this is lacking.

One of the areas we could improve, not only here but throughout the

‘The Church in Southern Africa is incredibly vibrant and alive’

Church, is our catechesis, adult education and formation. I am often surprised at how little knowledge our people have of their faith Every once in a while you can see a chasm between worship and understanding What I mean here is that the faithful are good about attending church, but they may not understand or be able to articulate what we actually believe and teach We need to work in this area

We also need to do more to encourage lay leadership and participation in the Church Personally I would like to see more women in positions of leadership As we all know, our churches are full of women We need to ensure that their voices are heard and that their constant presence in our communities is properly represented in our decision-making processes

In South Africa’s Church, as in society, there is still a hangover of apartheid...

That is another area that needs to be realistically and honestly confronted the lack of racial harmony we at times witness in the Church In some ways we will have three churches here: a black church, a coloured church and a white church The bishops have often noted that when we have large diocesan gatherings there are few representatives from the white and coloured communities

Yet, in many places, the black community is poorly represented in diocesan leadership structures This is a worry and yet it is something that must eventually be addressed and remedied in a frank, constructive, and charitable way

And the political situation, especially in South Africa?

In this regard the region is not immune to the turmoil that most governments in the world are experiencing today

Modern society has rapidly changed and our political systems and their institutions have often fallen short in their ability to address the needs of their constituencies Also, the confluence of globalisation, social media, war, pandemics et cetera have affected the political geometry in the world on both international and domestic levels

What one worries about is the growing disparity between the rich and the poor. The lack of gainful employment for people, especially the young; the tyranny of social trends; obscene materialism; an ever-more present lack of concern for others; especially those who are different from us; corruption;

a spreading distrust of traditional institutions; climate change; and numerous other factors could lead to major social unrest and division We are already seeing this

The inability for people to sit and have a respectful and constructive dialogue on areas of divergence should concern us all As Pope Francis has stressed again and again, we need committed leaders who are there to serve and not to be served, and who have as their major interest the wellbeing and promotion of others, especially the most marginalised and weakest among us

Has Pope Francis spoken with you about the social and political situation South Africa, Botswana and Eswatini?

Yes, he has In fact, I have always marveled at how well informed he is, even of small things He follows these regions closely and is well aware of the many challenges we are facing.

Concrete examples of this can be seen in the exceptional generosity he has shown to the region over the last years He has personally seen that millions of rand have been allocated for food projects in the region. During the pandemic he made available medicines and essential medical equipment, including a number of respirators, to ensure that the Catholic community could help care for those affected in so many ways by the pandemic

Some years ago, the bishops of Southern Africa reportedly invited the Pope to visit Southern Africa. Do you think he’ll accept one day?

Honestly, I am not aware that the bishops ever formally invited the Holy Father. There was talk at one time of the possibility of hosting a World Youth Day here in South Africa However, it was decided that this was not the most opportune moment for such an event

As we all know, this pope is very

good about accepting invitations

However, we can also imagine how many invitations he receives. I am certain that if the time and circumstances were right, he would certainly consider a visit to our region

Do you think South Africa would be capable of hosting a papal visit?

If certain logistic and security issues were addressed, I don’t see any reason why not.

social media and other instruments at our disposal, to make our voice more present. Sometimes we are fearful of the spaces, and thus hesitant to participate “Be not afraid!” Social media needs our presence and may be the natural evolution for a more effective and evangelical Catholic media of the future. What will you take with you as the happiest memories from Southern Africa?

I will forever cherish the many opportunities I had to celebrate with the faithful of Southern Africa. I have been blessed to have visited the majority of the 36 dioceses in the region, which has also included Namibia and Lesotho I have celebrated many baptism, first Communions, confirmations, ordinations and even weddings I have loved spending time with the young and the elderly The celebrations, the music, the enthusiasm are infectious These are the things that remain in a priest’s heart

I have also seen wonderful times with the bishops and priests in the area They have truly become my brothers, and I will miss them when I leave

And the unhappiest?

One of your first acts as nuncio was to make an official visit to the offices of The Southern Cross, which then was still the national Catholic weekly newspaper We appreciated that very much, and it showed your interest in Catholic media. How do you see the Catholic media landscape in Southern Africa?

I am a great supporter of Catholic media, not only as a source of information but also as an instrument of evangelisation If I am honest, I must express some concern for the media here In recent years we have witnessed a decreased Catholic media presence in our own institutions and in the secular media as well We are often the last ones to get our story out

The loss of The Southern Cross as a weekly newspaper was a blow, and the ongoing struggles of Radio Veritas is worrying The introduction of the monthly Southern Cross periodical is a great addition but it is a different kind of publication than a newspaper

At the same time, we must also be realistic. All media has faced serious challenges since the advent of the World Wide Web This has been going on for over 20 years now Increasingly, we must find new ways, employing

I would be hard-pressed to remember unhappy moments as such I tend to be a person who remembers the good more than the bad There have been some tense moments but nothing that could not be resolved

I sometimes find myself very saddened by the misery so many still suffer here We can do more; we must do more

Finally, will we see you in Southern Africa again?

One never knows! I am leaving many good friends, many who are like family to me after these seven years, and I would like to see them once in a while However, much will depend on my future ministerial assignments.

Pope St Paul VI once said, in an address to papal diplomats, that most often our ministry finishes with a “farewell” and not a “see you again” It is the sad reality of a papal diplomat’s ministry and mission We must go where we are sent to announce God’s love and mercy while always acting as the hands and heart of our Universal Pastor, the pope

We never know where that will take us, but we have strong faith that we will be in that very place where we are needed at that very moment.

Thank you for your time, and for you great service to our region May God bless you richly in your new posting in Asia.

Archbishop Peter Wells and Southern Cross editor Günther Simmermacher during the nuncio’s visit to the Catholic publication’s Cape Town offices on September 9, 2016, and how the interview conducted that day appeared in The Southern Cross later that month

‘Pope Francis follows the Southern African region closely’

100 Years Papal Representation in SA

The story of SA’s first nuncio

AHUNDRED YEARS AGO, ON April 13, 1923, a Dutch Dominican archbishop set sail for South Africa. At his destination, the whole region’s Catholic Church was keenly and in some cases anx iously awaiting his ar on April 30, for Archbisho Bernard Jordan Gijlswijk came to serve as the first papal representative to the region

That was a big deal so big that a hundred years later, the bishops of Southern Africa are celebrating the centenar y of papal representation in our region The Souther Cross covered Archbish Gijlswijk’s appointment Pope Pius XI extensively, even interviewing the newly-ordained, 52-yearold archbishop at his residence in The Hague, Netherlands

The inter view was conducted by Fr Pierce, who had been providentially waylaid in Holland en route to Rome In the issue of March 3, 1923, the priest described meeting the apostolic delegate. “My old heart was going pitty-pat” as he rung the doorbell, Fr Pierce wrote But the nerves calmed when Archbishop Gijlswijk opened the door “His smile, his cordial welcome, his strong and hearty handshake, put me at ease immediately.”

Archbishop Gijlswijk assured the readers of The Southern Cross that “the Church has a glorious future awaiting her in South Africa” The Southern Cross, still only just over two years in existence, “is destined to play an important role” in that future, he predicted, before handwriting a special blessing for the newspaper, its staff and readers He was speaking from some experience, having visited the country in 192122, when Pope Benedict XV was still alive.

Receiving an apostolic delegate, he said, “is a reward for the good that has been done during the past by all the Catholics in the land, irrespective of class or colour You are now much more united to Rome and the pope.”

Caribbean posting

Archbishop Gijlswijk was born on November 9, 1870, in the Dutch town of Delft, and ordained to the priesthood as a Dominican in 1898. He was sent to serve on the Caribbean island of Curaçao, then (as now) a Dutch possession, for the following two decades. In October 1921, the

Holy See sent Fr Gijlswijk on a visitation to the Dominican Sisters in South Africa and Rhodesia (now Zambia and Zimbabwe) His extensive written report of that tour, and his work within Dominican structures, impressed the Vatican much that it was decided name him the first aposolic delegate to the Southern African region He was ordained an archbishop on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, on December 8, 1922 His priestly ordination 14 years earlier had been on the feast of the Assumption

Archbishop Gijlswijk’s val in South Africa came st exactly a centur y after the first Dominican, Fr Nelissen, had arrived in Cape Town in 1822 The order had spread out widely across the region, making huge contributions to the Church, by the time the Dutch Dominican archbishop landed in Cape Town’s port.

Spats with bishops

Based in Bloemfontein, the archbishop’s brief from Pope Pius XI was to foster a local Church with indigenous vocations a call to transformation which some of the older bishops at the time resisted In his early years especially, the apostolic delegate was often authoritarian, confrontational and even ruthless in asserting his vision and position, resulting in rough clashes with some bishops.

When Archbishop Gijlswijk arrived in 1923, there were ver y few black priests and not a single locally-born bishop. The

latter would change in 1925 with the appointment of Bishop David O’Lear y OMI to head the vicariate of Transvaal

While the rise of a black clergy would take much longer, Archbishop Gijlswijk was a driving force in transforming South Africa’s Catholic Church by advancing the training of black clergy and catechists and the recruitment of indigenous Sisters, encouraging the creation of uniform catechetical material in local vernacular, promoting missions and their schools, and so on

Messages from POWs

During World War II, South African prisoners-of-war in Italy sent messages home via Vatican Radio and then broadcast through Archbishop Gijlswijk’s Bloemfontein offices throughout South Africa Nearly 50 000 messages were delivered that way to worried loved ones

Archbishop Gijlswijk, who had once hoped to die on his beloved Curaçao, would ser ve the rest of his life in South Africa After 22 years of ser vice, he died suddenly in office on December 22, 1944

His successor and fellow Dutchman, Archbishop Martin Lucas, a Divine Word Society priest, took office in September 1945 It was at his urging that the bishops of the various vicariates formed the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference in 1947, and under his watch the Southern African Hierarchy was established in 1951, and Our Lady of the Assumption declared South Africa’s patron

Including outgoing nuncio Archbishop Peter Wells, a total of 14 papal representatives have been appointed to Southern Africa. Some are remembered with great fondness most notably the future Cardinal Edward Cassidy (1979-84) while some others will not have monuments built for them Few made quite as decisive an impact on Southern Africa’s Church as Archbishop Bernard Jordan Gijlswijk.

With faith at the centre

reviewed by Günther Simmermacher

FA I T H I N O U R S T R U G G L E : A

M E M O I R O F H O P E , b y P e t e r S a d i e . J o h a n n e s b u r g , 2 0 2 2 2 0 8 p p

TH E R E I S A B I G M A R K E T F O R a u t o b i o g r a p h i e s b y t h e r i c h , f a m o u s a n d p o w e r f u l , a n d e v e n b y c e l e b r i t i e s w i t h l i t t l e t o s a y A t t h e i r b e s t , t h e s e m e m o i r s t e l l g r i p p i n g s t o r i e s o f a c c o m p l i s hm e n t s a n d f a i l u r e s w h i c h h a v e b e e n a m p l i f i e d b y t h e a u t h o r ’s p u b l i c p r o f i l e .

But there is also a growing sub-genre of memoirs written by ordinar y people who have done extraordinar y things that never made the headlines. Peter Sadie’s “memoir of hope” is a welcome addition to that categor y of literature

The Sadie family is wellknown in Johannesburg’s Catholic circles, perhaps most prominently Peter’s eldest brother, the late Deacon Michael Sadie Peter, born in 1961, grew up the sixth of nine children in a large Maronite family where the Catholic faith, in practice and conscience, has always been at the centre Sadie writes with a deep love for his life-long faith which has guided and sustained him He calls it the greatest gift he received from his parents.

Sadie’s memoirs are shaped by the influence of his Catholic faith in ever y step of an eventful life. That is reflected in the title, Faith in Our Struggle, and on the evocative cover, which depicts a fist holding up a crucifix

The context of Sadie’s life provides for fascinating stories: growing up in a white working-class family during apartheid, life in the vibrant Maronite community, deep engagement in the struggle, pastoral development work for the Church, a career in education which brought the author in contact (and conflict) with corrupt people, and so on.

His confrontation with government corruption inspired Sadie to write this book, as a means of “healing the disillusionment that comes with unsuccessful revolutions”

Sadie gave much of his twenties to the dream of a revolution for a free and non-racial South Africa. His involvement in the Young Christian Students movement, with its “SeeJudge-Act” method, led to a level of activism that saw Sadie join uMkhonto we Sizwe as an underground cell operative That stressful double-life existence that left many of his comrades traumatised after apartheid was gone

SA’s moral decay

The new dispensation in 1994 saw a dawn of hope that soon was darkened by the ANC’s abandonment of the principles of the Freedom Charter and the rise of the naked corruption that begun under the leadership of Thabo Mbeki

Sadie experienced the decay of

principles and sense of impunity firsthand in the person of Gavin Watson, whose early idealism soon turned to the cynical venality which placed the erstwhile struggle figure at the centre of state capture; it would later be exposed in all sickening detail in the Zondo Commission

Sadie closes his book with a comprehensive reflection on the moral and political failures of what he scathingly

calls our “misleaders”, but also issues a passionate appeal for unity and hope, based on the notion of the Good Samaritan and underpinned by the best of religious traditions. He also writes an illuminating chapter on integrating faith and politics specifically, though to maintain the rhythm of the narrative, that section might have been more fruitfully placed at a later position in the book

But the book is not all sober reflection and analysis The early chapters especially are quite wonderful in evoking the Maronite community (and youthful battles with the Afrikaner kids), and the power of family There are stories of a bygone age, such as cinema screenings for young people, with girls screaming whenever Elvis or Cliff Richard appears on the screen. Sadie also writes movingly about family life and his divorce

The foreword to this book is written by the Rev Frank Chikane, with messages from Ronnie Kasrils, Mgr Barney McAleer and the late Fr Albert Nolan OP

Faith in Our Str uggle is a useful case study in how to live our faith within the demands (and pitfalls) of modern life and politics. As Catholics, we are called to be missionaries by the witness of our lives. This, then, is a missionar y book. If anyone should ask what is so good about having faith, give them Peter Sadie’s book

Faith in Our Struggle is available in Catholic bookshops or from the author at peter@imsimbi.co.za, and as an eBook at www amzn to/3H8AjYE Watch a video interview with the author at www.bit.ly/3XV42f3

This is a case study of how to live our faith within the demands of modern life

h e y o u n g w o m a n w h o b r o u g h t

t h e p o p e h o m e

Few mystics were also influential diplomats. St Catherine of Siena, a Doctor of the Church, was both before her death at only 33.

IT IS EXTRAORDINARY WHEN A

woman in her twenties who grew up illiterate becomes an international diplomatic envoy and changes the course of the papacy and the Catholic Church And that is only part of the package that was St Catherine of Siena

Born as Caterina di Benincasa on March 25, 1347, in Siena (then a republic and now a city in Italy’s Tuscany region) to the cloth-dyer Jacopo and his wife Lapa, she was the 23rd of 25 children, 12 of whom, including her twin sister, died in infancy or childhood

Catherine was an independent and prayerful child At the age of around six she experienced her first of many mystical visions, seeing Jesus in papal garb, surrounded by the Apostles Peter, Paul and John. At seven, she vowed to consecrate her virginity to Christ

Her parents, however, had other plans When Catherine was 16, they sought to marry her off to the widower of her late sister, Bonaventura Apart from the man having been a bad husband to Bonaventura, Catherine resisted marriage in general, even cutting off her hair in order to make herself unattractive Eventually, her parents submitted to Catherine’s life choice.

Catherine rejected marriage and motherhood, but she also did not seek the veil Instead, she wanted to join the Dominican Mantellate, a group of lay women, mainly widows, who took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, and dedicated themselves to prayer and charitable works The lay order was reluctant to admit this 16-year-old but gave in when even her mother petitioned the prioress.

For three years Catherine, now supported by her loving parents, lived as a lay Dominican, praying fer vently, administering charity, receiving instruction from Dominicans, and learning to read and write She experienced mystical ecstasies, but also periods of dejection

when she felt abandoned by God

Her reclusion culminated in 1367 with a vision in which the Blessed Virgin presented Catherine to Jesus, who gave her a wedding ring a mystical marriage

Gaining a following

St Catherine at a glance

i l 2 9 , 1 3 8 0 , i n R o m

B e a t i f i e d : 1 4 6 0

C a n o n i s e d : 1 4 6 1

F e a s t : A p r i l 2 9

P a t r o n a g e s : F i r e ; b o d i l y i l l s p e o p l e r i d i c u l e d f o r t h e i r p i e t y ; n u r s e s ; s i c k

p e o p l e ; m i s c a r r i a g e s ; E u r o p e ; I t a l y .

With that, Catherine began her apostolic life She tended to the poor, sick and marginalised, especially lepers She also offered spiritual guidance Soon the young woman had a reputation for holiness throughout Siena, attracting a group of followers They would dispense charity during the bleak times of famine in 1370 and the Black Death in 1374

Not everybody was sure about this independent woman. In 1374 she was summoned to Florence to account for herself to the Dominican General Chapter There is no record of any censure, but the chapter appointed a Dominican friar to act as her confessor and spiritual guide, Fr Raymond of Capua (1303-99), who would later become the head of the order They quickly became close friends After Catherine’s death, Fr Raymond would write her biography

After her meeting with the Domini-

cans in Florence, Catherine and her followers travelled throughout northern and central Italy to call for reform and repentance Meanwhile, the young woman, who had become literate only a few years earlier, started corresponding with influential figures, offering unsolicited advice and rebukes, and calling these powerful men to holiness Among the recipients of letters from Siena was the pope himself, then based in Avignon in southern France

Her main points in the letters and personal encounters were to advocate radical renewal in the Church and within all the faithful; the need for the pope to return to Rome; and to agitate for a new crusade to regain the sacred shrines in the Holy Land

She also became involved in diplomacy, persuading the city-states of Pisa and Lucca to abandon the growing antipapal league

In 1376 Pope Gregory XI placed Florence under interdict, which meant that no sacraments, including the Eucharist, were allowed to be administered in the city Catherine was appointed ambassador of the Republic of Florence and sent to Avignon to negotiate peace with the Papal States She was unsuccessful and other envoys continued the negotiations

Bringing the pope home

But while in Avignon, Catherine had an opportunity to petition Pope Gregory XI to end the papacy’s 70-year exile in France and to return to Rome In January 1377, the French-born pope did just that Catherine, still only 29 at the time, has since been credited with bringing the papacy home.

The same year Catherine returned to Siena, where she founded a women’s monaster y of strict obser vance outside

A Timeline of St Catherine

1 3 4 7

B o r n o n M a rc h 2 5 i n S i e n a ( n o w Tu s c a ny, I ta l y ) t o t h e c l o t h - d ye r J a c o p o d i B e n i n c a s a a n d L a p a P i a g e n t i .

1 3 5 3

H a s a v i s i o n o f J e s u s i n p a p a l a tt i re , a c c o m p a n i e d b y S t Pe t e r, S t J o h n a n d S t Pa u l .

1 3 5 4

M a ke s a p r i va t e v o w o f v i rg i n i t y

1 3 6 2 - 6 4

Re f u s e s t o g e t m a r r i e d t o h e r s i st e r ’s w i d o w e r C o m m i t s h e rs e l f p u b l i c l y t o s e r v e G o d a n d t h e C h u rc h , a n d j o i n s t h e M a n t e l l a t e s , a g ro u p o f D o m i n i c a n l ay w o m e n

1 3 6 7 - 6 8

I n a v i s i o n , ex p e r i e n c e s a my s t i c a l m a r r i a g e t o h e r B r i d e g ro o m , J e s u s C h r i s t A fo l l o w i n g t h a t i n c l u d e s M a n t e l l a t e , D o m i n i c a n f r i a rs , a n d l ay p e o p l e b e g i n s t o fo r m .

1 3 7 0

B e g i n s c o r re s p o n d e n c e s w i t h va r i o u s l e a d e rs , c a l l i n g fo r re n e w a l i n t h e C h u rc h , t h e p a p a c y t o ret u r n f ro m Av i g n o n t o Ro m e , a n d a n e w c r u s a d e t o t h e H o l y L a n d

1 3 7 4

I s s u m m o n e d t o t h e D o m i n i c a n G e n e ra l C h a p t e r i n F l o re n c e .

F r R ay m o n d o f C a p u a i s a p p o i n t e d h e r s p i r i t u a l d i re c t o r

1 3 7 6

Goes to Avignon as an ambassador

for Florence to negotiate a peace treaty with the papacy She fails, but successfully persuades Pope Gregory XI to return the papacy to Rome.

1 3 7 7

Founds a monaster y just outside Siena. Begins work on her Dialogue, a theological masterpiece

1 3 7 8

M e d i a t e s a s u c c e s s f u l p e a c e t re a t y b e t w e e n F l o re n c e a n d t h e p a p a c y

At t h e re q u e s t o f t h e n e w p o p e , U r b a n V I , s h e m o v e s t o Ro m e t o h e l p h e a l w h a t w o u l d b e c o m e a

3 9 - ye a r- l o n g s c h i s m w i t h a F re n c h a n t i - p o p e C o m p l e t e s w o r k o n t h e D i a l o g u e i n O c t o b e r.

1 3 8 0

S u f fe rs i l l h e a l t h b e fo re h av i n g a s t ro ke i n A p r i l . D i e s e i g h t d ay s

l a t e r, o n A p r i l 2 9 , a t t h e a g e o f 3 3

1 4 6 1

I s c a n o n i s e d b y Po p e P i u s I I .

1 9 3 9

D e c l a re d c o - p a t ro n o f I ta l y b y

Po p e P i u s X I I .

1 9 7 0

I s d e c l a re d a D o c t o r o f t h e C h u rc h b y Po p e Pa u l V I , o n l y t h e s e c o n d w o m a n a f t e r S t Te re s a o f Av i l a ( d e c l a re d a w e e k e a r l i e r )

1 9 9 9

D e c l a re d c o - p a t ro n o f E u ro p e b y Po p e J o h n Pa u l I I

the city It was around that time that she dictated her Dialogue, a record of her mystical visions which has been described as an encounter between a soul and God

All seemed well, but by 1378 all kinds of chaos broke loose First, Pope Gregor y sent Catherine to Florence to mediate a new peace treaty. On March 27 Gregor y died and a divided conclave elected Urban VI The French cardinals rejected Urban and returned to Avignon where they would elect a new pope, the anti-pope Clement VII, in September. Meanwhile, Catherine was almost assassinated during riots in Florence But in July, she concluded the peace between Florence and the papacy

Catherine returned briefly to Siena, but once the French cardinals had caused the schism, Pope Urban called her into diplomatic action again With a group of followers, she settled in Rome, near the church of Santa Maria sopra Miner va, where Fr Raymond of Capua had become prior (though he was soon sent on mission to Avignon and Catherine would never see her friend again)

With her health deteriorating, Catherine w r o t e l e t t e r s t o a n d m e t w i t h p o l i t i c a l a n d C h u rc h l e a d e r s , b e g g i n g t h e m t o h e a l t h e schism by reconciling with Pope Urban. And s h e p r a y e d f e r v e n t l y H o w e v e r, t h e s c h i s m w o u l d n o t b e h e a l e d f o r a l m o s t f o u r d e c a d e s , until 1417

By early 1380, Catherine’s health was failing In January, she could neither eat nor swallow In February she lost the use of her legs. In April she suffered a massive stroke which paralysed her from the waist down Eight days later,

on April 29, Catherine died She was only 33

Catherine was buried in the cemetery of Santa Maria sopra Miner va, near the Pantheon, but after miracles were reported at her grave, Fr Raymond moved her body into the basilica of that name, which still holds her tomb today. Catherine’s head, however, was allocated to Siena. Placed in a bronze cast, it was taken in a procession, which included Catherine’s mother, to the basilica of San Domenico The incorrupt face and her thumb can still be seen there.

St Catherine of Siena was canonised in 1461 by Pope Pius II, himself from Siena Her feast day is April 29 In 1939 Pope Pius XII named her a joint patron saint of Italy along with St Francis of Assisi In 1999, Pope John Paul II made her one of Europe’s patron saints, along with St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross and St Bridget of Sweden

Her Dialogue especially is considered landmarks of spiritual literature, so much so that Pope Paul VI named St Catherine of Siena a Doctor of the Church in 1970.

Next month: Our Lady of Fatima

From left: Altar in chapel of St Catherine’s childhood kitchen in Siena • Madonna of the Rosary with St Dominic and St Catherine (1643) by Sassoferrato in Santa Sabina basilica, Rome • St Catherine’s tomb in the basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome.

Ancient and Living Stones

What the G O O D F R I DAY collections are for

AN ANNUAL COLLECTION

w i l l b e t a k e n o n G o o d F r i d a y i n C a t h o l i c c h u rc h e s t h r o u g ho u t t h e w o r l d , i n c l u d i n g S o u t h e r n A f r i c a , t o s u p p o r t C h r i s t i a n s a n d o u r h e r i t a g e i n t h e H o l y L a n d A c c o r d i n g t o C a r d i n a l L e o n a r d o S a n d r i , t h e G o o d F r i d a y C o l l e c t i o n i s a m o m e n t f o r a l l C a t h o l i c s t o b e u n i t e d i n s u p p o r t i n g t h e p l a c e s w h e r e J e s u s l i v e d , d i e d , a n d r o s e a g a i n “ I t i s t r u l y a p r o v id e n t i a l o p p o r t u n i t y f o r t h e w h o l e C a t h o l i c C h u rc h t o t a k e a d v a n t a g e o f t h i s c o l l e c t i o n t o l i v e t h e G o o d F r i d a y o f t h e P a s s i o n a n d d e a t h o f t h e L o r d i n u n i o n w i t h t h e h o l y p l a c e s i n w h i c h J e s u s l i v e d , ” s a i d t h e r e c e n t l y r e t i r e d p r e f e c t o f t h e Va t i c a n C o n g r e g a t i o n f o r t h e E a s t e r n C h u rc h e s T h e G o o d F r i d a y c o l l e c t i o n i s t h e m a i n s o u rc e o f m a t e r i a l s u p p o r t f o r C h r i s t i a n l i f e i n t h e r e g i o n Wi t h t h e c o l l e c t i o n , w e a r e “ a p p r o a c h i n g J e s u s e v e n ‘ p h y s i c a l l y ’ , b e c a u s e w e g o w h e r e h e h a s p u t h i s f e e t , w h e r e h e h a s p u t h i s h a n d s , w h e r e h e h a s p l a c e d h i s g a z e i n t h e s e p l a c e s , ” t h e c a r d i n a l s a i d I n r e c e n t y e a r s , t h e c o l l e c t i o n h a s h e l p e d t o f u n d t h e r e n o v a t i o n s o f b o t h t h e b a s i l i c a i n B e t h l e h e m a n d t h e c h u rc h o f t h e H o l y S e p u l c h r e i n J e r u s a l e m , t h e r e v e r e d c h u rc h b u i l t o n t h e s i t e w h e r e J e s u s w a s c r u c i f i e d a n d b u r i e d T h e f u n d s a l s o s u p p o r t s e m i n a ri a n s a n d p r i e s t s , a s w e l l a s C a t h o l i c s c h o o l s a n d h u m a n i t a r i a n i n i t i a t i v e s i n P a l e s t i n e , S y r i a , L e b a n o n , E g y p t , E t h i o p i a , E r i t r e a , Tu r k e y, I r a n , I r a q , a n d o t h e r c o u n t r i e s i n t h e r e g i o n

Go on pilgrimage

C a r d i n a l S a n d r i a l s o e n c o u r a g e d C a t h o l i c s t o c o n s i d e r m a k i n g a p i l g r i ma g e t o t h e H o l y L a n d , w h e r e t h e l o c a l c o m m u n i t y o f C h r i s t i a n s , m o s t o f w h o m d i r e c t l y o r i n d i r e c t l y d e p e n d o n i n c o m e f r o m p i l g r i m a g e s , h a d f a c e d “ s e r i o u s e c o n o m i c d i f f i c u l t i e s ” d u r i n g t h e C o v i d - 1 9 p a n d e m i c W h i l e p i l g r i m a g e s a r e p r i m a r i l y

i n t e n d e d t o e n a b l e a n e n c o u n t e r w i t h C h r i s t i n h i s o w n l a n d , t h e y “ a l s o d o a l o t o f g o o d f r o m t h e e c o n o m i c p o i n t o f v i e w f o r l o c a l f a m i l i e s , f o r P a l e s t i n ia n s a n d C h r i s t i a n s i n g e n e r a l , ” t h e c a r d i n a l s a i d C h u rc h l e a d e r s h a v e s t r e s s e d t h a t C a t h o l i c p i l g r i m a g e s s h o u l d u s e w h e re v e r p o s s i b l e t h e s e r v i c e s o f l o c a l C h r i s t i a n s , e s p e c i a l l y i n c h o o s i n g l o c a l t o u r o p e r a t o r s a n d g u i d e s I n i t s a n n u a l p i l g r i m a g e s t o t h e H o l y L a n d , T h e S o u t h e r n C r o s s u s e s t h e s e r v i c e s o f L a t i n - r i t e C a t h o l i c g r o u n d o p e r a t o r s , a s w e l l a s C h r i s t i a n b u s c o m p a n i e s , r e s t a u r a n t s , s o u v e n i r s h o p s a n d , w h e r e p o s s i b l e , C h r i s t i a n - o w n e d h o t e l s .

T h e G o o d F r i d a y c o l l e c t i o n p o s t e r u s e d i n S o u t h e r n A f r i c a t e n y e a r s a g o . I n t h e t o p l e f t w e s e e t h e J e r u s a l e m c r o s s , w h i c h a l s o f e a t u r e s o n T h e S o u t h e r n C r o s s c o v e r e v e r y m o n t h .

“ O u r C h r i s t i a n b r o t h e r s a n d s i s t e r s , C a t h o l i c s i n t h e H o l y L a n d , m u s t f e e l t h a t t h e y a r e n o t a l o n e , t h a t t h e r e i s t h e w h o l e C h u rc h b e h i n d t h e m , b e c a u s e t h e y a r e t h e f e l l o w f o l l o w e r s o f J e s u s , a n d w h a t w e s e e k i s J e s u s , h i s w o r d a n d h i s p r e s e n c e , ” C a r d i n a l S a n d r i s a i d F o r t h i s r e a s o n , h e r e c o m m e n d e d t h a t C h r i s t i a n p i l g r i m s n o t o n l y g e t t o k n o w t h e “ A n c i e n t S t o n e s ” o f s h r i n e s a n d c h u rc h e s i n t h e H o l y L a n d , b u t t o a l s o e n c o u n t e r t h e C h r i s t i a n c o m m u n i t i e s l i v i n g t h e r e , o f t e n r e f e r r e d t o a s t h e “ L i v i n g S t o n e s ” L o c a l G o o d F r i d a y c o l l e c t i o n s a r e a d m i n i s t e r e d b y t h e P r e t o r i ab a s e d C o m m i s s a r i a t o f t h e H o l y L a n d i n S o u t h e r n A f r i c a Donations to help preserve the sacred places of the Holy Land and support the Christians who live there can be made to Franciscan Friars/Commissariat of the Holy Land, Nedbank account 1631 011435 (Brooklyn/ Pretoria branch). To email deposit slip or request further info: sue.mackinlay@gmail.com or 083 627-3563

People of the Passion Play

C h a n t a l , w h i l e i n t h e c a s t o f t h e P a ss i o n P l a y B o t h w e r e s c h e d u l e d t o b e o n s t a g e i n t h e 2 0 2 0 p r o d u c t i o n b u t h a v e s i n c e e m i g r a t e d .

Y o u n g e s t a n d o l d e s t

TH E D U R B A N C AT H O L I C

P l a y e r s ’ G u i l d r e t u r n s t o t h e s t a g e a t t h e D u r b a n P l a yh o u s e T h e a t r e t h i s E a s t e r T h e D u r b a n P a s s i o n P l a y s c h e du l e d f o r E a s t e r 2 0 2 0 w a s c a n c e l l e d t h e d a y b e f o r e i t w a s d u e t o s t a r t a s a r e s u l t o f t h e a n t i - C o v i d m e a s u r e s a t t h a t t i m e . T h e c a s t o f o v e r 1 2 0 a m at e u r a c t o r s h a d r e h e a r s e d f o r m o r e t h a n s i x m o n t h s b u t t h i s d i d n o t d e t e r t h e m a n d m a n y r e t u r n e d w h e n r e h e a r s a l s b e g a n a g a i n i n A u g u s t

2 0 2 2

W h a t i s i t t h a t d r i v e s p e o p l e t o g i v e s o m u c h o f t h e i r t i m e a n d t a l e n t t o p e r f o r m i n t h e D u r b a n P a s s i o n

P l a y, t h e “ O b e r a m m e r g a u o f A f r i c a ” ?

A u d i t i o n s h e l d l a s t A u g u s t p r od u c e d t h e p r e s e n t c a s t o f m o r e t h a n

1 0 0 p e o p l e , m a n y o f w h o m h a d

b e e n l i n e d u p t o p e r f o r m i n t h e “ p l a y t h a t n e v e r m a d e t h e s t a g e ” T h e y o u n g e s t i n t h e c a s t a r e 2 ½ y e a r s o l d , n o t y e t b o r n w h e n t h e p a n d e m i c h i t ; a n d t h e o l d e s t i s 8 6 , a l r e a d y a t e e n a g e r w h e n t h e f i r s t D u r b a n P a s s i o n P l a y w a s p e r f o r m e d i n 1 9 5 2 . T h e r e a r e t w o f a m i l i e s i n t h e 2 0 2 3 c a s t w h o h a v e t h r e e g e n e r at i o n s o f p e r f o r m a n c e t o t h e i r c r e d i t

F a l l i n g i n l o v e o n s t a g e

T h e S t e w a r t f a m i l y h a s a v e r y s p e c i a l r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h t h e P a s s i o n P l a y M a l c o l m a n d A n g e l a m e t d u r i n g a s t a g i n g o f t h e p l a y

A n g e l a ’s p a r e n t s h a d b e e n i nv o l v e d i n t h e p l a y s a n d s h e b e g a n a c t i n g i n t h e m a t a v e r y y o u n g a g e B o t h A n g e l a a n d M a l c o l m h a v e t a k e n p a r t i n s e v e n p l a y s T h i s m e a n s a d e d i c a t i o n o f m o r e t h a n 3 5 y e a r s , a s t h e p l a y i s u s u a l l y p e r f o r m e d e v e r y f i v e y e a r s .

T h e i r s o n A l e x a n d e r w a s a b a b y w h e n h e f i r s t a p p e a r e d o n s t a g e H e h a s j u s t c o m p l e t e d h i s m a t r i c a n d

2 0 2 3 w i l l b e h i s f i f t h P a s s i o n P l a y S i m i l a r l y t h e i r d a u g h t e r, C a t h e r i n e , w i l l b e p e r f o r m i n g h e r f o u r t h p l a y

A n g e l a ’s b r o t h e r, C u a n S a u nd e r s , a l s o m e t t h e l o v e o f h i s l i f e ,

D e r i c k P a r s o n s i s a t t h e a g e o f 8 6 t h i s y e a r ’ s o l d e s t p e r f o r m e r i n t h e D u r b a n P a s s i o n P l a y T h i s y e a r ’ s w i l l b e h i s t e n t h P l a y . H e i s s e e n h e r e w i t h 2 0 2 3 ’ s y o u n g e s t c a s t m e m b e r s : t w o - y e a r - o l d s M a l e y a h S e w n a n d a n a n d J a m e s W a r d l e B e l o w : P a s s i o n P l a y c o - d i r e c t o r D a w n H a y n e s w i t h i t s p a t r o n , A r c h b i s h o p S i e g f r i e d M a n d l a J w a r a

P h o t o M a t t h e w W i l m a n

D a l e C o l l i n g s i s m a k i n g h i s f i r s t a p p e a r a n c e a s J e s u s , a r o l e h e w a s c a s t f o r i n 2 0 2 0 , w h e n t h e P a s s i o n P l a y h a d t o b e c a n c e l l e d

A n o t h e r t h r e e - g e n e r a t i o n P a s s i o n P l a y f a m i l y a r e t h e Wa r d l e s J o n a t h o n Wa r d l e h a s a p p e a r e d i n m o r e t h a n t e n P a s s i o n P l a y s s i n c e h e w a s o n l y t w o y e a r s o l d . H e , t o o , f o u n d l o v e o n t h e s t a g e , w i t h J o d i e , w h o i s a p p e a ring in her third Play, as one of Herod’s d a n c e r s J o n a t h o n i s a l s o t h e s o u n d a n d l i g h t i n g m a n a g e r, a n d h a s a ss i s t e d a s t e c h n i c a l m a n a g e r N o w t h e i r s o n J a m e s i s o n e o f t h e y o u n g e s t m e m b e r s o f t h e c a s t M o r e o v e r, J a m e s ’ g r a n d p a r e n t s , C l i ff o r d a n d M e l a n i e Wa r d l e , a r e b o t h h o n o r a r y l i f e m e m b e r s o f t h e D u r b a n C a t h o l i c P l a y e r s ’ G u i l d a n d h a v e b e e n i n v o l v e d i n m o r e t h a n 1 2 p l a y s J o d i e ’s f a t h e r, M i k e L o h r, h a s p e r f o r m e d i n f i v e s t a g i n g s a n d a s s i s t s w i t h p r o p s a n d t h e b a c k s t a g e o r g a n i s a t i o n o f a c t o r s a n d s e t . H e h a s p l a y e d t h e p a r t o f t h e B a d T h i e f i n a l l o f h i s p e r f o r m a n c e s T h e o l d e s t a c t o r i n t h i s year’s cast is Derick Parsons w h o i s 8 6 a n d i s a l s o a n h o n o r a r y l i f e m e m b e r, h a v i n g p e r f o r m e d i n t e n p l a y s . H e i s e n t h u s i a s t i c a b o u t h i s c h a r a c t e r : M a l c h u s , t h e t e m p l e g u a r d w h o h a s h i s e a r c u t

the Durban passion play will take to the stage from April 6-16. Meet some of this year ’s cast.

L e f t : M a l c o l m a n d A n g e l a S t e w a r t w i t h t h e i r c h i l d r e n C a t h e r i n e a n d A l e x a n d e r A l l f o u r a r e i n t h e c a s t o f t h e 2 0 2 3 D u r b a n

P a s s i o n P l a y M a l c o l m a n d A n g e l a f e l l i n l o v e w h i l e a p p e a r i n g t o g e t h e r a t a P a s s i o n P l a y R i g h t : P o n t i u s P i l a t e , p l a y e d b y M u r r a y L e y d e n , a n d R o m a n s o l d i e r s d u r i n g r e h e a r s a l s a t H o l y F a m i l y C o l l e g e

E l i a n a i s o n e o f t h e c h i l d r e n o f J e r u s a l e m a n d h e r m o t h e r a n d g r a n d p a r e n t s a r e a l s o p e r f o r m i n g f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e

“ T h e c a s t m e m b e r s ’ m o t i v a t i o n i s r o o t e d i n t h e i r d e d i c at i o n t o t h e G o s p e l a s w e l l a s i n e x p e r i e n c i n g t h e p o w e r o f p r e a c h i n g t h r o u g h d r a m a I t ’s l i k e b e i n g i n J e r u s a l e m a n d s e ei n g J e s u s t h e r e , ” s a i d p r o d u c t i o n m a n a g e r D a w n H a y n e s

A n e w J e s u s i n 2 0 2 3

T h e 2 0 2 3 D u r b a n P a s s i o n P l a y w i l l s e e a n e w J e s u s : t h e c h a l l e n g i n g r o l e i s p l a y e d b y D a l e C o l l i n g s H i s b r o t h e r D a n i e l a p p e a r s a s t h e a p o s t l e J o h n T h i s i s t h e f i r s t P a s s i o n P l a y f o r t h e C o l l i n g s f a m i l y D a l e h a d b e e n d u e t o p l a y J e s u s i n 2 0 2 0 A t t h e t i m e h e f e l t d e v a s t a t e d a t t h e P l a y ’s c a n c e l l a t i o n . “ T h i s

e x p e r i e n c e h a s b e e n l i f e - c h a n g i n g f o r m e I h a v e c o m e t o k n o w t h e t r u e m e a n i n g o f t h e s c r i p t u r e s a n d h a v e b e e n d e e p l y m o v e d b y s e e i n g a l l t h e s e e v e n t s t h r o u g h t h e e y e s o f J e s u s , ” h e t o l d T h e S o u t h e r n C r o s s a t t h e t i m e “ I a m j u s t s o s a d t h a t I c a n n o t s h a r e t h i s a n d s p r e a d t h e m e s s a g e o f t h e P a s s i o n t h r o u g h o u r p e ro r m a n c e s ” H e w i l l n o w b e a b l e t o d o s o a t l a s t Tw o o t h e r p i v o t a l r o l e s a r e p l a y e d b y v e t e r a n s o f t h e P a s s i o n P l a y D o m i n i c S a n d i a h r e t u r n s t o t h e s t a g e a s u d a s , a r o l e h e h a s p l a y e d i n t h e p a s t f i v e p l a y s , w h i l e M u r r a y L e y d e n p l a y s P i l a t e f o r t h e t h i r d t i m e M a r y i s p l a y e d a l t e r n a t e l y b y B i a n c a S a n d i a h a n d I s a b e l M a t e u s

A l l r e h e a r s a l s h a v e t a k e n p l a c e a t H o l y F a m i l y C o l l e g e

“ T h e s c h o o l h a s g i v e n u s t r e m e n d o u s s u p p o r t T h e r e a r e a l s o s o m e s e n i o r d r a m a s t u d e n t s p e r f o r m i n g i n t h e p l a y We a r e e x t r e m e l y g r a t e f u l t o t h e s c h o o l , ” H a y n e s s a i d

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p a t r o n o f t h e P l a y, a n d i t s s p i r i t u a l d i r e c t o r i s F r

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“ A u d i e n c e m e m b e r s o f t e n t e l l u s t h a t t h i s p e r f o r m -

a n c e m a k e s t h e m t h i n k w h a t t h e y w o u l d h a v e d o n e i f t h e y w e r e l i v i n g i n J e r u s a l e m a t t h e t i m e o f J e s u s ’ P a ss i o n Wo u l d t h e y h a v e b e e n p a r t o f t h e c r o w d s h o u t i n g

‘ C r u c i f y h i m ! ’ , o r w o u l d t h e y h a v e b e e n a m o n g t h e b el i e v e r s ? ” s a i d H a y n e s , w h o a l s o c o - d i r e c t s t h e p l a y “ A s y o u e n t e r t h e t h e a t r e , y o u w i l l b e m e t b y t h r e e l i f e - s i z e d c a m e l s a s w e l l a s R o m a n s o l d i e r s a n d p e o p l e o f

J e r u s a l e m E a s t e r b e c o m e s v e r y r e a l a s y o u w a t c h J e s u s r i d e i n o n a d o n k e y o n P a l m S u n d a y, a s y o u a t t e n d t h e

L a s t S u p p e r a n d b e w i t h J e s u s a s h e s a y s , ‘ T h i s i s m y

b o d y w h i c h i s g i v e n f o r y o u ’ , a n d a s h e i s w h i p p e d ,

b e a t e n a n d f i n a l l y c r u c i f i e d o n t h e c r o s s

“ Yo u w i l l b e w i t h t h e c r o w d s i n J e r u s a l e m a s y o u

b e c o m e p a r t o f t h e c r u c i f i x i o n We h o p e t o s e e m a n y S o u t h

A f r i c a n s i n D u r b a n t h i s E a s t e r a s w e c e l e b r a t e t h e P a s s i o n o f

C h r i s t t o g e t h e r, ” s h e s a i d T h e D u r b a n P a s s i o n P l a y w i l l b e p r e s e n t e d f r o m A p r i l 6 - 1 6 i n t h e P l a y h o u s e D r a m a t h e a t r e . Ti c k e t s a r e R 1 0 0 a n d b o o k i n g c a n b e d o n e t h r o u g h We b t i c k e t s o r d i r e c t l y w i t h t h e P l a yh o u s e B l o c k b o o k i n g s a r e d i s c o u n t e d a n d m a n y p a r i s h e s o rg a n i s e a “ p i l g r i m a g e ” t o t h e p e r f o r m a n c e “ a w a y t o e x p e r i e n c e w a l k i n g i n t h e f o o t s t e p s o f J e s u s i n a v e r y r e a l w a y, ” H a y n e s s a i d S e e o u r O c t o b e r 2 0 2 2 a n d M a r c h 2 0 2 3 i s s u e s f o r t h e h i s t o r y o f t h e D u r b a n P a s s i o n P l a y

J o i n F o w l e r T o u r s

P i l g r i m a g e s i n 2 0 2 3

Saints of Italy: Led by Fr Lawrence Ndlovu • 6 to 16 May

Holy Land: Led by Frs Christopher Slater & Peter Whitehead • 2 to 7 July

Holy Land & Egypt: Led by Fr Silas Rangwage • 7 to 19 July

Holy Land & Egypt: Led by Bishop Victor Phalana • 31 Aug to 11 Sept

Lourdes & Paris: Led by Fr Christopher Slater • 6 to 14 September

Holy Land: South Prayer Group • 11 to 20 September

Holy Land: Led by Fr Chris Townsend • 22 September to 1 October

C o n t a c t G a i l a t 0 7 6 3 5 2 3 8 0 9

o r i n f o @ f o w l e r t o u r s . c o . z a

w w w f o w l e r t o u r s c o z a

T h e p l a c e s o f

H O LY W E E K

B e f o r e t h e j o y o f E a s t e r w e h a v e t h e t e n s e d r a m a o f H o l y

W e e k . M a n y o f t h e p l a c e s w e r e a d i n t h e G o s p e l s t i l l

e x i s t i n t h e H o l y L a n d . J o i n G ü n t h e r S i m m e r m a c h e r o n a g u i d e d t o u r o f t h e s i t e s o f H o l y W e e k .

WH AT A S C E N E I T M U S T h a v e b e e n w h e n J e s u s and his entourage of disciples and supporters des c e n d e d t h e M o u n t o f O l i v e s t o t h e c h e e r s o f h i s n e w - f o u n d s u p p o r t e r s And what a baffling sight it must have been as Jesus made his triumphal entr y astride not a thoroughbred stallion but a humble donkey.

T h e P a l m S u n d a y s t o r y r e a l l y b egins on the other side of the Mount of Olives, at Bethany (or Beth Anya, as it w a s c a l l e d i n J e s u s ’ t i m e ) . A f e w d a y s e a r l i e r, J e s u s h a d r a i s e d L a z a r u s f r o m t h e d e a d , i n f r o n t o f m a n y w i t n e s s e s While Jesus withdrew to the village of Ephraim, word of this incredible event must have spread quickly, and with it great excitement. Raising people from the dead is headline news in any age

B o t h E p h r a i m a n d B e t h a n y s t i l l exist The former is now called Taybeh, and is the region’s last 100% Christian village Bethany which, like Taybeh, is in the occupied West Bank is now called al-Eizariya, Arabic for “the place of Lazarus”

I t i s f r o m t h e e v e n t s i n B e t h a n y, t h e h o m e t o w n o f M a r t h a a n d M a r y, t h a t J e s u s ’ c e l e b r i t y r e a c h e d s u c h h e i g h t s a s t o a t t r a c t t h e c h e e r i n g c r o w d s a s h e m a d e h i s w a y d o w n t h e Mount of Olives and into Jerusalem.

J e s u s k n e w t h e M o u n t o f O l i v e s w e l l A m i d i t s o l i v e g r o v e s a n d g r a v eyards, there were caves where he shelt e r e d w i t h t h e d i s c i p l e s I n o n e o f t h e m , n e a r t h e t o p , h e r e p u t e d l y t a u g h t t h e d i s c i p l e s t h e L o r d ’s P r a y e r.

To d a y, t h e P a t e r n o s t e r c h u rc h r e c a l l s this by way of featuring the Our Father o n c e r a m i c p l a q u e s i n m a n y d i f f e r e n t languages and dialects, including six of South Africa’s official languages

F u r t h e r d o w n t h e m o u n t , J e s u s

w e p t f o r t h e f u t u r e d e s t r u c t i o n o f J e r u s a l e m a s h e l o o k e d a c r o s s t h e Kidron Valley on the temple (Matthew 23:37-39, Luke 19:41-44) Jerusalem ind e e d w e n t u p i n R o m a n f l a m e s f o u r d e c a d e s l a t e r T h e t e a r - s h a p e d c h u rc h o f D o m i n u s F l e v i t ( T h e L o r d We p t ) now marks the Lord’s distress over the city’s disastrous future

A t t h e f o o t o f t h e m o u n t i s t h e Garden of Gethsemane but let’s ret u r n t h e r e l a t e r, f o r a t p r e s e n t J e s u s i s still entering Jerusalem to great cheers. Tradition says that he entered the Holy C i t y f r o m t h e e a s t t h r o u g h w h a t w e n o w c a l l t h e G o l d e n G a t e , w h i c h h a s b e e n w a l l e d u p s i n c e m e d i e v a l t i m e s J e w s b e l i e v e t h a t t h e M e s s i a h w i l l e m e r g e f r o m t h e r e t o r a i s e t h e d e a d b u r i e d i n t h e v a s t g r a v e y a r d s o n t h e Mount of Olives Like the sun rises in the East, so will the Messiah

O v e r t u r n i n g t h e t a b l e s

According to the synoptic Gospels, J e s u s o v e r t u r n e d t h e t a b l e s o f t h e money-changers in the temple after his e n t r y i n t o J e r u s a l e m ( J o h n p l a c e s t h e incident earlier in his ministry) It probably was, above all, this act of rebellion a g a i n s t t h e c o r r u p t a n d e x p l o i t a t i v e temple authorities that led to his pros-

ecution, more so than his challenges to Jewish laws or even his claim to be the Son of God or a King

T h e s i t e o f t h e Te m p l e i s w e l lk n o w n To d a y, w e f i n d t h e D o m e o f t h e R o c k a n d A l - A q s a m o s q u e a t t h e site, and below it the Western Wall.

T h e L a s t S u p p e r w a s h e l d o n Mount Zion. Tradition places it at the Cenacle (or Upper Room), now a Crus a d e r s t r u c t u r e t h a t w a s l a t e r t u r n e d i n t o a m o s q u e S o m e a rc h a e o l o g i c a l finds suggest that this might indeed be t h e s i t e w h e r e J e s u s i n s t i t u t e d t h e E ucharist and from where Judas slunk off to meet up with Caiaphas and pals.

O n t h e i r w a y t o t h e G a r d e n o f G e t h s e m a n e , J e s u s a n d h i s d i s c i p l e s walked on a flight of steps which still e x i s t s t o d a y, n e x t t o t h e c h u rc h o f S t Peter in Gallicantu. These steps date to the first centur y BC, and they were the o n l y w a y o n e w o u l d h a v e t a k e n f r o m Mount Zion to Gethsemane These ind i s p u t a b l y a r e s t e p s o n w h i c h J e s u s , Peter, John and the rest walked.

R o c k o f t h e A g o n y

The scenes in the Garden of Gethsemane are thick with anticipation of the worst In the company of tired disciples,

C l o c k w i s e f r o m l e f t : V i e w o f t h e O l d C i t y o f J e r u s a l e m f r o m D o m i n u s F l e v i t c h u r c h • T h e S t o n e o f U n c t i o n i n t h e c h u r c h o f t h e H o l y S e p u l c h r e • A s c u l p t u r e o f P e t e r d e n y i n g J e s u s t h r e e t i m e s a t t h e c h u r c h o f S t P e t e r i n G a l l i c a n t u • T h e c h a p e l o f t h e T h r e e M a r y s , w i t h a v i e w u p C a l v a r y A l l p h o t o s : G ü n t h e r S i m m e r m a c h e r

Jesus was alone Amid the olive trees, he sat on a rock, weeping and sweating blood (a real medical condition called hematidrosis), as he begged of the Father to be spared his suffering.

That rock, or the one reputed to be, i s t h e c e n t r e p i e c e i n t h e s t r i k i n g church of All Nations, designed by the p e e r l e s s A n t o n i o B a r l u z z i . T h e c h u rc h i s k e p t d e l i b e r a t e l y d a r k , t o r e c a l l t h e night The Rock of the Agony is below t h e a l t a r, a r o u n d i t a l o w c r o w n o f t h o r n s i n i r o n W h i l e J e s u s w a s p r a ying, the disciples were sleeping, probably in a grotto about a hundred metres away It is likely that Jesus himself used that cave as shelter Now it is a chapel, with the cave’s ceiling preser ved.

Jesus was arrested and led back to w h a t i s n o w c a l l e d M o u n t Z i o n , b a c k up those steps that still exist today, to t h e h i g h p r i e s t s ’ p a l a c e . To d a y t h e church of St Peter in Gallicantu marks t h e p l a c e S o m e s c h o l a r s a r g u e t h a t i t c a n ’t b e t h e r i g h t s p o t , f o r t h e h i g h priest would have lived high up on the mount And Caiaphas probably did But a rc h a e o l o g i s t s h a v e f o u n d i t e m s a n d tools that suggest that this was the adm i n i s t r a t i v e h e a d q u a r t e r s o f t h e h i g h p r i e s t a n d S a n h e d r i n . I n t h e c r y p t i s what is reputed to be the cell in which Jesus was held likely an unfinished cistern or mikvah (ritual bath), but used as a dungeon. Standing in the dungeon a n d i m a g i n i n g J e s u s ’ t o r m e n t t h e fear and isolation! is unner ving

T h e W a y o f t h e C r o s s

In the morning Jesus was brought to Pontius Pilate. He was convicted and sentenced, tortured, and then began his excruciating walk to Golgotha Pilgrims recall that journey on the Via Dolorosa, the Way of the Cross They begin at the l o c a t i o n w h e r e t h e R o m a n s ’ A n t o n i a

Fortress once stood (first visiting the remains of the Pools of Bethesda and the t r a d i t i o n a l b i r t h p l a c e o f M a r y a t t h e 9 0 0 - y e a r - o l d C r u s a d e r c h u rc h o f S t Anne). Scholars believe that Pilate held c o u r t n o t a t t h e f o r t r e s s , i n t h e c i t y ’s e a s t , b u t a t H e r o d ’s P a l a c e a t t o d a y ’s Jaffa Gate in the south-west. But the geography is not important the destination is!

S o o n a f t e r C h r i s t i a n i t y w a s l eg a l i s e d i n t h e e a r l y 4 t h c e n t u r y, t h e church of the Holy Sepulchre was built over Golgotha and the adjacent cemet e r y g a r d e n s . H i s t o r i c a l a n d a rc h a e ol o g i c a l i n s i g h t s l e a v e n o r e a s o n a b l e d o u b t t h a t t h i s i s t h e a c t u a l p l a c e o f the crucifixion and the tomb Here one t o u c h e s t h e r o c k o n w h i c h t h e c r o s s s t o o d t h e v e r y s p o t o n w h i c h O u r L o r d l e t g o w i t h t h e w o r d s , “ I t i s a cc o m p l i s h e d ” a n d h e r e o n e m a y e n t e r t h e t o m b f r o m w h i c h h e r o s e again F o r C h r i s t i a n s , t h e r e c a n b e n o h o l i e r p l a c e a n y w h e r e o n e a r t h Calvar y and the tomb from which Christ rose located in the now beaut i f u l l y r e s t o r e d e d i c u l e c o m m a n d o u r a t t e n t i o n . A s d o e s t h e S t o n e o f Unction, which marks the place where Jesus’ dead body was prepared for burial (though the stone itself is only two centuries old)

T h e s t e p s o n w h i c h J e s u s w a l k e d , o n M o u n t Z i o n i n J e r u s a l e m

H o n o u r i n g t h e w o m e n B u t v e r y f e w p e o p l e n o t i c e a n i ns i g n i f i c a n t - l o o k i n g c a n o p y i n t h e e ntrance hall of the church, a few metres f r o m b o t h t h e S t o n e o f U n c t i o n a n d the tomb. It is not ancient, nor is it a masterpiece of design, and it’s easy to miss as one walks to the anastasis, the part of the church where the tomb is Few really talk about it at all It is the c h a p e l o f t h e T h r e e M a r y s , r e p r e s e n ting the diverse women standing vigil at C a l v a r y i n t h e h o u r s l e a d i n g t o J e s u s ’ d e a t h , w h o t h e n t o o k h i m f r o m t h e cross and prepared him for the rushed i n t e r n m e n t i n t h e t o m b p r o v i d e d b y Joseph of Arimathea

T h e G o s p e l s c a n ’t d e c i d e o n t h e i d e n t i t y o f t h e w o m e n i n t h a t s m a l l group. The chapel’s eponymous trio of Mar ys is based on John’s account: Mar y t h e M o t h e r o f J e s u s , M a r y w i f e o f C l o p a s , a n d M a r y M a g d a l e n e ( f o r t h e identity of the women, see our October 2021 issue or bit ly/3w0wSOw) The loc a t i o n o f t h e c h a p e l s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e women stood at a distance at the foot of the hill of Golgotha, looking up, as w e d o n o w i n t h e c h u rc h o f t h e H o l y Sepulchre In a church where the focus is on the crucified and risen Lord, the chapel of the Three Mar ys is a salutar y reminder that Jesus was not alone when he died and was placed in the tomb.

A n d a t d a w n a f t e r t h e S a b b a t h , Mar y of Magdala and the other women returned to that place. As they reached the rock-cut tomb, they found that the stone had been rolled away

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Renewal v tradition in the liturgy

BOTH FRITS RIJKENBERG (NOVEMBER

2 0 2 2 ) a n d Ly n e t t e P e t e r s o n ( J a n ua r y 2 0 2 3 ) m a k e v a l i d p o i n t s i n t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e l e t t e r s o n t h e l i t u r g y F r i t s u r g e s r e n e w a l a n d t h e “ o p e n i n g o f w i n d o w s ” i n t h e l i t u r g y t o l e t i n f r e s h a i r Ly n e t t e p l e a d s f o r t h e p r e s e r v a t i o n o f t r a d i t i o n . B u t t h o s e a r e t w o d i f f e r e n t m a t t e r s a l t o g e t h e r, I t h i n k C a t h o l i c s l i k e t h e t r a d i t i o n s H o we v e r, t r a d i t i o n s a r e a l s o s o m e t i m e s a b i t w e i g h t y a n d d o n o t a l w a y s s e r v e t h e i n i t i a l p u r p o s e o f b u i l d i n g p e r s o n a l f a i t h , n u r t u r i n g C h u rc h c o m m u n i t y, e nh a n c i n g o u r p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h G o d . F r i t s i s p l e a d i n g f o r r e n e w a l o f t h e M a s s I c a n s i d e w i t h h i m : t h e l i t u r g y o f t h e E u c h a r i s t , a s c e l e b r a t e d a t t h e m om e n t , i s “ o u t o f d a t e ” W h e n w e g a t h e r a s a f a m i l y, d o w e s t a r t o f f b y l i s t i n g a l l t h a t w e n t w r o n g l a t e l y i n o u r r e l a t i o n w i t h o n e a n o t h e r, w i t h G o d ?

I n m y f a m i l y, w e t r y f i r s t t o t h a n k t h e h o s t f o r i n v i t i n g u s a n d t h e n w e l c o m e e a c h o t h e r E v e n t u a l l y w e m i g h t t a k e a m o m e n t t o r e c a l l w h a t a n d w i t h w h o m t h i n g s w e n t n o t q u i t e a s w e h a d w a n t e d , e x p r e s s r e g r e t , r e c o g n i s e t h a t w e c o u l d h a v e d o n e b e t t e r, a n d s o o n I n t h e M a s s , t h e r e i s v e r y l i t t l e t i m e t o g r e e t o n e a n o t h e r ; w e a r e b e i n g d i p p e d i n t o t h e t h e m e o f t h e d a y a n d t h e n a r e c o n f r o n t e d w i t h a l l w e c o u l d h a v e d o n e b e t t e r I t i s g o o d t o v o i c e t h e k i n d o f i d e a s F r i t s R i j k e n b e r g r a i s e d I f w e , a s l a y p e op l e , d o n o t w o r k a t s o m e o f t h o s e r e n ov a t i o n s , t h e y w i l l n e v e r b e c o n s i d e r e d , a n d c e r t a i n l y n o t i m p l e m e n t e d . T h e d i s t a n c e b e t w e e n f u l l r e n o v a t i o n s a n d h o l d i n g o n t o t r a d i t i o n s c a n s t i l l b e m a d e s m a l l e r We c a n t h e n n u r t u r e t h e h o p e t h a t a n a r r o w i n g o f t h e g a p i s h a p p e n i n g w i t h r e s p e c t f o r t r a d i t i o n s a n d r e n o v a t i o n s a t t h e s a m e t i m e .

L e t u s o p e n t h e w i n d o w s o f t h e c o r r i d o r s o n t h e s t r e e t s i d e a n d a t t h e s a m e t i m e k e e p a l l t h e p o r t r a i t s h a n gi n g i n t h e g a l l e r y

Marie-Chantal Peeters, Gqeberga

Rosary booklet

YOUR JANUARY 2023 ISSUE HAS given me lots of food for thought.

We can understand the difficulty of St Thérèse of Lisieux in reciting the rosary when one’s mind wonders. However, recently we were introduced to a little booklet titled Praying the Rosary by Fr Boniface D’Souza OCD of Actonville, Johannesburg It has become so meaningful for us when we say our daily rosary

Patrick Dacey in his letter “What do we believe?” in the same issue refers to a Pew Research survey which eported that most Catholics n the United States do not elieve in the Real Presence Mr Dacey might be referred o an article by Fr Thomas Dailey OSFS titled “How acurate is the Pew Survey on he Eucharist?”, published on AscensionPress.com.

The Pew Research group calls itself non-partisan, obaining public opinion on j cts, including religion and politics Far from being a “fact tank”, as they like to call themselves, I see their survey as an attack on our faith The Church in the US needs our prayers so that the quick march towards secularisation can be stopped, and that God’s kingdom can be restored there

We are a Church of sinners who daily ask for God’s forgiveness and mercy on our earthly pilgrimage Our prayer is for our Holy Redeemer to send his Holy Spirit throughout the world that all people come to know and love him, and to turn from sin and evil We are truly blessed to be able to receive the Body and Blood of Christ in the Holy Eucharist, acknowledging that we are not worthy and that God, in his mercy, will forgive us

Bernard Moat, Cape Town

Head cover query

IWAS SURPRISED BY THE VISUAL OF A headdress with apparent baphomet horns and ears on the cover of your February 2023 issue

The Southern Cross has provided a consistent policy of offering Christ-centred content with admirable witness into its second century I can only conclude that the image with what appears to be an occult headdress was not recognised as such

Nicolette Whittle, Kroonstad

n T h a n k y o u f o r y o u r k i n d w o r d s a b o u t t h e h i s t o r y o f T h e S o u t h e r n C r o s s ’ m i s s i o n T h e i m a g e w a s o bt a i n e d t h r o u g h C a t h o l i c N e w s S e r v i c e , w h i c h p r e s u m a b l y a s c e r t a i n e d t h a t t h e p h o t o w a s n o t t a k e n i n a c o n t e x t t h a t w a s i n c o n f l i c t w i t h o u r f a i t h , n o r i nt e n d e d t o r e p r e s e n t t h e o c c u l t B u t a l s o n o t e t h a t t h e h a n d s o f t h e y o u n g w o m a n i n t h e p h o t o a r e i n a p r a y e r p o s i t i o n I f w e s e e k t o d i s c e r n a m e ss a g e i n t h e p h o t o , i t i s t h a t p r a y e r w i l l a l w a y s p r e v a i l E d i t o r

Let food be grown

IN HIS COLUMN HEADLINED “THINGS of discomfort and joy” (January 2023), Raymond Perrier notes that municipalities tend to deal with the homeless and beggars by removing them.

But the “discomfort” of having the poor can be alleviated by giving them the opportunity to grow food Every presbytery might have a “food garden” through which those in need could earn food or meals

In the same issue, John Parkin’s article “Mariannhill on a motorbike” notes that monastery gardens that once bore magnificent vegetables and trees which had provided fruits are now a thing of the past”.

Can the Church not give dignity to the homeless and unemployed by the system of allotment, maybe of 500m2 each? Preser ve the missions by taking control of them

Maria Joao, Cape Town

It is a good morning indeed

GOOD MORNING!” I LOUDLY and cheerfully greet the angr y taxi driver and his grumpy passengers as I get in a taxi on a rainy day Soaking wet, I proceed to take the taxi fare from my handbag only to find that it is somehow missing.

I tell the taxi driver to stop the taxi so that I can get off because I couldn’t find my fare. The driver stops the taxi, and I get out into the pouring rain As I exit, the driver looks at me with a mocking grin and asks: “You still believe it’s a good morning?”

Good morning such powerful words, yet often we say these words casually or take them for granted. “Good morning” isn’t just a greeting “Good morning” is a prayer, an expression of gratitude; saying “good morning” is worship, it’s an acknowledgement that this morning which God has created is good

A new day is upon us, the creator of goodness and perfection has bestowed on us a new beginning, and everything God creates is good and should be received with a thankful spirit and deep gratitude In Genesis 1:4, after God had spoken light into existence, he declared it to be good God made light by declaration, and what he declared and created is good So, ever y morning with ever y sunrise, God gives us light to start the day, and it’s always good.

No matter what our mood is on any given day or what we are facing in life, the pure perfection of God and his nature doesn’t waver; his goodness and perfection are illustrated with ever y morning he blesses us Our attitudes or what we are facing shouldn’t be the influence that drives us to say “good morning” without meaning.

Every time we say this greeting, we

should do so from the bottom of our thankful hearts, with a spirit of gratitude. To know how blessed we are to experience a new day. To know that it’s a good morning because it’s a day the Lord has made We should say “Good morning” with gratitude because we have been given another day; not as an obligation, but as a gift of grace His perfect goodness is in all that he created It all indicates the goodness of the maker.

God is always present

No matter how our lives are, or what we are facing, God is always present. If we reflect deeper each morning, we know that God has kept us all night and blessed us into the light of a new day The blessing of the Lord is upon us every day as light dawns We joyfully say “good morning” because the Lord renews our strength every day so that we may soar on wings like eagles (Isaiah 40:31).

Our lives may get so difficult at times that we cannot see the good in anything Even being gifted a new day is a miracle which we may fail to see because we are too focused on our difficulties Indeed, we don’t live in a perfect world but in one that is stained by sin, so problems and disappointments are bound to cross our path However, that doesn’t take away the fact that God is good and perfect

Whatever our hardships, we all can greet each other by saying “Good morning” with a grateful heart and let it mean more than just a line of greeting When someone asks what’s good about the morning when so much bad is going on, we are able to smile and say: “Yes, it is a good morning because it’s the day the Lord has made, and everything God creates is good and perfect ”

Tlalane Manciya is a poet and author based in Cape Town. www.tlalane.com

‘Good morning’ is a prayer, an expression of gratitude

With Saint of the Month posters: Teresa of Avila; Martin de Porres; John Bosco; Josephine Bakhita; Charles Lwanga; John Vianney; Vincent de Paul; John XXIII, Oscar Romero, Bernadette, Anthony of Padua, Maximilian Kolbe, Teresa of Kolkata, Francis of Assisi, St Joseph, and more

When we have to speak out

THERE WAS A TIME IN HISTORY when the rules of the Church w e r e t h e l a w o f t h e l a n d a n d t h i s w a s t r u e a c r o s s m o s t o f We s t e r n E u r o p e I f t h e C h u rc h s a i d y o u m u s t g o t o Mass on a Sunday but you did not, you w e r e c o m m i t t i n g a c r i m e I f t h e C h u rc h s a i d y o u m u s t n o t e a t m e a t o n a F r i d a y b u t y o u d i d , y o u c o u l d b e f i n e d

To d a y, w e f i n d t h i s i d e a f a i n t l y a bs u r d . O f c o u r s e , t h e r e a r e l a w s w h i c h r e f l e c t t h e C h u rc h ’s m o r a l c o d e s u c h a s n o t k i l l i n g o r n o t s t e a l i n g b u t t h a t i s b e c a u s e t h e y a r e p a r t o f a m o r e w i d e l y h e l d m o r a l v i e w a n d t h e y a r e p u b l i c a c t s t h a t d o h a r m t o o t h e r s B u t I t h i n k w e w o u l d f i n d i t r a t h e r e m b a r r a s s i n g i f , f o r e x a m p l e , t h e Church’s teaching against adulter y was o n c e a g a i n a c r i m i n a l o f f e n c e S h o u l d p e o p l e r e a l l y b e a r r e s t e d f o r b r e a k i n g t h e i r m a r r i a g e v o w s ? I n f a c t , t h e r e w e r e s t i l l l a w s a g a i n s t a d u l t e r y i n p a r t s o f E u r o p e u n t i l t h e 1 9 8 0 s , a n d I r e l a n d l e g a l i s e d d i v o rc e o n l y i n 1 9 9 6 P a r t o f o u r d i s c o m f o r t i s t h e i d e a t h a t p e o p l e s h o u l d b e c o m p e l l e d t o b e g o o d , r a t h e r t h a n c h o o s i n g t o b eh a v e v i r t u o u s l y I s t h a t r e a l l y w h a t i t i s t o l e a d a m o r a l l i f e ? W h e n w e a r e m o r e c o n c e r n e d a b o u t t h e l a w than about the moral principle, we s o o n b e c o m e l i k e t h e d r i v e r w h o s l o w s d o w n w h e n p a s s i n g a s p e e d c a m e r a a n d t h e n i m m e d i a t e l y a cc e l e r a t e s a w a y a g a i n O f c o u r s e , t h e r e a r e s t i l l c o u n t r i e s which are theocracies (rule by religious l e a d e r s ) T h e y a r e g e n e r a l l y c o n s e r v ative Islamic regimes that feel they have t h e r i g h t t o i m p o s e t h e i r v i e w s o n e v e r y o n e w h o l i v e s i n t h e c o u n t r y, w h e t h e r o r n o t t h e y b e l o n g t o t h e r e l ig i o n . O f t e n t h e s e l a w s g o a g a i n s t o u r w i d e l y h e l d s e n s e o f t h e e q u a l i t y o f a l l p e o p l e U n d e r a p a r t h e i d , r e l i g i o u s “ j u s t i f ic a t i o n s ” w e r e u s e d t o c r e a t e l a w s t h a t o p p r e s s e d t h e m a j o r i t y o f p e o p l e ; i t i s r e l i g i o n t h a t i s s t i l l u s e d t o j u s t i f y l a w s i n s o m e p l a c e s t h a t t e l l w o m e n h o w t h e y s h o u l d d r e s s o r w h e t h e r t h e y c a n s t u d y, d r i v e o r a t t e n d f o o t b a l l m a t c h e s . T h e C h u rc h n o w r e c o g n i s e s t h a t i t s r o l e i s n o t t o b e a m o r a l p o l i c e m a n b u t t o s e r v e a s a m o r a l c o m p a s s : g u i di n g p e o p l e o n h o w t o l e a d a g o o d l i f e , n o t c o m p e l l i n g t h e m t o d o s o t h r o u g h

l e g i s l a t i o n o r c r i m i n a l p u n i s h m e n t T h e r o l e o f t h e l a w i s r a t h e r t o e nsure that basic principles are defended. O n e o f t h o s e i s t h e e s s e n t i a l e q u a l i t y o f a l l h u m a n b e i n g s F o r t h e C h u rc h , t h i s i s a b a s i c t h e o l o g i c a l t e n e t g r o u n d e d i n t h e v e r y f i r s t c h a p t e r o f G e n e s i s : e a c h h u m a n b e i n g c r e a t e d i n t h e i m a g e a n d l i k e n e s s o f G o d T h e U n i v e r s a l D e c l a r a t i o n o n H u m a n R i g h t s r e a c h e s t h e s a m e c o n c l u s i o n , t h o u g h w i t h o u t t h e t h e o l o g i c a l l a ng u a g e .

A s a m o r a l c o m p a s s , t h e C h u rc h t h u s p l a y s a n i m p o r t a n t r o l e o f r em i n d i n g u s w h a t t h i s r a d i c a l e q u a l i t y r e q u i r e s o f u s W h e n m a r g i n a l g r o u p s s u c h a s r e f u g e e s , o r t h e d i s a b l e d , o r i n d i g e n o u s p e o p l e s , o r t h e p o o r a r e t r e a t e d a s i f t h e y d o n o t h a v e r i g h t s , t h e C h u rc h h a s t h e a u t h o r i t y a n d t h e d u t y t o s p e a k u p , t o b e “ a v o i c e f o r t h e v o i c e l e s s ” , a n d t o r e m i n d u s o f o u r h u m a n c o m m i t m e n t t o e a c h o t h e r

P o p e f o r t h e o p p r e s s e d T h a t i s e x a c t l y w h a t P o p e F r a n c i s did recently, and he made the point tog e t h e r w i t h t h e l e a d e r s o f t h e C h u rc h

t h a t h e u p h o l d s t h e C h u rc h ’s m o r a l t e a c h i n g o n t h i s i s s u e . B u t t h e p o i n t t h e p o p e m a k e s i s t h a t j u s t b e c a u s e s o m e t h i n g i s a s i n , t h a t d o e s n o t m e a n i t s h o u l d b e a c r i m e F r a n c i s s h o w e d t h a t h e i s a w a r e t h a t s u c h l e g i s l a t i o n h o w e v e r g o o d t h e i n t e n t m i g h t b e b e c o m e s a m e a n s f o r a g r o u p t o b e f u r t h e r m a rg i n a l i s e d , b l a c k m a i l e d a n d t e r r o r i s e d .

I n t h i s h e i s f o l l o w i n g t h e i n s t r u ct i o n o f t h e C a t e c h i s m ( # 2 3 5 8 ) t h a t “ p e o p l e w i t h h o m o s e x u a l t e n d e nc i e s m u s t b e a c c e p t e d w i t h r es p e c t , c o m p a s s i o n , a n d s e n s i t i v i t y.

o f E n g l a n d a n d t h e C h u rc h o f S c o tl a n d . A n d h e d i d s o i n A f r i c a . H e i d e nt i f i e d a n o p p r e s s e d g r o u p o f p e o p l e a n d h e s p o k e o u t f o r t h e m B u t t h e r esponse of at least some members of the C h u rc h w a s n o t s u p p o r t i v e , b e c a u s e P o p e F r a n c i s w a s c r i t i c i s i n g t h e m u l t ip l e a n t i - g a y l a w s t h a t e x i s t i n m a n y

A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s ( C h r i s t i a n a n d M u sl i m ) a n d d e s c r i b i n g t h e m a s “ u n j u s t ”

T h i s w a s n o t a r a n d o m c o m m e n t . A f e w w e e k s e a r l i e r t h e Z a m b i a n b i s ho p s h a d w h o l e h e a r t e d l y s u p p o r t e d a raft of anti-gay legislation, claiming religious justification for this And it was o n l y a f e w y e a r s a g o t h a t U g a n d a n b i s h o p s r e f u s e d t o c o n d e m n a n e w l a w t h a t w o u l d h a v e m a d e h o m o s e x u a l i t y

a c a p i t a l o f f e n c e

I a m s u r e t h e s e b i s h o p s w o u l d c i t e S c r i p t u r e t o s u p p o r t t h e i r m o r a l c o nd e m n a t i o n o f h o m o s e x u a l i t y A n d Pope Francis agrees with them in terms o f m o r a l i t y, s i n c e h e h a s m a d e i t c l e a r

Ever y sign of unjust discrimination i n t h e i r r e g a r d s h o u l d b e a v o i d e d ” . T h a t , t o o , i s t h e t e a c h i n g o f t h e C h u rc h I f t h e C h u rc h i s s e r i o u s a b o u t b e i n g a v o i c e f o r t h e v o i c e l e s s , t h e n t h a t h a s t o i n c l u d e p e o p l e w h o s e m o r a l i t y t h e C h u rc h m a y n o t a g r e e w i t h b u t w h o a r e s t i l l d e s e r v i n g o f t r e a t m e n t a s c h i l d r e n o f t h e o n e G o d

Voiceless for the voiceless

T h e r e a r e C h u rc h l e a d e r s , i n c l u ding here in South Africa, who are never s l o w t o c o n d e m n L G B T Q I p e o p l e a n d seem not to care if their comments and t w e e t s a r e u s e d b y o t h e r s t o j u s t i f y v io l e n c e a n d h a r a s s m e n t T h e r e a r e a l s o C h u rc h l e a d e r s w h o s a y n o t h i n g : t h e y avoid joining in the condemnation but t h e y a l s o m i s s t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o s p e a k o u t a g a i n s t i n j u s t i c e T h e y a r e t h e v o i c e l e s s f o r t h e v o i c e l e s s .

But there are people in our community who, like Pope Francis, are prepared to name injustice when they see it, even if it makes others uncomfortable.

The Church’s role is not to be a moral policeman but a moral compass

P o p e F r a n c i s g r e e t s t h e c r o w d a s h e a r r i v e s t o c e l e b r a t e M a s s i n J u b a , S o u t h S u d a n , o n F e b r u a r y 5 , 2 0 2 3 .

Photo: Paul Haring/CNS

I w a s r e c e n t l y w i t h a g r o u p o f p r i n c i p a l s a n d a s p i r i n g l e a d e r s f r o m C a t h o l i c s c h o o l s a n d t h e y were doing a simulated exercise to s e l e c t a n e w t e a c h e r. O n e o f t h e f i c t i o n a l c a n d i d a t e s w a s d e s c r i b e d a s “ r u m o u r e d t o b e g a y ” H a v i n g d o n e t h i s e x e rc i s e w i t h o t h e r g r o u p s , I h a v e s e e n t h i s c a n d i d a t e s p e c i f i c a l l y r e j e c t e d a s u n s u i t a b l e ( t h e w o r d r um o u r e d b e i n g c o n v en i e n t l y o v e r l o o k e d ) o r j u s t b e i n g q u i e t l y s i d elined because he was awkw a r d B u t o n t h i s o c c a s i o n , o n e o f t h e g r o u p s c h o s e this candidate over all the o t h e r s O n e p a r t i c i p a n t e x p l a i n e d : “ We a r e s u pp o s e d t o b e a c o m p a ss i o n a t e a n d w e l c o m i n g C h u rc h . We s h o u l d c o ns i d e r t h i s c a n d i d a t e b ec a u s e o t h e r s w o u l d n o t h a v e t h e c o u r a g e t o d o s o . ” A n d t h e n a p r i n c i p a l f r o m a r u r a l Z u l u s c h o o l a d d e d h i s v o i c e : “ P l u s , w e s h o u l d c h o o s e h i m b e c a u s e w e h a v e s t ud e n t s i n o u r s c h o o l w h o a r e g a y and lesbian, and they should have a t e a c h e r w h o c a n b e a m o d e l f o r t h e m . ”

I r o n i c a l l y, o n e s p e c i f i c a r e a i n w h i c h t h e C h u rc h h a s s u p p o r t e d a n t i - g a y l e g i s l a t i o n i n m a n y c o u n t r i e s ( i n c l u d i n g t h e U K a n d t h e U S A ) i s i n t h e a s s e r t i o n o f t h e r i g h t t o f i r e a t e a c h e r w h o i s k n o w n t o b e g a y, w i t h e l a b o r a t e t h e o l o g i c a l j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r t h i s p o s i t i o n

W h i l e s o m e o f o u r r e l i g i o u s l e a d e r s c o n t i n u e t o s u p p o r t , o r j u s t i g n o r e , a n t i - g a y l e g i s l a t i o n , t h e p r i n c i p a l s o n t h i s l e a d e r s h i p c o u r s e s e e m e d t o h a v e a n i n s t i n ct i v e u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e G o s p e l

A n d w h e n w e a c t u a l l y r e a d t h o s e G o s p e l s , w e d i s c o v e r t h a t J e s u s h a s n o t h i n g a t a l l t o s a y a b o u t s e x u a l o r i e n t a t i o n , b u t h a s l o t s o f c r i t i c i s m f o r r e l i g i o u s l e a de r s w h o o p p r e s s o t h e r s a n d a c t h y p o c r i t i c a l l y

M A R I A N E L L A

Guest House, Simon’s Town

Experience the peace and beauty of God and nature with us Fully equipped, with amazing sea views Secure parking, ideal for rest and relaxation Special rates for families, pensioners and clergy Malcolm or Wilma Salida + 27 82 784 5676 or mjsalida@gmail com

God gave us a second light

IT DOESN’T MATTER WHETHER YOU picture the origin of time the way science does as beginning with the Big Bang or whether you take the biblical account of the origins of the world literally. Either way, there was a time before there was light The universe was dark before God created light However, eventually the world grew dark again When?

We are told in the Gospels that as Jesus was dying on the cross, between the sixth and ninth hour, it grew dark and Jesus cried out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!” What really happened here?

Are the Gospels saying that it actually grew dark in the early afternoon or are they referring to another kind of darkness, of a spiritual kind? Was there an eclipse of the sun as Jesus was dying? Perhaps We don’t know, but that is of secondary importance What the Gospels are referring to is a kind of darkness that envelops us whenever what’s precious to us is humiliated, exposed as powerless, ridiculed, terminally defeated, and crucified by our world There’s a darkness that besets us whenever the forces of love seem overpowered by the forces of hatred The light extinguished then is the light of hope but there is deeper darkness, and this is the kind of darkness that the Gospels say formed a cloud over the world as Jesus hung dying

What’s being insinuated here is that at Jesus’ crucifixion, creation went back to its original chaos, as it was before there was light. But what’s also being implied is that God created light a second time this time by raising Jesus from the dead and that this new light is the most staggering light of all Moreover, unlike the original light, which was only physical, this light is a light both for the eyes and for the soul

For the eyes, the light of the resurrection is also a radically new physical phenomenon At the resurrection of Jesus, the atoms of the planet were shaken up from their normal physical workings A dead body rose from the grave to a life from which it would never again die. That had never happened before Moreover, the resurrection of Jesus was also a radically new light for the soul, the light of hope What is this latter light?

Can a crushed life be raised?

There’s a famous song written by Robbie Robertson made popular in the early 1970s by Joan Baez, “The Night

They Drove Old Dixie Down” Narrated in the first person by a man called Virgil Caine, the song is a sad lament about the distress experienced by a poor white Southern family during the American Civil War All that could go wrong for them seemingly had gone wrong, including the death of their young son, killed in the war Their situation is dark, lacking any hope The narrator offers this lament about his brother’s death: He was just eighteen, proud and brave / But a Yankee laid him in his grave / I swear by the blood below my feet / You can’t raise the Cain back up when it’s in defeat

Can life be raised back up when it’s in defeat? Can a dead body come out of its grave? Can a violated body again become whole? Can lost innocence ever be restored? Can a broken heart ever be mended? Can a crushed hope ever again lift up a soul? Doesn’t darkness extinguish all light?

What hope was there for Jesus’ ollowers as they witnessed his humiliation and death on Good Friday? When goodness itself gets crucified, what’s the basis for any hope? In two words: The

Resurrection

A light that will never go out

When darkness enveloped the earth a second time, God made light a second time, and that light, unlike the physical light created at the dawn of time, can never be extinguished That’s the difference between the resuscitation of Lazarus and the resurrection of Jesus, between physical light and the light of the resurrection. Lazarus was restored to his self-same body from which he had to die again Jesus was given a radically new body which would never die again

The renowned biblical scholar Raymond E Brown tells us that the darkness which beset the world as Jesus hung dying would last until we believe in the resurrection. Until we believe that God has a life-giving response for all death and until we believe God will roll back the stone from any grave, no matter how deeply goodness is buried under hatred and violence, the darkness of Good Friday will continue to darken our planet

Gandhi once observed that we can see the truth of God always creating new light, simply by looking at history: “When I despair, I remember that all through history, the way of truth and love has always won. There have been murderers and tyrants, and for a time they can seem invincible But in the end they always fall Think of it, always ”

PRAY WITH THE POPE

Every month Fr chris chatteris SJ reflects on Pope Francis’ prayer intention

For peace, do away with weapons

Intention: We pray for the spread of peace and non-violence, by decreasing the use of weapons by states and citizens

AC C O R D I N G T O T H E U S p s y c h o l o g i s t S t e p h e n P i n k e r, h u m a n i t y i s s a f e r n o w t h a n i t h a s b e e n a t a n y t i m e i n h i st o r y I n h i s b o o k T h e A n g e l s o f O u r B e t t e r N a t u r e , P i n k e r c r u n c h e s a l o t o f n u mb e r s t o p e r s u a d e u s t h a t m o d e r n i t y h a s b r o u g h t a f a r g r e a t e r s t a b i l i t y a n d s t a t e o f s e c u r i t y t h a n i n p r e v i o u s a g e s . N o t e v e r y o n e a g r e e s w i t h h i m , b u t e v e n h i s c r i t i c s w o u l d n o t w a n t t o r et u r n t o t h e M i d d l e A g e s o r t h e D a r k A g e s A n d r e f u g e e s g e n e r a l l y h e a d t o t h o s e k i n d s o f s o c i e t i e s w h i c h P i n k e r s a y s p r o v i d e t h e g r e a t e r l e v e l o f s a f e t y w h i c h h i s s t a t i s t i c s d e m o n s t r a t e s o c i e t i e s w i t h a r e a s o n a b l e d e g r e e o f o r d e r a n d w h e r e t h e r u l e o f l a w i s g e n e r a l l y r es p e c t e d a n d e n f o rc e d . P i n k e r a c c e p t s t h a t t h i s p r o g r e s s i n t h e l e s s e n i n g o f v i o l e n c e o v e r t h e

s w e e p o f h i s t o r y i s n o t i n e v i t a b l e . I t i s p o s s i b l e , h e a d m i t s , t h a t t h i n g s m i g h t f a l l a p a r t i n t h e f u t u r e a n d w e m i g h t regress to a state where violence returns t o t h e l e v e l s o f , s a y, t h e T h i r t y Ye a r s Wa r i n E u r o p e o r t h e M f e c a n e h e r e i n S o u t h e r n A f r i c a

Terrifying destructiveness

T h e c u r r e n t w a r i n U k r a i n e a n d t h e r e a r m i n g o f t h e w o r l d a s a r e s u l t o f t h i s s h o c k i n g c o n f l i c t i s a s u r e s i g n t h a t w e s h o u l d n o t b e c o m p l a c e n t T h e r e a c h ,

It is notoriously difficult to disarm a population once it has been armed

p r e c i s i o n a n d s h e e r d e s t r u c t i v e n e s s o f t h e w e a p o n s b e i n g u s e d i n t h i s w a r o n t h e S t e p p e s i s u t t e r l y t e r r i f y i n g .

Apart from the civilian and militar y c a s u a l t i e s , t h e c a p a c i t y o f t h e s e

w e a p o n s t o l a y a l a n d w a s t e s h o u l d b e s o m e t h i n g t o c o n c e n t r a t e r e s p o n s i b l e m i n d s P r e s e n t w e a p o n s y s t e m s a r e b a d e n o u g h , b u t c o n s i d e r t h i s : t h e R u s s i a n s h a v e d e v e l o p e d a n u c l e a r t o r p e d o w h i c h t h e y c l a i m c a n c r e a t e a n a r t i f ic i a l t s u n a m i t h a t w o u l d i n u n d a t e a c o a s t a l c i t y a n d d r o w n v a s t n u m b e r s o f i t s i n h a b i t a n t s O r c o n s i d e r a f u t u r e b a t t l e f i e l d i n w h i c h a u t o n o m o u s d r o n e s d o t h e k i l l i n g a n d t h e d e c i s i o n s a b o u t t h e k i l l i n g a r e t a k e n b y a r t i f i c i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e . I f s u c h c o l d k i l l i n g m a c h i n e s a r e let loose upon enemy soldiers and civili a n s , t h e n w e a r e i n a s i t u a t i o n w h e r e t h e r e s t r a i n t o f h u m a n m o r a l c o ns c i o u s n e s s i s r e m o v e d

T h e r e a r e a l w a y s r u l e s o f w a r, e v e n i f t h e y a r e n o t a l w a y s o bs e r v e d T h e G e n e v a C o n v e n t i o n i s an attempt to regulate the conduct of war, but the challenge is to keep i t u p t o d a t e w i t h t h e a d v a n c e o f m i l it a r y t e c h n o l o g y. M o r a l p h i l o s o p h e r s a n d m o r a l t h e o l o g i a n s h a v e t h e i r w o r k c u t o u t

W e a p o n s i n w r o n g h a n d s

Cook like an Italian with Grazia!

Delicious Italian Moments is an illustrated collection of authentic Italian recipes by ‘Cooking W ith Saints’ columnist Grazia Barletta

Per fect for the food-lover!

O r d e r a t R 2 0 0 f r o m m o m e n t s w i t h g r a z i a @ g m a i l c o m

One of the reasons why governments are often reluctant to arm other warring states is the long-term effect of large quantities of arms The problem is what to do with these arms when the war is over, and how to prevent them falling into untrustworthy private hands I t i s n o t o r i o u s l y d i f f i c u l t t o d i s a r m a p o p u l a t i o n o n c e i t h a s b e e n a r m e d , b e c a u s e w e a p o n s m a k e c e r t a i n t y p e s o f p e o p l e f e e l m o r e s e c u r e , e v e n i f t h i s s e n s e o f s e c u r i t y i s i l l u s o r y I m a g i n e w h a t w o u l d h a p p e n i f t h e S o u t h A f r i c a n g o v e r n m e n t w e r e t o p r o p o s e a c o m p l e t e l y g u n - f r e e S o u t h A f r i c a F e a r i s a p o w e r f u l n e g a t i v e e m o t i o n H o w e v e r, d e s p i t e t h e g r i m c l i m a t e , w e m u s t c o n t i n u e t o h o p e a n d p r a y t h a t S t e p h e n P i n k e r i s r i g h t a n d t h a t t h e a rc o f h i s t o r y, d e s p i t e o b v i o u s d e v i -

a t i o n s , i s b e n d i n g t o w a r d s a w o r l d w i t h f e w e r a r m s i n t h e h a n d s o f i n d i v i d u a l s

a n d g o v e r n m e n t s

Decommissioned rebel weapons in Maguindanao, Philippines

Photo: Ritchie B Tongo/EPA/CNS

PALM SUNDAY PRAYER

Mer ciful God, as we enter Holy week, tur n our hearts again to Jerusalem, and to the life, death and r esurr ection of Jesus Christ.

Stir up within us the gift of faith that we may praise him not only with our lips, but also follow him in the way of the cr oss. Amen

Prayer Corner

Your prayers to cut out and collect

Lead me from death to Life, from falsehood to Tr uth, L ead me from despair to Hope, from fear to Tr ust.

L ead m e from hate to Love, from war to Peace. Let Peace fill our Heart , our world, our universe.

P e ac e, Pe a ce , P e ac e!

Almighty God, who through your only begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

St Fidelis Prayer

Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen, through your intercession before the throne of God, we ask you to fortify all teachers and preachers of the faith to remain faithful to the truth, even to the point of embarrassment, inconvenience, suffering, and death to self. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen

– St Teresa of Kolkata

Anagram Challenge

Unscramble the clues below to work out which SITES OF THE GOSPEL hide in these words

Pa s s i o n Wo r d S e a r c h

DrOPPED LETTErS: Place the missing letters to get catholic Devotions

AcroSS

5 Jesus got it in the face during his trial (4)

7 Rash men sat around Jesus’ torment (10)

8 Recur badly, having inside limit (4)

10. Serviceman’s final delivery? (4,4)

11 Ours, like Christ ’s, will be glorified (6)

12 See 16

14 Mounted the Passion Play (6)

16 and 12 It holds classes for young Christians (6,6)

17 The figure of the Way of the Cross (8)

19 On the Way of the Cross Jesus told the women not to do it for him (4)

21 Totality of those who belong to the Church (10)

22 Lax Lenten fast holds the rod in the middle (4)

DoWn

1 Short and sweet you may give it up for Lent (4)

2 Soldiers’ activity at the foot of the Cross (8)

3 Sacred songs provide postscript and money for the poor (6)

4 Poetry in Bible chapters? (6)

5 Kind of mother who takes a pace in remarriage (4)

6 Work for the Gospel It could be a staple too (10)

9. Not like a conventional churchman (10)

13 Did Pilate make use of it during Jesus’ trial? (4,4)

15 Pilate’s wife did it during Jesus’ trial (6)

16. One needing to repent (6)

18 All roads lead to here (4)

20 Dad goes east to the bishop (4)

For all solutions turn to page 34

AcroSS

1 Gospel (4)

2 Blasphemous language (9)

5 In charge of sacristy (9)

6 Caiaphas’ servant (7)

9 Pope of Sistine Chapel (6,2)

10 First convent in Pretoria (6)

11 Messiah’s Gate (6)

12 Jerusalem’s Way of Cross (3,8)

14 Day before Good Friday (6,8)

17 Pontius Pilate’s wife (7)

20 Catholic actor (6,5)

21 Jesus departs on Thursday (9)

22 Several gods (7)

23 Popular hymn (5,4,2)

24. SA Passion Play city (6)

25 Liturgical colour (5)

DoWn

1 Pope Benedict XVI’s birthplace (6)

2 Call to religious life (8)

3 Custodians of Holy Land shrines (11)

4 Chesterton’s priest-sleuth (6,5)

6 Jesus’ judge (6)

7. Calvary (8)

8 Site of famous N Cape church (5)

11 Father of girl raised by Jesus (6)

12 Jesus’ mother, Our (4)

13 OT priest (11)

14 Passion of Christ director (3,6)

15 March 25 feast (12)

16 Lenten colour (6)

18 SA diocese (9)

19 Apostles’ or Nicene (5)

20 Christian symbol (5)

22 A Saint Francis (2,5)

23 Port Elizabeth bishop (5)

The catholic Trivia Quiz

1. At the foot of which mount is the Garden of Gethsemane?

a) Olives b) Temptation c) Zion

2. Who has been the longest-ser ving bishop of Johannesburg?

a) Hugh Boyle b) David O’Lear y

c) Buti Tlhagale

3. On early Soviet Union stamps, which saint represented communism?

a) Dismas b) George c) Nicholas

4 In which moder n-day countr y was Simon of Cyrene bor n?

a) Egypt b) Libya c) Turkey

5 Which religious order r uns Rome’s Pontifical Anglicum University?

a) Benedictines b) Dominicans

c) Jesuits

6. When was the first Durban Passion Play staged?

a) 1942 b) 1952 c) 1962

7 Who played St Ber nadette in the 1943 film The Song of Ber nadette?

a) Elizabeth Taylor b) Jennifer Jones

c) Vivien Leigh

8 In which countr y is the original icon of the Divine Mercy kept?

a) Lithuania b) Poland c) Ukraine

9 Which of these women’s religious congregations was founded first?

a) Loreto Sisters b) Notre Dame de Namur c) Ursuline Sisters

10 If the Gospel of Luke was written on a papyrus scroll, how many metres long would the scroll be?

a) 5m b) 10m c) 20m

11 In which countr y’s football league is a leading team called Universidad Católica?

a) Argentina b) Chile c) Mexico

12. Which reputed relic of Christ is kept in Aachen cathedral, Ger many?

a) Loincloth b) Sandals c) Tunic

C o o k i n g w i

t h

Sa i n t s

T H I S M O N T H G R A Z I A B A K E D :

E A S T E R S I M N E L C A K E

AS I m n e l c A k e I S A l I G h t F r u I t ca ke w i t h ro o t s i n B r i ta i n a n d I reland It is associated with lent and easter t h e s i m n e l c a ke wa s o r i g i n a l l y m a d e fo r t h e fo u r t h S u n d ay i n l e n t , l a e ta re S u n d ay, w h e n t h e 4 0 - d ay fa st i s re l a xe d S i m n e l c a ke s h ave b e e n k n o w n s i n c e a t l e a st m e d i e va l t i m e s B re a d re g u l a t i o n s o f t h e t i m e s s u g g e st t h e c a ke s w e re b o i l e d a n d t h e n b a ke d t h i s te c h n i q u e l e d to a n i nve n t i o n my t h , i n c i rc u l a t i o n f ro m a t l e a st 1 7 4 5 u n t i l t h e 1 9 3 0 s A c c o rd i n g l y, a my t h ic a l c o u p l e n a m e d S i m o n a n d n e l l y fe l l o u t o ve r m a k i n g a s i m n e l O n e wa n te d to b o i l i t , t h e o t h e r i n s i ste d o n b a k i n g i t A f te r b e a t i n g o n e a n o t h e r w i t h a s s o r te d h o u s eh o l d i m p l e m e n t s , t h e y e ve n t u a l l y c o m p rom i s e d to u s e b o t h c o o k i n g te c h n i q u e s S i m n e l c a ke s a re o f te n a s s o c i a te d w i t h m o t h e r i n g S u n d ay, w h i c h wa s a l s o k n o w n a s S i m n e l S u n d ay t h e re wa s a c u sto m o f

l i ve - i n a p p re n t i c e s a n d d o m e st i c s e r va n t s g o i n g h o m e to v i s i t t h e i r m o t h e rs o n m o t h e r i n g S u n d ay to c h e c k t h a t t h e i r fa m i l i e s w e re w e l l , ta k i n g fo o d o r m o n e y i f n e e d e d t h i s wa s a t i m e o f ye a r w h e n fo o d sto c ks w e re l o w, a n d t h e h i g h - c a l o r i e s i m n e l c a ke wa s u s e f u l n u t r i t i o n eve n t u a l l y t h e s i m n e l c a ke b e c a m e s i mp l y a n ea ste r c a ke u s u a l l y 1 1 m a r z i p a n b a l l s d e c o ra te t h e c a ke , sy m b o l i s i n g t h e 1 2 a p o st l e s m i n u s J u d a s I s c a r i o t ; s o m e t i m e s

1 2 a re u s e d to re p re s e n t J e s u s a n d t h e 1 1 s u r v i v i n g a p o st l e s t h e i n g re d i e n t s g e n e ra l l y u s e d a re w h i te f l o u r, s u ga r, b u tte r, e g g s , f ra g ra n t s p i c e s , d r i e d f r u i t s , ze st a n d c a n d i e d p e e l I t ’s a ve r y s w e e t f r u i t c a ke , s o s m a l l p o r t i o n s c a n b e s e r ve d

Preparation: 120 min

Servings: 12

P r e pa r a t i o n :

1 Preheat the oven to 140°c

2 cream together the butter and the sugar Beat in the eggs, one at a time

3 Fold in the flour and then the dried fruit and mixed peel

4. Put the mixture into a greased and lined small round cake tin (20cm)

5. Bake the cake for 90 minutes It is ready when a skewer comes out almost clean.

6 let the cake cool completely heat the jam for 30 seconds in the microwave Brush the top of the cake with the melted jam

7 roll out half of the marzipan and place it on top of the cake roll the rest into 11 balls and place them on top of the cake

8. Put the cake under the grill until the marzipan browns slightly.

In g r e d i e n t s

• 1 7 5 g b u tte r at ro o m te m p e rat u re • 1 7 5 g s o f t b ro w n s u ga r • 3 e g g s • 1 7 5 g s e l f- ra i s i n g f l o u r • 2 t s p m i xe d s p i c e • 1 0 0 g s u l ta n a s • 1 5 0 g c u r ra nt s • 1 0 0 g ra i s i n s • 5 5 g c h o p p e d m i xe d p e e l • 2 t b s p a p r i co t j a m • 2 5 0 g m a r z i p a n

r l etta 1 @ g m a i l c o m Fo l l o w h e r b l o g at w w w m o m e nt s w i t h g ra z i a c o m a n d co n n e c t w i t h G ra z i a o n Fa c e b o o k / I n sta g ra m : m o m e nt s w i t h g ra z i a

Solutions

Southe , 7 Harassment, 8 Curb, 10 Last Post, 11 Bodies, 12 School, 14 Staged, 16 Sunday, 17 Fourteen, 19 Weep, 21 Membership, 22 Axle DOWN: 1 Choc, 2 Gambling, 3 Psalms, 4 Verses, 5 Step, 6 Apostolate, 9 Unorthodox, 13 Hand wash, 15 Dreamt, 16 Sinner, 18 Rome, 20 Pope

Anagram Challenge: 1 Capernaum, 2 Mount of Beatitudes, 3 Nazareth, 4 Mount of Temptation, 5 Sea of Galilee 6 Mount of Olives

Dropped Letters: Divine Mercy, Holy Rosary, Sacred Heart, Angelus, Litany of Loreto, Brown Scapular, Miraculous Medal

5 Sacristan, 6 Malchus, 9 Sixtus IV, 10 Loreto, 11 Golden, 12 Via Dolorosa, 14 Maundy Thursday, 17 Claudia, 20 Martin Sheen, 21 Ascension, 22 Deities, 23 Abide With Me, 24 Durban, 25 Green DOWN: 1 Marktl, 2 Vocation, 3 Franciscans, 4 Father Brown, 6 Pilate, 7 Golgotha, 8 Pella, 11 Jairus, 12 Lady, 13 Melchizedek, 14 Mel Gibson, 15 Annunciation, 16 Violet, 18 Kimberley, 19 Creed, 20 Cross, 22 De Sales, 23 Zungu Catholic Trivia Quiz: 1 a) Olives, 2 b) Bishop David O’Leary (25 years, Boyle 21 years, Tlhagale 20 years on April 8, 2023), 3 b) St George (as slaying the dragon of capitalism), 4 b) Libya, 5 b) Dominicans (officially named after St Thomas Aquinas), 6 b) 1952, 7 b) Jennifer Jones, 8 a) Lithuania, 9 c) Ursuline Sisters (1535; Loreto Sisters in 1609, Notre Dame de Namur in 1803), 10 b) 10 metres, 11 b) Chile, 12 a) Loincloth

Next month in The Souther n Cross

A preview of some of our top stories in the May issue. Digital issue out on April 22 • Subscribe at digital.scross.co.za/subscribe

Fr De Hahn Profiled Our Lady of Fatima SA’s First Black Priests With pull-out poster!

Led by Fr Lawrence M. Ndlovu

L A S T C H A N C E ! • 6-16 May 2023

A f t e r t h e l e g e n d a r y t o u r i n 2 0 1 5 , w e r e p e a t t h e S a i n t s o f I t a l y P i l g r i m a g e , t a k i n g u s t o R o m e , A s s i s i , F l o r e n c e , V e n i c e , P a d u a , S i e n a a n d o t h e r s i t e s o f t h e g r e a t s a i n t s .

w w w. f o w l e r t o u r s . c o . z a / s a i n t s

H O LY L A N D & E G Y P T

Led by Bishop Victor Phalana 30 August to 10 September 2023

W a l k w h e r e J e s u s a n d O u r L a d y w a l k e d , p r a y a t t h e s a c r e d s h r i n e s o f t h e H o l y L a n d , a n d t o u r C a i r o , w i t h t h e P y r a m i d s , t h e H a n g i n g C h u r c h , a d i n n e r c r u i s e o n t h e N i l e , p l u s A l e x a n d r i a ! D a i l y l u n c h e s i n c l u d e d !

w w w. f o w l e r t o u r s . c o . z a / s c - h o l y l a n d

Final Words

Great Quotes on THE CROSS

‘For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.’

– St Paul the Apostle (c 5 AD-c 63 AD)

‘Know that God will never abandon you Turn your eyes to him often. He gave his life for you on the Cross because he loves you Contemplation of this great love brings a hope and joy to our hearts that nothing can destroy ’ – Pope Benedict XVI (1927-2022)

‘The Cross is the school of love.’

– St Maximilian Kolbe (1894-1941)

‘It is not the finest wood that feeds the fire of Divine love, but the wood of the Cross.’

St Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)

‘No one, however weak, is denied a share in the victory of the Cross. No one is beyond the help of the prayer of Christ His prayer brought benefit to the multitude that raged against him How much more does it bring to those who turn to him in repentance ’

– Pope St Leo the Great (c400-461)

‘When we are overcome by sadness, fear, or suffering; when the pains of loss overwhelm us; when evil seems to have taken power; let us look to the Cross and be filled with peace, knowing that Christ has walked this road and walks it now with us and with all our brothers and sisters.’ – St Teresa of Avila (1515-82)

‘Christians must lean on the Cross of Christ just as travellers lean on a staff when they begin a long journey ’

– St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231)

‘Realise that in Christ crucified you can do everything. Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire. He will provide the way and the means Leave it all to him, let go of yourself, lose yourself on the Cross, and you will find yourself entirely.’

– St Catherine of Siena (1347-80)

‘Jesus on the Cross feels the whole weight of the evil, and with the force of God’s love he conquers it; he defeats it with his resurrection’

– Pope Francis (b 1936)

History in colour

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

T h e E c c e H o m o a r c h o n J e r u s a l e m ’ s V i a D o l o r o s a i n a r o u n d 1 9 2 0 L o c a t e d n e a r t h e c o n v e n t o f t h e S i s t e r s o f Z i o n a n d t h e c h a p e l o f t h e F l a g e l l a t i o n , i t w a s b e l i e v e d f o r m a n y c e n t u r i e s t o b e t h e g a t e o f H e r o d ’ s A n t o n i a F o r t r e s s , a n d t h u s t h e p l a c e w h e r e P o n t i u s P i l a t e e x c l a i m e d , “ E c c e H o m o ! ” , w h i c h i s L a t i n f o r “ B e h o l d t h e m a n ! ” ( J o h n 1 9 : 1 3 ) H o w e v e r , t h e a r c h d i d n o t e x i s t i n t h e t i m e s o f J e s u s a n d P i l a t e i t i s n o w b e l i e v e d t h a t h i s t o r y ’ s m o s t f a m o u s t r i a l t o o k p l a c e a t H e r o d ’ s P a l a c e a t t h e o t h e r e n d o f t h e O l d C i t y b u t i t s t i l l i s v e r y o l d T h e a r c h w a s b u i l t b y E m p e r o r H a d r i a n i n a r o u n d 1 3 5 A D a s a n e n t r a n c e t o t h e R o m a n f o r u m . T h e n i t w a s p a r t o f a t r i p l e - a r c h e d g a t e w a y . P a r t s o f t h e p a v e m e n t o f t h e p l a z a b u i l t b y H a d r i a n h a v e b e e n e x c a v a t e d a n d c a n b e s e e n t o d a y i n t h e c o n v e n t o f t h e S i s t e r s o f Z i o n , w h i c h i s o n t h e V i a D o l o r o s a r o u t e I t i n c l u d e s a f l a g s t o n e o n w h i c h R o m a n s o l d i e r s c a r v e d a d i c e g a m e a l m o s t t w o m i l l e n n i a a g o

O v e r m a n y c e n t u r i e s , c o u n t l e s s p i l g r i m s h a v e w a l k e d b e n e a t h t h e a r c h e s a s t h e y f o l l o w e d t h e V i a D o l o r o s a , o r t h e W a y o f t h e C r o s s S o u t h e r n C r o s s p i l g r i m s w i l l d o s o i n S e p t e m b e r w i t h B i s h o p V i c t o r P h a l a n a I n t h e h u n d r e d y e a r s s i n c e t h i s p h o t o w a s t a k e n , v e r y l i t t l e h a s v i s u a l l y c h a n g e d a t t h i s s p o t E v e n t h e s h o p o n t h e l e f t s t i l l e x i s t s .

The last laugh

To f t h e C ro s s i n h i s p a r i s h c h u rc h . A s h e wa s f i n i s h i n g o ff at S tat i o n I I , h e s u d d e n l y go t a n u rge nt p h o n e ca l l

A p a r i s h i o n e r n e e d e d t h e a d m i n i st rat i o n o f t h e L a st R i te s S o t h at t h e d evo t i o n wo u l d n ’ t b e i nte r r u p te d , h e to l d M rs J o n e s , t h e s a c r i sta n , to ta ke o ve r u nt i l h e ’d ret u r n ,

Buy

n a l b l e s s i n g .

T h i n g s to o k m u c h l o n ge r t h a n t h e p r i e st h a d a nt i c i p ate d O n h i s way h o m e , t h e p r i e st s aw t h e l i g ht s we re st i l l o n i n t h e c h u rc h , a n d ca rs i n t h e p a r k i n g l o t P u z z l e d , h e o p e n e d t h e c h u rc h d o o r, a n d t h e re h e h e a rd t h e vo i c e o f M rs J o n e s : “ S tat i o n 2 6 , S i m o n o f C y re n e m a r r i e s Ve ro n i ca ”

For all your Sand and Stone requirements in piet retief, Southern Mpumalanga

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