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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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TH E W E D N E S D Ay E V E N I N G O F March 13, 2013, will remain vivid in my memor y forever I was listening to Fr Russell Pollitt SJ and the late Chris Busschau on Radio Veritas when the Jesuit priest suddenly exclaimed there was white smoke coming out of the chimney of the Sistine chapel. Habemus papam!
When the new pope appeared on the balcony of St Peter ’s basilica, his identity was something of a surprise: Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Argentine who reportedly had finished second in the 2005 conclave His choice of name was a surprise, too: Francis The new pope has kept surprising us over the past ten years mostly, I would argue, in good ways Pope Francis is widely loved
But against this immense popularity there is the noise of those who really hate this pope Their number even includes some bishops, and a few of those have given scandal by how they have expressed their opposition
To be clear, it is legitimate to differ with any pope on many things, even if there were times when voicing such disagreement was regarded by some as perfidious dissidence Indeed, even big supporters of Pope Francis may identif y areas where they might criticise the Holy Father and he has said that he actually welcomes fair disagreement
Those who attack Pope Francis with virulence, however, don’t shoot at just one man but also at the Chair of St Peter They undermine and damage the papacy, because if one pope may be subject to uninhibited contempt and disloyalty, so might any pope, past and future.
Of course, social media has amplified the voices of discord The digital platforms feed off conflict, naked hatred, and ingrained selfishness The cacophony of dissonance in the media and on the Internet is a symptom of our unhappy age This has been exploited by culture warriors and charlatans, in politics, in business, and also in religion.
Pope Francis offers an alternative to the polarisation As we review his ten years as the Vicar of Christ, we see a man who models the Gospel, the virtues of our faith, in many different ways.
In this issue, we also look at how Pope Benedict XVI changed the Church by retiring ten years ago It may well be that papal resignations, due to age or health, will become a norm
Ten Years of Pope Francis
I n c i d e nta l l y, Po p e B e n e d i c t ’s d e at h o n D e c e m b e r 3 1 wa s cove re d ex te n s i ve l y o n t h e Southern Cross we bs i te . Ta ke a l o o k at s c ro s s . co . za /cate go r y / p o p eb e n e d i c t-x v i
Ever y year we celebrate the excellent matric results achieved by our Catholic schools with adverts placed by some of them We congratulate all matriculants and pray that they may realise their dreams and full potential
The Class of ’22 and its teachers merits special respect. Their generation has navigated the difficulties of schooling during the Covid lockdowns and then the national scourge of loadshedding.
And we salute our Catholic schools and their staff who ever y year produce results that stand above the national average, in both the private and statefunded Catholic schools systems Let the ads in this issue represent not only the institutions that placed them, but all the Catholic schools in our region
The 170 000 learners who attend Catholic schools, any of the 335 throughout South Africa, are privileged They grow up in institutions that are, on average, not only academically superior to their counterparts, but also offer a Catholic ethos if not always explictly, then in their philosophy that helps form their learners
As Tony Magliano explains in this issue, for 244 million children around the world, there is no such thing as school, and 10% of the world’s children are labourers, some of them in bondage. How can this be tolerable?
Thank you for reading The Southern Cross, and please tell your friends about your monthly Catholic magazine God bless, Günther simmermacher
MARCH 2023
8 Teenage Author on Writing and Faith
Profile of 19-year-old novelist Jesse Pieters
23 Catholic Stars of the Oscars
Meet 12 Catholic Oscars winners or nominees
24 Life Hacks for ADHD
We review a book on how to deal with ADHD
25 No School Fun for Child Workers
26
10% of the world’s children are forced to work
History of the Durban Passion Play
Seven decades of the “Oberammergau of Africa”
28 What Would You Do to Jesus?
A Lenten reflection by Fr Enrico Parry
29 A Lenten Fast of Beer
What happens when you fast on nothing but beer
30 St Helena’s Holy Land Relics Haul
In the 4th century, St Helena secured relics of the Passion
TEN YEARS OF POPE FRANCIS
10 When Pope Benedict XVI Resigned
We look at the aftermath of a papal resignation
12 Ten Points of Pope Francis’ Decade
We review Pope Francis’ first ten years in ten categories
15 The Two Popes: Francis & Benedict XVI
How did the two popes relate to each other?
16 The Pope of Mercy
Fr Anthony Egan SJ on the papacy of Pope Francis
EVERY MONTH
5 FROM OUR VAULTS
The Southern Cross 10 years ago
6 YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
We answer your questions about eating fish in Lent, Mary’s Queenship, and shortest papal reigns
19 SAINT OF THE MONTH
The life of St Joseph with pull-out poster 31 THE MILLENNIAL CATHOLIC
Lionel Fynn on Lent’s three pillars of strength 32 RAYMOND PERRIER
On the grief and joy of death 33 FR RON ROLHEISER OMI
On how God is our GPS to salvation
PRAY WITH THE POPE
Fr Chris Chatteris SJ on the pope’s prayer inten
PRAYER CORNER
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 from the past
This month: A pizza for St Francis, co-patron of
...AND FINALLY
History in Colour, Inspiring Quotes by Pope Francis and a Last Laugh
Did you know?
The newly-elected Pope Francis has decided to keep his episcopal motto and coat of arms for his pontificate, with just a few minor adjustments in line with a papal emblem His motto is “Miserando atque eligendo” , which means, “Because he saw him through the eyes of mercy and chose him”.
The Aids Office of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) has to date built nearly 200 houses for destitute Aids orphans, and has 80 under construction or planned for the near future
SACBC president Archbishop Stephen Brislin releases a statement in which he upholds the Church’s position that “sexual abuse of children is a horrendous crime against children, their families, the Church and society”
In his editorial, Günther Simmermacher notes that unless the Resurrection of Christ really happened, “it is unthinkable that the apostles should have exposed themselves to the mortal dangers of propagating an already crushed messianic theology, and galvanise multitudes of others in following them on their thankless and materially rewardless course”.
• Thirteen South African soldiers were killed in the Central African Republic as rebels seized the capital Bangui, President Jacob Zuma has announced
• Eight policemen are arrested on suspicion of murder after dragging a Mozambican immigrant Mido Macia behind their police van [They are convicted of murder in 2015 ]
• Kenya’s supreme court declares Uhuru Kenyatta the rightful winner of the Kenyan presidential election
• Xi Jinping is named the new president of the People’s Republic of China
• Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is convicted of arranging an illegal wiretap and is sentenced to a year in jail.
• On March 5 President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela dies in office of cancer at the age of 58.
Q I k n o w t h a t i t i s t r a d i t i o n t h a t w e , a s C a t h o l i c s , e a t f i s h i n s t e a d o f m e a t w h e n t h e r u l e s o f t h e L e n t e n a b s t in e n c e d e m a n d s i t . I a c t u a l l y p r e f e r f i s h t o m e a t , s o e a t i n g i t i s n o s a c r if i c e f o r m e B u t w h e r e d i d t h a t r u l e c o m e f r o m ?
TH E R E Q U I R E M E N T T H A T C a t h o l i c s a b s t a i n f r o m e a t i n g m e a t o n F r i d a y s g o e s b a c k t o t h e 2 n d c e n t u r y , a s a s a c r i f i c e a n d r e m i n d e r o f J e s u s ’ d e a t h o n t h e c r o s s o n a F r i d a y O v e r t h e n e x t c o u p l e o f c e n t u r i e s , L e n t w a s i n t r o d u c e d a s a p e n i t e n t i a l p e r i o d b e f o r e t h e Pascha, o r E a s t e r , a n d t h e F r i d a y d i s c i p l i n e s o f f a s t i n g a n d a b s t i n e n c e w e r e e xt e n d e d t o m u c h o f t h a t s e a s o n
T h a t w a s t h e n o r m u n t i l t h e S e c o n d V a t i c a n C o u n c i l i n t h e 1 9 6 0 s l o o s e n e d t h e d i s c i p l i n e s g o v e r n i n g f a s t i n g , p r e s e r v i n g t h e f a s t o n A s h W e d n e s d a y a n d G o o d F r i d a y o n e f u l l m e a l f o r t h e d a y a n d t w o s m a l l e r m e a l s t h a t d o n o t e q u a l t h e o n e l a r g e m e a l a n d a b s t a i n i n g f r o m m e a t o n F r i d a y s d u r i n g L e n t C a t h o l i c s a r e f r e e , o f c o u r s e , t o f o l l o w t h e o l d d i e t a r y L e n t e n r e g i m e n
T r a d i t i o n a l l y , f i s h w a s c h e a p e r a n d r e g a r d e d a s l e s s l u x u r i o u s t h a n m e a t , a n d t h u s w a s o f t e n u s e d a s a s u b s t i t u t e f o r m e a t - b a s e d m e a l s . T h e C h u r c h , h o w e v e r , h a s n e v e r p r es c r i b e d f i s h a s a s u b s t i t u t e f o r m e a t I n d e e d , i t w o u l d d i s t o r t t h e p e n i t e nt i a l c h a r a c t e r o f L e n t e n s a c r i f i c e t o s u b s t i t u t e t h e c h i c k e n l e g w i t h a n e x p e n s i v e f i l l e t o f N o r w e g i a n s a l m o n o r a k i n g k l i p p r e p a r e d w i t h a l u x u r i o u s s a u c e T o k e e p i t r e a l , f r y a p i e c e o f f i s h o f a t y p e y o u don ’t l i k e
A n d w i t h t h e g r e a t e r a v a i l a b i l i t y o f v e g e t a r i a n a n d v e g a n d i e t s , t h e r e a r e m a n y a l t e r n a t i v e o p t i o n s t o f i s h
Q . T h e r e c e n t b e a t i f i c a t i o n o f P o p e B l J o h n P a u l I m a d e m e w o n d e r w h e t h e r h i s 3 3 - d a y p a p a c y i n 1 9 7 8 w a s o n e o f t h e s h o r t e s t i n t h e C h u r c h ’ s h i s t o r y H o w m a n y p o p e s r e i g n e d f o r a s h o r t e r p e r i o d o f t i m e t h a n h e d i d .
PO P E J O H N P A U L I ’ S R E I G N W A S o n l y t h e j o i n t 9 t h - s h o r t e s t i n p a p a l h i s t o r y H e s h a r e s t h e p o s i t i o n w i t h f e l l o w 3 3 - d a y e r B e n ed i c t V p o n t i f f f r o m M a y 2 2 t o
J u n e 2 3 , 9 6 4 b u t B l J o h n P a u l I ’ s w a s t h e s h o r t e s t p o n t i f i c a t e s i n c e
1 6 0 5 . T h a t y e a r , L e o X I w a s p o p e f o r 2 7 d a y s i n A p r i l T h e s h o r t e s t - e v e r p a p a l r e i g n w a s t h a t o f U r b a n V I I , w h o s t e e r e d t h e B a r q u e o f P e t e r f o r 1 3 d a y s , f r o m S e p t e m b e r 1 5 – 2 7 , 1 5 9 0 A t a t i m e w h e n n o t a l l p o p e s w e r e o f u n i m p e a c h a b l e c h a r a c t e r , P o p e
U r b a n w a s a g o o d m a n , k n o w n f o r
h i s p i e t y , i n t e l l i g e n c e , c o m p e t e n c e a n d c h a r i t y
A n o b l e m a n w h o s e u n c l e w a s a c a r d i n a l , G i a m b a t t i s t a C a s t a g n a w a s a n a c c o m p l i s h e d d i p l o m a t H e m i g h t h a v e b e e n t h e n e p h e w o f a c a r d i n a l , b u t a s p o p e h e q u i c k l y f o r b a d e n e p o t i s m H e a l s o i n s t i t u t e d t h e w o r l d ’ s f i r s t k n o w n p u b l i c s m o k i n g b a n , w h e n h e t h r e a t e n e d t o e x c o m m u n ic a t e a n y o n e w h o “ t o o k t o b a c c o i n t h e p o r c h w a y o f o r i n s i d e a c h u r c h ” , w h e t h e r b y s m o k i n g , c h e w i n g o r s n i f f i n g i t W h e n h e b e c a m e p o p e , w h i c h a l s o m e a n t b e i n g t h e t e m p o r a l r u l e r o f t h e P a p a l S t a t e s , U r b a n w a s p l a nn i n g t o r o l l o u t a p u b l i c w o r k s p r og r a m m e t o c r e a t e e m p l o y m e n t f o r t h e p o o r . A f t e r h i s d e a t h f r o m m a l a r i a , h e l e f t h i s p e r s o n a l f o r t u n e t o s u p p o r t p o o r g i r l s
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
s o m e o f t h e m s o d e l i c i o u s t h a t t h e y m i g h t n o t e v e n f e e l l i k e a s a c r i f i c e A n d w h a t i f y o u a r e a v e g e t a r i a n o r v e g a n a l r e a d y , o r h a v e g i v e n u p m e a t a n d f i s h f o r L e n t ? D o n ’ t t h i n k t h a t y o u ’ v e b e a t e n t h e s y s t e m : y o u s h o u l d i d e n t i f y a n a l t e r n a t i v e s a c r if i c e f o r e x a m p l e b r e a d o r a f a v o u r e d t y p e o f d r i n k t o a d h e r e t o t h e C h u r c h ’ s L e n t e n s a c r i f i c e W h a t i f b y c h a n c e y o u f o r g o t t o a d h e r e t o t h e L e n t e n r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r f a s t i n g a n d a b s t i n e n c e ? Y o u w o n ’ t g o t o h e l l f o r t h a t , b u t y o u o u g h t t o c o m p e n s a t e f o r t h e l a p s e w i t h s o m e o t h e r s a c r i f i c e m a y b e b y b u y i n g a m e a l f o r a h u n g r y p e r s o n
Pope Urban VII, who reigned for only 13 days in September 1590
T h e n e x t - s h o r t e s t r e i g n s w e r e :
C e l e s t i n e I V ( 1 5 d a y s i n 1 2 4 1 ) , B o n if a c e V I ( 1 6 d a y s i n 8 9 6 ) T h e o d o r e I I
( 2 0 d a y s i n 8 9 7 ) , S i s i n n i u s ( 2 1 d a y s i n 7 0 8 ) , M a r c e l l u s I I ( 2 2 d a y s i n 1 5 5 5 ) , D a m a s u s I I ( 2 4 d a y s i n 1 0 4 8 ) , a n d P i u s I I I ( 2 7 d a y s i n 1 5 0 3 ) (Günther Simmermacher)
Q u e s t i on s answered
W h y d o w e e a t f i s h o n L e n t e n F r i d a y s ?
Q Mary is Queen of heaven and earth, but more importantly, mother of our King and Lord Jesus. That makes her Queen Mother, and this is one of her greatest titles Yet, why does the Queenship of Mary not hold much value in the Church? Why don’t we celebrate it in a feast or a solemnity, not just as a memorial? Why isn’t the Queenship of Our Lady part of the Marian dogmas?
IN 1954 PIUS XII PROCLAIMED THE dogma of the Assumption of Mary into heaven in his encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam The solemn feast day was to be celebrated yearly on August 15 in the Church’s universal calendar Simultaneously, he declared that the feast day of Mary as Queen of Heaven was to be celebrated one week later, on August 22, as a memorial feast day He wrote that the Mother of the Divine King Jesus Christ “reigns with a mother’s solicitude over the entire world, just as she is crowned in heavenly blessedness with the glory of a queen”
This decision expressly signified that the Queenship of Mary was in future to be a liturgical celebration for the whole Church Our Lady had already been honoured as Queen of Heaven for many centuries Think of the ancient prayer “Hail Holy Queen” and the invocations of the Litany of Loreto as venerable examples Pius XII’s decree now gave this title a liturgical home
There are numerous works of art dating from around the 14th century providing magnificent portrayals of the coronation of Mary, such as those by Fra Angelico and Rubens These images, naturally, arise from and are based on the splendour of medieval royal courts But there is no doubt that, as you say, the Church loves and honours Mary as the mother of our King and Lord Jesus, which makes her our Queen Mother
The feast of the Queenship of Mary is not a solemn feast day The pope appointed it as a memorial, that is, a feast day of lesser rank than the great liturgical celebrations with their own proper prayers, readings and the rest This was
possibly to avoid any confusion that Mary as Queen might be perceived as having the same saving power and lordship that belongs to Christ the King alone She is the first of the redeemed and a member of the Church, a human person whom the Church reverences as its greatest saint due to her intimate closeness to her divine Son and her cooperation in his saving mission
Whether Mary’s Queenship of heaven will ever be proclaimed a dogma of the Church is, in my view, doubtful Dogmas explicitly propound what the Church holds as revealed by God for our redemption Queen of
Heaven can hardly be considered to be in that category, but it is a superbly fitting title given to Mary by the Church
However, Vatican II’s document Lumen Gentium said very plainly that it did not intend to give a complete doctrine on Mary, nor did it intend to decide those questions which the work of theologians has not yet clarified (54) More research might be needed to discern whether the celebration of Mary as Queen of Heaven could yet receive a higher status in liturgical and doctrinal terms
(Michael Shackleton)CA R T O O N S H AV E B E E N e n t e r t a i n i n g c h i l d r e n i n c o m i c s t r i p s a n d l a t e r i n f i l m s i n c e t h e l a t e 1 8 0 0 s T h e y h a v e a l s o p r o v i d e d i n s p i r a t i o n f o r y o u n g w r i t e r s t o e x p a n d t h e i r l i m i t at i o n s a n d g e t d o w n t o w r i t i n g t h e i r o w n c a p t i v a t i n g s t o r i e s . F o r 1 9 - y e a ro l d J e s s e P i e t e r s , t h i s h a s g o n e a s f a r a s t h e p u b l i c a t i o n o f h i s f i r s t t w o s c i e n c e - f i c t i o n n o v e l s , F a n g a n d I , J e s s e t h e C y b o r g
Born in Langebaan on the West Coast on November, 24, 2003, Jesse completed his matric last year at a Christian school in Vanderbijlpark. His parents are active Catholics his mother Felicia is catechist and his father Deon is a eucharistic minister and chair of the parish financial council at St Francis of Assisi church in Vanderbijlpark and they ensured that Jesse learnt about his faith from an early age. “Both my parents have a deep love for the faith and the Church I was taught to have a love for Our
Lady, and I was taught the Lord’s Prayer, the Hail Mary and the Prayer to St Michael My parents also taught me how to pray the rosary and that it is a powerful weapon against evil,” Jesse told The Southern Cross He recalls his early days learning about the faith outside of the family environment “I was a little boy in Grade 2. I could not understand why I had to stay on at church when Mass was already over and others were going
S t r i k e r s ’ I t w a s t e r r i b l e , b e c a u s e I w a s ‘ s t e a l i n g ’ c h a r a c t e r s f r o m E n i d B l y t o n ’s F a m o u s F i v e , t h e A rc h i e c o m i c s a n d e v e n s o m e o f D C ’s s u p e rh e r o e s ” It may be “the cringiest stor y I had ever written”, but the impulse to translate his ideas onto paper came with a powerful realisation
home, along with other children It took me a while to realise that this was Sunday School, and I was there to learn about Jesus Christ,” he recalled “We were often given pictures to colour in, and these pictures were always related to a bible story The people i t hi l stayed with me ut some disapuntil there were nal group left ”
o m p t e d J e s s e t o
2 0 1 4 , w h i l e h e
i n s p i r a t i o n w a s
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s h e e t s o f p a p e r,
m t o g e t h e r a n d
o u l d d r a w l i n e s e p a g e s w i t h a
e r a n d l e a v e a
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w h i c h I ’ d d r a w a
p i c t u r e I w o u l d
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u r e s . M y f i r s t
m p l e t e d ‘ b o o k ’ h w a s e s s e n t i a l l y o o k w a s i n o s v s S u p e r
“I had an ‘Aha!’ moment, and I chose writing because nothing else hit me the way that did Some people choose video games because it’s another world, but there are still limitations in that world Writing gave me the power to create a world where anything that I wanted to happen or to create, could happen or be created,” Jesse explained With encouragement and the support of his family, Jesse continued to write his stories Further encouragement came from his Grade 4-5 English teacher, Mrs Teagan After writing three “books”, Jesse took them to the teacher for feedback Her verdict came in the form of a laminated bookmark which read: For the Best New and Upcoming Author, Jesse Pieters
This encouraged Jesse to go even further. In Grade 6 he started to write more original stories In 2018, he wrote his first story to run online, titled “The Shadow Inside Me”, a Marvel-inspired fantasy set in the year 2029
Towards the end of 2018, Jesse fell out with his two best friends. “That pushed me to start a wolf story that would eventually grow into my first published novel, Fang, ” Jesse said. Throughout 2019 and 2020 he churned out one story after another Covid-19 provided more time and even some new inspiration for his stories The stories were all linked into one big universe, with Jesse playing the main character During this time, he also created his first ever stand-alone novel, “meaning that it’s in a universe of its own It was also the first novel that wasn’t sci-fi or fantasy related.”
In 2021 Jesse started reaching out to publishing houses, leading to his first publishing contract with Beyond
In December Jesse Pieters published his second fantasy novel. The teenage author tells Daluxolo Moloantoa how he got into writing and how the Catholic faith guides him.
I immediately throw out anything that can be read as satanic,
the Vale Publishing Fang was released in February 2022 I, Jesse the Cyborg was published in December
Although his debut novel is wolfthemed, Jesse is a cat lover, being the owner of three felines.
J e s s e ’s C a t h o l i c f a i t h p l a y s a h u g e r o l e i n h i s l i f e a s a n a u t h o r. “ I ’ m v e r y c a r e f u l w h e n I ’ m w o r k i n g o n d a r k e r c h a p t e r s o r t h e m e s b e c a u s e o f m y f a i t h A n y t h i n g t h a t c a n b e r e a d a s S a t a n i c o r h e l l i s h , I i m m e d i a t e l y t h r o w o u t T h e s a m e g o e s f o r f o u l l a n g u a g e ; I i n c l u d e i t f o r c e r t a i n c h a r a c t e r s b e c a u s e i t ’s p a r t o f t h e m , b u t I k e e p i t t o a m i n i m u m I d o n ’t m a k e i t a c o n s t a n t c u r s e - f e s t b e c a u s e o f m y a e s t h e t i c s , ” h e n o t e d
Daily prayer is a staple diet for Jesse and the Pieters family. “In the morning, before we all head off to work or school, we make sure that we pray as a family We also bless ourselves with holy water before leaving the house, regardless of the time or destination. I also pray every night before going to bed because it is my time where I get to have a one-to-one talk with God I believe that praying isn’t about giving God a list of things that you want him to do for you, but a conversation with someone who will never judge or leave you,” he said
He also credits his success as an author to the support he has had from the Church “Fr Patrick Noonan, who is a renowned author, offered me lots of helpful advice in the early days He made sure that he helped to spread the word about my book in his circles and among parishioners A couple of copies of Fang are being sold at our church repositor y It was also through one of the parishioners that I got set up with some of my media interviews,” he said S t i l l e a r l y i n t o h i s p r o m i s i n g v o -
c a t i o n a s a n a u t h o r, J e s s e h a s a l r e a d y
e x p e r i e n c e d m o m e n t s w h i c h h e d e f i n e s a s m i l e s t o n e s T h e f i r s t w a s
s e e i n g h i s b o o k d i s p l a y e d o n a s h e l f a t a l o c a l b o o k s t o r e i n Va n d e r b i j l p a r k
“ I w a s a s k e d t o s i g n t w o c o p i e s f o r t h e s t a f f m e m b e r s . T h e b o o k s n o w h a v e a ‘ S i g n e d b y t h e A u t h o r ’ s t i c k e r o n t h e m ” T h e s e c o n d m i l e s t o n e w a s d o i n g r a d i o i n t e r v i e w s , “ a h u g e e x p e r i e n c e f o r m e ”
But his biggest milestone was being invited to Sancta Maria Primar y School in Vanderbijlpark as a guest speaker “I spoke to the children about success and about pursuing their dreams It meant a lot to me, as someone who was still in school himself, to tell them that they can achieve their dreams in spite of the challenges I think that my being a student made it easier for them to believe it as well ”
When not writing, Pieters enjoys spending time with his family and friends, and watching animated series on television. He has some words of advice for upcoming writers: “What you have is a gift, and it is a gift that is often overlooked and under-appreciated Books immortalise your legacy, and the characters you create will remain long after you are gone. Keep writing, your imagination is the only limit ”
Ten years ago, Pope Benedict XVI became the first pontiff in seven centuries to voluntarily resign. Zelda caldwell looks back at a time when the modern Church had its first retired pope
On February 11, 2013, before a gathering of cardinals who had come to the Vatican expecting to hear the announcement of upcoming canonisations, Pope Benedict XVI dropped a bombshell After a few announcements about Church business at the conclusion of the meeting, the German-born pope took out two sheets of paper and read a prepared statement in Latin
“After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry,” the 85-year-old pontiff announced. Because he spoke in Latin, the language used for official Vatican proclamations, reporters present did not at first realise that the pope had just stepped down. The assembled cardinals who knew their Latin reacted with stunned silence and shock
In renouncing the papacy, Pope Benedict, who died on December 31, 2022, at the age of 95, became the first pope in more than 700 years to voluntarily step down In 1294, Pietro da Morrone, an elderly hermit, was crowned Pope Celestine V, but finding the demands of the job too much for him, he resigned after only five months In 1415, Pope Gregory XII also resigned, but under very different circumstances he stepped down in order to end a crisis within the Church known as the Great Western Schism
What happened next with Benedict XVI was no less surprising to those who expected him to live as a retired cardinal.
In his last official statement as pope, before a general audience on February 27, 2013, Pope Benedict assured the tens of thousands of people gathered to hear him speak as pope for the last time that even though he was stepping back from official duties, he would remain, in essence, pope “The ‘always’ is also a ‘forever’ there can no longer be a return to the private sphere My decision to resign the active exercise of the ministry does not revoke this,” Benedict said
He would retain the trappings of the papacy most significantly, his title and dress He would continue to wear a white cassock but without the mozzetta, the short cape that covers the shoulders The pope’s fisherman’s ring would be replaced by a ring from his time as cardinal The red shoes would go as well
By his decision to continue to dress in white like the pope, retain the title of pope, and keep the coat of arms of his papacy, Benedict revealed that in giving up the “active exercise of the ministry”, he was not forsaking the role of pope altogether In his 2013 announcement, Benedict clearly expressed his intention to step aside, even determining the date and time of his official departure Nonetheless, his decision to keep the title of pope and maintain the ceremonial protocol that goes along with the papacy led some to speculate whether there were not actually “two popes”.
IN ITS EDITORIAL ON THE RESIGNATION of Pope Benedict XVI, published on Februar y 20, 2013, The Southern Cross noted: “It requires great humility to acknowledge that one is no longer able to exercise the office one has been entrusted with; it takes courage to break a centuriesold custom, especially in an institution which is intrinsically suspicious of innovation, and quit the highest office any man can occupy It is also a pragmatic and practical decision made in the best interests of the Catholic Church by a man who always was a reluctant pope ”
The editorial said that “Pope Benedict delivered the statement of his abdication with characteristic surgical precision. He seems to have prepared for the moment for a long time according to some reports, ever since he returned from his taxing visit
to Cuba and Mexico” in March 2012
“The dominant question is how the barque of St Peter will sail into unknown territor y Pope Benedict is the first pope to leave his office voluntarily since Celestine V in 1294, so there are no precedents t o g u i d e t h e C h u rc h i n t h i s t i m e , ” s a i d t h e e d i t o r i a l , s i g n e d b y e d i t o r G ü n t h e r Simmermacher.
“The new pope must be able to act and be seen to act without the shadow of his predecessor looming over him As it is, any departure from the ways of his predecessors stands to be interpreted, at least by some, as a repudiation of Pope Benedict The new pope will not be able to exer-
cise his Petrine function fully in the person of Christ if there is a flow of speculation, never mind leaks, of what Pope Benedict thinks about this decision or that speech,” the editorial warned, adding: “No doubt Pope Benedict, the only man alive who truly knows the burden of being a pope, will be acutely aware of this, and support his successor in discretion and in prayer.”
Living with a retired pope ould be a learning curve, The outhern Cross said, “perhaps ne which future popes will enefit from It is unclear, for xample, what might be the onsequences of a former ope making his writings publicly available Is there any place in the public sphere for an ex-pope?”
Pope Benedict himself later made clear in an interview with his biographer Peter Seewald that he saw himself as continuing in his ministry He said that a pope who steps down is like a father whose role changes, but always remains a father “Of course a father does not stop being father, but he is relieved of concrete responsibility. He remains a father in a deep, inward sense, in a particular relationship which has responsibility, but not with day-to-day tasks as such It is also this way for bishops,” Benedict said
“If he steps down, he remains in an inner sense within the responsibility he took on, but not in the function In this respect one comes to understand that the office of the pope has lost none of its greatness, even if the humanity of the office is perhaps becoming more clearly evident,” Benedict said.
Still, Pope Benedict’s decision “not to abandon his ministry” inspired a cottage industry of conspiracy theories, with some questioning whether the pope emeritus truly stepped down because of his age and frailty In retiring to live in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican Gardens, Benedict did not completely withdraw from the world He attended public events in his new capacity as pope emeritus, received visitors, and pursued a life of fruitful study, writing, and prayer
While becoming increasingly frail, Benedict continued to celebrate daily Mass with the other residents of the monastery and was known to enjoy spending time in the Vatican Gardens praying his daily rosary
In July 2022, Pope Francis said in a television interview that if he were to retire from the papacy, he would do things differently from his predecessor “The first experience went ver y well,” Pope Francis said, because Benedict XVI was “a holy and discreet man” In the future, however, “it would be better to define things or explain them better,” the pontiff added.
“I am the bishop of Rome. In that case [of resignation] I would be the bishop emeritus of Rome,” he said, and then suggested he would live in St John Lateran Palace, the seat of the bishop of Rome, rather than at the Vatican CNA
O n M a r c h 1 3 , 2 0 1 3 , C a r d i n a l J o r g e M a r i o B e r g o g l i o w a s e l e c t e d p o p e . G ü n t h e r S i m m e r m a c h e r
l o o k s b a c k a t t e n y e a r s o f P o p e F r a n c i s .
HI S T O RY W I L L J U D G E O F T H E P O N T I F I C AT E O F
Pope Francis and this papacy will likely be regarded as one that changed many things, not only in structure but also in the Church’s pastoral approach to life in the 21st centur y. And historians will note that these changes were met in some quarters with a level of hostility no pope of the modern Church had faced Here we look at ten areas of Pope Francis’ first ten years as pope
P e r s o n a l i t y
P o p e F r a n c i s i s m u c h l o v e d a r o u n d t h e w o r l d , e v e n b y p e o p l e w h o o r d i n a r i l y f i n d l i t t l e t o a d m i r e a b o u t t h e Catholic Church A lot of it has to do with Francis’ openness towards even those who have felt rejected by the Church, his emphasis on mercy as the crucial characteristic of God’s love, and his personal humility
T h a t h u m i l i t y w a s e v i d e n t t h e m o m e n t J o r g e M a r i o
Bergoglio was introduced to the world as Pope Francis that evening of March 13, 2013, when he asked the crowds in St Peter’s Square to bless him before he blessed them. Next day, he insisted on paying his bill at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the guesthouse where he and the cardinals had been staying That was followed by his decision to not live in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace but at the Domus Sanctae Marthae
His modesty has been evident in many small ways: the plain cars in which he asks to be driven, his informality when he interacts with people, even carr ying his own briefcase
Pope Francis has been more open to the media than his predecessors Aside from the traditional in-flight press conferences, he has granted many inter views which have given insight into his way of thinking and even into his inner and personal life
The Church’s mission is to evangelise. However, whereas in ages past this involved active proselytising, recent popes h a v e s t r e s s e d t h a t w e m u s t e v a n g e l i s e b y o u r C h r i s t i a n e xample Pope Francis has lived out this method, especially in his priority on mercy he dedicated a full year to it and in moderating our instincts to judge others. Asked about hom o s e x u a l i t y, h e f a m o u s l y d e c l a r e d : “ W h o a m I t o j u d g e ? ” Even if this was in response to a specific case, Pope Francis holds that there is only one legitimate Judge
The pope sees the Church as a field hospital for the spiritually wounded, not as a members-only club for the virtuous When even the Holy Father regularly identifies himself “a sinner”, the Church must be open to all who seek healing from sin even before they transform their lives
C u r i a a n d g o v e r n a n c e
In 2013, the cardinals issued the yet to be elected pope with a mandate: Reform the Roman curia, the Vatican’s intricate bureaucracy Pope Francis has taken this mandate seriously, taking measures against corruption, and restructuring the whole apparatus He has faced mighty opposition, some o f w h i c h h e q u a s h e d w i t h n e c e s s a r y r u t h l e s s n e s s . B u t a t t i m e s t h e r e s t r u c t u r i n g p r o c e s s h a s l a c k e d t a c t a n d e v e n C h r i s t i a n c h a r i t y, e x h i b i t e d b y t h e p e o p l e a p p o i n t e d t o d o the job and at times even by the pope himself
Pope Francis will be remembered for his reorganisation of the curia in 2022’s apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium, which now allows for lay people, including women, to head certain Vatican dicasteries (or departments) He has a l r e a d y a p p o i n t e d a n u n p r e c e d e n t e d n u m b e r o f w o m e n t o influential curial positions, but more needs to be done yet
The pope who likes to consult his board of cardinals to advise him is an innovation that recalls the original purpose of that rank seems to have lost confidence in people, to such an extent that he burdens himself, and his successors, with an unwieldy amount of micro-management.
In terms of global Church governance, the pope seeks a s y s t e m o f s y n o d a l i t y w h i c h d e v o l v e s p o w e r a n d m a k e s i t m o r e i n c l u s i v e , a l s o t o i n c l u d e w o m e n m o r e i n d e c i s i o nmaking. How that will pan out lies in the future as the Synod on Synodality is a long, ongoing process
P o p e F r a n c i s s o m e t i m e s s e n d s m i x e d s i g n a l s r e g a r d i n g collegiality In some areas he centralises power, and in others he consults widely and devolves His decision to revoke Pope B e n e d i c t X V I ’s e f f o r t s t o m a k e t h e Tr i d e n t i n e M a s s m o r e widely available was a case where he listened to bishops who found that this move had caused division in their dioceses.
In his appointments of cardinals, the pope has often gone to the peripheries of the Church, especially in Asia and Africa with red hats going to countries like Tonga, Central African R e p u b l i c , B r u n e i o r B a n g l a d e s h r a t h e r t h a n t r a d i “cardinalate sees”, such as Milan, Berlin or Los Angeles
The pope has regularly decried a culture of clericali and has warned priests not to be careerist.
T e a c h i n g a n d d o c t r i n e
e s t o c o m e a b o u t h o w t h i s p o p e i n t e r p r e t e d t h e t e a c h i n g s o f the Church Contrary to frequently voiced opinions, Pope Francis is doctrinally conser vative He doesn’t seek to change teachings though he is cautiously open to amending disciplines, such as investigating
Clockwise from top left: Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio arrives for the conclave from which he would emerge as a pope
l Pope Francis is introduced to the world on the loggia of St Peter’s basilica on March 13, 2013 l Pope Francis leads a prayer service in an empty St Peter’s Square on March 27, 2020. It was livestreamed as the world locked down in the coronavirus pandemic l Pope Francis embraces Vinicio Riva, who is afflicted with neurofibromatosis, during a general audience in November 2013
the possibility of allowing married viri probati priests in some remote regions of the Church
The pope, however, is a proponent of the idea that laws r e q u i r e a n a p p l i c a t i o n t h a t i s a p p r o p r i a t e f o r t h e c i rc u mstances of the people affected by it For example, in his 2016 document Amoris Laetitia, he left the question of pastoral responses in allowing Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics largely open to debate among local bishops
Pope Francis has said that families should embrace their gay children, but he also opposes same-sex marriage and soc a l l e d g e n d e r i d e o l o g y. H e t a l k s l e s s a b o u t a b o r t i o n t h a n , say, John Paul II, but when he does, his opposition is stated no less ferociously than that of his predecessors
P o p e F r a n c i s h a s i s s u e d t h r e e e n c y c l i c a l s T h e f i r s t , 2 0 1 3 ’s L u m e n F i d e i , h a d b e e n m o s t l y w r i t t e n b y B e n e d i c t XVI. In 2015, Laudato Si’ addressed the ecology environmental and social at a time of climate change and increasing poverty, and 2020’s Fratelli Tutti called for “a better, more just and peaceful world”
Pope Francis has also issued five apostolic exhortations, f o u r o f w h i c h a r e s u m m a r i e s o f t h e S y n o d s o f B i s h o p s o n the Bible, family, youth, and the Amazon region
Pope Francis inherited a Church that had been shaken by revelations of sexual abuse within the Church and their cover-up for more than a decade Ten years on, the scandals keep coming The pope has acted more decisively on the scandal than his predecessors, at last recognising that the great betrayal was the cover-up of crimes by those whom the faithful usted In February 2019 he called a four-day summit of of bishops’ conferences to standardise the Church’s reonse to abuse and cover-ups, to ensure transparency, and to put the needs of the victims first.
W h i l e g r e a t s t r i d e s h a v e b e e n m a d e , a n d s e veral perpetrators of abuse and cover-ups have been punished, the Church’s response is still flawed, and the needs of sur vivors of abuse and other forms of a b u s e a r e s t i l l a r e n o t a l w a y s p u t f i r s t I n m a c r o terms, Pope Francis has talked a good game, but in individual cases involving people he trusted, he has revealed blind spots
Pope Francis’ detractors, especially in the United States, like to call Pope Francis a “socialist” for his critique of capitalism, solidarity with refugees, ecological concerns, and so on But in those positions, especially the Church’s preferential option for the poor and his condemnation of unregulated
Saints of Italy: Led by Fr Lawrence Ndlovu • 6 to 16 May
Uganda & Rwanda: Led by Fr Sekabata Mphela OFM • 30 May to 7 June
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 • 19 to 28 September
i l e e Y e a r o f M e r c y o n D e c e m b e r 8 , 2 0 1 5 • G e o r g e J o h a n n e s , S o u t h A f r i c a n a m b a s s a d o r t o t h e H o l y S e e , p r e s e n t s h i s c r e d e n t i a l s t o P o p e F r a n c i s i n 2 0 1 7 . A m b a s s a d o r J o h a n n e s d i e d o n N o v e m b e r 3 1 , 2 0 2 2 , i n R o m e .
capitalism, Francis is very much on the same page as his predecessors Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI would doubtless endorse Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical on the ecology, Laudato Si’, applaud his visits to refugees in Lesbos in Greece or memorials at Lampedusa, where many migrants have drowned, and share his concern about the rise in populism and polarisation in politics and society.
The attacks on Pope Francis from some quarters, which in tone and personal loathing are unprecedented in the modern papacy, can be located in the culture wars that have torn apart the political and social fabric throughout the West, and in which some Church officials have not been blameless
Sadly, the culture wars take place within the Church its e l f . I n t h e d e e p l y d i v i d e d U S C h u rc h e s p e c i a l l y, t h e r e a r e bishops who openly exhibit disloyalty to the Holy Father, as if the papacy was just another political office Much of this h a s b e e n f e d b y t h e p o l e m i c a l m i s r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s a n d u nfounded attacks on the pope by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, nuncio to the US from 2011-16 Pope Francis who i n v i t e s f a i r d i s a g r e e m e n t a n d r e m a i n e d c l o s e t o o u t s p o k e n critics such as the late Cardinal George Pell is said to be personally pained by the venomous attacks against him, but seems to accept that they are part of a greater conflict
P o p e F r a n c i s h a s e n g a g e d h i m s e l f i n m a t t e r s o f p e a c e a r o u n d t h e w o r l d . H e h a s v i s i t e d w a r z o n e s , i n c l u d i n g t h e C e n t r a l A f r i c a n R e p u b l i c , S o u t h S u d a n , a n d t h e D e m o c r a t i c R e p u b l i c o f C o n g o
I n P a l e s t i n e t h e p o p e p r a y e d a t I s r a e l ’s i n i q u i t o u s s e p ar a t i o n w a l l , m u c h t o t h e a n n o y a n c e o f t h e N e t a n y a h u g o ve r n m e n t B u t h e a l s o s t i l l p e r p e t u a t e s t h e u n h e l p f u l f i c t i o n o f a t w o - s t a t e s o l u t i o n w h e n I s r a e l ’s i l l e g a l c o n s t r u c t i o n o f s e t t l e m e n t s o n P a l e s t i n i a n l a n d h a v e m a d e i t i m p o s s i b l e
Pope Francis has made some ambiguous comments about the Russian war on Ukraine which were interpreted by some to be pro-Putin, and others that were understood to be antiRussian In his clearer statements, Francis has stood in solidarity with the victims of Russia’s aggression, and he has sent high-ranking cardinals with aid to Ukraine
Francis’ pontificate has also seen the signing of a provis i o n a l a g r e e m e n t w i t h C h i n a o n t h e f u n c t i o n i n g o f t h e Church there. That diplomatic exercise remains controversial.
R e l a t i o n s w i t h o t h e r f a i t h s
Like his predecessors, Pope Francis has worked hard on relations with Judaism and especially Islam With regard to the latter, in Februar y 2019 Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, grand imam of Al-Azhar, signed a joint statement in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, that outlines how different faiths can live together peaceably
Pope Francis has also maintained a particularly close re-
l a t i o n s h i p w i t h G r e e k - O r t h o d o x E c u m e n i c a l P a t r i a rc h B a r t h o l o m e w, a n d e n c o u r a g e s e c u m e n i c a l d i a l o g u e w i t h other Christian churches
A p o s t o l i c t r a v e l s
By March 2023, Pope Francis had made 40 international t r i p s , v i s i t i n g s o m e 6 0 d i f f e r e n t c o u n t r i e s . M a n y o f t h e s e apostolic visits since his first trip, to Brazil in 2013, have been to countries at the peripher y. Among the more surprising destinations were Kazakhstan, Bahrain, Albania, Georgia, Azerb a i j a n , M y a n m a r, A r m e n i a a n d B a n g l a d e s h I n A f r i c a h e v i s i t e d K e n y a , U g a n d a , t h e C A R , E g y p t , M o r o c c o , M o z a mbique (the closest he has been to South Africa), Madagascar, Mauritius, the DRC, and South Sudan.
His Mass in Manila, Philippines, in Januar y 2015 was the largest papal event in histor y, with around 7 million attending. Conversely, his Mass in Dublin in August 2018 drew disappointing numbers in a countr y where the Catholic Church has been damaged by scandals and anti-Catholic sentiments.
Pope Francis has visited only two countries twice: Cuba (2015 and 2016) and Greece (2016 and 2021, both times visiting refugees on the island of Lesbos). His trip to World Youth Day in Portugal this year will be his second to that countr y, after he attended the Fatima centenar y in May 2017.
C a n o n i s i n g s a i n t s
Pope Francis has canonised 68 saints (plus an accumulated 841 companions), but none from Africa He authorised the beatification of Bl Benedict Daswa in 2015. Most prominent among those canonised are Mother Teresa, Popes John XXIII, John Paul II and Paul VI, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, Cardinal John Henr y Newman, Louis and Zelie Martin, Fr Charles de Foucauld, Fr Giovanni Battista Scalabrini, Br Junípero Serra, Sr Elizabeth of the Trinity, and Archbishop Oscar Romero.
H e a l t h a n d r e t i r e m e n t
Pope Francis has been the first pope in six centuries to reign while a former pontiff was still alive While he maintained a good relationship with Pope Benedict XVI, who died on December 31, he has indicated that the model he inherited in 2013 is not ideal. We may expect Pope Francis to put down rules governing what happens to retired popes
Quite possibly, such rules may apply to him first Pope Francis appears to be in good health for an 86-year-old, other than a bad knee and normal signs of wear-and-tear, but the papacy requires physical and mental energy of the sort that diminishes with age If the Father does not call him first, we can expect Pope Francis to retire when he feels that he can no longer ser ve God and his People to the best of his ability
Pope Francis was the first pope in more than seven centuries to succeed a freely retired pontiff and Francis enjoyed drawing from the unique experience of his predecessor, as hannah Brockhaus explains.
IN THE FIRST HOURS AFTER HIS ELECTION ON MARCH
13, 2 0 1 3 , P o p e F r a n c i s t h o u g h t o f h i s p r e d e c e s s o r, P o p e E m e r i t u s B e n e d i c t X V I M o m e n t s a f t e r m a k i n g h i s f i r s t p u b l i c a p p e a r a n c e a s p o p e o n t h e b a l c o n y o f S t P e t e r ’s b a s i l i c a , F r a n c i s s a i d : “ F i r s t o f a l l , I w o u l d l i k e t o o f f e r a p r a y e r f o r o u r b i s h o p e m e r i t u s , B e n e d i c t X V I . L e t u s p r a y t o g e t h e r f o r h i m , t h a t t h e L o r d m a y b l e s s h i m a n d O u r L a d y m a y k e e p h i m ”
L e a d i n g t h e c r o w d s i n p r a y i n g a n O u r F a t h e r, H a i l M a r y, a n d G l o r y B e f o r h i s p r e d e c e s s o r, P o p e F r a n c i s m a r k e d t h e b e g i n n i n g o f w h a t w o u l d b e c o m e a l m o s t t e n y e a r s o f a f r a t e r n a l r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n “ t h e t w o p o p e s ”
Te n d a y s a f t e r h i s e l e c t i o n , P o p e F r a n c i s f l e w b y h e l i c o pt e r t o t h e p a p a l s u m m e r r e t r e a t a t C a s t e l G a n d o l f o t o v i s i t B e n e d i c t , w h e r e t h e r e t i r e d p o p e w a s s t a y i n g b e f o r e h i s r e t u r n t o t h e Va t i c a n o n M a y 2 t h a t y e a r. I t w a s t h e f i r s t o f n u m e r o u s v i s i t s P o p e F r a n c i s w o u l d m a k e t o h i s p r e d e c e s s o r, u s u a l l y f o r s p e c i a l o c c a s i o n s , s u c h a s B e n e d i c t ’s b i r t h d a y o n A p r i l 1 6 , f o r C h r i s t m a s o r o t h e r s p e c i a l o c c a s i o n s . P o p e B e n e d i c t ’s s e c r e t a r y, A rc h b i s h o p G e o r g G ä n s w e i n , s a i d i n 2 0 1 4 t h a t P o p e F r a n c i s w o u l d a l w a y s v i s i t B e n e d i c t b e f o r e t a k i n g a n i n t e r n a t i o n a l t r i p .
In a book of published inter views in 2016, Pope Benedict said he saw “a new joy” in Pope Francis’ pontificate, a papal reign that has “no contradictions” with his own Pope Francis, in turn, described the nine-years-older pope emeritus as a grandfatherly figure and “the contemplative of the Vatican”, saying that their relationship gave him strength
“When I hear him speak, I become strong I hear this stor y of the Church,” Pope Francis said in 2019 “Ever y time I go to visit him I feel like that; I take his hand and get him to talk He speaks little, slowly, but with the same depth, as always because Benedict’s problem is his knees, not his head.”
I n 2 0 2 2 , P o p e F r a n c i s – b y n o w a f f l i c t e d w i t h k n e e t r o u b l e s h i m s e l f c a l l e d h i s p r e d e c e s s o r “ a p r o p h e t ” f o r p r e d i c t i n g t h a t t h e C a t h o l i c C h u rc h w o u l d b e c o m e a s m a l l e r b u t m o r e f a i t h f u l i n s t i t u t i o n i n t h e f u t u r e T h e p o p e s a i d h e b e l i e v e d t h a t t h i s w a s o n e o f h i s p r e d e c e s s o r ’s m o s t “ p r o f o u n d i n t u i t i o n s ” . L a t e r t h e s a m e y e a r, F r a n c i s p r a i s e d B e n e d i c t a s a “ l e a d e r ” i n r e s p o n d i n g t o t h e s e x u a l a b u s e c r i s i s i n t h e C a t h o l i c C h u rc h B e n e d i c t ’ s p r a i s e f o r F r a n c i s
In 2016 Benedict, speaking publicly for the second time after his resignation, said Pope Francis’ “goodness is a place in which I feel protected”
Speaking to Francis and a group of cardinals on the 65th anniversar y of his priestly ordination, the pope emeritus said: “Thank you, Holy Father your goodness, from the first day of your election, ever y day of my life here moves me interiorly,
brings me inwardly more than the Vatican Gardens ”
Pope Francis also visited Benedict XVI during the latter’s final days on this earth On December 28, Francis paid a visit to the dying pope emeritus at the Mater Ecclesiae monaster y in Vatican City Earlier on the same day, in his weekly public audience, the pope had asked for prayers for Benedict, whose health had taken a sudden turn
Benedict XVI died three days later, on December 31 His funeral on Januar y 5 presented Pope Francis with a historic moment: For the first time, at least in modern Church histor y, did a ser ving pope bur y another pope CNA
Fr Egan, how did you feel that evening of March 13, 2013, when you found out that the new pope was, like you, a Jesuit?
It was a bit of a surprise. I’d expressed the hope that someone would be elected from outside Europe, yet acceptable to Italians since historically the pope’s first role is Bishop of Rome I even mentioned Bergoglio’s name in passing to a journalist friend then adding that it was highly unlikely we’d ever have a “Jesuit” pope Of course, once a Jesuit becomes a bishop he technically ceases to be a Jesuit, until he retires from office
I was surprised by his election nonetheless and a bit ner vous Looking beyond this papacy, having a Jesuit as pope could have repercussions it could deepen anti-Jesuit feelings, despite the fact that it shouldn’t. After all, this has never been the case with Franciscan or Dominican popes
How has Pope Francis’ Jesuit background manifested itself during his papacy?
In many ways, those familiar with our way of proceeding might see Francis’ Jesuit background in his papacy. His appointment of a group of cardinal advisors from around the world echoes the Jesuit general’s practice of appointing Assistants for regional Jesuit conferences and for core apostolates
Francis’ concern for the poor, for refugees and for the environment echoes a lot of contemporary Jesuit pastoral priorities. Likewise his concern for ecumenism and interfaith dialogue and cooperation Similarly the process of
broad consultation among Jesuits on many matters culminating in a provincial or the general making a decision is not unlike the synodal process Francis has initiated Pope Francis is greatly loved by many people, but also bitterly opposed by others.
It often strikes me that he is more universally loved outside the Catholic
hurt him, he trusts in God and refuses to let the hostility get to him Perhaps it’s his deep rootedness in Ignatian prayer daily examen, prayerful discernment of how to act, even discernment of good and bad spirits at work in the Church that sustains him: a deep connection to God
Will that bitter opposition have an impact on future papal elections and pontificates?
Church than within. A pity, but probably not surprising because he has shaken up the establishment quite a bit How do you think he has dealt with that?
I get the sense that though hostility may
I honestly don’t know. It depends on so many factors. If his pontificate lasts a few more years, if he is able to effect structural reform in the Vatican, if he can appoint more pastorally-minded bishops and cardinals, his opposition may be less powerful in future pontificates Then again, if he moves too fast, it may cause an episcopal backlash sufficient to effect a reversal of his reforms. And if Francis moves too slowly, he may alienate other parts of the Church
The best guess I can make is that if his successor is closer to him than to his predecessors, Francis’ reforms may hold It is also possible that his critics and even some of his “supporters” are not that happy with him, and are biding their time until the next conclave.
What do you think are Pope Francis’ greatest accomplishments in his first ten years as pope?
As a person, Francis has offered us a different way of thinking about what it is to be a pope a simple lifestyle, avoidance of liturgical bling, genuine compassion and warmth of personality, with a strong sense of justice Openness
Theologically, I think Pope Francis
It seems that Francis is more loved outside the Church than within
h a s r e s t o r e d t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f m e rc y i n t h e m o r a l d i s c o u r s e o f t h e p a p a c y. That, and a more generous understanding of what are the bounds of theologi c a l o r t h o d o x y h i s t h i n k i n g i n v i t e s us to consider a greater, longer and deeper tradition than that of the late 19th and early 20th centur y This is more in accord with what Vatican II and ressourcement started to do.
He has deepened his predecessors’ concern for ecological and environmental matters, producing a document, Laudato Si’, that is basically sound in its science and comprehensive in its dealing with the human dimensions of the environment
Finally, and in some ways this is still a work in progress, we cannot overlook his commitment to synodality How far
it will go is anyone’s guess not as far as some would like, too far according to others But by the very act of retrieving the concept of synodality from the first 1500 years of Church histor y, he has
so well, but seemed to sink into a swamp of obscurity
challenged us to take it seriously It will be an approach that will not easily be forced back into the past.
And his failures?
I think one of the great disappointments was the lost opportunity that was ultimately the Amazonian synod. It started
Another failure is his inability to really understand women, particularly modern, professional women mainly but not exclusively in the global North who feel at best second-class “citizens” in the Church. Francis has an almost stereotypical Latin American view of women, and though he has done many good things to improve women’s roles in the Church, he has faltered on a number of key issues. What has happened, for example, to the discussion process on the possibility of women deacons?
In the conclave of 2005, Cardinal Bergoglio reportedly finished second to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger Do you
Francis offers a different way of thinking about what it is to be a pope
think Bergoglio would have been a different pope had he been elected in 2005?
This is hard to say. I think perhaps and only perhaps he would have been less reformist in 2005 Why? My sense is that the internal crisis in the Church, child abuse and financial scandals, had not quite reached a level of urgency then than it had in 2013 Although these were there in John Paul II’s time, John Paul’s public charisma and forcefulness of character seemed to carr y the Church through the growing storm
When Benedict XVI stepped down, we all knew the Church was in serious trouble. I think Francis saw more clearly that we could not carry on as we were and had the will and vision to take action
How will future generations regard the papacy of Francis?
This will depend very much on what we mean by future generations In the wider world, I think Pope Francis will be remembered with fondness for his ecological and peace-building efforts, and his desire to make the Church more open to others in the same way St John XXIII is remembered
In the Church, there will be probably two strands of thought. One will see him as a disaster for the Church that brought in dangerous reforms, theologi-
The election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio to succeed Pope Benedict XVI “was a surprise and a break with tradition”, The Southern Cross noted in an editorial on March 20, 2013. “He is the first Latin American and the first Jesuit pope, [and] the first Pope Francis ”
“The election of a pope from Latin America signals that the Church in the developing world must now be seen as an equal partner; Pope Francis stands as a validation of the younger churches,” said the editorial, signed by Günther Simmermacher. “A the same time, the choice o a pope from an ethnic Italian background indicates tha this must not be seen as a repudiation of the old Church ”
Noting that papal names tend to be richly symbolic, the editorial said
cal relativism and undermined the ver y office he held The other will remember him as a good and holy man who tried, through cautious reforms and a greater theological openness to the complexities of life, to renew a papacy
that “the new pope’s choice of name stakes out his personality and vision.
Pope Francis, like the saint whose name he has adopted, is a man who values simplicity over pomp, ceremony and fine lace As archbishop of Buenos Aires he was known to take public transport and cook for himself. His flock knew him not as Your Eminence, but as Padre Jorge ”
“This sense of humility and what is often called the ‘common touch’ found e x p r e s s i o n i n h i s f i r s t p u b l i c a c t i o n a s p o p e : h e a s k e d t h e p e o p l e t o b l e s s h i m b e f o r e h e w o u l d b l e s s t h e m A n d w i t h t h a t b e a u t i f u l , c o le g i a l g e s t u r e , P o p e r a n c i s i n s t a n t l y w o n v e r t h e m u l t i t u d e s a t h e r e d i n t h e w e t S t e t e r ’s S q u a r e a n d t h e illions watching on telision ”
at had become detached m people’s lives, even auoritarian.
It is possible, even, that depending on his successors, one or other of these strands may no longer be in the Church as we know it today
A s t h e m a n w h o ra i s e d t h e S av i o u r, S t J o s e p h h o l d s a s p e c i a l p l a c e i n t h e C at h o l i c h e a r t .
G ü N T H E R S I M M E R M A C H E R l o o ks at h i s l i fe .
HE SPEAKS NOT A WORD IN Scripture, and is mentioned in only two Gospels Very little is known about him, but his actions were so vital in the story of God’s Incarnation that St Joseph is one of the Church’s most beloved saints
Joseph enters the Gospels as a man betrothed to Mary, a young woman in Nazareth who has given her assent to bear the Messiah This puts St Joseph in a predicament His future wife will be pregnant before their marriage has even begun Joseph will be publicly dishonoured by that. And then bring up what people would think was another man’s child?
On the other hand, if Joseph breaks the engagement, Mary will be treated as an adultress, and suffer some consequence social ostracism or even capital punishment by stoning Joseph is a good man, and he does not want this for the young Mary, a girl of maybe 14 years whose reputation has been spotless
Mary has removed herself from the situation by going to Judea to stay for a while with her cousin Elizabeth (see the Saint of the Month in November 2022) This gives Joseph some time to consider his options. The issue is settled by an angel appearing to Joseph in a dream,
N a m e a t b i r t h : Y o s e f
B o r n : 1 s t c e n t u r y B C ,
p o s s i b l y i n B e t h l e h e m
D i e d : 1 s t c e n t u r y A D ,
p o s s i b l y i n N a z a r e t h
F e a s t : M a r c h 1 9 ( p r i n c i p a l ) ,
M a y 1 ( S t J o s e p h t h e W o r k e r )
P a t r o n a g e s : C a t h o l i c C h u r c h ,
f a t h e r s , m a r r i e d p e o p l e , v i r g i n
w o r k e r s , e x i l e s , t h e s i c k a n d d y i n g , f o r a h o l y
d e a t h
telling him: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21)
Joseph came from a royal lineage, going back to King David, and further to Abraham According to Matthew, “there were 14 generations in all from Abraham to David, 14 from David to the exile to Babylon, and 14 from the exile to the Messiah”, with Joseph’s father being named as Jacob (1:1-17). In his Gospel, Luke hints at a different lineage, but what is important is that both place Joseph in the House of David, a benefit of heritage which offered Joseph some social status
We do not know where Joseph was born, nor when. He might have been a young man when he was betrothed to Mary, but all tradition points to it that he might have been of more matured age, in some accounts a geriatric The apocryphal Gospel of James, written about 150 AD, presents Joseph as an older man, widowed by the time he enters the Gospel narrative.
In the New Testament we hear repeated reference to Jesus’ “brothers”
and on two occasions sisters with the brothers being named The original Greek text refers to them as adelphoi, a word that can mean both brothers or other kin, such as cousins. So we do not really know whether these brothers and sisters were Jesus’ siblings or cousins The apocryphal Gospel of James suggests that they were Joseph’s offspring from a first marriage, a position echoed by Epiphanius of Salamis in around 375 Ancient Church tradition also holds that Mary was a lifelong virgin, and that the marriage between Mary and Joseph was therefore chaste.
And as a widower, Joseph might have sought a spouse not for purposes of romance or carnal gratification but for practical reasons a woman to function as a housewife. That would be consistent with the culture in which they lived, and it also conforms with a non-canonical tradition that Mary had been a consecrated Temple virgin Whatever the facts may be, the ancient Christian view is that Joseph was chosen by God to take care of Mary, bearer of the Saviour
Joseph and Mary are not yet married when they go to Bethlehem, at some point before the year 4 BC, where Mary gives birth to her son, who is duly named Jesus There Joseph has another dream of
L e f t : S t a i n e d - g l a s s w i n d o w i n S t P a t r i c k c h u r c h i n S m i t h t o w n , N e w Y o r k , d e p i c t i n g S t J o s e p h c a r i n g f o r b a b y J e s u s w h i l e M a r y t a k e s a n a p R i g h t : D o m e s t i c s c e n e o f t h e H o l y F a m i l y i n S t J o s e p h ’ s c h u r c h , N a z a r e t h
angelic counsel: King Herod is about to massacre all boys under the age two, having learned of the birth of a new “King”
Instead of staying put in Bethlehem or returning to Nazareth, Joseph takes his new family into exile in Egypt
This reveals something about Joseph. Firstly, he is concerned for the safety of the little baby, who isn’t even his Evidently he believes what the angel and Mary have told him, and he submits to being an agent in the story of the Incarnation Secondly, Joseph is a man of courage who clearly can look after himself. His family cannot join a caravan to travel in safety; they are on the run Joseph must feel confident that he can keep Mary and, more importantly, the infant Messiah safe, even on the dangerous roads through Gaza and the Sinai.
He navigates those hazardous circumstances and then safely leads his family to Nazareth, having been assured by an angel, in another dream, that it’s safe to return to the Galilean village.
In Nazareth Joseph worked as an artisan builder of some kind Eurocentric translations of Scripture suggest that he was a carpenter, and even before that, in the 2nd century, Justin Martyr supposed that Jesus made yokes and ploughs, so the tradition of carpentry has become entrenched in our imagination. The Greek word used in the Gospels to describe his profession, however, is tekton, which in-
dicates a skilled builder Given the shortage of woods around Nazareth, it is possible that he worked with various materials, such as stone, iron and wood When Jesus was old enough, Joseph trained him in his craft It is quite possible that they worked in the construction of the city of Sepphoris, about 6km from Nazareth, which was still a small village.
We don’t know the economic status of Joseph He was a skilled artisan, and so able to provide for his family But at the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, the couple could offer as a sacrifice only a pair of turtledoves, which was the option exercised by the poor.
We know that Joseph was an observant Jew who made the prescribed annual Passover pilgrimages to Jerusalem’s Temple. It is at the end of one such pilgrimage that we encounter Joseph a final time Travelling home in a caravan, Mary and Joseph notice that Jesus has been left behind in Jerusalem They return to the Holy City and after three days of frantic searching find him on the steps to the Temple, chewing the theological fat with religious teachers.
We do not know when Joseph died The apocryphal History of Joseph the Carpenter from the 5th or 6th century suggests his death at the unlikely advanced age of 111, when Jesus was aged about 19 By the time we next meet Mary, at the wedding in Cana, Joseph is no longer present.
Devotion to St Joseph is first recorded in the 9th century and grew throughout the medieval age. In 1962, Pope John XXIII inserted St Joseph in the Canon of the Mass; in 2013, Pope Francis added his name to the three other Eucharistic prayers Pope Francis also declared a Year of St Joseph, which ran from December 2020 to December 2021
Since the 10th century, the principal feast day of St Joseph has been on March 19
In 1955, Pope Pius XII introduced the feast of St Joseph the Worker on May 1, coinciding with the International Workers’ Day on the same day
Born: June 5, 1971
Oscar action: The Departed (2006) The Fighter (2010)
Catholic angle: Anything that s good in my life is because of my faith I spend a good portion of my day thanking God for all the blessings that have been bestowed on me
Born: August 16, 1962
Oscar action: Foxcatcher (2013)
Catholic angle: “I’m Catholic born and bred I hope that God gives me guidance and that he directs me to make good choices, and that he helps me with my family ”
Born: September 20, 1934
Oscar action: Two Women (1959), Marriage Italian Style (1963) Academy Honorar y Award (1991)
Catholic angle: I went to the tomb of John Paul II in the Vatican to pay homage to him and pray, in order to show my great admiration and devotion
On March 12, the 95th Academy Awards will hand out Oscars to an array of stars from Holl ywood and beyond. This month we are looking at nine Oscar winners or nominees who are practising Catholics.
e s i n b o l d .
Born: June 20, 1967
Oscar action: Moulin Rouge! (2001), The Hours (2002), Rabbit Hole (2010), Lion (2016), Being The Ricardos (2021)
Catholic angle: “Catholicism guides me I certainly have a strong belief I try to go to church regularly and I try to go to confession ”
Born: January 17, 1931
Oscar action: The Great White Hope (1969), Lifetime Achievement Award (2011)
Catholic angle: Converted in 1953 while in the US Army “The only thing I had that was not geared towards the art of killing was the Catholic Church and the complete works of Shakespeare ”
Born: January 5, 1975
Oscar action: A Star Is Born (2017), Silver Linings Playbook (2013)
Catholic angle: “I grew up Roman Catholic I was baptised Am I a spiritual person today? Yes I don’t know how I could not be It’s like saying ‘Do you breathe?’”
Born: April 25, 1940
Oscar action: The Godfather (1971), Serpico (1972) The Godfather II (1974)
Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Scent of a Woman (1993) and four more Catholic angle: He doesn’t speak about religion, but is often seen wearing a rosary and has been spotted coming out of church after Mass
Born: January 14, 1941
Oscar action: Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Chinatown (1974) Network (1976)
Catholic angle: I love the church; I love Mass I go every morning at 6:30 When I m on the right track spiritually and emotionally, things happen in my life It s mysterious
Born: September 16, 1952
Oscar action: The Wrestler (2008)
Catholic angle: Prays the rosary three times a day and credits a Catholic priest and prayer for keeping him from committing suicide If I weren t Catholic, I would have blown my brains out
YOUR ONLY LIMIT IS YOU: An Empowering Guide to Prosper with ADHD, by
Clinton Middleton 2022 222pp.HOW MANY CHILDREN HAVE been written off as lazy, unfocused or even stupid due to the effects of their undiagnosed Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)? Clinton
Middleton can speak about this from his own life experience
In Your Only Limit Is You, he charts his life with ADHD from childhood to the point that it drove him to the verge of suicide Diagnosed at 30, Middleton has written his book to encourage those with ADHD to overcome the limitations the condition can impose on their lives, and to guide those living with somebody who has ADHD to help them constructively
The number of people with ADHD is not negligible Estimates set the number at 4% of adults and of those, 75% are undiagnosed. In prison
populations, the number of people with ADHD rises to an estimated 50%. This an indication of the potentially damaging effects of ADHD on the lives of those affected by it, especially when it is undiagnosed and untreated, rather than a lack of moral fibre among those with the condition.
For Middleton, ADHD can be turned into a positive, and he presents his own achievements as evidence of that. He is a life coach and former advertising executive, and a father of two (his own father is a deacon in a Johannesburg parish) The author notes that medication helps, but the real challenge resides in living with the condition constructively In ten chapters he guides readers through life-enriching attitudes, strategies and mechanisms
He argues that addressing ADHD begins with personal development: learning to love oneself, building selfesteem, taking responsibility, developing a growth mindset. Middleton gives advice on practical matters such as time management, procrastination and job satisfaction He also urges healthy habits exercise, diet (some foods can exacerbate ADHD symp-
toms), and regular meditation (which can include prayer, such as the rosar y)
Self-evidently, it is important that ADHD be diagnosed, whether in children or adults Middleton advises that while medication can be effective, it is best to seek out a specialist who may offer a comprehensive treatment plan Middleton’s book addresses specifically those living with or are affected by ADHD But much of this accessible book includes life hacks which anyone can fruitfully incorporate in their life
Your Only Limit Is You can be ordered from www youronlylimitisyoubook com
FOR THOSE KIDS WHO HAVE discovered the fun of learning, school is an adventure. But for millions of working children worldwide, the adventures of school remain but a dream.
Sadly, these children will never learn to read or write They will not acquire computer skills. They will not experience singing in choirs, going on school outings, or playing at breaktime Their classrooms will be sweatshops, farm fields, and battlefields Their days will be filled with long, dirty, dangerous work And the lesson they will learn is that life is cruel and unfair
And worse yet, there is no light at the end of this cruel and unfair tunnel. In fact, the darkness is growing In the last few years, the number of child labourers, instead of decreasing, has increased by more than 8 million, to a worldwide total of 160 million that’s one in ten children!
According to Guy Ryder, director-general of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), by now it is likely that there will be an additional 9 million child labourers with many of them toiling in extremely harsh and dangerous conditions.
According to the ILO, 79 million of chil-
dren are trapped in hazardous work And even more tragic is that about 8 million children are enslaved in the worst forms of child labour the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage, drug dealing, forced recruitment to fight in armed conflicts, prostitution and pornography
And worst of all, according to the ILO every year about 22 000 children are killed while working. The ILO has several excellent resources to assist us in helping to combat child labour at www bit ly/2P7E3BR
One of the main reasons children do not attend school, and work instead, is because adults in countless families in poor nations have not had access to a good education, learning a viable trade, or are subsistence farmers who are unable to grow enough food for their families Thus, in this intergenerational poverty cycle, it sadly becomes imperative that children must work.
The ILO’s Guy Ryder emphasises that “universal social protection” which provides families with income security in difficult times including child, maternity, and family benefits, unemployment support, old
age pensions and health care greatly helps families cope during economic or health shocks, thus eliminating the need to put their children into work
Ryder said that government leaders need to put these policies into place along with measures that ensure decent work for adults and quality education for all children
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation laments that inequalities in access to education are keeping 244 million children out of the classroom It asks: “How can we build the world we want, beat the climate crisis, and achieve justice, when four in ten children don’t even finish secondary school?”
Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated Catholic social justice and peace columnist
are forced to work. tony Magliano explains.
THE DURBAN PASSION PLAY, which will be performed this year from April 6-16 at the city’s Playhouse Drama Theatre, has the unique distinction of being the only one in the world to be affiliated with the world-famous Passion Play of Oberammergau in Germany
This goes back to 1951, when Archbishop Denis Hurley of Durban obtained special permission from Oberammergau to stage an abridged and adapted version of their Passion Play as a prelude to the National Marian Centenar y Congress which was held in Durban in May 1952 The first performance, staged at the Durban City Hall, took place on April 7, 1952, with a final performance at the Greyville Racecourse on May 1 (The story of the genesis of the Passion Play was told in the October 2022 issue of The Southern Cross )
The first Passion Play was such a success that long-time director Fr Noel Coughlan OMI, who died in 2009 at the age of 94, obtained permission for the Catholics of Durban to produce the Oberammergau Passion Play on a regular basis. Permission was given on the condition that the play would be performed only before non-segregated audiences
It was decided that the Durban Passion Play would be performed every five years, an undertaking which the subsequently-formed Durban Catholic Players’ Guild has always taken ver y seriously In 1957 the second Durban Passion Play was staged at the Durban City Hall, and further productions were held in 1962 and 1967 Newspaper articles of the time note that performances were routinely sold out, and that many people travelled great distances from throughout Southern Africa to attend every production. The “Oberammergau
of Africa” had become a huge success 1960 saw a Catholic Players Guild delegation travelling to Germany to see the Oberammergau Passion Play The delegates reported back on the performance they had seen, with photographs they had taken These sources of information were used to make changes to the script and to other aspects of the 1962 production in Durban, bringing it further in line with the Oberammergau Play.
In 1962 the Guild reciprocated the hospitality of the people of Oberammergau, and welcomed a delegation from the Bavarian village to Durban to see the third production of the Durban Passion Play It would be the last official contact between Durban and Oberammergau until 1984, when several Guild members attended the 37th German production Oberammergau instituted its Passion Play in 1633, as an act of thanksgiving for being spared an outbreak of the plague It is performed every ten years, with the last being staged, with a twoyear delay, in 2022
Just as the people of Oberammergau annually renew their vow to stage a Passion Play at regular intervals, so do the Durban Catholic Players’ Guild members. They also perform the Way of the Cross on Palm Sunday in non-Passion Play years as well as Carols by Candlelight ever y year at Mariannhill Monastery The renewal of the vow ceremony now takes place at Mariannhill after the performance of the Way of the Cross
Inevitably, politics has interfered with the Durban Passion Play. Despite the undertaking given to the people of
Oberammergau that performances would take place before non-segregated audiences, apartheid policies made this undertaking very difficult to honour In 1967, special permissions had to be obtained, resulting in imperfect compromises, and even the German embassy got involved
Several weeks before the 1972 play began, Archbishop Denis Hurley formally withdrew his longstanding patronage because the apartheid government insisted that all performances be racially segregated Durban’s archdiocesan Committee on Justice & Peace supported the archbishop’s decision, and on opening night 30 students from the Catholic Society of the University of Natal picketed outside City Hall, handing out pamphlets and carr ying banners Most priests also boycotted opening night. The cast itself was divided when 15 members threatened to join the picket outside the City Hall, and were informed by a member of the directorate that anyone joining would be dismissed from the production
Despite the controversy, the production went ahead, as it was decided that it was better to perform to segregated audiences than to not put on the production at all
As the Guild prepared for the 1977 production, two years of intensive negotiations finally bore fruit The government agreed that audiences could henceforth be fully integrated, but it was not until 1986 that Archbishop Hurley resumed his patronage of the Durban Passion Play.
The 1982 production saw another milestone under apartheid: for the first time, people of all races could finally perform together on the stage
1997 saw the Play move to the
In April, the Durban Passion Play returns to the stage Wendy Greef recalls some moments in the Play ’s history.
Drama Theatre at the Durban Playhouse
A dynamic new set was introduced, which went a long way to facilitating scene changes, thus making productions more professional This set continues to be used to the present day
After the 2015 Passion Play, considerable efforts made by committee members, especially Murray Leyden, resulted in the Guild making contact with the mayor of Oberammergau and with some committee members of their Passion Play production team Plans were afoot for some Durban Catholic Players’ Guild members to attend the 42nd production of the Oberammergau Play in 2020 (which would be postponed to 2022)
Sadly the 2020 Durban Passion Play will go down in histor y as the production that didn’t happen After many months of rehearsing a combined 135 000 hours of preparations the production was ready to move into The Playhouse The final rehearsal at Holy Family Convent was followed by a bring-and-share party for cast and production team members But later that same night, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the uncontrollable spread of Covid-19 necessitated the restriction on the number of people who were to be permitted to be together in a closed venue The size of the cast alone exceeded this number, and the 2020 Pas-
Some people may question the role of Passion Plays in our modern digital age, where video clips online have taken the place of live performances Others wonder at the tenacity of those who dedicate their time and talents to make every production a success, for no pay Taking part in the play requires a commitment of at least six months, involving great self-sacrifice.
Perhaps the reason why the Passion Play remains relevant can be found in Fr Coughlan’s commentar y in the programme of the 1952 production He said that the message of the play is that nobly and patiently borne suffering has its meaning and reward in the glory of Eternal Life
Despite the hard work and self-sacrifice, members of the Durban Catholic Players’ Guild have taken this message to heart Every time auditions are held, many familiar faces return, often bringing along new family members By now some families can boast of four generations having been a part of the “Oberammergau of Africa”.
Perhaps what ultimately motivates them can be found in the words of a homily delivered by Fr Coughlan at the Mass said immediately before the first Durban Passion Play performance: “If you can win one soul back to the practice of his or her religion, then you will have that soul’s gratitude Not just for a
but through all eternity ”
The Durban Passion Play usually runs for three weeks before Easter, with a final performance on Easter Sunday Due to renovations at the venue, this year’s dates diverge from that tradition There are approximately 150 members in the cast, all unpaid amateur actors. In 2015, almost 6 000 people attended the performances
In April, a new cast will present the Passion Play It will be a special occasion as the run will also commemorate half a centur y of the Durban Passion Play being staged
Tickets, block bookings and entire performances can be arranged through Dominic Sandiah on 082 460 7677.
SOME YEARS AGO A RUBBER
wristband imprinted with the letters WWJD standing for “What Would Jesus Do?” was a big craze Ever ybody who was somebody wore it, especially if you wanted to be in with young people
But I have a different question: What would you do to Jesus?
Ever yone was against Jesus as he hung helpless on the Cross. The leaders of the people The soldiers on duty The fellow crucified Ridicule all around, even by the desperate. It’s a lonely place to be
And Jesus is there, fully so No one to support him; he who so supported the world and its friend Except the fellow hanging on the other side. A criminal nevertheless, but one with thieves’ honour He approached the whole thing a little more critically, or honestly
Luke’s gentlemanly way of stor y-
telling makes the harsh a little more bearable, finding out-of-place beauty in the ugliest circumstances Here is a friendly criminal whose word about Jesus is just about the most straightfor ward proclamation of the Gospel in the whole of Luke, ranking with the most beautiful of ancient texts from Isaiah about the innocent one slain on behalf of the guilty And that one we will read on Good Friday on April 7
But this one is the word of a condemned criminal and what good is that? But it’s true: we are guilty, he says on behalf of all humanity, and Jesus is innocent
What is better than a king, ours nonetheless, taking our guilt upon his innocent shoulders? Dying in our place The new way of ruling Not lording it over them, but ser ving them to the bitter end.
Are we listening, Church?
Fr Enrico Parry is a priest of the diocese of Oudtshoorn. This article originally appeared on imbisa africa
immerse themselves IN 40 days of abstaining from sweets, meat, smoking, technology, and other luxuries Some may pledge to give up beer for that penitential season But did you know that Catholic monks once brewed beer specifically for a liquid-only Lenten fast?
Back in the 1600s, monks of the Order of Minims, founded by St Francis of Paola in 15th-century Italy, moved from southern Italy to a cloister in Bavaria, at Neudeck ob der Au. In Germany, they became known as Paulaner, after the birthplace of their founder
“Being a strict order, they were not allowed to consume solid food during Lent,” according to Martin Zuber, the brewmaster and beer sommelier of the Paulaner brewery in Munich They needed something other than water to sustain them, so the monks turned to a common staple of the time of their region
beer They concocted an “unusually strong” brew, full of carbohydrates and nutrients, because “liquid bread wouldn’t break the fast”, Zuber noted
This was an early doppelbock-style beer, a particularly strong brew which they named “Salvator” What they did not drink themselves, they gave to the poor and sold in taverns It is in relation to the latter that the Paulaner friars and their beer is first documented, in a letter of complaint from other brewers in 1634
Paulaner, now a public company, currently sells in 70 countries, including South Africa, and is one of the six official breweries featured at Munich’s famous Oktoberfest Its “Salvator” doppelbock, with an alcoholic volume of 7,9%, is still enjoyed around the world today, long after its penitential origin with the monks
But could a beer-only fast really be accomplished? One journalist had read about the monks’ stor y and, in 2011, attempted to recreate their fast J Wilson, a Christian editor for a local newspaper in the US state of Iowa, partnered with a local brewer y and brewed a special
doppelbock which he consumed over 46 days during Lent, eating no solid food
He had regular medical check-ups and obtained permission from his boss for the fast, drinking four beers over the course of a work day and five beers on Saturdays and Sundays His experience, he said, was transformative and not in an intoxicating way Wilson learned “that the human body is an amazing machine,” he wrote
myself operating in a tunnel of clarity unlike anything I’d ever experienced ” He ended up losing almost 12kg over the course of the Lenten season, but learned to practise “self-discipline”.
Readers are not encouraged to enter a beer-only fast, either for Lent or as a weight-loss exercise, and are reminded to consume alcohol responsibly at all times, and not at all when driving But we can learn from Wilson’s experience.
in a blog for CNN after his Lenten experience. “Aside from cramming it [the body] full of junk food, we don’t ask much of it. We take it for granted. It is capable of much more than many of us give it credit for It can climb mountains, run marathons and, yes, it can function without food for long periods of time,” he wrote
Wilson noted that he was acutely hungr y for the first several days of his fast, but “my body then switched gears, replaced hunger with focus, and I found
“The experience proved that the origin stor y of monks fasting on doppelbock was not only possible, but probable,” he concluded “It left me with the realisation that the monks must have been keenly aware of their own humanity and imper fections In order to refocus on God, they engaged this annual practice not only to endure sacrifice, but to stress and rediscover their own shortcomings in an effort to continually refine themselves ”
F a s t i n g i s i n t e r p r e t e d t o m e a n e a t i n g o n e f u l l m e a l a n d t w o s m a l l e r m e a l s t h a t , t a k e n t o g e t h e r, d o n o t e q u a l t h a t o n e f u l l m e a l . T h e r e m a y b e n o e a t i n g i n b e t w e e n m e a l s , a n d t h e r e i s n o s p e c i f i c m e n t i o n o f l i q u i d s i n t h e g u i d e l i n e s C N A
To sustain themselves, the monks took to beerBy Hannah Brockhaus
AS WE FOLLOW THE STATIONS of the Cross and prepare for Holy Week, starting on April 2, we may be edified to know that relics of those events in Jerusalem almost 2 000 years ago still exist
The mother of Emperor Constantine the Great, St Helena is believed to have restored many sites in the Holy Land after arriving there in 326AD, including the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which covers Golgotha the site of Jesus’ crucifixion and the tomb of his resurrection.
In Jerusalem, Helena was pointed to a cistern at a spot which is now incorporated in the church of the Holy Sepulchre where she discovered the cross on which Christ died and other relics from his Passion, some of which she brought back with her to Rome These relics can still be venerated today, in Rome’s basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.
The basilica was originally a chapel designed by St Helena to hold the relics of the True Cross found on Calvary The chapel had been part of an imperial palace which Constantine gave to his mother when he moved the capital of the Roman Empire to Constantinople
The church has undergone many changes over time One of the relics on display in the basilica’s relic chapel was rediscovered inside a wall during a restoration in the 15th centur y after it had likely been hidden there during an earlier renovation in the 1100s
The Titulus Crucis, Latin for “Title of the Cross in Latin”, was the wooden tablet hung on Christ’s cross explaining the reason for his crucifixion In Greek, Latin, and Hebrew it says “Jesus the Nazarene King of the Jews”. In artistic
representation, these words are typically abbreviated as INRI It is believed the Titulus Crucis was brought to the basilica in the 6th century Other relics now on display were similarly not part of the relics which tradition says Helena brought to Rome in the 4th century
After her pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Helena brought fragments of the True Cross. She also brought at least two of the nails used in Christ’s crucifixion Tradition holds that Helena had one placed in Constantine’s helmet, and another in the bridle of his horse
Some of St Helena’s haul ended up in Cyprus, including pieces of the rope with which Jesus was tied on the Cross, now kept in the Stavrovouni monastery.
According to tradition, the Holy Stairs were also brought to Rome by Helena in the 4th centur y. Know as the Scala Sancta, these steps are held to be
u r c h o f t h e H o l y S e p u l c h r e
those which led to the praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem, and which Jesus probably ascended on his way to the trial before his Crucifixion
The stairs are now installed near the archbasilica of St John Lateran in Rome, and were first opened to the public more than 400 years ago by Sixtus V
So many pilgrims visited the stairs in the first centur y after they were opened to the public that the marble became worn down, creating deep furrows in the steps In 1724, Pope Benedict XIII covered the Holy Stairs in wood for their protection They were uncovered for the first time in 2018, during a year-long restoration project and in 2019, for a limited time visitors could venerate the marble steps without the wood coverings These included a group of Southern Cross pilgrims in May that year
St Helena died in 330, at the age of about 82. Her tomb is in the church of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli in Rome CNA
F ra i l /a s s i ste d ca re i n s h a re d o r s i n g l e ro o m s .
I n d e p e n d e nt ca re i n s i n g l e / d o u b l e ro o m s w i t h e n - s u i te b at h ro o m s
R ate s i n c l u d e m e a l s , l a u n d r y
a n d 2 4 - h o u r n u rs i n g .
D a y - C a r e a n d s h o r t- sta y fa c i l i t i e s
a l s o a v a i l a b l e .
b r o u g h t t o R o m e b y S t H e l e n a • P i l g r i m s a s c e n d t h e H o l y S t a i r s i n R o m e o n t h e i r k n e e s • S t a t u e o f S t H e l e n a i n t h e c h a p e l o f t h e F i n d i n g o f t h e C r o s s i n t h e c h
LE N T, A S W E A L L K N O W, I S time of preparation for Easter is a time when we take stock o o u r l i v e s a n d c o m e t o t e r m s w i t h o u r r e a l i t y A n d t h e r e a l i t y i s that we often fall short of our goals a n d o b j e c t i v e s ; w e s t u m b l e a n d f a l l , w e a r e p r o n e t o e r r o r N e v e rt h e l e s s , w e c o n t i n u e t o s t r u g g l e onward in hope that all things get better with God. This is why Lent brings us face to face with three pillars of strength: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving
In times of challenges, when a hope seems lost, we may turn to praye Prayer is not something we do for som one else but firstly for ourselves Pray helps us get in touch with a deeper sense of self which relates us to God, and God to us. It is a dialogue which helps us to come to terms with what God’s plan is for our life, and what our life is in relation to God’s plan God knows what is best for each of us, and this is revealed through the dialogue of prayer.
One could ask, why pray by myself when I can just ask someone else to pray for me? Well, this is because prayer
is dialogue and dialogue is personal, and in dialoguing we discover who God is and who we are. Once this is discovered, hope is found and what a hope it is
In time when we lack faith, we may turn to fasting, for it reminds us that we do not live on bread alone but by the
ords that come from the Father’s outh Through fasting we are able to vercome the temptations of the physical world, overcome our need for possessions and thus become spiritual beings. By this, we are drawn closer and closer to Christ, who died so that we may have fullness of life
In time when love is lost, we turn to almsgiving, for it reminds us that we are social beings who are not alone in the world Giving is love, and through giving we acknowledge the reality that God works hrough people, that each person is an mage of God, with innate dignity and orth Whenever we give, we also reive, for giving opens us up to the love God has for creation, helping us to realise that love indeed trusts, hopes and endures all things
So, in this season of Lent, let us ask for the gifts of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, that we may truly become detached from the physical world and thus be reunited with the spiritual world in happiness For what does it profit anyone to gain the whole world yet lose their soul?
THE END OF THE PAST YEAR SAW
a s p a t e o f d e a t h s : c e l e b r i t i e s f r o m t h e w o r l d s o f m u s i c , f i l m a n d f a s h i o n ; P o p e E m e r i t u s Benedict and then, on New Year’s Eve aged 81, my own father, Winston
I list my father alongside the celebrities to make the point that, while ever y d e a t h i s a p e r s o n a l t r a g e d y, t h e e x p e r ie n c e o f d e a t h i s c o m m o n p l a c e I n f a c t , i n m y p a r e n t s ’ p a r i s h i n E n g l a n d , w e were just one of 15 families dealing with a d e a t h a t t h a t t i m e I i m a g i n e t h a t e v e r y o n e r e a d i n g t h i s w i l l h a v e h a d t o cope with bereavement on a number of occasions: each of us does so in our own way, yet we are all also united in a shared sense of grief
Wi t h m y p a r e n t s i n t h e i r e i g h t i e s , and having seen so many of my contemp o r a r i e s l o s e o n e o r b o t h p a r e n t s i n r ec e n t y e a r s , t h e d e a t h o f m y f a t h e r w a s not unexpected I have written before, in t h e J u l y 2 0 2 0 i s s u e , a b o u t t h e v a l u e o f f a c i n g u p t o d e a t h ( y o u c a n r e a d i t a t www.bit.ly/3wfI1LH) So while the actual occurrence of a death always comes as a shock, for those who prepare for it, it should not be a surprise After all, the one certainty in life is death
As Catholic Christians, we are better prepared than many others to deal with d e a t h We t a l k a b o u t i t , w e m a r k d e a t h a n n i v e r s a r i e s , w e h a v e a w h o l e m o n t h dedicated to remembering the dead, we visit graves, we pray for the dead, we dist r i b u t e a n d h o l d o n t o “ I n M e m o r i a m ” c a r d s s o t h a t w e c o n t i n u e t o r e c a l l o u r loved ones Amid all the sympathy cards a n d m e s s a g e s w e r e c e i v e d , I k n o w t h a t m y f a m i l y t o o k v e r y s p e c i a l c o m f o r t from the many Masses offered for my father
There is, however, a risk in focusing on the corpse and not on the possibility of new life: “Why do you look for the livi n g a m o n g t h e d e a d ? ” O f c o u r s e , f o r those who do not have a faith, death is
the end and and so likely to bring nothing but sadness
But for us, as Christians, surely death i s s o m e t h i n g t o l o o k f o r w a r d t o n o t the end of our lives but the culmination of our lives on earth and the start of our e t e r n a l l i v e s r e u n i t e d w i t h o u r C r e a t o r Some people do not talk about “a death anniversar y” but “a heavenly birthday” That, after all, is why a saint’s feast day is usually the date of their death
I n p r e p a r i n g m y f a t h e r ’s f u n e r a l , I w o n d e r e d i f w e r e a l l y d o p u t o u r f a i t h
j o y f u l , t h e y t e n d t o l o o k b a c k w a r d s : t h e r e i s m u c h t a l k a b o u t “ a c e l e b r a t i o n of the life of the departed” While that is g o o d a n d f o r t h o s e w h o d o n o t b elieve in resurrection, frankly, it is all they h a v e f o r C h r i s t i a n s t h e j o y i n a f un e r a l i s d e r i v e d n o t j u s t f r o m l o o k i n g back at life but, more importantly, looking for ward to resurrection
into practice. The days of ver y mournful r i t e s w i t h b l a c k v e s t m e n t s a n d w i d o w ’s w e e d s a r e m o s t l y o v e r B u t when people tr y to make a funeral more
F o c u s o n r e s u r r e c t i o n S o I f o c u s e d m y f a t h e r ’s f u n e r a l o n a s s e r t i n g t h i s b e l i e f i n r e s u r r e c t i o n I t i s m y b e l i e f , i t i s m y m o t h e r ’s b e l i e f , a n d i t w a s m y f a t h e r ’s b e l i e f . S o m e i n t h e c o n g r e g a t i o n s h a r e d o u r b e l i e f ; s o m e n o t ( s o t h i s w a s a c h a n c e t o w i t n e s s t o t h e m ) ; s o m e m i g h t s a y t h e w o r d s b u t n e e d e n c o u r a g e m e n t t o t r u l y b e l i e v e t h e m I h o p e d S t P a u l m i g h t g a l v a n i s e t h e m : “ N o w i f C h r i s t i s p r o c l a i m e d a s r a i s e d f r o m t h e d e a d , h o w c a n s o m e o f y o u s a y t h a t t h e r e i s n o r e s u r r e c t i o n o f t h e d e a d ? I f t h e r e i s n o r e s u r r e c t i o n o f t h e d e a d , t h e n C h r i s t h a s n o t b e e n raised And if Christ has not been raised, t h e n o u r p r e a c h i n g i s u s e l e s s , a n d s o i s y o u r f a i t h ” ( 1 C o r i n t h i a n s 1 5 ) . E v e r y w e e k w h e n w e r e c i t e t h e Nicene Creed, we assert a belief in “the r e s u r r e c t i o n o f t h e d e a d ” . T h e l e s s - f r eq u e n t l y u s e d A p o s t l e s ’ C r e e d g o e s o n e f u r t h e r a n d a f f i r m s “ t h e r e s u r r e c t i o n o f the body”. This was to avoid early Christians falling into the trap of a dualist belief that only the soul is eternal and that
For us Christians, death is something to look forward to
o u r b o d i e s a r e w o r t h l e s s C h r i s t c h o o s i n g t o t a k e o n a h u m a n body in Jesus shows that God does not regard the body as something t o b e d e s p i s e d e v e n i f w e a r e told that when this “earthly tent” is taken down, we will have a new h o u s e i n h e a v e n ( 2 C o r i n t h i a n s 5) St Paul the tentmaker is speaking ver y personally here!
Surely one of the defining feat u r e s o f b e i n g a C h r i s t i a n i s t o b el i e v e t h a t w e a l l h a v e b e e n g i v e n t h e p r o m i s e o f r e s u r r e c t i o n O f c o u r s e , w e c a n n o t t a k e i t f o r g r a n t e d : i t i s s i n f u l t o p r e s u m e G o d ’s g r a c e B u t i t i s e q u a l l y s i nf u l t o r e j e c t G o d ’s m e rc y w h e n i t i s o f f e r e d
S i d e s o f t h e c r o s s
I n a f e w w e e k s ’ t i m e i n H o l y We e k , w e w i l l o n c e a g a i n b e a ccompanying Jesus to Calvar y and r e f l e c t i n g o n h i s f i n a l h o u r s I n L u k e ’s v e r s i o n o f t h e P a s s i o n w e have the striking image of the two t h i e v e s h a n g i n g e i t h e r s i d e o f Jesus. It is a chance for each of us t o d e c i d e w h a t C h r i s t ’s d e a t h means in our own lives Am I the s i n n e r w h o s e e s n o h o p e a n d f o r w h o m d e a t h i s t h e e n d ? O r a m I t h o u g h s t i l l a s i n n e r o n e w h o h a s t h e c o u r a g e t o s a y t o J e s u s : “ R e m e m b e r m e w h e n y o u c o m e i n t o y o u r K i n g d o m ” ; a n d ( w h i c h t a k e s e v e n m o r e c o u r a g e ) one who is willing to accept Jesus’ reply: “Truly, I say to you, this day you will be with me in Paradise ” H o l y We e k m a k e s s e n s e o n l y b e c a u s e G o o d F r i d a y i s f o l l o w e d b y E a s t e r S u n d a y t h o u g h i t i s s t i l l s h o c k i n g t o s e e h o w m a n y more Catholics take time to gather f o r J e s u s ’ d e a t h t h a n t h e y d o f o r his resurrection In the same way, o u r o w n l i v e s a s C h r i s t i a n s m a k e s e n s e o n l y b e c a u s e w e f e r v e n t l y b e l i e v e t h a t f o r e a c h o n e o f u s , C h r i s t o f f e r s t h e c h a n c e t h a t t h e end of this life is followed by the start of a new life
So let us celebrate funerals in a way that shows that we really do believe in the resurrection
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AT THE END OF THE DAY, ALL OF us believers and non-believers, pious and impious share one common humanity, and all end up on the same road This has many implications
It’s no secret that today religious practice is plummeting radically everywhere in the secular world Those who are opting out don’t all look the same, nor do they go by the same name Some are atheists, explicitly denying the existence God Others are agnostics, open to the accepting the existence of God but remaining undecided Others self-define as nones; asked what faith they belong to they respond by saying “none” There are those who define themselves as dones, done with religion and done with church
Then there are the procrastinators, persons who know that someday they will have to deal with the religious question, but, like St Augustine, keep saying, “Eventually I need to do this, but not yet!” Finally, there’s that huge group who define themselves as spiritual-but-notreligious, saying they believe in God but not in institutionalised religion
All of us know people who are in one or several of these categories, and we are anxious about them. What can we do, if anything, to nudge these people towards faith, religion, and church? What will happen if they die in this state? Where does God stand in the face of this?
I suspect that God doesn’t much share our anxiety here not that God sees this as perfectly healthy (humans are human!), but rather that God has a larger perspective on it, is infinitely loving, and is longsuffering in patience while tolerating our choices Why? What is God’s larger perspective here?
First, we should recognise that our faith already baptises those we love The Catholic philosopher Gabriel Marcel famously stated: “To say to someone ‘I love you’ is to say: ‘You will never be lost ’” We Christians understand this in terms of our unity inside the Body of Christ Our love for someone links him or her to us, and since we are part of the Body of Christ, he or she too is linked to the Body of Christ, and to touch Christ is to touch grace
Thanks to the marvels of the Incarnation, every sincere Christian can say: “My heaven includes this or that particular person whom I love ” We used to call this “baptism by desire”, except that in this instance the desire for “baptism” is on our part, but still equally efficacious
Next, we need to recognise that God
loves these persons more than we do and is more solicitous for their happiness and salvation than we are God loves everyone individually and passionately, and works in ways to ensure that nobody gets lost
Moreover, God is tricky! As good Christian apologists have always pointed out, God has his own schemes, loving traps, and means to lead persons to faith
Furthermore, God is infinitely patient If we bracket piety for a moment, we might profitably compare God to a GPS, given how infinitely patient and yet persistent a GPS is in giving us directions
A GPS is built with the presumption that it will frequently not be obeyed and that it will have to make the necessary adjustments
We are all familiar with how this works We are driving towards a destination and the GPS tells us that in order to get there we need to make a right turn at the next junction However, we ignore its instruction and drive straight through the junction There is a brief silence and then the GPS, taking into account the fact that we ignored its original directive, says “Recalculating”, and gives us a new instruction to guide us to our destination And, it will repeat this cycle endlessly A GPS, limitless in its patience, keeps “recalculating”, and keeps giving us a new instruction until we get to our destination It never gives up on us
G o
God is the same We have an intended destination and God gives us constant instructions along the way Religion and the Church are an excellent GPS However, they might be ignored and frequently are But God’s response is never one of anger nor of a final impatience Like a trusted GPS, God is forever saying “recalculating” and giving us new instructions predicated on our failure to accept the previous instruction Eventually, no matter the number of our wrong turns and dead ends, God will get us home
One last thing Ultimately, God is the only game in town, in that no matter how many false roads we take and how many good roads we ignore, we all end up on the one, same, last, final road All of us atheists, agnostics, nones, dones, searchers, procrastinators, those who don’t believe in institutionalised religion, the indifferent, the belligerent, the angry, the bitter, and the wounded end up on the same road heading towards the same destination: death
However, the good news is that this last road for all of us, the pious and the impious alike, leads to God
Intention: We pray for those who have suffered harm from members of the Church; may they find within the Church herself a concrete response to their pain and suffering.
MOST ABUSE IS AN ABUSE of power Take rape for example The rapist abuses the power of greater physical strength or greater economic power or higher position in the social order or a combination of the three, to commit this vile crime
If an adult abuses a child, the imbalance of power is clear and, the offence is defined in the civil law, and there is punishment for one convicted The cases of clergy sexual abuse which have made the headlines fall into this category. Perpetrators have been jailed by the state and also stripped of their canonical clerical status by the Church
Revelations of child abuse galvanised the Church into action to find a “concrete response to the pain and suffering” of the survivors Procedures have been introduced to handle cases and codes of conduct have been drawn up to prevent future abuse.
Despite the Church’s welcome focus
on these highly-publicised and shocking cases, I would suggest that the work of rooting out abuse in the Church is only just beginning. There is an enormous area which is not covered by the law which we have yet to tackle – unethical and unprofessional behaviour
Here’s an example A priest demands and receives sexual favours from a young adult woman in his parish. He is older than her, he has a higher social status and he is paying for her studies. She may be in her twenties and therefore legally able to be in “consensual” sexual relationships, but her vulnerability is glaringly obvious
Unfortunately, the response of ecclesiastical superiors in the face of such cases is sometimes to invoke the law and argue, unconvincingly, that since no crime has been committed, they can take no action. This is beyond unacceptable.
Apart from there being a gross moral failure and/or a breach of religious vows
or priestly promises, in other professions a case like this would be regarded as extremely unprofessional behaviour Doctors or lawyers, psychologists or social workers who behave thus would face the judgment of their peers and could be struck off the professional roll.
Now, it is true that the Church has codes of professional conduct for its workers, both clerical and lay, but the problem lies in their enforcement. This is often left in the hands of individual bishops or superiors whose tendency is to try to find a discreet solution to the problem which may leave the perpetrator unpunished. Needless to say, this creates a culture of impunity which simply enables such behaviour to persist.
It is worth remembering that this is precisely what used to happen with sexual abuse cases involving children and that the Church authorities’ response changed only when survivors began to sue. In the case of unprofessional behaviour, there is normally no such recourse, and yet much damage and pain can still be caused, not to mention scandal
Let us pray for the institutional Church that we do not falter in our continuing search for a “practical response”, which must also be just, to these issues
Every month Fr chris chatteris sJ reflects on Pope Francis’ prayer intention
Jesus, Mar y and Joseph, in you we contemplate the splendour of tr ue love; to you we tur n with tr ust.
Holy Family of Nazareth, grant that our families too may be places of communion and prayer, authentic schools of the Gospel and small domestic churches.
Holy Family of Nazareth, make us once more mindful of the sacredness and inviolability of the family, and its beauty in God’s plan. Jesus, Mar y and Joseph, graciously hear our prayer.
Amen
Ch r i s t b e w i th me ,
Ch r i s t w i th i n me ,
Ch r i s t b eh i nd me ,
Ch r i s t b e fore me ,
Ch r i s t b e s ide me ,
Ch r i s t to w i n me , Ch r i s t to com for t me
Do you have a favourite prayer?
Please send to editor@scross co za
God, may Your light guide my day, and your spirit bring me peace. May my sacrifice of today of (state your Lenten sacrifice) remind me of my dependence on You for all the blessings I enjoy.
Amen
a nd re s tore me. Ch r i s t b ene a th me , Ch r i s t ab ove me , Ch r i s t i n q u ie t, Ch r i s t i n d a n ger, Ch r i s t i n he a r ts of a l l th a t love me , Ch r i s t i n mou th of fr iend or s tra n ger.
A N N U N C I AT I O N O F O U R L O R D P R AY E R
G o d o f g o o d n e s s , G o d o f s u r p r i s e s , s e n d a n g e l s o f i n s p i r a t i o n t o g u i d e a n d e n l i g h t e n a s y o u d i d M a r y .
Aw a k e n u s a g a i n t o o u r t r u e c a l l i n g , o u r
t r u e m i s s i o n : t o w a l k w i t h y o u o n t h e p a t h s l a i d o u t t o u s .
Te a c h u s t o l i s t e n f o r y o u i n e v e r y c o r n e r o f o u r l i v e s a n d t o a w a i t y o u r m e s s e n g e r s i n t h e m o s t u n e x p e c t e d s i t u a t i o n s a n d c o n d i t i o n s .
We a s k t h i s p r a y e r i n t h e
n a m e o f Yo u r S o n , J e s u s C h r i s t .
Amen
Unscramble the clues below to work out which SA CATHOLIC SCHOOLS hide in these words. Hint: All but one of these school advertise in this issue
4. Annunciation prayer (7)
8 Ancient Roman’s central court (6)
9 Truly, GI arranged public worship (7)
10 Convict implies he’s to be slain inside (6)
11 Pay attention when you go to Mass (6)
12 your faith could need re-oiling (8)
18 Use it at your own discretion (4,4)
20 Hold together with the re-echo (6)
21 Seen in the heavens, remote as it may be (6)
22 Stays with the relics (7)
23. Faith of the religious (6)
24 Hebrew coins (7)
DoWn
1. End of the Via Crucis (7)
2 Noise of the burning firewood (7)
3 Feeling angr y due to burning incense (6)
5 United States canine can be an inconvenience (8)
6. The quality of justice (6)
7 Immediate attention required (6)
13 Hellish reference (8)
14 African land where you can air bile (7)
15. Father, … your name (Jn 12) (7)
16 He’s the just man of the month (6)
17 Comment about the evangelist (6)
19. Team of Apostles after the Resurrection (6) For all solutions turn to page
Across
1 KZN abbey and school (8)
2 Cemetery marker (10)
8 Annunciation angel (7)
10 11th word of Hail Mary (7)
11 Mother of St John the Baptiser (9)
13. ‘Miracle of the Rosary ’ singer (5,7)
14. SACBC sec-gen Fr O’Connor (4)
15 Mount of Ten Commandments (5)
16 Country named after Saviour (2,8)
17 First Christian emperor (11)
18 Jesus’ call to fishermen (6,2)
19 Jerusalem way of the cross (3,8)
21 Teaching order (9,8)
23. Ghana, Vatican cardinal Peter (7)
24. German sacred music composer (4)
25 Abstaining from luxuries (12)
26 Order of Pope Francis (6)
DoWn
2 Mariannhill shrine (8)
3 Latin for Mass (5)
4 Laetare Sunday liturgical colour (4)
5 Singing nuns film (6,3)
6. Sunday School teacher (9)
7. Grant remission of sins (8)
1 To which order does Archbishop Siegfried Mandla Jwara of Durban belong?
a) Divine Word Missionaries
b) Oblates of Mar y Immaculate
c) Mariannhill Missionaries
2. Which Gospels repor t the Annunciation?
a) Mark & Luke b) Matthew & Luke
c) Luke & John
3 To which countr y did Pope Francis make his first papal trip?
a) Argentina b) Brazil c) Costa Rica
4. Who is the patron saint of school pupils?
a) Aloysius Gonzaga
b) Dominic Savio
b) John Berchmans
5 In which countr y was Bl Joseph Gérard beatified?
a) Eswatini b) Lesotho c) Zimbabwe
6 Where did the angel appear to the Virgin Mar y?
a) Bethlehem b) Cana c) Nazareth
7 In the Old Testament, who was Zipporah’s husband?
a) Abraham b) Jacob c) Moses
8 In which year was the first ordination of a bishop in South Africa?
a) 1827 b) 1837 c) 1847
9 Which of these religious orders was founded first?
a) Cistercians b) Dominican
c) Franciscans
10 When was St Patrick bor n?
8. Catholic hymn (4,1,2,4)
9. Site of N. Cape co-cathedral (8)
10 Mount in Jerusalem (4)
12 British Catholic author Hilaire (6)
13 Lord have mercy (5,7)
14 Order of St Vincent (11)
15 Pope from 2005-13 (8,3)
17 Long-time Southern Cross cartonist (6)
18. Former Kroonstad bishop or vacation (7)
20. Name of God in Arabic Mass (5)
22 Pope Francis surname (9)
24 Biblical Greek (5)
a) 385 AD b) 485 AD c) 585 AD
11. Which of these pop stars is not a practising Catholic?
a) Gwen Stefani b) Kelly Clarkson
c) Stacy “Fergie” Ferguson
12 What does somebody suffering from peccatophobia fear?
a) churches b) kneeling c) sinning
TH I S M O N T H W E M A R K T H E tenth anniversary of Pope Francis’ election to the papacy with two other globally popular exports from Italy: St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of Italy after whom the Argentineborn pope named himself, and pizza.
Pope Francis was born in 1936 in Buenos Aires as the son of immigrants from Italy ’s Piedmont region
Pizza, as a baked flatbread, has a long history The oldest surviving reference is from 997 In the town of Gaeta, near Rome, a tenant of a particular property was to give the bishop of Gaeta 12 pizzas every Christmas Day, and another 12 on Easter Sunday But the pizza as we know it today has its roots in Naples, from where it spread around the world
The popularity of St Francis of Assisi, who was born in around 1182 in the central-Italian region of Umbria, spread widely seven centuries earlier Determined to bring the Gospel to all God’s creatures, St Francis sought to take his message out of Italy.
In 1212, he set out for the Holy Land to preach to the Muslims but was shipwrecked and had to return A year or two later, sickness forced him to abandon a journey to the Muslims in Spain In 1217 he proposed to go to France, but was advised that he was needed more in Italy In 1219 he did go to Egypt, where the Crusaders were besieging the port of Damietta He went into the Muslim camp and preached to Sultan alKāmil, who was impressed by him and, it is said, gave Francis permission to visit the
SouthernCrossword: ACROSS: 4 Angelus, 8 Atrium, 9 Liturgy, 10 Victim, 11 Attend, 12 Religion, 18 Free will, 20 Cohere, 21 Meteor,
22 Remains, 23 Belief, 24 Shekels DOWN:
1 Calvary, 2 Crackle, 3 Fuming, 5 Nuisance,
6 Equity, 7 Urgent 13 Infernal, 14 Liberia, 15 Glorify, 16 Joseph, 17 Remark, 19 Eleven
Anagram Challenge:
1 St Benedict’s College, 2 St Francis College,
3 Marist Brothers Linmeyer, 4 Springfield Convent,
5 Maris Stella School
Dropped Letters: Peter, Gregory, Julius, Sylvester, Pius, Innocent, Martin, Sixtus, Leo, Alexander, Urban, Benedict
Quick Crossword: ACROSS: 1 Inkamana,
2 Gravestone, 8 Gabriel, 10 Blessed, 11 Elizabeth,
sacred places in the Holy Land, where the Franciscans had already set up a presence.
On the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross in 1224, St Francis received the stigmata, the spontaneously appearing and untreatable wounds corresponding to those suffered by Christ at his crucifixion Francis lived two years longer, in constant pain and almost totally blind after he had contracted an eye disease St Francis died on October 3, 1226,
F o r D o u G h: 300g flour • ½ sachet
instant yeast • 200ml lukewarm water
• 3ml salt • 5ml black pepper • 10ml olive oil
For sAucE: 1 tin chopped tomatoes •
3 ml salt • 3 ml black pepper • 15 ml olive oil
3 ml sugar (to offset acidity of tomatoes)
• 3 ml fresh basil
Fo r to p p i n G: 1 tub grated parmesan cheese • 1 tub Bocconcini mozzarella balls, sliced (use as much as you like) • fresh basil leaves
in Assisi at the Porziuncola, the little chapel that still stands inside the basilica of St Mary of the Angels He is buried inside the lower basilica of St Francis in Assisi. In 1228, only two years after his death, Francis was canonised
To celebrate St Francis, co-patron saint of Italy, and Pope Francis’ Italian heritage, there is nothing like homemade pizza and the whole family can get involved in the preparation
1 To make the base, mix the flour, oil, yeast and salt together, then add water and form a dough you might need to add extra flour while you knead to form a smooth firm dough
2. Leave dough in the bowl and cover until it doubles in size Preheat oven to 200°C
3. For the sauce, add all ingredients and bring to a boil, then simmer until the sauce is thick Puree till smooth. TIP: Freeze leftover sauce and use for pasta or pizza toppings
4 Take a piece of the dough and roll it to your desired thickness Place on a greased baking tray
5. Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese to cover the base of the dough
6. Smooth over the tomato sauce, then add the mozzarella slices Of course, you can add other toppings of your choice to your pizza
7. Bake until crispy and the cheese is melted Once removed from the oven, add fresh basil and salt and pepper to taste
8 Enjoy with a prayer to St Francis
13 Elvis Presley, 14 Hugh, 15 Sinai, 16 El Salvador, 17 Constantine, 18 Follow Me, 19 Via Dolorosa, 21 Christian Brothers, 23 Turkson, 24 Bach, 25 Nonindulging, 26 Jesuit DOWN: 2 Kevelaer, 3 Missa, 4 Rose, 5 Sister Act, 6 Catechist, 7 Absolves, 8 Here I Am Lord, 9 Upington, 10 Zion, 12 Belloc, 13 Kyrie Eleison, 14 Pallottines, 15 Benedict XVI, 17, Conrad, 18 Holiday, 20 Allah, 22 Bergoglio, 24 Koine
Catholic Trivia Quiz: 1 c) Mariannhill Missionaries, 2 b) Matthew & Luke, 3 b) Brazil (for World Youth Day 2013), 4 a) Aloysius Gonzaga, 5 b) Lesotho, 6 c) Nazareth, 7 c) Moses, 8 c) 1847 (1847, Bishop Aiden Devereux for the Eastern Cape Vicariate Bishop PR Griffith, SA’s first resident bishop, was ordained overseas), 9 a) Cistercians (c 1098), 10 a) 385 AD, 11 b) Kelly Clarkson, 12 c) sinning
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
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
‘I am a sinner. This is the most accurate definition. It is not a figure of speech, a literary genre. I am a sinner ’
‘When we do not adore God, we adore something else. Money and power are false idols which often take the place of God.’ ‘A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not about building bridges, is not Christian. This is not in the Gospel.’
‘Having doubts and fears is not a sin… The sin is to allow these fears to determine our responses, to limit our choices, to compromise respect and generosity, to feed hostility and rejection.’
‘The Church must be a place of mercy freely given, where everyone can feel welcomed, loved, forgiven and encouraged to live the good life of the Gospel.’
‘What does to evangelise mean? To give witness with joy and simplicity to what we are and what we believe in.’
‘Mercy is the true power that can save humanity and the world from sin and evil ’
‘Our common home is being pillaged, laid waste, and harmed with impunity Cowardice in defending it is a grave sin ’ ‘We have only one heart, and the same wretchedness which leads us to mistreat an animal will not be long in showing itself in our relationships with other people Every act of cruelty towards any creature is contrary to human dignity ’
‘We will never be disillusioned or lose our way if we are guided by God ’
A snapshot from the past, colourised exclusively for The Southern Cross
J e s u i t B r o t h e r J o r g e M a r i o B e r g o g l i o , t h e f u t u r e P o p e F r a nc i s , s t a n d s s e c o n d f r o m l e f t a t t h e b a c k i n a p h o t o f r o m 1 9 5 8 / 5 9 w i t h h i s p a r e n t s a n d s i b l i n g s T h e e l d e s t o f f i v e c h i l d r e n o f I t a l i a n i m m i g r a n t s i n B u e n o s A i r e s e nt e r e d t h e S o c i e t y o f J e s u s a t t h e a g e o f 2 1 o n M a r c h 1 1 , 1 9 5 8 . H i s p a r e n t s , t h e a c c o u n t a n t M a r i o J o s é B e r g o g l i o ( 1 9 0 8 – 5 9 ) a n d R e g i n a M a r í a S í v o r i ( 1 9 1 1 –8 1 ) , e m i g r a t e d f r o m P o r t a c o m a r o i n n o r t h - w e s t e r n I t a l y ’ s P i e d m o n t r e g i o n i n 1 9 2 9 t o e s c a p e t h e f a sc i s t r u l e o f B e n i t o M u s s o l i n i T h e y h a d f i v e c h i l d r e n , o f w h o m o n l y t h e p r e s e n t p o p e a n d d a u g h t e r M a r í a E l e n a ( f r o n t l e f t , b o r n i n 1 9 4 8 ) a r e s t i l l a l i v e S e e n w i t h t h e m a r e A l b e r t o H o r a c i o ( 1 9 4 2 – 2 0 1 0 ) , O s c a r A d r i á n ( 1 9 3 8 –d a t e o f d e a t h u n k n o w n ) a n d M a r t a R e g i n a ( 1 9 4 0 – 2 0 0 7 ) J o r g e a t t e n d e d a S a l e s i a n s c h o o l i n R a m o s M e j í a , n e a r B u e n o s A i r e s , a n d l a t e r g r a d u a t e d w i t h a c h e m i c a l t e c h n i c i a n ’ s d i p l o m a . H e h e a r d t h e c a l l t o t h e p r i e s t h o o d w h i l e m a k i n g c o n f e s s i o n , a n d f i r s t e n t e r e d t h e d i o c e s a n s e m i n a r y b e f o r e j o i n i n g t h e S o c i e t y o f J e s u s H e w o u l d b e o r d a i n e d a p r i e s t i n 1 9 6 9 , b e c o m e a b i s h o p i n
1 9 9 2 , b e m a d e a c a r d i n a l i n 2 0 0 1 , a n d e l e c t e d p o p e o n M a r c h 1 3 ,
2 0 1 3
yp r i e st w h o wa s ve r y a n t i E n g l i s h H e b e c a m e s o n o t o r i o u s t h a t t h e p o p e h i m s e l f s u m m o n e d t h e p r i e st t o Ro m e “ Fa t h e r,” s a i d t h e p o p e , “ I wa n t t h a t t h e re s h o u l d b e p e a c e b e t w e e n t h e E n g l i s h a n d t h e I r i s h I wa n t yo u t o s w e a r t h a t yo u ’ l l n e ve r a ga i n m e n t i o n t h e E n g l i s h i n p u b l i c ” I n o b e d i e n c e t o t h e H o l y Fa t h e r, t h e p r i e st m a d e a v o w n e ve r t o s p e a k b a d l y o f t h e E n g l i s h a ga i n
S o o n a f te r i t wa s H o l y We e k , a n d t h e p r i e st d e l i ve re d h i s s e r m o n H e g o t t o t h e p a r t o f t h e st o r y w h e re J e s u s s ay s
S t A n d re w j u m p s u p , t h e p r i e st ex p l a i n e d , “a n d s ay s : ‘ I s i t I , L o rd ? ’ a n d t h e L o rd s ay s : ‘ N ay, A n d y l a d , i t ’s n o t yo u S i t d o w n n o w a n d d u n n a w o r r y Ea t yo u r s u p p e r ’ T h e n S t J o h n g e t s u p w i t h te a rs i n h i s e ye s a n d c r i e s : ‘ I s i t I L o rd ? ’ A n d t h e L o rd s ay s : ‘ N ay, J o h n ny m e b o y, i t ’s n o t yo u S i t d o w n n o w a n d d u n n a f re t yo u rs e l f Ea t yo u r s u p p e r ’ ” T h e p r i e st c o n t i n u e d : “ T h e n t h a t d i r t y d o g J u d a s I s c a r i o t s l o w l y r i s e s t o h i s fe e t . A n d h e l o o k s t h e L o rd r i g h t i n t h e e ye a n d s ay s : ‘ C o r b l i m e y, g u v ye r t h i n k i t ’s m e , m a te ? ’ ”
For all your sand and stone requirements in piet retief, southern Mpumalanga
tel: 017 826 0054/5
cell: 082 904 7840 Email:
