T HREE Catholic priests executed by the Nazi regime alongside their Lutheran friend were beatified in the northern German city of Lübeck. Frs Hermann Lange, Eduard Müller and Johannes Prassek, along with Lutheran pas- tor Karl Friedrich Stellbrink, were guil- lotined in a Hamburg prison in November 1943. The Nazi regime found them guilty of “defeatism, malice, favouring the enemy and listening to enemy broadcasts”. At the ceremony outside Lübeck’s Sacred Heart church, Cardinal Angelo Amato, pre- fect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, declared the three priests “blessed”, and expressed an “honourable remem- brance” for Pastor Stellbrink. “What distinguishes these four also is the fact that in the face of National-Socialist despotism they overcame the divide between the two faiths to find a common path to fight and act together,” said the offi- cial history which accompanied the ceremo- ny. More than 9 000 pilgrims, both Catholic and Protestant, attended the ceremony. The day before, Lutheran vespers were prayed for the martyrs at Lübeck’s Memorial church. Cardinal Walter Kasper, the German- born ex-president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, said in his homily at the beatification that the mar- tyrs of Lübeck proved that not all Germans in the Third Reich were “blind followers or cowardly fellow travellers”. In a homily interrupted by frequent applause, Cardinal Kasper highlighted the unique ecumenical character of the beatifi- cation. “The blood of the martyrs that flowed together under the guillotine has become a seed for ecumenism,” he said, adding that the beatification in Lübeck must produce a new inter-denominational impulse. Lutheran Bishop Gerhard Ulrich of Schleswig told the congregation: “What unites us is stronger than what divides us.” The following day Cardinal Amato trav- elled to Milan for the beatification of Fr Ser- afino Morazzone, Sr Enrica Alfieri, and Fr Clemente Vismara. Bl Morazzone (1742-1822) was a parish priest who has been compared to St John Vianney; Bl Alfieri (1891-1951) ministered to prisoners. For 65 years, Bl Vismara (1897- 1988) served as a missionary in Burma, where he converted 100 villages to the Catholic faith. r5,50 (incl VaT rSa) July 6 to July 12, 2011 www.scross.co.za reg No. 1920/002058/06 No 4733 Pilgrimages: An overview of travels of faith Page 10 Rare copy of ancient icon blessed in SA Page 2 Salesian seminarians Brs raphael Bhembe and Christopher Slater, from Swaziland and Port Elizabeth respectively, on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. The future priests climbed africa’s highest peak while studying in Tanzania. Salesian Brothers climb to the roof of Africa STaFF rEPOrTEr T WO Salesian seminarians from South- ern Africa recently climbed Mount Kili- manjaro while studying at Don Bosco College in Moshi, Tanzania. Brs Christopher Sharpe, from Port Eliza- beth, and Raphael T Bhembe, from Swazi- land, climbed the Marangu route, one of seven paths to the peak of Africa’s highest mountain. “We were a team of nine, with two guides, a cook and porters,” Br Bhembe said. “On day one, Valence, our chief guide, led the way through the Montane forest and in five hours we covered 12km. The first night was spent at Mandara hut, at an alti- tude of 2 700m,” he recalled. On the second day, the group hiked another 12km. “The walk through the Moorland was fantastic,” Br Bhembe said. “On our way to Horombo we had a chance to see some amazing plants that are [unique] to Kilimanjaro, like the Senecia Kil- imanjari, a 3m tall aloe-like plant.” He said that up to 4 700m, the group’s altitude tolerance levels were fine, but by that point “we had grown used to the guide’s philosophy of pole pole —‘take it slowly’”, the Salesian said. Recalling the hours before ascending the mountain’s summit, Br Bhembe said: “The tea we had at 10pm, before taking the trail to the ice-capped summit, was like a Last Supper—solemn and silent! We took appre- hensive steps and zigzagged to Hans Meyer’s Cave [at 5 150m]. We carried on in discom- fort to Gillman’s point [5 681m] which is at the rim of the crater.” The medication the group took to allevi- ate altitude sickness was having some side effects, he said, and the longest time the climbers could rest was five minutes, or they would freeze. “The expedition got rougher. I was worn out and Valence carried my bag. Br Chris looked fine. That encouraged me,” Br Bhem- be said. “At every turn we hoped Uhuru Peak would be right there, but instead it seemed to recede further. We saw the welcome board when we didn’t care, and just as the sun rose,” Br Bhembe said. However, the mood changed upon reach- ing the peak. “Tears welled up in our eyes as we realised we were privileged to be experi- encing a unique fully-alive-special-mystic moment.” The group spent only a few minutes at the summit. “As we started our descent, we shared the Gospel feeling of ‘Did not our hearts burn within us whilst he was talking to us on the way’ (Lk 24). We also felt relieved that suc- ceeding in our quest would save us from embarrassment back at home, especially when we learnt that in the same week a nine-year old girl had broken the record as the youngest to reach Uhuru,” Br Bhembe said. “Happy memories don’t expire, and we will be sharing this adventure with others in order to re-live it every time we re-tell it,” Br Bhembe said. “Now I understand why aging confreres enjoy repeating stories of their experiences as young religious. Also, I appreciate better how pursuing God’s call to religious conse- cration and priesthood, is similar to climb- ing a high mountain! It is about taking a risk in order to live life to the fullest.” Big numbers for Youth Day By SaraH DELaNEy & CLaIrE MaTHIESON O RGANISERS of this year’s World Youth Day (WYD) say that the figures for registration and requests to volun- teer are higher than ever and augur well for a successful and joyful gathering in Madrid on August 16-21. Pope Benedict is scheduled to attend the event and organisers said they expect more than 1 million young pilgrims to join him. Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, who leads the Vatican agency organising the huge event, said that some 440 000 young people had already signed up, a record number for reg- istrations with the event still six weeks away. More than 35 000 young Catholics have applied for one of 22 500 places in the vast vol- unteer corps, he said. Nearly 1 000 pilgrims represent- ing most dioceses in the Southern African region, including Swaziland and Botswana, will take part in WYD. The Youth Commission of Durban has been a part of the national organisation effort and reports that Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban, Archbishop Stephen Bris- lin of Cape Town and Archbishop Buti Tlha- gale of Johannesburg are also scheduled to make the pilgrimage. Cardinal Rylko said that one of the “strong points” of the gathering was the opportunity for youth to hear catechesis, and that some 260 bishops would be offer- ing sessions in several different areas of the city in 30 languages. For the first time, the South African bish- ops will be hosting the WYD catechesis for English-speaking countries. Pilgrims will spend morning sessions of prayer and guid- ance with the religious as part of the WYD programme. In contrast to preparations for the last WYD in Sydney, Australia, in 2008, South African organisers have reported no visa problems for the Madrid event. At a news conference at the Vatican, Car- dinal Rylko said Pope Benedict will spend August 18-21 in Madrid, meeting with the young people several times and even hearing the confessions of some of them. The sight of young people going to confession in fields and tents has been a standard part of World Youth Day gatherings, but the Madrid celebration will mark the first time the pope himself will administer the sacrament at the event. Yago de la Cierva, executive direc- tor of World Youth Day, said that the organisation was proceeding on time and that an efficient and widespread network among parishes and other Church institutions in Madrid was contributing to the good pace of preparation. Mr De la Cierva said the Spanish govern- ment and local authorities were providing logistical help, certain venues and some tax breaks to companies working on the organi- sation, but that no direct financial contribu- tion had come from the public sector. While the total cost is expected to be up to 62 mil- lion euros (R610 million), de la Cierva said it was expected to generate 100 million euros (R983 million) for Madrid and Spain. Organisers are asking the youthful partici- pants to contribute, if they can, to help out their peers who otherwise would not be able to attend for financial reasons. Nazi victims’ beatification ‘must plant seed for ecumenism’ (From left) Nazi victims Frs Eduard Müller, Johannes Prassek and Hermann Lange were to be beatified. Pastor Karl Friedrich Stellbrink is on the far right. Pope Benedict launches site with historic tweet Page 4
Transcript
THREE Catholic priests executed by theNazi regime alongside their Lutheranfriend were beatified in the northern
German city of Lübeck.Frs Hermann Lange, Eduard Müller and
Johannes Prassek, along with Lutheran pas-tor Karl Friedrich Stellbrink, were guil-lotined in a Hamburg prison in November1943. The Nazi regime found them guilty of“defeatism, malice, favouring the enemyand listening to enemy broadcasts”.
At the ceremony outside Lübeck’s SacredHeart church, Cardinal Angelo Amato, pre-fect of the Congregation for the Causes ofSaints, declared the three priests “blessed”,and expressed an “honourable remem-brance” for Pastor Stellbrink.
“What distinguishes these four also is thefact that in the face of National-Socialistdespotism they overcame the dividebetween the two faiths to find a commonpath to fight and act together,” said the offi-cial history which accompanied the ceremo-ny.
More than 9 000 pilgrims, both Catholicand Protestant, attended the ceremony.
The day before, Lutheran vespers wereprayed for the martyrs at Lübeck’s Memorialchurch.
Cardinal Walter Kasper, the German-born ex-president of the Pontifical Councilfor Promoting Christian Unity, said in hishomily at the beatification that the mar-tyrs of Lübeck proved that not all Germansin the Third Reich were “blind followers or
cowardly fellow travellers”.In a homily interrupted by frequent
applause, Cardinal Kasper highlighted theunique ecumenical character of the beatifi-cation.
“The blood of the martyrs that flowedtogether under the guillotine has become aseed for ecumenism,” he said, adding thatthe beatification in Lübeck must produce anew inter-denominational impulse.
Lutheran Bishop Gerhard Ulrich ofSchleswig told the congregation: “Whatunites us is stronger than what divides us.”
The following day Cardinal Amato trav-elled to Milan for the beatification of Fr Ser-afino Morazzone, Sr Enrica Alfieri, and FrClemente Vismara.
Bl Morazzone (1742-1822) was a parishpriest who has been compared to St JohnVianney; Bl Alfieri (1891-1951) ministeredto prisoners. For 65 years, Bl Vismara (1897-1988) served as a missionary in Burma,where he converted 100 villages to theCatholic faith.
r5,50 (incl VaT rSa)July 6 to July 12, 2011 www.scross.co.zareg No. 1920/002058/06 No 4733
Pilgrimages: Anoverview of
travels of faithPage 10
Rare copy ofancient iconblessed in SA
Page 2
Salesian seminarians Brs raphael Bhembe and Christopher Slater, from Swaziland and PortElizabeth respectively, on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. The future priests climbed africa’shighest peak while studying in Tanzania.
Salesian Brothers climbto the roof of Africa
STaFF rEPOrTEr
TWO Salesian seminarians from South-ern Africa recently climbed Mount Kili-manjaro while studying at Don Bosco
College in Moshi, Tanzania.Brs Christopher Sharpe, from Port Eliza-
beth, and Raphael T Bhembe, from Swazi-land, climbed the Marangu route, one ofseven paths to the peak of Africa’s highestmountain.
“We were a team of nine, with twoguides, a cook and porters,” Br Bhembe said.
“On day one, Valence, our chief guide,led the way through the Montane forest andin five hours we covered 12km. The firstnight was spent at Mandara hut, at an alti-tude of 2 700m,” he recalled.
On the second day, the group hikedanother 12km. “The walk through theMoorland was fantastic,” Br Bhembe said.“On our way to Horombo we had a chanceto see some amazing plants that are[unique] to Kilimanjaro, like the Senecia Kil-imanjari, a 3m tall aloe-like plant.”
He said that up to 4 700m, the group’saltitude tolerance levels were fine, but bythat point “we had grown used to theguide’s philosophy of pole pole—‘take itslowly’”, the Salesian said.
Recalling the hours before ascending themountain’s summit, Br Bhembe said: “Thetea we had at 10pm, before taking the trailto the ice-capped summit, was like a LastSupper—solemn and silent! We took appre-hensive steps and zigzagged to Hans Meyer’sCave [at 5 150m]. We carried on in discom-fort to Gillman’s point [5 681m] which is atthe rim of the crater.”
The medication the group took to allevi-ate altitude sickness was having some side
effects, he said, and the longest time theclimbers could rest was five minutes, or theywould freeze.
“The expedition got rougher. I was wornout and Valence carried my bag. Br Chrislooked fine. That encouraged me,” Br Bhem-be said.
“At every turn we hoped Uhuru Peakwould be right there, but instead it seemedto recede further. We saw the welcomeboard when we didn’t care, and just as thesun rose,” Br Bhembe said.
However, the mood changed upon reach-ing the peak. “Tears welled up in our eyes aswe realised we were privileged to be experi-encing a unique fully-alive-special-mysticmoment.”
The group spent only a few minutes atthe summit.
“As we started our descent, we shared theGospel feeling of ‘Did not our hearts burnwithin us whilst he was talking to us on theway’ (Lk 24). We also felt relieved that suc-ceeding in our quest would save us fromembarrassment back at home, especiallywhen we learnt that in the same week anine-year old girl had broken the record asthe youngest to reach Uhuru,” Br Bhembesaid.
“Happy memories don’t expire, and wewill be sharing this adventure with others inorder to re-live it every time we re-tell it,” BrBhembe said.
“Now I understand why aging confreresenjoy repeating stories of their experiencesas young religious. Also, I appreciate betterhow pursuing God’s call to religious conse-cration and priesthood, is similar to climb-ing a high mountain! It is about taking arisk in order to live life to the fullest.”
Big numbers for Youth DayBy SaraH DELaNEy
& CLaIrE MaTHIESON
ORGANISERS of this year’s WorldYouth Day (WYD) say that the figuresfor registration and requests to volun-
teer are higher than ever and augur well for asuccessful and joyful gathering in Madrid onAugust 16-21.
Pope Benedict is scheduled to attend theevent and organisers said theyexpect more than 1 million youngpilgrims to join him.
Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, wholeads the Vatican agency organisingthe huge event, said that some440 000 young people had alreadysigned up, a record number for reg-istrations with the event still sixweeks away. More than 35 000young Catholics have applied forone of 22 500 places in the vast vol-unteer corps, he said.
Nearly 1 000 pilgrims represent-ing most dioceses in the Southern Africanregion, including Swaziland and Botswana,will take part in WYD.
The Youth Commission of Durban hasbeen a part of the national organisationeffort and reports that Cardinal WilfridNapier of Durban, Archbishop Stephen Bris-lin of Cape Town and Archbishop Buti Tlha-gale of Johannesburg are also scheduled tomake the pilgrimage.
Cardinal Rylko said that one of the“strong points” of the gathering was theopportunity for youth to hear catechesis,and that some 260 bishops would be offer-ing sessions in several different areas of thecity in 30 languages.
For the first time, the South African bish-ops will be hosting the WYD catechesis for
English-speaking countries. Pilgrims willspend morning sessions of prayer and guid-ance with the religious as part of the WYDprogramme.
In contrast to preparations for the lastWYD in Sydney, Australia, in 2008, SouthAfrican organisers have reported no visaproblems for the Madrid event.
At a news conference at the Vatican, Car-dinal Rylko said Pope Benedict will spend
August 18-21 in Madrid, meetingwith the young people several timesand even hearing the confessions ofsome of them. The sight of youngpeople going to confession in fieldsand tents has been a standard part ofWorld Youth Day gatherings, butthe Madrid celebration will mark thefirst time the pope himself willadminister the sacrament at theevent.
Yago de la Cierva, executive direc-tor of World Youth Day, said thatthe organisation was proceeding on
time and that an efficient and widespreadnetwork among parishes and other Churchinstitutions in Madrid was contributing tothe good pace of preparation.
Mr De la Cierva said the Spanish govern-ment and local authorities were providinglogistical help, certain venues and some taxbreaks to companies working on the organi-sation, but that no direct financial contribu-tion had come from the public sector. Whilethe total cost is expected to be up to 62 mil-lion euros (R610 million), de la Cierva said itwas expected to generate 100 million euros(R983 million) for Madrid and Spain.
Organisers are asking the youthful partici-pants to contribute, if they can, to help outtheir peers who otherwise would not be ableto attend for financial reasons.
Nazi victims’ beatification ‘mustplant seed for ecumenism’
(From left) Nazi victims Frs Eduard Müller,Johannes Prassek and Hermann Lange wereto be beatified. Pastor Karl Friedrich Stellbrinkis on the far right.
Pope Benedictlaunches site with
historic tweetPage 4
STaFF rEPOrTEr
AREPRODUCTION of anancient icon commissionedby an organisation serving
child burn survivors was blessedby the archbishop of Cape Townat a special Mass.
The reproduction of the iconof Our Lady of Philermos, waswritten by Redemptorist BrotherRichard Maidwell, a noted icono-grapher who is based at hisorder’s monastery in Bergvliet,Cape Town.
Archbishop Stephen Brislinblessed the icon at a Mass in Con-stantia for the Phoenix Burns Pro-ject and its parent body, St JohnRelief Services.
The Cape Town-based non-profit organisation models itscharism on the Rome-based Sov-ereign Military Hospitaller Orderof Saint John of Jerusalem ofRhodes and of Malta.
The Order of Malta, as it iscommonly known, was foundedin Jerusalem in the 11th centuryto provide care for poor and sickpilgrims to the Holy Land. It isthe world’s oldest surviving orderof chivalry.
The Our Lady of Philermos is afamous icon of the Order ofMalta.
According to Dr Peter Mar-tinez, president of St John ReliefServices, the Phoenix Burns Pro-ject addresses the order’s mission,obsequium pauperum (“to serve thepoor and the sick”).
As a step to meet the order’s
other mission, tuitio fidei (“todefend the faith”), the organisa-tion commissioned the reproduc-tion of Our Lady of Philermosicon.
Tradition has it that the origi-nal icon was painted by the evan-gelist Luke and it is thus believedby some to bear a close resem-blance to the Virgin Mary. Theicon was discovered by theKnights of St John in Rhodes in1306 and remained in their pos-session until the loss of Malta bythe Knights in 1798. Thereafter itcame into the possession of TsarPaul I of Russia and changedhands several times, eventuallywinding up in Yugoslavia.
Considered lost for some time,a few years ago the icon was“rediscovered” and now is on dis-play in the national museum inCetinje, Montenegro.
In order to reconstruct thisicon, Br Maidwell worked withphotographs of the faded origi-nal.
The icon was blessed and for-mally installed in the Marianchapel in Constantia’s Our Ladyof the Visitation church duringthe Mass celebrated by Archbish-op Brislin, the patron of the StJohn Relief Services.
The archbishop praised St JohnRelief Services for the work being
done with burn survivors. Dr Martinez said that it is St
John Relief Services’ goal tobecome a South African associa-tion of the Order of Malta.
There is presently one otherlocal organisation affiliated to theorder in South Africa: the Broth-erhood of Blessed Gérard in Man-deni, KwaZulu-Natal.
In May, Dr Martinez and FrAndrew Cox, parish priest ofConstantia, joined the order’sannual Lourdes pilgrimage asguests of the Australian Associa-tion of the Order.
“It was a wonderful experi-ence,” said Dr Martinez. “Our ini-tiative to establish a presence ofthe order in Cape Town was wellreceived.” He said the initiativewas endorsed by Archbishop Bris-lin.
In his homily, Fr Andrew Cox,chaplain of St John Relief Ser-vices, said that membership tothe Order of Malta “entails someserious personal commitments.Becoming a member is in a sensea vocation and a response to acall.”
The Order has about 13 000members and 80 000 volunteersworldwide.n For more information about StJohn Relief Services, please contactPam Adshade on 021 794 5185.
LOCAL2 The Southern Cross, July 6 to July 12, 2011
The Catholic Institute of Education met with Catholic schools that supportvulnerable learners to reflect and plan for the future. a key focus of theworkshop was to explore new directions for the programme to ensure thatvulnerable children can benefit from Catholic education.
Some schools have stretched their rands, and one school in the Free Statesupports orphans through the Education access Project. One principalsaid: “This support has allowed us to keep children in our school whowould never be able to afford the fees otherwise. It is great for the child toknow their fees are paid and that they need not worry about their nextmeal.”
Further information or to support a vulnerable learner, call011 433 1888 or e-mail [email protected]
Professional Health Care BursaryDo you have a passion for nursing but not the financial means to achieve your
dream? Nazareth House Cape Town are offering an opportunity to empower
and enrich communities by providing an opportunity to those less financially able
to educate themselves in a selfless career path of caring and putting back into a
skills shortage country.
Should you be interested in being part of this training programme and meet the
following criteria:
• Senior Certificate/Matric Certificate or equivalent
• Excellent comprehension of the English language both writ
ten and verbal
• Energetic, happy and of good health
• good Christian values
• Sober habits
• Valid Sa Identity document
For more information please submit a motivational letter, supported by your local
We are a Religious Missionary Family:Sisters, Brothers, Priests and Lay people,from about thirty different Countries, living in international and intercultural
communitieslocated in many countries.
Our specific characteristic, or charism, is”To give to the world the Good News
as God’s consolation, Jesus”,as Mary did.
Mary Consolata is our “Founder”,our Patronessour Model,
and our Mother.
God might be callingyou to share thisbeautiful task.
THE gospel CD NgiyavumaBaba has proved so successfulacross the country that more
copies had to be pressed. The ten-track CD was released
by the Congregation of the Mis-sionaries of Mariannhill.
Ngiyavuma Baba can be pur-chased at the Monastery Reposito-ry at R70.
According to the Mariannhillnovice master Fr Lawrence MotaCMM, the high demand of thegospel CD is an indication that
society is in need of the word ofGod as a sign of hope and encour-agement.
“This is very encouraging andgives us strength to work hard tomeet the demands of the peopleand the Church at large,” said FrMota, adding that music is anoth-er effective form of evangelisationand reviving human values. n For more information on Ngiyavu-ma Baba contact Monastery Reposito-ry on 031 700 1031 or MariannhillMonastery on 031 70 4288 or FrLawrence Mota on 078 568 5809
Gospel CD in high demand
Ancient icon copyblessed for charity
archbishop Stephen Brislin blesses a reproduction of the Our Lady ofPhilermos icon, which was written by a South african iconographer for thePhoenix Burns Project. Fr andrew Cox of Constantia looks on. (Photo:Jade Maxwell-Newton)
By CLaIrE MaTHIESON
ARCHBISHOP Stephen Brislinhas launched Ecclesia—aneducational DVD that will be
released across the archdiocese ofCape Town as part of its pastoralplan to increase discussion andfaith-sharing between Catholics.
The archbishop said the 2007archdiocesan synod set a clear goalto encourage faith-sharing groups.
He said the archdiocese wantspriests to encourage the parish-ioners to form groups and get peo-ple talking about faith and sharingtheir experiences which will “leadto a deepening of faith”.
The DVD has been developedspecifically with faith-sharinggroups in mind. The archbishopsaid the Pastoral Care Council con-sidered various platforms for theprogramme to follow. “We knewwhat we wanted to do. It’s easy toknow, but it’s very difficult to do,”Archbishop Brislin said.
“The programme is new. Therewas no blueprint to follow, but wefelt this was the best route toachieve the kind of movement inthe Church discussed in the 2007
synod,” he said.Ecclesia will be released in three
phases, each containing sixepisodes of ten minutes. The idea,the archbishop said, was to presenta topic for discussion which willbe viewed by the group and thendiscussed. “The DVD will guidefaith-sharing groups into discus-sion around a variety of topics,” hesaid.
Presented by Mgr Andrew Borel-lo, vicar for pastoral developmentin the archdiocese, the course is setto run for one year in the archdio-cese with the themes “Love theChurch,” “Our faith, our life” and“Brave new Church”.
Each faith-sharing group willhave a leader and training isrequired for all group facilitators.The groups will work with theDVDs and accompanying bookletswhich contain quotes from Scrip-ture and Church teachings andquestions for discussion, encourag-ing prayer and action.
Ecclesia is the official pro-gramme of the archdiocese with allparishes getting involved. Materialhas been made available in Eng-lish, Afrikaans and Xhosa.
Archbishop Brislin said Ecclesiais also being launched under thebanner of Hope&Joy as both pro-jects celebrated themes of VaticanII.
“Both Ecclesia and Hope&Joyencompass the principles of anoutward looking Church and willencourage great involvement fromthe laity,” he said, adding thatboth projects will spur thought,provoke discussion and under-standing and encourage action.
In an area where faith-sharinggroups are a relatively unknownconcept, Archbishop Brislin saidhe hopes the project will spreadquickly and grow the faith ofCatholics around Cape Town.
LOCAL The Southern Cross, July 6 to July 12, 2011 3
Faith-sharing programmelaunched in Cape Town
STaFF rEPOrTEr
DURBAN’S new mayor, JamesNxumalo, appointed afterthe local government elec-
tions of May 18, has praised thelate Archbishop Denis Hurley forhis role in the liberation struggle.
At Mr Nxumalo’s inaugurationas mayor of the eThekwini Munici-pality, he led a procession of oldand new councillors which beganclose to Emmanuel cathedral andthen proceeded down Denis Hur-ley Street, into Dr Yusuf Dadoo
Street (named in honour of afounder of the SA Indian Con-gress) and from there into Dr Pix-ley ka Seme Street (in honour of apresident and founder of the ANC)and ended at the City Hall wherethe first meeting of the new coun-cil was held.
“As I walked”, said Mr Nxuma-lo, “I thought about how I wouldnot be standing here today if itwasn’t for giants like these. Theyhad a moral character beyondreproach. They all had a visionway beyond the life and times in
which they lived and worked.”“But, importantly, they were
rooted amongst the poor andoppressed, amongst those fightingfor peace and justice, and theystood for those who spoke truth topower,” he said.
The march began opposite thesite where it is hoped constructionon the Denis Hurley Centre willcommence before the end of 2011.It was also the starting point forthe great Freedom March of Sep-tember 22, 1989, which was led byArchbishop Hurley.
Durban’s new mayor, James Nxumalo, is seen at the City Hall where hepraised archbishop Denis Hurley for his service to the people of South africa.
Durban’s new mayorpraises Denis Hurley
By CLaIrE MaTHIESON
THE Catholic Woman’s League(CWL) Adoption Society haslaunched a new website
(www.adoptions.org.za) in SouthAfrica to increase awareness of thework the CWL does.
With its national headquartersin Johannesburg, the society pro-vides a range of support services toadoptive families, birth parentsand pregnant and birth mothers tobe.
According to the new website,which aims to promote the ser-vices available to the public, “theinterests of the infants and chil-dren are always of paramountimportance throughout the adop-
tion process. A long history of pro-viding these services [both withinSouth Africa and internationally]and loving and happy families andmothers who have adopted, bearstestimony what [CWL] stands for.”
The website encourages partiesinterested in adopting or havingbabies adopted to contact theCWL through its confidentialchannels, which are obligation-free.
The website caters equally topotential parents and pregnantmothers who are consideringadoption.
It also contains useful links toother related websites.n For more information visit the web-site or call 011 618 1533
CWL website provides motherswith adoption support
INTERNATIONAL4 The Southern Cross, July 6 to July 12, 2011
For Bookings:
2011
AUgUst 26-28 (wEEkEnd)
Fr Pierre Lavoipierre: Eucharist - Broken andBecoming
dECEMBER 24-1 jAnUARy
A sPiRitUAl ChRistMAs hOlidAy“CAthOliC FAith - god’s mysteries in our lives.”
Led by Fr Urs Fischer:
2012jAnUARy 3-FEBRUARy 2
sPiRitUAl EXERCisEs according to st ignatiusof loyola. thirty days of prayer and meditation Led by Fr Urs Fischer.
jAnUARy 6-jAnUARy 14
7-Day preached retreat by Fr Declan Doherty:ACCEPting thE wAy OF jEsUs
jAnUARy 6-jAnUARy 14
7-Day directed retreats By Fr Urs Fischer and Br Crispin
Personally guided retreats may be arranged at any time throughout the year to suit individual need.
By PauL JEFFrEy
ANUN working in rebel-heldeastern Libya says she andother sisters have remained
because of their commitment tothe people they serve.
“This is our first experience ofbeing in a war, and we’re sad tosee the people dying, especiallythe youth who are offering them-selves for freedom and for thefuture of this country. But it’s ourduty to be here, no matter howmuch life has changed,” said SrPriscilla Isidore, a member of theSisters of Charity of the Immacu-late Conception of Ivrea.
Sr Isidore, a Tanzanian, haslived in Libya for 16 years andworks as a nurse in the city’s 7thOctober Hospital.
When the uprising againstLibyan strongman MuammarGaddafi broke out in February,Benghazi was the scene of violentclashes. After a week, the city waslargely in the hands of the opposi-tion. Sporadic episodes of violencestill occur, however.
Sr Isidore, 56, said 24 nunsremain in eastern Libya, workingin Benghazi, al-Marj, al-Bayda,Derna and Tobruk. Three other sis-ters left the country in response tothe fighting, she said.
“The situation here isn’t easy,and we sisters are free to remain orleave. Most of us remain herebecause of God, because of ourpeople, because of the Church. Wechoose to continue to offer our lifefor the people. Whether the situa-tion is good or not good, wechoose God, we choose the crossof our Lord, to continue as he did.He couldn’t put his cross aside,”she said.
“Because the Lord is our hope,we will continue with our workamong the sick and injured peoplehere and, if necessary, to die withthem. That’s our mission. That’swhy Christ sent us here.”
Libya is a Muslim country, withChristianity restricted mostly toenclaves of foreign workers, manyof whom have been evacuatedfrom the country. Sr Isidore saidshe has had no problem with the
country’s Muslims.“People love us so much. This
year, our congregation has beenhere for 100 years. We have astrong history of love, unity andcommunion with the people. Sothe people love us, because theysee that the sisters are here for Godand love everybody. They call usmothers, and we call them ourchildren, brothers and sisters. Theyrespect us. They see we didn’tcome here for other interests, onlyto work for God and the people. Sothey love us and we have no prob-lems staying amidst them.”
Sr Isidore said she is inspired bythe devotion of those around her.
“We have seen the people praya lot during this period, praytogether, putting their life in God’shands, struggling together withGod. We have seen the people suf-fering. In the hospital we haveseen increased problems of highblood pressure and diabetes, symp-toms of the difficult situation thepeople are facing,” she said.
“We hope this situation won’tbe for nothing, but will be forgood, that it will be better in thecountry. We pray that God willagain give us peace,” she said.—CNS
ALMOST two years after thehistoric Second AfricanSynod in Rome, a group of
Catholic theologians drawn fromvarious parts of Africa has pub-lished a book on the issue.
The 259-page volume, titledReconciliation, Justice, and Peace:The Second African Synod, wasedited by Nigerian Fr Agbonkhi-anmeghe Orobator SJ. The bookcomprises 20 chapters coveringthemes such as theology, inter-religious dialogue, justice andpeace, the Church’s mission inthe public sphere, ecclesial lead-ership, gender justice, ecology,poverty, and HIV/Aids.
The book has been publishedin two editions: a global and anEnglish-speaking Africa edition.
The global edition is pub-lished by Orbis Books, a project ofthe Maryknoll Society, based inNew York. The English-speakingAfrica edition is published by theKenya-based Acton Publishers.
In his introduction, Fr Oro-bator observes that Africa is nothelpless and that its destiny isstill in its own hands.
He points out that the move-ment from the f irst AfricanSynod in 1994 to the SecondAfrican Synod in 2009 tracesthe trajectory of a steadilymaturing theology of the natureand mission of the Church inAfrica.
Fr Orobator says a distinctnature and coherent missionform part of the essence of theChurch.
The synod, he wrote, involvesa process that brings the past,present, and future realities ofthe church into sharper focus.More importantly, it is commu-nal event that takes the form ofconversation.
Pope Benedict will promul-gate the Report on the Synod,the post- synod exhortation,during his visit to Benin fromNovember 18-20.—CISA
The pope’s first-ever tweetBy SaraH DELaNEy
POPE Benedict himself gave acyber spark of life to a newInternet portal that gathers
all Vatican news into one multi-media website.
With a click on a tablet deviceon the evening of June 28, PopeBenedict officially launched theaggregator of news content fromthe Vatican’s newspaper, radio,television and online outlets.
At the same time, he made thefirst-ever papal tweet on the socialnetworking site Titter.
“Dear Friends, I just launchedNews.va. Praised be our Lord JesusChrist! With my prayers and bless-ings, Benedictus XVI,” the popetweeted.
The site, www.news.va, will bewill streamline news from the Vat-ican newspaper, L’OsservatoreRomano, Vatican Radio, the Vati-can television station CTV, theVatican Information Service, theFides missionary news agency, theVatican press office, and the mainVatican website, said ArchbishopClaudio Celli, who heads the Pon-tifical Council for Social Commu-nications.
It offers print, video and audiomaterial in Italian and English.New languages will be added grad-ually, beginning with Spanish.
Thaddeus Jones, an official ofthe pontifical council who coordi-nated the creation of the portal,said it will give all the informationgenerated by the various informa-tion sources but will highlight thelatest news and most importantitems of the day.
The first big test, said JesuitFather Federico Lombardi, head ofthe Vatican press office, will be
the World Youth Day event inMadrid in August, which isexpected to generate heavy trafficto the site.
Costs of the development andmaintenance of the site will beborne exclusively through dona-tions from private organisationsand foundations, Archbishop Cellisaid. It will not be supported atpresent or in the future by adver-tising or other commercial initia-tives, he said.
While Pope Benedict may notappear to be a media-savvy pon-tiff, Archbishop Celli said, “inreality, with this pope Vaticancommunications have made enor-mous strides”.
The archbishop gave as anexample the pope’s reply when hisadvisers proposed an appearanceon YouTube. According to thearchbishop, the pope replied: “Iwant to be present wherever thepeople are found.”—CNS
By JOHN THaVIS
THE Vatican is studying a pos-sible document on the rela-tionship of clergy and laity,
which touches on the sensitiveissue of the administration of theChurch’s goods, Vatican sourcessaid.
The sources said the documentunder preparation only marginallytouches on the topic of parish clos-ings and, if published, will be
directed at the universal Church. “The main topic here is the
respect of norms regarding thenature of the priesthood in collab-oration with laypeople, especiallyas it is affected by the restructuringof parish life,” said one sourcefamiliar with the draft document.
“In some countries, new formsof parish structures have been cre-ated in which the priestly ministryappears weakened—in practice, the
priest’s role risks being reduced tothat of a celebrant of the sacra-ments, while teams of laypeopleare put in charge of management.But the office of governing is partof the priestly ministry,” he said.
The preparation of the docu-ment is being guided by the Con-gregation for Clergy because it hascompetence over matters pertain-ing to the administration of eccle-siastical goods.—CNS
archbishop Claudio Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Com-munications, assists Pope Benedict with the new Vatican news portal on aniPad. The information portal at www.news.va aggregates the Vatican’s vari-ous media into a one-stop site for all things papal. (Photo: L'Osservatore)
Vatican might issue clergy-laity document
Nun: Why we stay in Libya
Sr Priscilla Isidore, a Tanzanian nun,says she and othe Sisters haveremained in Libya despite the civilwar that broke out in February.(Photo: Paul Jeffrey, CNS)
Africa Synod II book out
PO Box 11095, Mariannhill 3624
By JOHN THaVIS
POPE Benedict has said theEucharist is the heart ofChurch life and an “antidote”
to the increasingly individualisticglobal culture.
The pope said the Eucharist islike the “pulsing heart” that giveslife and meaning to everything theChurch does.
As the sacrament of Commu-nion, it is able to transform peo-ple’s lives, leading them to God,he said.
“In a culture that is more andmore individualistic—a culture inwhich we are immersed in West-ern society, and that tends tospread itself throughout theworld—the Eucharist constitutes atype of ‘antidote’,” the pope said.
“It works in the minds andhearts of believers and continuallydisseminates in them the logic ofcommunion, of service, of shar-ing—in short, the logic of theGospel.”
The pope said this spirit, nour-ished by the real presence of Christ
in the Eucharist, was evident inthe lives of the early Christians,who lived fraternally and sharedtheir worldly goods in common,so that no one was impoverished.
“And even in later generationsthrough the centuries, the Church,despite human limits and errors,continued to be a force of commu-nion in the world. We think espe-cially of the most difficult periodsof trial: what it meant, for exam-ple, in countries ruled by totalitari-an regimes, to be able to gather atSunday Mass,” he said.—CNS
INTERNATIONAL The Southern Cross, July 6 to July 12, 2011 5
Bishop: Catholic newspapers arestill the best way to evangelise
By SaM LuCErO
ALTHOUGH social media isthe rage in today’s world ofcommunication, a US
Catholic bishop has made animpassioned speech in support ofCatholic print publications.
During a panel discussion at the2011 US Catholic Media Conven-tion in Pittsburgh, the city’s Bish-op David Zubik said Catholicnewspapers and magazines contin-ue to be the best way to reach peo-ple in the pews.
“There has been no greater andmore consistent success inCatholic communications...thanthrough the use of print,” thebishop said.
“We can and we must use everymeans of social communicationsavailable to us today: television,radio, Twitter, Facebook, Skypeand whatever has evolved sinceyou and I began our meeting thismorning. But I believe that it isincumbent on us as bishops and
on us as Church to maintain avital Catholic print presence.”
His remarks were greeted withapplause.
Bishop Zubik noted that hecould not predict whether theprinted word would still have thesame impact in 20 years, buttoday, “absolutely and fundamen-tally the best option...to evangelisethe evangelisers, is throughCatholic print”.
Bishop Zubik said that “aCatholic newspaper today is not aluxury. It is a necessity. And to mymind, at least for the moment, itremains the best vehicle for adultfaith formation that we have”.
Meanwhile, during the confer-ence, the Catholic Academy ofCommunication Arts Professionalspresented Cardinal John Foley, aretired Vatican official and formerCatholic newspaper editor inPhiladelphia, with the GabrielAward for lifetime achievement.
Cardinal Foley, who headed thePontifical Council for Social Com-
munications at the Vatican from1984 to 2007, spoke of some of thehighlights of his radio career,including having to spend twohours on live TV in the Philippinesduring World Youth Day in 1995while officials flew Pope John PaulII to the Mass site in a helicopter,since the record crowds of 5 mil-lion had blocked the streets.
Just this year, Cardinal Foleyannounced he was retiring andresigning from his post as grandmaster of the Knights of the HolySepulchre of Jerusalem in Rome, aposition he was named to in 2007.
He said his medical condition—he has leukaemia—prevented himfrom having the energy to performhis duties.
He stressed the importance ofthe Catholic press.
“Like the crucifix above the bedin every Catholic home, a Catholicpublication in the living room orthe family room is a continuingreminder of our identity asCatholics,” he said.—CNS
Pope: Help those who fleeBy CarOL gLaTz
POPE Benedict has called foremergency assistance to thou-sands of people fleeing the
violence and civil strife in NorthAfrica and the Middle East, and heappealed to nations to explore“every possible form of media-tion” to bring an end to the con-flicts.
He asked the Vatican’s coordi-nating body of Church fundingagencies for Eastern Catholicchurches to “do everything possi-ble” to help the minority Christ-ian populations remain in theregion.
The pope’s appeal came duringa meeting with the Vatican coor-dinating body, known by its Ital-
ian acronym ROACO, which washolding its annual general meet-ing at the Vatican.
Participants were discussing thechanges taking place in NorthAfrica and the Middle East as wellas how bishops were following upon the special Synod of Bishopsfor the Middle East in 2010.
The pope said the region ofNorth Africa and the Middle East“is so important for world peaceand stability” and he said theevents unfolding there were “asource of anxiety throughout theworld.”
He said his thoughts andprayers were with all those “whoare suffering and to those who aretrying desperately to escape,”often without hope.—CNS
a young man dressed as a devil prepares to take part in a parade inOcumare, Venezuela. The festival, a mixture of african Caribbean ritesand music with the Catholic feast of Corpus Christi, commemorates thetriumph of good over evil. (Photo: Jorge Silva, reuters/CNS)
Eucharist ‘an antidote to individualism’
LEADER PAGE6 The Southern Cross, July 6 to July 12, 2011
MANY thanks for ArchbishopWilliam Slattery’s article, “At
Pentecost we are called to witness”(June 8). The article was read out infull at Mass in our parish on Pente-cost Sunday,
Most Catholics are not inclinedtowards evangelisation. Absorbedin the inner struggles of theChurch, and occasionally withpeace and justice, contemporaryCatholics feel relatively littleresponsibility for spreading thefaith.
The apostolate in the past wasmainly aimed at showing non-Catholics that Christ had foundedthe one, true, hierarchical Church.The Gospel was hardly ever at thecentre. Ecclesiocentricity was theorder of the day.
Many Catholics who have left
the Church for fundamentalismstress that despite the Church’sstress on the importance of theEucharist, the Mass and the sacra-ments, they had never had thebasic gospel (the kerygma) preachedto them, and as a result have notfound the living Jesus in theCatholic Church.
The First Vatican Council, in themid-19th century, used the term“gospel” only once, and never usedthe term evangelise or evangelisa-tion. By contrast, Vatican II men-tioned the Gospel 157 times, evan-gelise 18 times and evangelisation31 times.
In the ecclesial vision of PopesPaul VI and John Paul II, the heartand centre is the proclamation ofGod’s saving love shown forth inJesus Christ. Where the name ofJesus is not spoken, there can be no
evangelisation in the true sense.One does not witness only by theexample of one's life, but, as PopePaul VI stressed in Evangelii Nun-tiandi, also “by a clear and unequiv-ocal proclamation of the name ofthe Lord Jesus”.
Catholic spirituality at its besthas always promoted the absolutenecessity of a deep, personal rela-tionship with Jesus. Even thoughthis is stressed more today, it seemsthat the expression passes over theheads of many, or how to go aboutappropriating it for themselves.
The good news in Jesus Christ isthe best and most exciting newsthere is, and if we Catholics do notwitness to Jesus as a priority, it sim-ply shows that we have misunder-stood the basic message of theGospel, and that we are about “sav-ing our own souls” instead ofallowing Jesus Christ to do it for us.
John Lee, Johannesburg
The Editor reserves the right to shorten or edit published letters. Letters below 300 words receivepreference. Pseudonyms are acceptable only under special circumstances and at the Editor’s discre-tion. Name and address of the writer must be supplied. No anonymous letter will be considered.
LETTERS TOTHE EDITOR
Fill the youthwith desire
ARCHBISHOP William Slattery ofPretoria reminds us that every
baptised Christian “is called to be awitness” and that “the Churchexists to evangelise” (June 8).
He offers a few examples of how“the message of Pentecost is one ofNew Life” and expresses the hopethat we “will come to understandand witness to the Lord”.
I, and many others, would loveto see this happen. We are facedwith the undeniable truth that weare losing thousands of our youngpeople after their Confirmation. Itis even more sad that so many ofour energetic youth desire to beconfirmed as early as possible, notlonging to cooperate with theHoly Spirit in the work of evange-lisation as a living witness toChrist, but rather to be freed fromall Church domination and restric-tions; to be set free.
Many of them are terrified ofbeing labelled as witnesses of Jesus.They remain silent; they join theirpeers and move with the fashions.
Normally, after three years ofpreparation, the candidate kneelsbefore his bishop; there is the lay-ing of hands, the holy oils andthe spoken word: “Be sealed withthe Gift of the Holy Spirit.” Andthat's it!
Behold a new soldier of theLord. These young warriors stepout into a cruel uncaring world,unable to defend their Catholicfaith because they do not knownor understand what they believeand why.
Apart from clear instruction inthe Church’s dogma, we need aCatholic version of the Alphacourse so that confirmands may
get to know the person and teach-ings of Christ; and then grow apersonal relationship with him.
We must also introduce ouryouth to that charismatic experi-ence within the Catholic Church;then they won’t leave to seek thisjoyful and exciting experience inPentecostal assemblies.
When that special day arrives toreceive the sacrament of Confir-mation, it should be a truly mean-ingful and Pentecostal experience.And there is no reason why itshould not be.
Fr Ralph de Hahn, Cape Town
To be a farmer
THE photo that illustrated yourarticle “Farming as a vocation”
(May 11) gave a true picture offarming in Africa. Women do thework at home while men, if theyare lucky, work elsewhere.
The suggestion in the articlethat vegetables and fruit should begrown to help eke out the homebudget by supplying fresh food atlittle cost is sound, but does notconform to reality in most cases.
If fertiliser is not bought thenlivestock must be kept to supplymanure to make compost to feedthe plants. Livestock requires foodand veterinary care. Disease andpest control is a major factor ingrowing crops, and costs money.
Water is the greatest require-ment for plants, and in many
instances has to be brought bybucket a distance to water the gar-den. What is surprising is thatnowhere have I seen water collect-ed from roofs of houses in commu-nal lands. Rain can provide a goodquantity, and even a heavy dewdripping off the roof into a gutterand into a drum can yield a worth-while amount.
For young men and womenwith sound education, farming is acareer well worth following,though unless one has a richdaddy or one with a farm, it ishighly unlikely that they will everbe able to buy and start their ownfarm. The cost of land andmachinery will be well beyondtheir likely income.
However, if they are willing toput up with hard work, both phys-ical and mental, and the occasion-al outburst of bad temper from apossibly harried boss, then ahealthy, interesting life in agricul-ture is the life for them.
R Auret, Thornville, KZN
Travel impression
YOUR edition of June 1 men-tions the unveiling of a plaque
on a house at 100 Holywell Streetin Oxford in commemoration ofCatholic martyrs executed duringthe Reformation—hanged, drawnand quartered, the usual and cruelpunishment.
Recently while visiting the site,I saw a man entering the humblehouse and I told him that thishouse was mentioned in a SouthAfrican newspaper and that I hadcome from South Africa to see thememory plaque. I told him alsothat I was proud to be a Catholic.
Was it just my imagination ordid he really look impressed?
JH Goossens, Dundee
The party as the state
SOMETHING remarkablehappened in South Africa inMay. Only days before the
municipal elections on May 18,communities in Ficksburg, FreeState, were protesting fiercelyagainst the poverty of servicedelivery by their local munici-pality—but when their opportu-nity came to eject from officethose against whom they weredemonstrating, they re-electedthem.
The same happened through-out the country. Communitiesthat protested against deficientperformances of councils con-trolled by the African NationalCongress returned the sameparty which they accused ofneglecting them.
This was in contrast to thecounsel given by the Catholicbishops in the pastoral letterissued in March, which called onthe electorate to ask the keyquestion: “Have things improvedor got worse in your area sincethe last municipal election?”,and vote accordingly.
There will be many reasonswhy people continue to vote forparties which have failed toserve them. Traditional anddeeply entrenched party loyal-ties, based on history and race,seem to be fundamental inSouth African voting behaviour.
It is also apparent that mostpeople in Ficksburg and in otherpoorly-run municipalities haveno confidence that oppositionparties would be any more com-petent or motivated to serve thepoor.
But the phenomenon pointsto another truth: many SouthAfricans, perhaps a majority,seem content with the notionthat the ANC-led alliance is theonly legitimate party in govern-ment. So even if the ANC’s defi-ciencies are so glaring as toprompt ferocious protests, theperceived alternative is not achange of party, but a differentset of ANC functionaries.
This ties in with the ANC’sown apparent vision of itself asthe state. The ANC takes it asseld-evident that top state posi-tions must be filled by thedeployment of loyal cadres fromits own ranks, a practice that isregarded as undesirable in manydemocracies.
And so, in most regions ofSouth Africa, opposition politicsare not played out in parliamentor at the polls, but within thestructures of the ANC and itsalliance partners, some of which
have unaccountably positionedthemselves as “kingmakers”.
The electorate that is notactive or influential in ANCstructures—which is the majori-ty—will be presented with effec-tively only one choice of presi-dent in the next national elec-tions. And while that is of nobenefit to our democracy, theelectorate seems to be contentwith that arrangement.
The ANC cannot be asked tochange this. It is every politicalparty’s objective to rule intoperpetuity (or as President JacobZuma once put it, “until Jesuscomes back”).
It is not the sign of a healthydemocracy, however, when thefuture leadership of the countryis determined by the internalintrigues of a few individuals,based not so much on the prior-ities of policy or ideas as on thequality of personal relationshipsand the expectation of rewardsfor dispensing political support.
And when the alliance thatbacks an individual is as broadas it was in Polokwane in 2007,when Mr Zuma was ordained tobecome South Africa’s president,then there will likely be factionswhose disappointment at notreceiving what they expectedfinds expression in new ran-corous intrigue.
Since the moves to unseatThabo Mbeki from the presiden-cy gathered pace in 2006, theperpetual instability within theANC has done little to serve thenation.
Right now, the party’s func-tionaries are positioning them-selves to back the faction thatthey think will emerge victori-ous from the ANC’s nationalelective conference next year.Some will justifiably be con-cerned that a wrong move willsee them purged, as many Mbekiloyalists swiftly were after Polok-wane. All this gets in the way ofthe ANC’s mandate to do whatthey were elected for: to govern.
Whatever the outcome of theANC’s internal power struggle,the party will almost definitelywin the next election, regardlessof its presidential candidate.
It is indeed remarkable that alarge proportion of the elec-torate invests such trust in theANC that it returns the partyinto power even when it hasfailed. So now it is time for theANC to forgo internal warfareand self-aggrandisement, andjustify the trust the voters haveinvested in the ruling party.
Editor: Günther Simmermacher
We are called to be evangelisers
Opinions expressed in The SouthernCross, especially in Letters to the Editor,do not necessarily reflect the views of theEditor or staff of the newspaper, or of theCatholic hierarchy. The letters page in par-ticular is a forum in which readers mayexchange opinions on matters of debate.Letters must not be understood to neces-sarily reflect the teachings, disciplines orpolicies of the Church accurately.
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PERSPECTIVES The Southern Cross, July 6 to July 12, 2011 7
‘LIFE is difficult!” These are theopening words of M Scott Peck’sbest-seller The Road Less Trav-
elled. Scott Peck continues to say thatthis is a great truth.
It is indeed a great truth becauseonce we truly see it, we transcend it.Once we truly know that life is diffi-cult—once we truly understand andaccept it—then life is no longer diffi-cult. Because once it is accepted, thefact that life is difficult no longer mat-ters.
Generally, we do not consciously livewith the fact that life is difficult. We arealways looking for ways of how to dothings easier, to escape difficulty, toavoid challenges. We live with the illu-sion of our times ahead as being hassle-free, without problems and generallysmooth sailing. Yet that is exactly whatit is—an illusion.
It’s an illusion because we are meantto live life and live it to the fullest. “Ihave come that you may have life, andhave it more abundantly” (Jn 10:10).True and abundant life consists of bliss-ful joys and painful woes. It is preciselyin experiencing our woes, our difficul-ties and facing our challenges that wetruly feel alive.
Years ago I used to enjoy watching
the Dusi Canoe Marathon, an annualthree-day canoe race along the Msun-duzi river from Pietermaritzburg to Dur-ban. Some parts of the race are on a10km stretch of flat water on the Inan-da dam, but for the most part of therace the river water is anything but flat.
I used to wonder what if the entirerace just took place on one long stretchof smooth, calm, flat water? Wouldn’t itbe easier to see all the contenders?Wouldn’t it be easier to judge who isfastest? Wouldn’t it be safer? Why havethe contenders struggling and negotiat-ing dangerous rapids followed by sharpdips and rocky patches? This part of therace was more of a frustration for me towatch because the paddlers wouldinevitably bump into the rocks or evenhave their canoes capsizing.
Yet, the paddling and negotiation ofintimidating-looking rapids and therecovering and re-positioning of theircapsized canoes is what pumps theadrenaline in the paddlers and providesthe energy to move forward. The pad-dlers put in everything to survive all therapids, dips and rocks—no one escapesthis part. Once this part is successfullynegotiated, it is smooth sailing to thefinishing line.
The rapids, dips and rocks of our
lives are the difficulties and challengeswe face physically, emotionally andspir itual ly. We feel the adrenalinepumping when we are ready to facethese challenges. We feel alive. Theadrenaline we feel is our true spirit deepwithin ourselves—God’s spirit.
Once we have overcome these chal-lenges successful ly we become achanged person, a different person. Wecannot be the same person once wehave felt that spirit moving in us andbeing with us through our difficulty.We have grown.
A person who has gone through asuccessful heart transplant feels physi-cally healthy again. A person who hasexperienced the heartbreak of a failedrelationship becomes stronger and wiseremotionally. And we appreciate it somuch more once we can feel deepinside us again that God knows us andloves us—our spirit is rejuvenated.
It is not asked of us to look for diffi-culties in our lives in order to feel fullyalive. We are asked to face our difficul-ties and overcome our difficulties withthe help of God in order for us to “havelife, and have to the fullest”.
To live life to the fullest
OLD age has hit a widower whodepends on begging. Look at theold man sleeping under the hedge
outside Matola novitiate in Mozambique.Next to him, he has a variety of plas-
tics and inside those there is food of dif-ferent types. He got the food from well-wishers. He visits the novitiate to havesomething to eat of the left overs fromour table, and often he takes somethingwith him to eat later.
Does that remind you of the story inthe Bible of the woman who came toJesus to ask for favours?
All of us are made in the image ofGod. We are brothers and sisters. Thisman does not have a bed or a mat. Theearth is his mat. He cannot speak ofshoes, and changing clothes for him isunheard of.
Do you chase away a fellow like this?No, he is made in the image of God andhis dignity has to be preserved and pro-tected. “I was hungry and you gave me food.I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I wasnaked and you gave me clothes.”
In Africa’s urban centres, this man’ssituation are experiences we have grownused to. We encounter these pathetic sit-uations every day.
Here at the novitiate, the novice mas-ter urged us to have a good lunch and alighter supper. Should we sleep on thecement floor too, without a cover? Ormaybe sleep outside, across the flowerhedge, like the man you see in the photo?
Witnessing abject poverty caused BlMother Teresa of Calcutta to found theMissionaries of Charity.
St Marcellin Champagnat, founder of
my congregation, the Marist Brothers,also had time for the aged and the poor.We cannot send them away because theywill die of hunger.
Almost all consecrated people claim tohave something to do with the poor,especially with the most destitute.
The fellow you see in the photo hasno house, no children and no grandchil-dren.
We, the people of Africa, traditionallyhave a special love for the aged, whomwe call the source of wisdom. Theextended family link had been our strongpoint for many generations. But today,we tend to mind our own business.
There is a Chichewa proverb: “Kakomaponya mkawa akakhala galu uyang´ana ndi
kwake.” It means: if you have somethingedible, put it in your mouth; like dogs, itis in their nature to look at those eating.This is our selfish way of showing indif-ference.
Sometimes when poor people die, oth-ers will mourn (and some may exaggeratetheir mourning). Isn’t it often the casethat in life, when people needed necessi-ties, they weren’t helped, but when theydie, they receive clothes and perhapseven an expensive coffin which will dis-integrate in the grave?
Our fasting, which the Church calls usto, should stir us to practical charity. Weshould not be afraid to help people likethis Lazarus who sleeps so desperately inthis photo.
We have to remember always howJesus treated the people who now knockon our doors. He loved them, as he lovedus all—so much so that he died for allhumanity.
My fellow Chewa people have a sayingto the effect that you do not die for oth-ers. It’s a false statement for those whofollow Christ literally, as St Francis andall good saints that you know did.
The Polish priest Fr Maximillian Kolbedied in Auschwitz so that a fellowinmate, a family man, might live (as hedid, into his 90s).
We must “die” for others in order toalleviate their poverty. If we are not pre-pared to die for others, then all our fast-ing, prayer and almsgiving have nomeaning.
We must be ready to give
Judith Turner
On Faith and Life
Simeon Banda FSM
Point of reflection
Steven Edwards
youth and Mission
Why are young peopleleaving the Church?
I WAS pressed into my seat. We were movingabout 500km/h as the plane pointed towardsthe sky and we lifted off from Johannesburg air-
port towards the United States. This was it—the beginning of adventure. God
had called me to be a missionary in New Orleans,Louisiana, and I chose to go. I was nervous aboutgoing to another country for eight months, butthis was what I needed to do and so all I could dowas have faith that it would all work out.
There are many young Catholics in our Churchtoday who might say that our faith is boring,restrictive and unnecessary. Or they don’t reallyknow why they go to Mass.
I was there once too. My faith was empty ritualwith little joy. In spite of being brought upCatholic and going to catechism, it still felt like alot of rules and way too much sitting and standing.At one point I even left the Catholic Church for ayear to attend a Protestant church because I didn’treally feel welcome or as if there was meaning inmy going to Mass.
Something I’ve come to realise, as a growingnumber of young people have, is that our Catholicfaith definitely isn’t empty and boring. That planetrip which was taking me to go and be a mission-ary intern is only a small part of the adventure thatGod has called me into.
I was looking for a “what” before—going tochurch and looking at the “rules” and command-ments. I wasn’t looking for a “who”, a relationshipwith our God. When I came to realise that it wasGod that I was searching for, I began to actively lis-ten. It became less about what I was doing andmore about who I was being with. My Catholicfaith took on new meaning and I knew I needed togo somewhere different to serve, learn and growcloser to God.
I believe that many young Catholics find ourfaith boring and irrelevant because they haven’texperienced Christ and don’t have a deep relation-ship with him.
God has been faithful. As tough as this journeyhas been, it has been one of the most fruitful andexciting things I’ve done.
The good news which I’ve experienced in theUS is a Church where young people are experienc-ing Christ in our Catholic faith in all it’s timelesswisdom and beauty, rather than in focssing on the“rules”.
They are meeting weekly, even daily, for Mass,prayer, worship, adoration—times of communitywhere they grow in relationship with him. There isfellowship, encouragement, support and freedom.
I’ve witnessed young people who are growing inholiness and challenging others to do the same. Ifeel excited and blessed for the amazing experienceI’ve had in the States, but I’m even more excitedabout what God is doing and going to do in ouryoung Church of today in South Africa.
Yes, there are good things happening in ourown Church, but imagine if we had more nights ofprayer, adoration and worship that broughttogether young Catholics. Imagine if we had gath-erings where Catholics from around South Africacould gather together for fellowship, fun andprayer—thriving times of faith and community.
Imagine the fruit of 1 000 or so young peoplecoming back on fire after World Youth Day inMadrid at the end of August after experiencingChrist in the Universal Church.
Imagine if there were more groups of youngpeople who truly saw the value of those aroundthem and visited HIV/Aids respite wards, assistedregularly with charitable organisations such as theSociety of St Vincent de Paul, or helped buildhomes in poorer areas.
God is at work in our Catholic Church. Ourfaith is alive if we choose to dive a little deeper andfollow Christ.
What signs of life have you seen in our CatholicChurch in South Africa? Have you seen apathy orhave you seen young people looking for Truth? Isthere a ministry in your parish or area that is suc-ceeding in bringing young people to Christ? Let’sshare the hope and the fruit!
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a homeless man sleeps under the hedgesof the Marist novitiate in Matola, Mozam-bique. (photo Simeon Banda FSM)
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The 2011 confirmation group of the Brooklyn/Milnerton parish in Cape Town and arch-bishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town.
Three children fromthe alphons orphan-age, run by the sistersof St John the Baptist,were baptised andreceived their firstHoly Communion atthe church of resur-rection in Sizanani Vil-lage, Bronkhorst-spruit, archdiocese ofPretoria. The childrenare photographedwith retired archbish-op george Daniel, asister of St John theBaptist and a relativeof one of the orphans.(Submitted by robertMafinyori)
a Day of recollection for the Catholic Chinese Community was held at Don Bosco Sale-sian Centre in Booysens, Johannesburg. The retreat master was Fr Dominic Hession ofVanderbijlpark. (Submitted by Lilly Loo)
The pilgrims who attended a pilgrimage to Ngome which was organised by the Knightsof Da gama in Pietermaritzburg. The spiritual director was Fr alessandro Capoferri SCJ.(Submitted by Des Eyden)
Fr Larry Kauffmann CSSr opened theservice of a recently held a week-longretreat at the Sacred Heart cathedral inBloemfontein. The retreat was well sup-ported by parishioners, with two Massesduring the day and one every evening.(Submitted Peter yazbek)
The Portuguese community of StPatrick’s in La rochelle, Johannesburgmarked the feast of Our Lady of Fatimawith a procession through the streets of
La rochelle and a celebration Mass. Pic-tured in front of the float carrying the
statue of Our Lady are Socorro Monteiroand the team who built the float and pre-
pared the flowers in the Church. (Sub-mitted by Fr Malcolm McLaren)
Holy Spirit parish in Port Elizabeth recently held a Knit for Wintercampaign which produced blankets, jerseys, scarves and glovesfor distribution among the needy. (Submitted by rita Martin)
THERE are millions of refugeesand displaced people in theworld. Numbers are tempo-
rary and are merely estimates,ranging from 27 million world-wide to a number greater than thepopulation of Britain.
Refugees usually are faced withfew other options but to leavetheir home countries to escapewar, persecution or natural disas-ter. Often they do not receive awarm welcome from their hostcountries.
Bishop Frank Nubuasah of Fran-cistown, Botswana, said in a pas-toral letter issued by the SouthernAfrican bishops that WorldRefugee Day, which was celebratedon June 20, represented a time notonly to raise awareness of theplight of refugees and highlightthe injustices that the humancommunity has done to its mem-bers, but also a time to celebratethe positive contributions ofrefugee and migrant communities.
The Catholic Church worldwidehas made an important contribu-tion in meeting all of these aims.
The archdiocese of Johannes-burg hosted various events to markthe refugee day. Some 450 peoplegathered at St Francis of Assisichurch in Yeoville to “celebrate,welcome, accept and toleraterefugees in our communities”, saidLebo Wa Majahe, a reporter forJohannesburg’s Archdiocesan News.The special Mass and was celebrat-ed by Fr Vusi Sokhela and aimedto show solidarity with refugeesand displaced people.
“Yeoville parish is home toabout 500 refugees who doremarkable things within theparish life. The Mass was beautiful-ly celebrated, using various lan-guages, among them Lingala andPortuguese,” said Ms Wa Majahe.
Fr Sokhela encouraged peopleto acknowledge the positiveaspects and contributions thatrefugees bring into our parishesand societies. “He spoke very
strongly against racial prejudice tofellow human beings and urgedthat we show immigrants and dis-placed people love and compas-sion,” Ms Wa Majahe said.
The Scalabrini Centre in CapeTown celebrated the day withsong, dance, lectures and lunchshared by the migrant and localcommunity. Emma Carone, a vol-unteer from the United States, saidthis was not seen as a time tomourn the great loss many of thecentre’s refugees had experienced,but rather a time to celebratediversity and allow interactionbetween people without borders,judgment or fear of discrimina-tion.
“Cultural diversity has beenbrought on by migration. We arehere to celebrate the positiveaspects of migration,” said Mar-jolein Niewijk, a Dutch intern atthe refugee centre. “[Refugees]have been through such hardtimes. They’ve been forced to leavetheir homes! Today is an opportu-nity to forget their problems andhelp them to be proud of their cul-ture.” Both interns said many ofthose at the centre had directlyexperienced xenophobia or wereconscious of the threat of xeno-phobia.
Speaking at a round table dis-cussion on the Church’s answer torefugees hosted by the CatholicParliamentary Liaison Office, JesuitFather Rampe Hlobo said theChurch is working hard to accom-pany, serve, defend the rights of
and advocate for refugees and dis-placed people around the world.He said the Church has manyorganisations that cooperate withgovernments and civil society toassist refugees.
“We work with other organisa-tions to fill the gaps whererefugee’s might not have servicesavailable,” said Fr Hlobo, the assis-tant country director of the JesuitRefugee Services in South Africa.The organisation works under theauspices of the Church in morethan 50 countries.
But while the Church at largehas various organisations work-
ing around the world, the discus-sion panel felt the role of the localChurch was even greater than itseemed.
Gail Eddy of the Consortiumfor Refugees and Migrants in SouthAfrica said since the Church dealswithin communities where manyrefugees are located, more could bedone at a parish level. “One placethese people interact with SouthAfricans is in church. The Churchis important, but it could domore.”
Independent researcher VickiIgglesden said refugees invest backinto their adopted countries, andSouth Africans need to be madeaware of the positive contributionsrefugees have made. “The Churchhas the facility to create dialogueand it’s important to find com-mon ground between localsand migrants,” she said,
adding that both the Church andcivil society need to assist in thelivelihood of refugees, and not justgovernment.
Fr Hlobo agreed, saying xeno-phobic attacks could be reduced byan increase in networking. He saideducation for the local communityis crucial, but partnershipsbetween migrants and SouthAfricans could be another way for-ward.
“A shop that is run [together]by a refugee and a South Africancould be beneficial for both partiesinvolved. Foreign knowledge couldhelp and the fact that the two cul-tures are working together meansfewer xenophobic attacks are like-ly,” he said.
Bishop Nubuasah in his pastoralletter said that as refugees andother displaced people continue toexperience lack of love and sufferinjustices, the bishops implorecommunities to create an environ-ment that “imitate the Most HolyTrinity, reciprocating love andcompassion”. He added that JesusChrist himself was once a refugeeand Christian communities arecalled to “show our love to oneanother including strangers”.
Allison Coady of the Denis Hur-ley Peace Institute in Pretoria saidit is important to train religiousleaders. “Since refugees arereceived at the local level ofchurch, we need to train priestsand leaders to approach the situa-
tion appropriately.” Rebecca Pistiner, an intern at
Lawrence House, a Scalabrinihome for migrant children, saidthe most important thing is educa-tion for all. “We need educationinside and outside of the system.Children, refugees, officials, healthcare workers, the average SouthAfrican—they all need to be edu-cated on what a refugee is andwhat their rights are.”
Coming from the US, she saidxenophobia is not a uniquelySouth African problem, but a uni-versal concept. “But we can stemthe problem by educating eachother. Refugees are not people tobe feared. They need assistance,care and welcoming arms. Theycontribute to bettering our soci-ety.”
While the Church has answeredthe call to assist refugees, the localChurch can always do more, Bish-op Nubuasah suggested.
Anti-refugee sentiment remainscommon but the Church can assistin changing these people’s percep-tions.
“We, your bishops, urge you tosupport refugees. We urge you, asfollowers of Christ, to oppose theevil of xenophobia threatening todivide the community of humanbeings. Each person should dowhatever he or she can to uniteagainst this wickedness of xeno-phobia and endeavour to buildcommunities of love.”
FOCUS The Southern Cross, July 6 to July 12, 2011 9
For further info, contact:Vocations Director, St Norbert’s Priory
PO Box 48106, Kommetjie, 7976 (Cape Town)OR Tel 021 783 1768 Fax 021 783 3742
Who are the Norbertines?To misquote William Shakespeare:
“A rose by any other name smells just as sweet”
Refugees are often treated
poorly in South Africa and
around the world. CLaIrE
MaTHIESON reports on what
the Church and refugee
activists are saying about the
problem.
an Ethiopian national sits inside a makeshift shelter at a refugee camp nearPretoria. (Photo: antony Kaminju, reuters/CNS)
Refugees: Celebrate the differences
Southern Sudanese refugees seeking repatriation wait in a united Nationstruck in the northern ugandan city of Moyo.
FOCUS10 The Southern Cross, July 6 to July 12, 2011
SHE was quite the pilgrimextraordinaire—enthusiastic,observant, interested in peo-
ple and places, undeterred by dif-ficulties and, above all, focusedon her faith.
But although she kept adetailed journal of her three-yearHoly Land pilgrimage, in theyears 381-384 AD, Egeria remainsa woman of mystery.
Her chatty journal, in collo-quial Latin, gives few clues. Wasshe a nun? An abbess? A memberof the aristocracy? And where didshe come from?
Experts surmise she was adevout middle-class woman fromSpain or France, her hand-copiedBible always on hand. Her travel-ogue, addressed to a circle offemale friends (“loving ladies,light of my heart”), is possiblythe earliest surviving prose workwritten by a woman.
The elusive Egeria was a fore-runner of millions of Christianswho follow an inner urge to be apilgrim. They feel drawn to placesmade holy by the events of theIncarnation or by the presence ofsaints and martyrs.
But the origins of sacred jour-neys stretch back much further.
From Solomon’s time, 1 000years before Christ, Jews wereobliged to make three pilgrimagesa year to the temple in Jerusalem.The 12-year-old Jesus went miss-ing and was found among thetemple teachers after one suchPassover pilgrimage.
The first off icial Christiangroup pilgrimage was arguablythat of St Helena, mother of theemperor Constantine, and herretinue to the Holy Land in 326—some 55 years before Egeria.
During her two-year excursionthe tireless Helena, aged nearly80, oversaw construction of the
first major churches in the HolyLand. She also discovered theTrue Cross (and had one of itsnails fashioned into a bit for herson’s horse).
Urged on by Constantine andhis Christian successors, smock-frocked and sandalled pilgrimsflocked to the “God-troddenland”, as a Byzantine inscriptioncalled it.
Some could not contain theirfervour. Reporting on the GoodFriday veneration of the TrueCross in Jerusalem, Egeriaremarks that deacons guard theholy relic—“because, I know notwhen, someone is said to havebitten off and stolen a portion ofthe sacred wood”.
The influx did not impress StJerome, toiling at his Bible trans-lation in an office-cave under thechurch of the Nativity in Bethle-hem.
“They come here from all overthe world,” he moaned, “the cityregurgitates every type of humanbeing; and there is an awful crushof persons of both sexes who inother places you should avoid atleast in part but here you have tostomach them to the full.”
Writing to an intending pil-grim around 395, he declared:“Access to the courts of heaven isas easy from Britain as it is fromJerusalem, for ‘the kingdom ofGod is within you’.”
In a time of poor roads, primi-tive accommodation, disease
and banditry, pilgrims neededinfrastructure. Clerics mappedout routes. Hospices were estab-lished along the way. Troops wereassigned to protect the wayfarers.And safe access was granted intimes of war.
The tombs of the martyred SsPeter and Paul drew pilgrims toRome. The shrine of the apostleSt James attracted them to Santia-go de Compostela in the north ofSpain.
Inquisit ion registers fromaround 1300 at Carcassone, insouthern France, show penancesfor graver crimes included pil-grimages to the tombs of Ss Peterand Paul, the shrine of St James,the tomb of St Thomas at Canter-
bury and the relics of the ThreeKings at Cologne.
Not all pilgrims set out withpure motives.
St Mary of Egypt was an eageryoung prostitute from Alexandriawhen she joined a pilgrimage toJerusalem for undeniably com-mercial reasons. Her conversioncame when an invisible forcedenied her entry to the Church ofthe Holy Sepulchre, the hugechurch that covers the place ofJesus’ crucifixion and the tombfrom which he rose again.
An early visitor to Cana ofGalilee, the Anonymous Pilgrimof Piacenza, confessed in 570 toan act of religious graffiti. “OurLord was at the wedding,” hewrote, “and we reclined upon hisvery couch upon which I, unwor-thy that I am, wrote the names ofmy parents.”
Corruption in the form of spu-rious sites and fake rel icsinevitably arose to delude thegullible.
St John Chrysostom, a fourth-
century advocate of pilgrimages,mentions without comment thatmany people hurried “across theseas to Arabia” to venerate thedunghill of Job.
German Dominican FelixFabri , who visited Jerusalemaround 1480, records strictinstructions from the FranciscanCustodian of the Holy Land: “Letthe pilgrim beware of chippingoff fragments from the HolySepulchre and from the buildingsat other places and spoiling thehewn stones thereof, because thisis forbidden under pain ofexcommunication.”
Today’s leaders of Christian pil-grimages emphasise that a pil-
grim is not just a pious tourist. Apilgrim is on a sacred journey inwhich God is encounteredthrough places, people and situa-tions.
Like Egeria, the true pilgrimengages with local Christians andideally joins them in worship.Especially meaningful in the Holy
Land, these actions express soli-darity with the declining Christ-ian population there.
The tourist may resist beingaffected by the places he or shevisits. The pilgrim travels with theexpectation of returning homechanged, with impressionsimprinted on the soul rather thanin the memory of a digital camera.
A tourist with the mindset of“Today is Monday, it must beAssisi” may fret over transportdelays or inconvenient schedulechanges. A pilgrim will see delaysas opportunities for the ”holyidleness” of fellowship or prayer.
The pilgrim will not be discon-certed by sacred sites that bear lit-tle resemblance to religious paint-ings or devout imaginings—or bythe ornamentation that clutterssome shrines.
Western pilgrims may havetheir inhibitions tested by theostentatious Greek OrthodoxChapel of Calvary in Jerusalem’sChurch of the Holy Sepulchre.With decorative embellishmentscovering almost all of the rock ofCalvary, it’s easy to understandwhy English author EvelynWaugh reported a little girl ’scomment: “I never knew OurLord was crucified indoors.”
Today’s most popular place ofpilgrimage for Catholics is in theNew World—the shrine of theVirgin of Guadalupe, north ofMexico City. It draws 20 millionpilgrims a year—more than thecombined total for the Marianshrines at Aparecida in Brazil,Lourdes in France, Fatima in Por-tugal and Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Wherever they journey, Christ-ian pilgrims who share Egeria’sopenness for their surroundingsfind the experience enriches themind as well as the soul.
The 19th-century Frenchwriter François-René Chateau-briand observed: “There neverwas a pilgrim who did not comeback to his village with one lessprejudice and one more idea.”
n Pat McCarthy, founding editor ofNew Zealand’s national Catholicnewspaper, NZ Catholic, has devel-oped the pi lgr image websitewww.seetheholyland.net
Pilgrimages to the Holy Land
have taken place for almost
all of Christian history.
PaT McCarTHy looks at
some early pilgrims before he
surveys modern pilgrimage.
Travels of faith: A brief history of pilgrimages
Pilgrims wait to enter the holy sepulchre, which marks the reputed place ofJesus’ tomb inside the Jerusalem church that covers the places of Christ’scrucifixion and resurrection. (Photo: Schalk Visser)
DEATH
FARROW—Pamela. amember of The grail,passed away at the ParkCare Centre on June 27,2011. We give thanks forPam’s long and rich life inthe service of god and themany people whose livesshe influenced. The grailcommunity.
MEMORIAM
WILLIAMS – Emmanuel.10 long years havepassed since you left usbut you’re still a huge partof our lives and we willnever forget you. We knowthat you are not alone, youare re-united with your lifelong partner, our dearestMom Dailey (aggie) andchildren ralph, Edison,Valerie and Paschal. Dadwe miss and love you verymuch and we are glad forall the years spent withyou. you will forever live inour minds and hearts. Dadplease watch over us andguide us until we meetagain. your loving childrenaloysious, aubrey (PortElizabeth) Lionel (CapeTown) gloria and Brian(New zealand) and Lorna,Loxy, genevieve and Carl(Durban)
PERSONAL
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ANNUAL REPORTS,newsletters, books etcdesigned and edited atcompetitive rates. Phonegail at 082 415 4312 [email protected]
PRAYERSHOLY St Jude, apostleand martyr, great in virtueand rich in miracles, kins-man of Jesus Christ, faith-
ful intercessor of all whoinvoke you, special patronin time of need. To you Ihave recourse from thedepth of my heart andhumbly beg you to cometo my assistance. Help menow in my urgent needand grant my petitions. Inreturn I promise to makeyour name known andpublish this prayer. amen.SrB.
HOLY Spirit you make mesee everything and showme the way to reach myideals. you give me thedivine gift to forgive andforget. In all instances ofmy life you are with me,protecting me and openingfor me a way where thereis no way. I thank you foreverything, and confirmonce more that I neverwant to be separated fromyou, no matter how greatthe material desires. Iwant to be with you andmy loved ones in your per-petual glory. amen. Saythis prayer for 3 consecu-tive days. Publicationpromised. SrB.
HOLY Spirit you make mesee everything and showme the way to reach myideals. you give me thedivine gift to forgive andforget. In all instances ofmy life you are with me,protecting me and openingfor me a way where thereis no way. I thank you foreverything, and confirmonce more that I neverwant to be separated fromyou, no matter how greatthe material desires. Iwant to be with you andmy loved ones in your per-petual glory. amen. Saythis prayer for 3 consecu-tive days. Publicationpromised. gFr..
Please include payment (R1,15 a word) with small advertisements for promptest publication.
Word of the Week
Simony: The practice, now usually regarded as asin, of buying or selling spiritual or Church ben-efits such as pardons, relics or preferments.Application: A priest was accused of simonydue to him selling church benefits.
Family ReflectionsJuly 10: Christ the Sower. It is said that we reap what we sow and so aswe grow older we do live with the conse-quences of our earlier actions. Think about anddiscuss how important this is and, no matterhow old we are, remember the message of theparable too that we each need to be the fertilesoil for God’s word to be planted and bear thefruit of peace and joy.
Liturgical CalendarYear A
Sunday, July 10, 15th Sunday Isaiah 55:10-11, Psalm 65:10-14, Romans 8:18-23,Matthew 13:1-23 Monday, July 11, St Benedict Exodus 1:8-14, 22, Psalm 124:1-8, Matthew 10:34 -11, 1Tuesday, July 12, feriaExodus 2:1-15, Psalm 69:3, 14, 30-31, 33-34,Matthew 11:20-24Wednesday, July 13, feriaExodus 3:1-6, 9-12, Psalm 103:1-4, 6-7, Matthew11:25-27Thursday, July 14, feriaExodus 3:13-20, Psalm 105:1, 5, 8-9, 24-27, Matthew11:28-30Friday, July 15,St BonaventureExodus 11: 10-12,14, Psalm 16:5-9, 11, Matthew5:13-19Saturday, July 16, feriaExodus 12:37-42, Psalm 136:1, 23-24, 10-15,Matthew 12:14-21Sunday, July 17, 16th Sunday Wisdom 12:13, 16-19, Psalm 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16,Romans 8:26-27, Matthew 13:24-43 or 13:24-30
The Southern Cross is amember of the AuditBureau of Circulations ofSouth Africa. Printed byPaarl Post, 8 Jan vanRiebeeck Drive, Paarl.Published by the propri-etors, The CatholicNewspaper & Publishing
Co Ltd, at the company’s registered office,10 Tuin Plein, Cape Town, 8001.
BETHLEHEM:
Shrine of Our Lady of Beth-lehem at Tsheseng, Malutimountains; Thursdays 09:30,Mass, then exposition of theBlessed Sacrament. 058721 0532.
CAPE TOWN:
Good Shepherd, Bothasig.Perpetual Eucharistic adora-tion in our chapel. all hours.all welcome.
Day of Prayer held atSpringfield Convent startingat 10:00 ending 15:30 lastSaturday of every month—allwelcome. For more informa-tion contact Jane Hulley 021790 1668 or 082 783 0331.
DURBAN:
St Anthony’s, Durban Cen-tral: Tuesday 09:00 Masswith novena to St anthony.First Friday 17:30 Mass—Divine Mercy novenaprayers. Tel: 031 309 3496.
JOHANNESBURG:
Exposition of the BlessedSacrament: first Friday of themonth at 09:20 followed byHoly Mass at 10:30. HolyHour: first Saturday of eachmonth at 15:00. at Our Ladyof the angels, Little Eden,Edenvale. Tel: 011 609 7246.
PRETORIA:
First Saturday: Devotion toDivine Mercy. St Martin dePorres, Sunnyside, 16:30. TelShirley-anne 012 361 4545.
Community Calendar
To place your event, call Claire Allen at 021 465 5007 or e-mail [email protected], (publication subject to space)
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NEW FOR 201110-19 September
BLESSED ISIDORE BAKANJA CATHOLIC CHURCH PILGRIMAGE
Visiting Rome, The Vatican City and AssisiOrganised and led by Rev. Joseph Matsau
A list of current pilgrimages can be viewed by clicking on the Valley View Travel icon at www.catholic-friends.com
Fr Ruprecht Wolf
AFTER a short illness, Bene-dictine Father RuprechtWolf, secretary of the dio-
cese of Eshowe, died on June 27. Born in 1937 in Munich, he
entered the Benedictine abbey ofSt Ottilien, Oberbayern, in 1957and was ordained a priest in1963 by Bishop Aurelian BilgeriOSB of Eshowe.
In April 1965 he came to Zul-uland to begin his missionaryassignment in the diocese ofEshowe. He spent the first tenmonths at Nandi mission tolearn Zulu and to become famil-iar with the pastoral situation inthe diocese. This was followed bya three-year stint as assistantpriest at Gonzaga mission situat-ed high up in the hill country ofsouthern Zululand where, at thattime, missionaries visited the
outstations still on horse-back. After he was appointed parish
priest of Nkandla he did not onlycare for the pastoral needs of hisparishioners but also becameinvolved in the promotion ofhealthcare services. The bishopput him in charge of the Church-run clinics in the diocese.
In 1984, Bishop MansuetBiyase made him diocesan secre-tary, a post he held for threeyears until he was recalled to StOttilien and appointed mission-procurator of the archabbey.After serving the Congregation ofthe Missionary Benedictines inthis capacity for nearly eightyears, the archabbot of StOttilien granted Fr Ruprecht’swish to be released from thisoffice and return to Zululand.
In December 1995 he was
back at Eshowe, succeeding FrLeopold Meier as diocesan secre-tary. He worked there until June22, the day before he fell ill andwas taken to hospital.
A Requiem Mass, followed bythe funeral, was celebrated in theabbey church of Inkamana onJune 30.
Fr Godfrey Sieber OSB
Sr Elisabeth Elbert OP
OAKFORD Dominican Sr Liz(Elisabeth) Elbert died sud-denly on May 29 in
Johannesburg. Born in Aschaffenburg, Ger-
many, Sr Liz followed the call tothe Dominican Sisters (Oakford),impassioned by the need to livedeeply the Dominican charismand the mission of Christ, heranchor and sustenance through-out her life.
She came to South Africa in1969. Having graduated fromWits’ University and the Univer-
sity of South Africa with an hon-ours degree in psychology, Sr Lizwent on to provide spiritualdirection, creating a sacred, sup-portive space in the lives of avast range of people from diversebackgrounds and faith traditions.She spent herself generously forthose discerning the marks ofGod in their lives and in the ter-ritory of their hearts.
Sr Liz had a vast capacity forenjoying life and celebrating thewonder of creation in with herlove for animals and nature.
THE more I look back on life, themore I am convinced that man’sinhumanity to man is born of sib-
ling rivalry. For example, I have two older broth-
ers: Donald, who is 12 years my senior,and Gerard, a decade older than me.
So when I was a babe in arms, mybrothers had reached that point ofpompous pre-pubescence which dictatesthat any human being who had the mis-fortune of being younger than they werewas to be treated with disdain and analmost complete lack of interest otherthan to wonder how something so smallcould make so much noise and leak sobadly without incurring the wrath of tsparents.
Inevitably, my brothers were forced bymy mother and father to baby-sit fromtime to time, which they clearly did notenjoy one bit.
The first time they did duty, I had thegreat misfortune of soiling my nappyquite spectacularly, and neither of mysiblings was prepared to change me, inspite of having been given extensivelessons by my mother.
They were also unable to be in thesame house as a baby with such a spec-tacularly spoiled nappy, so they took meoutside to the most remote corner of ourgarden and sat me on top of the compostpit.
When my mother arrived home she
actually found it quite amusing and thestory was told with great delight at thefamily dinner table whenever visitorswere being entertained.
As far as I know, there has never beenany discussion about the possibility ofmy contracting some sort of disease orvirus from my two-hour sojourn atop amound of rotting vegetables, grass cut-tings and six-weeks-of dog doodies.
As I got older, the compost pit did notrepresent a feasible option for my broth-ers because I could, from the age of abouttwo, scramble off it and find my way intothe house, dragging a trail of grass cut-tings, rotting vegetables and at least alump or two of dog doodies on mybooties.
So they devised another dastardly planto ease their baby-sitting burden. Theygot an old potato sack and tied me up init until just my head stuck out. Then theyplaced me on a high shelf in the garagewith the warning that if I wriggled toomuch I would fall off and kill myself onthe lawnmower below.
Oh, the inhumanity of it! But my parents seemed to think it was
all quite ingenious, and once again thedinner table buzzed with talks of pre-pubescent innovation and ingenuity.
I did take heart, at first, from the factthat my father moved the mower awayfrom beneath the shelf, but my brothersinsisted it was because “Pa didn’t wantany harm to come to his new eight-blade,four-horsepower Dennis mower.”
Their swansong was when I was aboutfour years old. In their eyes, I was proba-bly less of just a leaking, noisy burdenand more of a toy from which their couldderive pleasure.
Their favourite trick, which I mustadmit to encouraging with squeals of joy,was to stand on either each side of myparents’ double-bed holding my handsand then bounce me up and down sothat my head would clonk the ceiling.
All was well until one day my brothersgot out of sync and while one waspulling me down the other was heavingme up with the result that they broke myarm.
On this occasion my parents were notamused because they had to take me tohospital instead of being able to put theirfeet up and have a post-golf drink.
They did, apparently, see the funnyside later on, because this story became afavourite dinner time topic of conversa-tion.
Fortunately, I am lucky enough tohave a sister who is five years older thanme, and soon after the arm-breaking inci-dent it was decided that she had reachedan age where babysitting duties could betaken out of our bothers’ hands and putin her care.
She was wonderful and to this day,still looks after me with dedication andlove.
Which surprises me because I hardlyreciprocated her tender loving care whenwe were teenagers. I can remember shov-ing fireworks up the outside overflowpipe to the toilet when she was in mid-ablution, creating a mighty bang andwide distribution of the entire contentsof the U-bend and cistern.
I also remember using one of her dollsin one of my earliest back-garden rugbygames, sitting the tiny little thing on itsbehind and then kicking its head oversome makeshift goals.
Indeed, man’s inhumanity to manmust be born of sibling rivalry—at least itwas in my house.
CHURCH CHUCKLE
The old parish priest was retiring, and when hisyoung replacement arrived, he warned him about
the rat problem in the church building which hehad tried for years to get rid of, without success.
A year later, the elderly priest visited his oldparish and asked the new priest how the rat problemwas going. “Oh,” said the younger priest, “I fixedthat long ago.” The older priest was surprised andasked him by what extreme measures he could havesolved such a big problem.
The new priest said: “I simply confirmed themand they never came back.”
Send us your favourite Catholic joke, preferably clean and brief, to The Southern Cross, Church Chuckle, PO Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000.
OUR human existence is an extraordi-nary mixture of frailty and good will.Now we tend to assume that God sees
only our failures, and must be “out to get us”because the good will does not always pre-dominate. The readings for next Sunday pre-sent quite a different picture.
In the first reading, from the book of Wis-dom, our unknown author tells his Greek-speaking Jewish audience that they can haveconfidence in the judgment of God, not leastbecause (now he is addressing God) “the factthat You are master of all, means that Youcan show forbearance”.
And if God is like that, then we must bethe same: “By actions like this you teach yourpeople that the virtuous person has to bekind; you have given your children groundsfor hoping that you allow repentance forsins.”
As always, the psalmist celebrates thegoodness of God: “For you, Lord, are goodand forgiving, rich in mercy to all who callupon you;” and this goodness will be widelyknown, for “all the nations that you havemade shall come and pay homage in yourpresence, Lord, and give honour to yourname”.
This gentleness of God is not a sign ofweakness, however, “for you are great, andperform marvels”, but nevertheless “you are amerciful and gracious God, slow to anger,
and rich in mercy”. Then comes the poet’sconfident petition: “Turn to me and havemercy”.
Paul’s confidence likewise depends entire-ly on his experience of the God who revealedhimself in Jesus, and on that intangible butreal force to whom the early Christians gavethe name of the “Holy Spirit”.
So in the second reading we hear himboldly proclaim that “in just the same way,the Spirit gives assistance to our weakness; forwe have no idea how or what to pray.Instead, the Spirit intercedes, with groaningsthat cannot be spoken”. In other words, it isnot down to us to find the right words; butGod, if we may put it in this way, listens toGod (“the Searcher of Hearts knows what theSpirit is thinking, for he intercedes with Godfor the saints”).
We are at the very edge here of what wecan understand, but Paul is saying somethingof immense importance about how Godreacts to us and to our limitations; in the end(and this is a very shocking thing to say),
those limitations do not matter. The gospel for next Sunday likewise
addresses the gap between the way we thinkthat things ought to be and the way theyactually are; it does this by way of three para-bles, an account of why Jesus talks in para-bles, and then an explanation of the firstparable.
That parable is the story of the “weeds inthe wheat”. The good farmer has sowed goodseed, but an enemy has sabotaged his effortsby planting weeds; when the disaster appears,the farmer’s servants are thrown into a panic,but the farmer is quite calm about it.
Now Jesus, or Matthew, makes it quiteclear that this character represents God: “TheKingdom of Heaven is like a person whosowed good seed.” He then diagnoses theproblem (“an enemy has done this”); andwhen the servants opt for panic measures(“shall we collect them now?”), he gentlypostpones any such radical move, “otherwiseyou might uproot the wheat as well as theweeds”, until the harvest time.
After this we are given the other two para-bles: the first is the famous story of the mus-tard seed: “The tiniest of seeds, but when itgrows, it is bigger than [all] the vegetables,and becomes a tree, so that the birds of heav-en come and find shelter in its branches.”God’s kingdom is not measured by size.
In the next parable, God is compared, dar-
ingly, to a housewife, putting leaven intodough; the point here seems to be that God’simmense power operates secretly but power-fully; and that should give us confidence infacing the fact that our world shows thisstrange mixture of goodness and darkness.
Next, in a typical expression of Matthew’s,Jesus explains why he talks in parables, “toutter things hidden from the creation of theworld”— God comes closer to our darkenedexistence.
But the disciples have not fully grasped it,and demand an explanation of the first para-ble; Jesus gives it to them in terms of the end-time battle between the Son of Man, workingin the world, which is his “field”, and thedevil, the “enemy”.
The “harvest” is understood as the “end ofthe age”, when the “weeds” (translated as “allthe scandals and all the workers of iniquity”)are thrown “into the furnace of fire, wherethere is going to be weeping and gnashing ofteeth” (so it is a furnace with a difference).
Meanwhile we have grounds for confi-dence, since “the just” (and we cannot makeourselves “just”; that is God’s gift) “will shineout like the sun in the Kingdom of theirFather”. The passage concludes: “Let thosewho have ears— listen!”.
That is to be our task, this week, especiallyif we are worried about the way we are or theway the world is.
Do you have ears? Then listen well
Oh, the inhumanity of brothersChris Moerdyk
The Last Word
Nicholas King SJ
Sunday reflections
Southern Crossword #452
DOWN1. Force upon you (6)2. Kind of welcome given toArctic missionary? (4,9)3. Minister at the Mass (5)5. The behaviour of the silver-smiths (Acts 19) (7)6. Where the stains on the altarcloth originate (4,6,3)7. Instruments for wool gather-ing (6)8. One of the silver ones in 5(5)13. The reason why (7)15. Their own place for thenuns to pray (6)16. Venue of famous ChurchCouncil is a nice one (5)17. Brought up or stood up (6)20. Hid to produce Hindu loincloth (5)
ACROSS1. In the event of being in thebag (2,4)4. Hand-made things for theboats? (6)9. One heading for the See ofPeter (7,2,4)10. Slinky Garden pest (7)11. Take place (5)12. Copes possibly with range(5)14. Employing in a bus inGalilee (5)18. One who exercises a theo-logical virtue (5)19. Yield to desire for idle gun(7)21. After battle he may belocked up (8,2,3)22. Hang around ingler (6)23. Experiencing bad luck (6)
