The Southern Cross - 100317

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Parish of the Month from Cape Town

Pretoria parish choir releases CD

Romero’s influence 30 years on

Abortion: More than slogans

www.scross.co.za

March 17 to March 23, 2010 Reg No. 1920/002058/06

No 4667

R5,00 (incl VAT RSA)

SOUTHERN AFRICA’S NATIONAL CATHOLIC WEEKLY SINCE 1920

Inside Composers sought for Mass A liturgical music coordinator in the archdiocese of Durban is inviting parishioners to submit their own compositions for the newly translated Mass.—Page 2

Don’t blame religion Cultural, economic and tribal differences, not religion, are feeding the bloody conflict between Nigerian Muslims and Christians that has left hundreds of people dead, an archbishop has said.—Page 5

A screenshot of the bishops’ Church on the Ball website which offers news and information for Catholic football fans.

Satan in the Vatican?

Bishops’ World Cup pitch

A Spanish exorcist has defended the Vatican against claims of the existence of satanic sects even among cardinals made in a book by an Italian exorcist.—Page 4

Roots of baptism wording

STAFF REPORTER

In his fortnightly Open Door column, Michael Shackleton answers a reader’s question about the use of the Trinity in the formula of baptism.—Page 9

Our Lenten burial In a Lenten reflection, Catherine de Valence urges us to reconcile with others before it is too late.—Page 9

T HELPING OTHERS: Little Flower School in Eshowe handed over several cheques for the Haiti disaster fund and the Society of Missionary Children. Pictured are Grade 6 learner Rylan Souls, Bishop Xolelo Kumalo of Eshowe, school principal Leo van der Sandt and Grade 2 learner Logasen Padaryachi.

PHOTO FROM S VAN DER SANDT

What do you think?

In their Letters to the Editor this week, readers discuss the abuse scandal, dress in church, the Turin Shroud, the Zuma affair, and an active parish.—Page 8

This week’s editorial: Seeking role-models

Pope off to Spain in November

BY SARAH DELANEY

P

OPE Benedict will make a two-day trip to Spain in November, visiting the pilgrimage city of Santiago de Compostela and Barcelona, the Vatican has announced.

The trip, scheduled for November 6-7, will be the pope’s fifth foreign trip this year. He is also scheduled to go to Malta in April, Portugal in May, Cyprus in June and Britain in September.

On the first day of the trip, the pope will visit Santiago de Compostela, the northern Spanish city that became an important pilgrim destination in the Middle Ages. Tradition holds that the remains of the Apostle James the Greater are buried there.

The pope’s trip coincides with Santiago de Compostela Holy Year, which occurs every time St James’ feast day, July 25, falls on a Sunday Travelling south, Pope Benedict will preside on November 7 over the consecration of Barcelona’s famous church, La Sagrada Familia, the unfinished masterpiece by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi.

The Barcelona church, officially called the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia (Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family), was begun in 1882 but was not completed by Gaudi. It has never been formally consecrated.

The architect was a Catholic who renounced secular art in his later years and dedicated most of his life to building the church. When questioned about the lengthy construction period, he would answer: “My client is not in a hurry.”—CNS

Priest drugged and hijacked

BY FR EFREM TRESOLDI

A

PRETORIA priest is recovering from his hijack ordeal after offering a lift to three women who allegedly drugged and then robbed him.

Comboni Missionary Father Vincent Mkhabela was returning to his community in Wapadrand, east of Pretoria, from Glen Cowie, Limpopo. Just before arriving at around 19:30, he stopped for petrol at a petrol garage on Simon Vermoten Road where three women approached him and pleaded with him to take them home in Pretoria as there were no taxis running at that time. They were in their forties, Tswana speaking, well dressed and spoke English fluently.

Fr Mkhabela agreed to give them a lift.

On the way to town while conversing amicably he accepted a sweet which the priest said tasted like peanut butter. He then drove the three women to Andries Street in central Pretoria where the women claimed they were living.

After Fr Mkhabela stopped the car, the three women did not seem to be in a hurry to get off. It was around 20:30 and the priest asked the women to please leave the car. This is the last thing he says he remembers before waking up the next day at around 17:00 in an open field near Hammanskraal.

Fr Mkhabela said he had slept the whole night and a good part of the day in the open without realising what had happened to him. He was still feeling very drowsy and confused, but managed to walk to the first house near Themba. The

Fr Vincent Mkhabela, who was drugged and robbed by three women he gave a lift to. residents treated him kindly, he said, and called the police. The priest was taken to Jubilee Hospital in Hammanskraal where he was treated for two days.

Fr Mkhabela’s car was stolen with his laptop, Mass kit, wallet, ID card and driver’s license, cellphone, watch and spectacles. The robbers took everything he had, he said.

Nonetheless, he said he is thankful to God that his life was not taken and that he survived the ordeal without being harmed, though he felt traumatised by the experience.

HE bishops of Southern Africa have launched the full Church On The Ball website.

The site (www.churchontheball.com) is intended as “a central reference site for information on what the Catholic Church is doing in Southern Africa and to offer information on the churches and communities near the stadiums,” said Fr Chris Townsend, information officer of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

The site showcases all World Cup stadiums with details of local churches—mostly cathedral parishes—which are gearing up to welcome visiting football fans.

It also features news, contact details and “fun stuff”, including a photoshopped picture in which the heads of local bishops are superimposed of those of the French team (South Africa’s opponents in Group A).

The site will soon also include a “virtual chapel where fans can leave prayer intentions for their teams”, Fr Townsend said.

Virtual candles will be lit for a donation of R10 which will go directly to charity projects within the South African Church.

“This is a fun way for fans to contribute to the life of the Catholic Church in our country,” Fr Townsend said.

In an introduction on the website, Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban, known to be a big sports fan, wrote: “Sport requires patience, perseverance, respect…all values which our societies, and particularly Africa, much need! All values that the Church does not cease to advocate: Charity, dialogue with other religions and cultures, love of neighbour.”

Fr Townsend encouraged South African Catholics to make the Church On The Ball website widely known, especially to Catholic football fans visiting South Africa in June and July.

“We want to make them proud of being Catholics when they see what we’re doing here,” he said.

Sudanese Christians must ‘vote wisely’

S

UDANESE Cardinal Gabriel Zubeir Wako of Khartoum has urged Christians to “vote wisely” during the April general elections to bring about a “robust change” in the Sudan.

At an ecumenical prayer service in Khartoum, he also called on politicians and their supporters to avoid violence during and after the elections.

He cited the experiences of Zimbabwe and Kenya as prototypes of post-elections violence caused by what he dubbed “distortions” from politicians.—CISA

2

The Southern Cross, March 17 to March 23, 2010

LOCAL

Call for compositions for Mass translation Izwi Lethamba choir from Pretoria released their second album.

Sales from the album will go toward raising funds for a church building project.

Singing the gospel

BY MICHAIL RASSOOL

A

30-STRONG choir of a new parish in Pretoria has just released the second CD of their original compositions as a fundraising activity to go towards building projects at the parish.

Comboni Father Andrew Bwalya who, with confrère Fr James Calvera, runs the new St Daniel Comboni parish in the Mahube Valley, Mamelodi East, said the choir, Izwi Lethamba (The Voice of Hope), which consists of adults and children, has been prolific musically.

In November 2008, the choir took a three-week fundraising trip to Barcelona, Spain. There they held recitals at various parishes and concert halls, making new friends, some of whom are exchanging visits to the

parish.

Fr Bwalya said the 18-track CD, produced shortly after the choir returned from Barcelona, was a mixture of traditional and gospel music and tracks are in English, Zulu, Sotho and Shangaan.

Fr Bwalya said it would be launched at other Pretoria parishes and had just been launched in Lynnwood.

He said St Daniel Comboni parish serves mainly informal settlements, and so far has just one makeshift building. He said a multi-purpose hall serves as church and is also used for catechetical classes and a meeting place for parishioners. He added that more than 300 people at a time attend Mass in the parish.

Despite its current makeshift situation, he said, the parish has

been “a boiling pot of pastoral activities and parishioners are zealously and eagerly creating a lively parish community”, which is expanding.

He said the first project will be to build catechetical classes, which is an immediate need because of the number of children and adults who receive instruction.

He said 2 000 copies of the new CD have been produced by Izwi Lethamba, which are being sold at R70 each, which he hopes will raise R140 000 for the church building project. It is available at Catholic bookshops in Pretoria and Johannesburg.  For more information on the CD, Fr Bwalya can be contacted on 072 367 2326. Other numbers are 012 807 4709 and 072 034 7768.

BY MICHAIL RASSOOL

A

MUSICAL coordinator of the archdiocese of Durban's Liturgy Commission is inviting talented people within the archdiocese with musical talent to present their compositions for various or all aspects of the newly translated Mass.

The idea is to transcribe and collect them into a volume.

Ashley Roberts, who is also musical director and organist of Emmanuel cathedral, said the idea is partly for everyone within the archdiocese to share and appreciate the musical resources and to appreciate the talent.

He said taking ownership of the new Mass translation has given rise to several musical and choral initiatives in several parishes. A young man from Our Lady of the Assumption parish in Umbilo was putting the finishing touches to the whole Mass set to music.

Mr Roberts said the band of Blessed Sacrament parish in Virginia had composed some contemporary elements for the Mass.

“On a spiritual level everyone in the archdiocese should be allowed to see what the Holy Spirit is accomplishing in his people, instead of working in isolation,” he said.

He sees the new Mass translation as a source of renewal, an opportunity for people to take a second look at what they have been doing all along. There are changes of language emphasis, which presents a new challenge for musical interpretation, Mr Roberts said.

Ashley Roberts He said the “Gloria” has been altered to be closer to the original Latin, as well as the minor changes to the “Creed” and these are being reflected musically.

Mr Roberts, who teaches piano at the Durban Music School and who is also self-taught as an organist, spoke of musical initiatives at the cathedral emphasising multiculturalism. At the cathedral Mass is celebrated in several languages— English, Zulu, Shona, Swahili, French and Latin.

Once a month during the main Sunday Mass, the full spectrum of languages is showcased, which is also reflected musically by a 40strong choir complete with Zimbabwean drums, he said. But for the most part, he added, the Sunday Mass features only a smattering of the multi-lingual.

Mr Roberts said people can make recordings of their compositions and either email or post them to him. He will transcribe them, retaining their integrity, and return them in book form.  They can send them either to akmroberts@gmail.com or Emmanuel cathedral, 1 Cathedral Place, Durban 4001.

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The Southern Cross, March 17 to March 23, 2010

3

Catholic backing for campaign to stop gender violence

BY MICHAIL RASSOOL

A Participants at the previous Family Life Desk workshop, which took place at Kanamo Centre, Botswana, earlier this month.

Workshop highlights family life

BY MICHAIL RASSOOL

T

HE bishops’ Family Life Desk is organising a workshop during April 23—27 as part of a process of developing a Parish Family Ministry project.

The idea, said the desk’s coordinator Toni Rowland, is to create greater awareness that a parish is a community of families, not just individuals or groups.

The aim is also to promote family spirituality, including family prayer, and to identify and address specific needs that go into setting up a parish family facility.

She said the workshop has a comprehensive programme, although people who have done it before have complained that the time was too short.

Mrs Rowland explained that everyone belongs to a family, and families of all types and ages are found in parishes. Even forms that are not formally recognised by the Church as family exist, she said.

They are very diverse in size, composition, religious, cultural and economic backgrounds.

She said the Parish Family Ministry project prepares a profile of the particular parish, and depending on the types of family situations, considers what the families need, not just to cope with the problems but also to provide enrichment and a deeper spirituality of family life.

 J.M.J

Mrs Rowland said all aspects of marriage, parenting, step-families, older members, extended families, sexuality and HIV/Aids are part of an overall and long-term project.

Family life can be celebrated in the parish on many occasions such as Father’s Day on the third Sunday of June or Grandparents’ Day on July 26, she said.

Mrs Rowland said for use in the workshop participants buy a Parish Family Ministry Handbook and Training Manual.

For further study there is background reading and worksheets to use in the parishes on an ongoing basis, she added.

She said the Family Life 2010 calendar “Families play the Game” is also a resource as is the Marriage and Family Living magazine, both providing material for use “at home”.

Mrs Rowland said the Parish Family Ministry does not replace any other family movements and programmes, but should be part of an overall parish family education and enrichment project, in collaboration with the priest, parish pastoral council and other parish groups.  The workshop takes place at Koinonia in Judith’s Paarl, Johannesburg. For more information, Mrs Rowland can be contacted on trowl a n d @ s a c b c . o r g . z a , homefun@icon.co.za or 082 552 1275 or 011 789 5449.

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JUSTICE and Peace activist has endorsed the forthcoming launch of a youth-based global campaign to stop Violence Against Women (VAW) and girls.

The campaign is scheduled to take place in South Africa during the 2010 Fifa World Cup, taking place between June 11 to July 11.

Billy Maseti, Justice and Peace commissioner in the archdiocese of Cape Town, believes that with the campaign being driven by young people, it signifies hope that the world will change for the better, that a better world is possible, and that young people can be critical agents of change. “It represents hope in the midst of despair,” he said.

The campaign, organised by an international group called Man Up, will be launched at a summit in an as yet undisclosed city, and will bring together 200 young men and women from 50 countries across the globe.

Through the campaign, Man Up aims to support organisations tackling violence against women, building a network of young advocates and defenders and linking the efforts of communitybased and mainstream organisations, and the corporate, entertainment and sports communities.

Man Up, which mobilises young leaders in a movement to stop violence against women and girls, is the brainchild of renowned author and activist, Jimmie Briggs, and Karen Robinson, former education director at Amnesty International USA. Man Up was officially launched in September 2009 at the Clinton Global Initiative in

Billy Maseti New York, along with partner organisation, Vital Voices, a leader in the effort to build women's leadership and to promote peace and prosperity around the world.

“Harnessing the universal power of music and sport, Man Up provides innovative training, resources and support to young men and women and organisations that collaborate with them,” said a Man Up statement.

Mr Maseti believes that the reason many long-term campaigns are successful is that they draw attention to the courage and passion of ordinary people acting collectively against a power stronger than them.

He cited the long-standing campaign against arbitrary arrests in Argentina when the country

was still ruled by a military regime.

At the time hundreds of women, especially mothers and wives of detainees who disappeared, armed with nothing other than little spoons and pens, would come out onto the central square before the presidential palace in the capital, Buenos Aires, and rap their objects on the ground.

Mr Maseti believes VAW has the makings of such a campaign.

Especially significant, he said, is that young people care for women and society, which he said has become “ugly”, with men assaulting their wives in front of their children.

He said studies show that when boys become men they repeat observed patterns of violence as the action is internalised somewhere deep in their impressionable psyche.

Mr Maseti said he admires the campaign because globally it is acknowledged that the violence endemic in society often begins at home and must be dealt with constructively and thus “speaks from the heart”.

“How many times have women not been able to speak out because they have up to five children to look after, and the arrest of an abusive spouse means the end of support?” he asked. “These are real questions, which speak directly to women's education and roles and are significant because of the crucial nurturing role they play in family life and society generally.

“There is a saying: when you educate a man, you educate an individual. When you educate a woman, you educate and liberate a nation.”

4

The Southern Cross, March 17 to March 23, 2010

INTERNATIONAL

Africa’s bishops seek a plan for Prelate condemns polygamy meeting continent’s challenges T

BY BRONWEN DACHS

T

HE Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (Secam) has asked Catholic universities in Africa to come up with ways that the Church can meet the continent’s “formidable challenges”.

“In Africa, most Catholic churches are involved in issues of social and economic justice, but we don’t have the requisite knowledge and expertise to make the necessary impact,” Archbishop Gabriel C Palmer-Buckle of Accra, Ghana, a member of Secam’s standing committee, said following the five-day meeting.

The meeting of Secam’s standing committee was chaired by the symposium’s president, Tanzanian Cardinal Polycarp Pengo. It prepared for the Secam’s plenary session, which will convene in Accra from July 26 to August 2 with the theme, “SECAM at 40: SelfReliance and the Way Forward for the Church in Africa”.

Secam was founded in 1969 in Kampala, Uganda.

The committee “recommended that Catholic universities in African countries study the documents” produced at the Synod of Bishops for Africa in October

which focused on reconciliation, justice and peace. The committee asked the universities to “come up with a plan to help us fashion a vision and a way out of the problems we have in Africa”, Archbishop Palmer-Buckle said.

War, corruption and poverty have led to large numbers of displaced persons and refugees on the continent as well as to a “brain drain”, he said, because educated Africans take their skills to the developed world.

The symposium’s Good Governance Project, established three years ago, “has urged our heads of state to forestall these problems”, he said.

Benedict Assorow, Secam’s director of communications, said that in addition to the universities, “the laity will be asked to examine the synod’s documents and to research ways to engage the Church on the continent in the activities of Secam”.

Archbishop Palmer-Buckle said the Synod of Bishops for Africa energised Secam to move forward in addressing the long-standing concerns. The July plenary will allow Africa’s bishops to discuss “how to reposition Secam as a greater stakeholder on the conti-

nent”, he said.

“We will look at what the Church in Africa is aspiring to do.

There is a lot to be done.”

African Catholic schools and universities “need to establish faculties of social justice and strengthen those that exist so that they can inform minds and form consciences”, the archbishop explained, noting that “often, when people are in power, they forget that power is about the capacity to serve”.

If politicians “have been educated in social justice at an early stage, they won’t need as much mentoring when they are in power,” said Archbishop PalmerBuckle, who heads the Justice and Peace Department of Ghanaian bishops’ conference.

Secam’s standing committee has asked the symposium’s nine regions to prepare reports on their work and the challenges they face for the plenary, the archbishop said.

More than 150 bishops from African countries, as well as delegates from Europe, the United States, Asia and major church funding agencies are expected to attend the July plenary session.— CNS

HE president of the Uganda Bishops’ Conference has called the lure of indigenous beliefs one of the “major challenges” facing the Church in that nation.

“Not all the faithful have completely assimilated the Gospel. This is because the traditional cultures are still very strong. Some of these are incompatible with the Gospel, such as polygamy and certain ancestral religious beliefs,” Archbishop Matthias Ssekamanya of Lugazi said during the Ugandan bishops’ ad limina visit to Rome “Other challenges include the sects, which have significant financial resources and have a strong appeal to young people and people living in modest

conditions,” he added, according to Catholic World News.

“We do not know where all this money comes from, but we know that these sects have large quantities available to them. We also know that most of the sects present in Uganda come from North America and Europe.”

Archbishop Ssekamanya also discussed the devastation wrought by the Lord’s Resistance Army.

“The biggest problem is the fact that we have millions of people who have been living 20 years in refugee camps. We need assistance to rebuild homes and to allow people to resume farming.”

Uganda has a population of 28,3 million of which 44% are Catholic.—CISA

Taliban terrorise Pakistan’s minorities

BY JOEUN LEE

C

HURCH leaders in Pakistan have criticised the country‘s government for showing a “lethargic attitude” towards attacks on religious minorities.

The government has, in effect, given free reign to the Taliban, thus encouraging “the imposition of jazia—a tax for being non-Muslim—by militant organisations”, as well as “kidnapping for ransom, target killing and internal displacement”, said a statement from the Pakistan Catholic Justice and Peace Commission.

The statement was signed by Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha of Lahore, president of the Pakistani bishops’ conference, and forwarded to the Vatican missionary agency Fides.

The statement said recent violent incidents against Sikhs, Hindus and Christians pose a “grave threat to the life, liberty and property of the members of religious minorities in the country”.

The Sikh community has suffered from militant violence in the North-West Frontier Province; dozens of Hindus have lost their lives and property to kidnappers in Sindh and Balochistan provinces; and

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Christians have been harassed in the Swat Valley of the NorthWest Frontier Province and other areas, it said.

“The federal and provincial governments should treat these incidents as an alarm bell and must take stringent measures to control the situation.”

The government should make it a priority to protect religious minorities, especially because they are among the groups most vulnerable to social and organised crimes, the statement said.

The commission also recommended the repeal of all discriminatory laws to promote tolerance and social harmony.—CNS

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A replica of the World Youth Day cross and Marian icon is carried by boat outside Valletta, Malta. The cross and icon are being carried by young people to parishes throughout Malta in advance of Pope Benedict’s April 17-18 visit.

PHOTO: ARCHDIOCESE OF MALTA

Satanists in the Vatican?

A

SPANISH exorcist has defended the Vatican against claims of the existence of satanic sects following last month’s publication of the book, Father Amorth: Memoirs of an Exorcist.

The book was written by Marco Tosatti, who compiled it from interviews with the priest.

In it, Italian exorcist Fr Gabriele Amorth reveals knowledge of the existence of satanic sects in the Vatican, with participation reaching all the way to the College of Cardinals.

According to the Catholic News Agency, Fr Amorth claimed: “Yes, also in the Vatican there are members of satanic sects.”

Asked if members of the clergy are involved, he responded: “There are priests, monsignors and also cardinals!”

When Fr Amorth was asked by Mr Tosatti how he knows that Vatican clergy are involved, he replied: “I know from those who have been able to relate it to me because they had a way of knowing directly. And it’s something ‘confessed’ most times by the very demon under obedience during the exorcisms.”

Fr Amorth claimed Pope Bene-

dict was aware of satanic sects in the Vatican. “He does what he can. It’s a horrifying thing.”

He explained that Pope Benedict, being German, comes from a place “decidedly averse to these things”, saying that in Germany “there practically aren't any exorcists”. However, he clarified, “the pope believes [in them]”.

Spanish theologian Fr José Antonio Fortea Cucurull defended the Vatican's clergy as an “edifying and virtuous” collection of prelates.

Fr Cucurull, who specialises in demonology, said that “our College of Cardinals, if we compare it with past centuries, is the most edifying and virtuous that history has ever known. One would have to go back to the epoch of the Roman Empire to find a body of electors so distanced from all earthly pretension as the current one is”.

He called on Fr Amorth to substantiate his claims, saying: “Statements must be proven, especially when they are about such grave accusations that affect the honorability of those who form part of the Head of the Church as far as they help the supreme pastor.”—CISA

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INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, March 17 to March 23, 2010

5

German abuses to be probed

BY SARAH DELANEY

T

HE Vatican fully supports the efforts of German bishops to investigate claims of child sexual abuse in Catholic institutions, even if the cases are decades old, the official Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano has reported.

“The Church is working rigorously to shed light on what happened in religious institutions,” the newspaper said in a front-page article headlined “Full disclosure regarding abuse in Germany”.

The article followed a letter posted on the website of the diocese of Regensburg in Bavaria, acknowledging past cases of sexual abuse of

Villagers look at bodies of victims of attacks lying in a mass grave in the Dogo Nahawa village, near Jos in central Nigeria. Cultural, economic and tribal differences are feeding the bloody conflict between Muslims and Christians that has left hundreds of people dead, according to Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja.

PHOTO: AKINTUNDE AKINLEYE, REUTERS/CNS

Nigeria bloodbath: Don’t blame religion

BY SARAH DELANEY

who don’t have anything to do with all this and are not responsible,” Archbishop Onaiyekan said.

He said armed Fulani herders had attacked the Berom villages of Ratt and Dogo Nahawa.

News reports said many victims were women and children and that people appeared to have been attacked with machetes.

Most of the houses were burned down, some with victims inside.

“The Church continues to work towards good relations between Christians and Muslims,” the archbishop said, “and we try to join together to quell the violence and solve concrete political and ethnic problems.”

The Nigerian government is weak and not able to contain the groups who are vying for dominance of the territory, Archbishop Onaiyekan said. Weapons are easy to obtain and the presence of mercenaries “ready to fight for a few dollars” makes the situation volatile.

“We pray for peace, for good government and that the people understand that the only way to survive is to recognise as brothers all the citizens of this country,” he said.—CNS

C

ULTURAL, economic and tribal differences are feeding the bloody conflict between Nigerian farmers and herders that has left hundreds of people dead, an archbishop from the African country said.

The violence is not inspired by religious differences, even though the ethnic Berom farmers are Christian and the ethnic Fulani herders are Muslim, Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja told Vatican Radio in a telephone interview.

“International media will say that Christians and Muslims are killing each other,” he said. “But this is not the case, because people don’t kill for religion, but for social, economic, tribal and cultural reasons.”

Government and human rights organisations have estimated that as many as 500 people were killed this month in ethnic strife in the state of Plateau, near the city of Jos. The area divides the mainly Muslim northern Nigeria from the mostly Christian south and was the scene of similar attacks in January.

“The victims are poor people

Church anger over libel ruling

BY JONATHAN LUXMOORE

P

OLISH Church leaders have reacted angrily to an Appeal Court ruling upholding an earlier judgment that their country’s top-selling Catholic newspaper libeled a single mother who sought an abortion by comparing her to Nazi war criminals.

“No established law can undermine God’s commandments and the order of Christ; abortion is the first cause of death in Europe,” Archbishop Damian Zimon of Katowice said.

“The atmosphere surrounding this case…also shows the activeness of abortionist circles, who are seeking at any cost to impose new legal arrangements in Poland.”

The archbishop issued the statement after a ruling by the Appeal Court in the southern city that the archdiocese’s Gosc

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young students attending the Domspatzen, the school that trains the elite boys’ choir of the Regensburg cathedral.

Initial news reports said the abuse may have occurred while Mgr Georg Ratzinger, brother of Pope Benedict, was serving as choirmaster at the school. But the Regensburg diocese said the cases occurred in the late 1950s. Mgr Ratzinger held the post from 1964 to 1994.

Mgr Ratzinger told the Italian daily La Repubblica that no cases of priestly paedophilia had come to his attention during his tenure there, but that he would be willing to testify should he be summoned

by German judicial authorities.

Niedzielny weekly must apologise and pay R75 000 in damages to Alicja Tysiac after a two-year, high-profile libel suit.

The country’s Catholic Journalists Association condemned the ruling as an attempt to “gag the Catholic media”, and urged journalists to go on “writing the truth about abortion, abortionists and supporters of this…holocaust”.

In a September 2009 judgment, Katowice’s district court said Gosc Niedzielny, which has a circulation of 127 000, wrongly compared Ms Tysiac to Nazi war criminals in its articles and misinformed readers by stating she “received a prize for wanting to kill her child and not being allowed to”.

Fr Marek Ganczarek, the newspaper’s editor, said he was considering a further appeal to Poland’s Supreme Court.—CNS

In an online letter addressed to students and parents, Regensburg Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller spoke of two former priests at the school who had been involved in incidents of paedophilia in the 1950s and subsequently jailed. The letter asked anyone with information regarding similar episodes to come forward and said it was seeking specifically a former student who had told German news media that he had been abused at the school.

In a news conference, Bishop Müller said any claims of sexual abuse would be treated with “the maximum transparency”.

As has happened in the United States, Ireland, Australia and other countries, dozens of Germans have made claims recently that they suffered sexual abuse as children while attending Catholic schools. And as in those situations, the Church leadership has been accused of protecting priests rather than children.

Cardinal Walter Kasper, a senior German prelate and the Vatican’s chief ecumenical official, said in an interview in La Repubblica that priestly sexual abuse must be punished and the Church must take responsibility.

“Enough! We need serious housecleaning in our Church,” he said, adding that “the pope is certainly not standing idly by”, He called the sexual abuse of minors on the part of clergy “a criminal, shameful act and an inexcusable mortal sin”.

Cardinal Kasper said “the Holy Father is right in seeking clarity and demanding zero tolerance toward whoever is stained by such grave sins”.—CNS

6

COMMUNITY

The Southern Cross, March 17 to March 23, 2010

IN FOCUS Edited by Nadine Christians Send photographs, with sender’s name and address on the back, and a SASE to: The Southern Cross, Community Pics, Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000 or email them to: pics@scross.co.za

REUNION: Fr Billy Barnes, Bishop Barry Wood, auxillary in Durban, and Fr Michael Austin SJ, all Old Aidanites, at the St Aidan’s College chapel, at the Old Aidanites reunion in February.

PHOTO: FR ROGER HICKLEY

LUCKY NUMBER EIGHT: Deacon Peter Venter, holding an anniversary card, celebrated his eigth year as a deacon of Our Lady of Fatima parish in Durban North. The card was made by the children of the parish. Standing next to Deacon Venter is Fr Desmond Nair.

SUBMITTED BY ANNA ACCOLLA

SPECIAL DAY: The St Vincent de Paul Society arranged a special Mass and party for the aged and infirm at St Boniface Church in Kimberley.

SUMBITTED BY ANGELA SUTTON OP

ACTING UP: Three shepherds from a play that took place at St Boniface parish in Kimberley.

SUMBITTED BY ANGELA SUTTON OP

AN EDUCATION: Over 40 catechists from four parishes attended a catechism training weekend at Assumption parish in Kimberley.

SUMBITTED BY ANGELA SUTTON OP

Little Little Company Company of of Mary Mary Sisters Sisters

REMEMBERING: Retired Bishop High Slattery of Tzaneen blesses the grave of the Servant of God TS Benedict Daswa on the 20th anniversary of the death of the man who may one day become the first South African-born saint. Coinciding with the World Day of Religious and Consecrated Life, Bishop Slattery invited religious and priests of the diocese to gather in the church of Nweli, one of the out-stations of the Parish of Sibasa/Thohoyandou. This is the little church which Benedict Daswa helped to build and where he worshipped. Lay people and parishioners joined in the celebration of the Eucharist. After Mass, a new DVD on Benedict by filmmaker Norman Servais was shown to the assembly.

From Nweli, the gathering went to Benedict’s grave in the cemetery of Mbahe. His mother and one of his younger brothers were there for the prayers and blessing of the tomb.

After this, a visit was made to the road where Benedict’s car was stopped and he was stoned. Nearby is the Mbahe football field which Benedict ran across seeking help at a rondavel. It was here he was stoned and bludgeoned to death.

The cause for Benedict Daswa was launched in July 2009.

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FOCUS

The Southern Cross, March 17 to March 23, 2010

7

30 years after murder, Romero still teaches As the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero approaches, South African Catholics tell MICHAIL RASSOOL what influence the Salvadoran prelate has had on the Catholic Church.

S

OUTH African Catholics say that many lessons can be learnt from the example of martyred Archbishop Óscar Romero of San Salvador.

March 24 sees the 30th anniversary of the death of Archbishop Romero, who was assassinated by agents for El Salvador’s military junta for playing a courageous pastoral role promoting the cause of Christ and his kingdom in a political environment of brutal violence and injustice.

It is a courage that theologian Fr Albert Nolan admires. This courage, the Dominican said, involves honestly standing up for the cause of justice and God’s peace, despite knowing such courage could lead to one’s own death.

Being an essentially conservative man Archbishop Romero could easily have allowed himself to be reduced to silence, to lapse into a comfort zone. Instead he opted to act against his natural inclinations, which to him represents “the ideal Church leadership”, Fr Nolan said.

Fr Mathibela Sebothoma of Soshanguve, Pretoria, was engaged in the struggle against apartheid and remains outspoken on justice and peace matters.

He recalled Archbishop Romero’s conversion from broad acceptance of the status quo to attempting to be a major agent of change in a society intensely divided according to race, between rich and poor, urban and rural.

He said despite tacit agreements within the Church about the injustices, torture, secret prisons, government obstruction of violence, and media lies in El Salvador of that period, the kind of transformation the archbishop called for was too radical even for many of his priests. For this reason he made some enemies within his own Church, Fr Sebothoma said.

He said Archbishop Romero provided the ideal blueprint for the Catholic struggle for justice and peace as the Church tries to deal with issues of poverty, HIV/Aids, human trafficking, and so on.

Fr Sebothoma said he fails to understand why Archbishop Romero’s sainthood cause in Rome has stalled—13 years after Pope John Paul II declared the archbishop a Servant of God, thereby officially opening his sainthood cause.

To mark the anniversary of his assassination, the bishops of El Salvador have written to the Vatican to request that the cause be expedited. Many Salvadoran Catholics reportedly refer to the late archbishop as San Romero.

I

n his last homily before his death Archbishop Romero said: “Those who surrender to the service of the poor through love of Christ, will live like the grains of wheat that die. They only apparently die. If they were not to die, there would remain a solitary grain. The harvest comes because of the grain that dies.

“We know that every effort to improve society, above all when society is so full of injustice and sin, is an effort that God blesses; that God wants; that God demands of us.”

Archbishop Romero was assassinated by right-wing gunmen as he celebrated a funeral Mass in the chapel of a local hospital, on March 24, 1980. An audio recording of the fateful Mass suggests that he was shot while elevating the chalice.

“I am bound, as a pastor, by divine command to give my life for those whom I love, and that is all Salvadorans, even those who are

going to kill me,” he had written to a local newspaper two weeks before.

The archbishop evidently anticipated his brutal death because of the strong stand he was taking against El Salvador’s oligarchy—a regime controlled by a few aristocratic families with a stranglehold on the country, and its powerful military arm.

The military brutalised anyone from the mostly poverty-stricken communities, mainly peasants, who protested against the brutal methods being waged against them, in order to maintain the country’s social order, or the stark inequities that characterised Salvadoran life.

It was a situation in which the peasant death toll exceeded 3 000 per month. Up to 80 000 Salvadorans are known to have been killed by the regime, and 300 000 disappeared, never to be seen again. A million fled their homeland, and an additional million became homeless fugitives from the military and police—all of this in a nation of only 5,5 million people.

The day before he was killed, after three years of preaching and broadcasting against a political environment of violence and injustice—which had intensified during his three years as archbishop of San Salvador—the prelate decided to use more direct measures in promoting the cause of Christ and his kingdom.

In a sermon the day before his murder, he called on soldiers to become agents of peace: “Brothers, you are from the same people. You kill your fellow peasants…No soldier is obliged to obey an order that is contrary to the will of God…In the name of God, in the name of this suffering people, I ask you, I implore you, I command you in the name of God: stop the repression!”

His words were not heeded: the next day a sniper shot the archbishop dead.

On November 16, 1989, nine years after Archbishop Romero was murdered, an elite army hit squad assassinated six Jesuit priests and two women at the Jesuit-run Central American University.

the only viable recourse, although most of them turned to the social teachings of the Church. Sources say thousands joined Small Christian Communities which sought to reform society in the light of the Gospels.

Such activities were termed “Marxist” by the ruling classes and the military was ordered to shoot strikers, union organisers, human rights activists (particularly teachers), and even nuns and priests. The army’s efforts were supplemented by mercenary death squads roaming the countryside killing, raping and torturing with impunity, and then collecting cash bounties on each man, woman and child that was victimised.

Observation and action were fully married in Archbishop Romero after his friend and trusted aide Fr Grande was ambushed and killed, along with an old man and boy, for the work he was doing on behalf of the region’s sugarcane workers.

Soon afterwards, death squads killed another priest he knew well, Fr Alfonso Navarro and two companions, for whom the prelate offered Mass in the house where the three had been carried. The archbishop’s diaries clearly show he believed he had been called once again.

At the heart of all his pastoral messages, speeches and homilies was the pursuit of a greater goal: transcendence and the importance of the God of Life.

Fr Egan described Archbishop Romero’s whole life, from start to finish, as a path of conversion.

Another key lesson from his life, Fr Egan said, is the moral challenge of engaging with people outside of one’s usual comfortable spheres of assumptions.

Like Archbishop Romero, Fr Egan said, they should embrace the idea of speaking to “faithful dissenters” for the sake of forming a broader perspective.

B

orn on August 15, 1917 in Ciudad Barrios, a Salvadoran mountain town near the Honduran border, the second of seven children, he was ordained in Rome in 1942. His appointment as auxiliary bishop of San Salvador in 1970 and as its archbishop in 1977 was greeted with dismay by opponents of the regime because Romero was known as a cautious and conservative man.

Indeed, Bishop Romero was not impressed with the reformist initiatives of San Salvador’s Archbishop Luis Chávez (another candidate for the sainthood), and was outspoken in his opposition to the liberation theology which was taking hold in Latin America.

It was the 1977 assassination of a progressive Jesuit priest and friend, Fr Rutilio Grande, that changed Archbishop Romero’s vision and attitudes—his metanoia moment, as Fr Sebothoma described it.

Later Archbishop Romero recalled of Fr Grande’s murder: “When I looked at Rutilio lying there dead I thought: ‘If they have killed him for doing what he did, then I too have to walk the same path’.”

Fr Anthony Egan SJ of the Jesuit Institute of South Africa said that Archbishop Romero had started doing what the local Church had criticised the Jesuits for: drawing their contextual theology and praxis directly from the grassroots.

After becoming bishop of Santiago de Maria in 1974, he began paying more attention to the abject conditions in which people lived, and started employing a more direct, consultative approach with them on pastoral matters.

At this time, although he did not support it, he began to understand why a few farm workers and labourers saw armed revolution as

A girl looks at an image of Archbishop Oscar Romero at the cathedral where he is buried in San Salvador. Archbishop Romero was assassinated while celebrating Mass on March 24, 1980.

PHOTO: LUIS GALDAMEZ, REUTERS/CNS

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8

The Southern Cross, March 17 to March 23, 2010

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

To the heart of the matter

Seeking or role-models B

T

HE human individual is always open to identifying new sources of inspiration. We seek role-models whose lives exhibit good examples in areas in which we would like to improve ourselves, or whose guidance leads us to better understand the world, and respond to it accordingly.

For Christians, the ultimate role model obviously is Jesus Christ. The fashion fad of some years ago when many young Christians wore wristbands with the letters WWJD—standing for “What would Jesus do?”—was a timely reminder that his example and guidance lead to the positive paths in life, even if that requires sacrifices.

While Jesus was certainly human, we humans are not also divine. So while it is most commendable to strive towards an imitation of Christ, we are also aware that we are too fragile to accomplish that aspiration perfectly.

With that awareness, we look towards others who are as human as we are, and derive inspiration from those areas in life where they excel.

In that way, Tiger Woods can still be a role model to golfers as an exemplary sportsman, but not as a family man.

Catholics have a wonderful repository of appropriate role models in the College of Saints. Pope John Paul II was particularly attentive to the potential influence the saints can provide, and expanded the numbers of saints substantially.

While many of the 1823 saints and beati Pope John Paul created have scant relevance to the lives of lay faithful—especially many of those who are venerated only in their religious orders—he was mindful of raising others whose life examples might help inspire Catholics to come closer to God. And there are many Catholics who have not yet been beatified or canonised,

but are being acclaimed as saints by those whom they inspire. Pope John Paul is one of them. The American social activist Dorothy Day is another. And on March 24 we will observe the 30th anniversary of the murder of a man who is known in his country as San Romero, even without the benefit of formal canonisation.

To many Catholics it is puzzling why Archbishop Oscar Romero has not yet been elevated to the altar of saints. If one recognises Archbishop Romero as a martyr— one who was killed because his actions were in the service of Christ and his faith—then there is no need to wait even for the statutory miracles.

It may well be that Archbishop Romero’s cause has stalled for the past 13 years because its progress would give succour to the adherents of liberation theology, which Pope Benedict strongly disapproves of. When he was still Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the pope hinted that this, and not the persona of Archbishop Romero, was a reason.

But surely sanctity is measured on its own merits, not by who will take satisfaction from it. If there are grave reasons why Archbishop Romero cannot be beatified, then these should be made public to forestall any confusion.

There is nothing to suggest, of course, that Archbishop Romero was in any way unworthy. Indeed, worldwide devotion to the archbishop remains resolute even three decades after his death. His Christian witness—his love for the people, his leonine courage in standing for justice, his humility in abandoning defective convictions, his willingness to sacrifice even his life for the truth—continues to inspire Catholics, other Christians, and even nonbelievers.

Oscar Romero truly is a role-model for our times.

The Editor reserves the right to shorten or edit published letters. Letters below 300 words receive preference. Pseudonyms are acceptable only under special circumstances and at the Editor’s discretion. Name and address of the writer must be supplied. No anonymous letter will be considered.

RAVO, Southern Cross, for your excellent editorial “Only the truth will heal” (February 24March 2). It truly gets to the heart of the matter. How tragic that as yet the Vatican does not.

No wonder the Irish victims of clerical abuse are “close to despair because they believe the Church

will not take full responsibility for covering up the abuse” (Southern Cross March 3-9).

Perhaps the latest revelations on television of abuse at a German Jesuit school and the unprecedented raiding of a monastery by the German police for the same crime will actually wake up “Herr Profes-

We dress our hearts for God

Jesus, the supreme scientist

I

T

NSIDIOUS deeds have been instigated in the name of Jesus.

Oftentimes these, which go against the primary commandment to love, are hard to recognise because of presumptions and assumptions about following in Jesus’ footsteps.

I see one of these in an enforced dress code for attendance at Mass.

But God looks at our hearts, not our coats.

Jesus hung naked on his cross in public for all to see. The place was not then deemed sacred. It is today one of the topmost sacred places on earth. Just reading about Jesus with an open heart and mind, we come to realise that his very incarnation made all flesh sacred.

Complainants could provide shawls at the doors of our churches for those identified as unsuitably dressed. Let’s give our overworked priests a break!

A recent reading from the Gospel of Mark (chapter 8) had 4 000 people following Jesus to a deserted place. These people on the road for days must have smelt to high heaven, but Jesus had compassion on them all. He told his disciples to give them something to eat for their journey home. What a God of compassion we have!

Rosemary Gravenor, Durban

Can you help?

A

N association for all Catholic workers employed in the law and order sector has been established in Eshowe diocese and will be officially launched on May 29 this year.

The patron saint chosen for this association is St Thomas More. I have been assigned the task of finding a suitable emblem to be embossed on our garments and letterheads. It must be an emblem associated with St Thomas More.

I don’t know how to proceed. can any of your readers help?

P’S Gebashe, Empangeni Telephone/fax: 035 794 1161

HE February 28 to March 2 letter of Monica Giles “Shroud origin?” was fresh and new (read Mark 15:46).

While the sindonologists are examining woof and warp and entangling themselves in threads of nay and aye, perhaps they should at least look at the image of the shroud.

When I was at a convent school in 1936, we were categorically told: “There was only one man, Jesus Christ, who was crowned with thorns at his crucifixion.”

As your February 3-9 report “Turin Shroud ‘not from Jerusalem’” states: so far no one has been fully able to explain the image transferred to the cloth.

To me, Jesus is the supreme scientist, superior to any local or overseas talent.

If there is a crown on the Shroud of Turin, no matter what the origin, Jesus draws good out of bad for his own good purposes; and as the cloth has stood the tests of time, surely it has mystical origins.

It is in the nature of God to keep secrets and reveal them at an appropriate time.

Columnist Henry Makori (February 17-24) sings a sweet song regarding his friend’s pains in the Church. His main aim is not so much to bring back a lost sheep— lost through his own free will choices—but fault-finds with mandatory celibacy.

Priests give up the pleasures of married life because they are “married” to Jesus.

H M de Kock, Cape Town

Defence of Zuma

P

EOPLE who criticise President Jacob Zuma without reservation are ignoring the following facts.

He did not, and obviously would not, extricate himself from a predicament by terminating a pregnancy.

His misdemeanours pale to insignificance when compared

sor Doktor” Pope Benedict to the grave crisis of confidence in the Church, in the hierarchy, and in Rome in particular.

This is a crisis in confidence not equalled, I’ll warrant, since the days of Martin Luther.

God forbid that we’ll need a second Reformation before Rome finally sees the light.

Aideen Gonlag, St Michael’s-on-Sea, KZN

with the signing into law by one his predecessors of our Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act which legalised abortion on demand.

Damian McLeish, Johannesburg

Secret of success

I

READ with interest the Parish of the Month article on Christ the King parish in Wentworth, Durban (February 10-16), which I have visited a few times.

What struck me most was the wonderful community spirit.

Everybody seemed to be involved in services—men and women, and many teenagers and children; a real family affair.

Those celebrating a birthday or wedding anniversary were called to the front for a special prayer and a blessing.

Such things must go a long way to uniting the people in love., which I think is the key to evangelisation. It’s not so much what you say but what you do that convinces those seeking answers.

M Parsch, Durban

Rooms for youth

C

OLUMNIST Toni Rowland mentions difficulty in finding accommodation for youth in a religious environment for the duration of the World Cup. There is such a place. Kolbe House, the University of Cape Town’s Catholic chaplaincy in Rondebosch, where I stay each year-end, is opening up its residence for accommodation during the World Cup period.

Warden Jock Loseby can be contacted at 021 685 7370, fax 021 686 2342.

Stephan Windell, Pretoria Opinions expressed in The Southern Cross, especially in Letters to the Editor, do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor or staff of the newspaper, or of the Catholic hierarchy. The letters page in particular is a forum in which readers may exchange opinions on matters of debate.

Letters must not be understood to necessarily reflect the teachings, disciplines or policies of the Church accurately.

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PERSPECTIVES

Our Lenten burial

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Reflections of my Life

Abortion: we need more than slogans

T

HANK God for Facebook! A friend has just shared on her Wall that “abortion does not make you unpregnant, but the mother of a dead child”.

I know what that means. In 1995, I was home for holidays from university and taught at a nearby school. My sister had completed her secondary education and stayed at home without much hope of proceeding with studies or getting a job.

One morning, a cousin of ours who lived with us and was very close to my sister walked up to me and said that my sister wanted to see me. Quite unusual, because my sister and I got along well and spoke freely. It wasn’t long before I realised there was a serious problem.

Sister was weeping when I went to speak to her. I hardly understood what she mumbled through her steady stream of tears and sobs.

Cousin helped out. She explained that sister was pregnant and needed a little money to remove the pregnancy. No other member of the family was aware of this and sister wanted the three of us to keep the secret.

I cannot recall my initial reaction. But as a Catholic, I was convinced abortion is wrong.

That, though, would not make any sense to sister in her great distress. Nor did I try to find out what the man responsible for the pregnancy thought of the matter. I must have concluded that had he accepted responsibility there would be no crisis.

A month or two earlier, I had met a former schoolmate walking fast towards town. She was already a single mother of two. The next day the news came that she had died while undergoing an illegal abortion at a private clinic. Everyone was in shock. I attended the funeral. That incident sealed my resolve against abortion.

I told my sister as gently as I could, but firmly, that I would not give her money to carry out an abortion. It was not only wrong but I also feared she would die. I promised her that we would take care of the baby.

F

ifteen years later, my niece Lilian is a tall, lively girl quickly turning into a beautiful woman. She works hard at school and is a big help at home. Lilian’s mother who has been married for 12 years is very proud of her daughter. Every time I visit their home or they visit ours, I remember quietly that Lilian would be nowhere in this world had she been aborted.

Right now, there is a huge debate in Kenya about abortion. The Catholic Church, other churches and Muslims successfully demanded that the new Constitution being written states clearly that life begins at conception. Powerful lobbyists promoting abortion-on-demand want the Constitution to be silent on the issue or to state that life begins at birth.

Pro-abortion activists argue that legal and safe abortion would save women from death and sickness resulting from illegal procedures done by quacks in backstreet clinics. It is certainly true that many young and poor women die in Kenya and elsewhere from complications related to botched abortions. But what would be the logic of trying to save lives by killing innocent and defenceless little human beings?

On the other hand, although the Church and other pro-life persons and groups have done well to fight abortion, it is not enough merely to preach against it. As I write this, there are many women and girls struggling with the anguish of crisis pregnancy, like my sister did. Is the antiabortion message the only thing they need to be told? They most likely know that already. They need a solution to the problem.

Christians are best placed to help. How about setting up a free 24/7 national crisis pregnancy hotline? We could have a counsellor in every parish and Catholic institution to handle cases.

Carry out a national awareness campaign against abortion which includes information about where to find help. Set aside an annual Life Week celebrated in every diocese.

Where do we get the money? Ah, a lot of Church money, if you ask me, is spent on useless projects and ceremonies. Plus, we could take a special collection during Life Week to support a National Crisis Pregnancy Network that reaches every corner of the nation. There are many other ways of raising funds.

It’s true: abortion does not make one unpregnant, but the mother of a dead child. But a campaign of slogans alone would not stop abortion.

Spare a thought for the distressed woman (like my sister) who is pushed by her situation to make the unfortunate decision. Her crisis must be addressed. Quickly.

My lord bishops, when do we launch national Catholic Crisis Pregnancy Networks?

T

HIS morning I thought of my late father whom I loved, and still love, very much.

We were close but one thing that got in the way of our relationship was our pride. We hung on to our right to be right to the bitter end. When I went to Mauritius on holiday to see him, we had a disagreement over the amount of bread rolls we should take on a picnic.

That was the last time I saw my dad; he passed away suddenly, without having had the chance for peace and reconciliation.

My mom and I also parted on bad terms when I last saw her. She went into a coma while on a holiday and I lived to regret not having had a chance to say “goodbye”, “I love you”, “I’m sorry”, “please forgive me”, and “I forgive you”.

We always think that we will have time for reconciliation, but sometimes this time is taken from us and we must live with regrets.

We must not let pride, stubbornness, ego, misunderstanding, jealousy, envy, anger, prejudice and false judgments, disobedience, adultery, gossip and slander cloud our minds and harden your hearts. We can so easily fall prey to these weaknesses when we are misjudged and misunderstood, when we give in to negative reactions, experience financial difficulties or other threats to our circumstances, or are faced with illnesses, difficulties, stress and anxieties.

Our situations can alter our behaviour patterns and actions, especially when we try and work things out relying only on our strength and fail to surrender and lean on God’s strength. Let us understand others in the compassion of God’s Holy Spirit, in his love.

We are not alone, even when we are victims of persecution, or when we have been hurt and misunderstood by people in the Church. We are not alone when our dearest and nearest hurt or disappoint us.

Jesus endured those very sufferings for us; we are to do as he did and turn to our Father in heaven and pray for our enemies, as Jesus counselled in the Blessings of the Beatitudes (Matt.

5: 3-12).

If we can understand that the things we go through in life is to strengthen us in God’s unconditional love, patience, compassion, acceptance of self and others, we will accept, not reject, our trials and tribulations. Keeping our hearts hardened not only eats at us like a cancer, but it does the same for those around us.

T

rying to say you are sorry for something you did not do, or forgive someone when you did nothing wrong is difficult, but that’s what Jesus did for us. He took our sins upon himself to spare us from condemnation, and promised: “There is no condemnation for those who live in Christ”.

On the cross, Jesus said: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” He said that knowing well that we experience weaknesses in our humanity, but he also overcame these weaknesses in his divinity, enabling us to also overcome our weaknesses.

He died on the cross for us to be able

The Southern Cross, March 17 to March 23, 2010

Michael Shackleton answers your question

Open Door

Catherine de Valence

Point of Reflection to overcome these barriers of sins that keep us from being reconciled to our true selves, to others and to our Father in heaven.

Jesus acted as mediator between us and our heavenly Father, and he expects us, through his Holy Spirit, to do the same. We can be peacemakers to each other and for others, for in Christ we have been given the power to do so. If we find ourselves in the middle of two parties fighting and if we don’t know how to bring peace and reconciliation in our families, our relationships, our society and our world, we can call on the name of Jesus for help. God is faithful every time. I can testify to that.

Why give Satan what he wants (destruction, anger, unforgiveness, hatred and bitterness, hanging on to our hurts and our right to be right), when we can have what Christ died for us to have and claim: peace and reconciliation, forgiving hearts, unconditional love, compassion, mercy, acceptance of self and others.

All that is required from us is the acknowledgement of our sins and weaknesses, surrendering them to God and to seek God’s love and strength through Christ Jesus.

I

am privileged to be a witness of the amazing graces that God has bestowed upon us. In not running away from difficulties, but facing tribulations with Jesus, I have experienced his peace in spite of difficulties.

I have experienced his unconditional love in spite of the unlovable, and have experienced his providence in poverty and his graces when I was less deserving of it.

I believe that in sharing our testimonies of God’s graces and compassion to us, his healing and help to us in time of need, we can reinforce the faith of his faithfulness to those in need of encouragement.

I pray that we may bury our sins and weaknesses at the foot of the cross, and rise up to renewed lives, new positive attitudes and gratitude for the beatitudes; so that we may use our past hurts to be a powerful intercessive tool for the glory of God; a God that heals all wounds and gives us unconditional love, mercy and compassion, no matter where we find ourselves in life.

We must share with others what God has done in our lives. Testimonies are our way of making a Lenten burial of our past, to rise up to renew the hope of God’s love to us and others in our world, and giving thanks and praise to God for all he has done for us.

Why argue about bread rolls when we can have Jesus, the bread of eternal life? We don’t need to take bread rolls with us if Jesus is our host at a picnic, for he gives us more than we need, to be physically and spiritually fed. We just need to bring ourselves, emptied and ready to be filled, and fuelled for good works.

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9

Baptism formula goes back to Christ When was the formula “in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit” first used in the rite of baptism?

K J West HRIST gave this command to the apostles: “Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 28:19). This formula for baptism has been used in the Church from the earliest times to the present day.

In asking this question, you may have in mind other texts of the New Testament in which the baptismal formula excludes the Trinity, such as Peter’s words: “Every one of you must be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:38) and similar texts in Acts 10:48 and 19:5. Do these suggest that early baptism may have been administered in the name of Jesus Christ only, and not in the name of Father, Son and Spirit? This is hardly likely because of the very clear words of Mt 28:19. There are possible explanations for it, however.

One explanation is that the book of Acts demonstrates that the baptism of John the Baptist was still an influence in those days (Acts 18:25 and 19:2), and it may be that the New Testament writers used the phrase “in the name of Jesus Christ” to distinguish sacramental Christian baptism from John’s.

Another interpretation is to compare the texts with those such as Acts 16:18 where Paul drives out an evil spirit from a woman by saying: “I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to leave that woman.” The phrase “In the name of Jesus Christ” signifies that Paul acts on Christ’s authority and not his own. So, baptising in the name of Jesus Christ could indicate that Paul acts by Christ’s authority and, as we have seen from Mt 28:19, Christ’s authority includes the names of the three divine Persons.

The Didache, the earliest known non-scriptural Christian book dating from the first century, mentions the sacraments and includes the trinitarian formula in the rite of baptism.

There is also ample evidence to confirm this among the writings of the early theologians such as St Justin Martyr, Tertullian, St Athanasius and St Augustine.

The Eastern Orthodox Churches have maintained a special emphasis on the Trinity. As the priest names the three divine Persons in the formula he simultaneously immerses the infant three times in the baptismal water.

C

 Send your queries to Open Door, Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000; or e-mail: opendoor@scross.co.za; or fax (021) 465 3850. Anonymity can be preserved by arrangement, but questions must be signed, and may be edited for clarity. Only published questions will be answered.

10

CHURCH LIFE

The Southern Cross, March 17 to March 23, 2010

St Patrick’s Parish, Mowbray, Cape Town

Diversity shines at Mowbray

BY NADINE CHRISTIANS

T

UCKED away in the Cape Town suburb of Mowbray is a parish that is as multicultural as the country it is situated in.

St Patrick’s parish boasts a rich 81-year history. It was founded in 1929, its first stone laid on March 17 that year, said parish priest Fr Brian Gelant.

He said the church was formally opened for worship in October that year with the first parish priest, Mgr John O’Rourke, serving the first community from 1929 to 1935.

Over the years many priests ministered to the needs of St Patrick's parishioners. The late historian Margaret Cairns, a long-time parishioner, said several priests had their own unique way of ministering and some had their own special traits.

“Fr Edward Graham was elderly and somewhat austere,” she said. “Fr John Burke was a lively Irishman, as indeed were most of the priests; Fr James Butler had his faithful dogs; Fr Francis McManus enjoyed his golf.

“There was the outspoken Fr Patrick Quinlan; the saintly Fr Michaels, who walked every inch of the suburb refusing all lifts from concerned parishioners.”

Fr Gelant said that in the early days “the parish was the

life-blood of the community”.

More recently “the parish has become involved in helping Loaves and Fishes, an economical rehabilitation centre”.

Teaching is an important aspect of the church’s work.

One of the parish’s first lay catechists, Jutta Haupt, recalls the first group of catechists formed in 1972, which was trained by the Schoenstatt Sisters.

The methodology currently in use, the Good Shepherd Catechesis, is presented to pre- and post-Communion classes and confirmation candidates.

“A primary school comprising Grade 1 to 3 and a commercial school from Grade 10 to 12were administered by the Dominican Sisters,” said Fr Gelant.

He said parishioners also give much of their time to community work. “The deacon and extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist regularly take Holy Communion to sick and housebound parishioners, and to those who live in retirement homes,” Fr Gelant said.

“Some bereavement ministry is provided to parents, especially at [nearby] Red Cross Children’s Hospital, who have lost their children to some illness or accident.”

Fr Gelant said members of the 450-strong parish enjoy gathering socially outside of church hours, with several social events providing oppor-

tunities for interaction.

“The parish’s social club meets once a month to listen to a talk or to go to a restaurant for a meal, or to go to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens,” he said. “The primary aim is to get older persons to socialise and interact with each other.

“Annual events are Shrove Tuesday for the traditional pancake evening and St Patrick’s feast day for a social evening.”

The parish, Fr Gelant said, reflects a rich cultural blend of people from different walks of life. “The significant presence of individuals and families in the parish from Central, East or North Africa does indeed add a great deal of value to the life of the parish,” he said.

When asked about the significant role The Southern Cross plays at the church, Fr Gelant admitted that more needed to be done to market the newspaper.

He said there was one parishioner in particular, who is dedicated to selling the newspaper each week.

What does the future hold for St Patrick's parish? “There is urgent need for fundraising for the parish,” Fr Gelant said, “and we hope to get a fundraising committee off the ground to improve the parish's finances.”

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The Southern Cross, March 17 to March 23, 2010

Sr Mary Hastings

S

CHOENSTATT Sister Mary (Pauline) Hastings of Cape Town died on February 18.

Born in Tamboerskloof, Cape Town, in 1933 she was educated by the Dominican Sisters at St Brigid's primary and St Mary's secondary schools, Cape Town.

She attended Mass at Villa Maria, Tamboerskloof, where on one occasion the founder of the Schoenstatt community, Fr Joseph Kentenich, was celebrating Mass. In 1955 she entered the community of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary.

After some years in Pretoria at the Catholic Centre, Sr Mary returned to Cape Town where she played a major role in the formation of the Schoenstatt retreat house and training centre in Constantia.

For many years she contributed to the formation of children, young people, women and families as she served the Schoenstatt movement in Cape Town. She went to Ireland in 1995 to nurture the Schoenstatt Family there, returning after six years to continue serving her community.

Sr Mary was known for her selflessness, loyalty, and generosity that went the “extra mile” for all she met.

The Requiem Mass was celebrated by Archbishop-emeritus Lawrence Henry of Cape Town with five priests. Burial was in the sisters’ Constantia graveyard.

Sr Iona Mackenzie

Mass readings for the week

Thoughts for the Week on the Family

Please include payment (R1,05c a word) with small advertisements for promptest publication.

FAMILY CALENDAR: 2010 FAMILY THEME: “Families Play the Game.”

MARCH: Keep to the rules Peter, James and John were chosen by Jesus to witness his Transfiguration, a moment of ecstasy, of witnessing God’s glory. This was done to strengthen their faith, just before they travelled to Jerusalem and at the time when Jesus warned them of his approaching suffering. Moments of ecstasy, of joy in marriage and great family unity strengthen us to be able to overcome the hardships and sufferings that are part of normal life.

Play some games to test and challenge your strength and your faith.

March 21, 5th Sunday of Lent.

March 22, Human Rights Day. As we celebrate this day, we can ask ourselves if the focus is too much on rights and not enough on responsibilities. How does God's generosity in forgetting the past and choosing not to condemn us invite us to be less self-centred and more concerned about others and also the common good? This can be a big challenge in families, something worth considering during Lent.

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Sundays year C, weekdays cycle 2 Sun March 21, 5th Sunday of Lent: Is 43:16-21; Ps 126; Phil 3:8-14; Jn 8:1-11 Mon March 22, St Deogratias: Dn 13:1-9.15-17. 19-30.33-62; Ps 23:1-6; Jn 8:12-20 Tue March 23, St Turibius of Mogrovejo: Nm 21:4-9; Ps 102:2-3.16-21; Jn 8:21-30 Wed March 24, feria: Dn 3:14-20.91-92.95; Ps Dn 3:52-56; Jn 8:31-42 Thur March 25, Annunciation of the Lord: Is 7:10-14, 8:10; Ps 40:7-11; Heb 10:4-10; Lk 1:26-38 Fri March 26, feria: Jer 20:10-13; Ps 18:2-7; Jn 10:31-42 Sat March 27, St John of Egypt: Ez 37:21-28; Ps Jer 31:10-13; Jn 11:45-56 Sun March 28, Palm Sunday: Is 50:4-7; Ps 22:8-9.17-20.23-24; Phil 2:6-11; Lk 22:14—23:56

11

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Mom, Dad, Tracy and Roedi.

PRAYERS HOLY St Jude, apostle and martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke you, special patron in time of need. To you I have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg you to come to my assistance. Help me now in my urgent need and grant my petitions. In return I promise to make your name known and publish this prayer. Amen.

CB HOLY St Jude, apostle and martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke you, special patron in time of need. To you I have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg you to come to my assistance. Help me now in my urgent need and grant my petitions. In return I promise to make your name known and publish this prayer. Amen.

Enid.

HOLY Spirit you make me see everything and show me the way to reach my ideals. You give me the divine gift to forgive and forget all that is done to me. I, in this short dialogue want to thank you for everything, and affirm once more that I never want to be separated from you, no matter how great the material desires may be. I want to be with you and my loved ones in their perpetual glory, to the end and submitting to God's Holy will. I ask from you (mention your request). Say this prayer for 3 consecutive days.

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PO Box 2372, CAPE TOWN, 8000 Tel: (021) 465 5007 Fax: (021) 465 3850

www.scross.co.za Editor: Günther Simmermacher (editor@scross.co.za)

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Published independently by the Catholic Newspaper & Publishing Company Ltd, Cape Town Opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect those of the editor, staff or directors of The Southern Cross.

March 17 to March 23, 2010

SOUTHERN AFRICA’S NATIONAL CATHOLIC WEEKLY SINCE 1920 Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000  10 Tuin Plein, Gardens, Cape Town, 8001 Tel: (021) 465 5007  Fax: (021) 465 3850 Editorial: editor@scross.co.za  Advertising/Subscriptions/Accounts: admin@scross.co.za Palm Sunday, year C Mar 28 Readings: Luke 19:28-40; Isaiah 50:4-7; Psalm 22: 8-9.17-20.23-24; Philippians 2:6-11; Luke 22:14 — 23:56 EXT Sunday our long Lenten journey nears its end, and if we are to play our full part in the solemn and sombre drama that is Holy Week, our eyes should be fixed on that ever-old and evernew story that will once more come alive on this greatest feastday of the year.

We have in Holy Week a glut of readings, and Palm Sunday is no exception, with (this year) Luke’s account of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, then, as every year, in rapid succession, the third “Song of the Suffering Servant” (we shall hear the fourth on Good Friday), followed by the 22nd Psalm in which early Christians found many echoes of the death of Jesus, and, as the second reading, Paul’s lovely hymn on what God was doing in the obedient death of Jesus.

The largest chunk of reading, however, is going to be Luke’s account of Jesus’ Passion and death, and it seems good, ahead of Sunday’s celebration, to suggest some things to look out for that we find only in Luke. I’ll not mention all the differences you’ll find between Luke and the other gospels, but

N

All eyes on the greatest feastday of all Fr Nicholas King SJ

Scriptural Reflections these might start your prayerful reflections.

Like the others, Luke begins with the account of the Last Supper, though he tells it rather differently from Mark and Matthew, and emphasises that it is a Passover supper.

Luke also includes a (slightly drinkfuelled?) squabble over which of the disciples was Mister Big, at which Jesus has to remind them that he is “among you as a servant”.

As we listen, we think of the account in John’s Gospel of the washing of the feet.

Only Luke has Jesus respond to the squabble with the “Simon, Simon” saying; and it is only in Luke that we have the mention of the “swords”.

What is extraordinary here is that in a gentle evangelist such as Luke, and with Jesus’ known preference for non-violence, there are actually two swords present at the Last Supper.

Odder still is that Jesus says: “It’s enough” (How could “two swords” possibly be enough, we ask). It was presumably one of these swords that was used to cut off the ear-lobe of the high priest’s servant. (And it is only in Luke that the said ear-lobe is healed).

Only Luke uses the word “agony” of Jesus’ prayer at Gethsemane, and only in Luke do we find “drops of blood” indicating the depths of Jesus’ fear (although it must be said that these two details are not in all manuscripts of the gospel). Only Luke has the touching and telling detail of Jesus looking at Peter as he betrays him for the third time; it is this that causes Peter to shed those healing tears.

It is Luke alone that has the trial before the Sanhedrin take place after day-break (which is what the Law required, in fact).

Short and bitter-sweet comebacks and zingers I

FIND reading the newspapers depressing these days; not just because of all the bad news in the world, but because those on whom we rely for verbal entertainment have quite forgotten the art of repartee.

Politicians, celebrities, sports stars, captains of industry—all they do is insult their opponents in a crass and unimaginative way, quite devoid of amusement for those of us who have to put up with it.

What happened to all those glorious insults from times gone by when cleverness with words was still valued; before a vast proportion of the English language got boiled down to four-letter words?

Take these wonderful examples, unearthed by my incredibly bright research assistant, Genevieve Google.

An exchange of words between the wartime British prime minister, Winston Churchill, and Lady Nancy Astor, the first woman ever to serve in Britain’s House of Commons. Lady Astor said: “If you were my husband, I’d give you poison.” Churchill replied: “If you were my wife, I’d drink it.”

A member of parliament said to Sir Benjamin Disraeli, another British prime minister: “Sir, you will die either on the gallows, or of some unspeakable disease.” Disraeli replied: “That depends, sir, on whether I embrace your policies or your mistress.”

Churchill again: “He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.” And: “A modest little person, with much to be modest about.”

How about the theatre critic Walter Kerr, talking about someone for whom he had little admiration: “He had delusions of adequacy.”

Clarence Darrow, the famous American lawyer: “I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.”

William Faulkner, talking about author Ernest Hemingway: “He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.” To which Hemingway responded: “Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?”

The following short and bitter-sweet retorts are among my favourites: “I’ve just learned about his illness.

Let’s hope it’s nothing trivial”—humorist Irvin S Cobb.

“Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I’ll waste no time reading it”—classical scholar Moses Hadas.

And at the trial, Jesus is convicted, though Luke does not have him actually claim to be the Messiah or the Son of God. Luke emphasises Barabbas’ guilt far more than the other evangelists do. Luke alone has the women of Jerusalem mourning over Jesus, and the delicate detail of Jesus’ compassion for them.

Only in Luke do we have the lovely prayer: “Father, forgive them…” (though once again we have to admit that this detail is not in all manuscripts).

It is Luke’s gospel alone that has the lovely story of the “good thief”, who prayed: “Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom”, and was rewarded with the regal response: “This day you will be with me in Paradise”.

There are other details as well; but listen out, next Sunday, for anything at all that strikes you, during the long reading of the Passion, for it is there that the Lord may be speaking to you.

A very happy celebration of Holy Week to you all!

Southern Crossword #382

Chris Moerdyk

The Last Word “There’s nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won’t cure”—comedian Jack E Leonard.

“They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge”—US politician Thomas Brackett Reed.

“In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily”—19th century French diplomat Charles Count Talleyrand.

“I didn’t attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it”— Mark Twain.

“Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?”— Twain again.

“I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play. Bring a friend…If you have one”—George Bernard Shaw, to Winston Churchill.

“Cannot possibly attend first night; will attend second…if there is one”— Churchill, in response.

“Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go”—Oscar Wilde.

“I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn’t it”— Groucho Marx.

CONRAD

‘I’m afraid it’s a very bad case of hotcrossbunitis’

Quipmasters Shaw, Marx, Astor and Twain “I feel so miserable without you; it’s almost like having you here”— the title of a song by Stephen Bishop.

And how about these character references?

“He loves nature in spite of what it did to him”—actor Forrest Tucker.

“He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know”— Abraham Lincoln.

“He is not only dull himself, he is the cause of dullness in others”—Samuel Johnson.

“He has Van Gogh’s ear for music”— film director Billy Wilder.

“His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork”—actress Mae West.

“He is a self-made man, and worships his creator”—John Bright, 19th century liberal.

“He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends”—Oscar Wilde.

“He has the attention span of a lightning bolt”—actor-director Robert Redford.

“He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts…for support rather than illumination”—Writer Andrew Lang.

“He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up”—former Australian prime minister Paul Keating.

“John Howard has all the vision of Mr Magoo without the good intentions”— Keating again, referring to his successor.

I suppose some will chastise me for making light of man’s inhumanity to man, under normal circumstances sinful and hardly in keeping with the Christian ethos. But I see all I have quoted as entertainment and public relations oneupmanship.

Mostly, I think, this was more about two people tacitly agreeing to insult each other in public, just to stay in the public eye, so most of it wasn’t sinful but rather just plain marketing.

In my book, it was all good clean fun and so much more entertaining, don’t you think, than watching contenders on reality television eating sheep’s innards with their heads in buckets of worms?

ACROSS 4. Wife of Nabal (1 Sam 25) (7) 8. Expresses amusement (6) 9. He tasted the water made into wine (Jn 2) (7) 10. Taiwan tonight hides what’s immoral (6) 11. One that went into the ark (6) 12. Kind of affection among the nuns? (8) 18. At last in the mythical island (8) 20. Leave helpless on the shore (6) 21. Alice’s sort of land (6) 22. Fellowship: it can be good or bad (7) 23. Verse E is rigorous (6) 24. He looks down in the mouth (7)

DOWN 1. A well is found describing God’s supreme intelligence (34) 2. Equip the house with movables (7) 3. Hovers about on Tuesday before Lent (6) 5. Breach of trust (8) 6. Arthurian knight who sought the Grail (6) 7. Entrance to the encroachment? (6) 13. Danger is heard during Mass (8) 14. Applied the mind in college (7) 15. He takes power illegally (7) 16. Strive in the past (6) 17. It hangs from the mitre (6) 19. Places to live (6)

SOLUTIONS TO #381. ACROSS: 2 Unattached, 8 Pontificates, 10 Yahoo, 11 The dome, 12 Ousted, 13 Wallet, 16 Draught, 18 Apple, 19 Legalisation, 20 Difference. DOWN: 1 Empty words, 3 Noisome, 4 Twists, 5 Agape, 6 Hieroglyphic, 7 In the state of, 9 Felt keenly, 14 Aramaic, 15 Stripe, 17 Grace.

CHURCH CHUCKLE

G

OD himself does not propose to judge a man till he is dead, so why should we?

Capuchin Adoration Convent, Swellendam

Send us your favourite Catholic joke, preferably clean and brief, to The Southern Cross, Church Chuckle, PO Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000.