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Top rabbi visits SA Catholics
Priests: Train new leaders
Second ‘Council of Trent’
Moerdyk slams censorship
September 8 to September 14, 2010 Reg No. 1920/002058/06
No 4692
www.scross.co.za
SOUTHERN AFRICA’S NATIONAL CATHOLIC WEEKLY SINCE 1920
Inside
Bishops: Drop anti-media Bill, tribunal idea
Alternatives to abortion As part of our four-part series on how to address the crisis of abortion, we are looking at alternatives to abortion.—Page 7
Priest look back and ahead Priests will meet in Bloemfontein to celebrate the 25th anniversary of an anti-apartheid march by seminarians. —Page 3
BY STAFF REPORTER
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Agent Orange alert A group of religious figures who visited Vietnam have said that Agent Orange is still affecting many people to this day—35 years after the war.—Page 5
Turning a child away In her monthly column Toni Rowland is upset that a child may not be allowed to make his First Communion.—Page 9
Newman’s comeback The penultimate part of Fr Austin’s series on John Henry Newman looks at the cardinal’s rehabilitation.—Page 9
What do you think? In their Letters to the Editor this week, readers discuss donations to the Church, discussing the faith, Jesus’ teachings, lack of leaders, and suffering—Page 6
This week’s editorial: Pope in Britain
Surf’s up! Nuns ride the waves
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R5,50 (incl VAT RSA)
CONGREGATION of American nuns host an annual Nun’s Beach Surf Invitational in New Jersey to raise funds for the maintenance of their mother house. Sr James Dolores, 73, from the Sister Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, said: “I’m really getting the hang of this. No one ever thought they’d see me on a board.” Pictured in the New York Post posing on a surfboard on the beach, the nun has a special relationship with local surfers. It was forged more than 60 years ago when local surfers approached the nuns’ beach-front retreat, the Villa Maria by the Sea, asking if they could ride its waves. The nuns warmly greeted the beach bums, and the swath of surf was soon dubbed “Nun’s Beach”. The sisters often sit on the beach and even draw spiritual inspiration watching the wave-riders. “It’s very peaceful,” said Sr James, the retreat’s property manager. “You see how the water holds them up and balances them and if you ride with the water, it will get you where you want to go. That’s how it is with the grace of God.” In 1996, a small group of surfers decided it was time to give back to the nuns—by running a contest to help fund the 150-bedroom retreat’s upkeep. About 100 surfers pay $35 (R255) to participate, but hundreds more come to look on. It is $15 (R110) Tshirts that make the biggest profit. Redesigned every year, they feature images of nuns praying on boards and surfing over an American flag. All the images are based on Sr James, who does not really surf. “The surf contest is the single most important event for raising awareness of our presence here and who and what we are about,” Sr James said. “My heart is not big enough to express all the gratitude for all of this help.”—cathnews.com
Blessed Sacrament parish in Virginia-Umhlanga, Durban, has installed a large crucifix statue mounted on its exterior wall, facing a traffic circle. The statue is lit up at night and can be seen from a distance. It was made by local artist and sculptor Clint Williamson. The mould for the body was taken from a 1,93m tall man and that of the face from another man. The cross was moulded from railway sleepers. The mould for the statue can be hired by other churches from Blessed Sacrament parish office. For details call 031-564 7587.
Do unions run SA? BY CLAIRE MATHIESON
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HE protracted public workers’ strike may have been a struggle for power within the African National Congress-led alliance as much as it was about salaries, and showed that trade unions are too powerful, according a Church-based political analyst. Fr Anthony Egan SJ of the Jesuit Institute South Africa in Johannesburg said that “it is possible the prolonged strike has been an attempt by [unions within the Congress of South African Trade Unions] to call Jacob Zuma to line”, pointing out that President Zuma came to power partly through the support of the trade unions and the South African Communist Party. He said that those with the ability to shut down the country, control the country: “One might say whoever wins in strike negotiations truly has power.” Fr Egan referred to England in the 1980s under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. “With sheer will and determination, the police stopped the [year-long] coal miners’ strike. That showed the state had power.” Mrs Thatcher’s government did what the previous government could not do and that resulted in long-standing power. “The South African government hasn’t done much to prevent the strikers from striking, being disorderly and being violent. Does the state realise this shows a loss of power?” Fr Egan asked. “The strikers think they are financially motivated, but the deadlock runs far deeper. The unions want the money, but this is about power.” The government has been criticised by the unions for spending on unnecessary items including luxury cars and football World Cup tickets. Fr Egan said government has “sent the message that they can afford to pay for some things, but not this”. This was the catalyst for action by the unions to show their influence. “Healthcare should be considered essential, but these services are not paid well. Members of Parliament, however, earn big sums of money and many of these services can easily be described as ‘non-essential’.”
Fr Egan suggested the state’s lack of control could be seen in the illegal actions of the union members. He said the unions had been instigating disorderly action among their members but had not been called to answer for the death and destruction caused as result of these actions. “During the 1980s the ‘Doctrine of Common Purpose’ was a law that allowed for the prosecution of people involved in this kind violence. Leadership of these unions should be charged under a similar law,” the priest said. “Government has become blasé about the ‘collateral damage’ seen through these strikes, but the only response is a financial debate not control, which is needed.” Fr Egan said laws and proactive undertakings would indicate the state was trying to regain control. Instead, Fr Egan said, there is no sense of control but a “sense in the general public that people can get away with murder if there is enough support”, for example from a union. In a statement issued during the strike, the Southern Africa Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) said it was “horrified at the incidences of violence and intimidation perpetrated by participants in the public servants strike”. The statement, signed by Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban and SACBC spokesperson, supported the right to strike, but called for those involved to “recognise the rights of others to choose freely what they want to do”. Fr Peter-John Pearson, director of the Catholic Parliamentary Liason Office, said: “Many people say striking is too common, but it does have its place in our democracy.” He said the Catholic Church approves of strikes as a necessary form of achieving justice, however, “consideration for others is needed”. Fr Egan said that the failure of managements and government to protect the rights of non-strikers suggested the unions were more influential. Continued on page 3
HE Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) has strongly protested against the proposed Protection of Information Bill as well as the moored Media Appeals Tribunal. In a statement, the bishops question the “wisdom and the constitutionality” of the Bill, saying that it threatens “some of our most fundamental rights”. These include the rights to receive and impart information; to a free press and media; of access to information held by the state; and to administrative justice. “Furthermore, we believe that the Bill violates the spirit of openness and accountability that is so necessary to underpin the Constitution’s provisions on good governance, essential for a healthy democracy,” the bishops said in a statement signed by Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, archbishop of Durban and spokesman for the SACBC. The bishops said they are concerned Cardinal Wilfrid Napier that, according to the Bill, “virtually any information is liable to be classified as secret by officials who are themselves not accountable to the public”. Moreover, they said, “the definition of national interest and national security are so broad that they could be used to keep secret matters that ought by right to be accessible to the public” and “there is practically no right of appeal, as any appeal would be processed by the very people who made the original ruling”. The bishops warned that the Bill could echo the restrictions on the media in the apartheid era. “We certainly do not want government to take us back to the oppressive practices of yesteryear, against which our common struggle was launched.” The bishops acknowledged that “some degree of restriction of information is both legitimate and necessary”, but that this must not come at the cost of public transparency and accountability. The Bill, they said, “risks fostering or even entrenching a culture of non-accountability and non-transparency among state officials at all levels”. The bishops called on the government to “withdraw the Bill for complete redrafting to ensure that the openness and transparency required by the Constitution and demanded by a clear majority of informed civil society organisation and legal experts are adequately built in”. The bishops said that a statutory Media Appeals Tribunal, appointed by and answerable to parliament, is unnecessary, saying that there already is “an efficient media ombudsman”. Proponents of the Media Appeals Tribunal have said that the ombud’s office is biased, because it is financed by the media and has no power to enforce its decisions. The bishops said the media should be able to regulate itself, backing proposals to beef up the ombud’s role. “We believe that the proposed measure will give this instrument sufficient muscle to satisfy complainants,” the bishops said.