The Southern Cross - 121114

November 14 to November 20, 2012

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SA bishop presents global peace prize to Nigerian prelate

BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

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The 18 students for the priesthood from various dioceses throughout the country and dean of studies Fr Henry Ezenwanne CO celebrate the Year of Faith at St Philip Neri Collegium in Port Elizabeth. After completing their exams, they will continue in their priestly studies at St Kizito National Orientation Seminary in Cape Town.

Vatican official: Family a key ally in fight against crime

BY CINDY WOODEN

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HE absolute frontline in the prevention of crime is the family, a top Vatican official told members of Interpol, the international police organisation.

To prevent crime and violence, societies must educate citizens about their own dignity and the value of each human life, promote solidarity and instill a sense of justice in society—all values that can be learned earliest and best in the family, said Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states, or de facto foreign minister.

The archbishop spoke to members of Interpol holding their general assembly in Rome this month.

The 190 country-members of Interpol not only coordinate crime-fighting efforts, but also work together on crime prevention programmes.

An increase of crime, particularly brutally violent crime, around the world calls for even greater preventative actions, Archbishop Mamberti said.

Prevention requires “the removal of factors which give rise to and nourish situations of injustice. In this field a primary and preventative role belongs to education inspired by respect for human life in all circumstances,” he said.

Only with the recognition of the value of each life will it be “possible to create a strong social fabric united in its fundamental values and able to resist the provocation of extreme violence”, he said.

“In this context, the most important place in which human beings are formed is the family. There, children experience the value of their own transcendent dignity, as they are accepted gratuitously on the basis of the stable and reciprocal love of their parents.”

In the family, people have their first

ISHOP Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg has presented the the Pax Christi Peace Award to a Nigerian archbishop who will be made a cardinal by Pope Benedict on November 24.

Cardinal-elect John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja, Nigeria, was chosen by the board of Pax Christi “for his witness and work for peace and reconciliation in the Christian-Muslim context in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa,” Bishop Dowling, co-president of Pax Christi International, told The Southern Cross.

The Pax Christi Peace Award is presented in recognition of contributions to peace, conflict resolution, non-violence, human rights and justice.

“Archbishop Onaiyekan has distinguished himself as a determined advocate for Christian-Muslim relations in Nigeria, where in recent years sectarian violence has been severe. In the face of Islamist violence, he has consistently called for peace, forgiveness and reconciliation,” Bishop Dowling said.

Bishop Dowling said the cardinal-elect had continuously urged Christians to exercise restraint and to not take revenge against their Muslim neighbours following terror attacks by Islamic fundamentalists.

“He tells them that Boko Haram, the Islamist militants trying to ‘purge’ the region of so-called Western influence, does not represent Islam in Nigeria and that Muslims are to be treated with respect and dignity,” Bishop Dowling said at the award presentation ceremony.

C A delegate attends the Interpol general assembly in Rome. The world's largest international police organisation and ministers from over 100 countries were meeting to address issues ranging form human trafficking to terrorist activities. In his address, the Vatican’s foreign minister said that families are at the frontline of crime prevention.

(Photo: Alessandro Bianchi, Reuters/CNS) experiences of “justice and forgiveness, which cements family relationships and acts as a foundation for the correct insertion into social life”, Archbishop Mamberti said.

The archbishop also insisted that the respect for human dignity at the basis of good social order also must be extended to those who have disturbed the social order.

“The criminal, no matter how grave the crimes he committed, always remains a human person, endowed with rights and obligations,” he said.

“The state must take steps to prevent and repress criminal activity and compensate for the disorder caused by criminal action,” the archbishop said, “but doing this, it always must abstain from mistreatment and torture, and assure the safeguarding of the fundamental rights that every person enjoys”.—CNS

ardinal-elect Onaiyekan said at the Synod of Bishops in the Vatican last month that the differences between Islam and Christianity are not negligible, “but there are also broad areas of common ground that go to the foundations of our faiths”.

“Our two religions claim to have a divine mission to embrace all humanity.

This has led to clashes in the past. Now that we find ourselves in the same ‘global village’, we just have to find ways of interpreting our sense of world mission in a way that would respect also our God-given duty to live in peace with our fellow human beings. In this regard, we must continue to insist on freedom of conscience as a fundamental human right of every citizen of every nation,” Cardinal-elect Onaiyekan told the synod.

The archbishop of Abuja has insisted that the violent actions of Boko Haram must not be met with yet more violence.

Cardinal-designate John Olurunfemi Omaiyekan with the Pax Christi Preace Award and Bishop Kevin Dowling, Pax Christi co-president.

Even after bombs killed dozens of Christians at Christmas last year, he urged their survivors to resist the natural instincts of anger and revenge and to instead follow the teachings of Jesus.

Bishop Dowling said at the awards ceremony, which took place in Mechelen, near the Belgian capital of Brussels, that Pax Christi International recognised the cardinal-elect’s strong leadership on behalf of peace—both in Nigeria and throughout Africa and other countries around the world.

Cardinal-elect Onaiyekan was thanked for his “resolve that violence will not have the final word”.

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ax Christi was founded in 1945 in France, shortly after World War II, due to the brave efforts of French and German religious and lay people.

“They wanted to transform the years of bitter conflict and they believed—as we do today—that peace and healing are possible through prayer, spirituality, active commitment to reconciliation, and that vicious cycles of violence and conflict can be broken,” Bishop Dowling said.

Today, the organisation has grown into a global Catholic peace movement with more than 100 member organisations present in more than 60 countries on five continents.

Its commitment to peace, non-violence, spirituality, conflict resolution and reconciliation is given expression in a variety of programmes depending on the actual context in which its partner organisations work.

Pax Christ International also has representative status at the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the European Union, the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva, and the African Union.

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The Southern Cross, November 14 to November 20, 2012

LOCAL

Home’s thrilled children catch limo ride

BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

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Children from St Joseph’s Home in Cape Town are pictured in a limousine with the home’s Meriska Smith on their way to Cape Point.

Accountability to end poverty STAFF REPORTER

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HERE are many important steps that need to be taken to eliminate poverty and address inequality, and while social grants alone can’t meet these goals, they are an important part of this process.

This was the message heard at a round table discussion hosted by the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO), an office of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the Hanns Seidel Foundation, and the Goedgedacht Forum, a Catholic NGO. Professor Viviene Taylor, a member of the National Planning Commission, gave a brief outline of the findings and recommendations of the commission as they

relate to social protection.

“She emphasised that social grants are just one piece of the National Development Plan’s vision for social protection,” said the CPLO’s Julie Bodnar, adding that these cash grants provide meaningful assistance to roughly 16 million people in South Africa.

During the discussion, the need for public participation in the national planning process was also highlighted. “The floor heard that the National Development Plan requires good governance and ethical conduct from our leaders in order for the progressive ideas of the plan to take root,” said Ms Bodnar.

Civil society must be “actively committed to holding all levels of society accountable” if poverty is to be eradicated, she said.

COLLABORATIVE initiative between the Tygerberg Children’s Hospital Trust and St Joseph’s Home in Cape Town saw a group of 15 chronically ill children go on an excursion to Cape Point to celebrate National Children’s Day in November.

“The excitement was infectious and we were able to see and experience Cape Point through their eyes. All the children have been diagnosed with a life threatening illness, come from impoverished communities and would not normally have an opportunity to experience the beauty of Cape Town and what it has to offer,” said St Joseph’s Chantel Cooper.

The day started with a sponsored limousine ride for the children. “On arrival, Snow White from Cre8tive Kids welcomed the group and they were treated to an interactive puppet show. After various medical checks, we continued our adventure travels up to Cape Point and were treated to a sponsored lunch,” said Ms Cooper.

One of the highlights for many of the children, who were accompanied by medical staff, was the

ride on the Flying Dutchman funicular to the lighthouse at Cape Point.

Ms Cooper said the day was aimed at providing an outing for the children they would otherwise probably never experience, and which “will undoubtedly enrich their lives and endow them with memories to treasure”.

It was also an opportunity to create a greater awareness of Tygerberg Children’s Hospital and St Joseph’s Home (specifically the specialised services that the home provides) and to “procure muchneeded funds to optimise the delivery of quality services to the many children whom we serve, and who come almost exclusively from indigent families,” said Ms Cooper.

St Joseph’s provides free medical and rehabilitative care for children who suffer from chronic and debilitating illnesses. n To support the initiative, call the Tygerberg Children’s Hospital Trust Pledge Line on 083 913 1234 (VAS rates apply, free minutes don’t apply) to pledge a donation. All proceeds will be split 50:50 between Tygerberg Children’s Hospital and St Joseph’s Home.

Umzimkulu targets its youth

STAFFF REPORTER

Y

OUTH in Umzimkulu diocese are being visited and encouraged since Sr Sizakele Mbeje CPS, Education for Life coordinator in the diocese, embarked on a parish roadshow.

“The aim of Education for Life is to revive the youth,” Sr Mbeje said. The programme, which will celebrate ten years in 2013, teaches and reinforces values, positive attitudes and behaviour compatible with living the Gospel values with Jesus as the key focus.

Sr Mbeje has been working with a team, visiting the various parishes around the diocese, and has seen a positive response.

“The young people have been very grateful that we visited.

They are eager to establish the youth teams. The parents also have been grateful,” she said.

Sr Mbeje said it was vital that any programme or initiative intended for youth keep their needs in mind.

The Precious Blood Sister said young people are facing many challenges and that it is important parishes assist in any way possible.

“The parish has to include youth programmes in its yearly budget; the parents have to play an active role. There must be a Sunday Mass for the young peo-

ple in each parish,” she said.

“The diocese has to see that we have youth offices.”

The parish visits will culminate in a gathering of all coordinators in December where leadership training will take place.

There will be a follow up with the coordinators and there are plans for a team-building workshop in all the parishes Sr Mbeje said she hoped the youth programmes would help make a difference to the disempowered youth of the area.

“We want our young people to move forward. We need young people who are on fire for Jesus,” she said.

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The Southern Cross, November 14 to November 20, 2012

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Pretoria archdiocese launches Year of Faith

BY MATHIBELA SEBOTHOMA

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Students at St Henry’s Marist College in Durban have created a semi-permanent display on the Year of Faith in the college’s main foyer. As the year progresses, the display will highlight different aspects of how the “door of faith”, opened at one’s baptism, remains open for Catholics to walk through again and again to rediscover and renew their relationship with Christ and his Church. The Grade 8 students pictured (from left Tevin Pillay, Keyanna Perumal, Anthony Olge and Jessica Erasmus) have contributed to the display by making posters on parts of the Nicene Creed.

Hurley statue unveiling delay STAFF REPORTER

T

HE official unveiling of the statue of Archbishop Denis Hurley in Durban has been postponed to February after the annual lecture dedicated to the late archbishop on November 16 had to be relocated.

The Archbishop Hurley Lecture was to take place at Emmanuel cathedral but has been moved to the Glenmore Pastoral Centre at 10 Donlene Crescent (off Siphiwe Zuma Avenue, formerly Queen Mary Avenue).

“As a result of the lecture being

moved, it won’t be possible to unveil the Hurley statue at that event, but it will be part of the events of the Hurley Weekend from February 9-10, 2013,” said organiser Paddy Kearney.

Nevertheless, the launch of Denis Hurley: Truth to Power, Mr Kearney’s abridged biography of Archbishop Hurley, will still be part of the programme for the November 16 lecture, which begins with supper at 6pm and the lecture programme at 7pm.

The theme this year is “The Challenge of Inter-Faith Relations 50 Years after Vatican II”.

AUNCHING the Year of Faith in the archdiocese of Pretoria, Archbishop William Slattery said: “Today we are beginning a journey of our faith, to open the door of faith to walk in, meditate and be evangelised.”

According to the City of Tshwane Metro police, about 7 000 people took part in the Eucharist ceremony at Pilditch Stadium in Pretoria West. The event was also attended by council speaker Morakane Mosupyoe and some local councillors.

Archbishop Slattery urged Catholics to be involved in politics, the financial market and the media because “democracy cannot function well without Christian activists”.

“We must make sure that South Africa belongs to all who live in it and build together a society which was destroyed by apartheid,” he said, urging the congregation to find inspiration from those killed or imprisoned in the struggle for a nonracial and just South Africa.

Archbishop Slattery affirmed the faith of practising Catholics and invited inactive Catholics to return to the Church.

He preached that young people were the target of media, advertisers and celebrities. “Some of these institutions want to poison you,” he said. “However, by frequenting Holy Mass you will know the dif-

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Archbishop William Slattery with Church officials at Pilditch Stadium. ference between good and bad.”

The Church is observing the Year of Faith until November 24, 2013.

The opening of the Year of Faith coincided with the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council and the 20th anniversary of the release of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

During the Year of Faith, Catholics are asked to study and reflect on the documents of Vatican II and the catechism.

“The Year of Faith should begin in the parish as the parish draws people to Christ,” the archbishop said. “The parish will necessarily be the centre of the New Evangelisation.”

Each deanery was given a cruci-

fix as a sign of commencing the Year of Faith while each parish was handed a large candle.

Archbishop Slattery had encouraged parish priests to cancel Sunday morning Masses to give way to the opening of the archdiocesan celebration of the Year of Faith.

Fr Herman Mole of Soshanguve observed that some parishes did not heed the call and lamented that “such tendencies will hamper efforts at unity, reconciliation and evangelisation”.

The new chair of the archdiocesan pastoral council, Enency Kuki Mbatha, pronounced the launch a success. “Now everyone has been provided a platform to actively start the propagation of faith,” she said.

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The Southern Cross, November 14 to November 20, 2012

INTERNATIONAL

Priests ‘need anger management’

BY CAROL GLATZ

A

NGER awareness and management are vital for priests and members of religious orders because they are called to be people of dialogue, fraternity, service, peace and justice, and to treat others with charity, according to an influential Jesuit magazine.

If clergy and religious don’t have “an adequate integration of aggression, they can become hostile, rigid and obstinate and risk exploding the often delicate and complex balance present in the communities” where they live and work, said an article written by Fr Giovanni Cucci SJ in La Civiltà Cattolica.

Fr Cucci is a professor of psychology and philosophy at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University “The denial of rage certainly does not lead to a calmer or quieter life, but rather to a potentially more explosive situation; emotions rebel when they are not listened to, when they don’t find an adequate place” to be expressed,

said the article in the journal, which is reviewed by the Vatican before publication.

In fact, many perversions, including the sexual abuse of minors, are linked to the “dynamic of repressed anger” that often is found together with psychological wounds caused by violence and abuse the perpetrator experienced and never “recognised and worked through”, said the article.

T

he Civiltà article cited studies done by Mgr Stephen Rossetti, a licensed psychologist and clinical associate professor of pastoral studies at The Catholic University of America, Washington.

His years at the helm of the St Luke Institute, a treatment centre in Maryland for priests and religious with addictions or psychological problems, showed that at the root of many “deviancies and sexual pathologies there is a kind of pent-up rage or rage that has been eroticised”, the article said.

Mgr Rossetti’s research showed that many priests who sexually abused minors said their acts were

motivated by a desire to be a paternal figure and show the child the love they never received as children from their own fathers.

However, in actuality the behaviour against the child was “a destructive act that sprung from their hidden rage and violence, and which leaves their victims terrified. They were reliving the violence they suffered as children with the same destructive results,” the journal quoted from Mgr Rossetti’s findings.

An awareness and acceptance of anger is critical then in trying to bring healing to perpetrators and victims of abuse, the article said.

Though it seems counterintuitive, “aggression is the natural foundation of hope” because at the root of anger and rage is the belief that something can or must be done to right a wrong, protect the good or overcome a challenge.

In order for any good to come from feelings of rage, “it is important above all to recognise the presence of anger, paying close attention to how it is then

expressed”, Fr Cucci wrote.

Aggression that is internalised can become “a terrible poison” causing health problems, insomnia, obsessive-compulsive tendencies or passive-aggressive behaviours, he said.

“Suicide is the most extreme manifestation of aggression turned against oneself,” the article said.

When anger is denied and pent-up, it becomes “combustible”, and instead of solving problems, it makes them worse, resulting in often tragic consequences.

“Hope—the mirror image of aggression,” it said, “fosters vigilance and a sense of expectation,” which are unique qualities of the Christian experience.

“The ideal of a Christian life is in fact, holiness, not perfect, unflappable serenity” or to simply “be well”, the Jesuit wrote. “Limits and fragility, even if they can become sources of suffering, are not something negative, to get rid of,” but are rather signs of being human.—CNS

Pope Benedict greets new pope

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OPE Benedict has praised the choice of the new patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, saying he was confident the new leader would help build a new Egypt that would serve the common good of the nation and the whole Middle East.

Bishop Tawadros, 60, was chosen to lead Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church, the largest Christian community in the country. He will be ordained on November 18 as Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria and patriarch of the See of St Mark.

More than 2 400 bishops and elite lay leaders voted to reduce a five-person shortlist to three nominees for a new pope.

Bishop Tawadros’ name was drawn from a glass bowl by a blindfolded child in a traditional ceremony held at Cairo’s St Mark’s cathedral; the Coptic Orthodox Church says the process lets “the hand of God” make the final choice.—CNS

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A parishioner prays the rosary between Masses celebrated all day long at St George parish in St Louis, Missouri, on US election day on November 6. The church held a “Marathon of Masses for God and Country”.

Exit polls showed that President Barack Obama, who was re-elected for another four-year term, won 50% of the Catholic vote, to Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s 47%. Mr Romney carried Protestant voters by 56% to 43%. (Photo: Lisa Johnston, St Louis Review/CNS)

Bishop: Don’t talk to terrorists

BY PETER AJAYI DADA

A

NIGERIAN archbishop has joined others in his country in questioning the wisdom of a plan that the Nigerian government enter into dialogue with the Boko Haram Islamic sect, which has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of people in the past several years.

Critics, including Archbishop Felix Job of Ibadan, urged Nigerian authorities to be cautious of negotiating with an extremist “faceless group” that had been involved in maiming and killing of innocent Nigerians.

Archbishop Job also criticised a Boko Haram suggestion that among its delegates to the negotiations in Saudi Arabia would be former Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, the country’s military ruler from 1983 to

A gaping hole is seen on St Rita's church following an attack last month in the northern city of Kaduna, Nigeria, which killed several people. (Photo: Reuters/CNS) 1985 and a presidential candidate in 2003, 2007 and 2011.

“Is it not funny that the Boko Haram group, a faceless group, has a spokesman” and is seeking “dialogue with the Nigerian government as a means of resolving the insecurity?”, Archbishop Job asked.

“Nigerians have not been told

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who are the sponsors of the faceless sectarian group that had been maiming and killing innocent Nigerians over time,” he said. He wondered if the general’s nomination might be “translated into meaning that he is indirectly one of the financiers of the sect”.

Bishop John Goltok of Bauchi wondered why Saudi Arabia was chosen as the venue for the dialogue.

“There are a lot of complications involved in the issue,’’ he said.

Among Boko Haram’s targets have been Christian churches.

One of the most recent attacks occurred on October 28 in the city of Kaduna, when a car bomb slammed into St Rita’s Catholic church, killing at least eight people and injuring 135— many of them children.—CNS

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INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, November 14 to November 20, 2012

5

Calvary church hit with massive water bill

BY JUDITH SUDILOVSKY

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A

DISPUTE over an unpaid water bill reportedly running to R20 million could threaten the daily functioning of the church of the Holy Sepulchre, Christendom’s holiest sites.

A well-informed source who did not want to be named said the dispute stems from a unilateral cancellation of a long-term agreement—dating to Turkish rule—which exempted the church of the Holy Sepulchre from paying for the water it used. The church has a copy of a signed 1969 letter outlining the agreement, he said, and has made copies available to the municipality.

He said negotiations over payment of the bill had been going on for about two years but in late October the municipal water company, Hagihon, froze the Greek Orthodox patriarchate’s bank account and, according to a report in the Israeli Maariv newspaper, the patriarchate was threatening to close its doors.

The source said that water in the church is used for cleaning and is “very heavily” used not only by pilgrims coming to the church but also by tourists to the Old City, who come to use the church facilities and drink water because there are no other public toilets in the area. He said the providing of public toilets was “too much of a burden” on the church but it provided the free use of their facilities as a courtesy.

An official at the Greek Orthodox patriarchate told the news agency Reuters that the patriarchate was willing to pay water bills from now on, but the accumulated debt “would be

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Franciscan friars walk inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. A dispute over an unpaid water bill reportedly running to R20 million could threaten the daily functioning of the church, Christendom’s holiest site. (Photo: Baz Ratner, Reuters/CNS) problematic”.

In the meantime, the patriarchate is unable to pay salaries for its employees or pay for food, toll road charges or their electric and phone bills.

“It doesn’t make sense to us to be asking to pay a retroactive bill that the municipality has a written commitment [not to charge],” said the source.

He said the payment was not the issue, but rather the unilateral cancellation of the traditional agreement. He said demanding payment was tantamount to breaking the historic Status Quo agreement, which determines the details of how the church is run.

He said Christian church leaders have had “extensive meetings” among themselves to determine what steps should be taken next.

The church of the Holy Sepul-

cher is traditionally believed to be the place of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection, and sovereignty over it is shared by the Greek Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church (represented by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land) and the Armenian Orthodox Church. The Coptic, Assyrian and Ethiopian Orthodox churches also have smaller claims to the church.

A spokesman for Hagihon said it has held talks and meetings with representatives of the churches “for years” and had suggested the Greek Orthodox patriarchate turn to the interior ministry with its concerns, since the law does not allow the company to make exceptions.

He said the church was being charged retroactively only since 2004, when the company was formed.—CNS

Cardinal calls for negotiations with China

BY CINDY WOODEN

O

VER the past five years, relations between the government of China and the Catholic Church unfortunately have been marked by “misunderstandings, accusations” and new “stumbling blocks” to religious freedom, according to the prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.

“Control over persons and institutions has been honed and sessions of indoctrination and pressure are being turned to with ever greater ease,” Cardinal Fernando Filoni said in an article published in Tripod, a publica-

tion of the Holy Spirit Study Centre in Hong Kong.

The cardinal, who spent nine years in Hong Kong as a Vatican diplomat, issued a call for dialogue with China’s communist government.

He asked for the establishment of a high-level, bilateral commission of China and the Holy See, similar to the ChinaTaiwan commissions that continue to discuss issues of importance even though relations between the two are strained politically.

The Catholic community in China, he said, does not enjoy the freedom it should and it can-

not move towards unity and reconciliation as long as the government appoints bishops unacceptable to the Holy See, pressures other bishops to participate in illicit ordinations and detains bishops who insist on maintaining their ties with the Vatican.

China’s estimated 10 million to 12 million Catholics are divided between officially registered communities supervised by the government-controlled Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and so-called “underground” communities that recognise only the authority of the Vatican.—CNS

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LEADER PAGE

The Southern Cross, November 14 to November 20, 2012

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Editor: Günther Simmermacher

Preventing crime

D

ISCUSSIONS on crime prevention often place an emphasis on law enforcement and the punishment of offenders. Aside from failings in the police, many tend to attribute the causes of crime to poverty and the breakdown of the family and society.

It is indeed true that the threat of being arrested and subsequent punishment can serve as a deterrent to crime, though when potential offenders have too little to lose by their incarceration, the efficacy of the deterrent diminishes.

Poverty is an obvious source of crime, but poverty in itself does not cause crime, since most poor people are not criminals.

The incidence of crime therefore resides in myriad causes, not all of them predictable.

Statistics indicate that children from broken homes are at greater statistical risk of entering a life of truancy and crime than children from intact homes.

Clearly ways must be found to address the rate of delinquency among children from broken homes. The public pays a price when governments and society fail to support families, especially those where circumstances are difficult.

It is also true, however, that most children from single-parent homes are every bit as decent as those from more traditional families. We must beware of attaching an unjust stigma to such children, or to their parents.

Moreover, a significant class of criminals comes from backgrounds of social stability, and even privilege: thieves whose felonies are trivialised by the euphemism “white collar crime”.

The crisis in crime has its most obvious roots in morality and ethics.

Addressing an Interpol conference in Rome this month, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, linked such ethics—the sense of what is right—with crime prevention, saying that “a primary and preventative role belongs to education inspired by respect for human life in all circumstances”.

Archbishop Mamberti identified the family as the primary agent in imparting these values, much as the Church holds that the family is the first line of education in all things, including religious faith.

When a family can instill in a child a sense of justice and dignity—when it calibrates the child’s moral compass—then, according to the archbishop’s reasoning, that child will be less likely to transgress against others than a child that has been brought up with compromised values.

In a functional family, “children experience the value of their own transcendent dignity, as they are accepted gratuitously on the basis of the stable and reciprocal love of their parents”, Archbishop Mamberti said.

The challenge for society is to identify where such a formation and love is deficient or absent, and what can be done about it.

This, of course, requires a deployment in resources, especially in the field of social work and services, which governments may be loath to make. Civil society, including the churches, already runs commendable programmes to help fill that gap, but resources are insufficient to meet a massive need such as that which South Africa faces.

But even a “good home” can give its children poor guidance when parents fail to lead by example. In South Africa especially, there is a culture of impunity which tolerates transgressions against legal or moral codes.

This culture of impunity has infected all of us who commit infractions—drink-driving, littering, petty theft, coercive conduct, insurance fraud and so on—simply because we can get away with it.

People who buy stolen goods or fraternise with criminals (never mind protecting them from detection) convey an acquiescence in criminality that erodes ethical codes.

Some years ago, Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg went as far as saying that such people’s “hands are dripping with the blood of innocent people”.

The slippery slope of the culture of impunity starts with the motorist who throws a cigarette butt out of the window, and it ends with the anarchy of crime.

Whenever we engage in illegal or unethical behaviour, even if our offences are relatively petty, we locate ourselves somewhere on that slippery slope, and we corrupt, by our example, those whose characters we are called to shape.

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.

How to take on MultiChoice disappointing to read in how MultiChoice could be conITyourwaseditorial (October 10) that tacted by post, phone, fax or the Internet.

MultiChoice (which operates DStv) had shown disrespect for the Catholic Church.

I had hoped for a follow-up to the effect that MultiChoice had apologised to the Catholic community, the second-largest religious group in South Africa.

Intead, all that appeared was a note below the editorial showing

Eat and drink

I

WAS disappointed by Michael Shackleton’s response to the question about distribution of the Eucharist (October 31).

He appears to be unenthusiastic about receiving Communion under both kinds, making it seem that receiving from the cup is to be the exception rather than the norm.

Oddly he doesn’t quote the simple and clear wish of Jesus as expressed at the Last Supper: “Take and eat...this is my body” and “Drink from this, all of you, for this is my blood” (Mt 26:26-27).

The sacraments are “outward signs of inward grace” we were taught, and the signs of the Eucharist are bread and wine— transformed into the body and blood of Christ.

Paddy Kearney, Durban

Initiate males into powerlessness

I

CANNOT agree with Cardinal Wilfrid Napier (October 17) alluding to women being a cause of widespread male emasculation.

One of the primary causes is poor stereotypes (such as “boys don’t cry”) and what is called “the Father wound”.

Men can be severely handicapped psychologically when they have not had a good father or when the father has been absent.

The latter was endemic in South Africa during the old dispensation, for obvious reasons.

I do agree that men should be part of the solution for better social structures. However, women have to play their role as well—not only as wives and housewives.

The yin and yang energies that enable balance and stability in all areas of human interaction are part of God’s plan.

There is another element that is also needed: male initiation.

Fr Richard Rohr OFM is adamant that all boys need to be initiated into powerlessness and

While I would have liked to show my displeasure by cancelling my contract with MultiChoice, I must admit that as an elderly pensioner who depends a lot on DStv, I lacked the determination to do so, as MultiChoice holds a virtual monopoly.

However, I had been about to sign up for the Internet, but now I the real meaning of power, otherwise they will inevitably abuse their power.

A couple of years ago Fr Rohr took a group of men to a secluded place in the mountains in the Western Cape for a three-day initiation course.

It is those men who can best testify to the experience, but having read one of his books on male initiation, if the experience was fully entered into, they came away knowing “who they really are in Christ”.

You may very well find in rural areas in Africa that women have fertility rites, but in the whole history of the world there has been no trace of female initiation.

Women do not need initiation because we know in our bodies the mystery of life, death and resurrection.

Immature women will mature virtually overnight with the experience of giving birth.

Rosemary Gravenor, Durban

Men tarred

I

AM surprised that a person of Dr Susan Rakoczy’s calibre can use such simplistic arguments in her reaction (October 10) to Cardinal Wilfrid Napier’s article which questioned whether every sin is the result of patriarchy.

Her use of sweeping statements such as “slavery...was a commercial enterprise of men” and “apartheid was a creation of men and justified by male theologians” knocked me off my seat.

Before I’m consigned to the recalcitrant remnants of patriarchy, that prime evil, let me state that the structures that create and perpetuate social sin must be faced and addressed—but so should the 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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have decided to enter into a contract with a competitor, which offers a lower monthly subscription, free modem and free installation.

Catholics might wish to react to MultiChoice’s attitude by changing their Internet service provider.

I am of the opinion that discrimination on the grounds of religion could be unconstitutional, so I am curious to know if any of your readers can say how unconstitutional behaviour can be dealt with.

Keith Gilchrist, Johannesburg attitudes that write people off as irrelevant, archaic and irreformable. Or attitudes that see history only from one perspective.

The perpetuators of slavery were not just men. The beneficiaries of slavery were not just men.

The victims of slavery were not just women.

Slavery benefited exploitative societies, admittedly dominated by male leadership, but societies made up of men (who were fathers, sons, brothers, husbands and lovers of women) and women.

Taking such a simple argument might make Dr Rakoczy guilty of the same thinking she claims to need to reform. It is the whole of human society that is scarred by sin and for which the Lord Jesus dies—not just victims, but also perpetrators. Not just women, but all persons.

Dr Rakoczy perpetuates a dichotomy that blames the chromosome while exalting it. Indeed a skewed and distorted relationship.

Fr Chris Townsend, Pretoria

Teaching the faith

R

ESPONDING to Catherine de Valence (October 31), I fully agree that our education system has gone down the drain when it comes to educating learners that there is a God. We all know that the only place where Christianity is still explained and taught is in our Catholic schools, however difficult it may be, as learners from various groups attend.

In today’s times it is not always possible for parents to educate their children at home, as there is a lot of pressure on parents, but at least, it is their duty to bring their children up in our Catholic beliefs.

As Catherine de Valence asks in her letter, let us join in prayer to ask God to make a way to bring Christianity and prayer back into our schools.

Joe Stas, Port Alfred

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The forgiveness of sins

T

HE Catholic Church has seven sacraments—Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Communion, Confession, Marriage, Holy Orders, and the Anointing of the Sick. These form the life of the Catholic Church, with each sacrament being what is called an outward sign of an inward grace.

When we participate in the sacraments worthily, they provide us with graces—the life of God in our soul. In worship, we give to God that which we owe God; in the sacraments, God gives us the graces necessary to live a truly human life.

Confession is one of the least understood of the sacraments of the Catholic Church. Even worse, it is one of the underutilised sacraments. Confession—or the sacrament of reconciliation, as it's officially known—has become the one sacrament casual Catholics feel free to skip, mostly from lack of proper understanding about what seeking absolution actually entails.

The strange thing is that at the time when so many lay Catholics abandon the confessional, the secular culture is increasingly awash in confession, apology, and acts of contrition of every sort, from books to Internet to movies and to the confessional style of journalism.

It may be Catholics feel uneasy being part of this narcissist culture that fuels mawkish exhibitionism of our “me-me” generation. But confession has always been private and confidential, even when it is not done through the confessional, an innovation introduced since 1973. So that can’t be the explanation.

Early 20th-century Catholics preferred taking Communion only once a year— some referred to it as their Easter duty— but they generally confessed their sins far

more regularly. A few years ago, many Catholics would not have thought of accepting the Eucharist until after cleansing one’s soul through confession. Today the situation is almost exactly the reverse: Entire congregations receive Communion while the confessionals remain mostly empty. Why? The roots for that, in my opinion, are in the programme of renewal that emerged from the Second Vatican Council.

It said almost nothing about penance and reconciliation. The Church’s emphasis after Vatican II was less on guilt and damnation and more on love and forgiveness. Post-Vatican II, the Church entered the efforts of our age to empower the people. This left some Catholics figuring that they could confess their sins directly to God in prayer, as Protestants do.

I am not saying the move from the arcane legalisms of Catholic transgression was a bad thing, but it has had ramifications. It has inspired people to see themselves as adults thinking less about

The Southern Cross, November 14 to November 20, 2012

Reflection on the Apostles Creed – Pt 11

whether they are breaking the rules and more about their attitudes, intentions, and ideas about how to live a Christian life. But truth be told, the sacrament of reconciliation took a knock from this attitude and widened the growing gap between Church teachings and the daily practices.

As Catholic adults we now need to cultivate the humility needed for us to come face to face before God and confess our failings. Confession is not an external cleanser whereby after you are done confessing your sins everything is good.

Catholic confession demands a rigorous examination of conscience and real as opposed to exhibitionist contrition.

Most Catholics are more comfortable with the Mass, which fits better with the consumerist mental attitude of our times, of accepting something for nothing.

We want grace without contrition.

Unfortunately for us, God’s justice is restorative; it demands that we first understand what we have done wrong, and then, as an act of contrition, we do something to right what we have wronged, and do everything in our power with a sincere and contrite heart not to repeat the same mistakes.

As the psalmist saw long ago, God will not spurn contrition, but God cannot be hogwashed either. The sooner we learn the humility of subjecting ourselves to proper confession, the sooner we will grow closer to God. In this Year of Faith the sacrament of reconciliation can also be an added indulgence to renew our faith.

What we can learn from Marikana tragedy

W

HATEVER way you look at it, the shootings at Marikana in August were a great tragedy. In all it cost 46 people their lives.

The world which ushered in the new South Africa, only a short 18 years ago, with indescribable joy, hope and expectation, is utterly saddened and confused.

Shaking its head and wringing its hands it joins us in wondering: “How could something so terrible happen in the land of the “miracle” of 1994?

The official inquiry has yet to say what happened, but already we can identify ingredients from the bad old days: a) the chasm between promises of a better life and what has been delivered, b) extreme disappointment and disillusionment, c) anger expressing itself in bullying, intimidation, intolerance and recourse to violence.

When these ingredients are present there will be extreme fear and tension. All that is needed is the smallest spark and an absolute disaster is inevitable!

At Marikana, what was the spark? Was it the toyi-toying of the miners or was it the fact that many were armed with an assortment of “traditional weapons”? Was it this that caused the police to use live ammunition, rather than rubber bullets or teargas? Hopefully, the inquiry will reveal the truth.

Meanwhile speculation continues: Did

the police panic? Did they decide to teach the unruly miners a lesson they would never forget? Were they acting out their former commissioner's instruction, “don't die with your guns in their holsters”?

Or, perish the thought, did they decide to avenge the killing of two of their colleagues?

No one can say, yet. What we can say is that here again was an example of our South African propensity to violence. We so easily disregard totally the dignity and integrity of the other, in particular his God-given life.

For the Church, the questions are these: How do we redeem society from this apartheid-era vice? How do we get people, in particular men, to subscribe again to the vision and lofty ideals of the Constitution?

How do we restore the Constitution to being a living project, rather than the dead document, which it seems to be becoming?

As I see it, as Church we need to call for government that a) shows by its policies and actions that it is truly committed to “governing” the country by meeting the people's clearly expressed needs and aspirations, rather than party policy based on the failed systems of socialist or communist Europe, b) abandons its belief that because it is supported by the majority it has the licence to “rule” according to its own ide-

Cardinal Wilfrid Napier OFM

Talking Frankly

ology to the detriment of the common good, and c) calls its police force to account for its actions, especially those that have taken innocent lives.

Whatever the root cause of Marikana, it is clear that we need a strategic plan that is guided by the principles of truth, justice and fairness. That plan needs to include deep respect for the inherent dignity of every human person, who, regardless of racial or ethnic or linguistic origin, is made in the image of God. And for that reason alone, all must be provided with protection of life and limb in every circumstance.

On behalf of the Catholic Church, I offer sincere sympathy and condolences to all those who lost loved ones in the violence at Marikana and in all violence, especially that which is re-emerging in KwaZulu-Natal.

May our prayers for peace be expressed in the firm commitment to work for a change of behaviour which will lead to the kind of reverence and respect for life which God himself showed when he gave us his commandment: Thou shalt not kill.

7

Michael Shackleton

Open Door

Can Catholics vote for pro-abortion politicans?

Before he became Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in a doctrinal note stated in 2002 that Catholics may never vote for pro-abortion politicians (an apt description of several of our political parties). Should our Catholics not be informed of this crucial prohibition?

Pro Vertitate N his apostolic exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis of February, 2007, Pope Benedict pointed out that worship that is pleasing to God can never be a purely private matter. It is a public witness to our faith.

He applied this to all the baptised but stressed that politicians have a special obligation to witness to their faith when making decisions regarding fundamental values such as respect for human life. He warned that one’s salvation may be affected by such decisions.

The pope reminded politicians of their grave responsibility to oppose laws and policies that violate life at any stage from conception to natural death. He affirmed the serious duty of bishops to teach these values consistently to their people.

In the doctrinal note that you mention, Cardinal Ratzinger said Catholics who disapprove of abortion but do not support politicians who do, may be justified in voting for candidates for reasons other than their support for abortion. In such instances, he said, these must be “proportionate reasons”.

The bishops of the United States gave guidance in their voter’s guide for this month’s elections, titled “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship”. In it they said: “Catholics often face difficult choices about how to vote. This is why it is so important to vote according to a well-formed conscience that perceives the proper relationship among moral goods. A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who takes a position in favour of an intrinsic evil, such as abortion or racism, if the voter’s intent is to support that position. In such cases, a Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in grave evil.”

They advise voters: “A candidate’s position on a single issue is not sufficient to guarantee a voter’s support. Yet a candidate’s position on a single issue that involves an intrinsic evil, such as support for legal abortion or the promotion of racism, may legitimately lead a voter to disqualify a candidate from receiving support.”

Our own bishops and clergy know their duty to proclaim the sacredness of human life. Generally, they do this forcefully at appropriate election times.

I

n 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.

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8

The Southern Cross, November 14 to November 20, 2012

The Knights of St Christopher, a motorcycle ministry in the archdiocese of Cape Town, visited the annual bazaar of Milnerton-Brooklyn parish. Seen with the group is its chaplain, Fr Bogdan Buksa (centre) of Bellville parish.

COMMUNITY

The Catholic Women’s League in the archdiocese of Johannesburg held a morning of recollection at Schoenstatt in Bedfordview, Johannesburg. (From left) Chloe Droste (past national president), Renilde Walton (Johannesburg regional president) and CWL spiritual director, Fr Vincent Pienaar.

St Michael’s parish in Red Hill, Durban was host to members of the newlyformed Pioneer Total Abstinence Association of the Sacred Heart. Pictured are commissioning visiting priest Fr Patrick Maselwane (left), and visiting pioneers from Port Elizabeth.

The CWL of Our Lady of Fatima parish in Durban North, had their AGM and branch meeting. (From left) Margaret Larkins (branch secretary), Pauline Lotter (branch treasurer), Jabu Marescotti (incoming vice-president), Anna Accolla (incoming president), Alisande Bradshaw (outgoing president) and Gabi van der Merwe (incoming news correspondent).

The Year of Faith was solemnly opened in the archdiocese of Cape Town at a Mass in St Mary’s cathedral, concelebrated by Archbishops Stephen Brislin (centre) and Lawrence Henry (left), Bishop Reginald Cawcutt (right) and vicars-general Fr Peter-John Pearson and Mgr Clifford Stokes (not pictured) on the feast of St Luke the Evangelist. At the end of Mass, each church in the archdiocese was presented with a special Year of Faith candle (indent).

Sr Maria Martina Wörner celebrated her diamond jubilee of religious profession at St Benedict’s cathedral in Eshowe. Pictured are Bishop Thaddeus Kumalo and attending clergy and Srs Veridiana Dürr, Martina Wörner and Assumpta Hadebe.

HOT POT PAINT AND HARDWARE PTY LTD

Thirty two candidates were confirmed at St Therese church in Alberton, Johannesburg. Pictured with the candidates is parish priest Fr Kevin Bugler OMI (right).

ALL AT THE VERY BEST PRICES! Youth at Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish in Durbanville, Cape Town, were confirmed by Archbishop Stephen Brislin. Pictured with the candidates are parish priest Mgr Andrew Borello (second from left) and Life Teen youth minister Leonardo Sforza (far left).

PROFILE

The Southern Cross, November 14 to November 20, 2012

9

Boereguese: From farm to film to photo galleries A Stellenbosch farmer has built a chapel on his farm, helped uplift his community, appeared in films and now has a photographic exhibition in Portugal. CLAIRE MATHIESON reports.

S

CHALK Visser is a farmer, an architect, an artist and a convert to Catholicism. He has appeared in movies, has built a chapel for his community, has formed an NGO, and is now an internationally exhibited photographer.

The Stellenbosch boerseun is a man with many titles and a big heart that stretches over two continents.

Born on a farm near Stellenbosch, Mr Visser attended Paul Roos Gymnasium and matriculated from Boland Landbouskool in 1977. He was 21 and serving in the army when his wine farmer father died suddenly. The young Mr Visser had no choice but to take over the family farm Nagenoeg.

Mr Visser was a reluctant farmer. He studied agricultural administration at Stellenbosch University, but farming was not his true passion.

“I then studied at Cape Technicon for a diploma in architectural technology. I worked for different architects and architectural companies,” said Mr Visser, who took an 11-month sabbatical shortly after completing his studies, backpacking through Europe, returning to South Africa to open his own architectural studio.

It was during these travels that Mr Visser discovered Madeira, “I fell in love with the beautiful island,” he said.

The balancing act of being a farmer and an architect was a challenge. “In 1994, I closed my architectural studio and took over the full management of the farm. [But I became] increasingly frustrated with farming and was not able to live out my artistic ability.”

In his spare time, the hesitant farmer would go on to nurture his artistic ability through various art courses, leading to being showcased in several art exhibitions.

While developing his own skills, Mr Visser has always ensured that he would help develop those around him.

In 2002, he was actively involved in raising R9 million for a new school in his community, to help “establish a culture of learning and education for the children for a better future”.

“I like to help the local community in the Western Cape to establish a sense of pride, togetherness and that of community that can set an example for others. A community that will be able to sustain their independence to provide for themselves, and to share their experiences with other communities,” said Mr Visser.

The community has always been a part of his life. Even in the late 1990s, when the farm hit a financial low point, with vineyards needing replanting and expensive equipment replacing, Mr Visser kept the community in mind.

“I made a promise to God that if I succeeded in selling a portion of the farm, I would use some of the money to build a chapel for the community.” In December 1997, following a successful sale, a chapel was constructed out of an old dairy.

“The chapel is dedicated to my late parents, Pieter and Inah Visser, who taught us children to respect everyone else—their religion, their beliefs and their mens wees,” said Mr Visser, using an Afrikaans word which can be translated as “being

human”.

The chapel is symbolic of his upbringing. “The two windows at the entrance are dedicated to our family lines. The ‘wheat window,’ representing the body of Christ in the Eucharist, is dedicated to my mother’s side, the Jordaans. They were wheat farmers in the Bredasdorp area. The ‘grape window,’ representing the blood of Christ in the Eucharist, is dedicated to my father's side, the Vissers. They were wine farmers in the Stellenbosch area.”

Even the portion of the farm that was sold to construct the chapel is represented in reclaimed wood that now acts as the doors of the chapel’s tabernacle.

“The altar top is made from solid Burmese teak. This wood comes from a huge vat that stood outside our house. When I was a child it was used to store our drinking water. The same wood was used for the 14 Stations of the Cross, which represent the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem, the cross section of the crucifix, the shelves for the statues and the hymn notice board.”

There are also two wine vats on the altar—an important feature for the community, his legacy and Mr Visser’s faith.

“This is a wine farm and my father was a trained cooper, and Jesus’ first miracle was changing water into wine at Canaan, at a wedding feast. Wine plays a big role in Christianity and in the Bible,” he explained.

While wine is a part of his heritage, Mr Visser is well aware of the associated social issues. He is the founder and board member of the Dopstop Project, which teaches and educates people on responsible drinking and family values.

The initiative has been showcased nationally through documentaries on the “tot system” and how some farmers are working to uplift their communities from the hazardous vintage payment system.

Each year the blessing of the harvest takes place on the Nagenoeg farm on the feast day of St Vincent, the patron saint of wine growers. Often the Catholic archbishop of Cape Town presides over the blessings of the vines in a ceremony that is open to the public, followed by a picnic in the farm’s garden.

O

n another continent, Mr Visser is known for his photography.

It is his evocative photo of the window of Jerusalem’s Dominus Flevit church that illustrates the cover of Günther Simmermacher’s book The Holy Land Trek. And currently he has a photographic exhibition in Madeira.

“I am not a professional photographer but love taking photos. I

have been doing photography Schalk Visser (left), a farmer from Stellenbosch, has given back to his comfrom the age of 16 when my sister munity in many ways, one of which being the building of St Anthony’s chapel gave me a Kodak Instamatic and on his farm. He is also an accomplished photographer and currently has an all my pocket money went into exhibition in Madeira (below). film and the development of them,” he said.

“For me as an estrangeiro, it is a huge privilege to be able to exhibit my photos in Ponta do Pargo. Photography is my hobby and through my photos, about 10 000 of Madeira alone, I love to give pleasure to people.”

Mr Visser said he hopes that his love for the island is evident in the photographs on display. “It is my wish to tell the world about the beauty of Madeira, its diversity, its spirit and humbleness of the people.”

His debut exhibit has been so successful that Mr Visser has since been asked to participate in the Madeira International Biennale 2014 where he will be the main participant.

“It will be held in Santana, a small city with a big area surrounding it in the north-west of the island. They are applying for a biosphere reserve with UNESCO,” he explained. “My proposal will be on the coexistence between nature and man.”

Let gÜNTHER SIMMERMaCHER guide you through the great holy He said it is “a huge sites of the Holy Land and Jordan on a virtual itinerary. Read about privilege to participate” the history of the places where Jesus and his disciples worked and and to “show the world the beauty and diversity of the walked, about their biblical and historical significance — and meet island”. some interesting people along the way in the new book.

“I would like to tell the Portuguese community in South Africa about their beautiful island and that they should be proud Madeirans. They are spread With a foreword by archbishop all over the world and Stephen Brislin and 88 photos. there are more of them living in South Africa than on the island. I call myself the ‘Boereguese’—an Afrikaner, but at heart also a Por(plus R 15 p&p in Sa) tuguese.”

On top of being a farmer and photographer, he has also acted, for example in a Leon Schuster movie (in Schuks Tshabalala's Survival Guide to South Africa he played an angry Sea Point resident), the Clint Eastwood movie Invictus, and an independent short movie titled Farm.

For Mr Visser it is important to see the beauty of visit life and not only its problems. He hopes through his for excerpts, a large photo gallery, articles about work, whether it’s acting or the Holy Land, to order and more. helping his community, or through his photography, that people can find something to smile about.

“I want people and children to see the beauty in the world through my art Buy The Holy Land Trek aND Owen Williams’ Every Given and photos and not only wars, violence, destruction (SA only) Sunday for only R190 and and death.”

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The Southern Cross, November 14 to November 20, 2012

Where Jesus wept for Jerusalem Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives was the site of Jesus’ arrest and his Ascension. In this edited excerpt from his newly published book The Holy Land Trek, GÜNTHER SIMMERMACHER looks at the impressive church of Dominus Flevit and the world’s oldest continuously used graveyard.

T

HE Mount of Olives merits frequent mention in the Old Testament.

One passage documents David, on the run from Absalom, coming to the mount: “David then made his way up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, his head covered and his feet bare. And all the people with him had their heads covered and made their way up, weeping as they went” (2 Samuel 15:30).

The New Testament also records Our Lord shedding tears on the Mount of Olives. Halfway down the mount, the small Dominus Flevit Church recalls these tears—the name means “The Lord Wept”.

Built by Antonio Barluzzi in 1955, Dominus Flevit is appropriately shaped like a tear. Apart from its ingenious form, there is something else quite unusual about the church: while most churches in the Holy Land face east, Dominus Flevit faces west, towards the Old City.

And the view from the ornate window, which depicts a chalice, the crown of thorns and a cross, is quite marvellous (the image on the front cover of The Holy Land Trek,

by Schalk Visser, is of that window).

Dominus Flevit was built on the site of a fifth-century Byzantine church that was dedicated to the prophetess St Anna, the mosaics of which can still be viewed. At the foot of the altar is a curious mosaic of a hen gathering her chicks together; it is an allusion to Luke 13:34—”Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you

that kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often have I longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you refused.”

In the lively courtyard, other archaeological finds from what clearly was a burial ground can be seen, mainly ossuaries, some with inscriptions in Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek.

An ossuary is a chest made of limestone, or very occasionally clay or wood, about 60cm in length, 30cm in width and 50cm in height. All of these would be from around 20 BC to 70 AD, when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem.

For that relatively short time, the city’s Jews interred their dead on ledges in tombs, usually hewn into rock, such as that of Joseph of Arimathea in which the lifeless body of Jesus was placed.

There they would remain for about a year, until the flesh had desiccated and fallen off, at which point the bones would be reinterred in an ossuary.

The system worked well: the expensive rockcut tombs could be recycled, and the remains of loved ones would be eternally preserved in space-efficient containers which made it possible for families to keep large numbers of deceased members in one burial site without having to cremate them. Some ossuaries might contain the bones of several people; these always were immediate family members.

Some archaeologists have tried to connect the burial practice, called ossilegium, to religious beliefs relating to the resurrection on the final day. But that fails to explain why ossilegium was not widespread and did not persist in the Jewish diaspora.

The more mundane explanation resides in vulgar commercialism: it was a fashion encouraged

by Jerusalem’s masons. Among the famous ossuaries found in Jerusalem are those bearing the names of “Simon the Temple builder”, “Elisheba wife of Tarfon” and, perhaps the most significant of them, “Yehohanan ben Hagkol”, whose skeletal remains included a heel bone in which was lodged an iron nail, indicating that poor Yehohanan was crucified.

A

nd so it was in this place, which was then uninhabited because Jewish law precluded settlements in the vicinity of burial grounds—and the Mount of Olives is full of them—that Jesus looked at the Holy City on his final visit there, and wept.

What he would have seen was the enormous temple which King Herod had built, the temple in which Jesus would very soon lose his temper with the moneychangers.

Luke tells the story of Jesus addressing the Pharisees: ‘As he drew near and came in sight of the city, he shed tears over it and said, “If you too had only recognised on this day the way to peace! But in fact it is hidden from your eyes! Yes, a time is coming when your enemies will raise fortifications all round you, when they will encircle you and hem you in on every side; they will dash you and the children inside your walls to the ground; they will leave not one stone standing on another within you, because you did not recognise the moment of your visitation’” (19:41-44). Just 40 years later, the Messiah’s tearful prophecy was fulfilled.

Jews are, of course, still awaiting the appearance of the Messiah.

And when he arrives, the belief goes, he will enter on the final day through the bricked-up Golden (or Eastern) Gate, which faces the

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH BRAAMFONTEIN The introduction of the new Lectionary in English for Mass in South africa has presented a few challenges. among these challenges are that there are few musical settings of the responsorial psalms (Revised grail Psalms, 2010) that are readily available for free distribution.

The responsorial psalm should of its nature be sung, if at all possible. Cameron upchurch, Director of Music at Holy Trinity parish in Braamfontein, has begun the task of setting these texts to music. The settings are suitable for cantor (or choir) and congregation, with simple refrains and undemanding keyboard parts.

They will be posted on the Holy Trinity website from 1st November 2012, beginning with the psalms for the Sundays of advent. This archive will be constantly updated as new settings are completed. The idea behind this project is that this music will be available for free download, distribution and duplication by anyone who wishes to make use of it liturgically.

Interested persons can visit www.trinityjhb.co.za and follow the relevant links.

Top: Hasidic Jews in the world’s oldest continuously used cemetery.

Below left: The Golden Gate, through which Jews expect the Messiah to arrive. Right: Dominus Flevit church on the Mount of Olives.

Mount of Olives, to redeem the Jewish nation (Zechariah 14:4).

That is why many Jews across the diaspora and generations have arranged for their remains to be brought to Jerusalem, so that they could be buried in the vast, ancient graveyard on the slope of the Mount of Olives, the world’s oldest continuously used cemetery. That way, the reasoning goes, they will be among the first to rise when the Messiah comes through the Eastern Gate.

This assumption has hit a snag, however. In an extravagant display of religious spite, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (1494-1566) built an Islamic graveyard in front of the bricked-up Golden Gate. If a rabbi is not allowed to go through a graveyard, the reasoning went,

then neither is a Jewish Messiah.

But the end times might not have been indefinitely delayed by Suleiman’s ruse: the Messiah will simply create a bridge on which to walk above the cemetery and across the Kidron.

Indeed, Jewish tradition has it that there will be the appearance of two bridges, one made of iron and the other of paper. Those of faith will choose the paper bridge and navigate it safely to the other side for their judgment. But those of worldly attitudes will apply reason and choose the iron bridge, which will promptly collapse. n More excerpts on November 28. To order The Holy Land Trek at R150 (plus R15 p&p) visit www.holy landtrek.com or contact books @scross.co.za.

Holy Land • Rome JOuRNEyS OF • assisi • Cairo a LIFETIME!

with Fr Sean Wales CSsR (Redemptorist speaker and author)

5 - 19 October 2013

See all the great sites of the Holy Land, meet and pray with local Contact Gail at Christians! then fly to Rome, with 076 352 3809 or papal audience, and visit assisi, the 021 551 3923 place of St Francis. PLuS: Cairo with the Pyramids, Sphinx, Nile Cruise info@fowlertours.co.za

www.fowlertours.co.za

facebook.com/FowlerToursSa

The Southern Cross, November 14 to November 20, 2012

CLASSIFIEDS

Imelda Davidson

Births • First Communion • Confirmation • Engagement/Marriage • Wedding anniversary • Ordination jubilee • Congratulations • Deaths • In memoriam • Thanks • Prayers • Accommodation • Holiday Accommodation • Personal • Services • Employment • Property • Others Please include payment (R1,25 a word) with small advertisements for promptest publication.

F

OLLOWING a two-year battle with cancer, Imelda Davidson, a stalwart in the social justice arena in the Catholic Church, died in Cape Town on November 8. She was 47.

Ms Davidson attended Bridgetown Secondary School in Athlone, Cape Town, and studied a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of the Western Cape.

She worked for more than a decade in various offices at the archdiocese of Cape Town, including the catechetics department, Renew, and as the coordinator of Justice&Peace.

Ms Davidson went on to work for the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO) where she was remembered as being particularly active on gender issues and women’s participation in parliamentary processes. “But she wasn’t limited to just this. She had a wide range of interests and she was headhunted by Catholic Relief Services” in Johannesburg, said Mike Pothier of the CPLO. She worked predominantly on Aids relief projects around South Africa and in Botswana and was

IN MEMORIAM

described as being very committed and innovative.

“We’ve lost a strong woman. The Church has lost someone that was willing to take up the needs of others and driving projects,” said former colleague Karen Morris. “She always told me to ‘grow a thick skin’ and avoid being upset in difficult circumstances as there is a higher purpose to our work.”

Ms Davidson was a parishioner of Welcome Estate. She is survived by two brothers and a sister.

Claire Mathieson

Fr Alois Plankensteiner MCCJ

I

N the morning of All Saints Day, November 1, Comboni Father Alois Plankensteiner passed away after long illness in the infirmary of the Comboni Missionaries in Ellwangen, Germany.

He was born in 1932 in South Tyrol, Italy, where he came to know the Comboni Missionaries in the course of his secondary studies while residing in their college in Brixen (or Bressanone).

After matric he joined the Comboni Missionaries. He did his novitiate and philosophical studies in Germany and then continued with theological studies at the diocesan seminary in Brixen until his ordination in 1961.

For the first 13 years of his priestly ministry he worked in South Tyrol and Germany as a gifted and committed educator of young people, as local superior and general-assistant, and missionary animator.

A new phase of his life dawned for him when he was sent as a missionary to South Africa in July 1974. He served as parish priest in various places, mainly in the diocese of Witbank—in Middelburg, Bongani, Nelspruit, Witbank—and then in Silverton in the archdiocese of Pretoria.

He is remembered for his sociable and communicative character. But more than that, he was loved as an empathetic priest, open to the pains and needs of people, listening to them and giving good advice.

Ordained on the eve of the opening of Vatican II he was shaped by the renewal brought about by the Council. His spirituality was deeply formed by the charismatic movement and the pastoral outreach which was re-awakened and renewed by this great event.

Fr Alois took very seriously the aggiornamento through assiduous attendance of Lumko courses, winter schools, Life-in-the-Spirit seminars and other renewal initiatives offered locally and overseas as well as through regular personal studies.

His sermons, always grounded in daily study of and meditation on Holy Scripture and pastorally oriented, made a strong impact on people. A special ministry he loved dearly was his engagement in the Marriage Encounter programmes and gatherings

Southern CrossWord solutions

SOLUTIONS TO 524. ACROSS: 3 Apostolic, 8 Root, 9 Mummified, 10 Cosmos, 11 Tsars, 14 Range, 15 Solo, 16 Saint, 18 Opus, 20 Relic, 21 Stout, 24 Iliads, 25 Sanctuary, 26 Leaf, 27 Classless. DOWN: 1 Precursor, 2 Poisonous, 4 Pius, 5 Samos, 6 Offers, 7 Iced, 9 Moses, 11 Taint, 12 Soul mates, 13 Vouchsafe, 17 Truly, 19 Sticks, 22 Usual, 23 Fall, 24 Iris.

11

CLOETE— In loving memory of my beloved husband Samuel, father and grandfather, who passed away November 20, 1991. You are always in our thoughts and prayers. May his dear soul rest in peace. Always remembered by wife Catherine, children Agnes and Martin, Bernadette and Keith, Gregory and Carol, grandchildren Leon and Melissa, Celeste, Lyle, Grant and Mandy.

WILLIAMS—Andrew. In loving memory of my husband Andrew, our father and grandfather who passed away November 14, 1996. Beautiful memories silently kept, to love and cherish, and never forget.

Forever loved and remembered by Sylvia, children and their families.

PERSONAL

ABORTION is murder— Silence on this issue is not golden, it’s yellow! Avoid ‘Pro-abortion’ politicians.

HOUSE-SITTER/AUPAIR: Based at Benoni Parish, will travel/with references. Ph Therèse 076 206 0627.

CRUCIFIXES FOR AFRICA: Made in four complete sizes. Phone/Fax: 046 604 0401 for details and brochure.

NOTHING is politically right if it is morally wrong. Abortion is evil. Value life!

where his contribution was highly appreciated.

During his time as parish priest in Witbank (eMalahleni) the cathedral church was artfully renovated in line with the liturgical norms issued by Vatican II. The last station of his ministry in South Africa was in Silverton. As his health deteriorated, he decided in 1999 to return to his home country where he was still engaged in missionary animation.

In 2005 advancing illness forced him to move to PRAYERS the Home for the Aged and Infirm in Ellwangen where he died at the age of 80.

HOLY ST JUDE, apostle

Liturgical Calendar Year B Weekdays Year 2

Sunday, November 18, 33rd Sunday Daniel 12:1-3, Psalm 16:5, 8-11, Hebrews 10:11-14, 18, Mark 13:24-32 Monday, November 19 Revelation 1:1-4; 2:1-5, Psalm 1:1-4, 6, Luke 18:35-43 Tuesday, November 20 Revelation 3:1-6, 14-22, Psalm 15:2-5, Luke 19:1-10 Wednesday, November 21, Presentation of the BVM Revelation 4:1-11, Psalm 150:1-6, Luke 19:11-28 Thursday, November 22, St Cecilia Sirach 50:22-24, Psalm 138:1-5, 1 Corinthians 1:3-9, Luke 17:11-19 Friday, November 23, St Clement Revelation 10:8-11, Psalm 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131, Luke 19:45-48 Saturday, November 24, St Andrew Dung-Lac & Companions Revelation 11:4-12, Psalm 144:1-2, 9-10, Luke 20:2740 Sunday, November 25, Christ the King Daniel 7:13-14, Psalm 93:1-2, 5, Revelation 1:5-8, John 18:33-37

Holy Family College Parktown

Founded by the Holy Family Sisters, Holy Family College is a Catholic, co-educational, independent day-school with learners from Grade R to Grade 12. It has a proud 107-year history of education in the service of God and people.

Holy Family College has spaces for learners for 2013 in Grades 8, 9 and 10.

There are limited spaces in other grades except Grade 3 which is full.

Application forms are available from the school office (Mrs A Russell) at Holy Family College, 40 Oxford Road, Parktown.

Tel: 011 486 1104 Fax: 011 486 1017 e-mail:russea@hfc.org.za

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. DF O MOST beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendour of Heaven, blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity.

ORFORD

CONSTRUCTION

O Star of the Sea, help me and show me where you are, Mother of God. Queen of heaven and earth I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to succour me in my necessity. There is none who can withstand your power, O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands. “Say this prayer for 3 consecutive days and then publish. RG.

THANKS

IN GRATEFUL thanks to Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, St Theresa the Little Flower and baby Infant Jesus of Prague. D.

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KOLBE HOUSE is the Catholic Centre and residence for the University of Cape Town. Beautiful estate in Rondebosch near the university. From mid November, December and January, the students’ rooms are available for holiday guests. We offer self-catering accommodation, parking in secure premises. Short walks to shops, transport etc. Contact Jock 021 685 7370, fax 021 686 2342 or 082 308 0080 or kolbe.house@ telkomsa.net KNYSNA: Self-catering accommodation for 2 in Old Belvidere with wonderful lagoon views. 044 387 1052.

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LONDON, Protea House: Single per night R300, twin R480. Self-catering, busses and underground nearby.

Phone Peter 0044 208 7484834.

MARIANELLA: Guest House, Simon’s Town: “Come experience the peace and beauty of God with us.”

Fully equipped with amazing sea views. Secure parking, ideal for rest and relaxation.

Special rates for pensioners and clergy. Tel: Malcolm Salida 082 784 5675 or mjsalida@ mweb.co.za MONTAGU: Victorian selfcatering cottage for families.

Fully equipped 3 bedrooms, sleeps 5-7 people, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, T.V. lounge, braai patio with stunning views, garden for dogs and kiddies. Secure parking and central. Reasonable rates.

Ph 074190 5634 gailellis @telkomsa.net SEDGEFIELD: Beautiful self-catering garden flat sleeps four, two bedrooms, open-plan lounge, kitchen, fully equipped. 5min walk to lagoon. Contact 082 900 6282 STELLENBOSCH: Five simple private suites (2 beds, fridge, micro-wave).

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Christian Brothers Tel 021 880 0242, cbcstel@ gmail.com STRAND: Beachfront flat to let. Stunning views, fully equipped. Garage, one bedroom, sleeps 3-4. R450 p/night for 2 people-low season. Phone Brenda 082 822 0607.

Tony Wyllie & Co. Catholic Funeral Home

Personal and Dignified 24-hour service 469 Voortrekker Rd, Maitland Tel: 021 593 8820 48 Main Rd, Muizenberg Tel: 021 788 3728 Member of the NFDA

The Southern Cross is a member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations of South Africa. Printed

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Website: www.scross.co.za Christ the King: November 25 Readings: Daniel 7:13-14, Psalm 93:1-2, 5, Revelation 1:5-8, John 18:33-37

N

EXT Sunday the Church’s year comes to its end with the solemnity of Christ the King; and the week after that we shall be starting all over again with the first Sunday of Advent. What the readings seem to say is that with Christ as our King, God is very much in charge of our world, no matter how grim things may look.

The first reading was probably written to encourage loyal but puzzled Israelites at a time, in the first half of the second century BC, when a foreign king was trying to suppress both their religion and their nationhood.

To these baffled Judeans, the author presents a “night-vision” of “one like the Son of Man, with the clouds of heaven”, who approaches the “Ancient of Days” (clearly God, so we are to be reassured in our difficulties). This Son of Man, of course, is read by Christians as referring to Jesus, but probably Daniel thought of him as the people of Israel, enduring persecution, but guaranteed immunity against all that the enemy could throw at them.

The psalm for next Sunday presents us with God as king: “The Lord has begun to reign”, it proudly proclaims, “clothed in majesty; the Lord is robed in power”.

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Is God your king of kings?

Nicholas King SJ

Sunday Reflections

And, just as “the world shall not be shifted” so God’s throne “stands firm from of old”, and God’s decrees are firmly established: “Holiness belongs to your house.” The point here is that however dark things may seem to be, God can always be absolutely relied on.

And, on this great feast, the same applies to Jesus.

It is this Jesus whom we encounter in the second reading, in the opening vision of the great Book of Revelation with which our bibles end. Many Christians find themselves a bit alarmed about this text, but there is no need to be alarmed; it is simply encouraging those who are experiencing persecution, or feel that they are likely to do so, that God in Jesus is ruling over everything. So in this reading, the message comes directly from “Jesus Christ, the witness, the faithful one, the first-

born from the dead, the ruler of the kings of the earth”.

Nor is this some remote figure who does not touch our lives, for “he has made us a kingdom, priests for his God and Father”.

Then the author picks up the vision of our first reading: “Look! He is coming with the clouds, and every eye shall see him.”

Then, in all solemnity, we hear the voice of God speaking: “I am the Alpha and the Omega (says the Lord God), the Is and the Was and the Coming One, the Almighty.”

We hardly understand a word of this, but we breathe a sigh of relief, for if God is King, then all our worries are at an end.

The gospel for the feast has Jesus, the condemned criminal, face to face with Pontius Pilate, the most powerful man in town.

And what you must notice here is that it is the one about to be crucified who dominates the scene, not the Roman functionary. For Pilate scuttles between Jesus in the praetorium and the crowds baying for blood outside, and we hear, not without some astonishment, the emperor’s representative asking the Galilean peasant: “Are you the King of the Judeans?”

More startling yet, he is then interrogated

by Jesus: “Do you say this of your own accord,

The bright side of purgatory I

MAGINE being born blind and living into adulthood without ever having seen light and colour. Then, through some miraculous operation, doctors are able to give you sight.

What would you feel immediately upon opening your eyes? Wonder?

Bewilderment? Ecstasy? Pain? Some combination of all of these?

We now know the answer to that question. This kind of sight-restoring operation has been done and we now have some indication of how a person reacts upon opening his or her eyes and seeing light and colour for the first time.

What happens might surprise us.

Here is how J Z Young, an authority on brain function, describes what happens: “The patient on opening his eyes gets little or no enjoyment; indeed, he finds the experience painful. He reports only a spinning mass of light and colours. He proves to be quite unable to pick up objects by sight, to recognise what they are, or to name them. He has no conception of space with objects in it, although he knows all about objects and their names by touch. “‘Of course,’ you will say, ‘he must take a little time to learn to recognise them by sight.’ Not a little time, but a very long time; in fact, years. His brain has not been trained in the rules of seeing. We are not conscious that there are any such rules; we think we see, as we say naturally. But we have in fact learned a whole set of rules during childhood” (Souls in Full Sail,

Conrad

083 640 5848

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

Emilie Griffin).

Might this be a helpful analogy for what happens to us in what Catholics call purgatory? Could the purification we experience after death be understood in this very way, namely, as an opening of our vision and heart to a light and a love that are so full as to force upon us the same kind of painful relearning and reconceptualisation that have just been described?

Might purgatory be understood precisely as being embraced by God in such a way that this warmth and light so dwarf our earthly concepts of love and knowledge that, like a person born blind who is given sight, we have to struggle painfully in the very ecstasy of that light to unlearn and relearn virtually our entire way of thinking and loving?

Might purgatory be understood not as God’s absence or some kind of punishment or retribution for sin, but as what happens to us when we are fully embraced, in ecstasy, by God, perfect love and perfect truth?

Indeed isn’t this what faith, hope, and charity, the three theological virtues, are already trying to move us towards in this life?

Isn’t faith a knowing beyond what

we can conceptualise?

Isn’t hope an anchoring of ourselves in something beyond what we can control and guarantee for ourselves?

And isn’t charity a reaching out beyond what affectively feeds us?

St Paul, in describing our condition on earth, tells us that here, in this life, we see only as “through a mirror, reflecting dimly”, but that, after death, we will see “face to face”. Clearly in describing our present condition here on earth he is highlighting a certain blindness, an embryonic darkness, an inability to actually see things as they really are.

It is significant to note too that he says this in a context within which he is pointing out that, already now in this life, faith, hope, and charity help lift that blindness.

These are of course only questions, perhaps equally upsetting to Protestants and Catholics alike. Many Protestants and Evangelicals reject the very concept of purgatory on the grounds that, biblically, there are only two eternal places, heaven and hell.

Many Catholics, on the other hand, get anxious whenever purgatory seems to get stripped of its popular conception as a place or state apart from heaven.

But purgatory conceived of in this way, as the full opening of our eyes and hearts so as to cause a painful reconceptualisation of things, might help make the concept more palatable to Protestants and Evangelicals and help strip the concept of some of its false popular connotations within Catholic piety.

True purgation happens only through love because it is only when we experience love’s true embrace that we can see our sin and drink in, for the first time, the power to move beyond it.

Only light dispels darkness and only love casts out sin.

St Thérèse of Lisieux would sometimes pray to God: “Punish me with a kiss!” The embrace of full love is the only true purification for sin because only when we are embraced by love do we actually understand what sin is and, only there, are we given the desire, the vision, and the strength to live in love and truth.

But that inbreaking of love and light is, all at the same time, delightful and bewildering, ecstatic and unsettling, wonderful and excruciating, euphoric and painful.

Indeed, it’s nothing less than purgatory.

or did other people tell you about me?” This is not what Our Man in Jerusalem will have been led to expect. Pilate evades the challenge: “I’m not a Judean, am I?”, and he tries to put responsibility back on Jesus’ own “nation and high priests”.

Jesus’ response ignores this, and instead sounds utterly regal: “My kingdom is not of this world.” Pilate grasps at what he can: “So you are a king, are you?” Again, Jesus is calm and unflurried, and is dominating the scene: “It is you who say that I am a king.”

Then he goes on and pronounces (there is no other word for it) with absolute majesty: “I was born for this, and for this I came into the world, that I might witness to the truth.”

As we reel at the assurance, in the face of the one who is threatening to put him to death, Jesus continues: “Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Sadly, that is the end of the game for Pilate, who turns away, frivolously asking: “What is truth?”, and can go no further into the mystery of Jesus.

What of you, this week? Who is your king, and what will you be doing about it, as the liturgical year comes to its end? Is God really in charge of your life?

Southern Crossword #524

ACROSS

3. Solo pact I make with this church (9) 8. Good seed in good soil will take it quickly (4) 9. How Pharoah was preserved (9) 10. The well ordered universe (6) 11. Stars from old Russia (5) 14. Stove in the mountain chain (5) 15. Singular performance from the choir (4) 16. One who’s more than beatified (5) 18. Tentacled creature ends with work (4) 20. Saintly memento (5) 21. Drink for the portly clergy (5) 24. Dials I confused with tales of Trojan siege (6) 25. Asylum found in the church (9) 26. Amend your life by turning a new one over (4) 27. Equal kind of society having no schools? (9)

DOWN

1. Like John the Baptist he goes before (9) 2. Toxic like snake in Eden?

(9) 4. Pope who was holy by the sound of it (4) 5. Greek island where St Paul visited (Ac 20) (5) 6. Presents at the altar (6) 7. Dice for how you like your drink (4) 9. Exodus leader (5) 11. A tint blemish (5) 12. Close friends in purgatory? (4,6) 13. Have focus to grant prayer graciously (9) 17, Without a lie! (5) 19. Adheres (6) 22. Normal (5) 23. American autumn (4) 24. She’s not quite from Ireland (4) Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

A

S the storm raged, the captain realised his ship was sinking fast. He called out: “Anyone here know how to pray?” One man stepped forward.

“Aye, Captain, I know how to pray.”

“Good,” said the captain, “you pray while the rest of us put on our life jackets—we’re one short.”

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