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January 2 to January 8, 2013
Time to rethink role of education?
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Reg No. 1920/002058/06
Paul VI takes first step towards canonisation
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No 4806
The Top 10 highlights of pope’s 2012
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What SA can expect in 2013 BY CLAIRE MATHIESON
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ESPITE criticism for corruption, lack of service delivery and unrest within the ruling African National Congress, some government ministries have made progress on which to build, according to a Catholic political analyst. Previewing South Africa’s 2013, Mike Pothier, research coordinator of the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office, said positive strides had been made in the last year which he hoped will continue. “Some ministries have shown some success: Home Affairs, Health, and the National Planning Committee—these have moved forward and I think this will continue,” Mr Pothier said. Parliament is more robust and involved in the country and there has been better monitoring of departments, he said. “However, those that regressed in the past year will also continue to move in that direction,” he warned. The Department of Basic Education is one such worry, with no end in sight to its current dismal performance. But there were other areas of concern for the year ahead, Mr Pothier said. On the police, he said: “There is a distinct lack of accountability and hints of an attitude that ‘we are above the law’.” This could be seen in the “blue light brigades” commonly used by politicians today. While such services are needed, Mr Pothier said, the bullying nature, disregard for other road users and dangerous driving was “a hallmark of a police state”. “The Marikana overreaction was another example of the police becoming a force instead of a service. Whether it was a lack of training or a lack of respect—it is a problem,” he said. Mr Pothier also made mention of the number of complaints to the Independent
Complaints Directorate, showing an increase in the number of rape and assault cases laid against police members. “There’s just too much going suggesting that this is no longer a police service. There seems to be an understanding that the police are a force and along with that comes an arrogance and an attitude that is detrimental.” Mr Pothier said these issues have yet to be properly addressed. This shows failure of leadership and a lack of respect. “This could get worse,” he added. On the public broadcaster, he said: “The growing lack of professionalism and outright bias of the SABC is also concerning. It would seem the head of news is just trying to please Luthuli House.” Mr Pothier said the national broadcaster was becoming counterdemocratic. “We have already seen direct editorial interference. It is reminiscent of the 1980s. Journalists have already resigned.” Reflecting on December’s ANC elective conference, Mr Pothier noted that the election of Cyril Ramaphosa as the party’s deputy president was the most significant development in the ANC since the ousting of former president Thabo Mbeki. “Mr Ramaphosa holds an almost unique position in South African politics—he has few significant enemies, and a very wide range of friends,” Mr Pothier said. “He has remained popular with the party faithful since leaving Parliament in 1997 and has consistently been elected to a high position on the party’s executive. His history as a trade unionist has kept him on relatively friendly terms with many in the trade union movement, while his high profile business achievements have endeared him to the corporate sector.’ He said. “Virtually everyone remembers how he and Roelf Meyer [then of the National Party] Continued on page 11
The visit of the Magi is portrayed in a stained-glass window at St Michael’s cathedral in Toronto. The feast of the Epiphany of the Lord in the Catholic Church in the West is on January 6. It commemorates the adoration of the new-born Christ by the Magi, or Wise Men. (Photo: Nancy Wiechec, CNS)
Pope condemns dope in sport BY CAROL GLATZ
P Fr Vicky Rikhotso was ordained for the diocese of Tzaneen, Limpopo, by Bishop João Rodrigues. He is seen being congratulated by his grandmother. Fr Rikhotso’s father had hoped to become a priest but could not enter the seminary because the grandmother felt she could not allow her only son to join the priesthood. (Photo: Mathibela Sebothoma)
OPE Benedict has condemned “doping” in sports and called on athletes and coaches to strive for victory through ethical and legal practices. “Every sport, both on amateur and professional levels, requires fairness in competition, respect for one’s body, a sense of solidarity and altruism and also joy, satisfaction and celebration,” he said. All of that is made possible with “authentic human maturity, comprised of sacrifice, tenacity, patience and, above all, humility, which is never applauded, but is the secret to victory”, he said. The pope’s comments came during an audience at the Vatican with a 200-person
delegation from the Italian National Olympic Committee. If sports are to have full meaning for those who participate, they have to serve the whole person, the pope said. What’s at stake in the world of sports is not just a respect for the rules, but upholding a vision of the human person as someone in need of education, spiritual fulfillment and “transcendent values,” he said. “Pressure to achieve important results must never drive [people] to take shortcuts as happens in the case of doping.” Team owners, administrators and coaches are all called “to be witnesses of the good of humanity, cooperating with families and schools for the education of young people,” Continued on page 4