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April 10 to April 16, 2013
Pope Francis: Turin Shroud an icon of love
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Radio Veritas: AM switch a success BY CLAIRE MATHIESON
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A man rides his bicycle past a large image of Pope Francis in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The words on the image read “The city celebrates Pope Francis with pride and joy”. Before his papal election last month, Pope Francis was the city’s Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio. (Photo: Marcos Brindicci, Reuters/CNS)
Pope Francis: Stop moaning and see Christ BY CINdY WOOdEN
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OMPLAINING frequently and stewing over disappointments can easily become an obsession that blocks one’s view of Jesus’ presence in difficult situations, Pope Francis has said. Celebrating morning Mass with staff members from the Domus Romana Sacerdotalis, a nearby residence and guesthouse for clergy, Pope Francis preached about the story from St Luke about the two disciples on the road to Emmaus after the death of Jesus. “They were afraid...And the more they complained, the more they were closed in on
themselves: They did not have a horizon before them, only a wall,” the pope said. The disciples had had such high hopes that Jesus would redeem Israel, but they thought their hopes were destroyed, he said. “I think that many times when difficult things happen, including when we are visited by the cross, we run the risk of closing ourselves off in complaints.” When all people can think of is how wrong things are going, Pope Francis said, the Lord is close, “but we don’t recognise him. He walks with us, but we don’t recognise him.” Like the disciples joined by the risen Lord on the road to Emmaus, people can hear beau-
tiful things, but deep down, they continue to be afraid, the pope said. “Complaining seems safer. It’s something certain. This is my truth: failure,” he said. But the Gospel story shows how very patient Jesus is with the disciples, first listening to them and then explaining things step by step, until they see him. “Jesus does this with us, too,” the pope said. “Even in the darkest moments, he is always with us, walking with us.” Complaining and griping is harmful “because it dashes hope. Don’t get into this game of a life of complaints,” he said.—CNS
Berlin archdiocese tried to sell church on eBay BY JONATHAN LuxMOORE
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HE archdiocese of Berlin, Germany, is continuing to try to sell unused churches and even listed a church on eBay. “Virtually every diocese in Germany has sold churches over the past decade, so this is nothing special,” said Stefan Förner, spokesman for the Berlin archdiocese. “The parish in question was helped by professionals, who advertised it online so it appeared on eBay, but this doesn’t mean it’s being auctioned off cheaply,” he added. After it did not sell on eBay, efforts continued to find a buyer for St Bernhard church in Brandenburg-Havel, one of numerous churches recently put on the market in the face of falling Mass attendance. Mr Förner said that 22 Catholic churches had been sold or given to other Christian denominations by the Berlin archdiocese, com-
pared to 90 in the diocese of Essen in western Germany. However, he added that some Berlin churches had already been converted into residential buildings and were subject to restrictions barring commercial use. “While no one wants to sell off churches, parishes sometimes have to when there aren’t enough people using them regularly. But the diocese has to agree, as well as approving their buyer, price and planned use,” he added. He said St Bernhard church, one of four in the Brandenburg parish, attracted just a dozen Catholics for its one Sunday Mass. “We simply can’t afford such churches anymore—and it’s legitimate to seek the best method to sell them,” he said. “Though most people aren’t interested in churches, they react indignantly whenever we announce we’re selling them. But we can expect this process to
continue for some time yet.” The Berlin archdiocese includes parts of the eastern states of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, although 80% of its more than 390 000 registered Catholics live in the German capital. In a December 2 pastoral letter, Cardinal Rainer Woelki announced plans to merge the 105 local parishes into larger “pastoral areas” and pool their resources. In a special “property page”, the archdiocese website said St Bernhard’s church and parish hall, built in the mid-1930s, were offered for 130 000 euros (about 1,53 million) with 952m2 of land. The website is currently advertising St Maria Goretti chapel in a “quiet suburban location” in Loitz for 20 000 euros (R237 000).— CNS
S Radio Veritas celebrated its first year on 576AM, station director Fr Emil Blaser OP reflected on “a life-giving and fruitful year”. But, he said, “it has been hugely tiring too; radio is a hungry animal that just doesn’t stop,” said the founder of South Africa’s only Catholic radio station. It was a 12-year-long process to getting to the medium wave frequency. The station was previously broadcast only via streaming audio on the Internet and through DStv audio channel 170. It continues to broadcast through these mediums but since being granted a licence, listeners in Johannesburg and surrounds have been able to Fr Emil Blaser OP tune in on their radio sets since broadcasts began on 576AM last April. “We don’t currently know how many listeners we have, but there has been a definite increase. We receive messages from Namibia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, messages from Anglicans, Methodists and even Muslims, and many e-mails, tweets and text messages from Catholics here in South Africa, exclaiming the joy they receive from Radio Veritas,” said Fr Blaser. “We’re excited to celebrate this landmark and we’re looking forward to continuing to grow.” It’s been a busy first year for the Catholic radio station which now broadcasts every day throughout the year. “People have really appreciated the extended coverage,” said Fr Blaser. “We were also able to bring the news of the pope’s resignation and cover his last few days at the Vatican as they were happening. We were able to carry broadcasts live from Rome.” The station also carried live broadcasts of the election of Pope Francis as well as his inauguration. “We’ve also become increasingly more conscious of other platforms of communication. We are on Facebook and Twitter and our SMS line is a popular way for our listeners to communicate with us.” Since being established as a community radio station, as per their broadcasting licence, Radio Veritas has become increasingly involved in their community. Last year, Radio Veritas helped raised R300 000 for St Francis Care Centre in Boksburg and this year the station is involved in helping raise funds for pilgrims going to World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro in July. “We want to move more and more into the community,” said Fr Blaser. “We want to work together with local organisations on the ground, and keep Catholics around Africa connected through our news and on air production.” One of the big goals of the past year was to develop a news centre at the Radio Veritas Studios. A newsroom has since been set up with senior journalist Bruno Carvalho at the helm of the department. The station plans to train up to six journalists to help “keep our listeners in touch with the rest of Africa. We want to become a source of Catholic news in South Africa”. In the year ahead, Fr Blaser said the station would focus on fundraising. “It’s an expensive game” to broadcast, “with each month costing us R500 000”. To pay for this, Radio Veritas is running Continued on page 3