140115

The

S outhern C ross

January 15 to January 21, 2014

Reg No. 1920/002058/06

No 4857

www.scross.co.za

More than six million saw the pope in 2013

Page 5

R7,00 (incl VAT RSA)

New year’s Excerpts from Moerdyk Files resolutions: How to make them stick book Page 10

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‘Don’t politicise’ Zuma’s donation for Catholic Zulu Bible

BY MATHIBELA SEBOTHOMA

A Natasha Goslin from Marist Brothers Linmeyer in Johannesburg is pleased as she receives her matric results at the school as her father looks on.

Catholic students, schools shine in matric results

BY MATHIBELA SEBOTHOMA & CLAIRE MATHIESON

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TUDENTS from Catholic schools around the country placed first in the Independent Education Board (IEB) matric exams, second in the National Senior Certificate and second in the Learners from Special Education Needs Schools (LSEN) section.

According to Anne Baker, deputy director of the Catholic Institute of Education (CIE), the national pass rate increased to 78,2%—the highest in 20 years—and the schools writing the IEB examination achieved 98,56%.

The CIE was still collating and analysing final numbers for Catholic schools.

Ms Baker said while the increase in the pass rate in the National Senior Certificate is to be welcomed and affirmed, there are serious questions to keep in mind.

“Only 562 112 of the 1,1 million children who started school in Grade 1 wrote the examination, and of these 439 779 passed,” said Ms Baker, adding that many of these learners will have dropped out in Grades 10 and 11, “offering them few or no prospects for employment”.

Patrick Burroughs from De la Salle Holy Cross College in Johannesburg achieved first place in the IEB examination, with 20 other

learners from Catholic schools achieving eight or more distinctions.

Kamogelo Sekwaila from Motse Maria High School in Polokwane, Limpopo, was the country’s second-best learner in mathematics.

She is also the second-brightest learner in Limpopo, and 13th in the country, according to deputy principal Joseph Pityeng.

Fr Madimetja Mothokoa-Sekhaolelo, chaplain of the school, said the girls succeed in the school because they are “in the boarding school”.

“They have enough time to pray, study and learn as opposed to those who live with their parents,” he said.

One positive movement of the 2013 exams was the recognition of learners with special needs this year. Lorenzo Daniels from Cape Town’s Grimley Dominican School for the Deaf came second nationally for the LSEN section and was recognised by the national government in a special ceremony.

Another exciting development came from Limpopo’s St Francis Academy where 15 out of 16 sight and visually impaired students passed their exams. It was the first time the school had seen learners sit for the matric exams.

Four students of Marist Brothers’ Linmeyer Continued on page 3

DONATION of R500 000 by the Jacob Zuma Foundation towards the translation of a Catholic Zulu Bible has been both welcomed and criticised as electioneering.

Fr Alexius Madela, who heads the translation project, said the people should not politicise a noble mission.

He said the project, which is an initiative of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, had been stopped because of lack of funds. He said Bishop Mlungisi Pius Dlungwane of Mariannhill had even used diocesan funds to support the project.

“A lay Catholic approached the Jacob Zuma Foundation to save the project, and four months later our prayers were answered” with the authorisation of the R500000 grant, said Fr Madela.

“Zulu people will have to read and hear the Word of God in their own idiom and language,” the priest said. “It is preservation of their language of the first order.”

He pointed out that the Bible is “the primary tool of evangelisation, it is a powerful tool of enabling people come face to face with God”.

IsiZulu is spoken by nearly 23% of the total population, or 11 million people.

Fr Madela said there has never been a complete Catholic Zulu Bible.

The late Fr Rafael Studerus, a Benedictine German missionary, translated the New Testament into IsiZulu, but he relied heavily on the Latin Vulgate and a German translation.

The only recently available Zulu Bible is a Bible Society Translation from 1959 which leans strongly on IsiXhosa.

The current translation is from the original Koine Greek and Hebrew. Bishop Dlungwane, who is leading the project, is a scripture scholar and former rector of St John Vianney Seminary in Pretoria.

Fr Madela appealed to all Catholics and people of goodwill to support Bishop Dlungwane in ensuring that Zulu-speaking people have a Bible that they can call their own.

President Jacob Zuma received a blessing from Bishop Dlungwane during a Mass at St Joseph cathedral in Mariannhill which was attended by parishioners, government and traditional leaders.

Mr Zuma opened his address with the words, “Praise be to Jesus Christ” in IsiZulu.

“We appreciate the collaboration between

President Jacob Zuma, whose foundation has donated R500 000 towards the translation of a Catholic Zulu Bible. the Church and state especially in the last 20 years of our democracy,” Mr Zuma said, acknowledging the work of the Catholic Church in nation-building, education, health, poverty alleviation and other social services.

Mr Zuma recalled a night when he joined the Catholics of KwaZulu-Natal at an annual Marian pilgrimage at Kevelaer, a mission founded in 1888 by Abbot Francis Pfanner, where “we prayed, sang together beautifully and received blessings”.

Calling for continued cooperation, Mr Zuma said: “Our partnership will bring in progress and development for our people.

With the assistance of the Catholic Church we defeated segregation, oppression and violence.

In the same spirit we will conquer disease, poverty and many social ills.”

He said the Church must lead the process of “social cohesion as South Africans are not totally united”. The Church must not shy away from its responsibility of uniting people and promoting reconciliation. He also said the Church must lead the Moral Regeneration Movement and promote a caring society.

Mr Zuma congratulated Bishop Dlungwane for doing sterling work in the diocese of Mariannhill.

The president said he was “personally touched by the efforts of Bishop Dlungwane to translate the Zulu Bible from the ancient Hebrew and Greek languages”.

“The Bible is a holy book. That is why believers should get the gist of it as it is, and it needs to be translated properly,” Mr Zuma said.

He committed the Jacob Zuma Foundation to support the translation project, and encouraged individuals and businesses to do likewise.

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2

The Southern Cross, January 15 to January 21, 2014

LOCAL

Retreat progress

BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

‘T

HANK God the project is going very well,” said Bishop José Ponce de León of Ingwavuma.

The vicariate is slowly realising a longtime dream of building a retreat centre at the picturesque area of St Lucia.

“We believe the project will be finished by September and the new St Lucia Retreat and Training Centre will be opened in October,” said Bishop Ponce de León who will soon be ordained bishop of Manzini but will continue to act as apostolic administrator of Ingwavuma until a new bishop is appointed.

The bishop said the progress has been positive and the centre will be a great resource for the small vicariate.

“The response remains good. It has given us a lovely sense of being one Church scattered in every part of the country.”

He added that it was important to remember that the project does “not belong to a bishop, a priest or community of religious. Not even to the community of St Lucia. It is clearly a service that the vicariate of Ingwavuma, through the community of St Lucia, wants to offer to everyone,” the bishop told The Southern Cross.

“We are blessed to have a plot in such a unique place so we believe we should do something to help everyone take some time to pray, to reflect, to go on retreat—an opportunity for renewal.

“That is why we invite everyone to be involved. We do it together to service everybody.”

Apart from building donations coming from around the country, the retreat centre has also been influenced outside of the vicariate, including the addition of a 250kg bell for the church which comes from St Mary’s in Pietermaritzburg.

The training centre will run courses for catechists, Justice&Peace workshops, leadership programmes as well as health workshops.

The centre will also be available for priests and religious from any diocese needing some time for retreat and prayer as well as church groups needing space for training and meetings.

Bishop Ponce de León said that the centre also sees the need of having a weekly prayer meeting for the people of St Lucia regardless of which church they belong to.

While the bishop will formally reside in Manzini once installed there, he will be travelling to the vicariate once a month.

“Technology today allows us to remain in touch in many different ways. It will compensate for the time I will be away. In fact, I have been travelling most of this year and this never affected the project,” Bishop Ponce de León told The Southern Cross.

“At the same time, the project does not depend on me only. The team also includes a project manager, three priests of the vicariate and lay people from St Lucia,” he said.

“Everyone is very passionate about this project and it is the best guarantee that it will continue at the same rhythm.”

Catholics around the country are still invited to be a part of the process through the project’s web-

Slattery calls for Pretoria to ‘wake up’ STAFF REPORTER

I

Bishop José Ponce de León of Ingwavuma expects the St Lucia Retreat and Training Centre to open in October this year. site where visitors can view photos and videos of the building.

“The webpage also has a list of benefactors. It helps us make sure all the names are there. Many times, people sent their donations without giving their names. That is why we also added a line remembering all those silent benefactors,” the bishop said.

Bishop Ponce de León said the retreat centre was still reliant on donations through the buy-a-brick plan.

He added that any amount is welcomed and will certainly make the vicariate’s dream possible.

“And, certainly, we count on everybody’s prayers!” nFor more information, see the website www.stluciaretreat.org.za

N a message to the archdiocese of Pretoria, Archbishop William Slattery has reiterated Pope Francis’ call to “wake up the world” for “we have so much to give the world”.

The archbishop said he hoped the pope’s words would inspire Catholics in Pretoria.

“Pope Francis insists that things can be changed in our world.

“Jesus is risen. He is present, he is a vital power permeating the world and we are the instruments of the Lord and of that change.”

Pope Francis’ exhortation is an “antidote for our spiritual life in South Africa,” the archbishop said in his annual message.

“In a country which is 73% Christian we have to ask ourselves what impact does the Christian faith have on our families, on our business, on our politics, on 70% of our youth who are unemployed,” he said.

“Are we sure that the boos aimed at President Zuma are not aimed at the whole system prevailing in our country today?”

Quoting from Pope Francis, Archbishop Slattery said the parish is “the Church living in the midst of the homes of her sons and daughters”.

He said the parish was an environment for hearing God’s word, for growth in Christian life, for dialogue, proclamation, charitable outreach, worship and celebration.

It is a community where the thirsty come to drink in the midst

of their journey.

“Parishes must be where life is lived, they must touch the wounds of Christ in suffering. Parish life must be involved in the concrete, practical, real world of work, caring and mercy,” the archbishop said.

“A real Christian spirituality is not a privatised lifestyle. Jesus must be brought out from the chapels and prayer groups to the streets, to the squares, to our workplaces, on our journeys.

“But we must always present him with respect and gentleness.”

Archbishop Slattery said there was no use avoiding change, adding that parishes need to rethink goals, styles and methods of incorporating everyone.

“The door of the Church must always be open, there is no etoll, everyone is welcome. Without loving attention to the poor, we can be left swamped in an ocean of words.”

He added that mere administration would not be enough.

“Priests must remember that confession is not a torture chamber but an encounter with God’s mercy.

There will have to be a more incisive female presence in the Church and in settings where important decisions are made.”

Both the pope and the archbishop believe it is time to get started.

“No one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord.

“It is time for us to arise and wake up the world.”

ST LUCIA RETREAT AND TRAINING CENTRE Would you like to help us make it possible?

Vicariate Apostolic of Ingwavuma

One simple way to do it is through the “Buy a brick project”:

• donating R150 for 10 bricks, • R 300 for 20 bricks, • R1500 for 100 bricks!

The total project would take about 600,000 bricks.

All donors receive a certificate attesting to their contribution, their names are registered in the Memorial Book of the Centre and will be remembered in every Eucharist celebrated in the St Lucia Church.



I would like to donate:  R 150 for 10 bricks  R 300 for 20 bricks  R 1500 for 100 bricks  R ….............

Name and Surname: …...................................................................

Address:…...................................................................…...................................................... ............................................................................................................................................

Tel:................................... e-mail...................................................................

BANkINg DeTAILS

Account name: St Lucia Centre Bank: First National Bank Account Number: 62 285 445 807 Branch: Mtubatuba Branch number: 220330

FIRST NATIONAL BANK MTUBATUBA BRANCH Cnr Jan Smuts & St Lucia Avenue Mtubatuba, 3935, South Africa SWIFT: FIRNZAJJ

CONTACT DeTAILS

Vicariate Apostolic of Ingwavuma, PO Box 23, Mtubatuba 3935, South Africa Tel: 035 550 1051 e-mail: ingwavuma@gmail.com

LOCAL

The Southern Cross, January 15 to January 21, 2014

3

Catholic matric success rate

Southern Cross contributor Sydney Duval (left) is seen helping out Catholic Welfare and Development (CWD) at Masiphumelele at Kommetjie, outside Cape Town, where 42 000 people from different parts of Africa share simple homes and shacks in an area zoned for 5 000. About 300 people were left devastated by a fire in late December. CWD works in the area of disaster relief and has been distributing food parcels to the victims as well as helping the community to repair and rebuild their homes.

Bumper Year of the Family STAFF REPORTER

on confronting family poverty and not limit this to women and children.

HIS year will be an important “As has been highlighted through one for the family, as the interdiocesan consultation and is Church’s bishops prepare to also becoming clear through a quesmeet in Rome for the synod at which tionnaire currently being completed, they will discuss issues of the family; Catholics on the whole have a superSouth Africa continues to research its ficial, sketchy knowledge of the white paper on the family; and the Church’s teaching around marriage United Nations officially celebrates and family life,” she said. the 20th anniversary of International The Family Life Desk, supported Family Day. often by MARFAM publications, The local Church has been en- working through the parishes, sees couraged to become active and help the number one priority as strengthfamilies—in whatever form they may ening family relationships and protake—with support and resources moting family spirituality including from the Family Life Desk of the the prayer life within the home, Mrs Southern African Catholic Rowland told The SouthBishops’ Conference, said ern Cross. coordinator Toni RowThe various family land. movements and their The past three years programmes of marriage have run under themes preparation, enrichment particularly relevant “in and help for troubled our Southern African remarriages are essential gion as anywhere else in and need to be strengththe developing world and ened and supported. Parat times too in the develenting skills and life skills oped world. The themes must be addressed, she were used by governadded. ments, academic instituMrs Rowland said the tions as well as civil special synod on pastoral society institutions, NGOs challenges to families in and churches or familyOctober will be focusing Toni Rowland based organisations,” said primarily on the pastoral Mrs Rowland. challenges in the context The themes included in 2011 of evangelisation or the application “Confronting family poverty and so- of canon law. cial exclusion”, “Ensuring work-fam“However, both the spiritual and ily balance” in 2012, and practical perspectives are necessary “Advancing social integration and and it is to be hoped that through intergenerational solidarity” in 2013. consideration of pastoral challenges “Clearly these themes are not nar- around divorce and remarriage, corowly related to marriage or parent- habitation, sexuality and same sex ing, which are often the Church’s unions the practical implications will main focus when dealing with family surface as the questionnaires on the life, but deal with the family on a lived experience of families are broader level. This means other de- analysed.” partments and agencies, sodalities The Family Life Desk is ready to and all church organisations can also tackle the busy year ahead and aluse them to strengthen a family ready has themed year planner calfocus in their own work,” Mrs Row- endars available. land told The Southern Cross.

“More than just a calendar, it is a She said as families are recognised cheap, useful and informative tool as the basic building blocks of soci- for education and enrichment for ety, whatever is done to build up so- families and those supporting ciety politically, economically or them. The 2014 main theme ‘Famisocially should take families as units lies together, that’s us!’ is general and not individuals alone into con- enough to include everyone.”

Mrs Rowland added that families sideration.

“Very often a family may well are invited to add their own special consist of a mother and her children, commemorations to make the liturbut there is still a prevailing attitude gical calendar their “little church of that this is not a ‘real’ family. At a the home”. The first “thoughts for very practical level we are seeing that the day” booklet for January to a nuclear family made up of hus- March is also now available.

All these resources are valuable for band, wife and children is not the norm in African society where fami- use in workshops or for faith sharing, lies take many forms, from child- an approach widely recommended headed to extended family-headed.” by the bishops, said Mrs Rowland.

Mrs Rowland encouraged Justice n For more information, support, or reand Peace groups, as well as develop- sources contact Toni Rowland at ment groups in the Church, to focus 082 552 1275.

T

Continued from page 1 High School in Johannesburg placed in the top 1% in IEB in South Africa, and 80% of the class achieved bachelor degree passes.

Principal Gary Meyer said he was particularly pleased with the improvement in mathematics among his school’s matrics.

“Our teachers give additional support to weaker students.”

The CIE’s Ms Baker said the numbers of learners achieving adequate results in mathematics and science continues to be of concern for the CIE. Education experts agree that this issue can only be dealt with through an excellent foundation phase education.

Mr Meyer thanked The Southern Cross for prioritising Catholic education through its annual supplement, usually published in June.

Catholic schools in Soweto, where the education revolution was started on June 16, 1976, produced impressive results, according to Rosa Calaca, director of the Johannesburg-based Catholic Schools Office.

Learners from St Martin De Porres High School in Orlando West attained distinctions between three and seven. Their top learner was Lungi Winnie Sepotokele who achieved seven distinctions including mathematics and accounting.

At Inkamana High School in northern KwaZulu-Natal, “all students passed and obtained a bachelor pass”, said principal Isabel Steenkamp.

Inkamana High School, started

by Benedictine monks, celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2013.

The Johannesburg-based Dominican Convent School achieved a pass rate of 98,65%. According to

the school’s Renata Haywood, the school’s university entrance rate increased from 57% in 2012 to 88% in 2013.

Dominican Veritas College, based in the East Rand of Gauteng, achieved a 100% pass rate for the 16th consecutive year on the IEB system. The students achieved 52 distinctions from 41 candidates “which surpassed the school’s expectations” according to principal Nina Raouna.

Veritas learners visit overseas countries like the United States of America to build leadership skills.

Loreto Convent in the archdiocese of Pretoria also achieved a 100% pass rate, of which 97% achieved a bachelor pass. This included 86 distinctions from 72 candidates. The school was listed as the top school in Tshwane district.

St Benedict’s High School in Bedfordview, Johannesburg, achieved a 100% pass rate for the 39th consecutive year The school’s Andre Oosthuysen pointed out that academic achievement aside, the value of Catholic schooling is in its ethos.

The matriculants of Sacred Heart College in Observatory, Johannesburg, obtained 141 distinctions, with Dylan Barry earning nine distinctions and a place in the country’s top 5%.

All Sacred Heart matriculants achieved bachelor passes.

At Brescia House in Sandton, 65 girls obtained 201 distinctions, making it the “best year of matric results to date,” Helga Bishop told The Southern Cross.

Holy Rosary High School also achieved a 100% pass rate, 95% bachelor degree pass rate, and 113 distinctions overall.

2013 Dux Saralee Curtis achieved 9 distinctions (incl AP Maths), featured on the IEB Outstanding Achievement list, and featured among the top 1% IEB students in three subjects.

Penny Maree, high school principal at Iona Convent School in Pretoria, said it is the most affordable of all the city’s Catholic schools and so it still able to take in girls from the townships in and around Pretoria. “Our results are always very positive, with a 100% pass rate for the past 28 years,” she said.

Port Elizabeth’s Dominican Priory achieved a 100% pass rate with all learners obtaining a bachelor pass.

This stood in stark contrast to the Eastern Cape’s general rate.

With a 64,9% pass it was again the lowest-performing province with 150 schools achieving a pass of 40% or less.

“It is clear that this province requires even more focused intervention,” said Ms Baker.

Fr Smangaliso Mkhatshwa, chairman of the Moral Regeneration Movement and the deputy minister of education in President Nelson Mandela’s government, said “the class of 2013 shows the resilience of South African youth and parents”.

“As a country we honour learners, educators and parents for such an incredible achievement by both the private and public institutions,” he told The Southern Cross.

Fr Mkhatshwa, a product of mission schools himself, prays that schools can inculcate “a culture of learning, teaching and democracy”.

4

The Southern Cross, January 15 to January 21, 2014

INTERNATIONAL

Let papal Holy Land trip be ‘cry for peace’

BY DALE GAVLAK

L

ATIN Patriarch Fouad Twal of Jerusalem has welcomed the announcement of Pope Francis’ May visit to the Holy Land and said he hopes the pilgrimage will be a “cry for peace”, particularly for Palestinians, Israelis, Syrians and others beset by conflict.

Pope Francis will visit Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories from May 24-26 to mark the 50th anniversary of the historic 1964 visit

by Pope Paul VI to the Holy Land.

Pope Francis is expected to celebrate Masses in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and the Jordanian capital, Amman, where he will begin his trip.

Patriarch Twal underscored that Arab Christians are badly in need of the pope’s encouragement as their numbers continue to decrease due to violence and economic hardship.

“Our presence, I think, is one of the aspects he will mention in his speech to ask us to be courageous and to stay,” the Jordanian-born patriarch said.

“To stay in this land, to live in

this land, to die in this land: the Holy Land is worthy to stay, to suffer and to die for,” he said.

“The visit is intended to consolidate the good relations that bind the Muslims and Christians of [the] Arab countries since ancient times, as well as contribute to intensifying calls for mutual respect and redoubling efforts to respect for religious pluralism in an atmosphere of love and cooperation,” Patriarch Twal said.

“We need the pope to bring peace to Jerusalem,” said Mary Yadi, a Jerusalem native and parishioner at St Joseph’s church in Amman.

“Our world is engulfed in war and it desperately needs peace. More prayers must be offered to see something positive happen,” she said.

Another aspect of the papal pilgrimage aims to strengthen efforts initiated by Pope Paul VI to encourage greater unity between the Western and Eastern churches. Pope Francis will meet Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, considered first among equals

by Orthodox bishops, and the three Catholic patriarchs of Jerusalem.

He is expected as well to build on

reconciliation efforts by moderate Muslims, such as Jordan’s King Abdullah II, to foster better relations between Muslims and Christians.

Pope Francis also will hold talks with Jordanian religious and political leaders and celebrate an open-air Mass in an Amman stadium.

Later that evening, the pontiff will travel to the site where it is believed that Jesus was baptised and the “place chosen by Jesus to begin his mission”, said Archbishop Giorgio Lingua, apostolic nuncio to Jordan and Iraq.

The place, he said, has been “significantly chosen for the pope to share dinner with the ‘least’”: Syrian refugees, the handicapped and the impoverished.

Pope Francis will travel from Amman to Bethlehem by helicopter on May 25. He will celebrate Mass in the West Bank city’s Manger Square and will meet Israeli President Shimon Peres.

Patriarch Twal expressed hope that Christians from Gaza and Galilee will also be allowed to participate in the Manger Square Mass.—CNS

A view from the courtyard of the church of the Nativity into Manger Square in Bethlehem, West Bank, where Pope Francis will celebrate Mass on May 25. The mosque of Omar in the square is the old city’s only mosque. The pope will also visit Amman in Jordan, and Jerusalem. (Photo: Günther Simmermacher)

Despite unrest, religious stay put in South Sudan OUR GIFT TO YOU!

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MICASA TOURS

Pilgrimage in the Footsteps of St Paul to Greece & Turkey led by Mgr Barnard McAleer 9-22 June 2014

Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

led by Fr Jerome Nyathi, 23 June-03 July 2014

Pilgrimage to the Shrines of Europe

visiting Israel, Greece, Medjugorje, Italy, Lourdes, Fatima and Santiago de Compostela led by Fr Collin Bowes, 6-30 September 2014

Pilgrimage of Thanksgiving to Italy & Medjugorje led by Fr Maselwane, 7-20 September 2014

Pilgrimage to Lourdes,Nevers,Liseux and Ars

led by Fr Craigh Laubscher, 14-23 September 2014

Pilgrimage to Fatima, Santiago de Compostela & Lourdes, Paris & Nevers

led by Fr Cletus Mtshali, 28 September-11 October 2014

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BY PAuL JEFFREY

W

HILE many foreigners have fled the fighting in South Sudan, an international group of Catholic volunteers has remained at the side of the people they came to serve.

“None of our group has left the country because of the violence. Being in solidarity means being one with the people. It means standing faithfully beside them at this tragic time,” said Sr Cathy Arata, an American School Sister of Notre Dame.

Sr Arata works with Solidarity with South Sudan, an international network of more than 225 Catholic congregations and donor agencies supporting the Church in South Sudan, which in 2011 became independent from the north of the country.

Fighting broke out in Juba on December 15 and spread quickly to other parts of the country, killing at least 1 000 people and displacing hundreds of thousands. The conflict raised fears of an all-out conflict between the

country’s two largest ethnic groups.

Many foreigners fled quickly.

Solidarity with South Sudan provides training for teachers, health workers and pastoral agents. Sr Arata said her group told 16 short-term volunteers scheduled to arrive in January to cancel their travel plans, yet none of the 32 long-term members working in the country have left unless they already had plans to leave for Christmas.

The group’s activities in Yambio and Rumbek remain unaffected. The group is suspending its teacher training operations in war-torn Malakal, however, where some of the worst fighting has taken place. Sr Arata said it was impossible for students to travel there for classes.

Five members of Solidarity were in Malakal during the height of the violence.

“We all hunkered down in a small room beside our chapel, laying low on the floor, and when the fighting would let up a bit we’d stand up and relax a bit, but then run again when the

shooting and bombardment would resume,” said Irish Sister Elizabeth Ryan.

“It was our personal choice to stay there. But Church people usually don’t go away when things get difficult,” she said.

Once Solidarity decided to suspend its Malakal operations, Sr Ryan flew to Rumbek, to help train teachers in a programme which has not been directly affected by the conflict.

On January 6, the day the peace talks began in Addis Ababa, Sr Arata said she helped with Mass in a UN camp in Juba.

“We said Mass on a tiny altar in the middle of the squalor. We celebrated the Eucharist where they were building latrines,” she said.

“Yet we witnessed the human condition in its most pristine form, because the people are really one with each other. They are afraid because of what has happened, but they have such faith in God that they say, ‘God will get us through this, just as God has gotten us through everything else’,” she said.—CNS

Papal R53m to help pay WYD debt

BY LISE ALVES

P

OPE Francis has pledged a donation of almost $5 million (R53 million) to help pay part of the debt incurred by the archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Day, said the Local Organising Committee.

A statement from the committee said the pope recognised “the great effort made by the Local Organising Committee to hold World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro and demonstrated his

intention to financially help pay off part of the investments made” for the event.

An independent audit of the event, conducted by Ernst & Young, confirmed that on August 31, World Youth Day had an accumulated debt of $38,4 million (R408 million). After renegotiating with suppliers and selling a property, the archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro was able to reduce the debt to a little over $18 million (R191 million).

World Youth Day brought

nearly 3 million pilgrims to Copacabana beach.

An October-December public campaign to obtain donations to pay off the debt collected $336 600 (R3,6 million).

The Local Organising Committee said World Youth Day was funded entirely by the Church and donations. Federal, state and local governments’ participation was limited to guaranteeing the security of pilgrims and public services during the event, it said.—CNS

Pope limits ‘monsignor’ title

BY FRANCIS X ROCCA

P

OPE Francis has decided to limit the honour of “monsignor” among diocesan priests and grant it from now on only to those at least 65 years old.

The change, which is not retroactive and does not affect Vatican officials or members of religious orders, was announced in a letter from the Vatican Secretariat of State to nunciatures

around the world, along with instructions to inform local bishops.

Of the three grades of monsignor—apostolic protonotary, honorary prelate of His Holiness and chaplain of His Holiness— only the last will be available to diocesan priests who meet the new age requirement.

Bishops must resubmit any pending requests for papal honours in accordance with the new rules.

Pope Francis has often warned clergy against the temptations of careerism and personal ambition.

Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi SJ noted that Pope Paul VI had reformed the system of ecclesiastical honours in 1968, reducing the number of titles to three.

“Pope Francis’ decision thus follows in the same line, with further simplification,” Fr Lombardi said.—CNS

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, January 15 to January 21, 2014

5

Pope wants new rules for orders in dioceses, parishes P

BY FRANCIS X ROCCA

Pope Francis at his first general audience of 2014. Between March and the end of December, an estimated 6,6 million people attended papal events in the Vatican led by Pope Francis. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS)

Millions saw pope in 2013

BY FRANCIS X. ROCCA

I

N the first nine and a half months of Pope Francis’ pontificate, more than 6,6 million people participated in papal events at the Vatican, including weekly general audiences, group audiences, liturgies and recitations of the Angelus and Regina Coeli on Sundays and holy days.

The statistics, compiled by the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household, do not include figures from Pope Francis’ trip to Brazil for World Youth Day in July 2013, or his visits to Italian locations outside the Vatican.

From his election on March 13 until the end of 2013, at least 1,5 million people attended Pope Francis’ 30 general audiences; more than 87 000 participated in group audi-

ences; almost 2,3 million participated in papal liturgies in St Peter’s basilica or St Peter’s Square; and more than 2,7 million joined the pope for the Angelus or the Regina Coeli in the square.

The numbers are approximate, based on tickets issued or estimates of crowd size, depending on the event.

By comparison, during the year following the election of Pope Benedict XVI in April 2005, more than 4 million people attended papal events at the Vatican and the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo.

In 1979, the first full calendar year of Pope John Paul II’s pontificate, nearly 1,6 million requested tickets for his weekly public audiences.—CNS

OPE Francis said he has ordered a revision of what he called outdated Vatican norms on the relations between religious orders and local bishops, in order to promote greater appreciation of the orders’ distinctive missions.

The pope’s words were published this month in the Italian Jesuit magazine La Civiltà Cattolica. He made the comments on November 29 at a closed-door meeting with 120 superiors general of religious orders from around the world.

Pope Francis referred to Mutuae Relationes, a set of directives issued jointly by the Congregation for Bishops and the Congregation for Religious in 1978. The document said that religious orders are part of the local Church, though with their own internal organisation, and that their “right to autonomy” should never be considered as independence from the local Church.

“That document was useful at the time but is now outdated,” the pope said. “The charisms of the various institutes need to be respected and fostered because they are needed in dioceses.”

The pope, who until his election in March 2013 served as archbishop of Buenos Aires and formerly served as a Jesuit provincial, said he knew “by experience the problems that can arise between a bishop and religious communities”.

For example, he said, “if the religious decide one day to withdraw from one of their works due to a

lack of manpower, the bishop often finds himself suddenly left with a hot potato in his hand”.

“I also know that the bishops are not always acquainted with the charisms and works of religious,” he said. “We bishops need to understand that consecrated persons are not functionaries but gifts that enrich dioceses.

“The involvement of religious communities in dioceses is important,” the pope said. “Dialogue between the bishop and religious must be rescued so that, due to a lack of understanding of their charisms, bishops do not view religious simply as useful instruments.”

T

he pope also asked the heads of the Congregation for Religious to finish a pending document on male religious who are not priests.

He acknowledged a “vocational crisis” among such men, but said they still had a role in religious life.

The 15-page article by Jesuit Father Antonio Spadaro, editor of La Civiltà Cattolica, quoted extensively from the pope’s remarks at the three-hour meeting, which Fr Spadaro attended.

During the meeting with religious superiors, Pope Francis preferred “neither to give a talk nor to listen to their prepared remarks: He wished to have a frank and free conversation consisting of questions and answers,” Fr Spadaro wrote.

Noting the growth of religious orders in Africa and Asia, the pope acknowledged challenges to evangelisation there, including correct

adaptation of Catholic teaching to local cultures, as well as a temptation to exploit poorer societies as sources of vocations.

The pope recalled that Filipino bishops had complained of foreign religious orders running a “novice trade” in their country. “We need to keep our eyes open for such situations,” he told the superiors.

Pope Francis said that sensitivity is needed not only for crossing geographical boundaries but social and cultural frontiers as well.

“The situation in which we live now provides us with new challenges which sometimes are difficult for us to understand,” he said, noting that Catholic teachers must be prepared to “welcome children in an educational context, little boys and girls, young adults who live in complex situations, especially family ones”.

Seminary directors, too, must be sensitive to the needs of religious novices, encouraging them to engage in sincere and fearless dialogue with their instructors, he said.

“Formation is a work of art, not a police action,” the pope said. “We must form their hearts. Otherwise we are creating little monsters. And then these little monsters mould the People of God. This really gives me goose bumps.”

“Just think of religious who have hearts that are as sour as vinegar: They are not made for the people,” the pope said. “In the end we must not form administrators, managers, but fathers, brothers, travelling companions.”—CNS

Istanbul resident recalls future Pope John XXIII

BY JAMES MARTONE

A

LARGE, beige-coloured building sits on a corner of a semiquiet street in Istanbul’s Sisli district.

The stone structure once housed Archbishop Angelo Roncalli, who lived in Istanbul from 1935-44 as the Vatican’s apostolic delegate to Turkey and Greece.

In 1958, Archbishop Roncalli became Pope John XXIII; he will be canonised on April 27 along with Bl John Paul II. “Many foreign tourists come from all over to look and they take photos,” said Neriman Reyhan, a Muslim, who lives across from the future saint’s former Istanbul residence on the street now called “Papa Roncalli”.

Mr Reyhan, 82, said the “street used to be called Ocelik” but it was renamed to honour the pope.

“He must have been a very good man,” Mr Reyhan said of Archbishop Roncalli, who also served as administrator of Istanbul’s Latinrite vicariate.

Istanbul’s present-day apostolic vicar, Bishop Louis Pelatre, said his-

torical accounts concur that Archbishop Roncalli “was a good, saintly man”, and apparently very modest during his Turkey tenure.

“He wasn’t considered so important. He would go to ministries and sometimes wait all day to see someone, but if he was unable to meet the person he wanted, he never got discouraged. He would leave his card,” Bishop Pelatre said, relaying stories he had read and also heard from “the very few persons living” who had met Archbishop Roncalli in Turkey more than 70 years ago.

“There is hardly anyone left now though, most have departed or are on their way,” the priest said during an interview at his home, a former school, next door to Archbishop Roncalli’s residence.

He said this residence has been mostly vacant since 1960, the year the Vatican and Turkey established official ties and papal ambassadors were moved permanently to the Turkish capital, Ankara.

“It’s now the pontifical nuncio’s residence when he visits from Ankara, but he doesn’t come much, and it remains mostly closed. Sometimes people come asking for the

Bishop Angelo Roncalli, the future Pope John XXIII on the day of his episcopal ordination in 1925 key and we tell them to call Ankara,” Bishop Pelatre said.

The bishop said he attended the ceremony for the renaming of the street to “Roncalli”, in 2000, three months after John Paul II beatified his predecessor.

As apostolic delegate to Turkey, Archbishop Roncalli had helped the Jewish underground to save thousands of refugees in Europe, Bishop Pelatre said, adding that the former pope was renown among Catholics and non-Catholics alike for convening the Second Vatican Council, which led to reforms that included stronger emphasis on ecumenism and a new worldly approach.

“I think for the Muslims here— as well as for many Christians—that when [John XXIII] was beatified, it was as if he had already become a saint,” Bishop Pelatre said. He said the street-naming event to mark the beatification had been organised by local government officials, and that many of the city’s Muslims, Christians and “especially Jews” had been present.

“For me it is something wonderful, because all levels of society rendered him homage. He had friends everywhere,” he said.

Jean Andriotti, 90, is one of the rare Istanbul natives who remembers meeting and greeting Archbishop Roncalli.

He said he grew up attending French Mass and praying to saints

at Istanbul’s cathedral of the Holy Spirit, where Archbishop Roncalli routinely celebrated Mass.

“He had a very strong Italian accent and sounded very funny when he spoke to us in French, and it made all of us boys laugh very hard.

But, of course, we were only teenagers,” said Mr Andriotti, who now lives with his Italian wife, Amelia, in a Catholic retirement home near the cathedral.

Mr Andriotti said it was too early to decide whether he would be adding John XXIII to the list of saints he now prays to on Sundays in the chapel on retirement home grounds.

“He is not a saint yet,” he said.

“Let’s wait until that happens and talk then.”—CNS n The Southern Cross and Radio Veritas are jointly headlining a pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi to witness the canonisation of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II, from April 25 to May 4.

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6

The Southern Cross, January 15 to January 21, 2014

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

A cry for peace

P

OPE Francis will visit the Holy Land in May to mark the 50th anniversary of the historic embrace of Pope Paul VI and the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Atengora.

The very brief itinerary’s centrepiece will be the pope’s meeting with current Greek Patriarch Bartholomew, but inevitably much of the attention will be on the pope’s calls for peace.

Indeed, the Catholic archbishop of the Holy Land, Patriarch Faoud Twal, has expressed his hope that Pope Francis will issue a “cry for peace” in the region.

The pope will doubtless do so, and the plain-speaking pontiff might not mince his words.

His visit coincides with attempts at kick-starting fresh negotiations for a peaceful solution in the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

The notion of peace talks generally inspires some hope for a just settlement, but should hope be crushed by failed or bad-faith negotiations, the consequent frustrations might well find expression in uncontrollable reactions.

Already there are whispers of a new intifada (or Palestinian uprising) should new talks produce no just results.

The last intifada, which broke out in 2000, brought great suffering, both to Palestinians and to Israeli civilians. A third intifada would be a disaster for all prospects of peace.

The last uprising provided Israel with the pretext to build its separation wall, which now stands as a symbol for the injustices visited upon ordinary Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

The wall cuts deep into Palestinian land, often as a prelude to the expropriation of the property of the locals for the benefit of illegal Israeli settlers.

Many farmers have been cut off from their land, and many people have lost their livelihood because the wall makes it impossible to commute regularly to their places of employment.

Whole communities have been divided by the wall.

The wall deprives Palestinians in the West Bank of statehood, land, subsistence, dignity, family life and, in many cases, access to health services and education.

It would be a powerful moment were Pope Francis to stand

at the eight-metre-high wall in Bethlehem and challenge Israel to bring it down, much as US President Ronald Reagan in 1987 challenged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.

The continued violation of Palestinian rights by Israel cannot continue, and Pope Francis, who is a good friend to Jews, has every right to make this known when he speaks in Bethlehem and in Jerusalem, without being accused of pursuing an agenda of special interests.

Pope Francis would do his Jewish friends a service by calling for a just and equitable peace which would require material sacrifice from Israel by way of returning land and freedom of movement to Palestinians.

And he might call on Israelis to acknowledge a profound truth: that the establishment of their state in 1948 was accompanied by the dispossession of Palestinians who had occupied the land for more than a thousand years.

Like the state of Israel, the dispossession, what Palestinians call al-Nakba (“the catastrophe”), cannot be undone. While the Palestinian demand for the right to return to their old homes— most expelled families still have the keys to their old houses—has merit in justice, it is impossible to translate into action.

Pope Francis would also serve his Palestinian friends well to emphasise that the state of Israel is a reality. To deny its demand to exist in security is wholly futile.

While formal recognition of Israel may be a useful tool for negotiation, rhetoric that calls for the notional extinction of the state does not serve peace.

The right of the state of Israel to exist within secure borders according to the pre-1967 demarcations, as recognised by the United Nations, must be self-evident.

Negotiations must genuinely seek peace and justice, and they must be open to pragmatic solutions, on both sides.

At Christmas Pope Francis prayed for peace in the Holy Land: “Bless the land where You chose to come into the world, and grant a favourable outcome to the peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians.”

Let us join the pope in this prayer.

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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.

Moral poverty of racist attackers

I

HAVE just read the article titled “Priest: I forgive racist attackers” (January 1), and feel terrible that such things still happen in South Africa, and especially in relation to the passing of Nelson Mandela.

I am a white male living in East London and wish to express my feelings regarding this incident in which Fr Victor Phalana and Martin Wamba were senselessly assaulted by three white men who made silly

Aborting lives

M

Y response is to Fr Paddy Noonan OFM (December 25) regarding his article on Nelson Mandela and the injustices of apartheid. Yes, millions of us played a role and were victims of the apartheid system.

But is Fr Noonan conveniently forgetting that Mr Mandela signed a document allowing for millions now and in the future to be murdered in the womb.

If you and I live, it is also their right to live. After all, God knew us before we were formed in our mothers’ wombs.

If we wish Mr Mandela to have a place in heaven, was he justified in denying all those millions aborted the happiness of eternal life with God, having also robbed them of enjoying the beauty of all God’s creation, the many talents they were not allowed to pursue.

Yes, Mr Mandela brought cheer to thousands of children, mainly at Christmas time.

But why had he to deny others that right, just as those responsible for the injustice of apartheid have to answer to God, so also those of the present government, and others directly and indirectly, will one day answer to our heavenly Father.

Mr Mandela enjoyed the beauty of the sunrise and sunset, the stars, the ocean and the mountains.

He lived to the age of 95 but denied those infants one minute outside the womb. It sure is a hell of a task getting into heaven.

ER Little, Cape Town

Winner all round

B

ECAUSE of the “mania” about Pope Francis, there is a possibility that the cardinals might elect a Franciscan cardinal for pope.

Prof Brian Gaybba (November 27) is to be congratulated for trying to put our Franciscan cardinal on the right track. Both parties are human and can benefit from the experience. But what about the readers?

The angels, and no doubt the readers, are praying both parties will continue to write in The Southern Cross. If they do, The Southern Cross is the winner all round.

Pavel Jaroszynski, Johannesburg

statements about Madiba no longer being alive.

It appears that the assailants must be living in spiritual and moral poverty. Their lives must be full of fear that they chose such a cowardly act, instead of being able to share grief for the passing of the greatest leader South Africa has ever had.

May they find healing from the anger and fear that appears to con-

End tit for tat

I

HAD hoped we had heard the last of the correspondence regarding the critique of the book God, Love, Life and Sex. Unfortunately Cardinal Wilfrid Napier has chosen, once again, to write to The Southern Cross in this regard (January 1).

I am so saddened by this whole episode. As apparently recognised

by Pope Francis, what the faithful need are kind, loving and above all humble pastors, not arrogant men who seem to demand respect when, in fact, all we want to do is love our priests and be loved in return.

Who cares about all the technical reasons cited by Cardinal Napier? Our local Church does not, in this instance, appear to be following the message of our recently elected Pope Francis. If only Church leaders would follow the loving, humble example of Pope Francis.

Nigel Bands, Port Elizabeth

Confession idea

P

OPE Francis has asked the cardinals of the curia to spend time hearing confessions in a parish in Rome (January 1).

Could the South African bishops not do the same, thereby assisting our elderly, overworked priests in some of our larger parishes, when they would meet and talk with their flock?

Bill Benson, Johannesburg

Parish thrives

M

Y wife and I travelled through to Cape Town on December 14 to attend a wedding.

We made arrangements to stay over and attend Mass the following day at St Agnes in Woodstock where 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.

Letters can be sent to PO Box 2372, Cape Town 8000 or editor@scross.co.za or faxed to 021 465-3850

BOOkSHOP MANAgeR

trol their lives. May they have the courage and humility to acknowledge greatness in people of other races.

Thank you Fr Phalana and Mr Wamba for the Christian values you have displayed in forgiving these young men and focusing on the bigger picture of nation building, as Madiba would have advocated, instead of harbouring anger or seeking revenge for the injustice perpetrated against you.

Jos te Braake, East London we were married about 47 years ago.

The Mass was at 11:30. Before Mass I introduced my wife to Fr Mario Tessarotto, a Scalabrini missionary. The Mass was to be conducted in French and we were warned that it would be long as the congregants love to sing—in fact you could already hear them practising.

This beautiful old church was spotless and the sung Mass by a large choir of French-speaking African migrants was a joy to behold. There were many children in the congregation sitting in the pews in the front of the church who were unbelievably well behaved.

I am sure that Prof Ivan Killian (a non-Catholic), who for many years was our organist and choir master, would have been impressed with the singing.

St Agnes is a very special parish, and over the years has been home to many refugees—as I recall, our humble abode was for a short period home to two young Polish girls after World War II. Luminaries who were parishioners at various times include Cardinal Owen McCann, Bishop Ernest Green, Bishop Frank de Gouveia, Fr Ralph de Hahn and Fr Basil van Rensburg.

We can only pray that our Good Lord continues to shower blessings on the Scalabrini missionaries and our Holy Redeemer shows abundant mercy to the refugee community.

By the way, church came out at 13:20, but the service seemed to fly by.

Bernie Moat, Stompneusbaai, WP

Penpal needed

I

AM a 41-year-old Indian male, presently incarcerated in Oudtshoorn. I write to you with the hope that you will assist me with penpals anywhere in the Republic of South Africa.

Age, race or sex is not of importance as I am more than willing to communicate with anyone.

My address is Reg 201527546, AUnit Rm 30, Oudtshoorn MEDA, Post Bag 65, Oudtshoorn, 6620.

I hope and pray for your assistance. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Collin Achari, Oudtshoorn

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PERSPECTIVES

The Church in globalised times A LTHOUGH international relations are inevitable in today’s globalised world, some people are still ambivalent about them, owing especially to the inequitable dealings between nations.

What does the Church say about the foundation, benefits and the challenges of the international relations?

The Church infers the foundation of the unity of the human family from the creation accounts. All human beings share the image and likeness of God, the Lord of the universe. This universal brotherhood is further implied in God’s covenant with Abraham, the father of nations.

Against the tendency to wrap up herself to the exclusion of others, prophets constantly reminded Israel of her vocation as a means of gathering all peoples in one house of God (cf Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church [CSDC] 430).

The universal brotherhood becomes more explicit in the New Testament.

Christ, by his arms spread wide on the cross, embraces and gathers into one all peoples, for “all the barriers of enmity have already been torn down (Eph 2:12-1) so that for those who live a new life in Christ, racial and cultural differences are no longer causes of division (Gal 3:26-28)”, according to the CSDC. Further, by the Pentecost experience “the Church fulfils her mission of restoring and bearing witness to the unity lost at Babel...the human family is called to rediscover its unity and recognise the richness of its differences, in order to attain ‘full unity in Christ’” (CSDC 431).

The Christian message is precisely an appeal to all people towards a unity of human family saved in Christ.

Therefore, the political, economic and social organisations are but only the external manifestations of the inner need to cooperate, thanks to the awareness that they

are living members of the whole human family, as Pope John XXIII explained in his 1963 encyclical Pacem in Terris.

However, if these international relations are to create a true spirit of family, they have to be founded and guided by certain values and attitudes.

That fundamental value is “the centrality of the human person and the natural inclination of persons and peoples to establish relationships among themselves” (CSDC 433), to build a reasonable human international community committed to the pursuit and ensuring common good.

This requires some organisation.

F

or ordered and peaceful existence, the Church favours the presence of the “universal public authority acknowledged as such by all and endowed with effective power to safeguard on the behalf of the all, security, regard for justice and respect for rights” (CSDC 441).

As Pope John Paul II pointed out in his

Leaders of the Group of Eight nations gather at the table with African outreach leaders in 2010. The Catholic Church holds that the battle against underdevelopment must break the structures of sin that perpetuate economic, financial, social and political inequality. (Photo: Jason Reed, Reuters/CNS)

Evans K Chama M.Afr

Catholic Social Teachings

Message for the World Day of Peace in 2003, this has to be created by mutual agreement between states, not an imposition or “global super-state”.

International organisation should be motivated by interest among nations to honestly cooperate with others in order to guarantee, mutually, the right to development.

The Church opposes some behaviours, attitudes and structures that systematically favour development of some but keep others down. That is why she affirms that the war against underdevelopment requires determination in breaking the structures of sin that permeate the economic, financial, social and political mechanism.

“Development is not only an aspiration but a right that, like every right, implies a duty” (CSDC 446).

In his 1988 encyclical Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, Pope John Paul II said: “Collaboration in the development of the whole person and of every human being is in fact a duty of all towards all”, rooted in the shared origin and destiny of human family, equality between persons and nations, the centrality of the human person who is the destination of earthly goods and the solidarity that should characterise a human society.

The Church encourages the underdeveloped countries to avoid remaining stagnant by collaborating and accessing international markets. Further, she advises those who control the market: “The spirit of international cooperation requires that, Continued on page 11

How to stick to new year’s resolutions Judith Turner I LOVE hymn number 644 in the Celebration Hymnal for Everyone, David’s Psalm 96: “Sing a new song unto the Lord; let your song be sung from mountains high.

Sing a new song unto the Lord, singing alleluia.”

I cannot sing this hymn without acknowledging that every day we need to make a new start. Every time I sing this hymn, I feel almost as though I’m getting an instruction or a command to make things new in my life. To change my tune.

To re-write my narrative.

The hymn strikes a chord deep inside of me, a place where I know I can be a new creation again.

The beginning of a new year is traditionally the time to make known, privately or publicly, what we would like to make new.

And perfectly so, because the beginning of a new year is an opportunity to break some old habits and create new ones.

The new habits will, hopefully, take us to a heightened experience of daily living.

Most of us have a deep desire, year in and year out, to become better people: to become better at what we do, grow our business, deepen our relationship with Christ and other significant relationships, become more involved in community life, improve our qualifications, and so on.

Why do we have this deep longing even after proving year after year that we do not always live up to achieving our deepest desires for newness? With our history of making and breaking new year’s resolutions, why do we still continue to make them?

With all the good intentions we have for the new year, our old habits unconsciously creep in while we are off guard and we then fall back into old ways—it is hard work to start and maintain new habits, and yet, ultimately this is the work we need to do to

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Faith and Life

Revellers greet the arrival of 2014. In her column, Judith Turner writes that making new year’s resolutions is an act of faith.

(Photo: Carlo Allegri, Reuters/CNS) be able to experience a new, happy and meaningful life.

Many people would argue that it is better to not make new year’s resolutions because these resolutions last only for a short while.

The point is that it is an act of faith to make new year’s resolutions. We have to place our faith, our hope and our trust in God that whatever we plan to achieve we have to depend on him to carry us through.

F

ather Ron Rolheiser OMI advises: “To make new resolutions is to express faith in the God of the resurrection. To try for new life, for a fresh start, precisely when bad habits have kept me so long in a certain helplessness, is to say: ‘I believe in the resurrection and the life!’ Somewhere, deep inside of us, in that place where we want to make new year’s resolutions, we still carry that faith. In that place we still say the creed and still believe in the resurrection. Because of that belief, because of new year’s resolutions, God can still make something out of nothing!”

We ultimately realise that we cannot do

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anything by ourselves and that any resolution that is based on our own interest and importance and which we want to implement with our own efforts alone, will never stand the test of time.

I hope you made your new year’s resolutions in good faith and very realistically based on what you know you will be able to muster.

For example, if you would like to become better at parenting, then research where you could attend a parenting skills course, look out for other parent support groups, get yourself a copy of a parent’s prayer and pray this prayer regularly. Bring your resolution to become a better parent before God during Holy Mass and offer up all your efforts at better parenting and ask for the grace to continue.

A popular resolution is to live a healthier life. We want to lose weight, exercise more or take steps towards preventing or controlling a chronic condition like high blood pressure. This year, take control by breaking the habits that lead to bad health. Understand your health condition. Take signs of bad health seriously and act on them swiftly. Your body is the temple of God. Ask him to help you take care of his temple.

God, who sees and knows all things, will help us with our resolutions and through his grace we will be able to “sing a new song unto the Lord; let your song be sung from mountains high. Sing a new song unto the Lord, singing alleluia.”

The Southern Cross, January 15 to January 21, 2014

7

Michael Shackleton

Open Door

Communion after remarriage Pope Francis has suggested that he wants the Church to be more merciful towards Catholics who divorce and remarry. He referred to the Orthodox Church which actually permits and blesses ecclesiastical remarriage after divorce.

Can you explain how the Orthodox do this?

E L May N his flight back to Rome from World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro last July, Pope Francis remarked to journalists that the Orthodox “follow the theology of economia, as they call it, and give a second possibility: they permit a second marriage”.

He said this while discussing the Church’s concern for the many Catholics whose marriages have failed and who have remarried, resulting in their not being allowed to receive Communion.

Like Catholics, the Orthodox believe that marriage is a sacrament of the Church, so that once a valid marriage takes place, it cannot be dissolved by man.

Unlike Catholics, the Orthodox admit of an exception to this rule. They refer to Jesus’ words in Matthew 19:9: “Whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery”.

The phrase “except for unchastity” (or unfaithfulness), indicates for the Orthodox that Christ was prepared to allow an exception to the rule of indissolubility, and so the Church can do the same. Accordingly, one who remarries in these circumstances does not commit adultery.

In doing this, the Orthodox apply the principle of economia, which is the suspension of the application of strict Church regulations. While the unbreakable bond of the first marriage remains intact, the second marriage is tolerated in a particular case and for grave reasons only.

A second marriage (or third) is celebrated with less liturgical joy than the first, but it is meant to demonstrate that the Orthodox do not reject those whose first marriage has failed completely and is now dead, and who need compassion and mercy.

Catholic teaching is that a valid and sacramental marriage is unbreakable. There are no loopholes or exceptions. In the New Testament the words of Christ and St Paul overwhelmingly support this, and the meaning of the exception appearing only in Matthew 19:9 is disputed. It refers to unchastity or similar concept, which is uncertain.

The extraordinary synod of bishops will meet in October to address the pope’s sympathy with divorced and remarried Catholics who long to return to the sacraments. The bishops will be sure to take a compassionate and understanding line but, although the Orthodox practice may be considered, it is unlikely to find favour.

O

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.

Do you feel called to the Franciscan way of life?

Contact: Brother Evenie Turner O.F.M. 082 599 7718, 012 345 3732, PO Box 914-1192, Wingate Park, 0153,

Email: evenieturner63@gmail.com

8

The Southern Cross, January 15 to January 21, 2014

COMMUNITY

The Edmund Rice Network and St Michael's parish in Cape Town hosted a Christmas party at the Sisters of Charity Home in Khayelitsha for the many vulnerable men, women and children that reside at the home.

St Clare’s parish in Elsie’s River, Cape Town produced a nativity play at Christmas midnight Mass, celebrated by parish priest Fr Job Kaleekaparampil MSFS. Mary was played by Charne Classen and Joseph by Christopher Fourie.

Altar servers from St Paul’s parish in Eshowe diocese are pictured with Fr Augustine Macuacua (centre back), Br Lungelo Mabaso (fourth left) and Dr CW Zondo (far left).

The Southern Cross is proud to announce in association with Mariannhill Mission Press a year-long monthly feature of

WEDDING PHOTOS open to all couples married in a Catholic church between November 30, 2013 and November 30, 2014.

At the end of the year-long feature, our jury panel and readers will choose a COUPLe OF THe YeAR with two runners-up who will receive prizes of photographic canvas prints sponsored by Mariannhill Mission Press.

The following T&Cs apply: 1. Photos may picture only the bride and the groom, and must be in horizontal format. Digital pictures must have a width of at least 640 pixels.

2. The caption must state the bride’s maiden name, the groom’s name, the names of the parents, the date of the wedding, the name and location of the church, and the name of the officiating priest. The name of the photographer (and website, if professional) may be given as well.

3. Please include contact details of the bridal couple.

4. Photos of weddings which did not take place in a church are acceptable provided a Catholic priest officiated at the ceremony.

5. Entry to the competition is open to couples residing in South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia, Lesotho and Zimbabwe.

6 Photos must be received within eight weeks of the wedding.

7. By sending the photo to The Southern Cross you agree that the couple depicted consents to publication in print and on The Southern Cross’ website and/or Facebook page, and to use for promotional purposes related to The Southern Cross and (in reference to the competition) by Mariannhill Mission Press.

8. While The Southern Cross aims to publish most submitted photos that meet our guidelines, the number of photos that can be published will be subject to space constraints.

9. All published photos and a selection of unpublished photos will be featured on The Southern Cross’ website (www.scross.co.za).

Send your wedding photos to weddings@scross.co.za or Wedding Pics, The Southern Cross, PO Box 232, Cape Town, 8000

Eighty-five candidates from Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite church in Mulbarton, Johannesburg, were confirmed by Archbishop Buti Tlhagale (centre back).

Cousins Zya Harrison Rudimuldu and Catherine Hanslo were baptised at St Mary of the Angels parish in Athlone, Cape Town.

Pictured (from left) are parents Byron and Stacey Harrison Rudimuldu and Wayne and Carmen Hanslo.

St Michael’s parish in Fort Beaufort, Eastern Cape, the third-oldest Catholic church in South Africa, celebrated its 170th anniversary. Deacon Anthony Venter baked and decorated a special cake to mark the occasion.

The crib at the parish of Ss Simon and Jude in Simon’s Town, Cape Town, was made unique by the addition of three penguins (inset) among the attending animals, a reference to the nearby penguin colony at Boulders beach.

Mr and Mrs Leslie Willard of Christ the King parish in Wentworth, Durban, received a papal blessing for their work in the parish and as members of the St Vincent de Paul Society.

The Southern Cross, January 15 to January 21, 2014

FOCUS

9

Mothers’ caravan for missing children

the search.

Throughout the tour, which took the group to 14 Mexican states, participants demanded better treatment for migrants, including the implementation of transit visas, a measure that would allow migrants to abandon dangerous travel on freight trains and make them less vulnerable to abuse by criminal gangs and police.

For years mothers had not heard from their children who had left home for a better life in Mexico. A Catholic Church organisation organises annual caravans of women in a bid to reunite mothers and their missing children, as PAUL JEFFREY reports.

A

S

ANTOS del Socorro Rojas knew that one day she would find her son, Jorge Alberto Reyes. She just wasn’t sure how.

He had gone north to Mexico, as do many who flee poverty in the Central American country of Nicaragua, but after a few weeks they had lost touch.

The years went by and her anguish grew—until one day someone from the Jesuit Refugee Service knocked on her door and asked if she would like help finding Jorge.

That knock led Mrs Rojas to join a caravan of 45 Central Americans, mostly mothers looking for their disappeared children, who travelled to Mexico last month.

Mrs Rojas was one of the lucky ones. Church workers took her to a small shack where her son lived in Tapachula, a sprawling city in the southern state of Chiapas. After nine years of separation, she once again embraced Jorge.

“I always had faith. I knew the Lord would send me angels to help me find my child,” Mrs Rojas said.

One of those angels was Olga Sánchez, director of Jesus the Good Shepherd of the Poor and Migrant Shelter in Tapachula.

When Mrs Rojas and the other women in the caravan visited the shelter, which provides care for migrants who have been injured or fallen ill on their way north, someone recognised the photo of her son which Mrs Rojas wore around her neck. They remembered that he once worked at a local car wash.

Ms Sánchez took Mrs Rojas in the shelter’s truck and set off to follow

Carmen Lucia Cuaresma, a Nicaraguan woman, holds a photo of her son, Alvaro Enrique Guadamuz, during a demonstration on the banks of the Suchiate River, where it forms the border between Guatemala and Mexico.

(Photos: Paul Jeffrey/CNS) the lead. The carwash had since closed, but someone at a nearby carwash recognised the image and said he lived near a certain bar. The group went there and found that Jorge had moved two years ago, but a man there knew someone at a bicycle repair shop who had helped Jorge move his belongings.

Ms Sánchez and Mrs Rojas tracked down that man who, after questioning the women about their intentions, finally agreed to lead them to Jorge. Ms Sánchez gave him money to add fuel to his motorcycle, and they followed him deep into one of the city’s poorest neighbourhoods.

“He got off his motorcycle and disappeared into a warren of shacks, then reappeared and told us to wait a moment,” Ms Sánchez said. “After a minute or so, Jorge came out, and he was a dead ringer for his mother.

It was him! I thought his mother’s heart would burst through her chest with joy.”

The emotional encounter was one of 12 such moments on the 17-day caravan, when members either lo-

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cated a family member or discovered someone else’s lost relative. The women carried hundreds of photos that they laid out on the ground in village plazas and other settings, asking everyone who passed by if they recognised anyone. It was the ninth such caravan and produced more reencounters than any of the previous ones.

A

t times the result was not good news.

In Puerto Madero, a fishing village on the Pacific coast west of Tapachula, a resident recognised one young woman’s photo. Caravan members traced the information to a neighbourhood where residents said she had died four years ago. They said she was buried in a nearby cemetery, but much of that burial ground, including the woman’s grave, had washed out to sea during a storm two years ago.

After the caravan concluded with a demonstration along the MexicoGuatemala border, most participants returned home with neither good nor bad news, just more unanswered questions.

Yet Iris Yaconda, a psychologist with Jesuit Refugee Service in Nicaragua, said the participants no longer feel iso-

Santos del Socorro Rojas and her son, Jorge Alberto Reyes, pose for a photo after being reunited in Tapachula, Mexico, after nine years of separation. Mrs Rojas was one of several dozen Central American mothers who travelled as a group to Mexico to look for their loved ones who had disappeared along the migrant trail north. lated.

“These are women who live in constant grief, not knowing what happened to their loved ones. Their stages of grieving have no end. They suffer sleepless nights and depression. But in the caravan they found other women who are living through the same experience,” said Ms Yaconda, who provided emotional support for caravan participants.

“Despite not finding their disappeared loved ones, they push themselves to keep struggling, to claim their right to hope. They aren’t just victims. Their pain pushes them forward, not back into retreat. And knowing they have friends in so many places, other families and priests and shelters that care for the migrants, they know they aren’t alone. Their struggle will continue.”

“The bus of mothers is just part of the process, and the mothers have inspired others to redouble their efforts,” she said.

Ms Yaconda said the caravan also turned up clues that may yield future re-encounters. An informal network of human rights groups and Churchrun shelters in Mexico will continue

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ccording to a statement from 13 Catholic bishops on both sides of the US-Mexico border, the situation is getting worse as “a new flow of migrants from all social and economic classes” flees instability and violence in Central America. Particularly worrisome, the bishops reported, is the “dramatic increase” in the number of unaccompanied children and adolescents heading north.

“We have a deep concern that this relatively new population of young migrants is particularly vulnerable to the abuse and exploitation of human traffickers,” the bishops stated.

A Mexican priest who works with migrants said anti-immigrant attitudes contribute to making Mexico more dangerous.

“Discrimination and xenophobia have increased in recent years. Migrants are blamed for everything. If a migrant does something illicit, it’s big news in the media. But when they suffer assassinations, kidnapping, extortion, robbery, and beatings, no one says anything. If a migrant dies, no one says anything,” said Fr Heyman Vázquez Medina, who runs the St Francis of Assisi migrant shelter in Huixtla.

He said the Mexican government is not interested in changing things.

“There’s collusion between the authorities and organised crime. The delinquents can charge migrants R1 000 to ride the train north, or they can kidnap migrants, and the government doesn’t do a thing. It’s really a policy of extermination,” he said.

Fr Vázquez said the caravan, which attracted extensive media attention inside Mexico, should help persuade Mexican society that migrants are normal people.

“They come from families, families that suffer when the migrant leaves home. And they leave home not because they are delinquents, but because they’re looking for a better life for their families,” he said.— CNS

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10

The Southern Cross, January 15 to January 21, 2014

BOOK

Two chapters from the book Moerdyk Files

Late last year, Southern Cross Books published an anthology of Chris Moerdyk’s best Southern Cross columns, titled Moerdyk Files. Over the next couple of weeks we offer our readers a peek into the book with edited excerpts.

Dad’s son was a pompous idiot

S

OMETIMES the most memorable and profound moments in your life are those that you would willingly give up all your worldly possessions to take back.

Having been blessed with parents who lived to a ripe old age, I spent an inordinate amount of time wondering what it must be like saying that final goodbye to a mother and father.

I’d seen it happen a million times on the movies and TV. Being an incurable romantic, I saw myself as the favoured son looking deep into my dying parents’ eyes, telling them how wonderful they had been, and listening to them tell me what a remarkable son I had been to them. It was going to be a long moment of reminiscing about the wonderful times we had shared, of family and friends long gone, of happy, sunny, balmy, smiling days.

My mother, Dorothy, went first when I was in my mid-fifties. She had been trying for about a year and a half to die, eventually calling all of her children about her and asking us whether we were praying for her to get better.

When we assured her that we were on our knees every minute of the day praying for her recovery, she snapped: “Well, stop it, your prayers are swamping my prayers and I really don’t want to hang around anymore…”

She went in and out of comas for

months and we children stood vigil by her bedside to let her know, in her lucid moments, that we were there, that we would be with her when she died.

One morning, as the sun rose over the Natal South Coast sea, she woke, lucid and chirpy.

We spoke about the silly things I did as a child. She started giggling, then laughing and finally bordering on what sounded like something between choking and hysterics. My sister came flying into the room with panic-stricken wide eyes. It took me about five minutes to convince her that my mother wasn’t convulsing, just laughing—something she hadn’t managed for a long time, given her acute lung disease. The story got back to my three brothers who have ever since regarded me as the sibling who had tried to kill their mother.

At the end, I wasn’t with her when she died, but playing golf at Sun City.

I was determined that when my father’s day came, I would be there to ensure that my dream of saying a proper goodbye to at least one of my parents would be fulfilled.

Six months after my mother died, my father, Piet, just a few weeks short of his 91st birthday and nothing really wrong with him, announced that as he had scored life’s equivalent of 500 runs he saw no point in going for 550 or even 600. He’d had such a phenomenal innings, and, anyway, he missed my mother far too much to keep on batting. He quietly and inexorably allowed himself to slowly slip away.

It wasn’t long now, we thought, as we gathered by his deathbed. I rehearsed what I would say the minute he became lucid enough to speak or at least acknowledge that he could hear me. It was going to be the ultimate deathbed moment between father and son.

Unfortunately, I made a complete mess of it again. One morning my father opened his eyes and looked straight at me and smiled.

He lifted his hand and mimed the

action of smoking a cigarette. I was horrified, particularly as I had given up smoking just a few months earlier.

Bear in mind that my father had been chain-smoking cigarettes and his pipe since he was 12 years old.

When he died, the doctor said that Dad had absolutely no signs of having been a smoker, let alone a heavy one. If he had given up in his sixties, quipped the doctor, he probably would have died by the time he was 70.

Smoking was one of my father’s great pleasures, and here he was on his deathbed wanting the joy of one final ciggie. What did I do? I leant forward and said: “No more cigarettes, Pa, they’re bad for you…” He closed his eyes, shook his head sadly, and sank into a coma from which he never emerged.

A week later he died with all of his children at his bedside and me biting holes in my lips with frustration at being so unbelievably selfcentred, stupid and inconsiderate as to deny a dying nonagenarian smoker his last fag—and to watch a father depart this earth thinking that one of his sons was a completely insufferable, pompous idiot.

The great thurible swinger

I

DID not know John van Castricum very well at school because he was a class ahead of me at CBC Pretoria in the 1950s. But I do remember him fondly and think of him every time I go to Benediction or attend a service in which a thurible is used.

We were fellow altar servers at the parish of St Pius X in Waterkloof, Pretoria, and Sunday evening Benediction was always well attended, a highlight of the parochial week.

Being a senior acolyte, John was the official thurifer, and for us juniors it was an enormous honour to be given the privilege of carrying the incense “boat”.

There was a time, however, when John somehow let the charcoal in the thurible go out, much to the annoyance of our parish priest, Mgr Fred Mason, who suffered quite considerably after having had a lung removed and made up for not

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Altar servers at St Pius X. Back row from left: John van Castricum, Chris Moerdyk, (unidentified), Peter Kirk, Jimmy Kirk, and behind him Norman Kirk, Patrick Eaton, Larry Mills, Anthony Acton. Middle: Fr Tony Doherty, Mgr Fred Mason. Front: Sean Lance, Ben Schapers, Pax Bell. being able to yell at us by glowering with terrifying intensity.

Anyway, John van Castricum clearly decided that he needed to reestablish his reputation as senior thurifer and on the following Sunday he did something that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Those were days, of course, when priests celebrated Mass and Benediction at the main altar with their backs to the congregation. That particular Sunday, I was relegated to lowest acolyte level. I was kneeling at the side of the altar, holding a heavy brass candlestick, trying as hard as I could not to set my cassock and cotta on fire.

It was midway through the service when I became somewhat mesmerised by John swinging the thurible to and fro. I noticed a strange smile on his face and his body language literally screamed that something profound was about to happen.

The thurible swung higher and higher until, at the end of each arc, it was pretty much horizontal.

Smoke from an extra dollop of incense billowed into the church like Thomas the Tank Engine on steroids. Mgr Mason had his back to

John, oblivious of the fact that a hush had fallen over the congregation. The arc increased beyond the horizontal and then, almost without warning, John gave an extra twist to his practised wrist and sent the thurible into a complete 360° loop.

With almost awesome dexterity he held it back from another loop and quietly continued swinging it gently to and fro.

The gasp from the congregation at his remarkable feat was hardly noticeable as every man, woman and child seemed to unanimously decide with enormous determination and restraint not to give the game away—mostly because John managed somehow to do what he did with dignity and decorum.

Mgr Mason didn’t have a clue about what was happening behind his back. And when he did turn around, John van Castricum was nothing short of angelic, with his thurible smoking like a steam train—just the way the monsignor liked it. n Order Moerdyk Files for R150 (plus R15 p&p in SA) from books@scross.co.za or www.books. scross.co.za or call 021 465 5007.

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The Southern Cross, January 15 to January 21, 2014

CLASSIFIEDS

The Church in globalised times Continued from page 7 beyond the strict market mentality, there should be an awareness of the duty to solidarity, justice and universal charity” (CSDC 448).

Evidently, international relations are typical of human interaction willed by God for a united human family. To achieve international relations that truly express the universal brotherhood, every person and every nation is called to be truly committed to the good of the other; else international relations are a stage for competition, self-interest, and, at worst, a tool of oppression.

A Ghanaian Ashanti proverb goes: “The ruin of a

nation begins in the home of its people.” This is true also for international relations. Their quality begins in family, in school, in workplaces, between ethnic groups. Indeed, it is the quality of interactions between persons that gives form to international relations.

Franklin D Roosevelt, US president from 1933-44, put it like this: “In the field of world policy I would dedicate this nation to the policy of the good neighbour.”

I find this view useful also for self-introspection: What is my policy in my personal interaction with others?

Witbank priest killed helping friend STAFF REPORTER

A

FRICAN Missionaries Father Sébastien Ndrutsomi was killed in a car accident on his way to assist a friend on January 5. He was 37.

The Witbank priest was based at Kamhlushwa— a parish station serving a large area, situated in the triangle between Swaziland, Mozambique and the Kruger Park.

“Normally, Fr Sébastien would have gone from there to serve the Christian communities that he had been assigned to for that day. But somewhere along the way, and for a reason that is not known, Fr Sébastien lost control of his car, which rolled over several times off the road,” said Fr Philippe Docq, delegate superior for the Missionaries of Africa.

“It took some time for the police to be alerted and for an ambulance to reach the scene. Fr Sébastien was eventually taken to Tonga Hospital but passed away on arrival.”

News was slow to return to the parish station—it was thought the priest was merely hurt.

Fr Ndrutsomi was born in north-east Congo and completed his pastoral training in the region of Siyabuswa (Pretoria) before finishing his four years of theological training and being ordained a priest some three and a half years ago. After his ordination, he came back to South Africa and was appointed as curate in the area of Kamhlushwa, known in the diocese of Witbank as Lebombo parish.

“Fr Sébastien was a very dynamic, convinced, bold missionary who was very fluent in the Zulu and Swati languages. He obviously had the fire—like the one of Pentecost—in his heart and in his life,” said Fr Docq, adding that the late priest “always said the truth with a smile, but never compromised”.

“He was loved by the people he served and will be dearly missed.”

Fr Ndrutsomi was laid to rest in the cemetery of Maria Trost, where many priests and religious of Witbank diocese are buried.

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Liturgical Calendar Year A Weekdays Cycle Year 2 Sunday, January 19, Second Sunday Isaiah 49:3, 5-6, Psalm 40:2, 4, 7-10, 1 Corinthians 1:1-3, John 1:29-34 Monday, January 20 1 Samuel 15:16-23, Psalm 50:8-9, 16-17, 21, 23, Mark 2:18-22 Tuesday, January 21, St Agnes 1 Samuel 16:1-13, Psalm 89:20-22, 27-28, Mark 2:23-28 Wednesday, January 22 1 Samuel 17:32-33, 37, 40-51, Psalm 144:1-2, 910, Mark 3:1-6 Thursday, January 23, St Marianne Cope 1 Samuel 18:6-9; 19:1-7, Psalm 56:2-3, 9-13, Mark 3:712 Friday, January 24, St Francis de Sales 1 Samuel 24:3-21, Psalm 57:24, 6, 11, Mark 3:13-19 St Marianne Cope Saturday, January 25, Conversion of St Paul Acts 22:3-16 or 9:1-22, Psalm 117:1-2, Mark 16:15-18 Sunday, January 26, Third Sunday Isaiah 8:23, 9:3, Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14, 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17, Matthew 4:12-23 or 4:12-17 LOVINg FATHeR bless us, the people of AFRICA, and help us to live in justice, love and peace Mary, Mother of Africa, pray for us For payer leaflet: sms 083 544 8449

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11

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.

DEATH

JONES—Pat of Grassy Park, passed away peacefully January 2, 2014. Deeply mourned by his wife Theresa, daughters, son-in-law, grandchildren, all families and friends. Rest in peace

IN MEMORIAM

BRAAF—Eugene. In loving memory of my husband, Eugene, our father, father-in-law and grandfather, who passed away 21/01/2010. May his dear soul rest in peace. Always remembered by his wife Daphne, children Eugenie, Michael, Noleen, Wayne and Carol, daughter-in-law Lucretia and grandchildren Ryan, Amy-Leigh and Tehillah.

DAVIDS—Dominic, died December 2012. In loving memory of our dear son and brother. As time goes by we miss you more and more. But you are now safe in the arms of Jesus. Will always be lovingly remembered by Mom, Dad, Stephanie, Angeline, Morné, Kai, Venus and Phillippa.

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In loving memory of a husband, father, grandfather and friend. It’s been 5 years since God called you home to your reward. We speak of you daily, you live in our hearts and your spirit remains with us. May the Holy Family keep you, from your wife Eunice, children and grandchildren.

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PRAYERS

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

ST MICHAEL the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the malice and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.

THANkS be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ, For all the benefits thou hast won for me, For all the pains and insults thou hast borne for me. O most merciful Redeemer, Friend, and Brother, May I know thee more clearly, Love thee more dearly, And follow thee more nearly, For ever and ever.

YOU, O eternal Trinity, are a deep sea into which, the more I enter, the more I find. And the

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more I find, the more I seek. O abyss, O eternal Godhead, O sea profound, what more could you give me than yourself? Prayer of Awe—St Catherine of Siena.

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

FISH HOEk: Self-catering accommodation, sleeps 4. Secure parking. Tel: 021 785 1247. kNYSNA: Self-catering accommodation for 2 in Old Belvidere with wonderful lagoon views. 044 387 1052.

LONDON, Protea House: Single R350, twin R560 per/night.

Self-catering, busses and underground nearby. Phone Peter 021 851 5200, 0044 208 748 4834.

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@gmail.com SEDGEFIELD: Beautiful self-catering garden holiday flat, sleeps four, two bedrooms, openplan lounge, kitchen, fully equipped. 5 min walk to lagoon. Out of season specials. Contact Les or Bernadette 044 343 3242, 082 900 6282.

STELLENBOSCH: Christian Brothers Centre. 14 suites (double/twin beds), some with fridge & microwave, others beside kitchenette & lounge, eco-spirituality library.

Countryside vineyard/forest/mountain views/walks; beach 20 minute drive. Affordable.

021 880 0242. www.cb centre.co.za Email: cbc stel@gmail.com STRAND: Beachfront flat to let. Stunning views, fully equipped.

One bedroom, sleeps 3.

Seasonal rates. From R600 p/night for 2 people—low season.

Garage. Ph Brenda 082 822 0607.

VENUEXCELLENCE: Looking for excellent holiday accommodation in South Africa? Visit www.venuexcellence.com

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3rd Sunday: January 26 Readings: Isaiah 8:23-9:3, Psalm 27:1, 4, 13,14,1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17, Matthew 4:12-23

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O far this year, after the excitement of Advent and Christmas, we have seen the beginning of Jesus’ mission, with his baptism, and the first encounter with John’s disciples. Now we see him starting his mission, and calling some disciples of his own.

What we are to notice is how this new mission is presented in terms of light and darkness.

And we should show some interest, for it is about our mission that the readings are talking.

The first reading is a bit obscure to start with (the text is probably corrupt), but we soon pick up the optimistic tone: “He has glorified the way to the sea, west of the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles (the great road that went through Jesus’ Galilean territory).”

Then the theme of light is played: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; those who live in a land of shadow, a light has shone upon them”, and then the author paints a lovely picture of joy: “They shall rejoice greatly in your presence, like the joy of harvest-time.” That joy and light is what Jesus’ mission brings, and what we are asked to bring to the world.

The theme of light shines brightly and confidently in the psalm for next Sunday:

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Donations and volunteers and prayers always welcome

Jesus lights up his new mission Nicholas King SJ

Sunday Reflections

“The Lord is my light and my salvation—of whom shall I be afraid?” And the singer points to a simple truth, that we must make our own this year: “One thing I ask for from the Lord, this is what I long for—that I may dwell in the Lord’s house, all the days of my life, to look at the Lord’s beauty, to enquire in his Temple.”

Then it ends with an attractive confidence that we shall do well to make our own in the coming year: “I believe that I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.”

The second reading for next Sunday continues our journey through 1 Corinthians; there is nothing here about the light; instead we hear of the darkness that has fallen upon the Corinthians, and which is obstructing

their mission. The name of the darkness (and we have shamefacedly to admit that it has fallen upon the Church in every generation since) is “division”, so we hear Paul begging the Corinthians “that you should say the same thing, and that there should be no divisions among you, but that you should be mended in the same mind and in the same conviction”.

Then he tells them how he has heard about their darkness: “Chloe’s people”. Chloe seems to have been a shipping magnate (a woman, no less!), plying between Corinth and Ephesus, where Paul was dictating his letter, and we may imagine the Corinthians muttering about “that sneak Chloe”, who has evidently told Paul that “there are quarrels among you”, based on different personalities in the Church: “I’m for Paul” “I’m for Apollos”, “I’m for Peter”.

Paul sheds light on the darkness by reminding them (and us) of the only one who matters: “I’m for Christ!” For Paul (and for us, in our task of shedding light on the world) Christ is the only one who matters, and it is Christ who has “sent me…to preach the good news”.

Who are you? What do you know?

G IVEN the speed and change in our world today, the oceans of information being given to us by the new technologies, the speed with which knowledge now passes through our lives, the increasing specialisation and fragmentation inside higher education, and the ever-increasing complexity of our lives, you occasionally hear someone say, usually just after offering an opinion on something: But what do I know anyway?

Good question: What do we know anyway?

On the surface this may sound humble and, if sincere, does depict a certain humility; but this kind of admission has a sad underside: What do I know anyway?

Indeed, what can we know among all the complexity and sophistication of our world?

Well, we can know our own light, our own moral centre, our own heart, our own mystical centre. Ultimately we can know what’s most real and most precious to us and this is the most important knowledge of all. We can know what’s ultimately important.

Next to the inchoate knowledge we have of God, knowledge of our own light, of our own moral centre, is the most important thing we will ever know.

Indeed knowing our own centre is intimately intertwined with knowing God. This is something we need to highlight today because so many forces around us and inside us conspire to deflect us from being awake and attentive to our own deepest center, that is, from being in

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Final Reflection

touch with who we really are.

When we’re honest we admit how difficult it is to be genuinely sincere and how difficult it is for us to act out of our real centre rather than acting out of ideology, popular opinion, fashion, fad, or out of some prefabricated concept of ourselves that we have ingested from others around us.

Often our attitudes and actions do not really reflect who we are. Rather they reflect who our friends are, the newspapers and websites we’ve read recently, and what newscasts and talk shows draw our attention.

L

ikewise we often understand ourselves more by a persona that was handed to us by our family, our classmates, our colleagues or our friends than by the reality that’s deepest inside us.

Beginning from infancy, we ingest various notions of who we are: “You’re the bright one! You’re the stupid one! You’re a rebel! You’re timid! You’re selfish!

You’re afraid! You’re slow! You’ve got a quick mind. You’re a loser! You’re bad!

You’re good! You’re destined for higher things! You’ll be a failure!”

And so the challenge is to be more attuned to our own light, to our own moral centre, to be more in touch with what’s ultimately most real and most precious to us.

No small part of that is the challenge to resist self-definition, to not picture ourselves and act out of an image we’ve ingested of ourselves as the bright one, the stupid one, the rebel, the timid one, the selfish one, the generous one, the bad one, the good one, the successful one, the failure, the one who needs to say: “But what do I know anyway?” What’s the price we pay for doing that?

First, both our compassion and our indignation then become prescribed and selective. We will praise certain people and things and be incensed by other people and other things not because these speak to or speak against what’s most precious inside us, but because they speak to or against our image of ourselves.

When that happens we not only lose our real selves, but also our individuality.

Ideology, popular opinion, fashion, fad, group-think, and hype, ironically, bury us into a sea of anonymity.

In the words of French philosopher René Girard: “In our desire to be different we all inevitably end up in the same ditch.” One needs only to look at any popular fad, such as wearing a baseball cap backwards, to see the truth of this.

How might we healthily define ourselves in a way that doesn’t deflect us from being awake to our own light? What kind of self-definition might help free us from ideology?

How might we think of ourselves in a way so that the image of ourselves which we ingested in childhood might no longer hold us captive in adulthood; so that we are strong and healthy enough to not let, as the American poet William Stafford says, a simple shrug or a small betrayal break our fragile health and send the horrible errors of childhood storming out to play through the broken dykes?

There’s no easy answer, but here’s a suggestion: Early on in his ministry, when people were still trying to figure out who he was, they came to John the Baptist and asked him to define himself.

“Who are you?” they asked. “Are you the Christ? Are you Elijah? Are you a prophet?” John replied that he was none of these. “Who are you then?” they persisted.

John’s answer: I am a voice crying out in the wilderness! Just that, no more!

Now that’s a healthy self-image and a true humility, with no sad underside.

The gospel for next Sunday relates the beginning of Jesus’ mission. It starts, as Matthew’s gospel will end, in Galilee, as Jesus moves out of Nazareth, into Capernaum, which will be the headquarters for his mission.

Then Matthew quotes our first reading, as a kind of heading for Jesus’ mission: “The people that is seated in darkness has seen a great light—and to those seated in the place and shadow of death a light has shone upon them.”

Then we hear Jesus’ mission-slogan, as the preaching begins: “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.”

Now look at what happens next, the story of the calling of two sets of brothers, Peter and Andrew, followed by the two sons of Zebedee. Listen, next Sunday, to this story, and marvel that “they immediately abandoned their nets and followed him”, in one case, and “abandoned the boat and their father and followed him” in the other.

What are you called, this week, to abandon, as part of your mission of shedding light on the world?

Southern Crossword #585

ACROSS

5. Large bag for the wine (4) 7. She’s a French saint (10) 8. The ones who now walk (Lk 7) (4) 10. He makes changes like Martin did (8) 11. Standing in rank (6) 12. Seek in the past (6) 14. Afraid of the sacred (6) 16. They may take your stamp collection (6) 17. Kind of sudden pause in the sermon (8) 19. It’s in the eye of the beholder (4) 21. It means you restrain yourself on Friday (10) 22. Place of the horse breeders (4)

DOWN 1. Proficient-sounding character in Genesis (4) 2. One of the forefathers (8) 3. Worships (6) 4. Croziers for the bishop’s employees (6) 5. One who has visions (4) 6. One hoping for baptism (10) 9. Jesus’ rebellious opponent (10) 13. The agnostic may express it (8) 15. Hate (6) 16. North Pole circle (6) 18. Made wine (4) 20. Take one up to promotion (4) Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

A

cat and a mouse died on the same day and went up to heaven. At the top they met God and he asked them: “How do you like it so

far?”

The mouse replied: “It's great, but can I get a pair of rollerskates?” God said: “Sure”, and he gave him a pair of rollerskates.

The next day God saw the cat and asked him: “How do you like it up here so far?” and the cat replied: “Great, I didn't know you had meals on wheels up here!”

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