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The

S outhern C ross

March 12 to March 18, 2014

Reg No. 1920/002058/06

SA Catholic named bishop in the USA

Page 3

No 4865

www.scross.co.za

R7,00 (incl VAT RSA)

Jesus film a hit in the US, out in SA in April

10 things you don’t know about Pope Francis

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Page 9

Church mourns archbishop

BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

A

Pupils of the Kwa Thintwa School for the Deaf at Inchanga, KwaZulu-Natal, look at a newly unveiled statue of the late Archbishop Denis Hurley of Durban and Bhekeni Dube, a deaf boy whose tug on the archbishop’s cassock led to the founding of the school. The school has grown enormously since it was founded by Archbishop Hurley, and today is home to 330 children who come from mostly impoverished backgrounds. Present at the statue’s unveiling were, among others, Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal premier Senzo Mchunu, Bhekeni’s mother Elsina Dube and Archbishop Hurley’s niece Mikaela York.

For more information about the school or to become a donor, contact Norma Oosthuysen of the Durban chancery at e-mail aodkts@catholic-dbn.org.za or telephone 031 303 1417.

e-toll tags: it’s up to priests

BY CLAIRE MATHIESON

C

ATHOLICS in Johannesburg have voiced confusion over whether the boycott of e-toll tags proposed by the bishops’ Justice & Peace Department still stands after parishes bought e-tags.

“The campaign position remains the same as from the beginning,” said Dominican Father Stan Muyebe, director of Justice&Peace, on the growing confusion on whether Catholics should buy e-tags or not.

“We implore the Christian faithful to heed the call of their conscience in deciding whether or not to buy the e-tags,” Fr Muyebe told The Southern Cross.

The initial call to boycott the system made by the South African Council of Churches (SACC) was endorsed by the Catholic Church early last year.

A further statement was released by J&P in December, as e-tolls went live. Then-J&P director Fr Mike Deeb OP said e-tolling would burden the poor who were battling to find jobs and struggling to live with steep electricity and food prices.

“We believe, after the research we have

With

The

done, that at best the whole e-tolling is gross misappropriation of public funds and at worst is total corruption,” he said. “We as the Church have been concerned.”

The Church called on Catholics and people of goodwill to “come together to consider ways of taking this matter to our parishes and to our communities, and of showing the authorities how we feel” and to “not collaborate with the e-tolling procedures until all the matters of concern have been addressed appropriately”.

The campaign aimed to make government accountable to the people of South Africa by ensuring public funds are used for the betterment of all people. J&P believed etolling was an inappropriate and harmful system.

While the Church still stands by the campaign, there are some priests who have bought e-tags. Fr Muyebe said the decision was not a formal diocesan or national policy but was intended to be a personal decision.

As yet, according to Fr Muyebe, J&P “has not put any measures to offer legal assistance for those who have heeded the call not to buy e-tags”.

RCHBISHOP Lawrence Henry, retired of Cape Town, who died suddenly on March 4 at the age of 79, will be remembered as a “kind, humble and honest man who was passionate about the poor”.

“I remember the time we were both appointed vicars-general of the archdiocese of Cape Town under Archbishop Stephen Naidoo,” said Bishop Reginald Cawcutt, former auxiliary bishop of Cape Town. “He walked into my office and said: ‘Reggie, I’m afraid of you. I’m afraid of you because you’re always in uniform.’”

Bishop Cawcutt had served as naval chaplain for 16 years and was always in full military uniform. “We became great friends after that, and he loved telling the story of how he used to be afraid of my uniform. He loved telling stories.”

Bishop Cawcutt, who served as auxiliary under Archbishop Henry from 1992 to 2002, recalled the archbishop as a “tremendous man of humility [who] was passionate about the poor”, adding that “he would get on famously with Pope Francis”.

Archbishop Henry was known for giving money to the poor and inviting people into the chancery. He became so well known for his generosity that the chancery had to employ a social worker to help deal with the situation.

Sydney Duval, a former personal aide to Archbishop Henry, said that one of the archbishop’s “great qualities was to share the resources of his archdiocese with other regions on the basis that dioceses should be Good Samaritans with one another”.

Mr Duval said that Archbishop Henry “allowed initiative to take place”.

Archbishop Henry will be remembered as a great swimmer, someone with a great sense of humour and a story-teller.

“Throughout his ministerial life he was known for his sense of humour, his joy and his love of people,” said his successor, Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town. “He always had a pastor’s heart and had great concern for those afflicted by poverty, for the victims of injustice and racial discrimination.

He loved to be with people and stood little on the pomp and ceremony of episcopal life. He was down to earth and was always available and accessible to the ordinary person.”

Born on July 27, 1934 in Cape Town, the young Lawrence was orphaned at the age of three and was raised by his grandmother, who hailed from St Helena.

Archbishop Henry

“There was no money growing up and he would work at school to help pay his fees. He was often cleaning toilets,” Bishop Cawcutt said.

He grew up in Athlone, Cape Town, and was a member of the first matriculation class of the Christian Brothers’ St Columba’s School, which is now defunct.

H

e worked for three years before beginning his studies for the priesthood in March 1956 as the first student of St Francis Xavier’s Minor Seminary in Cape Town.

Due to apartheid, he was unable to continue his studies in South Africa and went to Rome where he studied at Propaganda College and Urbania University for seven years, earning a degree in philosophy and theology.

He was ordained a priest in Rome on December 22, 1962 and returned to Cape Town the following September. His first posting was as assistant priest at Holy Cross parish in District Six. Fr Henry also served the parishes of Matroosfontein, Lavistown, Wittebome and Belhar, and as chaplain to the University of the Western Cape before being appointed vicargeneral.

“Lavistown was his first love. I think it’s a place where you learn to love people and learn what it means to be a priest,” said Bishop Cawcutt, who was also placed at Lavistown for some time.

“He made many friends there. The people were warm and he’d always tell stories of Lavistown fondly. It’s where I met many of Lawry’s friends and it’s where priests learn what it means to be a priest.”

Fr Henry was ordained auxiliary bishop of Cape Town on August 16, 1987. Following Archbishop Naidoo’s sudden death in 1990, he was installed as archbishop on August 29 that year.

He retired on December 18, 2009, after almost 20 years as archbishop.

Michael Shackleton, former Southern Cross editor, said he remembered the late archbishop as “a successful and much-loved parish priest”, but described him as “a reluctant bishop”.

“He enjoyed being with the people and Continued on page 3

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2

The Southern Cross, March 12 to March 18, 2014

LOCAL

Active citizens up for Papal medal for PE Knight Sacred Heart award F F STAFF REPORTER

STAFF REPORTER

OR the second year running, Sacred Heart College in Observatory, Johannesburg, is ready to welcome active citizens as the shortlisted candidates are interviewed in March for the school’s Active Citizen Scholarship.

“The scholarship reflects Sacred Heart’s commitment to education for the common good, and is an extension of our ethos,” said Heather Blanckensee, principal of the high school.

“Shortlisted candidates will have to write the normal mathematics and English scholarship examinations,” she said.

“However, the primary criteria for this particular scholarship is demonstrable evidence of the applicant’s commitment to social good, neighbourliness, volunteer work and community building.”

Heri Bukanga was selected in 2013 because he is actively involved in his community and social justice causes. He is involved at Soul Buddyz, a community service club at his local library.

Heri also collected and donated food for an old age home, the Bertha Solomon House, where a vegetable garden has been started.

He has collected and donated clothes and toys for the orphans and homeless children.

“I was excited when I heard that I was selected for the Active Citizen Scholarship at Sacred Heart College,” said Heri. “A school like Sacred Heart will allow me to give

back to the community in a much more effective way. My family and I came to South Africa as refugees seven years ago, fleeing the war from the eastern part of the DRC.” Tshepang Masuku is currently in Grade 9, and has been at Sacred Heart College since 2005.

“Being in a culturally diverse school has been a privilege that many aren’t afforded,” said Tshepang. “I am blessed to have an inspiring mom who has made many sacrifices to give me opportunities to succeed. The teachers at Sacred Heart College provide an excellent education.”

Tshepang has seen the need to help both the elderly and people who are destitute. She takes clothes to Othandweni Children’s Home.

During school holidays she helps the elderly in delivering prescribed medicine from the clinic to their homes.

Tshepang also aids and encourages young children with reading, and is involved in cleaning the park in her community.

Ms Blanckensee said an education at Sacred Heart College does not begin and end with strong academics, but also involves a serious commitment to society.

“Heri and Tshepang have been examples of what young people can do to address the challenges faced by our community,” she said.

“Sacred Heart College believes that there are many young people in their communities making a difference, and would like to challenge others to be an example.”

Heri Bukanga was selected in 2013 because he is actively involved in his community and social justice causes.

Tshepang Masuku is currently in Grade 9, and has been at Sacred Heart College since 2005. She has seen the need to help both the elderly and people who are destitute.

THE BEAUTY OF LIFE IN THE WOMB

RANCIS Dold Wightman of Port Elizabeth has been awarded the papal award of the Cross pro Ecclesia and Pontifice for his exemplary services to the diocese of Port Elizabeth. The medal was awarded in a ceremony at St Bernadette’s parish officiated by Mgr Brendan Deenihan, apostolic administrator for the diocese.

Born in Kimberley and schooled by the Christian Brothers, Mr Wightman studied in Cape Town, where he met his wife, Renske, in 1960, before moving to Port Elizabeth at a time when the diocese was struggling financially.

On instruction by Bishop Michael Coleman, Mr Wightman was appointed financial administrator to the diocese in 1990, with the goal of proper financial planning.

The diocese started on an ambitious path to organised, self-sustainable financial management and less dependence on foreign financial intervention.

Mr Wightman, a father of seven, still holds the position today, at the request of the late Bishop Coleman, who asked him to stay on until a suitable replacement could be found.

Mr Wightman was awarded the papal medal for the groundbreaking changes he instituted, including the establishment of a clergy benevolent fund, a clergy pension fund and a clergy hospital fund.

He also set up insurance for all Church properties and, in latter years, a self-insurance fund which is currently being built up to total selfinsurance.

Annual parish audits were put in place, as well as regular financial statements prepared by external auditors, functioning parish finance committees established and trained.

During Mr Wightman’s tenure, a number of schools were built or extended, five new Church properties were bought or donated, 15 presbyteries built or extended, 41 churches built or extended, a diocesan fleet of 31 motor vehicles established, and poverty relief programmes put in place.

Mr Wightman is still an active member of the Knights of Da Gama, having served as grand knight, then as supreme knight at both local and international levels, as well as inter-

Mgr Brendan Deenihan presents a papal medal to Francis Wightman for his financial and other services to the archdiocese of Port Elizabeth. national president of the International Alliance of Catholic Knights from 2005-07.

The St Bernadette’s parishioner is also active on the pro-life front.

Under his direction, anti-abortion campaigns were organised, and an ecumenical home for abused women and children was established on Church property.

In May 2000 the Knights of Da Gama established Marian Villa, a home for women in pregnancy crisis situations, after the South African government legalised abortion.

Mr Wightman approached the Marie Stopes clinic to refer any pregnant girls and women who had a lastminute change of heart regarding an abortion to Marian Villa, and that arrangement still stands.

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The Southern Cross, March 12 to March 18, 2014

LOCAL

3

Poor helped with money tips SA-born Catholic named US bishop I A STAFF REPORTER

N an effort to fight economic abuse in Namaqualand, the Rural Development Support Programme (RDSP), an associate body of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, decided to team up with the organisation You & Your Money, to train community debt activists in Okiep, Namaqualand.

The RDSP has been working in the Namaqualand area for 22 years, specifically on the issue of gender-based violence since 2006.

“Many times the staff carrying out training and fieldwork have heard how communities are struggling with high levels of debt and how this often leads to tension and violence within families,” said Rosanne Shields, development director.

Ms Shields said debt also holds back women in abusive situations from becoming more financially independent and breaking free.

“Some would like to start their own small business, such as a tuck shop or catering for community functions, but cannot access start-up loans because they are in too much debt, often due to sup-

porting the extended family.

“For many, the cost of living is just too high, and with food and transport prices going up, the situation is only getting worse,” Ms Shields told The Southern Cross.

Another financial issue in the region is economic abuse carried out by loan sharks.

“Loan sharks prey on people in financial trouble, often keeping their identity documents until a debt is settled, and charging huge rates of interest,” Ms Shields said.

She said often women are forced to hand over their state pension or social grant as soon as it is received.

“The chain stores are also guilty of giving out too much credit, often to those who are not employed, leaving the head of the household to carry the burden.”

The 10-day-long course was supported by the South Africanbased Joint Gender Fund. You & Your Money is a registered training provider for the national credit regulator.

Members of ten communitybased organisations stretching from the tiny villages of Spoegrivier and Soebatsfontein in the south to Port Nolloth in the

north attended.

“All of these organisations are raising awareness of and working very hard to combat violence against women and children,” Ms Shields said.

“Fourteen women and five men attended the course and wrote a tough examination at the end of it. They learnt about all legislation covering loans and credit, consumer protection, calculating how to pay off debt and debt counselling skills.”

The participants returned to their organisations as community debt activists, advising community members on how to get out of debt and start community savings schemes.

They will also advocate against the activities of unscrupulous loan sharks and any businesses breaking the law.

RDSP will provide them with mentoring through further field visits.

Participants saw great value in the course. “I have so much to share with my community,” said one. “The English and the terminology used in the act and regulations were intimidating, but the way it was facilitated made it more understandable,” said another.

Archbishop Henry remembered Continued from page 1 was much like our present pope.

He was out of depth with nobility and didn’t enjoy posh company. He enjoyed being with the people,” Mr Shackleton said.

Archbishop Henry continued to be active in the archdiocese until his sudden death, a quarter of an hour before the start of Lent.

He had been diagnosed with cancer the day before his death.

“Despite doctors’ recognition of the seriousness of his condition, the suddenness of his death was unexpected by all. Doctors have given us the assurance that Archbishop Henry died without pain,” Archbishop Brislin said.

“I’m relieved he went quickly.

I’ve never heard of someone being diagnosed with cancer and then dying a few hours later, but he wasn’t a man to lie sick in bed,” said Bishop Cawcutt.

The faithful expressed their condolences on the Southern Cross’ Facebook page.

“He was a stalwart of the Catholic Church and I am

Archbishop Lawrence Henry with the confirmation class of St Timothy’s in Tafelsig, Mitchell’s Plain, in 2009, shortly before his retirement as archbishop. Cape Town Catholics will remember the late archbishop being in his element at confirmation Masses. (Photo: Michael Brown) blessed to have been confirmed by him,” said David PamplinGrove.

Roy Lategan said the archbishop was a “great and humble man. He made a real difference in many lives.”

“Whenever I called him ‘Your Grace” he would respond by calling me ‘Your Disgrace’. He had a

lovely sense of humour and I’ll miss him,” said Ann Mackrill.

An evening prayer service and vigil will be held on Friday, March 14 at 19:00 at St Mary’s cathedral.

The requiem Mass will be held at the Good Hope Centre, Cape Town, on Saturday, March 15 at 10:00.

PIETERMARITZBURG Catholic who became a priest in the United States has been named auxiliary bishop of Portland, Oregon.

Bishop-designate Peter Smith, 56, was born in KwaZulu-Natal on February 8, 1958.

According to his mother, Joicelyn Leslie Smith, he attended school at Alexandra Boys’ High School in Pietermaritzburg. He grew up in the parish of St Mary’s, which his father and grandfather had also attended.

After his schooling, he fought as a rifleman in the South African Defence Force in the bush war in northern Namibia.

Following his military service, he earned a B Comm degree from the University of Natal and a law degree from the University of Natal Law School in 1983.

“It was towards the end of his law degree that Peter realised his calling to join the priesthood,” Mrs Smith told The Southern Cross.

He then left South Africa for the US. In South Bend, Indiana, he joined a lay community that had developed in 1971 from the Catholic charismatic renewal, the Brotherhood of the People of Praise.

According to Catholic News Service, the community moved to Portland after several members expressed an openness to the priesthood.

Bishop-designate Smith, who has a canon law degree from the Catholic University of America in Washington, was ordained a priest for the Portland archdiocese in 2001. He is currently the vicar-general of the archdiocese.

His episcopal ordination is scheduled for April 29.

As an auxiliary bishop, he will assist Archbishop Alexander Sample, who has headed the Portland archdiocese since April 2013.

The Bishop-designate is not only the first South African to be appointed a bishop in the US, but is also the second bishop given to the Church by St Mary’s, the first being Paxton Hallet, CSsR, former bishop of Rustenburg.

Bishop-designate Smith’s mother said his appointment came as quite a surprise, but she was very pleased.

“He has always said that the joy of

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Bishop-designate Peter Smith, who was born in Pietermaritzburg, has been named an auxiliary bishop in the US. (Photo: Jon DeBellis, Catholic Sentinel) the Lord is his strength, and so I believe that he will place the responsibilities that come with being a bishop in the hands of the Lord,” Mrs Smith said.

Bishop-designate Smith currently lives in community with three Brotherhood colleagues in Portland and helps out at parishes on weekends.

“I am fortunate that I live with two other priests and a brother from my community,” the Bishop-designate told the Catholic Sentinel, newspaper of the archdiocese of Portland.

“We pray together, have meals together, and share life in community.

It’s a great blessing and support,” he said.

“Having a solid prayer life, individually and communally, and having good supportive relationships have strengthened my priestly life and ministry.”—CNS, with additional reporting by Portia Mthembu.

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The Southern Cross, March 12 to March 18, 2014

INTERNATIONAL

Pope: We can tolerate some civil unions

BY FRANCIS X ROCCA

and a woman,” the pope said, but moves to “regulate diverse situations OPE Francis has suggested the of cohabitation [are] driven by the Catholic Church could tolerate need to regulate economic aspects some types of non-marital civil among persons, as for instance to asunions as a practical measure to sure medical care”. guarantee property rights and health Asked to what extent the Church care. He also said the Church would could understand this trend, he not change its teaching against arti- replied: “It is necessary to look at the ficial birth control but should take diverse cases and evaluate them in care to apply it with “much mercy”. their variety.”

Pope Francis’ words appeared in Bishops around the world have an interview published in the Italian differed in their responses to civil daily Corriere della Sera. recognition of non-marital unions.

In the wide-ranging conversation The president of the Pontifical with the paper’s editor-in-chief, Fer- Council for the Family said in Februruccio de Bortoli, the pope defended ary 2013 that some legal arrangethe Church’s response to clerical sex ments are justifiable to protect the abuse and lamented that popular inheritance rights of non-married mythology has turned him into a couples. But until now, no pope has kind of papal superhero. He also ad- indicated even tentative acceptance dressed the role of retired Pope Bene- of civil unions. dict XVI and the Church’s relations In the interview, Pope Francis with China. praised Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encycli“Matrimony is between a man cal Humanae vitae, which prohibited the use of contraception.

In contradicting conPilgrimage to Fatima, Santiago Compostela temporary pressures for and Lourdes population led by Fr Emil Blaser control, Pope 10-23 October 2014 Paul’s “genius was prophetic, Pilgrimage to Turkey and Medjugorje he had the led by Father Andrew Knott courage to side 25 September-10 October 2014 against the majority, dePilgrimage of Thanksgiving to Italy & fend moral disMedjugorje cipline, put a led by Fr Teboho Matseke brake on the culture, oppose 14-29 September 2014 neo-MalthuPilgrimage to Fatima, Santiago de sianism, pres-

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Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception At the 80th Jubilee of Religious Life of the Pioneer Sister, aged 101, she encouraged the young member to follow Jesus more closely.

Pope Francis arrives to celebrate Ash Wednesday Mass at the basilica of Santa Sabina in Rome last week. In a wide-ranging interview, the pope addressed matters such as civil unions, birth control, and his public image. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS) ent and future,” Pope Francis said.

But he also noted that Pope Paul had instructed confessors to interpret his encyclical with “much mercy, attention to concrete situations”.

“The question is not whether to change the doctrine, but to go deeper and make sure that pastoral care takes account of situations and of what each person is able to do,” Pope Francis said.

T

he pope said birth control, like the predicament of divorced and civilly remarried Catholics, would be a topic of discussion at the Vatican in October at an extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family. He said the synod would approach all such problems “in the light of profound reflection”, rather than casuistry, which he described as a superficial, pharisaical theology focused exclusively on particular cases.

The pope said he had welcomed the “intense discussion” at a Febru-

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mythology of Pope Francis. When it is said, for instance, that he leaves the Vatican at night to go feed the tramps on Via Ottaviano. That never even occurred to me.”

He added: “To portray the pope as a kind of superman, a type of star, strikes me as offensive. The pope is a man who laughs, weeps, sleeps soundly and has friends like everybody else. A normal person.”

He acknowledged that he has continued his longtime practice of phoning people who write to him with their problems, including an 80-year old widow who lost her son, whom he calls once a month.

Pope Francis said he has sought out his predecessor Pope Benedict for advice and encouraged him to “go out and participate in the life of the Church”, most recently by appearing at a ceremony with the College of Cardinals in St Peter’s basilica.

“The pope emeritus is not a statue in a museum,” Pope Francis said.

Noting that bishops never retired until after the Second Vatican Council, but that the practice has since become the norm, Pope Francis said the “same thing should happen with the pope emeritus. Benedict is the first and maybe there will be others.

We don’t know.”

Asked about the Vatican’s lack of diplomatic relations with China, whose government requires Catholics to register with a statecontrolled Catholic Patriotic Association and punishes members of the clandestine “underground” church, Pope Francis said he had written to Chinese President Xi Jinping “when he was elected, three days after me.

And he answered me. There are some relations.”—CNS

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P

OPE Francis’ calendar of liturgical services for March and April—including Holy Week and Easter— includes the addition of a Lenten “penitential service”, but does not say where he will celebrate the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper.

And the week after Easter, which sees the canonisation of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II, the pope will meet with the bishops of Southern Africa who are making their ad limina visit to Rome.

Last year, Pope Francis moved the Holy Thursday evening Mass and foot washing ritual from St Peter’s basilica to Rome’s Casal del Marmo juvenile detention centre where he washed the feet of young offenders.

Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi SJ said the pope once again will choose a “special situation from a pastoral point of view” for the setting of his Holy Thursday Mass. The location will be announced later, but it will not be a Mass open to the public.

The calendar released by the Vatican includes: March 9-14: Lenten retreat with officials from the Roman curia in Ariccia, outside Rome.

March 16: Evening visit to Rome’s Santa Maria dell’Orazione parish for

Mass and meetings.

March 28: Penitential liturgy in St Peter’s basilica.

April 6: Pastoral visit to an unnamed Rome parish.

April 13: Palm Sunday Mass in St Peter’s Square.

April 17: Holy Thursday, morning chrism Mass in St Peter’s basilica.

April 18: Good Friday afternoon liturgy of the Lord’s Passion in St Peter’s basilica. Nighttime Way of the Cross in Rome’s Colosseum.

April 19: Easter vigil in St Peter’s basilica.

April 20: Easter morning Mass in St Peter’s Square, followed by the papal blessing urbi et orbi.

April 27: Canonisation of Bls John XXIII and John Paul II. Pope Francis is scheduled to meet with three groups of Southern African bishops on successive days, from April 24-26. The bishops will also meet with various curial departments.

Their Mass in the basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls on April 30 will be attended by the group taking part in the Southern Cross/Radio Veritas canonisation pilgrimage.

A closing Mass in the basilica of St Mary Major on May 1 will be open to all South Africans in Rome.

New Jesus film a box-office hit

A

Is God calling you to try to do the same? by deepening your relationship with Jesus through prayer in order to serve Him by educating and training the Young, caring for the Sick and Elderly, assisting addicts and others?

ary gathering of cardinals, where German Cardinal Walter Kasper gave a talk suggesting divorced and civilly remarried Catholics might sometimes be allowed to receive Communion even without an annulment of their first, sacramental marriages (see page 5).

“Fraternal and open confrontations foster the growth of theological and pastoral thought,” he said.

“I’m not afraid of this; on the contrary, I seek it.”

Asked if the Church’s teachings on sexual and medical ethics represented “non-negotiable values”, a formulation used by Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis said he had “never understood the expression ‘non-negotiable values.’”

“Values are values, period,” he said. “I cannot say that, among the fingers of a hand, there is one less useful than another. That is why I cannot understand in what sense there could be negotiable values.”

Pope Francis said cases of sex abuse by priests had left “very profound wounds”, but that, starting with the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, the Church has done “perhaps more than anyone” to solve the problem.

“Statistics on the phenomenon of violence against children are shocking, but they also clearly show the great majority of abuses occur in family and neighbourhood settings,” Pope Francis said. “The Catholic Church is perhaps the only public institution to have acted with transparency and responsibility. No one else has done more. And yet the Church is the only one attacked.”

Reflecting on his own colossal popularity, the pope criticised “ideological interpretations, a certain

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

Email: evenieturner63@gmail.com

NEW movie depicting the life of Christ according to the gospels, opened in the US to strong reviews and exceeded predictions in box-office takings.

Son of God, which opened in the US on February 28, grossed $26,5 million on its opening weekend, far surpassing BoxOffice.com’s prediction of $17,5 million.

The film was released by the makers of the popular History Channel television miniseries The Bible, which was not shown on DStv’s History Channel.

The movie covers the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, played by Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado.

Eduardo Verastegui, an executive

Diogo Morgado as Jesus Christ producer of the movie, said the story of Jesus Christ is “the perfect story, the most beautiful love story of all times.” He said he believes the movie is “a spiritual experience.”

Son of God will go on circuit in South Africa on April 18.

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, March 12 to March 18, 2014

5

Cardinal Kasper: Communion for remarried Catholics is possible

BY CINDY WOODEN

T An icon of Mary and the Christ child is seen as members of the Crimean self-defence unit stand guard outside the local government headquarters in Simferopol, Ukraine. After Russian troops invaded the region, the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church said Ukrainians must be prepared “to sacrifice our lives in order to protect the sovereign, free, independent, and unified state”. (Photo: David Mdzinarishvili, Reuters/CNS)

Don’t act like CEOs, pope tells bishops

BY FRANCIS X ROCCA

P

OPE Francis has said bishops should act not like ambitious corporate executives, but humble evangelists and men of prayer, willing to sacrifice everything for their flocks.

“We don’t need a manager, the CEO of a business, nor someone who shares our pettiness or low aspirations,” the pope said. “We need someone who knows how to rise to the height from which God sees us, in order to guide us to him.”

Pope Francis’ words came in a speech to the Congregation for Bishops, the Vatican body that advises him on the appointment of bishops around the world.

He stressed the importance of self-sacrifice in a bishop’s ministry, which he described as a kind of martyrdom.

“The courage to die, the generosity to offer one’s own life and exhaust one’s self for the flock are inscribed in the episcopate’s DNA,” he said. “The episcopate is not for itself but for the Church, for the flock, for others, above all for those whom the world considers only worth throwing away.”

Pope Francis listed several desirable virtues in potential bishops, including a “capacity for healthy, balanced relationships”, “upright behaviour”, “orthodoxy and fidelity” to Church doctrine; and “transparency and detachment in administrating the goods of the community”.

The pope laid special emphasis on a bishop’s ability to evangelise

and pray.

In preaching the Gospel, bishops should be appealing rather than censorious, upholding Church teaching “not in order to measure how far the world falls short of the truth it contains, but to fascinate the world, enchant it with the beauty of love, seduce it by offering the freedom of the Gospel”.

“The Church doesn’t need apologists for their own causes, nor crusaders for their own battles, but humble sowers who trust in the truth...bishops who know that even when night falls and the day’s toil leaves them tired, the seeds in the field will be sprouting.”

As models of prayer for bishops, Pope Francis cited Abraham and Moses, who argued with God to dissuade him from destroying their sinful people.

“A man who lacks the courage to argue with God on behalf of his people cannot be a bishop,” the pope said.

Pope Francis also stressed that bishops should be suited to the particular local needs of their dioceses.

“There is no standard pastor for all the churches,” the pope said.

“Christ knows the singularity of the pastor every church requires, able to respond to its needs and help it realise its potential.”

“Where can we find such men?

It is not easy. Do they exist? How can we choose them?” Pope Francis asked in closing. “I am sure they exist, because the Lord does not abandon his Church. Maybe it is we who do not spend long enough in the fields looking for them.”—CNS

HE Catholic Church needs to find a way to offer healing, strength and salvation to Catholics whose marriages have failed, who are committed to making a new union work and who long to do so within the Church and with the grace of Communion, Cardinal Walter Kasper told the world’s cardinals.

Pope Francis had asked Cardinal Walter Kasper, a well-known theologian and author of a book on mercy as a fundamental trait of God, to introduce a discussion by the College of Cardinals on family life in late February. The Vatican did not publish the cardinal’s text, but Catholic News Service obtained a copy.

Jesus’ teaching on the indissolubility of sacramental marriage is clear, the retired German cardinal said, and it would harm individuals and the Church to pretend otherwise. However, “after the shipwreck of sin, the shipwrecked person should not have a second boat at his or her disposal, but rather a life raft” in the form of the sacrament of Communion, he said.

The Catholic Church needs to find a way to help divorced and remarried Catholics who long to participate fully in the life of the church, Cardinal Kasper told the cardinals.

While insisting—for the good of individuals and of the Church—on the need to affirm Jesus’ teaching that sacramental marriage is indissoluble, he allowed for the possibility that in very specific cases the Church could tolerate, though not accept, a second union.

From the first moments of creation, the cardinal said, God intended man and woman to be together, to form one flesh, to have children and to serve him together. But sin entered the world almost immediately, which is why even the Bible is filled with stories of husbands and wives hurting and betraying one another, he explained.

Christ, who came to set people free from the bonds of sin, established marriage as a sacrament, “an instrument of healing for the consequences of sin and an instrument of sanctifying grace”, he said.

Because they are human and prone to sin, husbands and wives continually must follow a path of conversion, renewal and maturation, asking forgiveness and renewing their commitment to one another, Cardinal Kasper said.

But the Church also must be realistic and acknowledge “the complex and thorny problem” posed

by Catholics whose marriages have

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German Cardinal Walter Kasper, seen in St Peters Square, has outlined how the Church could allow divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive Communion without compromising the clear teachings on marriage.

(CNS photo/Tony Gentile, Reuters) failed, but who find support, family stability and happiness in a new relationship.

“One cannot propose a solution different from or contrary to the words of Jesus,” the cardinal said.

“The indissolubility of a sacramental marriage and the impossibility of a new marriage while the other partner is still alive is part of the binding tradition of the faith of the Church and cannot be abandoned or dissolved by appealing to a superficial understanding of mercy at a discount price.”

A

t the same time, “there is no human situation absolutely without hope or solution”, he said.

Catholics profess their belief in the forgiveness of sins in the Creed, he explained. “That means that for one who converts, forgiveness is possible. If that’s true for a murderer, it is also true for an adulterer.”

Cardinal Kasper said it would be up to members of the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family in October and the world Synod of Bishops in 2015 to discuss concrete proposals for helping divorced and civilly remarried Catholics participate more fully in the life of the Church.

A possible avenue for finding those proposals, he said, would be to develop “pastoral and spiritual procedures” for helping couples convinced in conscience that their first union was never a valid marriage. The decision cannot be left only to the couple, he said, because marriage has a public character, but that does not mean that

a juridical solution—an annulment granted by a marriage tribunal—is the only way to handle the case.

As a diocesan bishop in Germany in 1993, Cardinal Kasper and two other bishops issued pastoral instructions to help priests minister to such couples. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, headed by the then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, made the bishops drop the plan.

A similar proposal made last year by the archdiocese of Freiburg, Germany, was criticised

by Cardinal Gerhard Müller, current prefect of the doctrinal congregation.

Citing a 1972 article by then-Father Joseph Ratzinger, Cardinal Kasper said the Church also might consider some form of “canonical penitential practice”—a “path beyond strictness and leniency”— that would adapt the gradual process for the reintegration of sinners into full communion with the Church used in the first centuries of Christianity.

To avoid the greater evil of offering no help to the divorced and remarried, cutting them and most likely their children off from the sacraments, he said, the Church could “tolerate that which is impossible to accept”—a second union.

“A pastoral approach of tolerance, clemency and indulgence,” he said, would affirm that “the sacraments are not a prize for those who behave well or for an elite, excluding those who are most in need.”—CNS

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6

The Southern Cross, March 12 to March 18, 2014

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Catholics need true evangelisation

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

Responding to scandal

O

VER the past decade or so, the Catholic Church worldwide has taken a thorough and not unmerited beating over scandals of sexual abuse and their cover-up.

No matter how much the Church has worked, and still is working, to put things right, there remains a public perception of the Catholic Church as a haven for sexual predators, and a mistaken but persistent prejudice that Catholic priests are disproportionately inclined towards sexual abuse of children.

So the news that another allegation of sexual abuse by a priest will come to a South African court in April, will have been upsetting to Catholics.

Many Catholics might have been confronted with the news by colleagues, friends or even family members; some of them may well have used the allegation as a stick with which to beat the Church.

The prudent response is to stress that the Church has learnt very sorrowful lessons from past errors and injustices, and has taken many steps to ensure that minors are safe within the Church, and that any allegation of abuse is treated seriously and in full cooperation with the law.

It is right that priests who are found guilty of crimes in civil and/or Church law should be punished in proportion to their offence by the respective authorities. There can be no exemption from justice.

The Church’s concern must be first for the survivors of abuse and their families.

It must be consistently restated that there can be no tolerance for sexual abuse of any kind in the Catholic Church, or elsewhere. Such violations, especially when committed by people in privileged positions of trust, are contrary to the Gospel values we Catholics espouse.

Our concern must also extend to the great majority of priests who have conducted their ministry with undiminished integrity, but may now be regarded by many with mistrust as a result of the transgressions of their brother priests.

The current case in the archdiocese of Pretoria has been handled flawlessly in accordance with the law and the Church’s protocols governing sexual abuse.

The archdiocese has not offered an opinion on the merits of the case, and will begin its own

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.

investigation only once the civil case has run its course.

Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria, in an interview with The Southern Cross, emphasised that the Church’s “essential priority…is the protection of children”.

The archbishop also issued a timely pastoral letter which gave the faithful courage in a difficult time, and asked for prayers for all involved. This includes the complainant and the priest, their families and friends, priests, parishioners and so on.

In our prayers we must also include the archbishop, on whom rests a heavy burden.

We must heed Archbishop Slattery’s call not to engage in “gossip, exaggeration or innuendo”, and wait for the truth to emerge in court. It is not our place to determine whether the priest is innocent or whether the complainant is truthful.

Without making reference to the current case, it is necessary to keep in mind that the human failings of Church officials do not compromise the salvific mission of the Church, the Real Presence in the Eucharist, or any of the essentials that define us as Catholics.

The Gospel calls on us not to sit in judgment and urges us to find forgiveness.

Invariably a priest is rightly held to higher standards than others, because he represents Christ in the Mass.

At the same time, a priest is also just a man, susceptible to sin as all humans are. Even when he is publicly exposed as a sinner, and full rehabilitation in his ministry is impossible, in his brokenness he cannot be simply cast aside.

In such cases, the faithful are confronted with the question of whether the revelations of sexual abuse annul the offending priest’s body of pastoral work.

One may think of Antony’s speech in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar: “The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.” More than any court sentence, ostracism or calamity, this may be the true and harsh penalty for the abuser priest.

As Christians we must pray for the survivors of sexual abuse and all those affected by it—but we must also spare a prayer for the spiritual healing of the offender.

Difficult though it may be for some, it is the Christian way.

I

APPLAUD the editorial in The Southern Cross of February 26 asking whether we are evangelising and doing so in imitation of Christ.

Unfortunately, the word evangelise is still seen by many Catholics as somewhat “Protestant”. In the past, “mission” was seen as conyeying to non-Catholics the glories of the one, true Church founded by Jesus Christ. Today we will admit that this was pure triumphalism and ecclesiocentrism.

With the number of practising Catholics at an all-time low, the number of Catholics who are evangelised—that is, those living in an experiential and living relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, at the centre of their lives—is even more distressing, according to the highest and most reliable Church sources, perhaps only 10%.

The reason why we do not evangelise is because many are not sure of the basic Gospel message. We are justified, according to the cathechism, by faith in Jesus Christ and by his grace, working in love (Gal 5:6).

From the answers many Catholics give when asked how they intend getting to heaven (our blessed hope), it seems many have fallen prey to a form of Pelagianism (a heresy, by the way), in which they are attempting to save themselves by their own efforts.

The answers to that question, from most, are “by being good, nice or sincere”, “by trying harder” or “doing a sufficient number of good deeds”.

There is little interest in bringing

St Francis made a peace deal

I

F we do not “give peace a chance”, then it remains unattainable.

Given the intransigent violence in this world, many will set their sights for peace at a “realistic” level.

JM Goossens (“Damietta facts”, February 12) has opted for such a sober result.

Dr Goossens’ “facts” about Damietta are incomplete.

St Francis personally walked over the desert to broker peace with the sultan Malik al-Kamil in Egypt where the Muslim forces faced the fifth Crusader army.

Over days of amicable sharing on their faiths, they arrived at peace. The sultan offered to give over Jerusalem if the Crusaders returned. The hard-headed leader, Cardinal-legate Pelagius, instead opted for absolute conquest. Francis, foreseeing disaster, frantically tried to stop the ensuing battle.

This can teach us much. Harsh

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others to faith in Jesus Christ, when all one’s energy is consumed in trying to achieve one’s own salvation by one’s own efforts. That is a travesty of the Gospel. In the Mass we pray: “Lord, by your cross and resurrection you have set us free. You are the Saviour of the world.”

Usually the name of Jesus is not even mentioned. Sometimes the word “providence” may be used, instead. One is put in mind of Christ’s words: “If you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you before my Father in heaven.”

G

raced good works must appear in the life of a believer, but as fruits of grace; the result of faith in Jesus Christ, proving that our faith is genuine (see James 2:17).

Many who are not evangelised are characterised by self-centredness. Lives are devoid of validating, affirming, upbuilding or encouraging others.

Others are informed of their many years of service to the Church, as catechists, extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, sacristans, proclaimers of the Word at Mass or well-known members of various Church sodalities.

But are their hearts in it, or are they doing it for worldly recognition? Mother Teresa of Calcutta warned against doing great things for God. Rather we should do little things, but with great love.

Many of us are sacramentalised, and not evangelised. We may get to heaven yet, but as “good pagans”.

Despite all the years of Catholic

reality and low expectations should not be allowed to frame or restrict the outcomes of our age. Francis “broke through” and won peace against impossible odds.

This peacemaking is repeatable today. Inspired by the history of St Francis and the sultan, the Damietta Peace Initiative brings unexpected peace.

In Nigeria, for example, it has established peaceful co-existence between Muslims and Christians so that the city of Joss is no longer a hot-spot in the news.

In other African countries too, Damietta engenders peace (see damiettapeace.co.za).

When there is a spark of sincere humanity carried by the spirit of peace, divides can be crossed and peace is reachable. The blockage is low-expectation faith and remaining uninvolved.

Following St Francis, Pope Francis also asks us to take small but real steps in peacemaking (Evangelii Gaudium 239, 242, 250).

Peace must be given a chance to have a chance.

Fr Kees Thönissen OFMCap, international director, Damietta Peace Initiative

The Narrow Way

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ADDY Ross (February 19) makes a mild statement that he regards homosexuality as “neither normal nor natural”.

A much more severe response is required. The Old Testament tells us of the destruction of homosexuals at Sodom and Gomorrah. The New Testament condemns homosexual activity unconditionally.

Under the banner of “compassion”, those who defend homosexuality ally themselves with the situation of mortal sin.

They use the “who am I to judge?” approach, but betray Christ by omitting his “Go. And sin no more”. This denial of Christ’s teaching (the teaching of the Catholic Church), will result in Christ denying them before his Father.

On which road are homosexuals and their supporters travelling?

All of us must find the Narrow Way. We must accept all of Christ’s teaching and practise our faith.

Franko Sokolic, Cape Town

education and other catechesis, there seem to be some astounding gaps.

Catholic “evangelisation” has often taken the form of merely advocating Christian morality. But such a limited approach is Pelagian for it neglects the necessity of faith in and acceptance of Jesus Christ.

To preach the evil of, say, abortion, to the “world” is like expecting an apple tree to bear grapes. The world will perceive it as yet another “law”, and not grace, for that is the only context it understands.

What is needed is the proclaiming of the full Gospel message with Jesus at the centre, which Pope Francis is expressing so powerfully.

Bl John Paul II is quoted as saying that some Catholics have not experienced Christ personally but as a “value” or “paradigm” (L’Osservatore Romano, March 24, 1994, p 1,7). In the Gospel, the idea of values does not appear.

Cardinal Vicente Enrique y Tarancón, former archbishop of Toledo, Spain, has said: “It is wrong for the Church to impose Catholic morality on the world. Without the grace of God, there is no way anyone can live Catholic morality, let alone accept it” (Morality and Grace, 30 Days No 5, 1993:8).

The reason for the Church’s existence is to evangelise. We do evangelise by the example of a good, Christian life, but true evangelisation is fruitless without “a clear and explicit proclamation of the Lord Jesus Christ” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, Pope Paul VI).

“For woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel” (I Cor 9:16).

John Lee, Johannesburg

Poor vs rich quote

O

NE good thing that Twitter teaches is the discipline of thinking with your head, not your emotions. To compose an argument in 140 characters forces you to read and reread, and read again what you mean to say.

Your correspondent J Jansen van Rensburg (February 26) has unfortunately not done that, and failed to notice the quotation marks, which show that the statement “a nation of two peoples, one black and poor, the other white and rich” are not mine but that of a president of this country, Thabo Mbeki, as he justified affirmative action and Black Economic Empowerment in 1998.

I didn't attribute the words as I could not find the exact quote.

I hope that sets your reader’s mind at rest.

Cardinal Wilfrid Napier OFM, Durban

Justice and peace

F

ATHER Sean O’Leary’s point about leaving justice and truth aside to get to peace (“Priest: SA traded justice for peace”, February 19), has to be nuanced.

I believe that to the extent that there is no justice, to that extent there is no peace.

Peace is more than just the absence of war. There is peace where there are good (just) relations between people, nations, etc. However, as Fr O’Leary suggests, peace is not a once-off but a process, and, in so many cases, the first step is to stop people from killing each other.

There is a sliver of justice there.

But the hope is that, as time goes on, a relationship of mutual trust can slowly build, and more and deeper steps towards peace can be taken.

Unfortunately, this hope is not always fulfilled.

Fr Cas Paulsen CMM, Mariannhill 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

PERSPECTIVES

Losing our God-given humanity Judith Turner T HE month of March is dedicated to the celebration of human rights in South Africa. In this article I would like to focus on what makes us human and our human dignity rather than on what our human rights are.

The Universal Declaration on Human Rights, which outlines all our rights as humans, can be accessed at www.un.org/en/ documents/udhr/ Someone on Facebook recently posted the following quote by the 13th-century Persian Sufi mystic Rumi, and when I read it, I felt a pounding on my heart.

“I saw many humans on whom there were no clothes. I saw many clothes in which there were no humans.”

I read the quote slowly again, over and over, because this is exactly how we sometimes are: unrecognisable as humans.

What makes us human? The physical similarities between humans and other mammals are quite plain. We are made of the same flesh and blood; we go through the same basic life stages. And our bodily functions such as sex, pregnancy and birth are quite the same.

But there are certain things humans can do which animals can’t. Humans use their minds.

In the past few decades, scientists have proven beyond any doubt that some species of animals possess intelligence.

Porpoises and whales can communicate with other members of their species through audible language. Dogs can be trained to do relatively complex tasks. Gorillas have even been taught to form simple sentences using sign language.

So, although animals also use their mind, to some degree, they use it instinctively and to survive, or they can do intelligent things when trained by humans.

Humans use their minds to improve and to progress on earth. For example, humans invent things, like complex tools or computers, which animals do not do. Humans want to explore and discover what the universe is about. But have you ever heard of an animal planning to go to the moon?

That being said, there is still something deeper that makes us human and distinguishes us from other species. Humans have a spirit, they have a soul. Humans were created in the image of God. Then God said: “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground” (Gen 1:26).

Faith and Life

W

hat makes us more human is when we can use our minds responsibly and align our minds with our spirits—and allow our spirits to influence our minds.

When we align our minds with our spirits, then we take into account other humans around us, because our spirits are connected.

It is easy to operate just from our mind.

We only have to look at the senseless wars and killings happening in our world to understand how the logic of our minds works.

Someone once said that the mind is the battlefield of the devil and the heart is the dwelling place of the Lord.

This is so true, because we are capable of thinking up very devious ways of dealing with people. If we apply our minds we can really deal with people in horrible ways and destroy them. We are then totally disconnected from our spirits and out of touch with the godliness of the other person. In such cases we are not human.

We are like animals who have no soul.

When we are in touch with our own spirit we get a sense of our own dignity as a human being and we are then also able to appreciate the human dignity of the next person. When we are in touch with that fire (spirit) within us we have an unstoppable craving, a burning desire, to defend human dignity, both of ourselves and of others.

I like the way Jane Austen puts it in her novel Pride & Prejudice: “There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.”

When the very essence of our Godgiven dignity is in danger, our spirits will fight it.

Catholic social teaching is based on and is inseparable from our understanding of human life and human dignity. Every human being is created in the image of God and redeemed by Jesus Christ, and therefore is invaluable and worthy of respect as a member of the human family.

Every person, from the moment of conception to natural death, has inherent dignity and a right to life consistent with that dignity. Human dignity comes from God, not from any human quality or accomplishment.

During the human rights month of March and during Lent, let us try to make ourselves more recognisable as human beings.

Being green is to work for God Evans K ‘A Chama M.Afr

ND God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Gen 1:31). That is the refrain that marks the work of creation.

The entire universe is a garden which God has entrusted to the management of human beings, as the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (CSDC) puts it.

Besides, salvation is perceived as restoration of creation. Hence, safeguarding creation is not just an ecological matter but also theological (CSDC, 452); it is an existential vocation of human beings.

Therefore, they are to use the created things in the light of this vocation, both in the use of the resources of the earth as well as in the application of science and technology, which are not just brilliant achievements of human initiative but, more than that, the fulfilment of the divine vocation.

Naturally then, scientific and technological advancement should be evaluated not only in terms of how beneficial it is, but also by how it is used according to the will of God. It is about human beings taking their proper place; they are not masters but cocreators who are subordinate to God. They cannot put themselves and their creativity in opposition to God (CSDC 460).

Indeed, when this hierarchy is unsettled we observe the abusive relationship between human beings and the environment. This, the CSDC says, “can be seen in man’s pretension of exercising unconditional dominion over things, heedless of any moral considerations which, on the contrary, must distinguish all human activity” (461).

In his address to the participants in a convention on “The Environment on Health” in March 1997, Pope John Paul II brought out concretely the issue at stake:

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It’s as simple as lights out. Turning off a light when it’s not needed can reduce the emission of greenhouse gases—the main cause of worldwide climate change. And working to protect the environment, the Church teaches, is a divine vocation.

(Photo: Nancy Wiechec/CNS) “The aspect of the conquest and exploitation of resources has become predominant and invasive, and today it has even reached the point of threatening the environment’s hospitable aspect: the environment as ‘resource’ risks threatening the environment as ‘home’.”

This mentality which John Paul II addresses comes not necessarily from science and technology, both of which are esteemed by the Church, but from scientism and technocratic ideologies where “nature appears as an instrument in the hands of man, a reality that he must constantly manipulate” (CSDC, 462).

T

herefore the Church aims not only at safeguarding nature but also at ensuring its correct and balanced view which “prevents the utilitarian reduction of nature to a mere object to be manipulated and exploited”.

At the same time, “it must not abso-

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lutise nature and place it above the dignity of the human person himself”. When one has a healthy relationship with God he stands a better chance of having an equally healthy relationship with others and with the environment, especially appreciating nature as a precious gift from God to be nurtured and safeguarded (CSDC 463-4).

In his 1997 address, John Paul II optimistically expressed the conviction and hope of the Church: “If humanity today succeeds in combining the new scientific capacities with a strong ethical dimension, it will certainly be able to promote the environment as a home and a resource for man or all men, and will be able to eliminate the causes of pollution and to guarantee adequate conditions of hygiene and health.”

Safeguarding the environment is a universal duty for the common good and that of future generations. “Responsibility for the environment, the common heritage of mankind, extends not only to the present needs but also to those of the future,” the CSDC says.

There must be equilibrium between economic activity and environmental protection; economic development should not solely be a matter of maximisation of profit.

Similarly, biotechnologies, certainly useful, must be evaluated not only in terms of usefulness but also their moral impact.

However, nature “is a gift offered by the

The Southern Cross, March 12 to March 18, 2014

Michael Shackleton

Open Door

Which Church councils are valid?

The Orthodox churches accept the authority and decisions of the first seven ecumenical councils of the Church. What is the content of these councils and why do the Orthodox not accept the authority of subsequent councils, whereas the Catholic Church does?

P Evans

T

HE first seven ecumenical or universal councils assembled in order to settle disputes about how the mysteries of the faith were to be interpreted in theological terms.

Nicea (325) met in reaction to Arius, who taught that God the Son could not be the Father's equal, because his existence came from the Father.

The council confirmed that the Son is consubstantial with the Father and equal to him.

Constantinople I (381) reaffirmed this and defined the divinity of the Holy Spirit.

Ephesus (431) proclaimed that Mary was the Mother of God, and not just the mother of the human Christ.

Chalcedon (451) taught that Christ's divine nature and his human nature were united in the Second Person of the Trinity. Constantinople II (553) essentially upheld Chalcedon's teachings.

Constantinople III (681) affirmed that Christ had two distinct wills, the divine and the human, and that he saved us by his human will's obedience to the Father's divine will.

Nicea II (787) condemned the iconoclasts who claimed that venerating sacred images was idolatrous. The council declared that “the honour given to images passes on to the original”, so that by reverencing them we reverence the substance of God. At the time of these councils the Church was one. Both Rome and Constantinople were in agreement. Then doctrinal and disciplinary disputes arose. The emperor shifted his capital from Rome to Constantinople, which then regarded itself as the “new Rome”, so that the pope’s authority over the universal Church was cold-shouldered.

This resulted in the two excommunicating each other in the year 1054. (They mutually lifted the excommunications in 1965 but the rift between them remains.)

From the viewpoint of the Orthodox, true ecumenical councils are now impossible unless the two churches reconcile, because these councils require the participation of Rome, which the Orthodox acknowledge as the see of Peter the apostle.

Hence Nicea II was the last of such councils.

For Catholics, using the principle ubi Petrus, ibi ecclesia (Where Peter is, the Church is), a true ecumenical council needs only the participation and approval of the pope in order to be authentic and recognised as such.

When, for example, Vatican II was called by Pope John XXIII in 1962, only Catholic bishops took part, while the Orthodox sent observers.

Catholics consider this a valid ecumenical council, Orthodox do not.

But both would agree that they should be speaking with one voice, and the sooner the disruptive historical divide is breached, the better.

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.

Continued on page 11

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POPE FRANCIS

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Lessons in style: Pope’s choices are teaching moments Every gesture by Pope Francis is being interpreted for signs. Sometimes these actions are just what he does, but sometimes the pope intends to send a message.

CINDY WOODEN explains.

F Pope Francis steps into his Ford Focus car. He has said that by driving a simple car he hopes to set an example to clergy in the Church. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS)

10 things you don’t know about Pope Francis

BY CAROL GLATZ

W

HEN Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran walked onto the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, telling the crowds in Latin: “I announce to you a great joy. We have a pope!” not many people recognised the name of then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Now, just one year since his March 13, 2013, election, there are still many things most people do not know about the 265th successor of Peter.

Here is a list of 10 things people should know about Pope Francis. He: 1. Has a way with birds: Pope Francis expertly handled a white dove and a green parrot during different general audiences in St Peter’s Square.

According to the pope’s sister, Maria Elena Bergoglio, the future pope had a parrot when he was in the seminary. And because he loved to play jokes, she said, “I wouldn’t put it past him that he taught the little beast a swear word or two instead of how to pray.”

2. Has colourful work experience on his CV: In addition to having swept floors in a factory and running tests in a chemical laboratory as a teenager, the pope also used to work as a bouncer. Later, when he was no longer kicking troublemakers out of clubs, he taught high school literature and psychology, which, he said, helped him discover the secret to bringing people back to church.

3. Was a Jesuit Oskar Schindler: When then-Fr Bergoglio was head of the Jesuit province in Argentina, he ran a clandestine network that sheltered or shuttled to safety people whose lives were in danger during the nation’s murderous militarybacked dictatorship.

According to witnesses, the future pope never let on to anyone what he was doing, and those who were helping him find rides or temporary housing for “guests” never realised they had been part of his secret strategy until years later.

4. Is a homebody with missionary zeal: Even though he has travelled extensively, the future pope considers himself “a homebody” who easily gets homesick. However, he wanted to join the Society of Jesus because of its image as being “on the frontlines” for the Church and its work in mission lands.

He wanted to serve as a missionary in Japan, but he said his superiors wouldn’t let him because they were concerned about his past health problems.

5. Has an achy back: When the pope was 21, the upper half of his right lung was removed after cysts caused a severe lung infection. While that episode never caused him further health problems, he said his current complaint is sciatica.

The worst thing to happen in his first month as pope was “an attack of sciatica”, he said. “I was sitting in an

armchair to do interviews and it hurt. Sciatica is very painful, very painful! I don’t wish it on anyone!”

6. Might have become pope in 2005: According to reports, Cardinal Bergoglio received the second-highest number of votes in the 2005 conclave. If the Argentinian had been elected pontiff then, he would have chosen the name John after Bl John XXIII and taken his inspiration from “the Good Pope”, according to Italian Cardinal Francesco Marchisano.

However, during the 2013 conclave, Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes told the newly elected pope, “Don’t forget the poor,” and that, the pope said, is when it struck him to take the name of St Francis of Assisi, “the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation”.

7. Starts his day at 04:30: “I pray the breviary every morning. I like to pray with the psalms. Then, later, I celebrate Mass. I pray the rosary,” he has said. His workday includes reading letters, cards, documents and reports as well as meeting cardinals, bishops, priests and laypeople. He eats lunch between noon and 1 pm, then rests for about 30 minutes before returning to work.

But his favourite part of the day is eucharistic adoration in the evening, when he often falls asleep in prayer.

“Between 7 and 8 o’clock, I stay in front of the Blessed Sacrament for an hour in adoration. But I pray mentally even when I am waiting at the dentist or at other times of the day,” he has said.

8. Is a multitasker: Fr Juan Carlos Scannone SJ, the pope’s friend and former professor of Greek and literature, said the pope is “a one-man band” who can juggle many different tasks at the same time.

“Once I saw him writing an article on the typewriter, then go do his laundry, then receiving someone who needed spiritual guidance. Spiritual work, a technician and a manual labourer all at the same time and with the same high quality,” the priest said.

9. Travels light: When he boarded the papal plane for Brazil last July, people were stunned the pope was carting around his own carry-on bag. What’s inside? “It wasn’t the key for the atom bomb,” he told journalists. “There was a razor, a breviary, an appointment book, a book to read, I brought one about St Thérèse, to whom I have a devotion.

I have always taken a bag with me when travelling—it’s normal.”

10. Sold his motorbike: Pope Francis briefly owned what became the most expensive 21st-century Harley-Davidson motorbike in the world. Though he prefers walking and cheaper car models, HarleyDavidson gave him a brand new Dyna Super Glide in June that the pope autographed and put up for auction, raising a hefty R3,3 million for a Rome soup kitchen and homeless shelter.

ROM the moment Pope Francis, dressed simply in a white cassock, stepped out on the balcony of St Peter’s basilica for the first time and bowed, he signalled his pontificate would bring some style differences to the papacy.

Some of the style changes are simply a reflection of his personality, he has explained. Others are meant to be a lesson. But sometimes the two coincide.

Answering questions from students in June, he said the Apostolic Palace, where his predecessors lived, “is not that luxurious”, but he decided to live in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, a Vatican guesthouse, “for psychiatric reasons”.

Living alone or in an isolated setting “would not do me any good”, he said, because he’s the kind of person who prefers living in the thick of things, “among the people”.

However, he added that he tries to live as simply as possible, “to not have many things and to become a bit poorer” like Christ.

Unlike his choice of residence, his decision to travel in Rome in a blue Ford Focus instead of one of the Mercedes sedans in the Vatican motor pool was meant to be a message.

Meeting with seminarians and novices in July, he said too many people—including religious—think joy comes from possessions, “so they go in quest of the latest model of smartphone, the fastest scooter, the showy car”.

“I tell you, it truly grieves me to see a priest or a sister with the latest model of a car,” he said. For many priests and religious, cars are a necessity, “but choose a more humble car.

And if you like the beautiful one, only think of all the children who are dying of hunger.”

A few days after his election, Pope Francis told reporters who had covered the conclave: “How I would like a Church which is poor and for the poor.”

In October, he travelled to the birthplace of St Francis of Assisi and met clients of Catholic charities in the room where St Francis had stripped off his cloak and renounced his family’s wealth. The pope said he knew some people were expecting him to say or do something similarly shocking with the Church’s material

Last Holy Thursday Pope Francis washed the feet of 12 young people of different nationalities and faiths, including at least two Muslims and two women, who are housed at a juvenile detention facility. (Photo: L'Osservatore Romano via Reuters/CNS) goods.

Living simply is important, he said, not just out of solidarity with the poor, but because it is so easy to get attached to worldly possessions, turning them into idols. The Church, he said in Assisi, “must strip away every kind of worldly spirit, which is a temptation for everyone; strip away every action that is not for God, that is not from God; strip away the fear of opening the doors and going out to encounter all, especially the poorest of the poor, the needy, the remote, without waiting.” The first year of Pope Francis’ pontificate also has been one of encounters.

A

pope, like priests around the world, celebrates Mass every day.

Before he became very infirm, Bl John Paul II would invite visiting bishops and special guests to attend his early morning Mass in the chapel of the papal residence. Pope Benedict XVI’s morning Mass generally was more familial, including his secretaries, his butler and the women who ran the apartment.

With a much larger chapel in the Domus Sanctae Marthae and more priests and bishops in residence there, Pope Francis has had a larger congregation for his morning Masses. Although the Masses are considered private by the Vatican, Pope Francis has been inviting Vatican employees to attend, beginning with the garbage collectors and gardeners.

While transcripts of his morning homilies are not printed in the Vatican’s official daily news bulletin, excerpts are provided by the Vatican newspaper and Vatican Radio.

In the first months of his papacy, especially as the weather warmed up, he’d go for a walk, dropping in on Vatican workers in the garage or the power plant. And, when he has a request of a Vatican office or wants to

make sure something he requested is being done, he simply picks up the phone.

Every Vatican office—not to mention the Jesuits and other religious orders—has a funny story about someone answering the phone and thinking it’s a joke when they hear, “This is Pope Francis”.

But his phone calls go well beyond the inner circle of the Vatican and the Church. Pope Francis has called journalists and people either he has read about or who have written to him with stories of suffering and desperation.

His telephone calls, in some ways, have taken the place of his Buenos Aires habit of riding public transportation and walking the streets of the poorer neighbourhoods to stay in touch with how people really live.

While he will pose with pilgrims for photos and “selfies”, reciprocate when given a big hug, sign autographs for children and accept cups of mate—a herbal tea popular in parts of Latin America—he learned in Argentina that there are times when the ministry of an archbishop or pope can be used by the powerful, and he has taken steps to make sure that does not happen.

At his morning Mass and at his large public liturgies, Pope Francis gives Communion only to the altar servers and deacons, then he sits down and prays.

In a 2010 book written with Buenos Aires Rabbi Abraham Skorka, Pope Francis said that at large Masses for special occasions—Masses attended by government officials and leading business people—“I do not give Communion myself; I stay back and I let the ministers give it, because I do not want those people to come to me for the photo op. One could deny Communion to a public sinner who has not repented, but it is very difficult to check such things.”—CNS

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The Southern Cross, March 12 to March 18, 2014

EDUCATION

Point of Catholic schools is to evangelise The mission of Catholic education is to create an encounter with Christ, and the identity of Catholic schools needs nurturing, argues Fr GRANT JAMES.

H

AVING read Raymond Perrier’s article “A truly Catholic education ethos” (February 19), a piece that is as revealing as it is thought-provoking, I would like to supplement his vision of authentic Catholic education by considering some key passages from Scripture and documents from the Congregation for Catholic Education (CCE).

The Catholic Church, in founding schools across the world, has always believed that education must seek “the integral formation of the human person” so that “children and young people must be guaranteed the possibility of developing harmoniously their own physical, moral, intellectual and spiritual gifts” (“The Catholic School”, CCE 1977, para 8, and “Circular letter to the Presidents of Bishops' Conferences on Religious Education in Schools”, CCE, 2009, para 1).

As Mr Perrier correctly points out, our Catholic schools succeed in delivering “first-class education”, with countless pupils being given the opportunity to develop their full potential, be it in the classroom, the sports field or the

cultural arena.

Sadly, however, while catering for these needs, Catholic schools often neglect the foundational task of spiritual formation. As Jesus asked: “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Mark 8:36) The Church establishes Catholic schools with the primary goal of bringing young people into a relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. The words of Pope Benedict XVI, from his address to Catholic educators at the Catholic University of America in 2008, outline this vision beautifully: “Education is integral to the mission of the Church to proclaim the Good News. First and foremost every Catholic educational institution is a place to encounter the living God who in Jesus Christ reveals his transforming love and truth.”

If, as Benedict makes clear, the mission of Catholic education is first and foremost about encountering God in Jesus Christ, then it is alarming to find that so many articles on a “true” Catholic ethos, for example Mr Perrier’s article, never even mention Jesus Christ.

T

he Church exists to evangelise, to bring people into a relationship with God, and the Catholic school shares in this mission under the solicitude of the Church.

This participation in the evangelising mission of the Catholic Church has been repeated many times of late, reminding Catholic schools that their connection to the Church and her mission is not

Students at St Henrys’ Marist College in Durban with a display for the Year of Faith, which ended in November last year. In his article, Fr Grant James argues that evangelisation must be a primary function of the Catholic school.

The students pictured are (from left) Tevin Pillay, Keyanna Perumal, Anthony Olge and Jessica Erasmus. (Photo courtesy of St Henry’s Marist College).

merely a historical coincidence, but “a distinctive characteristic which penetrates and informs every moment of its educational activity” (“The Catholic school on the threshold of the third millennium”, CCE 1997, para 11).

What makes the Catholic school different is not an expectation that the principal commits “to memory the names and faces of every child in her new school”, but the lived out and experienced reality that here in this school “Christ is the foundation of the whole educational system and that

His revelation gives new meaning to life and helps people to direct their thoughts, actions and wills according to the Gospel” (CCE 1977, para 34).

Mr Perrier rightly points out that a Catholic ethos is not simply “a set of rules”, for the aim of Catholic education is not simply about intellectual assent to religious truths but also a total commitment of one's whole being to the person of Jesus Christ (CCE 1977, para 50).

Does this mean that only Catholic children can attend a

Catholic school? To the contrary, any person of any faith or nationality is welcome, as has been the tradition of Catholic schools through the ages.

It must be remembered, however, that a Catholic school has a particular mission and identity, and as such, all people who freely choose to be part of such an institution assume the responsibility of supporting and building up this mission and identity “in obedience to the solicitude of the Church”, (CCE 1997, para 9).

In his short book Unless the Lord Builds the House (1975), Ralph Martin suggests that the Church often presumes a basic evangelisation which has not in fact taken place.

In the case of young people, it is essential for the Catholic school to make no such presumptions, but carefully to nurture and encourage the faith of pupils (and staff) from its most fundamental aspects upwards.

The Catholic school is, like a baptismal sponsor, not only responsible, but also accountable to God for the faith of those entrusted to its care. Planting and watering the seed of faith in young hearts is its deepest reason for being. For many children, it might be the only time in their lives when they are exposed to faith in Jesus Christ.

Nurturing that faith diligently is a task in which we not only must do our best, but one in which we cannot afford to fail. n Fr Grant James, an Oratorian priest, is the director of Catholic Education in the diocese of Port Elizabeth.

The Nine First Fridays of Reparation to The Sacred Heart of Jesus Reparation for the outrages and offenses against the Sacred Heart of Jesus and against Him in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar!

The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was officially recognized and approved by Pope Clement XIII in 1765, seventy-five years after the death of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque to whom Christ appeared and revealed His Sacred Heart as a symbol of His love for mankind. In 1794, Pope Pius VI issued a decree approving the devotion and granting indulgences to those who practice it.

On June 11, 1899, in what he referred to as "the great act" of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIII solemnly consecrated all mankind to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The Nine First Friday Devotion: The First Friday of each month was

designated by Our Blessed Lord Himself as a day to be consecrated to honouring His Most Sacred Heart. The object of this devotion is to make the Sacred Heart more ardently and more perfectly loved, and to make proper reparation for the outrages, indifference, and neglect against Him in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.

The Great Promise: Is simply one blessing beyond compare, a death in a state of grace, in God’s friendship.(*see the 12th promise below)

“Behold this Heart which has loved mankind so much… and in return, I receive nothing but ingratitude from the greater number through the contempt, the irreverence, the sacrileges and the coldness shown towards Me in the Sacrament of love…”

Just TWO conditions are necessary to fulfill Our Lord’s request: 1. Confession – to ensure one is in a State of Grace.

2. Holy Communion – to receive worthily on nine consecutive First Fridays with the intention of making Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The following First Friday devotions are efficacious in honouring the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: 1. Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

2. Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

3. Litany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The Twelve Promises of The Sacred Heart of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque: 1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.

2. I will give peace in their families.

3. I will console them in all their troubles.

4. I will be their refuge in life, and especially in death.

5. I will abundantly bless all their undertakings.

6. Sinners will find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.

7. Tepid souls will become fervent.

8. Fervent souls will rise speedily to great perfection.

9. I will bless those places where the Image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated.

10. I will give Priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.

11. Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names eternally written in My Heart, never to be blotted out.

12.  In the abundant mercy of My Heart, I promise that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance; they will not die in My displeasure nor without receiving the Sacraments; My Divine Heart shall be their secure refuge in that last hour.

NB*** The Promise is not a substitute for living the Commandments, for carrying out one’s duties in life, from prayer or from the Sacraments.

CLASSIFIEDS Sr Alfreda Lugstein CPS

P

RECIOUS Blood Sister Alfreda Lugstein, who was born on January12, 1933, at Fornach, Vöcklabruck, Upper Austria, died on February 19 in Ixopo in a road accident, travelling with Sr Ruth Mary Galo.

Sr Alfreda was the only child of Maria and Franz Lugstein. Her father was killed during the war in 1944. The traumatic experience of the war and post-war difficulties led Sr Alfreda to seek refuge in God and her Catholic faith.

With a number of her friends she joined the Catholic Youth Movement. She decided to join the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood.

On May 2, 1959 Sr Alfreda became a novice. Seven days later her mother passed away. Former employers and friends of the family

“adopted” her by giving her a home to return to whenever she came for holidays or homeleave.

On May 2, 1960, she made her First Profession and was missioned to South Africa in 1962. She made her Final Profession in 1963.

Sr Alfreda was an all-rounder who could easily adapt to changing circumstances. She was quick in picking up the Zulu language.

Since Sr Alfreda was a good cook, she spent the first 30 years (196292) in various kitchens: monastery, convent, Christ the King Hospital, Sacred Heart Home and Kevelaer mission.

In July 1993 Sr Alfreda was put in charge of the store, gardens and fowl run of Kevelaer mission. Sr Alfreda loved the contact with people. She was able to give comfort to many who entrusted their suffer-

P

In January 1970 she entered the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood in Glen Avent, Eastern Cape, made her first profession in 1973 and her final profession in 1980.

She trained as a dressmaker in 1976. Sr Ruth Mary worked in the sewing room of the convent at Mariannhill and later in the liturgical vestment department. She was also in charge of the sewing room in St Mary’s Hospital and Sacred Heart Home.

Apart from sewing, she was sacristan in St Mary’s Hospital. She did housework and sacristy duties in St Michael’s mission, Mophela mission, and Emaus mission. In 2009 Sr Ruth Mary retired to Sacred Heart Home, Ixopo, where she still helped in the house.

Sr Ruth Mary was a quiet, gen-

IN MEMORIAM

ing to her, especially during the times of the anti-apartheid struggle prior to 1994.

When the sisters were withdrawn from Kevelaer in 1999, Sr Alfreda took charge of the orchard and garden of Sacred Heart Home, Ixopo.

turbance, it is not fear that inspires the Church in its call to safeguard the environment, but respect for the idea that the goods of the earth are destined for all.

Of course, “serious ecological problems call for an effective change of mentality leading to the adoption of new lifestyles” (CSDC 486). This change is the discipline of how we use goods; we fight against the mentality of mere consumption and develop the forms of production that re-

Liturgical Calendar Year A Weekdays Cycle Year 2 Sunday, March 16, Second Sunday of Lent Genesis 12:1-4. Psalm 33:4-5, 18-20, 22, 2 Timothy 1:8-10, Matthew 17:1-9 Monday, March 17 Daniel 9:4-10, Psalm 79:8-9, 11, 13, Luke 6:36-38 Tuesday, March 18 Isaiah 1:10, 16-20, Psalm 50:8-9, 16-17, 21, 23, Matthew 23:1-12 Wednesday, March 19, St Joseph 2 Samuel 7:4-5, 12-14, 16, Psalm 89:2-5, 27, 29, Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22, Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24 or Luke 2:41-51 Thursday, March 20 Jeremiah 17:5-10, Psalm 1:1-4, 6, Luke 16:19-31 Friday, March 21 Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28, Psalm 105:16-21, Mathew 21:33-43, 45-46 Saturday, March 22 Micah 7:14-15, 18-20, Psalm 103:1-4, 9-12, Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 Sunday, March 23, Third Sunday of Lent Exodus 17:3-7, Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9, Romans 5:1-2, 5-8, John 4:5-42 or 4:5-15, 19-26, 39-42

BROOKS–Leslie.

Passed away on March 18, 1997. He will always be remembered by Doreen, family and friends.

KLAASEN—Milton.

March 15, 2007. In loving memory of my beloved husband, father and grandpa. You are always in my thoughts and prayers. Rest in peace.

Elaine, children and grandchildren.

VAN SCHOOR— Marchelle. In loving memory of Marchelle. Always remembered by Lawrence, Machay, Lance and van Schoor family. Our deepest wish would be today to have you back the same old way, to hear your voice, to see your smile, to talk to you just a little while.

May her soul rest in peace.

VOGEL—Mervyn. Sadly killed on March 23, 1996. Those who die in grace go no further than God and God is very near. Lovingly remembered by Mom, Dad, Tracy, Roedi and Family.

PERSONAL

tle, friendly and helpful person who enjoyed her stay in the community of Sacred Heart Home.

To serve the ecology is to serve God Continued from page 7 Creator to the human community, entrusted to the intelligence and moral responsibility of men and women. For this reason the human person does not count an illicit act when, out of respect for the order, beauty and usefulness of individual living beings and their function in the ecosystem, he intervenes by modifying some of their characteristics or properties” (CSDC 473).

While it is true there are alarming effects of ecological dis-

CLASSIFIEDS

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 (R1,37 a word) with small advertisements for promptest publication.

Sr Ruth Mary Galo CPS RECIOUS Blood Sister Ruth Mary Galo died in a car accident on February 19 in Ixopo with Sr Alfreda Lugstein.

Sr Ruth Mary was born as Ntombi Violet Galo, on July 22, 1937 at Mpharane, Matatiele. Her parents, Albert Galo, a preacher, and Magdalena Mlotha, a leader in the Women’s Association, were devout Methodists. She had two sisters and one brother.

Sr Ruth Mary worked with the Holy Cross Sisters in Umtata, then in Durban, and in 1966 she was employed in St Mary’s Hospital, Mariannhill, where she worked in the laboratory. It was during the years in St Mary’s that she became interested in the Catholic faith, received instructions and was baptised by Fr Pius Waldmüller CMM in January 1969.

The Southern Cross, March 12 to March 18, 2014

spect and safeguard creation.

Human beings will show gratitude to God in the manner they use creation, thus, belief in God the Creator is important also for ecology, just as respect for ecology says a lot about our reverence for the creator.

Mahatma Gandhi adds his voice to this vocation of humankind: “What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.”

Word of the Week

CHASUBLE: The liturgical vestment, worn over the alb, as an outer garment by bishops and presbyters/priests. The colour of chasubles follows the liturgical year.

Our bishops’ anniversaries This week we congratulate: March 14: Bishop Stanley Dziuba of Umzimkulu on the fifth anniversary of his episcopal ordination.

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 593. ACROSS: 3 Abominate, 8 Room, 9 Sackcloth, 10 Errant, 11 Prior, 14 Tudor, 15 Nero, 16 Lauds, 18 Numb, 20 Uriah, 21 Erred, 25 Sylvester, 26 Acne, 27 Senseless. DOWN: 1 Argentina, 2 Notre Dame, 4 Brat, 5 Maker, 6 Nelson, 7 Tote, 9 Snarl, 11 Pound, 12 Reminisce, 13 Hotheaded, 17 Sugar, 19 Breves, 22 Easel, 23 Pyre, 24 Fees.

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

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LADY seeks accommodation with a Catholic family in or near Bellville, Cape Town. 079 957 3817.

MATURE lady seeks live-in companion position 071 332 3607.

WEBSITE www.abor tioninstruments.com is the graphic truth that will set you free.

PRAYERS

OH MOST beautiful flower of Mount Carmel fruitful vine, splendour of Heaven, Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. O star of the sea help and show me you are our Mother. Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth, I humbly request from the bottom of my heart, that you succour me in my necessity. No one can withstand your power. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee, x3. Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands x3. Thank you for your mercy towards me and mine x3.

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

ST MICHAEL the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the malice and

NEW FOR 2014 8 to 18 DEC

ST FRANCIS XAVIER PILGRIMAGE TO INDIA

Another unique and spiritual journey. Visiting Delhi, Goa, Chennai, Cochin, Mumbai and to include Our Lady of Velankanni shrine, the Eucharistic Miracle of Chirattakonam; pilgrimage sites such as St Thomas the apostle’s home and shrine.

Organised by Carl Emmanuel and Serge Adande. Spiritual leader Rev Fr Allan Moss.

Cost from R28 057 Tel: (031) 266 7702 Fax: (031) 266 8982 Email: judyeichhorst@telkomsa.net

it is with great sadness that we mourn the passing of

Archbishop Emeritus Lawrence Henry 27 July 1934 - 4 March 2014

past patron of Catholic Welfare and Development (CWD), and also a great friend of the poor.

Grant eternal rest unto him dear Lord and may perpetual light shine on him always.

Remembered with great affection by the Board, Management and Staff of CWD. +RIP

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.

HEAR MY cry, O God, listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. (Psalm 61:1-4).

HAVE MERCY on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

Psalm 51:1-12.

FOR YOU created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139.

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

BALLITO: Up-market penthouse on beach, self-catering, 084 790 6562.

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.

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.

Malcolm Salida 082 784 5675, mjsalida@gmail. com SEDGEFIELD: Beautiful self-catering garden holiday flat, sleeps four, two bedrooms, open-plan lounge, kitchen, fully equipped. 5 min walk to lagoon. Out of season specials. Contact Les or Bernadette 044 343 3242, 082 900 6282.

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The Southern Cross is published independently by the Catholic Newspaper & Publishing Company Ltd. Address: PO Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000. Tel: (021) 465 5007 Fax: (021) 465 3850 www.scross.co.za Editor: Günther Simmermacher (editor@scross.co.za), Business Manager: Pamela Davids (admin@scross.co.za), Advisory Editor: Michael Shackleton, News Editor: Claire Mathieson (c.mathieson@scross.co.za), Editorial: Claire Allen (c.allen@scross.co.za), Mary Leveson (m.leveson@scross.co.za) Advertising: Elizabeth Hutton (advertising@scross.co.za), Subscriptions: Avril Hanslo (subscriptions@scross.co.za), Dispatch: Joan King (dispatch@scross.co.za), Accounts: Desirée Chanquin (accounts@scross.co.za).

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Opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect those of the editor, staff or directors of The Southern Cross.

NOAH OLD AGE HOMES

We can use your old clothing, bric-a-brac, furniture and books for our 2nd hand shop.

Help us to create an avenue to generate much needed funds for our work with the elderly.

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3RD SUNDAY OF LENT: March 23 Readings: Exodus 17:3-7, Psalm 95: 1-2, 69, Romans 5:1-2, 5-8, John 4:5-42

T

HOSE who live in a dry land have a deep grasp of the importance of water. Next Sunday, the first and final readings both remind us of the neuralgia it can cause.

In the first reading, we are astonished witnesses to the complaints of the people of God because “they were thirsty for water”. But see where the thirst has led them: they complain to Moses: “Why did you make us come up out of Egypt?”, forgetting, in their small-minded irritation, that Moses (and God) had done the favour of liberating them from slavery.

As always, God can cope, and so Moses is told to “pass in front of the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel, and carry your staff”.

There is a certain solemnity about this ritual, and the solemnity continues as God instructs Moses to “strike the rock, and water will come out from it, and the people shall drink”. The narrative makes almost nothing of the answer to the people’s prayer; it simply allows us to assume that their thirst was quenched.

The narrator’s interest is much more in what is now the name of the place: “the place was called ‘Testing’ and ‘Litigation’, because of the litigiousness of the children of Israel, and because they put the Lord to the test, asking ‘Is the Lord in our midst or not?’”

Our mood, this Lent, has to be one of grat-

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Living waters quench our thirst Nicholas King SJ

Sunday Reflections

itude to our “Rock” rather than one of complaint.

The word “Rock” comes in next Sunday’s psalm also. Here it is used to refer to God and express God’s reliability. The mood is intense gratitude: “Come, let us make a joyful noise to the Lord”, it begins, “Come in, let us bow down and kneel before the God who made us.”

Then comes the common Old Testament metaphor of God as shepherd: “For he is our God, and we the people of his pasture, and the flock of his hand.”

And, of course, what a shepherd does is precisely to take the flock to water. That is something for us to reflect on this week, and also that Lenten refrain, “Today—if only you would listen to his voice.”

There is no water mentioned in the second reading; instead, here Paul is telling the

Christians in the Rome of his day about their grounds for confidence in God, and that is something to hang onto during Lent: “So since we have been justified as a result of faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

As so often, we are invited to gaze upon God, rather than ourselves, during this Lenten journey. The heart of the matter is what Christ has done for us: “When we were still sick…he died for the ungodly.”

The grounds for confidence are that “God proves his love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died on our behalf”. That is the mood in which we are to continue our pilgrimage to Easter.

In the gospel there is indeed water, and a well, that which “Jacob gave his son Joseph”.

It starts with Jesus “exhausted” and sitting on the well. At this point a woman appears (at the very odd hour of midday; every African knows that you do not come to collect water at that time), and those who know their Old Testament prick up their ears, for they are well aware that in Scripture, when boy meets girl at a well, there is often a betrothal to come.

Jesus asks, perhaps slightly abruptly, “Give me a drink”, which, incidentally he never

The eternal struggle with sex T

HE Church has always struggled with sex, but so has everyone else. There aren’t any cultures—religious or secular, pre-modern or modern, post-modern or post-religious—that exhibit a truly healthy sexual ethos.

Every church and every culture struggles with integrating sexual energy, if not in its creed about sex, at least in the living out of that creed.

Secular culture looks at the Church and accuses it of being uptight and anti-erotic.

Partly this is true, but the Church might well protest that much of its sexual reticence is rooted in the fact that it is one of the few voices still remaining who are challenging anyone towards sexual responsibility.

The Church might also challenge any culture that claims to have found the key to healthy sexuality to step forward and show the evidence. No culture will take up that claim. Everyone is struggling.

Part of that struggle is the seeming innate incompatibility between what the philosopher Charles Taylor calls “sexual fulfilment and piety”, between “squaring our highest aspirations with an integral respect for the full range of human fulfilments”.

Commenting on this in his book, A Secular Age (2007), Taylor suggests that there is a real tension in trying to combine sexual fulfilment with piety, and that this reflects a more general tension between

Conrad

Contact Ian Veary on 021 447 6334 www.noah.org.za

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

human flourishing in general and dedication to God. He adds: “That this tension should be particularly evident in the sexual domain is readily understandable. Intense and profound sexual fulfilment strongly attaches us possessively to what is privately shared. […] It is not for nothing that the early monks and hermits saw sexual renunciation as opening the way to the wider love of God. “Now that there is a tension between fulfilment and piety should not surprise us in a world distorted by sin... but we have to avoid turning this into a constitutive incompatibility.”

How can we avoid doing that? How can we be robustly sexual and fully spiritual at one and the same time?

In a soon-to-be-released book, The Road Is How: A Prairie Pilgrimage Through Nature, Desire and Soul, Trevor Herriot suggests that human fulfilment and dedication to God, sex and holiness, can be brought together in a way that properly respects both of them.

How? Without using the word that is at once so-honoured and so-maligned, he presents us with an image of what chastity means at its true root. Much like Annie Dillard in her book Holy the Firm (1977), Herriot draws a certain concept of chastity out of the rhythms of nature and then presents those rhythms as the paradigm of how we should be relating to nature and to each other.

Herriot writes: “These days, we watch truckloads of grain pass by and sense that something in us and in the earth is harmed when food is grown and consumed with little intimacy, care, and respect. The local and slow food movements are showing us that the way we grow, distribute, prepare, and eat food is important for the health of our body-to-earth exchanges.

“The next step may be to realise that the energy that brings pollen to ovary and grows the grain, once it enters our bodies, also needs to be husbanded. The way we respond to our desire to merge, connect, and be fruitful—stirrings felt so deeply, but often so shallowly expressed—determines the quality of our body-to-body exchanges.”

He continues: “In a world bathed in industrial and impersonal sex, where real connection and tenderness are rare, will we sense also that something in us and in the earth is being harmed from the same absence of intimacy, care, and respect?

“We are discovering that we must steward the energies captured by nature, and thereby improve the ways we receive the fruits of the earth, but we struggle to see the primary responsibility we bear for the small but cumulatively significant explosions of energy we access and transmit as we respond to our own longings to connect, merge, and be fruitful.

“Learning how to steward the way we bear fruit ourselves as spiritual/sexual beings with a full set of animal desires and angelic ambitions may be more important to the human journey than we fully understand.”

Chastity, as imagined by Charles Taylor, Annie Dillard, and Trevor Herriot, has always been the one thing that properly protects sex, the white dress adorning the bride, the means of squaring our highest aspirations with an integral respect for the full range of human fulfilments, and, not least, the trusted guideline for how we can access and transmit our sexual energy with intimacy, care, and respect. n Trevor Herriot’s The Road Is How will be published on April 22.

gets. Instead we find ourselves privileged eavesdroppers on a conversation that moves from drinking water to “living water”, and then to the question of who Jesus is: “Are you, can you be, greater than our ancestor Jacob?” (The answer is of course a loud “Yes”, though the woman has not got there yet).

Then it moves to “never being thirsty again”, and the woman is now asking Jesus for this water. After that we are allowed to overhear Jesus pointing to the domestic disarray of her private life, which in turn takes her deeper into the mystery: “Lord, I see that you are a prophet”.

That emboldens her to ask a question about where worship should take place, which takes us into some very deep territory.

As a result, the woman is brought to identify Jesus as “Messiah”, and then we get some unsympathetic responses from the disciples and from the Samaritans.

But something has happened to the woman, for she has abandoned her bucket, and a water-carrier has suddenly turned into an apostle, which leaves her compatriots, but not, apparently, Jesus’ disciples, affirming that “This one is truly the Saviour of the World”.

It is amazing what thirst can do.

Southern Crossword #593

ACROSS 3. Amoeba tin you will detest (9) 8. They went to the upper... where they were staying (Ac1) (4) 9. Penitential fabric (9) 10. Kind of knight who strayed? (6) 11. Earlier religious superior (5) 14. Henry VIII’s house (5) 15. One Roman in here was a persecutor (4) 16. Praises morning prayer (5) 18. Sensationless (4) 20. Bathsheba was his wife (2 Sm 11) (5) 21. Wandered from the truth (5) 24. Place of the Marian shrine (6) 25. Fourth century saintly pope (9) 26. Skin condition from the cane (4) 27. Stupid word for 18 ac?

(9)

DOWN 1. Pope’s land of birth (9) 2. Paris cathedral (5,4) 4. Badly behaved child (4) 5. Cause of existence (5) 6. Mandela the admiral? (6) 7. A betting system to carry (4) 9. Entangle with a growl (5) 11. Bash a unit of weight (5) 12. Nice miser to call to mind (9) 13. Quick-tempered (9) 17. Sweet from the beet (5) 19. Musical notes in sombre vestments (6) 22. Artist’s support (5) 23. Heap for body-burning (4) 24. Pay them for services (4) Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

A

SUNDAY School teacher asked her class why Joseph and Mary took Jesus with them to Jerusalem. A small child replied: “They couldn’t get a babysitter.”

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