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The

S outhern C ross

July 16 to July 22, 2014

Director of new exorcism film interviewed

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Reg No. 1920/002058/06

No 4882

www.scross.co.za

No holiday for a cruise chaplain at sea

R7,00 (incl VAT RSA)

Lead by Facebook? Yes, we can

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Home’s future in danger after nun’s murder BY STUART GRAHAM

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HOME for orphaned children started by murdered nun Sister Mary Paul Tacke in Mthatha is fighting for its survival amidst doubts over whether foreign donors will pull their funding. Rose Kasumbi, the acting director of the Bethany Children's Home, said Sr Tacke, 82, had secured “credit” for the work that was done at the project. “We only have 50% of the funds we need. The rest we have to find,” Mrs Kasumbi said. “Sr Mary Paul played a role in getting those funds for us. Without those funds we are as good as dead.” Mrs Kasumbi said many of the aid agencies that gave money to Bethany, which cares for 71 small children, are based “far away”. “If Sr Mary Paul had died a normal death it would have affected us anyway. But the manner in which she died affects the credibility of the whole region. Emotions are high and we are worried that our donors will pull funding,” she said. “NGOs will suffer the most. The future is not really looking good for us. We are trying to create awareness and there is money in South Africa, but people seem not to be aware of what we do and what we need.” The home does not need luxury, Mrs Kasumbi said. “Even a piece of bread can go a long way. But it takes time to build a substantial circle of friends.” Mrs Kasumbi said donors had phoned regularly to ask how Sr Tacke’s death had affected the home.

“We tell them our concern and that we need help. We have 71 children here who need home care. They are aged from 0 to sixyears old. It is a high-risk age group. These children can die so easily.” Asiphe Ndikinda, 26, and Masixoli Mdlebe, 21, allegedly hijacked and murdered Sr Tacke outside the Thembelihle orphanage in Mthatha, which she founded to help children aged 8-16, on June 15. The nun’s body was found in Nangeni, in a small stream in the veld, the following day. Police spokesman Mzukisi Fatyela said the court heard that the two men had previous convictions, one for housebreaking and one for possessing an unlicensed firearm. The men have not yet been asked to plead to murder and hijacking charges. The case was postponed to July 21. Mrs Kasumbi said NGOs in the area had united after Sr Tacke’s death and had been gathering outside the court during the court case so that they could “make their voices heard”. “We have signed a petition asking for a speedy process,” she said. “These two criminals are little boys; they are children.” Messages of support had been pouring into the home since Sr Tacke’s death, but agencies that provided volunteers to the home had also expressed concern over security. “This is a serious concern in terms of security. Maybe when people calm down things will return to normal.” Mthatha, she said, is as safe as anywhere else in South Africa.

Footballer wants to adopt abandoned baby BY STAFF REPORTER

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PROFESSIONAL Italian footballer, Antonio Floro Flores, has decided to adopt a baby named after Pope Francis after finding out the newly born was found abandoned on a train. The conductor of the train found the baby in the last carriage of the train under the seat, wrapped in a shawl and pyjama top in a shopping bag. He was placed in a plastic bag with his umbilical cord still attached to him. Staff at Moscati hospital in Avellino named the baby Francesco after the Holy Father. Doc-

tors found Francesco to be in good health. They believed that Francesco had been breastfed. After hearing about Francesco sad story, US Sassuolo forward Flores and his wife Michela Flores announced on Twitter that they will adopt the baby, already being parents to three children. “After seeing little Francesco, we followed what our heart dictated. I am a father before being a football player, but certainly not a hero.” Flores and his wife are working together with authorities to adopt Francesco according to Italy’s governing procedures.

Fr Justin Wylie of Johannesburg during his time at the Holy See’s Permanent Observer Mission at the United Nations. An alumnus of St Benedict’s College in Bedfordview, Fr Wylie was the first South African admitted to Rome’s prestigious Almo Capranica College, graduated summa cum laude with degrees in philosophy, theology and canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University. This follows three earlier degrees in law and a promising career as an advocate of the High Court and the War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague. After his ordination in 2009, Fr Wylie was seconded for three years to the Holy See Mission at the United Nations in New York City, where he served as chief negotiator and also assisted in several parishes of the archdiocese of New York.

Ex-UN mission priest responds STAFF REPORTER

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N response to last week’s report “SA priest recalled after row with US archdiocese”, Fr Justin Wylie of Johannesburg has sent a letter to The Southern Cross clarifying and refuting claims in the article, which was largely based on a report in the New York Times. Fr Wylie wrote: “You reported last week that I was dismissed from the service of the Holy See after the archdiocese of New York took punitive measures against me for preaching contrary to its consolidation of parishes. [It is] a most curious story. “Only, Sir, I have never preached thus, nor has any such measure ever been taken against me. On the contrary, I received, for the very homily to which you refer, a letter of commendation from Bishop-elect John O’Hara, the archdiocesan official responsible for pastoral planning in New York,” Fr Wylie wrote. “I make my way home now to Johannesburg in the quite ordinary course of events, having faithfully concluded my three-year contract with the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations (from July 2011 to June 2014). No protest. No dismissal. No recall. Just a smear—even a decoy—into which you appear foolishly to have fallen. You are not the first,” he wrote.

“What an embarrassment—so easily avoided!—that our national Catholic newspaper should peddle such falsehoods about one of its own priests without first consulting him to verify simple facts,” he wrote. Günther Simmermacher, editor of The Southern Cross, responded: “Our editorial office tried repeatedly to reach the archdiocese of Johannesburg to seek clarity on the story, which had also been covered by a multitude of blogs, which claimed to be sympathetic to Fr Wylie. The urgency of our need to get in touch with archdiocesan officials was ignored, and our request for cell numbers to obtain comment was rejected.” The Southern Cross has since received supporting documentation which suggest that the New York Times report was incomplete and coverage on certain blogs was misleading. Mr Simmermacher said he and news editor Stuart Graham had been in contact with Fr Wylie following the publication of the article. “Discussions have been very amicable. It is understood that we published our report in good faith. We are obviously distressed that its content was incomplete, and therefore might have compromised Fr Wylie’s reputation, which certainly was not our intention,” Mr Simmermacher said.

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