The
S outhern C ross
November 19 to November 25, 2014
Reg no. 1920/002058/06
no 4900
www.scross.co.za
The key to understanding Pope Francis
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R7,00 (incl VAT RSA)
Fr Rolheiser: How to defeat the devil
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The Catholic spirit of Paris
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Bishops: Accept teaching on women priests By STUART GRAHAM
T each year on november 11, the school community of St Henry’s Marist College in durban gathers in the quad at the Memorial Bell Tower to remember the 18 young men from the college who gave their lives in the Second World War, and the Marist Brothers who have taught generations of Marist pupils and who have since died. This year, special mention was made of 2nd Lieutenant dennis Chambers (Class of ‘33) who served in Burma in Queen Alexandra’s own Gurkha Rifles and was killed in action in 1943. History master Gary Brits was suitably dressed in WW2 military uniform and wearing the belt of another St Henry’s student, Cecil Boyd, who died in action in italy in 1945. Here Mr Brits shows Lt Chambers’ Gurkha Rifles’ sword to Grade 8 pupils Sydney van Voorst and Tyrese Pillay. Grade 8 classes have been studying this period in history and a number came to the service dressed as members of one or other of the armed forces.
Pope: Clergy don’t know everything By Cindy Wooden
P
OPE Francis has said that the Church’s ministers—bishops, priests and deacons—must be aware of how merciful and compassionate God has been with them, because such honesty makes them “humble and understanding of others”. Recognising that his call “flows only from God’s mercy and God’s heart” ensures that a minister “will never assume an authoritarian attitude, as if everyone were placed at his feet and as if the community were his property or personal kingdom,” Pope Francis said. “One does not become a bishop, priest or deacon because he is more intelligent or better than others,” the pope said, “but only because of a gift: God’s gift of love poured out by the power of the Holy Spirit for the good of his people,” the pope said at a general audience in the Vatican. “Woe to a bishop, priest or deacon who thinks he knows everything, who thinks he always has the right answer to every ques-
tion and thinks he does not need anyone,” the pope said. While bishops and priests are called to “courageously safeguard” and share the teachings of the Church, they also must recognise that they “always have something to learn, even from those who may still be far from the faith and from the Church”. By working together, supporting one another and examining questions together, the Church’s ministers will demonstrate “a new attitude, one marked by sharing, co-responsibility and communion.” Quoting St Paul’s letters to Timothy and to Titus, Pope Francis outlined the human qualities a minister must have: “Acceptance, moderation, patience, meekness, trustworthiness and goodness of heart.” Those human qualities, he said, help the Church’s ministers go out to meet others with the attitude of respect necessary for offering “a service and a witness that is truly joyful and credible”.—CNS
HE Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference has warned against supporting women priests, saying it is “contrary”to the teaching of the Church to offer or create platforms where conversations are held with women who claim to have been ordained. In a tersely worded pastoral statement, SACBC president Archbishop Stephen Brislin emphasised that the ordination of women to the priesthood “is not recognised in the Catholic Church”. “The Catholic faithful are required to give ‘a religious submission of mind’ to the definitive teaching of the Supreme Pontiff who exercises his teaching authority by virtue of being the lawful successor of the Apostle Peter,” Archbishop Brislin said. “The faithful are expected to avoid whatever does not accord with the teaching of the Catholic Church regarding the ordination of women.” The pastoral statement comes after the ordination of Dr Mary Ryan, 60, in Hermanus in late September. The Catholic Church regards the ordination illicit and invalid. By that act, Dr Ryan and those who presided at the ordination are considered automatically excommunicated, latae sententiae. Dr Ryan, a mother of four, was ordained by Patricia Fresen, a former Dominican nun who was expelled by her order after being ordained a priest in Barcelona in 2003. Archbishop Brislin said Pope John Paul II issued a definitive pronouncement on the question of admitting women to the priestly ministry in his apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis (“On Priestly Ordination”) in 1994. In it, Pope John Paul II declared that “the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and this judgement is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful”. The SACBC statement pointed out that Pope Francis had stated in his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (“The Joy of the Gospel”) that “the reservation of the priesthood to males as a sign of Christ the Spouse who gives himself in the Eucharist is not a question open to discussion”.
Southern Cross & Radio Veritas Pilgrimage Phone Gail at 076 352 3809 or 021 551 3923 or e-mail info@fowlertours.co.za fowlertours.co.za
THE SAINTS OF ITALY Led by Fr EMIL BLASER OP
Rome, Assisi, Florence, Padua, Milan, Venice and more
6 - 18 September 2015
Rome WITH PAPAL AUDIENCE | Assisi | Venice | Padua | Florence | Milan | Cascia (St Rita) | Siena (St Catherine) | Norcia (St Benedict) | Birthplace of St John XXIII
“Catholic women who accept to be ordained to the priesthood separate themselves from the Church and the sacraments,” the statement said. “It is therefore contrary to the spirit of the Catholic Church to be involved in the promotion of the ordination of women to the priestly ministry.” The archbishop added that it is “contrary to the teaching of the Church” to offer or create platforms where conversations are held with women who claim to have been ordained. “It is wrong for Catholics to participate in the invalid celebration of the ‘Eucharist’ offered by individual women who do not recognise the teaching authority of the Church and who have consequently separated themselves from the Catholic Church,” his statement said. “It is equally inconsistent to use Catholic premises and the Catholic media to undermine the authoritative teaching of the magisterium of the Catholic Church.” He said Catholics who align themselves with the cause and promote the ordination of women are seen by the Church authorities to be “in open defiance” of the Church’s “clear and unambiguous teaching on the subject”. “These Catholics are undoubtedly on a collision course with the Church’s authority and can under no circumstances claim ignorance of the Church’s definitive teaching,” the bishops’ statement said. “As your pastors we urge all Catholics to ‘keep to what is taught and know to be true’,” the statement said, adding that it is important that Catholics don’t allow themselves to be “tossed one way and another and carried along by every wind of doctrine”. The statement said that, together with Pope Francis, the bishops believe that there are many important ways of promoting women in the Church. This month Spanish Claretian Father Pablo d’Ors, a consultant to the Pontifical Council for Culture, was quoted as saying that he was “absolutely” in favour of opening up the priesthood to women. Fr d’Ors told Italian daily La Repubblica: “Am I in favour [of the ordination of women]? Absolutely, and I am not the only one. The Continued on page 5