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July 8 to July 14, 2015

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Jubilee Year for icon of Our Lady launched in SA

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No 4932

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Was Boys Town founder priest a saint?

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How deacons have grown in 50 years Page 9

Bishop: Fix things or there could be another Marikana

BY STUART GRAHAM

T Pope Francis chats with retired Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican before the pope emeritus left for the papal summer residence at Gastel Gandolfo. (Photo: L’Osservatore Romano)

Three dioceses ordain three priests in one day A

BY DYLAN APPOLIS

N ordination here, an ordination there, an ordination elsewhere—and all in one day as three young men stepped up to pledge their lives to the Catholic priesthood.

It was a very special day for Frs John-Paul Mathebula of Pretoria, Thabiso Nkosingiphile Masinga OSM of Ingwavuma in KwaZuluNatal and Lebogang Seane of Kimberley as they took holy orders.

The vicariate of Ingwavuma has now seen five new priests ordained in the last five years.

All of them were born in the Ingwavuma area, which borders Mozambique and Swaziland.

There are currently another seven seminarians, all born there. Three of them are studying for the diocesan priesthood; the others are, like newly-ordained Fr Masinga, Servants of Mary.

Servants of Mary provincial Fr John Fontana OSM came from the United States for Fr Masinga’s ordination.

In Kimberley, Radio Veritas broadcast the ordination of Fr Seane by Bishop Abel Gabuza in his parish church, St Peter the Apostle in Vergenoeg.

Although St Peter’s is currently undergoing renovations, “Fr Lebogang, like every other

For further info or to book contact Michael or Gail at 076 352 3809 or 021 551 3923 info@fowlertours.co.za www.fowlertours.co.za/ poland-2016/

Newly ordained Fathers Seane, Masinga and Mathebula. priest in the diocese of Kimberley, wanted to be ordained in his own church,” parish priest Fr Andrew Kaggwa Nnyanzi told The Southern Cross.

He said that Bishop Gabuza was present along with every priest from the diocese of Kimberly, as well as clergy from the diocese of Klerksdorp.

“It was a wonderful celebration and it was an honour to be there for Fr Seane’s ordination,” Fr Nnyanzi said.

Fr Mathebula was also ordained in his parish church, St Thomas More in Monavoni.

Parish priest Fr Robert Mphiwe encouraged the new priest: “May the Bread of Life continue to strengthen you, John Paul, in this wonderful vocation.”

HE healing process for the families of the miners shot dead by the police near the Marikana Lonmin mine in Rustenburg in 2012 would have been “strengthened” if a judicial report into the incident contained an acknowledgement of wrongdoing and formal apologies by those involved in the killings, the Justice & Peace Commission has said.

J&P coordinator Fr Stan Muyebe OP told The Southern Cross that clear efforts to address “structural realities” that set a scene for the violent strike are sadly absent from the report by the Farlam Commission into the August 2012 shootings in which a total of 47 people died, most after being shot by police.

The report was released by President Jacob Zuma in late June.

“Three restorative justice outcomes would have strengthened the healing process for the families—compensation for families, acknowledgement of wrongdoing and formal apologies by Lonmin, the government and the individuals involved in any of the killings,” Fr Muyebe said.

“It is sad to see that these three elements are absent both in the Marikana report and in the government's commitment to address the Marikana,” the Dominican noted.

Commission chairman Bishop Abel Gabuza said in a statement that the structural conditions which set the scene for the violent strike and massacre remain in the mining industry.

The widening wage gap between workers and executives, the poor working and living conditions of miners, the corporate manipulation of the rivalries between trade unions, as well as weak and over-centralised bargaining forums for labour disputes continue to constrain the rights of workers, the statement said.

Bishop Gabuza said the lack of an effective mechanism to ensure that the workers are “free to exercise their right not to participate in a strike” is also missing from the report.

“Still present too are the ineffectiveness of social and labour plans as a mechanism to uplift the lives of mine workers and mine-affected communities, and a rising sense of disenfranchisement in the country as a tooth-

St John Paul II Pilgrimage to Poland Southern Cross

Flashback: Paramedics carry an injured man after protesting miners were shot at Marikana in 2012. The bishops’ conference has warned that problem areas must be addressed.

(Photo: Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters/CNS) less mining charter allows the politically connected few to benefit from mineral wealth at the expense of the mine workers and the mine-affected communities,” he said.

“If these structural issues are not adequately addressed, we shall soon have another Marikana. As a country, if we continue to pursue a brand of mining economy that puts profit before people, we shall have another Marikana.”

In the report for the commission of inquiry into the massacre, President Jacob Zuma tasked the Department of Mineral Resources with taking steps to ensure that Lonmin mine “implements its housing obligations” under the social and labour plans.

Bishop Gabuza called on the department to “go beyond” this recommendation and look at the whole set of structural conditions that set the scene for the violent strike and the massacre.

J&P, the bishop said, has reached out in prayer and solidarity with the families of those who lost their loved ones during and after the massacre.

“Our hearts are with the families who lost their loved ones and are struggling to find healing and closure as they try to make sense of the findings of the Marikana Report. There is also a need for the healing of the whole country from the culture of structural violence.”

A journey to the places of St John Paul II’s life and devotions, led by a Bishop who knows Poland intimately.

Led by Bishop Stan Dziuba 13 - 21 May 2016

Kraków | Wadowice (on St John Paul II’s birthday) | Black Madonna of Częstochowa | Niepokalanów (St Maxmilan Kolbe) | Divine Mercy Sanctuary | Warsaw | Kalwaria Zebrzydowska (with miraculous icon) | Zakopane | Wieliczka Salt Mine (with Mass!)

2

The Southern Cross, July 8 to July 14, 2015

LOCAL

Call for development partnerships

BY DOUGLAS IRVINE

A

T the heart of all development debates and programmes we need real partnerships between equals, based on ethical choices and mutual respect, according to Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg.

Partnerships must begin by listening to people who are poor, oppressed or marginalised, and must put into practice the principle of subsidiarity articulated in Catholic social teaching—what can be done at the “lower level” must not be done or blocked by those higher up, Bishop Dowling told the first annual lecture of We Are All Church SA (WAACSA) in Johannesburg.

The topic of his address, “From South to North: Lessons for the Church from the Developing World”, was suggested by British

Catholic journal The Tablet for his lecture at Westminster Cathedral Hall in London last year, reflecting on the divide between the developed and the developing world, the excluded and the included.

Bishop Dowling said he chose the same title for the WAACSA lecture because it is equally relevant for us in South Africa, where First and Third Worlds exist side by side.

In God’s eyes, he said, “there should be not a world of north and south, or a developed and underdeveloped or developing world in South Africa or anywhere else, but one world entrusted to all of us by God—who is to be seen in all things, and all things in God”.

This requires us to commit ourselves to what we can try to do together to transform all that threatens the planet and its people, Bishop Dowling said.

He noted that in Caritas in Veritate Pope Benedict XVI had emphasised the importance of human agency. Development programmes must not be top down. People who benefit from them ought to be directly involved in their planning and implementation.

Pope Francis has articulated “a shift in the way ‘Church’ can and should be understood theologically, but above all how it should be experienced in its praxis”, the bishop said.

“For all of us, this requires an inner conversion, to be renewed again and again,” Bishop Dowling said.

He recalled that his own inner conversion began after his return from seminary studies in England, when as a young priest he was posted to three impoverished communities on the Cape Flats.

This developed further in different contexts: when he was a member of the Redemptorists’ international leadership team, taking him to many parts of the world; in his appointment as bishop of Rustenburg in 1990, with four years under the Bophuthatswana regime (when he was threatened, shot at, his church damaged by a powerful bomb); and later in responding to the suffering and impoverishment of people in his diocese, especially women, girls and orphans afflicted

by HIV/Aids.

It developed further in his international peace and justice engagements—in South Sudan, as chair of the Sudan Ecumenical Forum, and for the past six years as co-president of the peace organisation Pax Christi.

The lecture was recorded by Radio Veritas and will be made available when it is edited.

Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg delivered the first annual lecture of We Are All Church SA.

AU strong on change plans but weak on commitment

BY STAFF REPORTER

T

Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town presided at the solemn Mass at Mater Dolorosa church in Kensington South, Johannesburg, to mark the 40th anniversary of the death of Opus Dei founder St Josemaría Escrivá. In his homily, the archbishop emphasised the need for Catholics to spread the message of hope in our society.

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HE African Union assembly held in Johannesburg might have been “overshadowed” by the presence of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir but was also marked by “highly amusing” insults hurled by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and pleas to end gender violence by Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie.

Fr Sean O’Leary MAfr, the former director of the Denis Hurley Peace Institute (DHPI), who attended the event as an observer, said it was tragic that the controversy about the non-arrest of al-Bashir dominated the event.

He said that as an observer he could “roam freely” during intervals and greet “whomever one wanted”, including President al-Bashir.

“I met both President Bashir, who was most pleasant, and President Salva Kirr from South Sudan,” said Fr O’Leary, who as head of the DHPI was regularly engaged with the issue of the secession of South Sudan from the Muslim-dominated Sudan.

The opening ceremony was “a lavish affair” that curtailed speakers to seven minutes of opening remarks.

This, however, did not stop AU president Robert Mugabe from speaking for more than an hour.

“President Mugabe was highly amusing as he hurled insults at leaders across the globe,” Fr O’Leary said.

“Few were spared his wrath and no one dared try to stop him talking.”

Fr O’Leary said there is no doubt that the rhetoric at the summit was “impressive” and “music to the ears” for all those who wanted to see fundamental change in Africa.

What was missing, however, was “a plan of action and a commitment to see it implemented,” he said.

One could see that there was a “concerted effort” to place the “gender issue” at the heart of the assembly with the actress and UN Special Envoy Ms Jolie giving a passionate plea for an end to gender-based violence.

There was also a call to put in place a plan to silence all guns on the African continent by 2020.

This goes hand-in-hand with attempts to get more control over scarce national resources, often seen as the cause of many of the conflicts in Africa, Fr O’Leary noted.

There is also what he called an “impressive socio-economic plan” to improve the lives of all Africans, known as “Agenda 2063”, to mark the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity, which preceded the AU. Fr O’Leary said there were “passionate pleas” for the AU to become self-reliant and not to be dependent on foreign donors who often wanted to “set their own agenda for Africa”.

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A donation of R1000 will sponsor 50 copies of The Southern Cross for a Month of Sundays, helping us to reach out to township and rural parishes unfamiliar with the paper. Let’s share our stories with one another and build One Church.

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The Southern Cross, July 8 to July 14, 2015

LOCAL

3

Church: consumerism Make your Mandela mark adds to energy crisis L

BY DYLAN APPOLIS

BY STUART GRAHAM

T

HE desire for “unlimited economic growth” and a “spirit of consumerism”, and not only a shortage of energy infrastructure are behind South Africa’s energy crisis, according to the Justice and Peace Commission (J&P) of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

J&P coordinator Fr Stan Muyebe OP said people often forget that addressing energy shortages requires a change in lifestyle and consuming less energy.

“There is an assumption that the energy crisis in the country will be addressed solely by building more energy infrastructure and producing more energy,” Fr Muyebe told The Southern Cross.

“We forget that addressing energy shortages also requires that we change our lifestyle and consume less energy.”

He said that “the energy crisis is, in some way, a result of our spirit of consumerism and our belief in unlimited economic growth—the two elements that Pope Francis criticised in his recent encyclical on climate change, Laudato Si’.”

Fr Muyebe said J&P was “glad” that the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) had exhibited its independence by rejecting an Eskom application for a 25,3% hike in electricity prices.

Instead the regulator ruled that the electricity price may increase by 12.69%. “The Eskom crisis is a sad and complex reality for the country,” Fr Muyebe said.

“It should, however, not be resolved in a manner that pushes more and more people into extreme poverty. A 25,3% price hike would have taken the country towards such an outcome.”

Fr Muyebe said there is a need to emphasise ecological conversion as a vital element in addressing the current energy crisis.

The government, he said, has not done enough to mobilise energy efficiency.

I

n a statement signed by its chairman, Bishop Abel Gabuza of Kimberley, J&P called for the poor to be protected from further electricity price hikes.

He noted that the poor are often the hardest hit by electricity price increases, which cause rising prices of food and other essential products “that are used by the poor as the firms pass on their electricity price increases to consumers”.

Bishop Gabuza pointed out that the Reserve Bank’s Consumer Price Index forecast had been revised to a significantly higher inflation rate of 3,8% to 4,8%, with 2016 forecast at 5,9% due to fuel increases, the maize

price spike and the possibility of electricity tariff increases.

Steep electricity price increases will most likely slow economic growth and increase unemployment levels.

“In the current slow economic environment, the sudden increases in electricity pricing will likely dissuade investment and expansion, especially in such energy-intensive industries as agriculture, mining and manufacturing,” the J&P statement said.

The current crisis of Eskom, it said, is largely the result of poor management and a cumulative lack of political will to address the crisis.

“The secret pricing deals between Eskom and the smelters, the payment of huge bonuses to Eskom executives and the payment of dividends of R9,2 billion to government—as declared in Eskom’s six-month financial statements from 2014—are all indications of this poor management which urgently needs to be addressed,” J&P said.

“Among other things, the government should set up a national electricity crisis council, made up of a broad spectrum of stakeholders that includes civil society and trade unions, and empowered to develop a propoor turnaround plan for Eskom and oversee its implementation.”

New leadership for Cedara

BY DYLAN APPOLIS

O

BLATE Father Neil Frank will take office as the new president of St Joseph’s Theological Institute (SJTI) in Cedara, near Pietermaritzburg, when the term of Fr Sylvester David OMI expires on September 3.

Fr Frank, the current vice-president, also lectures in the department of philosophy.

With Fr Frank’s appointment, the institute will have a new president and grand chancellor, following the appointment of Archbishop Buti Tlhagale OMI of Johannesburg in January as grand chancellor, succeeding Fr Stuart Bate OMI. Fr Vusumuzi Mazibuko OMI continues to serve as chairman.

St Joseph’s, which is owned by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, provides training for many aspiring priests belonging to various religious congregations. It also trains students for the non-ordained ministry. The institute has more than 200 students and 40 staff members.

Fr Frank said “it is a privilege and honour” to succeed Fr David.

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Fr Neil Frank will become the new president of Cedara once Fr Sylvester David OMI ends his term on September 3.

A former student of SJTI himself, he noted that it was a special honour to be appointed in the year of the 25th anniversary of the institute.

“It is my hope to ensure that the growth curve continues its upward direction with the cooperation of the many stakeholders,” he said.

“The responsibility entrusted

to me can make me feel very anxious,” Fr Frank said. “Two things give me much confidence.

“First, we have many talented people who are experts in their fields, with an increasing number of PhDs among our members of staff, who are committed to their academic ministry and who love the Church. They have the desire to see the institute improve in the delivery of its undergraduate programmes, expand its base of disciplines, and seek accreditation for postgraduate degrees.”

Secondly, “I accept the obedience given to me by my superiors as a man of faith. This work—the formation of priests in particular, and the Christian ministry of education in general—must always engage with and be challenged by the society in which we live and for whose salvation we strive,” said Fr Frank.

He is a fourth-generation South African and rejoices in his African identity.

Fr Frank, who has an MSc in physics, was recently appointed to the planning committee for a conference on the science-faith debate to be held in Lyon, France, in 2016.

Congratulations

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ITTLE Eden in Edenvale, Johannesburg, is calling on people to spend their 67 minutes of service for Mandela Day on July 17 by contributing physically or financially towards its work.

This year, Little Eden is giving visitors an opportunity to make their mark, literally—with their hand-print on a canvas which will later be displayed at the facility as a reminder of Mandela Day 2015, said Nichollette Muthige, communication officer for Little Eden.

She suggested that those who would like to aid the home for the in-

tellectually disabled but can’t physically attend the Mandela Day event make a donation that is symbolic of the day: R67 or R670 or R6 700, every minute which is dedicated to Mandela Day volunteering “Those who wish to bring a gift for the residents on the day are welcome to do so,” Ms Muthige said. “Some of the items we urgently need include towelling nappies, winter pyjamas from age 8 years to adults’ size large, and cross trainer shoes sizes 5-8.”

Visiting hours on July 17 are between 9:00 and 15:00. n For more information 011 609 7246 marketing@littleeden.org.za

Reds launch jubilee for icon of Our Lady STAFF REPORTER

T

HE Redemptorist churches in South Africa have launched a jubilee year to mark the gift of the icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help to the Redemptorist Congregation 150 years ago.

On December 11, 1865, Pope Pius IX gave the icon to the Redemptorist Congregation with the words: “Make her known to the whole world.”

And 150 years later, this sacred icon is one of the best known in the world.

“Not only have the Redemptorists made the icon known but, we believe, Mary had made the Redemptorists known throughout the world,” said Fr Sean Wales, regional provincial of the Redemptorists.

“On receiving the icon in 1865, the Redemptorists immediately set about having it restored and it was publically installed in the church of San Alfonso, at the mother-house of the Redemptorists in Rome, in 1866,” Fr Wales explained. The jubilee year will therefore run from 2015-16.

In Cape Town the Redemptorist parishes of St Mary’s in Retreat and Holy Redeemer in Bergvliet held a triduum of prayer to inaugurate the jubilee.

Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town opened the triduum in Bergvliet with Holy Mass at which the Schola Cantorum from St Mary’s sang.

Throughout the jubilee year there will be special events in connection

A copy of the icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help is displayed in the church of the Holy Redeemer in Bergvliet, Cape Town. (Photo: Redemptorist Congregation) with the holy “icon of love”.

“This jubilee invites all us to a contemplative attitude to life which must find expression in our love and care for those in greatest need. Praying with the icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help prompts us to be a help to others in their journey of faith and hope,” Fr Wales said.

“May this jubilee year, which coincides in large part with the Year of Mercy, help us to proclaim by words and deeds the joy of the Gospel which brings abundant redemption to all,” Fr Wales added.

NOW WITH A DAY IN PARIS!

4

The Southern Cross, July 8 to July 14, 2015

INTERNATIONAL

Vatican signs two-state solution agreement

BY LAURA IERACI

T

HE Holy See and Palestine have signed a historic agreement that supports a twostate solution to the ongoing conflict in the Holy Land, based on the 1967 borders between Israel and Palestine.

The two parties signed the “Comprehensive Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Palestine” at the Vatican. The accord, which includes a preamble and 32 articles, focuses mostly on the status and activity of the Catholic Church in Palestine. It assures the Church “juridical recognition” and “guarantees” for its work and institutions in Palestine.

The second chapter of the agreement focuses entirely on freedom of religion and conscience and includes the right to worship and practise one’s faith, as well as the rights of Christian parents to give their children religious education, of Christians to take holy days off work, and of military personnel to have access to pastoral care.

The preamble recognises the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, the importance of Jerusalem and its sacred character for Jews, Christians and Muslims, and the objective of a two-state solution.

At the signing ceremony, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states, said he hoped the agreement would provide a “stimulus” for a “definitive end to the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict”.

“I also hope the much-desired two-state solution may become a reality as soon as possible,” the archbishop said. He said the peace process could only move forward if it were “negotiated between the parties”, along with the support of the international community.

I

n his address, Palestine Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki underlined that the agreement supports the two-state solution based on Israel and Palestine’s 1967 borders.

He said the agreement includes “new and unprecedented provisions related to the special status of Palestine as the birthplace of

Bls Louis and Marie Zélie Guérin Martin, the parents of St Thérèse of Lisieux will be canonised at the Vatican on October 18, during the Synod of Bishops on the family. (Photo: Courtesy of Sanctuary of Lisieux/CNS)

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, (right), secretary for relations with states within the Holy See’s Secretariat of State, and Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki shake hands during a meeting at the Vatican.

(Photo: L'Osservatore Romano via Reuters/CNS) Christianity” and cradle of monotheistic religions.

The agreement comes at a time of “extremism, barbaric violence and ignorance” in the Middle East, noted Mr al-Malki, adding that Palestine was committed to combat extremism and to promote tolerance, human rights and religious freedom. The latter are values that “reflect the beliefs and aspirations of the Palestinian people”, he said.

Archbishop Gallagher said the agreement was a “good example of dialogue and cooperation,” which he said he hopes can “serve as a model for other Arab and Muslimmajority countries”.

The “Comprehensive Agreement” follows up on the “Basic Agreement”, signed in 2000, between the Holy See and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation and was the result of years-long bilateral negotiations.

“For the first time, the agreement includes an official recognition by the Holy See of Palestine as a state”, noted Mr al-Malki in his speech.

Passionist Father Ciro Benedettini, a Vatican spokesman, said the agreement is not the first time the Vatican has recognised Palestine as a state.

Without fanfare, the Vatican has been referring to the “State of Palestine” at least since January 2013. The Annuario Pontificio, the Vatican’s official yearbook, lists a diplomatic relationship with the “State of Palestine”. srael issued sharp disapproval of the new agreement.

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement, regretted the Holy See’s recognition of Palestine as a state, calling it a “hasty step” that “damages the prospects for advancing a peace agreement, and harms the international effort to convince” Palestine “to return to direct negotiations with Israel”.

The ministry also expressed regret for the “one-sided texts in the agreement which ignore the historic rights of the Jewish people in the land of Israel and to the places holy to Judaism in Jerusalem”.

“Israel cannot accept the unilateral determinations in the agreement which do not take into account Israel’s essential interests and the special historic status of the Jewish people in Jerusalem,” the statement said. The ministry said it would study the agreement and “its implications for future cooperation between Israel and the Vatican”.—CNS

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St Thérèse’s parents first married couple canonised

BY LAURA IERACI

T

HE parents of St Thérèse of Lisieux will be canonised at the Vatican on October 18, during the Synod of Bishops on the family.

Louis Martin (1823-94) and Marie Zélie Guérin Martin (183177) will be the first married couple with children to be canonised in the same ceremony. Other married couples are among the blesseds of the Church.

Pope Francis issued the decree approving their canonisation during the public consistory on canonisations at the Vatican; more than 40 cardinals attended.

During the consistory, Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, said the couple lived an “exemplary life of faith, dedication to ideal values,

united to a constant realism, and persistent attention to the poor”, according to Vatican Radio.

The cardinal said the French couple serves as an “extraordinary witness of conjugal and family spirituality”.

Married in 1858, the couple had nine children; four died in infancy and five entered religious life. During their 19-year marriage, the couple was known to attend Mass daily, pray and fast, respect the Sabbath, visit the elderly and the sick, and welcome the poor into their home.

They will be canonised along with Italian Fr Vincenzo Grossi (1845-1917), founder of the Institute of the Daughters of the Oratory, and Spanish Sr Maria of the Immaculate Conception (1926-98), a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Company of the Cross.—CNS

Pope: Jewish, Christian trust and fraternity grows

BY LAURA IERACI

‘S

TRANGERS no more, but friends, and brothers and sisters,” thanks to the “authentic fraternal dialogue” between Jews and Catholics since the Second Vatican Council, said Pope Francis.

The pope held an audience at the Vatican with participants of an international conference, organised by the International Council of Christians and Jews.

The conference was in Rome to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the Vatican II declaration that addressed the relations of the Catholic Church with other religions. The theme of the event focused on the 50th anniversary and looked at “The Past, Present, and Future of the Christian-Jewish Relationship”.

Reflecting on Nostra Aetate, Pope Francis said it “represents a definitive ‘yes’ to the Jewish roots of Christianity and an irrevocable ‘no’ to anti-Semitism”.

The declaration, he said, has

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brought about “rich fruits” of “friendship and mutual understanding” in the past 50 years and provides a “solid basis” for dialogue to be “developed yet further”.

“Our fragmented humanity, mistrust and pride have been overcome thanks to the Spirit of Almighty God, in such a way that trust and fraternity between us have continued to grow,” the pope said. “And he, in his infinite goodness and wisdom, always blesses our commitment to dialogue.”

The pope noted that all Christians have Jewish roots, and that all Christians find their unity in Christ, just as all Jews find their unity in the Torah.

He also said the Vatican’s Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, founded in 1947, follows the activities of the international council “with great interest”, especially the annual international conferences, which “offer a notable contribution to Jewish-Christian dialogue”.—CNS

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INTERNATIONAL

BY CAROL GLATZ

P

New press department to streamline Vatican media Priests share the fire considered a symbol of the Holy Spirit during the first Polish penitential Mass for the sins of paedophilia at a Catholic Church in Krakow, Poland, last year. (Photo: Stanislaw Rozpedzik, EPA/CNS) feel “saved, but distinctly un- highly effective process for dealing saved”, the priest said. with abusive clergy and negligent “They also lose their sense of superiors in the 11th century. the Church as a face of consolaAt the time, abuse by clergy was tion, security, warmth. They feel “widespread, rampant, much doubly unsaved” because the “very worse than we have today and yet place where they should look for there was a way of controlling it”, some consolation and hope, well, said Sr Sara, a member of the Misthat seems to be shut to them sionary Servants of the Most given what’s happened within it,” Blessed Trinity. he said.

She said St Peter Damian, an Fr Corkery said survivors could 11th-century doctor of the Church, find greater healing from a comple- tackled the problem, not by changmentary view of salvation that em- ing the doctrine of the priesthood, phasises not just the sin people are “but by disciplining the priests and saved “from”, but that Jesus also the bishops and the major superisaved people “for” something ors who were responsible for tolergreater: “a flourishing life, health, ating this kind of abuse”. restoration, wholeness”.

“This was a successful reform Together with remembering movement in the 11th century,” that Jesus, who through no fault of which somehow got lost, but “is his own, is a victim and suffers kind of a model for what we’re alongside other victims—this other doing today” when it comes to sense of salvation shows how building greater accountability, she Christ “makes a difference now in said. our lives and not just in the world Fr Corkery said everyone must to come”, he said. empathise and walk with survivors, Sr Sara Butler, a theologian and help them feel included, “take president of the Academy of their accusations, their shrieks of Catholic Theology in Washington, anger, all the things that will come said she discovered in her research from them because they are sufferthat the Church had developed a ing”, he said.—CNS

Educate girls for responsibilities in Church and the world

BY LAURA IERACI

G

IRLS must be educated in preparation for great responsibilities in the Church and the world, Pope Francis told a meeting of Girl Guides.

“Today, it is very important that women are sufficiently valued and can take their rightful place in the Church and in society,” he said during an audience with a delegation of the International Catholic Conference of Guiding.

In a world where ideologies contrary to God’s design for marriage and family are spreading, the pope said, “it is not only about educating young girls in

the beauty and greatness of their vocation as women” in a right relationship with men and respecting the differences between men and women. But it is also to educate them “to take on important responsibilities in the Church and in society”, he said.

The pope said Guiding has a “notable role” to play in the promotion and education of women in countries where women “are still in a position of inferiority, even exploited and treated badly”.

He noted the importance the movement places on the environment and on being in contact with nature. He said his recent encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si’, on Care

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Armenian Catholic Patriarch Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, the head of the Armenian Catholic Church since 1999, died of a heart attack in Lebanon on June 25. He was 75.

The son of displaced parents who fled from Mardin province in southeastern Turkey to Egypt in 1915, during a campaign by the Ottoman government to rid the country of the minority Armenian community, Patriarch Bedros rose to become an influential Catholic voice advocating for the rights of Christians in the Middle East.

Born in Cairo, he was ordained a priest there in 1965 and appointed bishop of Alexandria in 1989. He was elected patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church in 1999.

Know the faith, help the Church OPE Francis told survivors last year that the “despicable actions” caused by clergy had been hidden for too long and had been “camouflaged with a complicity that cannot be explained”.

As many continue to push for effective laws and procedures that will create safe environments, some abuse experts are saying it’s also time to focus more on survivors.

The Church, one theologian said, has to be more than just a fortress of guidelines and norms keeping abusers out and those not abused safe within, but it also must be an open, welcoming home for those who have been wounded and pushed away.

“The law is never enough because people were hurt,” so they also need to find Christ’s acceptance and compassion, not just stiff regulations, said Jesuit Father James Corkery, a theology professor at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University.

There is a danger that too much emphasis on “action” and “fixing” things can create a “muscular Christianity” that crowds out any space for a more motherly embrace of her lost and wounded sheep, he said.

Fr Corkery was one of a number of speakers at a news conference at the university. The panel presented their findings from the annual Anglophone Conference on the Safeguarding of Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults.

Fr Corkery said he looked at Church teaching on salvation because the fact that “we are saved by Christ from our sins” does not resonate well with survivors because “they have been sinned against”.

“Sin is not a category that is good for them to begin with. In fact, it could make them feel worse because they think the perpetrator has been forgiven,” he said.

People who are abused by someone in the Church may no longer

The Southern Cross, July 8 to July 14, 2015

for Our Common Home, speaks of how “education is essential in transforming mentalities and habits in order to overcome the worrying challenges facing humanity regarding the environment”.

The Guiding programme is “well armed” to contribute to this goal, he said. He urged Guiding members to continue to be “awakened to the presence and the goodness of the Creator in the beauty of the world”.

He asked the movement “not to forget” to include the possible vocation to consecrated life in its programme, noting that many vocations to religious life came through Guiding in the past.—CNS

Light a virtual candle and help feed the poor

Buy a virtual candle at r20 each and your prayer request will be mentioned and prayed for live on radio Veritas during Holy Mass.

Proceeds go to the feeding programme of the St Vincent de Paul conference in La Rochelle parish, Johannesburg, and the Radio Veritas Outreach Programme.

www.prayercandle.co.za

BY CAROL GLATZ

I

N an effort to render the Vatican more effective in today’s digital world, Pope Francis established a new Secretariat for Communications, whose aim is to coordinate and streamline the Holy See’s multiple communications outlets.

The development of digital media, with its converging technologies and interactive capabilities, “requires a rethinking of the information system of the Holy See”, the pope wrote.

This “reorganisation”, he wrote, “must proceed decisively toward integration and a unified management” so that “the communication system of the Holy See will respond in an ever more efficacious manner to the needs of the mission of the Church”.

Pope Francis established the new secretariat with an apostolic letter given motu proprio (on his own initiative).

The pope also appointed the top officials of the new department: • Mgr Dario Vigano, director of the Vatican Television Centre, will lead the secretariat as prefect.

• Argentine Mgr Adrian Ruiz Lucio will serve as secretary. He currently heads the Vatican Internet and telecommunications offices.

• Paolo Nusiner will be general director of the secretariat. He is man-

aging director of Avvenire, the daily newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference.

• Giacomo Ghisani will be vicegeneral director. He is currently director of international relations and legal affairs at Vatican Radio.

Nine Vatican media operations will be gradually integrated over the next four years while protecting people’s jobs, the Vatican has said.

According to the motu proprio, the nine offices to be “incorporated” are the Pontifical Council for Social Communications; the Vatican press office; the Vatican Internet office; Vatican Radio; the Vatican television production studio, CTV; the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano; the Vatican printing press; the Vatican photograph service; and the Vatican publishing house, Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

The different offices are to continue with their current mandates for the time being while adapting to the “indications given by the Secretariat for Communications”, the letter said.

The new department will take on the Vatican website, www.vatican.va, and the official Twitter account of the pope: @pontifex.

The temporary headquarters of the new secretariat will be in Palazzo Pio, the headquarters of Vatican Radio.—CNS

6

The Southern Cross, July 8 to July 14, 2015

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Producing children core of marriage

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

Living with Muslims

T

HE deeply troubling reports of the persecution of Christians in the Middle East, Pakistan and parts of Africa, and anti-Muslim sentiments in the West, are feeding a sense of the religions being at war with another.

Undeniably, Christians in many majority Muslim countries don’t have it easy. Especially where extreme Islamists are beyond the control of the state, or are even in control, the situation of Christians, and other minorities, is grim.

Muslims living in Western countries are not subjected to similar persecution. Nonetheless, Islamophobia in many countries speaks of intolerance and prejudice, amplified by belligerent rhetoric. Much is rooted in fear.

Both sides are liable to invoke historical grievances, going as far back as the Islamic conquests and the Crusades, and as recently as 9/11 and US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Matters are not helped by incendiary propaganda. Recently a Facebook post made the rounds claiming that Muslims were demanding that the Jesuit Georgetown University in Washington DC remove all Christian symbols.

The story was a hoax, no doubt designed to deepen Christian suspicion of Muslims.

The inference was that Muslims are taking over all walks of Christian civilisation, and that Christians submit to Muslims’ demands out of a liberal fear of causing offence. But it’s not Muslims who object to Christian symbols, but secularists.

Muslims are called to be respectful of other faiths and those who practise these. This attitude found expression in the human cordons Egyptian Muslims formed around churches when these were attacked

by Islamic extremists in 2013.

There are other signs of hope.

Last month, a mosque in Mississauga, Canada, collected thousands of dollars for a neighbouring Catholic church which had been vandalised. Presenting the cheque of almost R50 000 to the church, Imam Hamid Slimi said: “This is what any Muslim would do.”

In his column this week, Raymond Perrier writes about the cooperation between the Denis Hurley Centre, next to Durban’s Emmanuel cathedral, and the neighbouring Grey Street mosque in feeding the indigent.

The cooperation between the cathedral and the mosque (and other local faith bodies) has a long

tradition, and it serves as an example of what can be accomplished by building relationships between religions.

Further afield, the Catholicowned University of Bethlehem has a majority Muslim cohort, reflecting roughly the demographics in the Palestinian city. The university’s administration welcomes this because the interaction between Muslim and Christian students fosters mutual understanding in a world which encourages alienation and hostility.

The big political picture of Christian-Muslim relations—ISIS executions and US drones; Charlie Hebdo and Quran-burning pastors—provide us with no answers.

These we must find in small acts.

We see the answers in Durban and Mississauga. We see the answers when Muslims protect worshipping Christians and Christians protect praying Muslims. We see the answers when Christians in Palestine and Syria feed fasting Muslims after the sun sets during Ramadan, and when Muslims share food on their feasts with Christian neighbours.

We must beware of applying stereotypes that are fed by the news and popular culture.

Pope Francis made this explicit in The Joy of the Gospel: “Faced with disconcerting episodes of violent fundamentalism, our respect for true followers of Islam should lead us to avoid hateful generalisations, for authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Quran are opposed to every form of violence.”

Just as good Catholics do not want their faith associated with the bigotries of fundamentalist Christian groups, so do good Muslims not wish to be associated with fundamentalist Islamic groups.

Instead of seeing good Muslims as good in spite of their faith, we must see them as good precisely because of their faith.

Our call to cooperation and mutual respect with Islam obviously does not demand that Christians should not strongly condemn acts of terror and persecution committed in the name of Islam—which are also condemned by the majority of Muslims. But when we do so, we must guard against holding all of Islam accountable for the crimes of a few extremists.

As Muslims approach the feast of Eid al-Fitr on July 18, Catholics must work to open the path to mutual understanding. This will be pleasing to the God whom both faiths believe in.

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The Editor reserves the right to shorten or edit published letters. Letters below 300 words receive preference. Pseudonyms are acceptable only under special circumstances and at the Editor’s discretion.

Name and address of the writer must be supplied. No anonymous letter will be considered.

A

BILLION years ago or so, reproduction of organisms on earth took a decisive turn. Sexual reproduction came into being, which replaced asexual reproduction.

This new way gave organisms a better chance of their offspring being able to survive and produce their own offspring, and so on and so forth to the present time.

Bible and Quran

D

ENNIS Sadowski’s article on the Quran (June 3) refers.

Many Catholics think that because the Quran knows the names of biblical personalities and because Our Lady is mentioned more times in the holy book of Islam than the Bible, Catholic Christianity has much in common with Islam.

Nostra Aetate of Vatican 11 does encourage dialogue with Islam, but there is a huge lack of reciprocity on the part of Muslims in this regard.

The emergence of groups such as ISIS and the persecution and martyrdom of Christians (“Nazarenes”) in the Middle East has complicated our relations even more.

In the Quran, Jesus is called Isa, which corresponds more closely with Esau, the older son of Jacob.

Instead of Jesus being the Anointed One of God, for Muslims he is the one doing the anointing. Although the Quran agrees with the miraculous virgin birth of Jesus, it disagrees about the implications of this event.

In the Quran the virgin birth does not point to the divinity of Christ—Christ is just a prophet, one of many, including Mohamed—it is only another sign of Allah’s supreme power.

The Quran also gives supposed details of Jesus, not in the canonical gospels. As in the heretic gospels, Jesus in the Quran even speaks in his cradle (Sura 19:29-33).

These are some examples of how Muslims believe that the Quran corrects the biblical account. They are unmoved by our arguing that the biblical account is more reliable because it was written so much closer to the event. The Bible, they say, has been corrupted by Jews and Christians.

According to the Quran, Jesus was born under a palm tree outside the city. About Mary, the Quran states that the pains of childbirth drove her to a palm tree whose trunk she shook, to eat of the dates for sustenance(!)

She cried out, in her anguish, “Ah! Would that I had died before this! Would that I had been a thing forgotten and out of sight!” (Sura 19:23).

Gabriel, according to the Quran, at the annunciation, is also the “Holy Spirit” and he had sexual

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This event was probably the forerunner for the manner in which all life thereafter evolved, that being via the duality of male and female.

Within the past 50 000 years, people of many different cultures have incorporated this event into their religious beliefs and the institution of marriage was initiated, which has traditionally been ac-

contact with Mary there and then.

It appears that the various facts in the Quran were gleaned by Mohamed from the many splinter, heretical “Christian” sects prevalent in Arabia at the time.

Muslims believe that it was not Jesus who died on the cross, but Judas, made to look like Jesus by Allah, in his place.

This is in direct contradiction of the gospels, where Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection are clearly witnessed to.

Also, various secular sources attest to these facts, including the Jewish historian Josephus, the annals of Tacitus to Emperor Tiberius, and others.

There is even more confusion between Miriam (Maryam), the sister of Moses (see Num 25:59), and Mary, the mother of Jesus. St Ann, Mary’s mother, is even called the wife of Amram. In fact, there were 1 500 years between the two Maryams.

This obvious historical blunder should be a source of great consternation and difficulty for the Muslim apologist. If obviously mistaken on this point, why should the Quran be considered reliable on other points of history?

John Lee, Johannesburg

Join hands for love of Africa

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PENTECOST prayer, from RENEW International: “May we always pay attention to the signs of our times as we attune ourselves to how You (the Holy Spirit) speak through all creation.”

We can respond by “writing letters, SMSs, e-mails (that is, using modern technology) to spread the Word, praying and working towards ending the many injustices and establishing peace”.

In The Southern Cross (June 24) Mputhumi Ntabeni writes about SA’s “lost moral compass”. But this applies also to Africa and the rest of the world! He writes that, despite endless seminars and conferences tackling ethical problems and finding a prosperous new way for our continent, and political parties talking about working for the poor, the rich get richer and the poor poorer.

In the same issue, Fr Chris Chatteris, quoting Oxfam, says that by 2016, the world’s top 1 percent will own more than all the rest together.

Pope Francis’ new encyclical Laudato Si’, at first glance, addresses global warming, yet, going deeper, he condemns the reckless pursuit of

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cepted as setting the stage for the beginnings of a family.

Since its formative years, Catholicism has set before us the example of the Holy Family: Joseph, Mary and Jesus.

The Church does not ostracise those with a gay persuasion, but it upholds the traditional concept of marriage and by so doing acknowledges the age-old Biblical premise of “go forth and multiply”.

Patrick Dacey, Johannesburg profits: “Hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.”

The Southern Cross editorial of June 24 affirms this.

Nigerian PI Odozor, an associate professor of moral theology, wrote (The Tablet, July 2008) that in African tradition ubuntu was often limited to one’s own family, tribe and ethnic group.

Professor DP Domning (Jesuit magazine America) writes that, taking science into account, our selfishness stems from our basic instinct for self-preservation, inscribed in the DNA of all creation, and God sent his Son to teach us to overcome this: “Love one another” (Jn 13:34). The St Francis of Assisi prayer (adapted for Africa) is all about asking God’s help to overcome our self-centredness.

For a free leaflet, SMS your name and postal address to 083 544 8449 and join others praying for Africa and the world, for hearts to be changed.

Athaly Jenkinson, East London

More parish visits

I

REFER to the article written by Fr Kevin Reynolds (June 3) on reinstituting parish visits.

Parish visits are still relevant and very important in the life of the parish community.

The parish clergy should visit their parishioners once a week if possible, depending on how many priests are living in the parish. The Legion of Mary members could help priests with parish visits.

When I was growing up, the Irish Capuchin Franciscans were our parish priests and it was always good to see them coming to visit. We also had Redemptorist Fathers coming round during parish missions.

Visits show that the shepherd cares about his sheep, especially the lost. Some priests do not even know the names of their parishioners.

Let us pray then for our priests, that they take the valuable time to visit their flocks.

Br Daniel Ambrose Manuel SCP, Cape Town Opinions expressed in The Southern Cross, especially in Letters to the Editor, do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor or staff of the newspaper, or of the Catholic hierarchy. The letters page in particular is a forum in which readers may exchange opinions on matters of debate.

Letters must not be understood to necessarily reflect the teachings, disciplines or policies of the Church accurately.

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

The Southern Cross, July 8 to July 14, 2015

PERSPECTIVES

I feel a Catholic sense of freedom T HE joke is told of the Methodists who arrive in heaven and are being shown round by St Peter. They notice a large walled-off area from which they can smell incense and hear (bad) singing.

“Who’s in there?” the Methodists ask.

St Peter explains: “That’s where we put the Catholics so they can’t see out. They would be so disappointed to discover that they were not the only ones here.”

I hope that your laughing at this joke shows that we have come a long way since 50 years ago when Vatican II had to tell us that Christians of other traditions are indeed our brothers and sisters and have “access to the community of salvation” (Vatican II document on Ecumenism §3).

In fact the great Ecumenical Council— which included Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran observers—challenged us also to move closer to non-Christians by saying that the Church “rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions” (Vatican II document on Other Faiths §2).

While not diminishing the differences between religious groups, we have made great steps towards recognising and building on the similarities. That is seen most clearly by finding ways in which we can actually work together.

Up and down the country, and across the world, we encounter ordinary and extraordinary examples of such collaboration. We share church buildings and welfare projects and schools and training programmes and political platforms. And that makes sense since, after all, we share the same towns and countries.

At the Denis Hurley Centre in Durban, which I serve as its director, we are especially committed to such collaboration since it was Archbishop Denis Hurley himself who at Vatican II and in Durban led the Church in showing how we can work together with our neighbours beyond the Catholic ghetto.

In some sense we have no choice. We are as close to the Grey Street mosque as we are to the Emmanuel cathedral, and most of the local businesses who can help us in our work with the poor are run by Muslims.

For me the key is to shift the burden of proof. The question is never “Why should we work with Protestants?”, but “Why shouldn’t we work with Protestants?”;

never “Can we work with Hindus?”, but “How can we work with Hindus?”. And then the possibilities open up.

So when a group of Muslim welfare organisations started taking an interest in our feeding programme for the homeless, it was only a matter of time before we were able to launch a joint Muslim-Christian feeding programme, combining volunteers, resources and expertise (as you might have seen on The Southern Cross’ front-page photo of June 24).

D

id we have to make compromises? If “compromise” means surrendering fundamental principles, then I reject this “win-lose” way of seeing collaboration.

Think of the word instead as being a “compromise”—a shared statement of faith. In fact the Spanish word “compromise” means “commitment”.

So I am proud to say that at the Denis Hurley Centre we now have a kitchen which can be called halaal. That requires a small amount of extra care on our side in terms of sourcing ingredients and handling meat. But it brings a significant benefit in making our Muslim volunteers feel

A woman enjoys her meal at the Denis Hurley Centre in Durban. A new collaboration with a neighbouring mosque means that the centre can now extend its feeding scheme. (Photo: Kobus Faber)

Committed to grandparents

W

HAT a hectic family month June was, certainly for me. There were two birthdays, Father’s Day and the anniversary of my husband’s death.

In our family we don’t live in each other’s pockets, so having a number of occasions to celebrate together was a good bonder.

However, like most South African families we’re split up and don’t all live in the same town and country. That can make some of them feel left out, in the cold as it were. So there is an extra need to be heart-warming and keeping in touch somehow.

This feeling applies particularly to the older generation who are the family focus theme for the month of July. The 2014 International Year of the Family called this “intergenerational solidarity”, a term Pope Francis users in his new encyclical, Laudato Si’.

Often the elderly do have more time but also less energy. Should the older ones be in contact with the younger ones or vice versa? Different families have their own way of doing this. Some generations are very close, but it is a sad fact that many older people living in old-age homes receive few visits and have minimal contact with their families, so much so that their fellow-residents become another family to them. Thank God for that.

To do a little research I conducted a very informal mini-survey with the ladies in the “knit ’n’ giggle” club in my retirement village. I asked them to share some of their fears.

Many fears concern illness, such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease and memory loss. Other fears were of falling, being alone, leaving or losing family, especially a child or grandchild, and also running out of money. Some admitted to a fear of dying.

In the current issue of Family Matters magazine this survey and other reflections are summarised under the title “The fears and gifts of the elderly”.

It might be a good learning experience

A grandmother prepares her daughter for school. July is dedicated to grandparents as the month marks the feast of Ss Anne and Joachim, grandparents of Jesus.

(Photo: Paul Jeffrey/CNS) to do such a survey as a family exercise at home; I will post the questions on Marfam’s website (marfam.org.za).

On the subject of fears, it is a serious tragedy that some grandmothers reportedly fear abuse, including sexual, by children and even their grandchildren.

G

randparents want a little attention from their children and grandchildren, a little tender loving care, a phone call, SMS, Skype or Facebook message (if they are up to that technological standard).

It seems to be a present reality that it is not the wisdom of the elders that guides our families today, but the knowledge of the young. How best then can we

Raymond Perrier

Faith and Society

comfortable, and in providing food for our Muslim homeless that respects their needs.

Why would we not do that?

I am aware of my personal journey out of the Catholic ghetto: from a very Catholic family and Catholic primary school with almost no non-Catholic friends; to secondary and tertiary education in Anglican institutions where I moved from tolerance to grudging respect to admiration; to collaboration in development work with other Christian and secular organisations; to now working with rabbis and imams and gurus as much as I do with priests and pastors.

For me the more confident I am in my Catholic identity, the more comfortably and creatively I can work with others.

So are there any limits to such collaboration? I recently discovered a good friend of mine in Britain is training to be a humanist prison chaplain. A quarter of people in prison tick the box as having “no religion” but they have no less need of the pastoral and human support that a chaplain brings.

I found myself wanting to protest that this was a secular intrusion into religious space. But then I remembered my strong belief that there is no secular space that is distinct from religious space: all of it is God’s space. Or, to quote the Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins: “The world is charged with the grandeur of God.” So if a humanist chaplain can help a prisoner deal with his loneliness or a Muslim counsellor can help a drug user face his addiction or a Quaker nurse can bring God’s healing to a sick woman, that is not surprising. God’s power and love is bigger than any categories that we might use to describe it.

And, as a person who believes in God, I must also believe that it is God’s power that is at work even through someone who does not acknowledge that power as coming from God. The Spirit blows where it wills!

Toni Rowland

Family Friendly

connect with one another for the good of all?

There are a number of developmental theories on life patterns, tasks and choices. One theory I like is Erikson’s theory of psycho-social development which describes different life tasks for different ages.

As senior citizens, people tend to look back on their lives and think about what they have or have not accomplished. If a person has led a productive life, they will develop a feeling of integrity and achieve the virtue of wisdom. If not, they might fall into despair.

The grandparent theme was chosen for this month because on July 26 the Church commemorates the grandparents of Jesus, Joachim and Anna.

During the month, and especially on that last weekend, I challenge and invite all families and parishes to focus on grandparents, pay tribute, honour them and thank them for their commitment over the very many years of their lives.

They may have modelled faithfulness in marriage, patience with children and grandchildren, achievement in bringing up many children single-handedly or they may also have become grumpy and critical and resentful about exploitation.

Depending on the type of parish some may have a workshop, a special Mass and blessing, bring the housebound oldies to church, perhaps have the youth provide some entertainment, feed them with a meal or special tea.

Recognise their ongoing needs and finally to paraphrase slightly the message of the Book of Sirach: “These were also godly people whose virtues have not been forgotten. Their wealth remains in their families, their heritage in their descendants; through God’s covenant with them their family endures, their posterity, for their sake.”

Günther Simmermacher

7

Point of Television

A.D.: A Bible soap

O

VER the past few months the TV series A.D. The Bible Continues, a sequel to last year’s popular The Bible, was broadcast on DStv. The series looked promising, with its focus on the Acts of the Apostles, an exciting but often undervalued part of the New Testament. It is great source material for a TV series.

With the show being produced by the Irish actress Roma Downey, a practising Catholic, and her husband Mark Burnett, we could be sure that the Christians were not going to be bizarre caricatures.

Indeed, the Christians in the series are good.

Some, like Simon the Zealot, battle between secular aspiration (in his case the struggle against Roman occupation) and discipleship in ways that many Christians can empathise with.

The universality of the Church is expressed in the casting of the disciples: John, James and Philip are black—as is Mary Magdalene, played by Zimbabwean actress Chipo Chung, who was educated at Harare’s Dominican Convent High School.

The message of acceptance and forgiveness runs strong throughout the series. It culminates in Mary Magdalene taking the tearful and newlyconverted centurion Cornelius in her arms after he admits to having killed her friend Joanna.

The contrast between the Christian community—look at how they loved one another—on the one hand and the ruthless power games within and between the Roman and Jewish authorities on the other makes an emphatic point; one which Christians today need reminding of.

But as an account of Christian history, the series is not instructive. The producers have sacrificed historical accuracy for drama, sometimes of an unedifyingly violent nature.

T

oo often, A.D: The Bible Continues is Vikings with the sign of the cross. Whole storylines were invented or distorted to justify dramatic tension and its accompanying violence.

Some of these bordered on the bizarre. By some unlikely quirk of circumstance, the emperor Caligula turns up in Jerusalem, and instructs Pontius Pilate to install an oversized golden statue of himself in the Temple.

The story borrows from real events, as reported by the 1st-century historian Josephus Flavius.

Caligula did order, from Rome, that a statue of himself be placed in the Temple, but the wise Roman governor of Syria, Publius Petronius, and peaceful Jewish opposition averted this. The statue never even reached Jerusalem.

In the TV show, the statue is wheeled to the outer court of the Temple. The ensuing stand-off allows the producers to have Peter and the disciples save the day, albeit in the midst of another gratuitous and fictional Pilate-ordered massacre.

The sub-plots of the suitably sinister Pilate and an incongruously blue-eyed Caiaphas politicking while Mrs Caiaphas schemes behind the scenes like a proto-Lady Macbeth might be justifiable as a way of giving a context to Roman-Jewish relations in apostolic times.

However, what are we to make of a show that purports to give an account of the Acts of Apostles but goes on to invent stories, distort history and gloss over some of the events in the Bible?

With that concern, and some others, in mind, A.D. The Bible Continues is not an instructive record of the early years of the nascent Church. It is a drama-soap with blood and some piety.

Viewed as such it is not much more than entertaining and occasionally edifying viewing.

The season’s final episode ends on a cliffhanger: the Romans arrest Peter (SPOILER ALERT: Peter lives!). Whether we’ll get to see what happens next is unclear. After a strong start, ratings in the US slipped—from 9,68 million for the first episode to 3,54 million for the finale—so there might be no next season.

That would be a pity, because for all the liberties A.D. The Bible Continues took with history and even with its source text, it was good to see a TV series in which the Christians are the heroes.

And if it sent viewers to the New Testament to check for the facts—did Peter really have a daughter?—then it even serves a catechetical purpose.

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8

The Southern Cross, July 8 to July 14, 2015

COMMUNITY

The St Benedict’s team won the Catholic Schools Office Bible quiz competition held at Assumption School in Johannesburg. (From left) Roberto Coelho, Malibongwe Hlatshwayo, Joash Naidoo, team captain Yondela Magadla and team coach Michael Moses.

Parishioners from Our Lady of the Rosary church in Motsethabong, Welkom, completed the 88km Comrades marathon. (From left) Telang Mohlabane, Mokete Phale, Fr Michael Molahlehi Rasello, Nthabiseng Tinte and Nkhetheni Masupa.

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Sacred Heart Sodality at Charles Lwanga parish at Ngwelezana, Eshowe diocese, celebrated their members’ jubilees of service. Four were crowned for 50 years’ service, while others were crowned for 25 years.

They are pictured with parish priest Fr Nicodemus Ntshangase.

Parishioners of Pretoria’s northern deanery celebrated Youth Day at St Kizito parish in Marapyane. They are pictured with youth chaplain Fr Thokozani Masina SCP.

A group of women attended a senior retreat for pensioners and mentors at Red Acres Retreat Centre in Merrivale, Durban.

Dominican Fathers Damazio Ngoma of Zimbabwe, Mike Mwale of Malawi and Deacon Neil Mitchell were ordained in Christ the King cathedral by Archbishop Buti Tlhagale (centre) in Johannesburg.

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Grade R girls from Holy Rosary Primary School in Johannesburg spent the morning with Grade Rs from their brother school, St Benedict’s.

CHURCH

The Southern Cross, July 8 to July 14, 2015

9

Deacons: How they have grown in 50 years Fifty years ago this year the Church decided to restore the permanent diaconate.

REV GREG GARNIE explains the significance of the event, and how the world’s deacons will mark it.

D

URING the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), the Council Fathers approved the restoration of the sacred order of the permanent deacon, according to our ancient apostolic tradition.

This ratified the decision of the Council of Trent, some 400 years earlier, which had approved the restoration of the order in principle. By 1962 it had still not been implemented. Vatican II changed that.

In 1965 some of the Council Fathers of Vatican II, together with priests and laity, protagonists of the restoration of the permanent diaconate, with the express blessing of Pope Paul VI, established the International Diaconate Centre (IDC).

The German bishops agreed to host the seat of the IDC centre, first in Freiburg and since 1992 in Rottenburg, near Stuttgart. The IDC continues to be funded almost exclusively by the German Church for and on behalf of the universal Church.

The vision of the Council Fathers in establishing the IDC was to have a body that would promote, research, study and publish the restored order of permanent deacon for the benefit of the whole Church.

Such work would be carried out in collaboration with the Holy See, specifically the Congregations for the Clergy and Catholic Education.

Membership to the IDC is voluntary and is open to any person or group interested in the Catholic permanent diaconate. Current membership includes 130 countries and is growing.

After the restoration of the permanent diaconate, the first permanent deacons were ordained in Germany in 1968, a year after Pope Paul VI issued his apostolic letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem.

In the Inter-regional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa (Imbisa) region, the first permanent deacons were ordained in Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) in 1979, followed by South Africa in 1981.

According to Vatican Radio, “permanent deacons are booming both globally and in individual continents”.

In 2001 there were 29 000 permanent deacons worldwide; a decade later there were 41 000. Almost all of them, 97,4%, are in Europe and the United States. In Europe, which is

suffering a vocations crisis, the increase in permanent deacons in that time period was 43%.

The Annunarium Statisticum Ecclesiae 2013 states: “The number of permanent deacons continues to grow well, passing from 33 391 in 2005 to 43 000 in 2013.”

In Italy alone, as at September 2012, there were some 2 000 men in the diaconate formation programme.

In October 2015 the IDC will celebrate 50 years of its founding with a jubilee pilgrimage and celebration in Rome, including a private audience with Pope Francis, for the nearly 500 participants, mostly deacons and their wives.

The theme of the jubilee is “Diaconate: Past, Present, Future”.

Honduran Cardinal Óscar Rodríguez Maradiaga will give the keynote address.

I

n relative time scale, 50 years is miniscule in the overall history of the Church. Yet the restoration of the order of permanent deacon marked a significant turning point in Church thinking, especially for the new and re-evangelisation mission of the Church today.

Our history teaches us that Church councils, beginning with the first Council of Jerusalem during the time of the Apostles (Acts 15:6), are convened in moments when the Church is compelled to revisit her roots, seek her original spirituality, refocus her mission and give answer to the issues of the period.

The Second Vatican Council was no exception, inter alia, deciding to restore what was originally instituted by the Apostles but which had, for various reasons, disappeared from the Latin rite of the Catholic Church by the 5th century.

The foundational spirituality of the early Church was brought into sharp focus, in so doing; the teaching of the early Church also came into focus. Both the New Testament scriptures and the Didaché (teachings) of the earliest Church Fathers (pre-130 AD), together with the specific decision of the Council of Trent (1545-63), were key sources used by the Council Fathers when informing their debates and ultimately, their decision to restore the permanent deacon to the Latin rite.

However, after 50 years there remain much misunderstanding, misconceptions, confusion, adversity and general ignorance about the origin, identity, ministry and restoration of the permanent deacon.

Therein lies the work of the IDC, in collaboration with the Holy See and with diaconate bodies throughout the Church.

The implications of restoring

A deacon waves a censer during Mass. The Catholic Church decided 50 years ago to restore the permanent diaconate. Their ordination was permitted as of 1968. The first South African permanent deacon was ordained in 1981. Worldwide there are about 43 000 permanent deacons; in South Africa there are about 230. the order of permanent deacon, given its absence for the past 1 500 years, have not been fully explored or understood. There remains the need for careful and objective discernment and ongoing formation.

Over the past 50 years the Church has, at various moments, given more understanding and shown greater insights, yet continues the much-needed discernment.

I

n 1998, the Congregation for Catholic Education and the Congregation for the Clergy jointly issued the official Church document called “Permanent Deacon”. This current instruction, on the Catholic permanent diaconate, deals with the basic norms for the formation of aspirants to the order of permanent deacon as well as the life and ministry of the ordained permanent deacon.

The document builds on the

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various earlier documents of the Church, concerning the restored order of deacon, as an instruction to bishops and formators who are responsible for the diaconate in their dioceses.

The early documents include Lumen Gentium (the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of 1964, one of the principal documents of the Second Vatican Council), Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem (1967) and Ad Pascendum (1972).

Complementing this instruction is the latest research published by the International Theological Commission, an organ of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, entitled “From the Diakonia of Christ to the Diakonia of the Apostles” (2003).

This work deals with the Christological origin, spirituality and mission of the stable ministry of deacon, instituted by the Apostles

and ultimately the circumstance that led to his demise by the 5th century.

It also deals with the hierarchy conflicts of the 3rd and 4th centuries that saw the emergence of the minor orders to priesthood, including the introduction of the transitory order of deacon as the final stage before priestly ordination.

Both the 1998 and 2003 Church documents are invaluable and essential aids for ongoing discernment of the restored permanent diaconate, as well as the development of a more solid formation programme for aspirants, seminarians, candidates, ordained deacons, priests and bishops. n Deacon Garnie is the vice-president of the International Diaconate Centre. He wrote this year’s Southern Cross Easter editorial.

Next week he will explore the development of the diaconate since 1965.

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10

The Southern Cross, July 8 to July 14, 2015

PERSONALITY

Boys Town’s founder priest put Church’s social teachings into action The sainthood cause for the priest who founded the first Boys Town has now moved to the Vatican. KEVIN J JONES reports on the life and legacy of Fr Edward Flanagan.

M

ANY thousands of boys, and latterly also girls, have had their lives turned around by Boys Town.

The community for orphans and troubled children and youths was started by a priest in the US. South Africa’s Boys Town (now Girls & Boys Town), which operates in several South African centres, was also founded by a priest.

Fr Reginald Orsmond, later bishop of Johanesburg, set up the first local Boys Town in 1958 on a former Dominican mission school in Magaliesburg on the Witwatersrand.

The case for the sainthood of Fr Edward Flanagan, the priest who founded Nebraska’s Boys Town community for orphans and other boys, is now headed to Rome, as we reported last week.

“More than being just a humanitarian, he was a man driven by his love for Jesus Christ to care for chil-

dren who were forgotten and abused,” said Omar Gutierrez of the archdiocese of Omaha in Nebraska.

“He is a great model for the priesthood and for what Catholic social teaching looks like in the real world.”

Mr Gutierrez, who served as notary for the diocesan tribunal investigating the priest’s sainthood cause, said he was particularly struck by the stories of past Boys Town residents, now elderly men, who knew Fr Flanagan.

“I have had World War II veterans weep in front of me as they recall what Fr Flanagan did for them when they were just boys,” he said.

“I have witnessed in a unique way the amazing power of fatherhood.”

The Omaha archdiocese closed the diocesan phase of the investigation last minth with a Mass at Omaha’s St Cecilia cathedral, with Archbishop George Lucas as celebrant.

The final documents produced by the diocesan tribunal were signed and stamped. Two copies of the tribunal’s report were packaged and sealed with wax, stamped with the archdiocesan seal, for the apostolic nuncio to take to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

Spencer Tracy won an Oscar for his portrayal as Fr Flanagan in the 1938 film Boys Town, which also starred Mickey Rooney (right) as one of his troubled charges.

The congregation can recommend whether Pope Francis should declare Fr Flanagan to have demonstrated heroic virtue and to declare him “venerable”, an important step on the path to beatification or canonisation.

Many South African Catholics are now familiar with the process, having followed it in the case of Benedict Daswa, who is currently declared “venerable”. With his beatification in September, he will be titled “blessed”.

Fr Flanagan helped at least 10 000 boys at Boys Town in his lifetime, and his influence has extended around the world—even to Jerusalem.

T

he priest was born in Ireland’s County Roscommon on July 13, 1886. He emigrated to the US in 1904 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1912.

After working with homeless men in Omaha, he founded a boarding house for all boys, regardless of their race or religion. He soon moved his work to Overlook Farm on the outskirts of Omaha, where he cared for hundreds.

The home became known as the Village of Boys Town, growing to include a school, dormitories, and administration buildings.

The boys elected their own government to run the community, which became an official village in the state of Nebraska in 1936.

In 1943 Boys Town adopted as its image and logo a picture of a boy carrying a younger boy on his back, captioned, “He ain’t heavy, mister—he’s my brother”.

Steven Wolf, president of the Father Flanagan League Society of Devotion and vice-postulator of his cause, said he thinks there is abundant evidence of the priest’s heroic virtue.

“He completely immersed his life in the Gospel, and lived it,” Mr Wolf said. “He completely poured his life into saving these kids nobody else wanted to deal with.”

Fr Flanagan integrated young boys, “built a society around them, and put love, God’s love, in the middle of their circumstances and helped them to become whole and complete people”.

“He could see the face of Christ in every child, and he wanted to help every child, not just be successful citizens, but also be saints.”

Fr Edward Flanagan is surrounded by young men in his office at Boys Town in Omaha in this 1942 photo. He is at the desk made for him by some boys at the home in the mid-1930s. Fr Flanagan founded Boys Town in 1917, devoting his life to the care of troubled and abandoned boys.

South Afriuca’s first Boys Town was founded by a future bishop in 1958.

(Photo courtesy of Boys Town) Mr Wolf added: “We need people to look into this man’s life, look into this man’s motivation, and look at his example and live that example. Pray that we can make our culture a better place through the way that he lived the Gospel in his life.”

Mr Gutierrez and Mr Wolf could not speak about the tribunal findings, which are confidential.

However, they noted that Archbishop Lucas alluded to its conclusions in his homily at the Omaha Mass: “You can imagine that we wouldn’t go through all this trouble to collect this information and send it to the Holy See if it wasn’t very good.”

Fr Flanagan’s work inspired 80 other Boys Towns around the world. The original Boys Town now serves about 80 000 kids and families each year.

South Afrca’s Girls and Boys Town report to have served an annual average of 34 416 beneficiaries.

A

fter World War II, at the request of US president Harry Truman, Fr Flanagan helped care for orphans and displaced children in war-ravaged Japan, Germany, and Austria.

According to Mr Wolf, Japan’s juvenile system was founded on a report by Fr Flanagan.

He noted that the priest broke with the segregationist practices in the United States of his time, serving all boys regardless of their race and religion.

After Boys Town moved from Omaha, the local branch of the Ku Klux Klan threatened to burn Boys Town to the ground because of its care for black children and Jews, Mr Wolf said.

Fr Flanagan’s response to racist criticism was to ask what colour a

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person’s soul was.

Critics of his integrationist policy also included Catholic and Protestant clergy, as well as judges.

Although the priest’s organisation was always in debt, he turned down a wealthy Californian’s offer of a million dollars if he turned Boys Town into a Catholic-only group.

“He was decades ahead of the civil rights movement in the US in what he was doing,” Mr Wolf said.

Fr Flanagan also worked to reform the criminal justice system’s treatment of minor offenders.

One of the priest’s famous phrases was: “There are no bad boys. There is only bad environment, bad training, bad example, bad thinking.”

The priest rose to national and international prominence for his work. Spencer Tracy won an Oscar for his portrayal of Fr Flanagan in the 1938 movie Boys Town, also starring a young Mickey Rooney.

Mr Tracy, himself a Catholic, later donated his Oscar to the priest.

Fr Flanagan died of a heart attack in Berlin on May 15, 1948. His remains are interred in a memorial chapel at Boys Town. He was declared a Servant of God in March 2013.

The findings of the archdiocese of Omaha’s tribunal will be the basis for the postulator’s argument before the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. If the congregation approves, Fr Flanagan will be declared Venerable. If a miracle attributed to his intercession is recognised, he will be beatified, and if a second miracle, he will be canonised.

Mr Gutierrez said that two alleged miracles attributed to the priest are being investigated now.— CNA

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The Southern Cross, July 8 to July 14, 2015

CLASSIFIEDS Call to unpack deeper meanings of pope

BY CAROL ZIMMERMANN

C

ATHOLIC journalists could easily “remain on the surface” when reporting on Pope Francis with his great photo opportunities and “buzz-catching expressions”, but they need to take their coverage further, said Basilian Father Thomas Rosica.

Fr Rosica was the keynote speaker at a Catholic media conference in the US. In his address, he said the pope’s headline-making comments about how he doesn’t watch television, have a laptop or an iPhone are not the end of the story.

The “pope is by no means a Luddite,” he said, noting that Pope Francis “understands what authentic communication is all about” and demonstrates it in the ways he connects with people and what he wrote in “Laudato Si’“ about how modern media can “shield us from direct contact with the pain, the fears and the

joys of others and the complexity of their personal experiences”.

Another key aspect of the pope’s ministry—his calling together of the Synod of Bishops on the family last October—was also reduced to soundbites that at times were inaccurate, Fr Rosica said.

He told the gathering they may have heard, read or even incorrectly reported that the synod was “about changing the teaching of the Church on marriage, family life or sexual morality. This is not true. It was about the pastoral care that the Church strives to [give] people”.

The priest urged journalists to read the text of the pope’s closing address at the synod, which confirms the “story within the story” of the synod’s achievement.

Fr Rosica also drew attention to the pope’s recent encyclical Laudato Si’, pointing out that “until now, the dialogue about the environment has been framed

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Liturgical Calendar Year B Weekdays Cycle Year 1 Sunday July 12 Amos 7:12-15, Psalms 85:9-14, Ephesians 1:3-14, Mark 6:7-13 Monday July 13 Exodus 1:8-14, 22, Psalms 124:1-8, Matthew 10:34--11:1 Tuesday July 14, St Kateri Tekakwitha Exodus 2:1-15, Psalms 69:3, 14, 30-31, 33-34, Matthew 11:20-24 Wednesday July 15, St Bonaventure Wisdom 8:2-7, 16-18, Psalms 16:5-9, 11, Matthew 5:13-19 Thursday July 16, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Exodus 3:13-20, Psalms 105:1, 5, 8-9, 24-27, Matthew 11:28-30 Friday July 17, Votive Mass of the Precious Blood Exodus 11:10-12:14, Psalms 116:12-13, 15-18, Matthew 12:1-8 Saturday July 18, Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary Exodus 12:37-42, Psalms 136:1, 23-24, 10-15, Matthew 12:14-21 Sunday 19 Jeremiah 23:1-6, Psalms 23:1-6, Ephesians 2:1318, Mark 6:30-34

mainly using political, scientific and economic language. Now, the language of faith enters the discussion”.

He disagreed with those who argue that the pope has no authority to speak on this issue, stressing that it builds on Catholic social teaching.

Fr Rosica reminded members of the Catholic media that Pope Francis has declared the upcoming year as a Year of Mercy, which means that the pope wants everyone in the Church to “open themselves to God’s mercy and to find concrete, creative ways to put mercy into practice”.

The Church can live out mercy when parishes reflect the image of Church as “field hospital” that Pope Francis has used, but such work also can be done by members of the Catholic media, he added.

“Be sure to tell that story to the world,” he told them.–CNS

Word of the Week

Relics: The physical remains and effects of saints, which are considered worthy of veneration inasmuch as they are representative of persons in glory with God.

Community Calendar To place your event, call Mary Leveson at 021 465 5007 or e-mail m.leveson@scross.co.za (publication subject to space)

CAPE TOWN: Helpers of God’s Precious Infants. Mass on last Saturday of every month at 9:30 at Sacred Heart church in Somerset Road, Cape Town. Followed by vigil at Marie Stopes abortion clinic in Bree Street.

Contact Colette Thomas on 083 412 4836 or 021 593 9875 or Br Daniel SCP on 078 739 2988.

DURBAN: Holy Mass and Novena to St Anthony at St Anthony’s parish every Tuesday at 9am. Holy Mass and Divine Mercy

Devotion at 17:30pm on first Friday of every month. Sunday Mass at 9am. 031 309 3496 Overport rosary group.

At Emakhosini Hotel, 73 East Street every Wednesday at 6.30 pm.

Contact Keith at 083 372 9018 or 031 209 2536.

NELSPRUIT: Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at St Peter’s parish every Tuesday from 8:00 to 16:45, followed by Rosary, Divine Mercy prayers, then a Mass/Communion service at 17:30pm.

Our bishops’ anniversaries This week we congratulate: July 17: Bishop Francisco de Gouveia of Oudtshoorn on the fifth anniversary of his episcopal ordination July 19: Bishop Michael Wüstenberg of Aliwal on his 61st birthday

CLASSIFIEDS

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 (R1,50 a word) with small advertisements for promptest publication.

DEATH

FROSLER—Herman.

Passed away 24/7/2015.

Lovingly remembered by his sister Filda and Aubrey Boonzaaier and all families. Rest in peace.

IN MEMORIAM

ALEXANDER—Ralph. In loving memory of my beloved husband Ralph, our father and grandfather who passed away July 12, 2011. May he rest in peace. Always remembered by your wife Evelyn, children Blaise, Imelda, Mark, Celesta, Delia and Rowen. Daughters-in-law Sandra and MaryAnn, sonin-law Martin and grandchildren Blayke, Reece, Xavier and Cleeve.

FRANCA—Daniel Pascoal. 6/09/1985 to 11/07/2007. It has been eight years since you have gone home. We thank our heavenly Father for the time we spent together.

We love seeing your face shine from your photos around us. You will forever be young and will always live in our hearts. Our love for you will never end, because our hearts are united. Dad, Mom and sister.

GAJJAR—Aldridge. You may be gone from this earth physically, but spiritually and emotionally you will always be engraved in our hearts. You’re constantly in our thoughts and embraced in our memory.

In loving memory dearest wonderful husband, father, brother and uncle, who left us on July 3, 2012. Greatly missed by your wife Patricia, sons Bradley, Kenan and family.

PRAYERS

ALMIGHTY eternal God, source of all compassion, the promise of your mercy and saving help fills our hearts with hope. Hear the cries of the people of Syria; bring healing to those suffering from the violence, and comfort to those mourning the dead. Empower and encourage Syria’s neighbours in their care and welcome for refugees. Convert the hearts of those who have taken up arms, and strengthen the resolve of those committed to peace.

O God of hope and Father of mercy, your Holy Spirit inspires us to look beyond

ourselves and our own needs. Inspire leaders to choose peace over violence and to seek reconciliation with enemies. Inspire the Church around the world with compassion for the people of Syria, and fill us with hope for a future of peace built on justice for all.

We ask this through Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace and Light of the World, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Amen. Prayer courtesy of the USCCB.

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grant my petitions. In return I promise to make your name known and publish this prayer. Amen.

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

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

PERSONAL

OUR LADY OF FATIMA O Most Holy Virgin Mary, who chose to appear on the Sierra de Aire, in the Cova de Iria, to three young shepherds to reveal the treasures of grace held in the recitation of the Rosary, impress upon our souls a fervent love for this devotion. By meditating on the mysteries of our redemption, may we learn how to use the teachings which lie therein and obtain the graces we ask in this prayer. For the Glory of God and the redeeming of our souls. Amen.

Novena from 5th to 13th each month. For prayers/hymns write to jjv camara@gmail.com HOLY ST JUDE, apostle and martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke you, special patron in time of need. To you I have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg you to come to my assistance. Help me now in my urgent need and

ST. KIZITO CHILDREN’S PROGRAMME St. Kizito Children’s Programme (SKCP) is a community-based response to the needs of orphans and vulnerable children, established through the Good Hope Development Fund in 2004 in response to the Church’s call to reach out to those in need. Operating as a movement within the Archdiocese of Cape Town, SKCP empowers volunteers from the target communities to respond to the needs of orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) living in their areas.

The SKCP volunteers belong to Parish Groups that are established at Parishes in target communities. Through the St. Kizito Movement, the physical, intellectual, emotional and psycho-social needs of OVCs are met in an holistic way. Parish Groups provide children and families with a variety of essential services, while the SKCP office provides the groups with comprehensive training and on-going support.

In order to continue its work, SKCP requires on-going support from generous donors. Funds are needed to cover costs such as volunteer training and support, emergency relief, school uniforms and children’s excursions. Grants and donations of any size are always appreciated. We are also grateful to receive donations of toys, clothes and blankets that can be distributed to needy children and families.

11

ON TAPE

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The Post Office will deliver and return tapes without charge. Should you know of any interested blind or otherwise reading-impaired person, please inform them of this service.

ABORTION is murder—Silence on this issue is not golden, it’s yellow! Avoid pro-abortion politicians. See www.hli. co.za www.abortioninstru ments.com is the graphic truth that will set you free.

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the

16th Sunday: July 19 Readings: Jeremiah 23:1-6, Psalm 23, Ephesians 2:13-18, Mark 6:30-34

W

S outher n C ross

Learning to be shepherds

HAT are shepherds supposed to do?

Well, according to our present pope, they are to “smell like the sheep”, which is a bit off-putting. And you and I are supposed to be shepherds, and that means that our task is not to enrich ourselves, but to allow God to work through us. And it will not necessarily be comfortable.

The first reading is from Jeremiah, who is never particularly comfortable to read.

Three times in this reading he uses the prophetic formula “oracle of the Lord”, just to make sure that we are paying attention.

Then he lays into those in Israel who have taken on the shepherding job, and who are not doing it properly: “Woe to shepherds who lead the flock astray and scatter it…you did not visit them.”

But because God is in charge, all will be well: “Look! I am visiting them…I shall gather the remnant of my flock…I shall bring them back to their meadows, and they shall be fruitful and be many.”

But there is more to come: “Look! Days are coming…and I shall raise up a righteous

shoot for David, a king who shall be a wise king and shall exercise justice and righteousness in the land.”

God, you see, does not simply condemn things that are wrong, but puts them right: “Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall live in security.”

The psalm offers God as a role model for shepherds: “The Lord is my shepherd” it begins, and very soon we see what shepherds are supposed to do: “I shall not want. In green meadows he will let me graze…he will restore my soul.”

And the poet is well aware that it may not be comfortable, but “even if I walk in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I fear no harm, because you are with me”.

Then there is a lovely (if just a shade overgleeful) image to express God’s shepherding: “You set a table before me, in the sight of my enemies. You have anointed my head with oil…I shall live in the Lord’s house until the end of days.” It is a beautiful poem.

The second reading continues our journey

through the Letter to the Ephesians. The heart of the matter (the heart of our shepherding) is to keep our eyes on Christ, and what he has done.

Christ’s achievement is to bring “near those who once were far away”; and there is a cost, of course: “by his blood”.

The letter understands Christ as “our peace, who made the two [opposing sides] into one, and broke down the wall of division”.

That is shepherd’s work, “and he came and brought the good news of peace to those who were far away, and to those who were nearby, so that through him both sides might have access, in one Spirit, to the Father”.

That is the task that we must take upon ourselves, this week.

The gospel tells us a bit more about our business of being shepherds.

The apostles have returned from their first attempt at it, and “reported to him what great things they had done and taught”. So he invites them for a debriefing, and some rest:

The God of our desires W

Conrad

HAT lies deepest inside authentic faith is the truth that God is the object of all human desire, no matter how earthy and unholy that desire might seem at times.

This implies that everything we desire is contained in God. We see this expressed in the psalms, which tell us that God is the object of our desires, and in Jesus, who tells us that it is in God that our deepest hungers and thirsts will be satiated.

And so we pray, without perhaps ever really being conscious of what we are saying: “My soul longs for you in the night.

You, Lord, alone, can fill my heart. You, O Lord, are my all.”

But is it really God that we are longing for in the night and aching for in our desires?

Do we really believe that God is the real object of our desires?

When we look at all that is beautiful, full of life, attractive, sexually alluring and pleasurable on earth, do we really think and believe that this is contained in an infinitely richer way inside of God and inside the life into which God invites us?

Do we really believe that the joys of heaven will surpass the pleasures of earth and that, already in this world, the pleasures of virtue trump the sensations of sin?

Do we really believe that faith will give us what we desire?

It would seem not. We, and almost everyone else, struggle to turn our attention towards God. We find religious prac-

tice and prayer more of a disruption to life than an entry into it, more a duty than an offer, more an asceticism than a joy, and more as something that has us missing out on life than entering into its depths.

In most of us, if we are honest, there is a secret envy of those who recklessly plumb sacred energy for their own pleasure; that is, we doggedly do our duty in committing ourselves to something higher, but, like the older brother of the Prodigal Son, we mostly serve God out of obligation and are bitter about the fact that many others do not.

This side of eternity, virtue often envies sin and, truth be told, this is particularly true regarding sexuality.

But partly this is natural and a sign of health, given that the brute reality of our physicality and the pressures of the present moment naturally impose themselves on us in a way that can make the things of God and spirit seem abstract and unreal.

That is simply the human condition and God, no doubt, understands. You would have to be a true mystic to be above this.

H

owever, it can be helpful to tease out more explicitly something we profess in faith, namely, that all that we find attractive, beautiful, irresistible, erotic and pleasurable here on earth is found, even more fully, inside its source—God. God is better looking than any movie star. God is more intelligent than the

Nicholas King SJ

Sunday Reflections

“Come, just you lot, privately, to a lonely place and rest for a while”, and the evangelist gives us the reason: “for those who were coming and going were numerous—and they did not even have time to eat”.

That can be the price of shepherding, of course, and Jesus wants them to have a break.

So “they went off in the boat, to a lonely place, privately”. But it does not quite work out as they had hoped, because “people saw them going. And many recognised them, and they ran together, and got there before them”.

So there is no time for rest and recreation, because they are called to be shepherds.

“When [Jesus] disembarked, he saw a huge crowd, and he was ‘gutted’ for them, because they were like sheep who had no shepherd.

So he began to teach them many things.”

What is your shepherding mission going to ask of you this week?

Southern Crossword #662

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

brightest scientist or philosopher. God is more witty and funny than the best of our comedians. God is more creative than any artist, writer or innovator in history. God is more sophisticated than the mostlearned person on earth. God is more exuberant than any young person. God is more popular than any rock star. And, not least, God is more erotic and sexually attractive than any woman, man or sexual image on earth.

We don’t ordinarily think that or believe this about God, but those statements are as much dogma as are the strictest Church-doctrines on record. Everything that is alluring on earth is inside God, in even a richer form, since God is its author.

However, that does not take away the power of earthly things to allure, nor should it.

Countless things can overwhelm us with their stunning reality: a beautiful person, a sunset, a piece of music, a work of art, youthful exuberance, a baby’s innocence, someone’s wit, feelings of intimacy, feelings of nostalgia, a glass of wine on the right evening, a stirring in our sexuality, or, most deeply of all, an inchoate sense of the uniqueness and preciousness of our own lives.

We need to honour those things and thank God for the gift, even as we make ourselves aware that all this is found morerichly inside God and that we lose nothing when virtue, religion and commitment ask us to sacrifice these things for something higher. Jesus, himself, promises that whatever we give up for what is higher will be given back to us one hundredfold.

Knowing this, we should live our lives fully enjoying what is earthy and earthly.

The beauties and pleasures of this life are a gift from God, meant to be enjoyed.

But, by being aware of their source, we can also then be free enough to accept the very real limits that life puts on our desires.

And, better still, we need not fear death, since what we lose will be trumped onehundredfold by what we gain.

aCroSS

1. Demonstrate at the performance (4) 3. He follows St John Bosco (8) 9. Deduce negative hell (7) 10. This Tom could be opposable (5) 11. Inadequate means? (4-8) 13. Consumers are doing it (6) 15. He writes his name (6) 17. Experience of a bolt from the blue (5,2,5) 20. Tropical fruit (5) 21. Make calm (7) 22. Took no refusal (8) 23. Miss Blyton back to eat (4)

DoWN

1. Sighted about fifty and insulted (8) 2. It’s unfit for human consumption (5) 4. O, Aidan, find a name for God (6) 5. Filled with zeal (12) 6. Menu aid indicates inhabitant of Judea (7) 7. Mount to which Moses went up (Dt 32) (4) 8. Prime notions about forewarnings (12) 12. Reduced in strength (8) 14. Aunt set out with possible lockjaw (7) 16. It has a minaret (6) 18. Kind of cereal cake at one (5) 19. Father of Ahab (1 Kg 16) (4)

Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

A

MORNING prayer: So far today, Lord, I’ve been good.

I haven’t gossiped, nor lost my temper, nor been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, nor over-indulgent. I’m very happy about that.

But in a few minutes, Lord, I’m going to get out of bed and from then on I’m probably going to need a lot more help.

Amen.

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