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Getting our parishes to survive

Nun, 104, on long life: Always serve God

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Bishops to act on the rise in Satanism in SA

By MANdlA ZiBi

A

MID growing claims of demonic possession and Satanism in South Africa, the bishops have arranged a series of workshops—including one during next week’s plenary session in Pretoria—to educate priests about exorcism.

“There have been many requests from people to priests asking to be exorcised,” Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria, spokesman for the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), told The Southern Cross.

He said the usual plea is, “I am possessed

by Satan, can you help me?”, the archbishop noted, adding that “priests are nervous in that situation because they do not have adequate training in exorcism and do not fully understand what is involved”.

Many dioceses do not have official exorcists, which are priests appointed by the bishop specifically for the task, in line with canon law.

“Evidence of Satanism is constantly arising when priests conduct healing workshops,” said Archbishop Slattery.

“Many people today speak of Satanism being prevalent in society. While there may be exaggeration of reports of Satanism and possession, it seems that people get into serious spiritual trouble when they start dabbling in occultism,” he said.

Observing that there “seems to be sects and cults involved in worship of Satan”, the archbishop cited the case of a young man who claimed the right to worship the devil as part of South Africa’s constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion.

The issue of exorcism was raised by the Southern African bishops during their ad limina visit to the Vatican in April 2014.

“We requested the Vatican to offer us a workshop on exorcism. During the upcoming bishop’s plenary session next week, a day and a half has been set aside for a workshop on exorcism, where two exorcist experts from the United States will lead the discussion,” said Archbishop Slattery.

This will be followed by three more workshops in February; at the Bertoni Centre in Pretoria (February 1-2), in Benoni (February 3-5) and in Cape Town (February 7-8).

These workshops have been designed to assist priests and bishops to recognise the signs of satanic possession.

Archbishop Slattery explained that sometimes people imagine they are possessed and the Church needs to discern whether they need a simple blessing, a prayer for deliverance, or full scale exorcism.

“In my opinion, Satan acts through the evil in human hearts expressed in everyday actions rather than in extravagant displays of transcendent power,” said Archbishop Slattery, adding: “This is a more effective management procedure for Satan.”

He noted hat the devil’s aim is to destroy and he does that effectively by tempting people into serious sin.

“The first cure for Satanism is confession.

In a true and humble confession Satan comes face to face with Jesus,” he said.

In earlier times, exorcising was a matter of individual charisma and many practised it without ordination.

The rite of exorcism was conducted by bishops during baptism. Pagans were also exorcised, which often attracted them to Christianity.

The first exorcist in the Church was always the bishop, while exorcists’ ordinations were a step towards priesthood.

With time, an exorcist’s function was limited to priests officially chosen and appointed by the bishop. Some believe that no other ministry has so many traps and none demands such an ability of recognition and such special preparation. The ordination of exorcists as one of priestly ordinations was abolished in 1972, two years before the hit movie The Exorcist brought the issue to wider public awareness.

Several other issues are expected to arise when the bishops gather next week in Pretoria for their plenary.

These will include the launch of the Laity Council; the upcoming Mini World Youth Day which will take place in Durban; continuing discussion of Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia; discussion of the pope’s encyclical on the ecology, Laudato Si’, and the outcomes of the recent plenary meeting of the Inter-regional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA) in Lesotho.

Moungondo Martin Jacquy, a daily communicant at Nazareth House in Cape Town, has been selling The Southern Cross there for the past few years. He is well-known to parishioners, residents and children, always willing to help push the wheelchairs and share a joke or two, said Nazareth Sister Margaret Craig. Please keep sending photos of people selling The Southern Cross in your parish to editor@scross.co.za

Capital of saints: Italy T HE overwhelming majority of sainthood causes in the past decade have originated in Italy, according to the head of the Vatican office responsible for investigating the causes.

Of the 351 dossiers documenting the holiness of candidates for sainthood received by the Congregation for Saints’ Causes between 2006 and 2016, nearly 40% of them—139 causes—were from Italy, said Cardinal Angelo Amato, the congregation’s prefect.

The cardinal spoke at the start of a twomonth course offered each year by the congregation to teach future postulators to navigate the “laborious Church process” of promoting a sainthood cause.

The dossier, called a positio, documents the virtues, miracles or martyrdom of a potential candidate as part of a process for determining his or her holiness.

In that ten-year period, the cardinal said 43 countries around the world submitted at least one positio. One of these was from South Africa—that of Bl Benedict Daswa, over whose beatification Cardinal Amato presided in September 2015.

The leading countries after Italy are Spain

(60), Poland (22), Brazil (13), France (10), India (eight), the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Germany, Hungary (seven each), Portugal (six), and the Philippines (four).

Of the 351 candidates, Cardinal Amato said, 58 are potential martyrs.

In 2016, he said, there were 14 beatifications and 10 canonisations with the new saints coming from eight different nations: Mexico, Albania, Argentina, France, Italy, Poland, Spain and Sweden.

The new saints included one bishop (St Manuel Gonzalez Garcia from Spain), four priests (including the Argentine “gaucho priest”, St José Gabriel del Rosario Brochero), three religious women (St Teresa of Kolkata, St Mary Elizabeth Hesselblad of Sweden and French Carmelite writer and mystic, St Elizabeth of the Holy Trinity), and two martyrs, including St José Sánchez del Rio, a 14-year-old Mexican boy martyred for refusing to renounce his faith.

From these “dry statistics”, Cardinal Amato said, “flow wildly and abundantly, like fresh water in a desert oasis, the vital lifeblood of holiness that bursts forth into the world” making it fertile.—CNS

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2

The Southern Cross, January 18 to January 24, 2017

LOCAL

Durban port chaplain: ‘I’m a missionary’

By GReG WATTS

I

N his hard hat and hi-vis jacket, the man studying the list of vessels that are tied up in the port of Durban looks like any other dock worker. But he’s not concerned with the ships, or the cars, food or clothing they might be carrying.

Fr Herman Giraldo is the Apostleship of the Sea (AoS) port chaplain.

His concern is for the seafarers visiting the port and what he can do to help them. And each time he enters the port gates he never quite knows what awaits him inside.

AoS is the Catholic Church’s maritime agency, operated under the supervision of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People. Its chaplains and ship visitors work in 250 ports around the world.

Many of us are more familiar with airports than ports. Yet much of what we buy in the shops arrives by

sea, not air.

The port of Durban is the largest in South Africa and can accommodate 42 ships at any one time. It also contains a terminal for tyres and another for sugar, which are exported to countries all over the world.

Being a port chaplain is very different from his usual ministry at St Louis parish in Clairwood, in Durban’s southern suburbs.

“Parish ministry is quite easy because the people come to our church and we have everything set up for it.

We have bread and wine, altar servers, readers, and so on,” Fr Giraldo explained. “But when I go on board a vessel in the port, I have to do more preparation.’

Many of the seafarers he meets will have been away from home for weeks or often months. They know that there is no romance in being at sea. Working on a ship is all about long hours, living with a small crew day in and day out, and often receiv-

Mosque attack slammed

A

RCHBISHOP Stephen Brislin of Cape Town, president of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, has condemned an act of vandalism on a mosque in Simon’s Town, Cape Town.

Vandals left a pig’s snout and blood on the door of the mosque.

It was followed by another attack, on a mosque in Kalk Bay. “Such acts of intolerance, as well as hate speech, which seems to be increasing in our country, further damage the fabric of our already polarised society,” Archbishop Bris-

lin said in a statement.

“They contribute nothing to peace, stability or mutual understanding. This is a time in our country when we should be seeking and striving for the things that make for peace, unity and healing.

“South Africa has a long history of religious tolerance. It is regrettable that a few irresponsible, intolerant people wish to destroy that.

It is of utmost importance that they not be allowed to do so.”

The archbishop commended the leaders of the Muslim community in calling for calm.

ing low pay.

In parishes you always meet the same people and you often know what questions they might ask, Fr Giraldo said.

“In the port, you always meet new people. Seafarers arrive from many parts of the world, especially the Philippines. And often they have problems. They might not have been paid for months, they might have been badly treated by their superiors, or some might have experienced the trauma of being attacked by pirates.”

F

or most seafarers the number one concern is contacting their families back home. Surprisingly, few ships are equipped with access to the Internet and satellite phones are too costly for ordinary seafarers. Fr Giraldo provides seafarers with free Internet access in the seafarers’ centre, which he shares with chaplains from other missions to seafarers.

He celebrates Mass at the chapel every Saturday and Sunday—making sure there are cold beers available afterwards.

Seafarers will sometimes ask him to celebrate Mass on board a ship and also to bless cabins.

In September Fr Giraldo was given the honour of blessing a new floating dock during a ceremony held at Dormac Shipyard, attended by trade and industry minister Rob Davies and other dignitaries.

Tragedy struck the Aos last year with the violent death on October 24 of its national director, Terry Whitfield, a much-loved Knight of Da Gama. He had been a part of the Apostleship of the Sea in South Africa for over three decades and until 2013 coordinated the Indian

durban port chaplain Fr Herman Giraldo and Apostleship of the Sea national director Terry Whitfield at the blessing a new floating dock in September 2016. The following month, Mr Whitfield was found dead in his flat.

Ocean region’s work of the charity.

Fr Giraldo celebrated Mr Whitfield’s funeral at Holy Trinity church in Musgrave Road. “He taught me the importance of showing love and care for seafarers,” the chaplain said.

The priest admitted that the fast turnaround of ships today can make it difficult for him to meet seafarers.

Earlier in the year he tried to board a ship from Kenya after the AoS port chaplain there had contacted him to explain that the crew was in a state of shock after one of their shipmates had been killed in an accident. However, as the ship only docked at Durban for three hours before setting sail for Brazil he was unable to go aboard.

He tries to keep in touch with some of the seafarers he meets

through e-mail and Facebook. “My parishioners at St Louis are always here, but I might not ever see a seafarer I’ve met ever again.”

When Fr Giraldo arrived in South Africa from Colombia, he knew very little about the maritime world. The first time he went on board a ship was five years ago when Bishop Barry Wood asked him to take on the role of AoS port chaplain in Durban.

“I see myself not only as a priest but also as a missionary. Those who spend their life at sea have many needs,” he said. n To find out more about the Apostleship of the Sea in South Africa or to make an online donation to support their work visit www.apostleshipofthe sea.org.za

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LOCAL

The Southern Cross, January 18 to January 24, 2017

3

104-year-old nun’s secret to a long life: Be happy in all you do

By MANdlA ZiBi

W Robert and Audrey (née Jacobs) little of Cape Town this month celebrated the 50th anniversary of their wedding, an event that was covered in The Southern Cross with a photo (inset). Fr J Christiaans CSsR presided at the wedding of the two legionaries of Mary in 1967. Over the years they have been active parishioners at Grassy Park parish and now in Retreat. They have three daughters and three grandchildren, and were also foster parents to two of their twin nephews.

SA Maronite named ‘Man of the Year’ A SOUTH African has been named Man of the Year for 2016 by the World Lebanese Cultural Union.

Johannesburg-based Mr Hanna said he accepted the award “for the whole Lebanese South African community”.

Mr Hanna, a Maronite Catholic, has been the historian of that community. In 2014 he published a chronicle of the local Lebanese community titled, People of the Cedars, culminating his work of 40 years.

The book focuses on the Lebanese who came to South Africa at the end of the 19th century, and follows the journey of their children and grandchildren who built their lives and future in South Africa.

That year the Lebanese Emigration Research Centre (LERC) at Notre Dame University-Louaize, and independent Catholic university based in Beirut, presented Mr Hanna with its Acknowledgment Award.

At the time LERC director Dr Guita Hourani said that Mr Hanna merited the award because without his work, the history of the community would have been lost forever.

Mr Hanna holds the position of

Ken Hanna is seen here in 2014 receiving an award from the lebanese emigration Research Centre director dr Guita Hourani in Beirut. honorary editor of the Cedar Leaf, a publication which has served the Lebanese community of South Africa for four decades. He was also the first chairman of the Maronite Action Committee.

He has represented the Lebanese community of South Africa at two world congresses of the World Lebanese Cultural Union, and was elected president of the WLCU Johannesburg chapter in 2003.

Fr Roger Hickley celebrates Mass during the annual retreat of We Are All Church SA in Cape Town. dr Mags Blackie led the retreat on the theme “Practising the Presence of God”.

Retirement Home, Rivonia, Johannesburg Tel:011 803 1451 www.lourdeshouse.org

HEN she celebrated her 104th birthday last December, Dominican Sister Benedict Wurm attributed her longevity to being “happy in all I did and wherever I was sent”, because it was all part of God’s plan for her life.

“The secret of my long life is that all I did was in service of God and that I wanted to be there for the poor and sick, whoever they were. I believed that is what God wanted of me,” Sr Benedict said from her home in Emmaus convent’s frail care wing in East London.

Sr Benedict was born on December 28, 1912 near Munich in Bavaria, the first-born child of the Wurm family. They owned a plantnursery.

When she was 8, her mother died in child-birth. She and her siblings assisted her father in the nursery from early childhood.

After leaving school she worked for a family, looking after their three children.

“One day one of the children read out of a newspaper to his parents, that a group of Schlehdorf Dominicans was leaving for South

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Sr Benedict Wurm OP, 104 Africa to work in the missions. An inner voice suggested to me that I also should go to the missions.”

She found out where the Dominican Schlehdorf convent was— about 80km south of Munich—and then travelled there. Mother Prioress answered the bell herself.

When she saw the future Sr Benedict standing there, she embraced her and said: “Come in my child,

with you the new group of aspirants is complete. Now there are 13.” Sr Benedict entered the convent there and then, she recalled.

The group were received as novices in June 1937. When the outbreak of World War 2 became imminent in 1939 it was decided that the group of novices sail to South Africa the same year. Being novices, permission needed to be obtained from Rome. It was granted on the condition that the novicemistress accompany them.

After her profession of vows as a King William’s Town Dominican, Sr Benedict worked in various poor missions in South Africa.

“She was a very practical person and chose not to study. She was a real ‘'Jack-of-all-Trades’. Her work included gardening, carpentry, laundry, sewing, plumbing, building, kitchen-assistant and late in life, she even nursed our frail sisters,” said Sr Seraphia Pichlmeier, with whom she lives in Emmaus convent.

“All her life she’s worked very hard and is still very interested in people. She enjoys their visits and all that happens around her. She is great for her 104 years!” Sr Seraphia said.

4

The Southern Cross, January 18 to January 24, 2017

INTERNATIONAL

Aleppo friar: Learn about Syria, keep an open mind

By RHiNA GUidOS

S

YRIANS don’t want to leave their homeland, they want a safe place to live in peace, said a Franciscan friar from Aleppo, Syria.

Franciscan Brother George Jamal, who is originally from Aleppo, said even though the situation in his homeland is complicated, it is important to learn about it and if people feel inclined to do something, they can learn about the different aid groups in the region to see how to best help.

By some estimates, 5 million Syrians have left the country since the conflict began in 2011.

That includes some members of Br Jamal’s family.

“My family, too, wants to be back after the war is finished, he said. It is home.”

Recently, the Syrian government retook control of Aleppo after months of heavy fighting with rebel groups. It had been the largest city in the country before the conflict.

Last year, Staffan de Mistura,

United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, said the conflict has left 400 000 deaths in its wake and millions of people displaced as they have left to find safety in other countries.

Br Jamal said some of his friends had died in the conflict and one of his family homes was destroyed. When he visited a few years ago, after being away while studying, he said he felt “like a stranger” in his homeland.

Aleppo has more checkpoints, more destruction, but even in conflict, people find a way to hold on to whatever stability might be available, he said.

Christians are still carrying on with celebrations and customs, he said, and sometimes he still is able to see part of normal life through his friends’ posts on social media, the way any other 26-year-old keeps up with friends. But he said he has a feeling that what he knew of his city of Aleppo only exists now in his memory.

“I lost my past,” he said. “I have my past in my memory.”

As he studies elsewhere and awaits ordination, Br Jamal still dreams of one day returning home and helping the youth of Syria and those who have faced the decision to leave.

Asked what would be the best path for the country and best way to help, he encouraged people to keep open minds about the situation, which is hard to compare to other conflicts, to pray, to send material help, but also to consider the right situation for the people of Syria that can “help people to stay, not to get out”. Even those who leave want to return home, he said, but they're looking for peace and safety.

Syria is an important place to Christianity. It is known to Christian pilgrims who visited the country before the conflict and made treks to locales such as the Memorial of St Paul, the place where he converted to Christianity, and the house were Ananias baptised him. Both places are in or near Damascus, Syria.—CNS

Priest: Brazil’s prison system ‘cruel factory of torture’ By liSe AlVeS

T

HE more than 100 deaths of inmates since the beginning of the year in Brazilian prisons does not come as a surprise for Fr Valdir João Silveira, national coordinator of the Brazilian bishops’ prison ministry.

“Prison is a place of death and torture,” in Brazil, said Fr Silveira.

“It is a factory of torture that creates monsters,” he said before leaving for a trip to the Amazon region to meet with family members of inmates at prisons in the state of Amazonas.

Fr Silveira said if the prisons had animals instead of inmates, there would be international animal protection agencies campaigning against the cruelty and pressuring local, state and federal governments in Brazil for change.

“What we need is international attention to this question, to force authorities to take action,” he said.

Fixty-six inmates died in a 17-

A woman is seen crying outside a prison in Manaus, Brazil after her brother was killed during prison riots in the facility. (Photo: Ueslei Marcelino, Reuters/CNS) hour riot at Compaj prison in Manaus; many were decapitated and butchered. Authorities say the riot grew out of a dispute between rival gangs vying for control of drug routes and prisons.

Fr Silveira said he visited that prison three times. He said conditions were some of the worst that he had ever seen, with inmates needing medical attention and basic necessities such as food and

hygiene products.

“If a family member cannot provide for them and their basic needs, they go without,” said Fr Silveira.

Thirty-three inmates were killed in a similar uprising, this time in the agricultural penitentiary of Roraima. Since then, an additional four deaths were registered in another prison in the state of Amazonas and two in the state of Piauí.

Archbishop Sérgio Eduardo Castriani of Manaus had even harsher words to say about Brazil’s prison system.

In a statement released about the massacre at the city’s penitentiary, the archbishop noted that it is the function of the state to take care of the physical integrity of each detainee and emphasised “that the prison system does not rehabilitate the citizen...it offers the school of crime instead of offering occupational activities to inmates”.—CNS

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INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, January 18 to January 24, 2017

5

Doctrinal chief dismisses 'fraternal correction' of pope

By CiNdy WOOdeN

T icicles hang from a fountain in St Peter’s Square in the Vatican as Pope Francis leads the Angelus from the window of his studio. (Photo: Tony Gentile, Reuters/CNS)

Dominican: 90 years of profession, 110 years old

T

HE Dominicans have posted on their social media a greeting for the 110th birthday of Sr Marie Bernadette, “the oldest Dominican sister in the world”.

On the Dominicains de Bordeaux Facebook page, the sisters quoted their superior on the occasion of Sr Bernadette’s birthday: “For me, what’s most beautiful is that she will be professed for 90 years this coming April 18! That’s a record.”

“When she could no longer take care of the household chores, she made rosaries, and since she can no longer make them, she recites it all day” in French and Latin, but also in Basque, her mother tongue, Sr Veronique, prioress of the

Sr Marie Bernadette, the oldest dominican sister in the world monastery, told the French daily La Croix last year.

“She prays a lot for the pope, for vocations and for our order,” said Sr Veronique.—CNA

HE Catholic Church is “very far” from a situation in which the pope is in need of “fraternal correction” because he has not put the faith and Church teaching in danger, said Cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Interviewed on the Italian allnews channel, TGCom24, Cardinal Muller said Pope Francis’ document on the family, Amoris Laetitia, was “very clear” in its teaching.

In the document, the cardinal said, Pope Francis asks priests “to discern the situation of these persons living in an irregular union— that is, not in accordance with the doctrine of the Church on marriage—and asks for help for these people to find a path for a new integration into the Church according to the condition of the sacraments and the Christian message on matrimony”.

In the papal document, he said, “I do not see any opposition: On one side we have the clear doctrine on matrimony, and on the other the obligation of the Church to care for these people in difficulty.”

The cardinal was asked about a formal request to Pope Francis for clarification about Amoris Laetitia and particularly its call for the pastoral accompaniment of people who are divorced and civilly remarried or who are living together without marriage. The request, called a dubia, was written in Sep-

Archbishop: Stop the evolving culture of brutality

By PeTeR AJAyi dAdA

T

HE head of the Nigerian bishops’ conference has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to stop the evolving culture of brutality and savagery in Nigeria, which he said was unparalleled in its history.

Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos spoke after suspected Fulani herdsmen attacked indigenous farmers in southern Kaduna state in early January.

The diocese of Kafanchan, located in the area, estimated more than 800 people were killed, and damages to property and foodstuffs topped R236 million.

“We are becoming so sadistic that we do not see that such brutality creates a culture of im-

punity, chaos, anarchy and doom; as if the needless killing

by Boko Haram is not enough,” said Archbishop Kaigama.

“The manner in which lives are being taken right now in southern Kaduna and many other troubled areas of our nation is tantamount to a declaration of war against helpless and innocent Nigerians.

“How can human lives be so casually terminated with pictures of dead bodies, decapitated or disfigured corpses shown in the social media?” he asked.

“What is mind-boggling is the seeming insensitivity to the killings. Does it not trouble us that the international community is watching Nigeria with great apprehension?”

The archbishop said young

people were gaining the impression that life was cheap and could be taken away at a whim.

He said human life is sacred and cannot be sacrificed as if it were mere animal life for pleasure or celebration.

“For how long will killings, associated with demented or irrational reasoning, continue to be witnessed, especially in southern Kaduna, before a concerted effort is made to stop such carnage permanently?

“When will one Nigerian life matter, or must people be killed in thousands or millions before we realise the humongous damage done to our people?”

The diocese of Kafanchan said that more than 1 400 houses, 16 churches and 19 shops were destroyed in 53 villages.—CNS

Cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the doctrine of the Faith said the Church is “very far” from a situation where Pope Francis is in need of “fraternal correction”. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS) tember by Cardinal Raymond Burke, patron of the Knights of Malta, and three retired cardinals.

They published the letter in November after Pope Francis did not respond.

Cardinal Burke said the pope must respond to the dubia because they directly impact the faith and the teaching of the Church. If there is no response, he said, a formal “correction of the pope”—effectively suggesting that the pope is committing a dictrinal error— would be in order.

C

ardinal Müller said that “a possible fraternal correction of the pope seems very remote at this time because it does not concern a

danger for the faith”, which is the situation St Thomas Aquinas described for fraternal correction.

“It harms the Church” for cardinals to so publicly challenge the prefect said.

In his letter on the family, Pope Francis affirmed Church teaching on the indissolubility of marriage, but he also urged pastors to provide spiritual guidance and assistance with discernment to Catholics who have married civilly without an annulment of their Church marriage. A process of discernment, he has said, might eventually lead to a determination that access to the sacraments is possible.

The possibility reflects a change in Church teaching on the indissolubility of marriage and the sinfulness of sexual relations outside a valid marriage, in the view of the document written by Cardinals Burke; Walter Brandmüller, former president of the Pontifical Commission for Historical Sciences; Carlo Caffarra, retired archbishop of Bologna, Italy; and Joachim Meisner, retired archbishop of Cologne, Germany.

Cardinal Müller said: “Everyone, especially cardinals of the Roman Church, have the right to write a letter to the pope. However, I was astonished that this became public, almost forcing the pope to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the cardinals’ questions about what exactly the pope meant in Amoris Laetitia.”

“This, I don’t like,” Cardinal Müller said.—CNS

6

The Southern Cross, January 18 to January 24, 2017

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

No divine mandate

R

ECENTLY President Jacob Zuma clumsily admonished churches not to get involved in his business of politics, but he seems to regard himself as qualified to meddle in theirs.

Addressing a 105th birthday celebration event of the African National Congress in Soweto this month, Mr Zuma delivered a peculiar analogy between his party and the incarnation of the Saviour.

“We believers never forget that, just like the Son of Man who came to wash away all of our sins, the birth of the ANC happened to free the people who were oppressed. We will never forget that, just like we don’t forget Christmas,” Mr Zuma said The president has a history of invoking the Christian faith to make a political point. In 2008 he predicted that “we [the ANC] will rule until Jesus comes back”, an assertion he repeated in July last year.

As we now know, there was no Second Coming after the ANC lost the metros of Johannesburg, Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay in the municipal elections in August.

His statements suggest that Mr Zuma believes that his party is ruling by some kind of divine right. One needs to be neither a theologian nor a political scientist to spot the flaws in this curious notion.

The absolute monarchs of old (and a few still today) justified their autocratic rule by claiming that the feudal caste system was willed by God, constituting a natural order. Those who opposed the principle of the aristocratic order’s divine right to rule were therefore seen as defying God. When Mr Zuma invokes his party’s divine right to rule, he is proposing that voting against the ANC represents an act of defiance against God. That is an affront to South Africa’s believers and to our democracy.

If Mr Zuma really believes that the ANC is ruling by God’s mandate, then the party must subject itself to accountability before God. The ANC would have some difficulty explaining to God how its abortion law, for example, is reflecting his will, or how the looting of public funds—as even its own secretary-general describes it—by ANC appointees complies with the Seventh Commandment.

Mr Zuma’s idea of the ANC

ruling by divine mandate is an alarming echo of the theological justifications for apartheid which were used by the National Party to propagate its evil system.

Unlike the Nats of old, Mr Zuma will not find a credible church willing to support his proposition that the ANC is specifically blessed by God. Indeed, many a scrupulous theologian may consider his claims blasphemous.

We doubt that Mr Zuma actually subscribes to his absurd claims of a divine mandate. It seems more likely that he engages in manipulative and hyperbolic oratory when he invokes God. In doing so, Mr Zuma loses sight of a striking paradox: during apartheid, the National Party’s propaganda machine portrayed the ANC as an entity in conflict with God and support for it as an act of impiety; today the leader of the ANC is employing the very same tactic against its opposition.

The irony goes further. When Mr Zuma claims a divine mandate on basis of the ANC having been blessed by pastors when it was founded, and by more pastors since then, he forgets that the founding father of apartheid was a man of the cloth, Dominee DF Malan.

It is good to receive clerical blessings, but they grant no absolution from transgressions.

There are many good reasons to cast one’s vote for and against any political party in South Africa, including the ANC. The Catholic Church does not endorse one party over another, though it may claim the prerogative to comment on specific policies which violate the Gospel or the Church’s teachings.

The Church, whose claims to discern God’s will are more credible than those of Mr Zuma, commends and encourages our democracy, and wants it to be strengthened further.

Mr Zuma’s near-blasphemous proclamations undermine our democracy in a bid to satisfy a hunger for power, and in doing so assails basic principles embraced by virtually all religions in South Africa.

The president would do well to adopt a bearing of humility before God, and offer the electorate good reasons why they should vote for his party—out of their free will.

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.

Death penalty: What the Church says

L

ATELY in our secular newspapers and social media there gave been calls to reopen the debate about the death penalty.

It would seem that there is a possible campaign afoot to reinstate that form of punishment for certain heinous crimes.

Towards the end of 2016, the South African Police Service published its annual crime statistics, and in the light of such an alarming report, many people wanted to reinstate the death penalty in order to deter such terrible crimes.

Our Constitution of 1996 states emphatically that “everyone has the right to life” (par. 11), and also that “everyone has inherent dignity and right to have this dignity respected and protected” (10).

Save water, money

W

ITH the drought and water restrictions affecting us, everyone I know is desperately asking: “But just how am I supposed to save water?”

My answer: Plug all waste water outlets in the home, and continuously collect all waste water from every source into 10-15 buckets.

Do not flush any toilets ever, but use only the waste water in your buckets to directly flush toilet bowls as and when it is necessary to do so.

All waste water can be used in buckets to water the garden, wash the car, windows and so on.

I’ve done this, and in the last 11 months I’ve saved 110 000 litres of valuable drinking water and R3 000 on my municipal accounts—and everybody can do the same.

And please, may we all pray very earnestly for God-sent rain.

José Scalabrino, Cape Town

Abortion: Our govt is heretical

I

WOULD like to comment about the deadly sin called legal abortion by our government which is not concerned about poor innocent babies who cannot help or protect themselves, but is concerned for murderers, saying they have a right to live.

Our government abolished the death sentence, saying everybody had the right to live. At the same time it said it was the choice of the woman to abort a child if she wished.

In other words, the death sentence was not really abolished but was transferred to innocent babies because now they can be killed every

Prior to this, President FW de Klerk had abolished the actual death penalty in 1995, after a decision by the Constitutional Court, declaring it to be unconstitutional.

Even before these legal events, in 1990, the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference issued a statement on capital punishment, calling for the abolition of the death penalty.

It is also relevant that the corrected edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 1997 declared that “the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity ‘are very rare, if not practically non-existent’”. The final insertion was the result of a clause in Pope John Paul II’s 1995 encyclical letter Evangelium vitae.

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

single day, and the murderers and rapists have a nice time in their works of darkness, as the government gave them protection.

The blood of innocent people flows like a river every day. The government does nothing about it.

Some of the people from the government speak about bringing peace—but there will be no peace until the government brings back the right to life for unborn babies.

That’s why there is violence, wars, killings and accidents in the world, because these innocent babies are robbed of their right to live by the government who want to buy votes from their mothers.

So selfish they are, that God himself has now come to the decision now to avenge their deaths if this law of abortion is not abolished.

Since legal abortion started in almost 20 years ago, in February 1997, around 1,2 million babies have already been killed in South Africa.

Although he has his wickedness, Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe at least protects unborn babies—there is no abortion in Zimbabwe. For this alone, God will forgive him all his wickedness.

I would also ask all those doctors who kill babies so cruelly that they repent and realise that God hates it.

We have a heretical government.

Nonhlanhle Ngcobo, Anerley, KZN

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Pope Francis is also on record as being against the use of the death penalty.

All that this letter is trying to do is to, firstly, alert our Catholic faithful to the resurgence of the death penalty debate; and, secondly, to remind people of the Church’s position in recent tines regarding the use—or abuse—of the same form of punishment.

This recent development in the Church’s thinking is just another instance of a deepening understanding in moral theology concerning ethical issues.

Catholics need to be more aware of this vital debate and, furthermore, by cognisant of the arguments for and against capital punishment.

Fr Hyacinth Ennis OFM, Pretoria

Memories of my late father

T

HANK you for publishing the kind words of Peter Onesta about my late father, Anthony (January 4).

What is significant about Mr Onesta’s letter is that 35 years after my father’s death he still cherishes memories of him and his faith.

Surprisingly, the Department of Planning (later called the Prime Minister’s Office in the time of P W Botha) tolerated two committed Catholics on its staff.

I could easily write a book about my saintly father’s life and artistic abilities. Best of all, he was truly ecumenical in his belief and interaction with others. I think, this explains why he appealed to so many.

One inspiring memory I have of him was his life-long practice of making the Stations of the Cross every day. His Franciscan lifestyle included his cycling to work until his left leg was severely injured 20 years before his death. Following six months in hospital, he was determined to resume cycling, at least, every evening after work to the Redemptorist Monastery church in Hillcrest to “do” his favourite devotion.

He practised the Way of the Cross by quietly moving from station to station, pausing at each in silent, meditative prayer—what is called today "centering prayer".

He often said that he would like to wear out and not rust out. Although he retired in 1971 from his cartographic career in Trig. Survey, he worked for another eleven years in the Prime Minister’s Office, being incapacitated with a heart condition only five days before his death.

Fr Kevin Reynolds, Pretoria

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PERSPECTIVES

Our prayers can help change the world

I

HAVE a confession to make. I am not very good at praying the rosary. Despite of my best efforts, my mind often wanders.

When I am on my own, I lose count of how many Hail Marys I’ve said or forget to move my fingers along the rosary beads. Sometimes that my decade has as many as 20 Hail Marys and it has taken me an hour to get through one decade, never mind one mystery!

When I pray in a group, I become overwhelmed by the sheer speed at which the prayers are said that I lose the desire to pray.

The only time I can successfully pray the rosary is when I suffer from insomnia, and even then, I find it is a very good remedy for getting me to fall asleep!

Despite my failings with this powerful and traditional Catholic prayer, it is a beautiful way of praying with Mother Mary for the intentions of the world. It was the prayer Our Lady asked the three children at Fatima to pray at a time when the history of the Western world seemed to hang in the balance, in that last year of the First World War. This year we celebrate the centenary of the apparitions in Fatima. It would be good for us to remember the message of Fatima when the world seems to be standing at a dangerous crossroads once more.

Our Lady chose three unimportant, poor children from a rural backwater, far from the seat of political, military or economic power, and invited them to become instruments for the conversion of the world.

From this forgotten place in the far corner of Western Europe was born a renewed commitment to prayer, particularly the rosary, with a specific intention: for evil to be overcome and the world to once again turn to the love of God. It is so easy to become discouraged in

our efforts to work for the greater good when we consider our own smallness in the face of the massive challenges that assail the world. In times like these, it is good to remember the three children of Fatima. Useless in the eyes of the world.

Precious in the eyes of God. Powerful instruments in the hands of Our Lady.

S

imilarly, we are not helpless victims of the injustices of our world; we are God’s instruments to raise up an army of prayer that can overcome evil.

Many years after the apparitions at Fatima, St John Paul II was able to reveal to the Church and the world that the promise of Fatima had indeed come true.

Through prayer, the world can be transformed. The greatest evil of the 20th century was the secularisation of society and efforts by totalitarian governments to eradicate religion.

It is worth remembering that when Our Lady first appeared to Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta in May 1917, the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia had not yet

The visionary children of Fatima, standing outside the home of Francisco and Jacinta in Aljustrel, Portugal.

Sarah-Leah Pimentel

The Mustard Seeds

happened (that event took place 12 days after the final apparition, in October that year). So the world could not even imagine how devastating communist rule would become, or how it would divide the world in two, or how the effects of the Cold War would be felt so deeply in Europe, America, and Africa.

Yet, communism was overcome. Yes, there were political efforts that helped to destroy the Berlin Wall and eliminate many other walls and fears that the world had lived with for 40 years. But just as important was the prayer of millions of people throughout the world who heeded the call and message of Fatima—the silent and invisible power that helped those walls to crumble.

As the world once again grows dark and we are afraid of what the future holds, let us embrace the message of Fatima and renew our efforts to pray for the transformation of the hatred that permeates the nations into love.

I will devote the next four editions of this column to opportunities for prayer— by focusing on the forgotten conflicts and social injustices that the media often overlooks. By telling the stories of the people at the heart of political, military and economic conflicts, I hope that it will be a call for us to pray for the world, so that our hearts can truly be ready to celebrate the 100 years of the promises and miracles of Fatima.

See page 11 for a beautiful “cut-outand-keep” prayer from 1984 by St John Paul II which sums up what I have been discussing here. It is as relevant today as it was when he wrote it.

Nobody is created without purpose Emmanuel Ngara I N the last three columns we looked at three biblical figures as leaders: Abraham, Joseph and Moses.

A close look at the story of these three figures will show how, when connected together, their stories become the story of the rise, development and establishment of Ancient Israel as a people and a nation, with each of these figures playing a specific role in the development that unfolds.

At the beginning of the story, God tells Abram (whom he subsequently renames Abraham): “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you” (Gen 12:1-2).

A few chapters later the Lord makes a covenant with Abram, and also tells him: “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated 400 years…In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here” (15:13-16).

The day when Pharaoh decided to release the Israelites and let them go, the children of Israel had been in Egypt for 430 years: “Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of 430 years, to the very day, all the Lord’s divisions left Egypt” (Ex 12:40-41).

The children of Israel were now leaving Egypt under the leadership of Moses. It was under the leadership of Moses that the Israelites became a nation that clearly identified with the one true God, received the

Christian leadership

“Joseph’s Bloody Coat Brought to Jacob”, by diego Velázquez (1630). Joseph, like Abraham and Moses, shows that everybody is created for some purpose, emmanuel Ngara writes.

Ten Commandments and learnt various religious laws and practices.

N

ow, what is the place and role of Joseph in all this? Joseph was a greatgrandson of Abraham for he was a son of Jacob (whom God renamed Israel), the son of Isaac, Abraham’s son of the promise.

Joseph, “the dreamer”, was responsible for the migration of Jacob and his family from Canaan to Egypt.

His brothers thought they were punishing him by selling him to the Ishmaelites, but he became the saviour of the family during the seven years of drought that devastated the whole region. As he said to his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but

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God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Gen 50:20).

In terms of leadership roles Joseph was the link between Abraham, the founder of the Israelites, and Moses, the liberator who led the Israelites back to the Promised Land. It was as if Joseph was taking his family back to the Promised Land for “Moses took the bones of Joseph with him …” in fulfilment of the latter’s wishes (Ex 13:19).

Despite the glory he enjoyed in Egypt, Joseph was a great patriot and a faithful servant of the Lord.

There are many lessons we can learn from this story, but I would like us to focus on this one aspect: No one is created to play no role in his or her society. You were born in a particular society at a particular point in time for a purpose.

We may not be as great leaders as Abraham, Joseph and Moses were; but God has called each one of us for a purpose—to serve our family, our country or our Church.

The challenge is to pray that we may discover that purpose, and serve God and humanity as faithfully as these three Biblical figures did.

The Southern Cross, January 18 to January 24, 2017

7

Michael Shackleton

Open door

How long for confession?

I went to a communal penitential service in Advent, thinking that six priests would get through the confessions faster than normal.

Not so. The first part of the service prepared me well to unburden my soul. But the priests were keeping penitents for ten or more minutes each. After 30 minutes in a restless queue I left and went home. Why can’t priests adapt themselves to this extraordinary communal setting, hear the confession and then just get on with it?

Mildred

Y

OU have a number of choices when you want to confess your sins in the sacrament of reconciliation.

You can go to confession during the regular times in your parish; you can ask your priest to hear your confession at another convenient time; you can attend a liturgical penitential service.

You chose to participate in a community service and probably did so because you were advised that this was a good opportunity for parishioners to prepare themselves spiritually for the happy liturgical celebration of the birth of Christ.

No community, not even the average parish, is perfect in keeping the rules and regulations that bind it together. The parish as a group strives to avoid sin and to do acts of faith, hope and charity, as our Christian faith requires, but the failings of individuals detract from the achievement of this common vocation.

This is where the community penitential service comes into its own. Together we ask forgiveness of God and one another and promise to support one another as a family does, as we grow in holiness and reparation for sin, waiting to receive the kingdom of God. You remarked that the first part of the service prepared you well. So I guess you listened attentively to the sacred readings and were guided by the words of encouragement to live a truly Christian life. Then you backed out before a priest could absolve you and give you the spiritual hug of Christ’s mercy that reconciles you with Christ and your fellow parishioners.

Priests take into account the large numbers lining up for confession and do not prolong the duration of the penitent’s contrition or their own words of advice and comfort. Priests as doctors of the soul have to “treat” each penitent thoroughly before they can attend to the next one.

The priest does not condemn the sinner for sin. Like Jesus, he waits to hear real repentance for sin and then is glad to pronounce the words of absolution to restore the soul to wholeness of mind and spirit.

A penitential service may not suit everyone, so do not despair. Priests are ready to hear your confession any time you ask. So, maybe you can take it from there.

n Send your queries to Open Door, Box 2372, Cape Town,

8000; or e-mail: opendoor@scross.co.za; or fax (021) 465 3850. Anonymity can be preserved by arrangement, but questions must be signed, and may be edited for clarity. Only published questions will be answered.

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The Southern Cross, January 18 to January 24, 2017

COMMUNITY The Catholic Women’s league at Our lady of the Rosary parish in Thabong, Welkom, came together to spoil their priests this Christmas.

(From left) Fr Moluka Mokhoamathe, Fr Michael Rasello, Mrs lebata, Mrs Ramoejane and Mrs Motofo.

They also presented Christmas gifts to their priests. (Submitted by Mxolisi Ndakana)

First Communion was celebrated at Our lady of Fatima parish in Bellville, Cape Town. Pictured with the communicants are cathechist Cynthia Manwaring and Fr Babychan Arackathara MSFS, the visiting priest while Fr Bogdan Buksa was on holiday. (Photo: Abie Cader)

The Franciscan Sisters of Siessen in the archdiocese of Bloemfontein celebrated the jubilees of Srs Constantia Montoeli (40 years) and lioba Sehenye and Agnella Nakalebe (50 years). in addition, Srs Claudia Sebolecwe and Justina Keeke made their final vows. The main celebrant was Archbishop Jabulani Nxumalo. Superior-general Sr Anna-Franziska and Sr Carine together with Sr Maria from Germany were among many visitors who came to rejoice with the sisters.

young people at St Therese parish in edenvale, Johannesburg, celebrated their First Communion. Pictured with catechist Corrine Belovay are (from left) Bradyn longhurst, Nothando Mpofu, Carlo Nunes, Sabrina Peleias, Ashley Corns,yonela Mahashe, elle-Renee Ngomsi and Raphael McCarthy.

A retreat preached by Fr don Bohé OMi at Rabbuni Retreat Centre in Klerksdorp had as its theme “For me to live is Christ”.

People from Mahikeng, lesotho, Johannesburg, Kimberley, Klerksdorp, and Potchefstroom attended.

Amber Johnson,Tehillah Woldson, liam Kaylor, Mia Hendrickse and leah Kemp made their First Communion at the Ottery chapel of Our lady Help of Christians parish in lansdowne, Cape Town. With them are cathechists Chantelle Witten and dillon Barnes and parish priest Fr eoin Farrelly SdB.

St John Bosco parish in Robertsham, Johannesburg, launched its third season of “Renew Why Catholic?”. each Renew Small Christian Community was asked to make a colourful banner advertising their group. Pictured are the Ormonde community with their banner ready to proceed into the launch Mass.

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The Southern Cross, January 18 to January 24, 2017

CHURCH

9

Getting our parishes into the black Many parishes face a monthly struggle to survive because their members are not giving enough support.

SHeldON VANdRey proposes a solution.

L

AST night I had a dream, literally, I had a dream. It was a strange dream. Strange in the sense that all dreams are strange, but equally strange in that I was told in my dream to write this article. So here I am, typing away.

So in that dream, my wife and I are visiting the White House. In the foyer of that presidential building in Washington, I see my parish priest—apparently also there, all the way from South Africa. I tell him about my idea that every parish should have a “sustainability account”. He asks me to tell him more, which I do. He then tells me to write an article about it for The Southern Cross.

OK, dream over, this is my idea, one that I’ve had for a while: a “sustainability account”.

Many parishioners may be annoyed at the weekly collections, sometimes two, on top of the Planned Giving which they, hopefully, signed up.

“Why all this need for money?

The Church is supposed to provide religious guidance only, so what am I paying for?” they might ask.

Well, every parish and every diocese has expenses. From the simple—paying the electricity and municipal bills—to the more com-

plicated, paying levies to the diocese that it belongs to. One can’t run the parish on Hail Marys alone.

The Bible talks about tithing, proposing that we give 10% of your income to the Church. The statutes of the Catholic Church state that parishioners should give 3% of their income. That is not a lot.

Yet, sadly, many working people, perhaps most, do not give a cent towards the upkeep of their parish. This I know, because I served on the parish finance council of a parish that has more than 500 families. Our monthly expenses averaged about R20 000. But during my tenure, our monthly income averaged about R18 000.

Clearly that this is not financially sustainable.

How did we manage? We ate into our reserves. As any financial expert, and anyone with common sense, will tell you, that’s also not a good thing.

Those annoying fundraisers Various fundraising efforts throughout the year supplemented our income and became a necessity to cover the gaps. In addition to that, every organisation within the parish also did annual fundraisers, for their own survival.

Of course, parishioners used to complain about the number of fundraising events being held. One parishioner even mentioned that all these frequent fundraising events caused a bottleneck, and that we were milking the same parishioners over and over.

As a whole—that is, the parish

and the organisations in the parish—we averaged about three to four fundraisers per quarter. This particular parishioner also indicated that since he also paid planned giving, he saw no need to contribute to the almost monthly fundraisers.

Why is that a parish of 500+ families was financially unsustainable, with the number of fundraisers being an indicator of the financial health of the parish?

If every family gave just R50 a month, then the parish would have a surplus every month and could build up reserves. Clearly not every family was not giving even the bare minimum, while others were giving more than their fair share, and still it was not enough.

In most families, there were two and sometimes more people working (for example, adult-children still living at home). If every working person gave even just a minimum, our parish would not have a problem.

Cashflow was also a problem, with a lot of people paying a “lump sum” at the end of the year when they received their December bonus. This was also not sustainable, as at that time of the year, most people are in wind-down mode, and paying pledge is the last thing on their mind.

Finding a solution So the solution for the parish to becoming financially sustainable is for every member who is receiving an income to pay a minimum of R50 on a monthly basis—preferably via debit order, for their convenience and to ensure that it does

When parishioners don’t support the parish financially, then the parish cannot function well. Sheldon Vandrey proposes a system that he believes would sustain parishes—and cut down the number of fundraisers. (Photo: Ulrike May) happen on a monthly basis—into the parish account.

Some 10% of funds could go into a sustainability account, of which only the interest is used on a monthly basis and the principal sum is left intact.

This system of a “sustainability account” could eliminate the need for fundraisers—other perhaps than those the parishioners enjoy participating in, such as bazaars and social functions—and the parish would slowly over time find it’s self in a position to start providing services to parishioners free of charge.

And these services are important, such as supplying our chari-

table groups (here the St Vincent de Paul Society and Ladies of Charity) on a monthly basis out of parish funds for their good works, or sending members of the youth group, free of charge on an annual leadership camp.

The parish could even find itself in a position to stage an annual parish dance free of charge to thank parishioners for their support throughout the year.

Lastly, if the parishes are financially sustainable, then so too will be our dioceses. n Sheldon Vandrey is a parishioner of Holy Spirit church in Port Elizabeth.

Tell us what you think of his suggestion by e-mailing editor@scross.co.za

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The Southern Cross, January 18 to January 24, 2017

MUSIC

Sacred music and…jazz? Composer explains why Could jazz music have a place in the liturgy? A jazz composer thinks it could, and explains why to eliZe HARRiS, proposing arguments that can also be applied to the Southern African Church.

F

OR composer JJ Wright, the Second Vatican Council’s call to inculturate the Church’s ancient musical traditions into “mission territory”—while preserving its unity— is something he has adopted personally with one of his greatest passions: jazz.

The American composer said that when people go to a new culture for

the sake of evangelisation, “one of the ways you can [evangelise] is by incorporating into the Western European traditions of the faith, the native traditions”.

He argued that even the US could be called “mission territory” since its culture is “definitely not like a Catholic culture”. Because of this, “I see one of the ways of evangelisation through sacred music”.

Vatican II’s constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, asks that provisions revising liturgical texts allow “for legitimate variations and adaptations to different groups, regions and peoples, especially in mission lands, provided that the substantial unity of the Roman rite is preserved; and this should be borne in mind when drawing up the rites and devising rubrics”.

The document noted that “in cer-

is to be attached to their music, and a suitable place is to be given to it, not only in forming their attitude towards religion, but also in adapting worship to their native genius”.

Mr Wright said that, for him, making sacred music sound familiar to peoples’ own individual and cultural realities opens “a lens into the deeper tradition”. While he finds the fusion of jazz and sacred music to be an expression of his own faith, it’s “not meant to define sacred music”.

“It’s more like I’m speaking their language so that they can find a way in.”

Composer JJ Wright. (inset) The cover of O emmanuel, which features both jazz and sacred music.

M

ister Wright is an American pianist, conductor and composer who holds a Masters of Sacred Music from the Catholic University of Notre Dame and was previously a member of the US Naval Academy band.

tain parts of the world, especially mission lands, there are peoples who have their own musical traditions, and these play a great part in their religious and social life”.

Because of this, “due importance

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During his time in the navy, he collaborated with well-known jazz vibraphonist Dave Samuels on a Latin-jazz CD that ended up winning a Grammy.

In addition to his studies for his doctorate and interning with the Sistine chapel choir, Mr Wright released a new CD called O Emmanuel, which is the first of his projects that features both jazz and sacred music as part of the same project.

While not all of the songs have the jazz element, Mr Wright said the CD is meant to follow a spiritual journey that “encompasses the whole tradition of sacred music from chant to polyphony, up through modern music and jazz”.

Though the new CD is his first larger attempt at joining jazz and the tradition of sacred music, Mr Wright said he would be willing to write a jazz Mass should he ever have the opportunity.

Prominent names in the world of jazz such as Mary Lou Williams and Dave Brubeck have already written Masses in the style. The influential Williams, a convert to Catholicism before her death in 1981, performed her third Mass for Pope Paul VI in Rome in the early 1970s.

“One of the things I’ve been really cognisant of is that there are very strong opinions on both sides as to what types of music are appropriate for the liturgy,” Mr Wright said, explaining that while a jazz Mass might be in his future, his new CD “is not liturgical”.

He said that his CD is “an experiment to test the waters and to see if this works”, adding that while it works for him as an artist in terms of being “an authentic expression of my faith” and to be “a really invigorating way to create art”, he is also open to how other people will respond.

Another unique element of the new CD is that it features the Notre Dame Children’s Choir, which consists of Christian sacred music vocalists up to the age of 17.

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s a project that’s free and completely supported by the university, the choir is mean “to engage with people who don’t have as many privileges” in the area, such as immigrants and those who live in poverty.

The idea, Mr Wright said, is to “create an environment where you can bring people from different backgrounds together in sacred music”, teaching them values such as inclusiveness.

In terms of how this vision relates to the CD, Mr Wright said the choir’s director wanted the CD to be “a catalyst” for the greater mission of the choir, which focuses on how new music can “excite young people to want to build a great tradition of sacred music for now within the spirit of diversity and social justice”.

Mr Wright said he can see his entire life’s work as a sacred music artist involving this sort of partnership, “because it’s a way to unite people in an extremely non-confrontational way”.

Another “really cool” aspect of jazz is that it opens the door for people, particularly children from different demographics, to come together.

“Our sacred music tradition is a white tradition, it’s Western-European. That’s not a slight, that’s just what it is,” he said, noting that jazz “is a predominantly black tradition and it’s the music of the AfricanAmerican people that flourished through the 20th century and flourished through their oppression”.

What they were able to do is create “this incredible body of art that represented their struggles in our society”, Mr Wright said, explaining that he sees jazz as a way to unite people from different backgrounds.

“Not only are the two different types of people coming together, the two musics are coming together and they each have a home,” he said, adding that when people come together and build this type of “organic union of community, you can maybe break down” some of the barriers that might be separating them.—CNA

CLASSIFIEDS

Irene Elizabeth De Beer

O

N December 16, 2016, shortly before 3pm, Irene Elizabeth de Beer (née Sesele), an 83 year old widow and catechist affectionately known as “Atta” by family and close friends, made the sign of the cross and said: “Lord, be with me!” She died shortly after.

Her Requiem Mass was celebrated by Fr Jean-Claude Tshitenge Lusamba at the St Barnabas parish in Elliot, Eastern Cape.

Irene was born in Cala, Eastern Cape, on October 23, 1933, the fourth-oldest in a family of nine. In 1985 she married Ruben Benjamin Jacobus de Beer, a widower and farmer from Ugie, Eastern Cape.

After her husband’s death she relocated to Elliot where she worked, retired and lived as a widow for 30 years.

With much affection, she shared her home with her three siblings, two sisters and a brother and two nephews. This “motherly” role she embraced wholeheartedly, with all its pleasantries, difficulties, and challenges.

In later years, through service and prayer she dedicated herself to the Lord as catechist in the small Catholic community.

Her family fondly remembers her boldness on matters of faith.

In the early 1990s, when the parish priest at the time refused to baptise a relative’s child, she

irene ‘Atta’ de Beer discerned the situation and concluded that the circumstances required a drastic intervention.

With great faith, she performed an “emergency” baptism on the baby girl in her home.

She also practised devotion to the Blessed Mother and to the Divine Mercy and participated in the Rosary prayer group and prayed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy at 3pm everyday in her home.

In his homily Fr Lusamba paid tribute to the widow and catechist who was a “meek and humble soul”. She was a prayerful, courageous, kind-hearted and peace-loving woman, who took care of those who lived with her.

Fr Lusamba said that he was fortunate to have accompanied her on her spiritual journey and the insights of her life. “She was devoted to the catechism, en-

lightening the teenagers about the Holy Trinity, the Church and our common call to please God as his children”, Fr Lusamba said.

“Irene de Beer had been a double offering: Dedicated to the Holy Trinity and to the Blessed Mary, she liked to pray,” Fr Lusamba emphasised.

He further mentioned that she was blessed with private revelation, which he later found had similarities to approved Marian messages.

Fr Lusamba said her legacy serves as an inspiration to the small parish community and others should learn from her life.

Irene supported the community, attending activities, funerals, and school meetings and the community remembers her as a “mother”; someone they could always talk to without hesitation.

She was an example of someone who “carried her cross till the end—she never tried to shorten her cross”.

Loved by all her relatives, her sudden death left sadness and a void—for many there was no time to say “goodbye”.

She died in the presence of her two sisters and nephews, the family members with whom she shared her home and lovingly cared for. By Colleen Constable

Your prayer to cut and collect

St John Paul II’s Prayer to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Immaculate Heart! Help us to conquer the menace of evil, which so easily takes root in the hearts of the people of today, and whose immeasurable effects already weigh down upon our modern world and seem to block the paths towards the future!

From famine and war, deliver us.

From nuclear war, from incalculable self-destruction, from every kind of war, deliver us.

From sins against the life of man from its very beginning, deliver us.

From hatred and from the demeaning of the dignity of the children of God, deliver us.

From every kind of injustice in the life of society, both national and international, deliver us.

From readiness to trample on the commandments of God, deliver us.

From attempts to stifle in human hearts the

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 742. ACROSS: 1 Bisect, 4 Uplift, 9 Good and proper, 10 At large, 11 Bacon, 12 Sneak, 14 Vegan, 18 Overt, 19 Dossier, 21 Radioactivity, 22 Widths, 23 Canyon. DOWN: 1 Beggar, 2 Swollen headed, 3 Chair, 5 Parable, 6 Impeccability, 7 Throng, 8 Added, 13 Antioch, 15 Borrow, 16 Educe, 17 Pray on, 20 Shiva.

Word of the Week

El Shaddai: The Lord God Almighty, the all sufficient one—name given to God in the Old Testament (Genesis, Psalms).

Jehovah Sabaoth: The Lord of Hosts. The chief meaning of Jehovah is derived from the Hebrew word Havah meaning “to be” or “to exist”. This denotes a God who reveals himself unceasingly.

Sabaoath means “armies” or “hosts”.

very truth of God, deliver us.

From the loss of awareness of good and evil, deliver us.

From sins against the Holy Spirit, deliver us, deliver us.

Accept, O Mother of Christ, this cry laden with the sufferings of all individual human beings, laden with the sufferings of whole societies.

Help us with the power of the Holy Spirit to conquer all sin: individual sin and the ‘sin of the world', sin in all its manifestations.

Let there be revealed, once more, in the history of the world the infinite saving power of the Redemption: the power of merciful Love! May it put a stop to evil! May it transform consciences!

May your Immaculate Heart reveal for all the light of Hope!

Amen!

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: Perpetual Adoration Chapel at Good Shepherd parish, Bothasig, welcomes all visitors. Open 24 hours a day. The parish is at 1 Goede Hoop St, Bothasig.

Phone 021 558 1412.

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 9:00. Holy Mass and Divine Mercy Devotion at 17:30 on first Friday of every month.

Sunday Mass at 9:00.

Phone 031 309 3496 or 031 209 2536.

The Southern Cross, January 18 to January 24, 2017

CLASSIFIeDS

11

Births • First Communion • Confirmation • engagement/Marriage • Wedding anniversary • Ordination jubilee • Congratulations • deaths • in memoriam • Thanks • Prayers • Accommodation • Holiday Accommodation • Personal • Services • employment • Property • Others Please include payment (R1,60 a word) with small advertisements for promptest publication.

IN MeMORIAM

VAN DRIeL—James. January 10, 1937—January 19, 2009. in loving memory of a husband, father, and grandfather. After faithfully serving your God, family and those in need, you were called to your heavenly reward. We remember your good example, words, acts of kindness and love. May you rest with the Holy Family, whom you were devoted to. RiP. We love and miss you, eunice and children: Maria, Nicky, Felicia, esther, ian, Rene, Marcelino and grandchildren.

THANKS

THANKS to Jesus, Mary, St Joseph of Cupertino and St John Bosco for prayers answered during Jamie’s exams.—yolanda THANKS to St Theresa of the child Jesus, St Jude, and St Joseph of Cupertino for prayers answered during damian and Ryan’s exams.—Tereza HUMBLe and grateful thanks to Our Blessed Mother Mary, Sts Jude, Rita and Thomas for prayers answered.—Merle

PeRSONAL

the Sacred Heart of Jesus be forever blessed and glorified. Holy Mary Mother of God, Pray for us and grant my request (name your request). Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be. Say this for 9 consecutive days and your request will be answered.

O MOST Beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendour of Heaven, blessed Mother of the Son of God, immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity.

O Star of the Sea, help me and show me where you are, Mother of God. Queen of Heaven and earth i humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to succour me in my necessity.

There is none who can withstand your power, O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Holy Mary, i place this cause in your hands. Say this prayer for 3 consecutive days and then publish.

Thanks to Jesus, Mary, St Jude, St Theresa for prayers answered

ABORTION WARNING: The truth will convict a silent Church. See www.valuelifeabortionisevil.co.za ABORTION ON DeMAND: This is legalised daily murder in our nation, silence on this is not golden, it’s yellow!

Avoid pro-abortion politicians!

PRAYeRS

INFANT Jesus of Prague: you hear my prayers and answer with infinite mercy and compassion. i will praise your name always— leela HOLY St Jude, Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles. Kinsman of Jesus Christ and faithful intercessor for all who invoke your special patron in time of need. To you i have recourse from the depths of my heart and humbly beg you to come to my assistance. Please help me now in my urgent need and grant my petition. in return i promise to make your name known in distribution of this prayer that never fails. May

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

GORDON’S BAY: Harbour Park. Sleeps 2 adults and 2 children. Fully furnished.

R2 100, per week. Phone Alison on 084 577 1356 ordelton on 083 414 6534.

SCOTTBURGH. Self-catering garden cottage, sleeps four. Phone Margaret 0837165161

Traditional Latin Mass

Liturgical Calendar

Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel 36 Central Avenue, Pinelands, Cape Town

Year A – Weekdays Cycle Year 1 Sunday 22, 3rd Sunday of the Year Isaiah 9:1-4 (8, 23-9, 3), Psalms 27:1, 4, 13-14, 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17, Matthew 4:12-23 Monday 23 Hebrews 9:15, 24-28, Psalms 98:1-6, Mark 3:2230 Tuesday 24, St Francis de Sales Hebrews 10:1-10, Psalms 40:2, 4, 7-8, 10, 11, Mark 3:31-35 Wednesday 25, Conversion of St Paul Acts 22:3-16 or Acts 9:1-22, Psalms 117:1-2, Mark 16:15-18 Thurday 26, St Timothy & Titus 2 Timothy 1:1-8 or Titus 1:1-5, Psalms 96:1-3, 78, 10, Luke 10:1-9 Friday 27 Hebrews 10:32-39, Psalms 37:3-6, 23-24, 39-40, Mark 4:26-34 Saturday 28, St Thomas Aquinas Hebrews 11: 1-2, 8, 19, Resp. Luke 1:69-75, Mark 4:35-41 Sunday 29, 4th Sunday of the Year Zephaniah 2:3, 3, 12-13, Psalms 146:6-10, 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, Matthew 5: 1-12

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the

4th Sunday: January 29 Readings: Zephaniah 2:3, 3:12-13; Psalm 146:6-10; 1 Corinthians 1:26-31; Matthew 5:1-12 HO are the most important people in the world? Not, according to the readings for next Sunday, the wealthy and the upper classes, but those who are the oppressed and marginalised, for they are closest to God. Look at Sunday’s first reading. There we are told to “seek the Lord, all you the oppressed of the earth, who have kept his judgement…seek justice, seek humility” in order to survive “on the day of the anger of the Lord”.

Then the prophet introduces the idea of the “remnant”, presumably the survivors of that anger, who are described as “a humble people, and poor; and they shall not tell lies”. Instead “they shall shepherd and feed the flock”.

Now we need to notice that this is all about God, not about human beings; and that point is adroitly made by the poet who composed the psalm for next Sunday, giving a list of God’s qualities (which you and I will do well to imitate): “the One who keeps in-

S outher n C ross

Jesus congratulates us

W

tegrity for ever, who does justice for the oppressed [that favoured class once more], gives food to the hungry, who sets prisoners free, the Lord who gives sight to the blind, the Lord who raises up those who are bowed down, the Lord who loves those who are just, protects the immigrant, lifts up the orphan and the widow”.

We are shown here those whom the Lord regards as really important, and they are not the celebrities whom the social media hold up for our brief admiration.

Paul is making a very similar point in the second reading, though the issue before his mind is the squabbling that has arisen in Corinth as a result of them all thinking how important they were. They might not have been especially pleased to be reminded of “the moment of your call: not many of you were wise according to the flesh, not many were powerful, not many were nobly born— no! God chose the morons of the world…and the weak of the world…and the unborn of

the world, and those who are made-nothingof, the Nothings”.

Instead, as always, the divided Corinthians have to come back to “Jesus Christ, who became our Wisdom from God, and our Righteousness and our Consecration and our Redemption”. So the Corinthians—and we— are reminded to do all our boasting “in the Lord”, and not to think of ourselves as the most important people in the world (which we all too easily do, of course).

We get the same message in the gospel reading for next Sunday, that breathtaking opening to Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount, which we call the “Beatitudes” or (as some translations put it) the “Congratulations”.

And who are singled out for happiness or blessings or congratulations? The most unexpected people of all, it seems: “the poor in spirit” (this is sometimes translated as “those who know their need for God”, which works quite well); then there are “those who mourn”, who always tend to be neglected (it

Why we may not judge sin R

Conrad

ECENTLY, while on the road giving a workshop, I took the opportunity to go the cathedral in that city for a Sunday Eucharist. I was taken aback by the homily.

The priest used the Gospel text where Jesus says, “I am the vine and you are the branches”, to tell the congregation that what Jesus is teaching here is that the Catholic Church constitutes what is referred to as the branches and the way we link to those branches is through the Mass—and if we miss Mass on a Sunday we are committing a mortal sin, and should we die in that state, we will go to hell.

Then, aware that what he was saying would be unpopular, he protested that the truth is often unpopular but that what he just said is orthodox Catholic teaching and that anyone denying this is in heresy.

It’s sad that this kind of thing is still being said in our churches.

Does the Catholic Church really teach that missing Mass is a mortal sin and that if you die in that state you will go to hell?

No, that’s not Catholic orthodoxy, though popular preaching and catechesis often suppose that it is, even as neither accepts the full consequences.

Here’s an example: Some years ago, I presided at the funeral of a young man, in his twenties, who had been killed in a car accident.

In the months before his death he had for all practical purposes ceased practising his Catholicism. He had stopped going to church, was living with his girlfriend outside of marriage, and had not been sober when he died.

However, his family and the congregation who surrounded him at his burial knew him, and they knew that despite his ecclesial and moral carelessness he had a good heart, that he brought sunshine into a room and that was a generous young man.

At the reception after the funeral one of his aunts, who believed that missing Mass was a mortal sin that could condemn you to hell, approached me and said: “He had such a great heart and such a wonderful energy; if I were running the gates of heaven, I would let him in.”

Her comment wonderfully betrayed something deeper inside of her, namely, her belief that a good heart will trump ecclesial rules in terms of who gets to go to heaven and the belief that God has wider criteria for judgment than those formulated in external Church rules.

S

he believed that it was a mortal sin to miss Mass on Sunday—but, for all the right reasons, could not accept the full consequences of that, namely that her nephew was going to hell. Deep down, she knew that God reads the heart, understands human carelessness, welcomes

Nicholas King SJ

Sunday Reflections

might be catching, you see), “the meek” (the last people you would think of congratulating), “those who hunger and thirst for justice” (rather than for immense bank-balances), “the merciful”, “the pure in heart”, the “makers of peace” (Matthew has invented this word, but that does not matter), and the “persecuted”.

And, of all things, Jesus now turns to us and congratulates us on those occasions when “they revile you and hassle you and say everything evil against you, for my sake”.

And what are we to do when that happens? Not, as you might suppose, telephone our lawyers, to see if there might be money in this, but “rejoice and exult, for your reward is immense with God”.

It is quite clear that Jesus, now starting his life’s work, is inviting us to rethink who we imagine the most important people are.

Southern Crossword #742

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

sinners into his bosom, and does not exclude goodness from heaven.

But that still leaves the question: Is it orthodox Catholic teaching to say that it is a mortal sin to not go to church on a Sunday and that such an ecclesial lapse can send you to hell? No, to teach that categorically would itself be bordering on heresy.

Simply stated, Catholic moral theology has always taught that sin is a subjective thing that can never be read from the outside. We can never look at an action from the outside and say: “That’s a sin!”

We can look at an action from the outside and say: “That’s wrong!” But that’s a different judgment. From the outside we can judge an action as objectively wrong, but we can never make the judgment that it’s a sin.

Moreover this isn’t new, “liberal” teaching—it is already found in our traditional catechisms. Nobody can look at the action of someone else and say: “That’s a sin!” To teach that we can make such a judgment goes against Catholic orthodoxy.

We can, and must, affirm that certain things are wrong, objectively wrong, but sin is something else.

Probably the most quoted line from Pope Francis is his famous response to a moral question where he simply responded: “Who am I to judge?” He’s in good company. In the Gospel of John, Jesus says: “You judge by appearances; I judge no one.” That, of course, does not mean that there isn’t any judgment.

There is, it’s real, and it can condemn someone to hell.

But it works this way: God’s Love, Life, Truth, and Light come into the world and we judge ourselves apposite them. God condemns no one, but we can condemn ourselves. It is God’s Love, Life, Truth, and Light against which we weigh ourselves and these determine who goes where, already here on earth and in eternity.

In our catechesis and our popular preaching we must be more careful in our use of the term “mortal sin” and in our judgments as to who goes to heaven and who goes to hell, fully aware that there wasn’t any group which Jesus was harsher on than on those who were making those kinds of judgments.

ACROSS

1. Religious group split in two (6) 4. Raise the spirits to the top floor (6) 9. Thoroughly beneficial and correct (4,3,6) 10. Not tiny and not yet captured (2,5) 11. Old Franciscan philosopher for breakfast (5) 12. What the snake may do (5) 14. Some special diet to give Gandalf (5) 18. Manifest (5) 19. Dire SOS about batch of documents (7) 21. Broadcast of nuclear particles by the Vatican?

(13) 22. Sideways measurements with Sid (7) 23. Deep gorge could be grand (6)

DOWN

1. Egg in the bar to give the mendicant (6) 2. Why the conceited bishop’s mitre won’t fit (7,6) 3. A rich person’s seat (5) 5. Simple story by Jesus (7) 6. Impossibility of falling into sin (13) 7. Very big congregation (7) 8. Something more (5) 13. The church of Acts 13 (7) 15. Bow outside or right to use what’s not yours (6) 16. Bring out the potential (5) 17. Keep the petition going (4,2) 20. Rash Ivan holding Jewish period of mourning (5)

Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

A

Catholic priest, a Unitarian minister and a rabbi are discussing when life begins.

The priest says: “Life begins at conception!”

The minister says: “Life begins at 24 weeks gestation!”

The rabbi says: “You are both wrong, Life begins when the kids move out of the house and the dog dies.”

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