YEAR-END REVIEW The Southern African CPLO celebrated its 20th anniversary this year. Germany’s bishops’ conference criticises a parliamentary vote to allow same-sex marriage. The Missionaries of Charity trademark the distinctive habit of their order popularised by Mother Teresa. Former Northern Ireland and Manchester United footballer Philip Mulryne is ordained to the priesthood in Dublin. The Vatican rules out permitting gluten-free Communion hosts. Pope Francis introduces a fourth pathway to canonisation: giving one’s life in a heroic act of loving service to others. A proposed law that would require the licensing of “worship centres”, such as churches, and of “general religious practitioners” would amount to limitations of freedom of religion and association, the CPLO warns. Bishop Victor Phalana of Klerksdorp hails 45 tavern owners in his diocese who have committed themselves to the fight against a culture of rape and femicide. The Vatican shuts down the fountains in St Peter’s Square in the midst of a drought. A theme song for Mini World Youth Day in Durban in December is released with a video. “The Mighty One” was written by Justin Nanak and Thandeka DubeNdhlovu. Fr Thomas Weston SJ tours South Africa and Swaziland to present the Jesuit Institute’s Winter Living Theology on the subject of addiction.
AUGUST
The bishops of Southern Africa focus on race in their mid-year plenary meeting in Mariannhill, saying the Church can help in the national racism debate. Bishop Valentine Seane, 51, of Gaborone resigns unexpectedly for what he says are “personal reasons”. Bishop Frank Nubuasah of Francistown is appointed administrator of Gaborone. At least 11 people are killed in a shooting during Mass in Ozubulu, Nigeria. The Dominicans celebrate the 100th anniversary of the arrival of their friars in South Africa. Later in the year, the Cabra Dominican Sisters celebrate 150 years in the country, and the King William’s Town Dominican Sisters 140 years. The Church throughout the world marks the centenary of the birth of martyred Archbishop Oscar Romero. There are hints that he may be canonised in 2018. Sr Ruth Pfau, the “Mother Teresa of Pakistan”, is given a state funeral in the Muslim country after her death at 87 on August 10. The Catholic Women’s League’s national council will be based in Johannesburg for the next three years following the election of Bernice Cocci as national president. Twelve people about to begin a Marian procession are killed by a falling tree in Madeira, Portugal. Archbishop Mario Cassari, nuncio to Southern Africa from 2012-15, dies at on August 19 at 73. Kenya’s bishops condemn postelection violence that left 24 dead following the disputed presidential elections. Some 72 members of Neocatechumenal Way of South Africa go on a ten-day itinerant mission, travelling without money or cellphones throughout Southern Africa.
SEPTEMBER
Bishop Michael Wüstenberg, 63, of Aliwal North retires for health reasons. Christopher West, a speaker on Theology of the Body from the US, addresses audiences in South Africa on sexual ethics. Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria leads his third Southern Cross pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Rome and Assisi. A survey in Britain finds that 53% of respondents say they have “no religion”. St Augustine College, South Africa’s Catholic university, is invited by the International Federation of Catholic Universities to join an initiative that, through the Vatican’s new Department for Promoting In-
Left: Pope Francis leads a vigil in May at the shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal where he commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Marian apparitions there. Right: Altar servers lead the recessional procession after the Mass in Cape Town’s St Mary’s cathedral in June to mark the beginning of the jubilee year leading to the 200th anniversary of the Catholic Church being established in South Africa. (Photos: Paul Haring/CNS; Günther Simmermacher)
The Southern Cross, December 13 to December 19, 2017
A Vatican court convicts Giuseppe Profiti, former president of the Vatican-owned paediatric Bambino Gesu hospital, of abuse of office for using donations belonging to the hospital’s foundation to refurbish a Vatican-owned apartment used by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, former Vatican secretary of state. Mr Profiti’s sentence is suspended. Cardinal Bertone was not investigated. Pope Francis makes a phone call to outer space as he speaks to astronauts on NASA’s International Space Station. Bishops from the metropolitan region of Durban resolve to uphold a 1981 SACBC resolution that no party political speeches are to be permitted at Church events. Durban’s Emmanuel cathedral is packed as 80 clergy from different Christian denominations celebrate an ecumenical service to mark the 500th anniversary of the start of the Reformation.
NOVEMBER
Left: The restored edicule that covers Jesus’ tomb in the church of the Holy Sepulcher is seen during a ceremony marking its unveiling. Right: Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg blesses the ground for the new diocesan Marian shrine and pastoral centre in Magaliesburg after a sodturning ceremony in February. (Photos: Sebastian Scheiner, Reuters/CNS; Alexis Santana Callea) tegral Human Development, will provide support to papal diplomacy on important global issues. Pope Francis makes changes to the Code of Canon Law regarding translations of the Mass and other liturgical texts that give bishops’ conferences greater power in introducing liturgical texts. Salesian Father Tom Uzhunnalil is released 18 months after he was kidnapped in Yemen. The sultan of Oman was reportedly instrumental in securing the Indian priest’s release. Pope Francis visits Colombia, urging reconciliation after a 50year civil war. Fr Teresito Soganub, vicar-general of the prelature of Marawi, Philippine, is released after almost four months in captivity by ISIS-inspired militants. Sr Hermenegild Makoro CPS, secretary-general of the SACBC, briefs Pope Francis on behalf of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, of which she is a member. A group of conservative priests and laity, including the head of the schismatic Society of St Pius X, accuse Pope Francis of propagating heresies. Forty Catholic institutions worldwide, including Catholic Welfare & Development, the social welfare agency of the archdiocese of Cape Town, decided to divest from fossil fuel companies. US priest Stanley Rother, who was martyred in Guatemala in 1981, is beatified.
OCTOBER
The official medal for Bl Benedict Daswa, authorised by Bishop João Rodrigues of Tzaneen, is unveiled. Rimon Makhlouf, a frequent guide of Southern Cross pilgrimages in the Holy Land and a Roman Catholic, dies suddenly on October 3 at 57. The bishops’ Justice & Peace Commission launches a Friday prayer campaign for the healing of our nation and to ask God to intervene in the political and economic situation of the country in the leadup to the ANC National Conference from December 16-20, at which the party’s members will elect their new leaders. Francistown in Botswana is elevated from vicariate to the status of a diocese. Slovakian Salesian Father Titus Zeman who died in 1969 from torture and radiation poisoning after forced labour in Czechoslovakia’s uranium mines is beatified. Bishop Tsoke is tasked with overseeing the establishment of Caritas in all dioceses of the Southern African pastoral region, with a view to having the Church’s charitable arm present in all parishes.
Fr Pius Afiabor of Rustenburg, regional superior of the Society of African Missions, dies on October 12 at 45. Retired Bishops Herbert Lenhof SAC of Queenstown and Fulgence Le Roy OSB of Polokwane die on October 13 and 14 respectively. Pope Francis says that the death penalty is contrary to the Gospel. Bishop Gabuza calls on candidates for the ANC presidency to declare their support for the establishment of a specialised anti-corruption court. An SACBC delegation led by president Archbishop Brislin, vice-president Bishop Sithembele Sipuka, and secretary-general Sr Makoro makes a submission to a parliamentary committee on the abuse of religion, saying that a law requiring all religious practitioners to register under umbrella organisations would amount to a violation of the right to freedom of religion and worship. The Franciscans celebrate 800 years since their arrival in the Holy Land, where today they are the custodians of major shrines. A Synod of Bishops for the PanAmazonian region will take place in Rome in October 2019, Pope Francis announces. Pope Francis proclaims 35 new saints, including the “Martyrs of Natal”, Brazil, and the “Child Martyrs of Tlaxcala”.
Archbishop Tlhagale approves the initial stages of an investigation into the possibility for a cause for sainthood for Domitilla Rota and Danny Hyams, the founders of Little Eden Home in Edenvale. The beatification of Indian Sister Rani Maria Vattalil who was murdered in 1995 at 41 is attended by her killer, Samandar Singh. Chris Langeveldt, a former Oblate priest and social activist, dies on November 2 at 66. Recognition of a national homeland for Palestinians is required to achieve justice and reconciliation in the Holy Land, English Catholic and Anglican leaders say to mark the centenary of the Balfour Declaration which culminated in the founding of Israel in 1948. The Justice & Peace Commission challenges 21 South African mining companies to explain why they are using tax havens. Pope Francis bans the sale of cigarettes in the Vatican. The Church marks the first World Day of the Poor, instituted by Pope Francis. Jesuit Father Fidelis Mukonori, parliamentary liaison officer for Harare archdiocese, is involved in mediating a graceful exit for the reluctant Robert Mugabe following the de facto coup in Zimbabwe. The country’s bishops urge “a speedy return to normalcy and constitutional order”. Thousands of Christians gather at Soccer City in Johannesburg for a National Day of Prayer for South Africa. Pope Francis begins his visit to Myanmar and Bangladesh. Organisers for Mini World Youth Day in Durban say more than 3 600 youth have registered to take part.
Springfield Convent School
Springfield wishes Cardinal Napier, Archbishops, Bishops, Clergy, Cabra Dominican Sisters, Parents, Staff & Pupils a blessed and peaceful Christmas
May peace be your gi at Christmas and your blessing all year through
15
In Memoriam
Fr Eric Boulle OMI, of Durban, on December 5, 2016 Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns, 95, retired of São Paul, Brazil, on December 14, 2016 Cardinal Gilberto Augustoni, 94, Swiss curial official, Brazil, on January 13, 2017 Fr Paddy Gallagher, 74, of Witbank, on February 13 Cardinal Desmond O’Connell, 90, retired of Dublin, on February 21 Fr Ludwig Brunner SAC, 77, of Oudtshoorn diocese, on February 23 Cardinal William Keeler, 86, retired of Baltimore, US, on March 23 Fr Mario Ceruti OMI, of Durban, on April 1 Fr Eugene Makhathini, of Mariannhill, on April 11 Cardinal Attilio Nicora, 80, Italian curial official, on April 22 Bishop Barry Wood OMI, 74, auxiliary bishop of Durban, on May 2 Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, 84, of the Ukraine, on May 31 Fr Bongani Manzini, 36, of Witbank diocese, on June 15 Cardinal Ivan Dias, 81, curial official formerly of Mumbai, on June 19 Cardinal Joachim Meisner, 83, retired of Cologne, on July 5. Fr George Gallagher SDB, 90, of Cape Town, on July 6 Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, 83, retired of Milan, on August 5 Archbishop Mario Cassari, 74, ex-nuncio to Southern Africa, on August 19 Cardinal Cormac MurphyO’Connor, 85, retired of Westminster, England, on September 1 Fr Gabriel Goibaiyer, 75, of Cape Town, on September 2 Cardinal Carlo Caffara, 79, retired of Bologna, Italy, on September 6 Fr Paul Fahy, 74, of Port Elizabeth diocese, on September 6 Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, 81, Italian curial official, on September 9 Fr Anthony Austin SCJ, 85, of Aliwal, on September 29 Fr Pius Afiabor SMA, 45, of Rustenburg, on October 12 Bishop Herbert Lenhof SAC, 81, retired of Queenstown, on October 13 Bishop Fulgence Le Roy OSB, 93, retired of Polokwane, on October 14 Fr Julian Black CP, 81, of Gaborone, on October 14 Cardinal Ricard Vidal, 86, retired of Cebu, Philippines, on October 18 Cardinal Bernard Panafieul, 86, retired of Marseilles, on November 12 Fr Zaba Mbanjwa OMI, 52, of St Joseph’s Theological Institute, Cedara, KZN, on November 15 Cardinal Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, 92, Vatican diplomat, on November 19 Fr Abie Tlhapi, of Klerksdorp, in November
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