SC June 23 AL.qxd (Page 1)

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Parish of the
Month from
the Cape
50 from SA
at closing of
priests’ year
Mystery over
why bishop
was killed
How the
gospels
see Jesus
www.scross.co.za
June 23 to June 29, 2010
Reg No. 1920/002058/06
No 4681
R5,00 (incl VAT RSA)
SOUTHERN AFRICA’S NATIONAL CATHOLIC WEEKLY SINCE 1920
Inside
Mini-world cup for unity
Catholic organisations have launched a football tournament in Pretoria featuring teams of
migrants and South Africans as a way of
helping to forestall the threat of renewed
xenophobic violence.—Page 3
Aids funding alarm
The Vatican’s nuncio to the United Nations
has sounded alarm over cuts in international
funding for the fight against HIV/Aids which
affect several countries, including South
Africa.—Page 4
Books reviewed
We review books on the study of Jesus,
African music and a novena for stressed
Catholics.—Page 10
Jesus, the man
In his monthly column, Mphuthumi Ntabeni
reflects on the search for the historical
Jesus.—Page 9
What do you think?
In their Letters to the Editor this week, readers discuss Church land, constructive
change, praying for abuse survivors, Divine
Mercy, and family planning.—Page 8
This week’s editorial:
A Church of penance
The dome of St Peter’s basilica at the Vatican is silhouetted as the sun sets in Rome.
PHOTO: PAUL HARING, CNS
‘God can’t be kept out
of morality debate’
BY CHRIS CHATTERIS SJ
Vuvuzelas in
‘town of rest’
don’t faze bishop
BY BRONWEN DACHS
T
HE sound of vuvuzelas made for a
sleepless night for Rustenburg’s bishop
as football fans watched and then celebrated World Cup games less than 2km from
his residence.
Bishop Kevin Dowling, who lives near the
44 000-seat Royal Bafokeng Stadium, said
there was “an incredible sense of celebration” among local residents and visiting fans,
who included US Vice-President Joe Biden,
who attended the United States’ 1-1 draw
with England.
“It is amazing that sport is able to unite
the nation like this, and I hope we can build
on this spirit of unity when the tournament
is over,” said Bishop Dowling. He laughed as
he told of the sound of thousands of people
blowing the plastic horns and depriving him
of sleep.
Vuvuzelas are said to be based on kudu
horns and rooted in African history.
In a statement released as the World Cup
began, Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban
urged South Africans to “welcome the world,
encounter the world, learn from the world so
that the world will know that we remain the
Rainbow Nation, diverse and united”.—CNS
W
HETHER we—or politicians—like it
or not, God is a part of the process
of any national debate on morality.
This was the consensus of the second
Jesuit Institute/University of Johannesburg
discussion held at Holy Trinity church at
Braamfontein, Johannesburg.
How one understands God’s role and the
extent to which this role can be articulated
in explicitly religious language remains,
however, a point for ongoing discussion.
Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg presented the Catholic case for religious engagement in the public sphere. He
drew on principles of natural law common
to all reasonable people and expressed the
need for a clearly articulated ground for
moral consensus.
Rooted in natural law, Catholic social
thought holds to a number of key themes
that have direct bearing on public morality—the common good, respect for persons,
subsidiarity and the option for the poor.
None of them are specifically Catholic in
content and can thus be used effectively in
finding common ground.
The archbishop was fiercely critical of the
widespread corruption he saw in contemporary South African public life. It was challenges such as these that made a national
debate on morality essential, he said.
Political analyst Professor Steven Friedman holds a joint post between Rhodes and
Johannesburg universities and is a regular
preacher in a small Reform synagogue. He
acknowledged that while it was necessary to
bring a strongly religious presence into the
moral debate, it was by no means easy.
Within religions as much as between them
debates can be acrimonious.
The panel: Professor Steven Friedman, Rev
Frank Chikane and Archbishop Buti Tlhagale
To illustrate his point, he told an amusing Talmudic tale of how, during a dispute,
God tried to convince a group of rabbis that
one of them was right—and got told off for
his trouble.
Despite this, Prof Friedman argued, religious persons need to take a clear stand on
public issues. This was particularly true
when faced by a tendency to see public life
as a means to feathering one’s own nest.
The sheer greed of politicians is disturbing,
Prof Friedman said. One of the challenges
facing religious communities today, he said,
was reminding corrupt politicians that
“enough is as good as a feast”.
Having been tortured in the 1980s by a
deacon within his own church, Rev Frank
Chikane was all too aware of how internally
divisive political issues can be within religions. Yet, he argued, we need a more publicly engaged church in this new era. Like
the other speakers, Rev Chikane saw the
need for a debate on national morality that
moved beyond the narrow confines of parliamentarians’ private lives.
The corruption of public office, he said,
flew in the face of the “revolutionary morality” that was part of the culture that he and
many other activists had imbibed during
the struggle. There was a need for a new
struggle and a return to what he called a
“conservative revolutionary morality” based
on a contextual reading of the Christian
Gospel.
As it was during the first Jesuit Institute/University of Johannesburg forum, also
on the morality conversation, debate after
the speakers’ addresses was robust. A number of the audience raised the point that
since 1994 many of the public figures who
had led the moral struggle against apartheid
had disappeared from the scene. The role of
the Church had in some ways faded into
the background.
Other respondents felt that the nature of
the public debate had changed so much
that a new language was needed to continue the engagement. It was no longer
enough for the Church and the religious
community to simply “protest”.
One problem that was raised by the floor
was that of moral relativism. By talking
about ethics in context was one simply saying that there was no such thing as right or
wrong? None of the panel wanted to accept
such a claim, even though they equally
were unwilling to see simplistic one-line
solutions to complex problems.
For a number of participants, the questions that have been raised by this and the
previous conversation on the “national
moral debate” need to continue.
Among the guest speakers there has been
a strong common feeling that public morality cannot simply be expressed according to
particular and institutional religious doctrines, but must reflect a broad basic consensus between and within religious traditions. In this respect, there is clearly a
“space” for God in the public debate.
2
The Southern Cross, June 23 to June 29, 2010
LOCAL
Protest laws discussed at faith gathering
BY FR MOKESH MORAR
M
ORE than 30 community
leaders representing 14
organisations gathered for
a workshop in the Bethlehem diocese to discuss legislation on freedom of association and dissent, as
well as access to information.
The workshop was organised by
the local Sekwele Centre for Social
Reflection and the Freedom of
Expression Institute and saw leaders from ten rural towns discussing
and debating the Regulations of
Gathering Act (RGA) and the Promotion of Access to Information
Act.
“It is the pain of the people suffering and waiting, waiting, and
when we are tired of waiting then
we protest, and perhaps they [the
authorities] will listen to our cry,”
said one community leader.
Community leaders said that
people do not protest because they
like it, but in most instances it's
from frustration over lack of services, despite public meetings or
imbizos, organised by municipalities.
Despite such consultation, they
said, the concerns of communities
are not listened to, nor do they
receive promised feedback from
local authorities until they have
protested against poor service
delivery.
“Our leaders lack skills to really
listen and to address our concerns.
They make empty promises and
we are tired of it after so many
years,” one participant said.
In April it was reported that
there had been more protests and
demonstrations since President
Jacob Zuma assumed office than in
other post-1994 political administrations.
Participants said they were at
the workshop to learn and understand what the procedures and
regulations were that govern
protest gatherings—as their sense
of responsibility dictated—which
also dictated organising peaceful
and non-violent protests.
Many felt workshops were
essential for police and government officials to get them to
understand the RGA. Copies of the
manual The Right to Protest: A
handbook for Protesters and Police
was handed out at the workshop.
But it was not always against
poor service delivery by local government that people were protesting, the workshop heard.
“Farm communities are still facing evictions and the hardships
that go with it in the new democratic South Africa,” said one member involved in issues affecting
farm workers.
Mining companies, many of
whom are BEE compliant, are
resettling people through forced
removals like the apartheid
regime, said an activist.
Panel highlights work still to be done
BY KEN LANCASTER
C
ARDINAL Wilfrid Napier of
Durban participated in an
interfaith panel discussion at
the Durban Progressive Jewish Synagogue (DPJS) during the biennial
conference of the South African
Union for Progressive Judaism.
Themed “Challenges facing the
Abrahamic faiths in the 21st Century”, the panel included the
leader of the Durban Progressive
Jewish Congregation, Rabbi Hillel
Avidan and Sheikh Rafeek Hassan,
a well known Durban Muslim
scholar. The discussion was moderated by Rabbi Robert Ash of Johannesburg.
Cardinal Napier briefly sketched
his early life in rural Matatiele in
the diocese of Kokstad, where he
matriculated before going to Ireland and Belgium to study and
train for the priesthood.
He said his interaction with
people of different nationalities
and cultures during this period
made him aware that, irrespective
of these differences, people are all
children of God.
Sheikh Hassan referred to the
followers of Judaism, Christianity
and Islam as “people of the book”
with many common beliefs and
practices. He said there is a great
measure of religious tolerance in
South Africa.
Born in Australia, Rabbi Avidan,
who studied and worked in England, spoke of his experiences of
leading within the reformist Jewish tradition.
Challenges facing the monotheistic religions were also identified
and discussed. These included the
problem of fundamentalism and
D
EACON Brent Chalmers of
Immaculate Conception
parish in Rosebank, Johannesburg believes that where many
people are gathered, diversity of
talent and skill is collected in a
single space, which he says many
fail to realise.
The deacon, who runs an
online South African interfaith
spiritual agency, The Soul Provider
Trust, pointed out that God has
blessed each individual in ways
that each has probably only partially seen or noticed.
“There does come a time at
which the bottom line has to be
drawn and the question has to be
asked: What is there for God to see
as a return for what He’s invested
in us? Where’s the harvest? What
have we done with our gifts? What
good story do we have to share
with our dear Father when we get
home?” he said. With these questions in mind Soul Provider runs a
SUBMITTED BY KELSAY CORREA
Parents warned of new
cocktail drug, Nyope
BY MICHAIL RASSOOL
Rabbi Hillel Avidan, Sheikh Rafeek
Hassan, Rabbi Robert Ash and
Cardinal Wilfrid Napier.
extremism in all religions, of tolerant attitudes towards same-sex
marriages or unions and the role
of women in the clergy.
Panellists agreed that there was
a need for more dialogue and follow-up meetings on these and
other issues to be dealt with in
greater depth.
‘Soul’ workshops to enhance your life
BY MICHAIL RASSOOL
Learners and staff at St Ursula’s School in Krugersdorp North donned
their favourite football jerseys and joined in the 2010 World Cup celebrations. Pre-primary, primary and high schools gathered for a special
football prayer to pray for the success of the tournament. All participating countries were represented and their flags, especially South
Africa’s, displayed at various spots throughout the school.
“soul workshop” at Immaculate
Conception’s Community Centre,
on Thursdays at 18:30-19:30.
The aim is to develop the
group's spirituality and knowledge
of the Christian faith over a certain period. Each workshop focuses on a topic relevant to the life of
the soul.
 For more information to start one,
contact Deacon Chalmers on
011 646 6763, fax 086 637 4727, email [email protected]
or visit www.mysoulprovider.org
The
A
PORT Alfred parishioner has
sounded a warning to parents about a drug youngsters
are abusing.
Joe Stas, who attends St James
church, Port Alfred, in the Port
Elizabeth diocese, has warned that
the drug, Nyope, which teenagers
in his area are fast getting hooked
on, is destroying their young lives
and family relationships.
Mr Stas, a long-time campaigner
against drug abuse and a crime
police reservist, told The Southern
Cross that the drug is a mixture of
dagga and heroin, selling for R35
and R40, and is an hallucinatory,
which can even lead to depression.
The police reservist said in
South African schools, learners
using drugs is on the increase and
more teenagers are landing up in
rehabilitation facilities at a cost of
up to R16 000 for every six weeks.
Rehabilitation does not help
because many return to drugs,
partly because of the ongoing
intensity of their addiction and
because of the stranglehold that
threatening and intimidating drug
dealers have over them, Mr
Stas said.
Mr Stas has now called for more
discipline from parents in their
attitude to raising children.
He said parents must continuously look out for any signs of
behaviour change, of using large
amounts of pocket money in a
short period, stealing from their
home, restlessness, lying about
movements and a drop in school
performance.
He has also advised teachers,
who are in daily contact with
learners, to inform parents about
their children’s behaviour in class,
lack of attentiveness and performance deficiency, as these may be
signs of drug abuse.
Mr Stas said prayers at a local
interdenominational prayer meeting during Christian Unity Week
included those for youth and
drugs, for strengthening the police
force in the fight against the drug
trade, and for putting drug dealers
behind bars for life.
He said that parents should be
extra vigilant during the school
holiday, saying that children will
be prey to drug dealers and human
traffickers.
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LOCAL
The Southern Cross, June 23 to June 29, 2010
3
Secular Franciscans
elect new board
BY MICHAIL RASSOOL
S
ELINA Williams and Janine
Cloete of Cape Town both
say that being Secular Franciscans has given their Catholic
faith its shape, scope and
meaning.
At the Secular Franciscan
Order (SFO) Cape Region’s elective chapter at the Holy Spirit
Centre in Maitland, Mrs
Cloete—a long-time parishioner of St Teresa’s in Welcome
Estate—said having been ministered to for much of her
faith-filled life by Capuchin
priests, and the examples they
set, is a huge factor in her
membership of the third order
of St Francis.
Mrs Williams, of St Luke’s
parish in Factreton, said her
31-year membership of the SFO
has taught her understanding
of other people and to be grateful for what she has. “I try to
love my neighbour as myself
and I try to live a good Christian life,” she says.
In his spiritual reflection at
the chapter, the local SFOs
chaplain, Capuchin Father
Albert Gonsalves of St Mary of
the Angels’ church in Athlone,
told members that Secular
Franciscans are called to live
the Gospel.
He said Secular Franciscans
are called to discern the things
of God in the world around
them according to the Gospel,
for which the greatest teacher
is the Holy Spirit. He spoke of
the centrality of the Holy Spirit
when St Francis of Assisi and
his circle, as well as those who
came immediately after, read
the Gospels effectively to the
many people they preached to
who could not read, but listened.
“The Gospel is the life of
Christ, and we are called to
believe that life and to live it,
practise it, and not just to
preach it, as St Francis did,” he
said.
Members of one of the teams partipating in the Peace Cup in Tshwane, with Fr Ken
Thönissen.
Peace Cup tackles xenophobia
STAFF REPORTER
New office bearers elected at the Secular Franciscan Order Cape
Region’s chapter meeting are Yvonne Derby (treasurer); Nina
Richards (counsellor); Ula Curtis (vice regional minister); Fr Albert
Gonsalves OFMCap; Felicity Maart (regional minister); Janine
Richards (secretary) and Veronica Vieyra (formator).
PHOTO: MICHAIL RASSOOL
“St Francis said we can use
words when it is necessary, but
we should look at life; how one
lives is the best measure of living the life of Christ in the
Gospel, where the focus is on
giving rather than receiving.
And living the Gospel has
bringing about the kingdom of
God as its goal. Our dream
should be the dream of Francis
and Clare,” said Fr Gonsalves.
In a personal reflection,
“Seeds of God: Spiritual Formation and the Growth of Love”,
SFO member Veronica Vieyra,
of Christ the King parish in
Pinelands, provided the context for St Francis’ calling.
She related how medieval
Assisi, Italy had a hunger for
war, rebellion and decadence
in the 12th century—an atmosphere in which people had to
be held constantly to the
Christian ideal. Ms Vieyra said
that it was ironically under
later pagan influence that
Assisi would be seized by a love
for the Gospel.
She painted a picture of a
young man (Francis) who was
“knight errant, troubadour—a
lover and a dreamer, [riding] to
war, small in stature, with huge
potential that went to
extreme”.
The story of his calling, Ms
Vieyra said, paints a sublime
picture of a radical journey
from riches to rags, of a
descent into a human condition “no less spectacular than
that of knight-to-beggar”.
Ms Vieyra was elected formator to the SFO Cape region
at the chapter, which takes
place every three years. Other
office bearers elected are Felicity Maart, regional minister; Ula
Curtis, vice minister; Janine
Richards, secretary; Nina
Richards, counsellor and
Yvonne Derby, treasurer.
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W
ORLD Cup fever has hit the
township of Atteridgeville in
Tshwane with the Damietta
Peace Initiative and Caritas launching
an eight-week football tournament, the
Peace Cup.
The tournament, sponsored by the
Southern African Catholic Bishops’
Conference, sees 26 teams comprising
of different nationalities competing for
the trophy.
Damietta field worker Martin
Mande, who initiated the tournament
with the assistance of Antoine Soubrier,
the tournament organiser, said the idea
behind the event is to diffuse divisions
and tensions between nationalities in
the area through sport.
“Sport allows spontaneous mixing
that brings about uncomplicated recognition of a common humanity out of
which respect and friendship can
grow,” said Capuchin Father Kees
Thönissen of Damietta.
“Drawing on football as a peaceful
mechanism that can break down prejudicial boundaries has already been fruitfully employed by the Damietta Peace
Initiative in strife-torn Jos [in Nigeria],
where mixed teams of Muslims and
Christians learnt to build up solidarity
across communal divides.
“It has been reported that if the
Damietta Initiative hadn’t started grassroots ‘peace cells’ in Nigeria, and if the
Peace Cup had not been organised in
Jos, much more violence would have
erupted,” Fr Thönissen said.
At the opening of the Peace Cup by
Mr Mande and Fr Thönissen, the
Capuchin priest spoke briefly on the
need for attitudes of non-violence and
mutual respect in our communities
when there are threats of renewed outbreaks of xenophobic violence.
“Peace is a stance that is highlighted
now that a major cross-section of the
world is partaking in our football World
Cup,” Fr Thönissen said.
“With the coming together of so
many diverse peoples, an optimistic
and high-spirited mood is in the air in
this land and infuses also this local
Peace Cup.”
The opening game was between the
Democratic Republic of the Congo and
South Africa (the local Atteridgeville
team), and was followed by the match
between Tanzania and another South
African team. The semi-finals and final
will have teams composed of mixed
nationalities playing together in each
team.
“The Peace Cup is therefore meant to
be about appreciative and friendly relations rather than promoting any
national pride—often strived for ‘at all
costs’,” Fr Thönissen said.
“Peace is built on inner values such
as mutual respect and the appreciation
of differences. This Peace Cup is a modest attempt to bring about value change
through the immediate experience of
the ‘other’ as a human being with
unique qualities and skills. Large-scale
social transformation is arrived at
through small-scale relationships,” Fr
Thönissen said.
4
INTERNATIONAL
The Southern Cross, June 23 to June 29, 2010
Mystery remains: why
was bishop killed?
C
ONFUSION still surrounds
the motives for the murder
of the Vatican’s representative to Turkey.
Stabbed to death—and, reportedly, almost decapitated—by his
driver, Bishop Luigi Padovese, 63,
died on June 3 in Iskenderun,
Turkey, his residence as apostolicvicar of Anatolia.
The driver, Murat Altun, confessed to the murder, although
there are still many conflicting stories about why he did it.
AsiaNews, a Rome-based missionary news agency, reported that
unnamed neighbours had heard
Altun shout “Allah-u-Akbar” (“God
is great”) after stabbing the bishop,
leading to speculation that the
murder was religiously motivated.
Officials at the Turkish embassy
to the Vatican initially had said
Altun, the driver, was a Christian,
but apparently that was not true.
The ambassador, Kenan Gursoy,
attended the bishops’ June 14
funeral in Milan.
AsiaNews also questioned
reports, including from Bishop
Padovese’s secretary and from the
Turkish embassy, that Altun was
suffering from mental problems
and seeing a psychiatrist.
The Milan archdiocesan website
published an interview with the
bishop’s brother, Sandro, and sister-in-law, Liliana.
“In the past few days we have
read many things that were not
exact and many stupid things,”
the sister-in-law said.
Sandro Padovese said the fact
Bishop Luigi Padovese: mystery still
surrounds the reason for his murder.
that his brother was killed by
Altun “is incomprehensible”.
“We knew Murat, the young
man who killed him, very well,”
he said, adding that he was “good
and honest”.
“The fact is that in the last two
months, he fell into a deep depression, especially because the
moment when he had to leave to
do his military service was
approaching and the thing that
really worried him was that he was
the sole provider for his family,”
Mr Padovese said.
Jesuit Father Thomas Michel,
who works in Ankara, Turkey’s
capital, told Catholic News Service:
“There is so much speculation
about what is true and what people are making up. People are just
repeating other people’s rumours.
“I knew Murat, we had a good
talk several times,” Fr Michel said.
“He certainly didn’t seem like a
murderer.”
Fr Michel also said it was not
true that Catholics in Turkey feel
like they are targets. “Life is going
on pretty much like it was. No one
here feels like there is a campaign
against Christians.”
Speaking at the end of Bishop
Padovese’s funeral Mass in Milan,
Archbishop Ruggero Franceschini
of Izmir, Turkey—whom Pope
Benedict has appointed apostolic
administrator of Anatolia—said
Catholics there are suffering and
afraid.
Despite its apostolic origins,
“the little Church that remains in
Anatolia is too young to overcome
such a tragedy by itself; it is too
fragile to face the evil that has
stricken it; it is too poor to find
within it the resources needed to
continue to hope”, Archbishop
Franceschini said. He asked foreign
missionaries to come help.
The archbishop said that one of
Bishop Padovese’s first pastoral letters said: “Perhaps we have not
been asked to witness to our faith
to the point of martyrdom, but it
is still true that we have been
asked to witness to it.”
“Unfortunately, he was wrong,”
Archbishop Franceschini said. “Or
maybe he just did not want to
frighten his community.”—CNS
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Reservations:
John Kelly, brother of Bloody Sunday shooting victim Michael Kelly, reacts
as he leaves the Guildhall after reading the Saville report in Derry, Northern Ireland. British prime minister David Cameron apologised for the killing
by British troops of 14 Catholic demonstrators in Northern Ireland in 1972
on what has become known as Bloody Sunday.
PHOTO: REUTERS/CNS
World Cup betting warning
Many people who gamble on
soccer are ages 18-25, according to
a study Caritas conducted from
2003-10.
However, football fever is not
all bad news. In Fr Ng’s case, he
said his love for the sport helps
him build rapport with young people, making evangelisation that
much easier.
“If you are a fan of the same
football team, then they will like
you and listen to you,” said the
priest. He also swaps picture cards
of famous football players with
the youngsters.
Fr Ng was scheduled to travel to
South Africa for the World Cup in
a trip sponsored by lay Catholics
A
JESUIT football fan has
warned people against getting caught up in betting on
the World Cup.
“Gambling is no good in itself,”
said Fr Robert Ng Chi-fun, who
teaches moral theology at Holy
Spirit Seminary College in Hong
Kong. Gambling on football
matches could also lead to cheating, he said.
It is often “a catalyst for gambling”, said Joe Tang, director of
the Caritas Addicted Gamblers
Counselling Centre.
The centre saw a 20% rise in
counselling cases during the 2006
World Cup, he said.
Alarm over Aids funding cuts
P
EOPLE must be equipped
“with more than knowledge, ability, technical competence and tools” to truly combat “the deeper causes” of Aids
and provide “loving care” to
those who have it, the Vatican’s
nuncio to the United Nations
has said.
Archbishop Celestino Migliore
urged more attention and
resources be dedicated to “a spiritual and human renewal that
leads to a new way of behaving
towards others”.
“The spread of Aids can be
stopped effectively, as also has
been affirmed by public health
experts, when this respect for the
dignity of human nature and for
its inherent moral law is included as an essential element in HIV
prevention efforts,” he said.
The archbishop made the
comments during a day-long
review by the General Assembly
of international efforts to fight
HIV/Aids. The world leaders
were told that progress is being
made, but that the epidemic
continues to outpace global
response.
Archbishop Migliore said the
Vatican is also concerned about
an apparent gap in available
funding for antiretroviral treatment for the poor and marginalised groups.
He said health care providers
associated with Catholic-run
agencies in South Africa, Uganda, Haiti, Papua New Guinea
and elsewhere have reported
they are being told by international donors not to enroll new
patients into current programmes. These providers have
also expressed concern “about
further cutbacks even for those
already receiving such treatment”.
“The global community carries a serious responsibility to
offer equitable and continuous
access to such medications. Failure to do so will not only cause
untold loss and suffering to
those individuals and families
directly affected by the disease
but will also have grave public
health, social and economic
consequences for the entire
human family.”
A report by UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon that was delivered during the review called for
strengthening links between
Aids response and other development goals.
Mr Ban’s report said that the
number of people in low-income
and middle-income countries
receiving antiretroviral treatment had jumped tenfold in five
years to 4 million, and HIV
infections decreasing 17% from
2001 to 2008. But the epidemic
continues to outpace the
response, with five new infections reported for every two people receiving treatment.—CNS
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INTERNATIONAL
The Southern Cross, June 23 to June 29, 2010
5
Pope: Scandals did not ruin Year for Priests
BY CINDY WOODEN
P
OPE Benedict said the Year
for Priests might have been
ruined by the clerical sex
abuse scandal, but instead
became a “summons to purification” in the Church.
Concelebrating Mass with
some 15 000 priests, including
about 50 from South Africa, the
pope said that “the enemy”,
Satan, wants to drive God out of
the world and opposes those who
work to ensure that God is at the
side of every man and woman,
especially in times of trouble.
“And so it happened that, in
this very year of joy for the sacrament of the priesthood, the sins
of priests came to light—particularly the abuse of the little ones,
in which the priesthood, whose
task is to manifest God’s concern
for our good, turns into its very
opposite,” the pope said in his
homily at the Mass concluding
the Year for Priests.
The priests, 80 cardinals and
350 bishops and archbishops,
who were sitting under the hot
sun in St Peter’s Square, signalled
their agreement with the pope’s
statement by applauding.
The Vatican said that with so
many priests vested for Mass and
reciting together the key words of
the Eucharistic prayer with their
hands extended towards the altar,
the liturgy marked the largest
concelebration ever held at the
Vatican.
Addressing the abuse scandal
in his homily, Pope Benedict said
the Catholic Church begs forgiveness from God and “from the persons involved, while promising
to do everything possible to
ensure that such abuse will never
occur again”.
In admitting men to the seminary and priesthood, he said, “we
will do everything we can to
weigh the authenticity of their
vocation and make every effort to
accompany priests along their
journey, so that the Lord will
protect them and watch over
them in troubled situations and
amid life’s dangers”.
The priests and bishops, who
turned St Peter’s Square into a sea
of white albs and stoles, were well
aware of the scandal and the
shadow of doubt it cast over the
Catholic priesthood. But, the
pope said, the scandal should
make priests grow “in gratitude
for God’s gift, a gift concealed in
‘earthen vessels’ which, ever
anew, even amid human weakness, makes his love concretely
present in this world”.
“Let us look upon all that happened as a summons to purification,” the pope said. He then led
the priests in the solemn renewal
of their priestly promises to be
faithful ministers of Christ, working not for their own interests,
but for the good of all men and
women.
Fr Paul Daly, a pastor in Heywood, England, said: “I think the
pope was spot on” in saying the
Year for Priests was about thanksgiving and renewal, not shouting
the glories of the priesthood. “It
wasn’t a triumphalistic celebration, but was calm and reflective.”
As for the pope using the Mass
to apologise for abuse, Fr Daly
said: “He says and continues to
Frs Grant Emmanuel and Desmond Nair of Durban at the closing Mass of the
International Gathering of Priests in Rome that marked the end of the Year
for Priests. About 50 priests from South Africa joined 15 000 clergy from
around the world for the event.
say from the heart that he is
shocked and sorry. The pope
would have been pilloried if he
hadn’t said anything, but he also
needed to apologise for the past
and renew the Church’s commitment to making the Church safe
for children.”
I
n his homily, the pope said:
“God wants us, as priests in one
tiny moment of history, to share
his concern about people.”
Called to be shepherds, imitating Christ the Good Shepherd,
“we are not fumbling in the dark.
God has shown us the way and
how to walk aright”.
When priests, like anyone else,
walk through “the dark valleys of
temptation, discouragement and
trial”, they must remember that
God is there. “God personally
looks after me, after us, after all
mankind. I am not abandoned,
adrift in the universe and in a
society that leaves me ever more
lost and bewildered,” he said.
Continuing the work of the
Good Shepherd, the pope said,
“the Church, too, must use the
shepherd’s rod, the rod with
which he protects the faith
against those who falsify it,
against currents which lead the
flock astray”.
The “rod and the staff” help
the Church exercise its love for
people and for their true good.
“Today we can see that it has
nothing to do with love when
conduct unworthy of the priestly
life is tolerated,” he said. “Nor
does it have to do with love if
heresy is allowed to spread and
the faith [is] twisted and chipped
away, as if it were something that
we ourselves had invented.”
The Year for Priests coincided
with the 150th anniversary of the
death of St John Vianney, the
patron saint of parish priests.
During the liturgy, Pope Benedict
used a chalice that belonged to
the saint and was brought to
Rome from his former parish in
Ars, France.
In his homily, the pope had
told the priests that it is impossible for them not to rejoice that
God has given them the gift of
being able “to set God’s table for
men and women, to give them
his body and his blood, to offer
them the precious gift of his very
presence”.
At the end of the Mass, Pope
Benedict knelt before an icon of
Mary and led the priests in consecrating themselves to her “maternal heart in order to carry out
faithfully the Father’s will”.
Asking her intervention in
calling forth the Holy Spirit to
transform them, they prayed that
the Church would be “renewed
by priests who are holy”.
“Let your presence cause new
blooms to burst forth in the
desert of our loneliness,” they
prayed. “Let it cause the sun to
shine on our darkness; let it
restore calm after the tempest, so
that all mankind shall see the salvation of the Lord.”—CNS
Roman celebration touched priests
BY JOHN THAVIS &
CINDY WOODEN
B
Y all accounts, the estimated 15 000 priests who came
to Rome for the closing
events of the Year for Priests set
a record, but they were a small
fraction of the 409 000 priests
who serve around the world.
“It’s an important occasion
for me. It’s a landmark because
the last time I was here was 40
years ago, so I thought it was a
good occasion to come back to
Rome,” said Fr Patrick Arowele
of Abuja, Nigeria. The best part
of being a priest is “serving the
people, especially in my part of
the world”.
Fr Roland Hafliger, 43, of
Lenzburg, Switzerland, came
with another priest. “We wanted
to feel part of the community of
all the priests. In Switzerland
there are not many of us, so it is
good to know we are not alone.”
At the Mass, the priests
renewed their promises with the
pope. That was a highlight for
many participants, including Fr
Anton Quang Dihn Van of San
Antonio, Texas. He said the
point of the Rome events was to
help people be better and more
holy priests, an ongoing task
that requires self-reflection. “I
look at myself every night before
I go to sleep: Was I good today?
Did I help people?” he said.
A speech by German Cardinal
Joachim Meisner of Cologne on
the importance of confession
created a buzz of reaction among
many priests. Oblate Father Paul
Beukes of Johannesburg said
Cardinal Meisner’s observation
was something he will take back
with him, along with the experience of Mass with the pope.
“The Mass this morning was
wonderful. There was a spirit of
prayer that was good, that was
beautiful. I think it was something that will lead me to look at
my life and to go home and say,
‘We’re going to make the
changes,’” he said.
Fr Daniel Divis of Lorain,
Ohio, said the week’s programme of speeches, conferences and liturgies did not necessarily cover new ground, but
made a profound impact.
“It wasn’t anything I hadn’t
heard before, but when you hear
them saying it in this kind of
context, it really was a grace
moment. It was reaffirming, it
was electric, it was pretty good,”
he said.
For Filipino Mgr Vicente Bau-
son, who works in campus ministry in the archdiocese of Manila, the pope’s comments about
encouraging new vocations were
insightful.
“He encouraged priests to
realise that modelling and witnessing are very important, and
also that priests must learn to be
humble—and even bishops. And
I think that if young people see
that lived in a true way, then
surely we will get vocations.”
The concept of humility was
cited as an important theme by
many priests who came to
Rome. Daniel Engels, a deacon
soon to be ordained a priest in
Limburg, Germany, said: “The
priesthood isn’t just, ‘Oh, he’s so
good, so great’. A priest is just a
servant, and we thank God for
the priests who guide us.”
Mgr Blaise Zubuor from the
diocese of Tamale, Ghana, who
works at Congregation for the
Evangelisation of Peoples, said
he came to the events to meet
priests from all over the world
and to mark the 150th anniversary of St John Vianney, patron
saint of parish priests.
“He is our model as priests—
to be humble, loving, obedient,
all the adjectives you can think
of,” he said.—CNS
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6
COMMUNITY
The Southern Cross, June 23 to June 29, 2010
IN FOCUS
Edited by
Nadine Christians
Send photographs,
with sender’s name
and address on the
back, and a SASE to:
The Southern Cross,
Community Pics, Box
2372, Cape Town, 8000
or email them to:
[email protected]
Members of the Catholic Women’s League and St Michael’s parish in Redhill,
Durban, enjoyed a relaxing weekend at Mariannhill monastery.
SUBMITTED BY MARLENE ABRAHAMS
At Ss Peter & Paul parish in George, parishioners showed their support for the World
Cup and Bafana Bafana by holding a special Soccer Sunday celebration. The Ayoba
morning was enjoyed by young and old during tea, which took place after morning
Mass.
SUBMITTED BY PATTY LLOYD
The Knights of
Da Gama
from Pietermaritzburg
organised a
pilgrimage,
led by Fr
Allesandro
Capoferri SCJ
to the Marion
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KwaZuluNatal.
CONGREGATION
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our missionary life of Prayer and Work (Ora et Labora), we try to effectively proclaim the Good News to all people, especially to the poor and needy,
so that there are “Better Fields, Better Houses, Better Hearts!”
Learners of Holy
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Pictured are the
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Members of St Philip Benezi parish in Meyerton, Johannesburg were confirmed during Mass. With the confirmed members are Archbishop Buti Tlhagale and Fr Hans Vos.
SUBMITTED BY MICHELLE REDELINGHUYS
CHURCH LIFE
The Southern Cross, June 23 to June 29, 2010
7
Corpus Christi, Wynberg
Parish incorporates young and
old in a diverse, multi-cultural mix
BY STAFF REPORTER
T
HE Southern Cross plays an
integral part in bringing
Catholic news to the parishioners of Corpus Christ parish in
Wynberg, Cape Town.
“I believe we live in difficult
times as we are surrounded by
mosques and churches of other
denominations, which often bombard us with anti-Catholic literature.
“It is for this purpose I see The
Southern Cross as a very good newspaper as it gives us Catholics perspective and response to various
happenings around us. It is for this
one main reason we actively advertise The Southern Cross in our
parish bulletin,” said Corpus
Christi parish priest, Fr Susaikannu
Esack SAC.
The parish in Wynberg’s Wittebome area has a rich history.
“The history of Corpus Christi
is a curious one,” said Fr Esack.
“St Dominic’s church at Springfield convent was the original
parish in Wynberg. Blessed and
inaugurated on January 21, 1880
with the assistance of Irish
Dominican sisters, the parish of
Corpus Christi was opened,
becoming the fifth parish in the
vicariate of Cape Town,” the priest
told The Southern Cross.
St Dominic’s, he said, remained
the parish church until the completion of the present-day Corpus
Christi in 1937.
Mgr John O’Rourke was the first
parish priest and was instrumental
in growing the congregation to
what it is today.
Fr Esack has led the parish since
January 2005 and is assisted by Fr
Michael Clement.
The church has been growing
from strength to strength since its
humble beginnings. It now boasts
1 233 registered parishioners and is
surrounded by St Augustine’s Primary School, Immaculata High
School and the Dominican School
for the Deaf—with Springfield
junior and senior schools forming
part of the parish. The parish also
serves 11 retirement homes and
three hospitals.
“Ours is a laity-driven parish.
We are an exciting mix of young
and old and it is a beautiful testimony that both can co-exist. For
instance, on Sundays at the 08:00
Mass we have a melodious traditional choir leading the singing.
For our 10:00 Mass, the Youth
Choir with their vibrant singing
stand up and lead the church in
worship. Besides that, we also have
a Folk Choir who looks after the
singing in our church,” Fr Esack
said.
The parish has very active pastoral and financial councils, and
has 21 associations accommodating both young and old.
“While there are over 65 young
boys and girls serving as altar
servers, there are over 40 teenage
boys and girls forming the parish
youth group,” said Fr Esack.
The parish also has several societies including St Vincent de Paul,
Legion of Mary, Catholic Women’s
League and the Flower Group for
the elderly.
“For the families we have a
family group, who are actively
involved in the church. The car
watch group, extraordinary ministers of the Holy Communion and
lectors—all involving young and
old—remind us that the young,
old and families all have a role to
play in the growth of the Church
and proclamation of our faith,” Fr
Esack said.
The parish can also boast a
parish library set-up with the assistance of one of the parishioners.
With all the activities taking
Be a light to others
Servants of the Holy Childhood of Jesus.
Corpus Christi parish in Wynberg, Cape Town.
Corpus Christi parish boasts a 1 233-strong member congregation.
place, the parish is currently
fundraising to give their hall a
face-lift, said Fr Esack.
“At present we feel that our
parish hall badly needs renovating,
so all our fundraising such as our
Golf Day and parish féte will be
directed towards it,” he said.
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Meanwhile, Fr Esack said that
he acknowledges the work done by
parishioners especially Julia
Williams, Cecelia van As, Alverna
Curry, Ivan Dyer and Tony Archer
“who help us in making this newspaper even more diverse and well
read”.
8
The Southern Cross, June 23 to June 29, 2010
LEADER PAGE
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.
Editor: Günther Simmermacher
A Church of penance
M
ANY Catholics will lose
patience with secular
commentators who
continue to insist that Pope
Benedict has failed to apologise
for the abuse of minors by
priests and other Church personnel.
Closing the Year for Priests,
he again offered an apology,
begging the forgiveness of
those who were abused and
from God. The question is not
whether the pope has apologised—he demonstrably has—
but whether his apologies are
being seen as sufficiently complete. Should they have been
lacking, as abuse survivor
activists are suggesting, then
the pope, and the Church with
him, must continue to seek the
perfect mea culpa.
Such an apology would
incorporate an unambiguous
confession of failings on episcopal and curial levels, some of
them deliberate and some—
presumably most—owing to
grave errors in judgment and
lack of competence.
With the forgiveness that the
pope and the Church seek must
come reparation and penance.
In many cases, the dimension
of reparation has taken the
form of financial compensation. But money can’t buy forgiveness. The Church, as an
institution, must show that it is
willing to do all that is needed
to reconcile itself with those
who feel betrayed by it.
For a start, bishops who put
young people at risk of predator
priests must be held accountable—a principle that still
seems to be applied inconsistently.
The most genuine (and probably necessary) way of making
reparations would involve a full
inquest into the Vatican’s role
in the scandal.
Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos,
the former prefect of the Pontifical Congregation for Bishops, has unapologetically confirmed that his policy counselled against reporting sex
crimes to civil authorities. Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of
Vienna has revealed that moves
by the then Cardinal Joseph
Ratzinger to act against abuses
were undercut by others in the
Vatican. The scandal goes right
up to curial corridors.
With that, the Church faces
a dilemma. If the whole curial
can of worms is opened, will
the Vatican lose its authority?
But if it isn’t, will the Church
merit the forgiveness that Pope
Benedict has said it seeks?
Some commentators have
mooted a truth and reconciliation commission. This would
provide abuse survivors with a
forum in which to tell of their
terrible experiences, and facilitate the acknowledgment and
confession of crimes by sexual
predators and gross dereliction
by Church officials.
The inquest into the scandal
is not limited to the hierarchs,
however. The whole Body of
Christ must heal itself. Last
week’s moving letter by a reader who acknowledged that she
knew abuses were taking place
but kept quiet about them must
touch all of us.
How many others did not do
the same, or are even now justifying the actions of abusers or
those who failed to protect the
innocent (perhaps understandably so when they knew, loved
and respected these people)?
How many of us would still
turn a blind eye to the crimes
of our pastors, teachers, friends
or family members?
The whole Church stands
accused, and the guilt must be
collectively borne.
There are times when collective guilt places obligations and
burdens even on those who
bear no personal blame. As a
minimum, this burden involves
the unqualified recogniton that
the Church, as an institution,
failed terribly, and an awareness that we, as the Church,
must address that failure with
justice, charity and honesty.
But perhaps our collective
penance is not best expressed
in public recitation of mea culpas (important as these would
be), but in prayerful and brutally honest introspection, as individuals and as a Church, on our
failings in protecting and
defending the vulnerable.
As the Church seeks forgiveness from those brutalised by
priests and by those leaders
who placed institutional reputation before justice, it must
humble itself to achieve the
reconciliation without which it
cannot be healed.
LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR
Use Church land to train youths
C
ONTRARY to Alan Sauls (May
26), I believe selling off
Church land is short-sighted.
All land belongs to God, and
there are no borders in God’s
world. It is the use of land that
people are crying for, not land
itself. When Christ said “you will
want for nothing”, he was indicating whatever we “needed” was
already here on earth. The sun
shines and the rain falls and the
earth produces food.
Currently, money owns the vast
majority of land. Sell the Catholic
holdings and they end up in the
portfolio of some rich person.
Far better if the Church let the
land to the landless for a portion
of the produce (as laid out in
Leviticus). This way control of the
land and its products remains in
the hands of those who need and
grow the produce.
To sell the land would be to put
it back into a system that has
already failed the poor and, in fact,
requires unemployed people to
function.
A better way would be to establish a farming community along
the lines of Girls’ & Boys’ Town,
where those who think they would
like to go into farming can learn
the trade without the pressures of
Calling for change
constructively
autonomous groups in more than
20 countries. There are only a
handful of members in South
Africa.
If we had more members, we
could establish a South African
IMWAC group and hopefully
make a meaningful contribution
to constructive change in our
Church.
Brian Robertson, Cape Town
I
CANNOT agree more with the
point Colleen Constable made
in her article “Breaking the
alliance of abuse in the Church”
(May 19) that a study of the causes of clergy sexual abuse needs to
be conducted as a matter of
urgency.
A study commissioned by the
United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops in 2003 suggested that paedophiles, according to
the strict definition of the term,
did not constitute a majority of
such clergy (www.usccb.org/
ocyp/wwebstudy.shtml).
An Australian Catholic bishop,
Geoffrey Robinson, believes that
a climate conducive to sexual
abuse by priests and religious
occurs when the following three
conditions are met: An unhealthy
psychological state, unhealthy
ideas concerning power and sexuality, and an unhealthy environment or community. He urges
that studies must be undertaken
to investigate all three areas in
order to determine how a climate
of abuse has arisen in Church
institutions, and what action
must be taken to reverse the situation.
Effective interventions to
actively prevent sexual abuse
continuing in the Church are not
yet evident, despite repeated
adverse publicity.
Many Catholics feel disempowered to assist with essential
change and renewal in the
Church. The International Movement We Are Church (IMWAC)
(www.we-are-church.org) was
founded in Rome in 1996 by men
and women from ten countries to
press for authentic renewal and
substantial reform according to
the spirit of Vatican II.
IMWAC is now a worldwide
network of independent and
Storming heaven
for abuse survivors
I
N light of the horrendous
reports on the sexual abuses I
also feel a Sunday Mass offered for
the consolation of those so horrifically betrayed might be an
occasion for the Church—us—to
show our solidarity and be seen as
an attempt to ask their forgiveness.
We cannot feel their terrible
pain, but we can attempt to take it
to our suffering Lord at Holy
Mass, and somehow their suffering could be melded with his and
their
dreadful
burden
lightened…even a little.
At this time the prayer of St
Gertrude is even more necessary.
It is understood to have been dictated by Our Lord himself.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the
Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine
Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses
said throughout the world today, for
all the holy souls in Purgatory, for
sinners everywhere, for sinners in
the Universal Church, those in my
own home and within my family.
Amen
I will happily forward a copy of
this prayer to anyone who asks.
Just SMS a name and address to
073 654 2691.
Grace de Lange, East London
Divine Mercy:
three points
T
HERE are three points which I
would like to mention in
response to Fr Allan Moss’ letter
“Divine Mercy used to be banned”
(May 26).
Firstly, the Catechism of the
Catholic Church does indeed state
that “no new revelation is to be
expected” (66). But God’s mercy is
not a new revelation. Jesus revealed
to us a God of Mercy and Love. Just
think of the parable of the “Prodigal Son” (Lk 15:11-32). Jesus himself always acted out of love and
mercy to all, and he told us that he
and the Father are one, and if we
see him, we see the Father.
In the Old Testament God
reveals himself as “slow to
anger…rich in Mercy” (Numbers
14:18). So we are all standing on
“ancient teachings and traditions of
the Church”.
Secondly, the problem lies in the
fact that we have misunderstood
this teaching of God’s mercy
(Divine Mercy), it would seem.
This, I believe, was the reason Jesus
asked Sr Faustina that we celebrate
God’s mercy (Divine Mercy) on the
second Sunday of Easter. Easter is
definitely about God’s love, and it
is the most important season in our
liturgical calendar. We have a God
bank loans and ownership. All that
would be required is some hard
work. Produce from these farms
could be used to supply Girls’ &
Boys’ Town.
The problem now becomes who
would run these centres? Vocations are at an all-time low and
will probably stay that way.
Perhaps farmers, retired or displaced, could be persuaded to
plough their skills into the South
African youth rather than in some
far-off land.
I believe the Jews of the Old
Testament had it right when they
declared that all land given to God
(the Church) would remain with
God forever.
Christopher Grealy,
Johannesburg
who is “ consumed with the desire
to forgive” (The Way of Divine Love,
Tan Books)
Thirdly, Sr Faustina’s Diary was
indeed banned. But it was because
she had so little schooling that her
sentences didn’t always convey
what she intended. It was revised
under Pope John Paul II, in consultation with Sr Faustina’s convent
and others who were still alive and
knew what she was trying to say.
My personal belief is that one of
the reasons why God called John
Paul II to be pope was to introduce
to the universal Church this beautiful feast of Divine Mercy for us, to
focus on God’s Mercy. The fact that
Pope John Paul died on the eve of
the feast of Divine Mercy speaks
volumes to me.
Moira Gillmore, Durban
W
ITH all respect to Fr Moss,
the saintly Pope John Paul
canonised St Faustina with pride,
joy and holiness.
She was the person our Lord
chose to promulgate the Divine
Mercy, and Pope John Paul gladly
led the Catholic world to trust
Jesus, and on instructions from St
Faustina, encouraged the Divine
Mercy novena to end on the first
Sunday after Easter.
I, with million others, have regularly made this saving novena
without detracting from the Easter
holiness.
What is good and holy enough
for that saintly pope is good and
holy enough for me, and all the
Divine Mercy followers.
Nassey Saaiman,
Johannesburg
A burglar is a
burglar…
D
EACON R V Descroizilleses’
letter “Contraceptives are
against life“ (May 26) left me a
trifle confused.
The use of condoms is specifically to prevent conception. The
use of Natural Family Planning is
also to prevent conception, but is
accepted by the Church.
The intention in both cases is
identical, their means are therefore irrelevant, but the former is
condemned by the Church.
To give an analogy: a burglar is
able to disarm an alarm system
and so robs a house. Another burglar knows that the occupiers of
the house are away on holiday
and there is no alarm system, so
he can safely burgle the house.
The means differ, but they are
still burglars.
Perhaps parents are the best
judges, for the right reasons,
about the size of their families and
the spacing and the means they
choose.
Margaret Green, Durban
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.
PERSPECTIVES
The Southern Cross, June 23 to June 29, 2010
Mphuthumi Ntabeni
Chris Chatteris SJ
Pushing the
Boundaries
Pray with
the Pope
Pray for Zuma & co
Jesus the man
broke the rules
I
F one looks at the proliferation of books
about the historical Jesus of Nazareth,
one might observe an apparently widespread need for rediscovering the person
and humanity of Jesus, especially by contemporary secular thinkers.
The exploration of Christ’s humanity is
not something new; it goes back as far as the
gospel, especially Luke’s. Though there’s
very little that is new to these contemporary
books, common in them is the need to
explore the human traits of Jesus, without
the Christ-part of religion.
This has always been a starting point for
faith in Jesus; for no one can truly have an
encounter with the Jesus of Nazareth without engaging with his life, death and resurrection.
How can one not be attracted by the
human traits of Jesus? His evident sincerity,
intelligence, short temper against hypocrisy,
a well developed sense of ironic, self-effacement, lack of worldly ambition, fidelity to
the authentic self, and so on.
The contemporary studies seem to be to
be taken up, not by Jesus’ piety or worldly
detachment for divine precepts, but the “irritability and impatience” of his character.
I accept Jesus was no Buddha, and definitely did not preach resignation in the face
of evil. He frequently got annoyed at the
unjust rulers, the oppression of the poor, the
hypocrisy of empty piety, the daftness of his
followers: “Do you have eyes but fail to
see?”
When we concentrate on Jesus’ humanity
we are at first surprised by how brash and
mostly indifferent to conventional ideas of
goodness his teachings seem. His style of
talking blended the epigram with enigma.
Indeed there is a wild gaiety about Jesus’
moral teachings; an informal, new way that
didn’t really connect with the ramblings of
the traditional prophets. The familiarity
with God, whom he called “Abba”, meaning
Father or even Dad. The disregard for material prosperity. And the disdain for fussing
about place, home and ritual.
He ate and drank with prostitutes, highwaymen, tax-collectors, and he repeatedly
violated his era’s etiquettes, especially those
governing eating. He dined with people of a
different social rank (shocking most
Romans), and with sinners and people of different tribal allegiance (shocking most Jews).
He forcefully proclaimed: “What goes into a
man’s mouth does not make him unclean,
but what comes out of his mouth, that is
what makes him unclean”, thereby shocking
Jews and (later) Muslims.
Unlike the ascetic John the Baptist, he
came dining and drinking, but was neither
hedonistic nor epicurean.
But to paint Jesus as the angry revolutionary, as most of these books do, in the vein of
Gandhi-Malcolm-Martin kind of charismatic
leader is missing the point. Jesus liked defiant, enigmatic paradoxes and pregnant parables that, by design, never quite closed in on
themselves, or condemned the culprit. (God
never closes a door to anyone.)
Take the story about a vineyard whose
ungrateful husbandmen keep killing the
king’s messengers, and eventually his son,
sent to them as an example. The traditional
Christian explanation is that Jesus is referring to this world, and foretelling his own
death. But to contemporary secular writers
this as an anti-establishment, even an anticlerical story.
For some reason they link it to Sadducees
and Pharisees who were always trying to
catch Jesus out in a declaration of antiRoman sentiment. We know that in the end
they made the charge stick and Jesus was
crucified by the Roman rulers on the instigation of the Jewish clergy.
What has been clear since time immemorial is that Jesus’ death and resurrection testified to his claim of being the Son of God.
It is not without reason St Paul hinges the
Christian faith on this incident: If Christ be
not risen then we are deluded.
What Christian scholars have realised,
and secular ones still need to learn, is that
the character of Jesus will always seem contradictory when not looked at through the
focus point of his divinity.
 Catch up with Mputhumi Ntabeni’s previous
columns at www.scross.co.za/category/
ntabeni/
9
General Intention: That in every nation of the
world the election of officials may be carried out with
justice, transparency and honesty, respecting the free
decisions of citizens.
HE difficulty for the Church in being on the
side of democracy is that its critics can point
out that its authority structures seem more
medieval than modern.
Yet forms of democracy do exist within the
Church and have the potential for development.
Popes, religious superiors and parish councils are
elected. Some religious congregations thrash out
everything in their chapters and voting is part of
their charisms. So the statement “the Church is
not a democracy” needs modification. Catholicism does have democratic traditions.
In the secular political domain hardly a week
goes by without news of yet another election
whose results are questioned by the losing party.
The problem with this is that we can become cynical about the freedom and fairness of elections
and thus lose hope in the democratic process
itself.
Undoubtedly there are major problems, particularly in countries not used to democracy. Smaller countries with small populations, such as Zimbabwe, are particularly vulnerable to vote-rigging
because a small number of votes can swing an
election. By contrast a society like India has such
enormous voting populations that manipulation
of the figures or buying of voters is very difficult.
However, the fact that elections are now so frequent and so hotly contested should be a cause
for hope since these signs suggest that the idea
and practice of democracy is spreading.
Naturally, democracy does not just mean holding an election every five years. It includes the
idea that politicians continue to listen to the electorate between elections and try to serve them all,
even those who voted against them. Other institutions are indispensable to a democratic system—a free press, an independent judiciary and a
strong civil society.
We pray not just for fair elections but also for
the conditions for fair elections.
T
A snow-covered statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at dusk in Rochester, New
York. In the second of a 13-part series on the gospels, Catherine Upchurch looks at
the different ways in which the four evangelists saw Jesus.
PHOTO: MIKE CRUPI, CATHOLIC COURIER
How the four gospels
see our Saviour Jesus
I
F we open our New Testaments
expecting to find a definitive
biography of Jesus of Nazareth,
we will be disappointed. On the
other hand, if we open these pages
expecting to encounter Jesus in a
way that can transform us, then
we’ve come with the proper expectation.
A Gospel is a unique literary
form. Its purpose is to announce, to
introduce, to persuade, to instruct,
to call to repentance, and ultimately, to convert the reader and listener. A simple, factual accounting of
events cannot have that power. Each
writer is an evangelist, one who
shares the Good News of Jesus.
Who is this Jesus we encounter in
the Gospels? Is he the beloved Son
of God? Is he the awaited Messiah?
Is he an effective rabbi? Is Jesus the
Saviour of the world? Is he the true
vine, the image of the invisible God,
the bread of life?
Yes, Jesus is all of these and more.
No title, no image, no simile or
metaphor can adequately depict
Jesus in his essence, or who he is for
each of us.
Many scholars and preachers
have written about the various portraits of Jesus that we encounter in
the four Gospels of our Bibles. Their
works demonstrate that each evangelist drew the image of Jesus looking back at his life and ministry
from a slightly different angle.
In Mark, the question, “Who is
Jesus?” is answered in the opening
verse where we read about the
beginning of the Gospel of “Jesus
Christ, the Son of God”. What that
means unfolds as the evangelist also
focuses on what it means to follow
him: “Whoever wishes to come after
me must deny himself, take up his
cross, and follow me” (9:34).
Jesus, in Mark’s writings, is not a
triumphal king who rules from on
high. Rather, he is the anointed
(Christ, Messiah) Son of God who
must suffer. Mark focuses on the full
humanity of Jesus and invites us to
do the same. The suffering of his followers can be meaningful insofar as
it is connected with carrying the
cross as Jesus himself did through
the streets of Jerusalem.
In what some would say is a stark
contrast, John’s gospel introduces us
to the divine Jesus, the Word of God
made flesh (1:14). In this account,
Jesus appears fully in charge of the
events that surround him, and fully
capable of assuming the identity of
the great I AM revealed at Sinai.
John uses what have become
some of the most familiar images to
Catherine Upchurch
Hearing the
Good News
identify Jesus and places them on
his own lips. Jesus says, “I am…” the
light of the world, the lamb of God,
the way and the truth and the life,
the bread of life, and the good shepherd.
I
n Matthew, Jesus is portrayed as
the fulfilment of the Jewish scriptures, the long-awaited Messiah who
stands at the intersection of salvation history. As a respected rabbi, he
is shown to teach with authority
and creativity.
This account from Matthew contains five large teaching discourses:
the Sermon on the Mount (chapters
5–7), the instructions for mission
(10), the great sermon in parables
(13), the instructions for living as
church (18), and a final discourse on
the end times (24–25).
Perhaps most pointedly, in
Matthew, Jesus is Emmanuel (God
with us). This title is introduced at
the birth of Jesus (1:23), and reinforced at the close of the gospel
where the risen Jesus commissions
his followers and promises: “I am
with you always, until the end of
the age” (28:20).
Jesus the forgiving Saviour, the
one whose mercy and compassion
reaches out to all on the margins, is
the focus of Luke. In this account,
the emphasis falls on the inclusiveness of Jesus, his appeal both to men
and women, rich and poor, Jews and
Gentiles. Jesus is the faithful companion who exudes and inspires
compassion, a man whose touch is
as powerful as his words.
Clearly, these portraits overlap
and what emerges is an experience
of Jesus that is more than the sum of
its parts.
In our own prayerful reading of
the gospels we may be drawn at
some times to particular aspects of
Jesus. At other times we may need
the challenge of an image that
stretches us to a deeper relationship
with the Lord and a new direction as
disciples.
 Catherine Upchurch is the director of
Little Rock Scripture Study in Arkansas.
This article was originally published in
the Arkansas Catholic, newspaper of
the diocese of Little Rock. It is the second in a series of 13 articles which will
explore the four gospels.
Justice in the city
Missionary Intention: That Christians may strive
to offer everywhere, but especially in great urban centres, an effective contribution to the promotion of education, justice, solidarity and peace.
URING the colonial era, the British colonial
administration gave retired local policemen,
known as askaris, an area on the outskirts of
Nairobi, in recognition of their faithful service.
No doubt the British hardly envisaged the Kibera
of today. It has, over the years, mushroomed into
a vast and impoverished “informal settlement”.
A number of my Jesuit confrères recently participated in a “peace run” through Kibera. It was a
modest attempt to contribute to the lessening of
the ethnic tensions which brought Kenya to the
brink of civil war during the last elections. But
clearly if the Church is to make in impact in such
places—fostering education, justice, solidarity and
peace—she has to be in it for the long haul. For
the Kiberas of Africa and the developing world are
not going to disappear anytime soon.
In fact their apparent permanence can be a
source of deep discouragement. If governments
are unwilling or unable to provide even basic services to these communities of the world’s “bottom billion”, what can the rest of us do?
The answer is “what we can”, and this is often
considerable. The Church’s record of establishing
and sustaining viable educational and healthcare
institutions in the harshest of human environments is impressive. These establishments give
the Church the credibility to comment on wider
social issues and challenge civic authorities to
take their responsibilities to their people more
seriously.
As ever, we must act as if everything depends
on us and pray as if it all depends on God.
D
VALLEY VIEW TRAVEL
NEW FOR 2010
4-14 September
OUR LADY OF THE ASSUMPTION
PILGRIMAGE
Visiting the popular Christian sites in the HOLY LAND
and St Catherine’s Monastery and Mt Sinai in EGYPT.
Spiritual Director and guide: Fr Ignatius Heer
R18 698
Tel: (031) 266 7702 Fax: (031) 266 8982
Email: [email protected]
on DStv audio channel 170 & streamed on www.radioveritas.co.za
List of current pilgrimages can be viewed by clicking on the
Valley View Travel icon at www.catholic-friends.com
10
The Southern Cross, June 23 to June 29, 2010
BOOK REVIEWS
All you wanted to know about Jesus
CHRISTOLOGY: A Biblical, Historical, and Systematic Study of
Jesus (2nd edition), by Gerald
O’Collins SJ. Oxford University
Press, 2009. 385pp
Reviewed by Fr Anthony Egan
THOROUGHLY revised version of the 1995 volume of
the same name, Christology is
perhaps one of the most comprehensive works available on the
subject of Jesus—one is tempted to
say that it could be subtitled
“Almost everything you wanted to
know about Jesus, but couldn’t
find enough books about”.
Written by one of the finest and
most respected Catholic theologians of recent years, Fr Gerry
O’Collins, it manages in fewer
than 400 pages to be a veritable
summa christologica, one that
would make an Aquinas envious.
One of O’Collins’ strengths is
his familiarity with Christology
across a range of theological disciplines—systematic theology,
Church history and biblical studies—together with a fine command of philosophy from ancient
Greece to present day. As a result
he is able to delve into his subject
from a variety of angles and draw
together, among other things, the
biblical, historical and dogmatic.
He starts by looking at the
A
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scriptural foundations of Christology in both the Old and New Testaments. Unlike some more fundamentalist theologians he does not
read the former simplistically as
“prophecy”, but as a way of seeing
how Hebrew ideas contributed to
the New Testament understanding
of Jesus.
Similarly he shows how different New Testament texts need to
be read as part of a growing understanding of the significance of
Jesus to his disciples after the Resurrection. Here he also avoids the
reductionism of many of the
scholars centred on the famous (or
notorious) Jesus Seminar.
This “theological centrism” is a
characteristic throughout most of
the book. Fr O’Collins is nothing if
not fair in his judgments, while
clearly steering an orthodox course
through centuries of theological
controversy.
As a work of theological history,
in three chapters totalling 70-odd
pages, he manages to summarise
the cut-and-thrust of theological
dispute clearly and succinctly. It is
so clear and succinct that, I would
venture to say, it is the ideal background material for preparing any
advanced undergraduate student
for the relevant exams.
The author tackles all the key
issues in Christology in a similar
manner: the Incarnation, the
meaning of the Passion, the Resurrection, salvation and the less central but no less challenging questions about Jesus’ birth, what is
meant by his sinlessness, and the
degree to which the human Jesus
knew about the world and his
divinity. To say that O’Collins has
mastery (if not, to use the chess
term, grand mastery) of the
debates in these areas goes without
saying.
I
do, however, have a number of
questions about the book. It
revolves around the difference
between two questions. The first
can be formulated as “Who is
Jesus?” or “What does the Church
say about Jesus?”. The second
question comprises two parts:
“Who is Jesus for us today?” and
“What does Jesus mean for those
outside the religious mainstream?”
O’Collins has brilliantly answered
the first question. He is less forthcoming on either part of the second.
Unless one is a theologian the
kind of universal doctrines that
the author deals with may elicit
from the ordinary religious person—whether pastor or punter in
the pews—a response along the
lines of “That’s nice, but how does
this actually affect my life?”. Now
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Cross headlines, fascinating
links, the Letter from the Vatican, Saint of the Week and the
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inbox every Thursday FREE
the case certainly can be made that
the classical themes in Christology
O’Collins addresses actually do
make a difference in the long
term, but in the short term I wonder whether the right understanding of the two natures of Jesus is
actually what marginal people
need from him.
Granted, O’Collins does make
passing reference to contextual
theologies like liberation and feminist theology. But what is missing
in this book is a sustained reflection on how such theologies represent an important development in
the Christian understanding of
Jesus. O’Collins certainly raises
some important questions in passing on feminine imagery in representations of Jesus and the degree
to which one must emphasise his
masculinity uncontextually—but
he seems to stop short of linking
this to important issues raised for
faith, ministry and Christianity by
feminism.
Another area that intrigues me
personally and that I would love to
see examined are the so-called
“modern”, “literary” and “secular”
images of Christ one finds in the
controversial novels of authors like
Nikos Kazantzakis (The Last Temptation of Christ), the Nobel laureate
(and militant atheist) José Saramago (The Gospel of Jesus Christ) and
African music’s rich traditions
MOVING INTO AFRICAN
MUSIC, by Joyce Scott. Pretext,
Cape Town, 2009. 136pp
(includes 72-min CD with 27
songs)
Reviewed by Barry Smith
UTHOR Joyce Scott’s qualification for writing this
book “comes from 28 years
of cross-culture missionary work
in East Africa…learning music
from grassroots interaction with
African friends and mentors in
eleven African groups in Kenya”.
In addition to all this she
acted as a consultant on indigenous music for ministry in
Namibia, Sudan, Lesotho and
also in North African Muslim
countries and the Comoro
Islands. In her introduction she
modestly invites the reader to
share her journey, “not with a
know-it-all music specialist, but
as with an adventurer”. And so
this is not a book full of technical advice, but one which gently
encourages the listener to have
an open mind on indigenous
African music and to understand
both its background and meaning.
Much of the book is couched
in language essentially intended
for the layperson and not necessarily musicologists or professional musicians. Scott has
unbounded enthusiasm for her
subject and this enthusiasm constantly leaps out of the page in
such phrases as “if you can walk,
you can dance”, and especially
when she writes about “ecstasy”
in religious music.
We are constantly reminded
of her modest willingness to
learn from the people with
whom she worked, discovering
that her journey was not always
an easy one.
A
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in all subjects, including fiction, biography, historical,
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the radical philosophers Slavoj
Zizek, Gianni Vattimo and John
Caputo. One hopes, in his forthcoming examination of Philip
Pullman’s anti-religious fiction,
O’Collins will address this more
fully.
Quibbles aside, this is a superb
book, an ideal textbook for theology students and an excellent
refresher for priests, deacons and
lay ministers. Much as I am loathe
to approve the high price of books
(this one costs R300), Christology is
well worth its price!
 Fr Anthony Egan SJ is associated
with the Jesuit Institute South Africa.
Indeed, at one time the musical changes she introduced in
worship almost resulted in her
dismissal when the acting principal of a Bible College accused
her of leading the students “back
to heathenism”. Her dogged persistence and energy, however,
led to the founding of a School
of Music under the Christian
Education Department in Kenya
in the late 1970s. Here she
became involved in the playing
and making of African instruments as well as teaching composition and the basics of reading music.
In the course of its 133
pages, this book covers a surprisingly wide spectrum and is
full of clearly expressed ideas
and insights into African religion. I have never quite understood the ethos behind traditional African religious beliefs
and so found her clear and concise explanation (with a helpful
diagram) of the links between
the African “High God”, “the
Living Dead Ancestors”, “mediums” (sangomas), “The Living”
and “The Not Yet Born” to be
particularly helpful.
Quite rightly she quotes Dr
Hugh Tracey’s trenchant comment, “it was you missionaries
who tried to destroy the music
of Africa”, and then goes on to
give an enthusiastic account
how preconceived prejudices
and judgment can be transformed into understanding and
appreciation.
In the course of her discussion she also touches on many
interesting concepts such as
“what kind of music is Christian”. Fascinating territory
indeed.
Particularly useful is the section where Scott writes about
developing musical gifts and
gives helpful guidelines and suggestions as to what constitutes a
memorable song and how to set
about composing one. All this is
detailed in economic point form
and extends to the teaching of
songs, not only for theological
education but also for a variety
of subjects as varied as community health and agricultural
development.
The book comes with a CD
which contains a colourful variety of traditional music culled
from across Africa—from Kenya,
Sudan, Malawi, Lesotho, Madagascar, Tunisia, Algeria and, of
course, South Africa. All these
items give us a fascinating
glimpse of the musical treasures
still waiting to be discovered by
many of us, the inhabitants of
this great continent.
 Barry Smith is the musical director at St Michael’s parish in Rondebosch, Cape Town.
A novena for stressed-out Catholics
9 DAYS TO HEAVEN: How to
Make Everlasting Meaning of
Your Life, by Teresa O’Driscoll.
O Books, 2006. 110pp.
Reviewed by Michael Shackleton
OVENAS of all kinds have
been common among
Christians for centuries.
This one is proposed as a modern novena, suitable for today’s
stressed people who need comfort and assurance that God is at
the centre of their lives.
N
It will be helpful for
those who find it hard
to concentrate on
their spiritual selves
and that they belong
to the kingdom of
God rather than the
kingdom of earth.
In nine chapters,
O’Driscoll begins by
presenting a choice:
we are free to make a
journey towards God or away
from God.
Then, covering a number of meditations on
this, she presents nothing new to those who are
already on the journey to
God, but she does so in a
manner that may provide
a refreshing realisation
that the commonplace
devotions and time-honoured practice of prayer
could have deeper depths
than most people might ever
have imagined.
The Southern Cross, June 23 to June 29, 2010
Fr Cosmas Hlengwa TOR
F
ATHER Cosmas Landula Hlengwa died
on June 12 at the
age of 60.
Born of Ignaz Dladla
and Seraphina Magoso
at Emakuzeni in Gala
outstation under Bulwar-Natal on December
1, 1949, Cosmas was
baptised at Gala mission
of Reichenau parish in
the diocese of Mariannhill.
After his early education, he worked at various jobs in and around
the Durban area. It was
at this time that he
joined the Secular Franciscans and eventually
the Franciscan Familiars
of St Joseph in 1973. He
made first profession in
COMMUNIT Y CALENDAR
BETHLEHEM:
 Shrine of Our Lady of Bethlehem at Tsheseng, Maluti
mountains; Thursdays 09:30, Mass, then exposition of the
Blessed Sacrament.  058 721 0532
JOHANNESBURG:
 First Friday Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 10:30.
First Saturday: Devotions: Our Lady’s Cenacle, Adoration
of the Blessed Sacrament and Rosary, 15:00–16:00. Special devotion to Our Blessed Lady for her priests. Our
Lady of the Angels, Little Eden, Edenvale, 
011 609 7246
 First Saturday of each month rosary prayed 10:30-12:00
outside Marie Stopes abortion clinic, Peter Place,
Bryanston.  Joan Beyrooti, 011 782 4331
PRETORIA:
 First Saturday: Devotion to Divine Mercy. St Martin de
Porres, Sunnyside, 16:30.  Shirley-Anne 012 361 4545.
CAPE TOWN:
 Holy Hour to pray for priests of the diocese, 2nd Saturday
monthly at Villa Maria shrine Kloof Nek Rd 16:00-17:00.
 St Pio Holy Hour. June 20 at 15:30 at Holy Redeemer,
Bergvliet.
To place your event, call Claire Allen at 021 465 5007,
or e-mail [email protected]
Thoughts for the
Week on the Family
FAMILY CALENDAR
2010 FAMILY THEME:
“Families Play the Game.”
JUNE THEME: The Beautiful Game
June 27, 13th Sunday of the year The Lord
we serve. The Gospel tells of people who want to
follow Jesus but make excuses. “I have to plough
my field, or bury my father,” they say. Do we
say, “We’re busy watching soccer games, catering for people, transporting them around, policing and keeping them safe?”
All of these are ways to follow Jesus too, if we
do our work conscious of the fact that we are
Jesus’ followers and offer up our work to God for
the good of the kingdom.
1976. His final vows as a
member of the Third
Order Regular took place
at St Thomas More Formation House in Washington, DC on January
15, 1981.
Before joining St John
Vianney seminary in
Pretoria he completed
his high school studies
at St Francis College,
Mariannhill. He was
ordained a priest by the
late Bishop Paul Themba
Mngoma on December
17, 1984 at Reichenau
parish.
As a priest he served
several parishes in the
diocese of Mariannhill
and the archdiocese of
Durban. Oetting mission, St Patrick mission
and Mpophomeni Esingodini are among the
parishes he served. He
faithfully discharged his
duties as a pastor, house
superior, member of
priests’ council, diocesan
consultors board and as
a spiritual animator of
Secular Franciscans. He
was one of the founding
pillars of his religious
community which he
served as the minister
provincial from 1990 to
2002.
Beacause of ill health,
Fr Hlengwa retired from
duties as pastor at St
Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000. Tel 021 465 5007 Fax 021 465 3850 e-mail:
[email protected]
WEDDING
ANNIVERSARY
ACCOMMODATION
OFFERED
H E N D R I C K S —S h a w n
and Dodi. All the glory to
the Lord for the past 25
years of marriage.
CAPE TOWN, Cape
Peninsula:
Beautiful
homes to buy or rent.
Maggi-Mae 082 892
4502. Colliers International False Bay 021 782
9263,maggimaev@
colliers.co.za
CONGRATULATIONS
Patrick mission in Mabhaleni early this year.
His parishioners celebrated his silver jubilee
of priesthood on April
17. The past six months
he suffered greatly from
several health problems.
As a man of prayer
and of principle he was
well prepared for his
death. He spoke openly
to all of his illness and
he was resigned to God’s
will till the end.
Bishop Pius Mlungisi
Dlungwane of Mariannhill was the main
celebrant at Fr Hlengwa’s funeral Mass at St
Patrick mission on June
19.
The burial took place
at the community cemetery of Kwa St Joseph
monastery.
DE GOUVEIA—Francisco
Rt Rev Mgr. Congratulations on your appointment
as Bishop of the Diocese
of Oudtshoorn. May the
good Lord guide and protect you as you shepherd
the flock entrusted to
your care. Be like children of the light; for the
fruits of the light one seen
in the complete goodness
and right living and truth
(Eph 5:8-9) I can do all
things with the help of the
one who gives me
strength, (Phil 4:13).
From Daniel Ambrose
David Manuel (Bro) Secular Institute, Servants of
Christ the Priest.
DEATHS
C L A R K E —S r
Marie
Claire. Passed away May
25, 2010 at the age of 97.
Will always be remembered by her family,
friends and the Congregation of St Francis de
Sales in Namaqualand
and Koelenhof. Rest in
peace.
PRAYERS
Sun June 27, 13th Sunday of the Year:
1 Kgs 19:16,19-21; Ps 16:1-2, 5-7.11; Gal 5:1,13-18;
Lk 9:5,1-62
Mon June 28, St Irenaeus:
Am 2:6-10,13-16; Ps 50:16-23; Mt 8, 18-22
Tue June 29, SS Peter & Paul:
Acts 12:1-11; Ps 34, 2-9; Mt 16, 13-19
Wed June 30, The first Martyrs of the Church of Rome:
Am 5:14-15, 21-24; Ps 50:7-13,16-17; Mt 8:28-34
Thur July 1, feria:
Am 7:10-17; Ps 19:8-11; Mt 9:1-8
Fri July 2, feria:
Am 8:4-6,9-12; Ps 119:2,10, 20, 30, 40,131; Mt 9:9-13
Sat July 3, St Thomas:
Eph 2:19-22; Ps 117:1-2; Jn 20:24-29
Sun July 4, 14th Sunday of the Year:
Is 66:10-14; Ps 66:1-7, 16-20; Gal 6:14-18; Lk 10:1-2,17-20
HOLY St Jude, apostle
and martyr, great in virtue
and rich in miracles, kinsman of Jesus Christ,
faithful intercessor of all
who invoke you, special
patron in time of need. To
you I have recourse from
the depth of my heart and
humbly beg you to come
to my assistance. Help
me now in my urgent
need and grant my petitions. In return I promise
to make your name
known and publish this
prayer. Amen. Stephen.
UPHOLSTERER
Betty’s Bay
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you satisfaction.
Heaven on Earth in
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mountain and sea
Only an hour from Cape Town
Large selection of HOUSES
and PLOTS to suit all pockets
Phone Mike
(028) 272 9122
or Cape Town Office
(021) 761 4173
CHAIN AND
PLASTIC ROSARIES
REMEMBERING
OUR DEAD
Holy Mass will be celebrated on the first
Sunday of each month in the All Souls’
chapel, Maitland, Cape Town at 2:30pm
for all souls in purgatory and for all those
buried in the Woltemade cemetery.
For further information, please contact
St Jude Society,
Box 22230, Fish Hoek, 7975
Telephone (021) 552 3850
Please include payment (R1,05c a word) with small advertisements for promptest publication.
Sundays year C, weekdays cycle 2
after hours 021 701 2692.
“It is a holy and wholesome thought to
pray for the dead, that they may be
loosed from their sins” (II Macc XII,46)
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CASA SERENA
The retirement home
with the Italian flair.
Located in 7A Marais
Road, Essexwold, in
the elegant suburb of
Bedfordview. Provides
full board and lodging,
medical services and
transport. Senior
citizens wishing to
retire in this beautiful
Home, please phone
076 534 3089
11
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 humble 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, pay 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. Farrel
THANKS
at lowest prices;
and postage is
free! Bulk orders
mostly from
parishes are
welcome.
Please contact
Ephraim Chimutu
at
GRATEFUL thanks to the
Holy Spirit Intercession,
the Sacred Heart of
Jesus, Mother Mary and
St Anthony of Padua for
prayers answered. Dodi.
082 427 3006
or 011 925 2889
ABORTION WARNING:
‘The Pill’ can abort, undetected, soon after conception (a medical fact)
Box 275,
Tembisa, 1635
HOUSE SITTING
ENJOY peace of mind
while on holiday. Contact
Mary on 082 855 5139
PERSONAL
BIRTHRIGHT: Pregnant?
We care. Tel: 011
403 1718, 031 201 5471
HOLIDAY
ACCOMMODATION
AZARS
B&B :
Olde
worlde charm in Kalk
Bay’s quaint fishing village. Luxury double ensuite/private
lounge/
entrance. DStv/tea/coffee. Serviced 3 times a
week. Minutes from
Metrorail. Enjoy breakfast
at different restaurants
every day (included in
tariff). Holy Mass Saturdays/Sundays
within
w a l k i n g d i s t a n c e . Tel/
Fax 021 788 2031 /
082 573 1251,grizell@
iafrica.com
CAPE TOWN: Vi Holiday
Villa. Fully equipped selfcatering, two bedroom
family apartment (sleeps
4) in Strandfontein, with
parking, at R400 per
night. Contact Paul tel/fax
+27 021 393 2503, cell
+27 083 553 9856, e-mail:
[email protected]
CAPE WEST COAST
Yzerfontein—Emmaus on
Sea B&B and self-catering. Holy Mass celebrated
every Sunday at 6pm.
 022 451 2650.
FISH HOEK: Self-catering
accommodation, sleeps
4. Secure parking.  021
785 1247.
FISH HOEK, Cape Town:
Self-catering holiday
accommodation from
budget to luxury for 2 to 6
people. Special pensioners’ rate from May to October. Tel/fax 021 782 3647,
e-mail:alisona@xsinet.
co.za
GORDON’S BAY: Beautiful en-suite rooms available at reasonable rates.
Magnificent views, breakfast
on
request.
 082 774 7140. E-mail:
[email protected].
KNYSNA: Self-catering
garden apartment for two
in Old Belvidere with
wonderful Lagoon views.
 044 387 1052.
MARIANELLA
Guest
House, Simon’s Town:
“Come experience the
peace and beauty of God
with us.” Fully equipped
with amazing sea-views.
Secure parking, ideal for
rest and relaxation. Special rates for pensioners
and clergy.  Malcolm
Salida 082 784 5675 or
[email protected]
MONTAGU, Rose Cottage: A luxurious selfcatering “home away from
home”; stylishly decorated, the “coolest” place in
town!
Sleeps
6.
The most peaceful surroundings,
mountain
views, www.rosecottage
montagu.co.za or e-mail:
info@rosecottagemon
tagu.co.za or  Christa
at 084 409 0044
PEACEHAVEN holiday
flats, Scottburgh. Selfcatering accommodation
with magnificent sea
views. We offer 24-hour
security, secure parking,
6 DSTV channels, a laundromat and braai facilities
on the premises. Three
minute walk to main
beach and shops. Special
pensioner rates during
low season periods
 039 976 1344/ 978
3400; Fax: 039 978 1476,
Email:peacehaven@sco
ttburgh.co.za
SCHOOL HOLIDAYS too
long? Take a break at
our holiday home, 3
minute stroll on to Ramsgate Main Beach and the
famous Waffle House. 4
Bedrooms, 3 bathrooms,
double garage and serviced daily for R850 per
night. Google ‘home
away from home Ramsgate’ for details or Tel
Peter on 082 442 1780.
SEA
P O I N T—D o u b l e
room, own bathroom in
heart of this prestigious
suburb, near all amenities.  072 236 2996.
SOUTH COAST: 3 bedroom house, Marine Drive,
Uvongo Tel Donald 031
465 5651, 073 989 1074.
STELLENBOSCH: Five
simple private suites
(2 beds, fridge, microwave). Countryside vineyard / forest / mountain
walks;
beach
20
minute drive. Affordable.
Christian Brothers Tel:
021
880
0242
/
cbc—[email protected]
STRAND: Beachfront flat
to let. Stunning views.
Fully furnished and
equipped. Garage, one
bedroom, sleeper couch
in lounge. R375 per night
for two people.  Brenda
082 822 0607.
UMHLANGA ROCKS:
Fully equipped self-catering 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house, sleeps 6,
sea view, 200 metres
from beach, DStv.  Holiday
Division,
031
561 5838, holidays@
lighthouse.co.za.
VILLA SUMMERTON,
Port Elizabeth:B/B–2
en-suite
bedrooms,
fully equipped, private
entrance Tel: 041 379
3805/ 072 550 9298.
WILDERNESS:
Selfcatering house, 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms.
Sleeps 8/10, indoor braai,
pool
table,
DStv.
Contact Julia, e-mail
[email protected]
PO Box 2372, CAPE TOWN, 8000
Tel: (021) 465 5007 Fax: (021) 465 3850
www.scross.co.za
Editor: Günther Simmermacher
([email protected])
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June 23 to June 29, 2010
Help is as near as
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SOUTHERN AFRICA’S NATIONAL CATHOLIC WEEKLY SINCE 1920
011 403 1718
031 201 5471
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14th Sunday – Year C (July 4)
Isaiah 66:10-14; Psalm 66:1-7, 16, 20; Galatians 6: 14-18; Luke 10:1-12, 17-20
HIS Christian faith of ours is not just a
private luxury. We are charged with a
mission, to go out and proclaim the
message of the Kingdom to a world that
stands desperately in need of it.
We need courage for that however, and so
it is that next Sunday’s first reading, almost
the last words of the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, tells the disillusioned people who have
returned from exile in Babylon that they are
to “rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for
her, all those who love her; rejoice with her
in joy, all you who mourned over her”.
To make his point, the author uses some
slightly startling images, which our culture
finds either an embarrassment or a trigger for
adolescent giggling (and which you must
therefore read for yourself), and then hastens
to indicate what God, here presented as our
Mother, is offering: “I am spreading peace
over her like a river, and like a torrent the
glory of the nations.” It is not, though, all
about power: “As a mother comforts her son,
so I shall comfort you; and you will be comforted in Jerusalem.” So they are to be given
encouragement to do the work that God asks
T
I
CONRAD
After all, we are Catholic —and
that includes Brazil.
Donations and
volunteers and prayers
always welcome
Take courage: proclaim the message
Fr Nicholas King SJ
Scriptural
Reflections
of them.
The psalm, a song of national and personal thanksgiving, reinforces this, as it shouts,
“make a joyful noise to God all the earth;
play a song to the glory of his name”. They
are reminded of “God’s wonders”; in particular of how God saved the people from Egypt,
“he changed the sea into dry land; they
passed through the river on foot”. We must
make this our song, “Blessed be God, who
did not refuse my prayer, or take his love
from me.”
For Paul, as we come to the end of Galatians,in the second reading, it is absolutely
clear that God’s action is what counts: “May I
not boast, except in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ”; but at the same time, he knows
that he has an uncomfortable mission:
“Through him the world is crucified to me,
and I to the world.” It means that none of
our conventional religious divisions (which
he sums up as ‘circumcision’ and ‘uncircumcision’) matters any more. He concludes the
letter with a stark warning not to obstruct the
mission: “For I am carrying the marks of Jesus
in my body,” and finally brings this bad-tempered letter to a calmer ending: “The grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ be with your Spirit,
brothers and sisters.”
In the gospel we see the mission getting
underway, as Jesus sends out the seventy (or,
according to some manuscripts, seventy-two)
as ambassadors ahead of him. We should listen attentively to what he says, because the
words are addressed to us: “The harvest is
great, but the labourers are few. So ask the
Lord of the harvest to send out labourers.”
They are to travel light: “no wallet or purse or
sandals, don’t greet anyone on the road”.
They are also to expect to be fed on the way:
“For the labourer is worthy of his hire.” On
Prediction is not our forte
T doesn’t take more than a cursory
glance at popular mass media today to
realise that a lot of people hang on to
every word uttered by celebrities and film
stars, even though some of these “modern oracles” have IQs that may not come
close to reaching double figures.
On the other hand, are we able to
believe people who have IQs so high that
they qualify for the top echelons of
Mensa, or at the very least are considered
to be leaders in their particular fields of
endeavour?
I asked my trusty research assistant, Mr
Google, to delve into the success rate of
so-called experts in predicting the future.
He came up with some startling evidence
in favour of the notion that no-one, however clever, can make accurate predictions.
Charles H Duell, commissioner of the
US Office of Patents, pronounced in 1899:
“Everything that can be invented has
been invented”, in what was perhaps the
worst prediction ever made
But Commissioner Duell is by no
means an exception. There were those
who saw no future for the telephone,
radio and aeroplanes.
“This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a
means of communication. The device is
inherently of no value to us.”—Western
Union internal memo, 1876.
“The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay
for a message sent to nobody in particular?”—David Sarnoff’s associates in
response to his urgings for investment in
the radio in the 1920s.
“Heavier-than-air flying machines are
impossible.”—Lord Kelvin, president,
Royal Society, 1895.
“Aeroplanes are interesting toys, but of
no military value.”—Marechal Ferdinand
Foch, professor of strategy at l’École
www.birthright.co.za
Chris Moerdyk
The Last
Word
supérieure de guerre.
Scientists may be bright, but not
always right.
“Louis Pasteur’s theory of germs is
ridiculous fiction.”—Pierre Pachet, professor of physiology at Toulouse, 1872.
“The abdomen, the chest, and the
brain will forever be shut from the intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon.”—
Sir John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon,
appointed surgeon extraordinary to the
Queen
“Professor Goddard does not know the
relation between action and reaction and
the need to have something better than a
vacuum against which to react. He seems
to lack the basic knowledge ladled out
daily in high schools.”—1921 New York
Times editorial about Robert Goddard’s
revolutionary rocket work.
The personal computer once was the
stuff of science fiction.
“Computers in the future may weigh
no more than 1,5 tons.”—Popular Mechanics Magazine, forecasting the relentless
march of science in 1949.
“I think there is a world market for
maybe five computers.”—Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.
“640K ought to be enough for anybody.”—Bill Gates, 1981.
“But what…is it good for?”—Engineer
at the Advanced Computing Systems
Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on
the microchip.
“There is no reason anyone would
want a computer in their home.”—Ken
Olson, chairman and founder of Digital
Equipment Corporation, 1977.
“I have travelled the length and
breadth of this country and talked with
the best people, and I can assure you that
data processing is a fad that won’t last out
the year.”—The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957.
Business ideas might have floundered
if future magnates had listened to their
judgments.
“So we went to Atari and said: ‘Hey,
we’ve got this amazing thing, even built
with some of your parts, and what do you
think about funding us? Or we’ll give it to
you. We just want to do it. Pay our salary,
we’ll come work for you.’ And they said,
‘No’. So then we went to Hewlett-Packard,
and they said, ‘Hey, we don’t need you.
You haven’t got through college yet’.”—
Apple Computer Inc founder Steve Jobs
on attempts to get Atari and HewlettPackard interested in his and Steve Wozniak’s personal computer.
“Drill for oil? You mean drill into the
ground to try and find oil? You’re
crazy.”—Drillers whom Edwin L Drake
tried to enlist to his project to drill for oil
in 1859.
“The concept is interesting and wellformed, but in order to earn better than a
‘C’, the idea must be feasible.”—A Yale
University management professor in
response to Fred Smith’s paper proposing
reliable overnight delivery service. Smith
went on to found Federal Express Corp.
“If I had thought about it, I wouldn’t
have done the experiment. The literature
was full of examples that said you can’t
do this.”—Spencer Silver on the work that
led to the unique adhesives for 3-M ‘PostIt’ notes.
Those who shape popular culture also
have cloudy crystal balls.
“We don’t like their sound, and guitar
music is on the way out.”—Decca Records
executive Dick Rowe rejecting the Beatles
in 1962. (In mitigation of Mr Rowe,
Southern Cross editor and Beatles obsessive
Günther Simmermacher tells me that on
evidence of the audition tape, the Decca
man was right to reject the Fab Four. Mr
Rowe later signed the Rolling Stones.)
“Who the hell wants to hear actors
talk?”—HM Warner, Warner Brothers,
1927.
“I’m just glad it’ll be Clark Gable who’s
falling on his face and not Gary Cooper.”—Gary Cooper, on not taking the
leading role in Gone With The Wind.
All of which just goes to show that
when it comes to the future, don’t believe
anything mere mortals tell you. Rather
get on your knees and ask the only One
who really knows.
the other hand, they are not to demand fivestar treatment, but “eat what is put before
you”. They also have a job to do: “Cure the
sick, and tell them that ‘The Kingdom of God
has come upon you’.”
Luke writes of the excited ambassadors
(us, that is) coming back from this first
deployment, breathlessly, and joyfully
exclaiming: “Lord, even the demons are subordinated to us by your name!” Jesus
responds, possibly with tongue in cheek; “I
beheld Satan falling like lightning from heaven.” Then we hear a bit more about the mission: “Look, I have given you the authority to
tread on snakes and scorpions, and on all the
enemy’s power; and it will not harm you.”
However the glory is not ours to claim.
Luke reminds us, gently but firmly: “But in
this respect, don’t rejoice that the [evil] spirits
are subordinated to you. Rejoice instead that
your names are written in the heavens.” We
have, this week, a task to perform and we
need the Lord’s encouragement if we are to
perform it.
Southern Crossword #397
ACROSS
5. Musical work (4)
7. Like men not in the
vineyard (Mt 20) (10)
8. Bone in awful nasty
position (4)
10. In an old-fashioned
way (8)
11. ... of Sinners (Litany of
Loreto) (6)
12. Use them to light altar
candles (6)
14. Incentive for a boy, by
the sound of it (6)
16. Roof-covering (6)
17. Cross carried by Hitler
(8)
19. Sunny side of breakfast? (4)
21. Church porches (10)
22. Some nasty eye complaint (4)
DOWN
1. Hindu holy man (4)
2. Title of Durban's cathedral (8)
3. Commemorative tablet
(6)
4. Martyr Antony
embraces cruel ruler (6)
5. Scandinavian god (4)
6. Not befitting the clergy
(10)
9. Is ready to ambush you
(4,2,4)
13. Animal that surprised
Australian missionaries?
(8)
15. Stripe torn off cleric
(6)
16. Very sad (6)
18. We hope to do it for
our souls (4)
20. South African storage
chest (4)
SOLUTIONS TO #396. ACROSS: 1 Dice, 3 Educates, 9 Elixirs, 10
Bambi, 11 Subterranean, 13 Apathy, 15 Strive, 17 Stout-hearted, 20
Rhoda, 21 Kneeler, 22 Schedule, 23 Aped. DOWN: 1 Deep Seas, 2
Climb, 4 Desert, 5 Cabinet-maker, 6 Timpani, 7 Shia, 8 Five thousand,
12 Perdured, 14 Antioch, 16 Shekel, 18 Tulip, 19 Arts.
CHURCH CHUCKLE
A
SUNDAY school teacher was telling her
class the story of the Good Samaritan.
She asked the class: “If you saw a person
lying on the roadside, all wounded and bleeding,
what would you do?”
A thoughtful little girl broke the hushed
silence, “I think I'd throw up.”
Send us your favourite Catholic joke, preferably clean and brief, to
The Southern Cross, Church Chuckle, PO Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000.