Page 7 TheSouthernCross

The
S outhern C ross
August 6 to August 12, 2014
Reg No. 1920/002058/06
No 4885
www.scross.co.za
God answered
weaver artist’s
desperate prayer
R7,00 (incl VAT RSA)
Jazz in a chapel:
The Church
and the arts
Page 2
Page 7
Anti-mafia fight:
Church takes on
the godfathers
Page 10
Cardinal in mosque calls for peace
STAFF REPORTER
T
HE conflict between Israel and Palestinians has been inaccurately framed as
being about faith, Cardinal Wilfrid
Napier told a Friday Prayers meeting in a Durban mosque.
Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, chairman of the
KwaZulu-Natal Interreligious Council, presented a message of peace in the Juma Masjid
mosque. He was supported by a delegation of
interfaith representatives.
“We are challenged to hold before us those
who are enduring unspeakable hardship and
suffering in Gaza and Israel,” the cardinal said
in his address.
“This is a very sensitive situation and one
that has been incorrectly presented as a conflict of faith rather than a political dispute between two nations,” he said.
“As people of faith, we reject the use of religion as a mechanism for perpetrating violence. Violence in any form is abhorrent and
we urge a speedy and immediate end to the
human suffering being experienced in Gaza
and Israel,” Cardinal Napier said.
AV Mahomed from the mosque reminded
those present that “the mosque and [Durban’s
Catholic Emmanuel] cathedral enjoy a good,
active and mutually-supportive relationship
and have done for the past 100 years—and,
God willing, this will continue well into the
future”.
It is believed that this was the first time
that a cardinal had been invited to share a
Cardinal Wilfrid Napier addresses the Friday afternoon prayers in Juma Masjid mosque in Durban
to call for peace. (Photo: Jean-Marie Ntamubano)
message during the Friday prayer service at
the mosque.
The mosque was the starting point for a
Palestine Day Solidarity Protest March organised by the KZN Palestine Solidarity Forum.
Meanwhile, Archbishop Stephen Brislin of
Cape Town has issued a statement condemning Israel’s attack on Gaza.
Echoing his words in an interview with The
Southern Cross in July, the archbishop described Israel’s bombing of Gaza as “disproportionate”.
Israel claims its bombing campaign, which
has killed more than a thousand civilians, was
a response to rocket fire by Hamas, which had
killed three Israeli civilians.
“Gaza is nothing less than an open-air
prison and the population is trapped as a re-
sult of the Israeli embargo of land and sea and
an almost similar embargo by the new Egyptian regime,” said Archbishop Brislin, who visited Gaza earlier this year.
“The people have nowhere to go to escape
the violence and continue to be terrorised and
traumatised by the ongoing shelling of the
area. They have little access to food and medical supplies,” he noted.
Archbishop Brislin condemned all violence, by Israelis and Palestinians, noting that
it can never be a solution to the problems.
He also condemned anti-semitism that has
accompanied some protests against Israel as
well as anti-Jewish attacks in some European
countries.
The onus on creating the conditions for
peace rests with Israel.
“It is also true that as long structural forms
of violence, such as the illegal settlements, the
wall, the checkpoints, the restriction of movement of Palestinians which even divides families, continue, there can be little hope for
peace,” Archbishop Brislin said.
“The only way to embark on a path to
peace is first and foremost to stop the offensive against Gaza, to open its borders and to
engage with peace talks that include the international community,” the statement said.
“We call on the leaders of Palestine and Israel to stop the violence and to commit themselves to genuine negotiations. As was once
said of apartheid South Africa, the consequences of not doing so are ‘too ghastly to
contemplate’,” the archbishop said.
Catholic Media Expo a big success
BY DYLAN APPOLIS & STAFF REPORTER
P
ARTICIPANTS in the first Catholic Media
Expo, held in Johannesburg, have called
for the event to be held on a regular
basis.
The expo comprised workshops in all fields
of media, from setting out a parish newsletter
to writing news reports for The Southern Cross,
and from how to use social media to presenting a radio programme on Radio Veritas.
Presenters for the expo, held at Holy Rosary
School in Edenvale and timed to coincide
with the 80th anniversary of Trefoil magazine,
came from as far as Cape Town and Durban to
share their skills with participants, including
many young Catholics.
“The aim was to celebrate and share the
richness, diversity and vibrancy of Catholic
communication in South Africa and to draw
in a new generation of people to get involved
in, and take to a high level, what they are
doing,” said Raymond Perrier, director of the
Jesuit Institute, which convened the expo.
The keynote address was delivered by
Bishop José Luis Ponce de León of Manzini,
Swaziland, himself a keen blogger.
He explained how the sharing of media expertise can make a difference. When he first
entered Facebook, he did so under the name
of the vicariate of Ingvavuma, which he then
headed (and still administers). He recalled
being told that his page would make more of
an impact if it was in his own name, rather
than that of a faceless structure.
A running theme of the expo was the challenge to have a selfie taken with Archbishop
William Slattery of Pretoria and posting it on
social media.
“The expo showed that every Catholic has
a privilege of taking others by the hand and
leading them to Christ,” Archbishop Slattery
told The Southern Cross.
“Through media we dialogue with people,
Continued on page 3
Participants in the Catholic Media Expo in Johannesburg. (Photo: Bishop José Ponce de León)
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2
The Southern Cross, August 6 to August 12, 2014
LOCAL
Weaving a future with God’s help
BY SR CLAIR WADE CPS
F
OR Margaret Mkhize, weaving
is an artform she uses to glorify
God.
The artist, of St Michael’s mission
in Ndonyane, was born in 1960 in
the town in Mariannhill diocese, and
became a member of St Michael’s
parish there as a young girl.
She joined Sr Cassiani’s training
in weaving and worked there until
the centre closed 15 years later.
Ms Mkhize recalled how difficult
it was for her and her four children
to make a living. One day she
walked into the abandoned weaving centre and knelt down to pray.
“It was very difficult. I did not
want anyone to hear or see me in
case they thought I was mad. I felt
ashamed. I could not cope nor feed
my children,” she said.
“Although I had continued to
weave and enjoyed doing so, I
could find no one to buy the weavings and we were starving. I knelt
down on that dirty unswept floor in
the old abandoned room and
prayed aloud.”
After her initial feelings of shame
and fear, she suddenly had a feeling
of inner stillness.
“I told God how I felt and that I
was not so poor when the centre was
open but now I no longer knew what
to do. I told God how worried I was
and that I could no longer support
my family. I cried out and begged
him for help,” she said. “That was
when things changed.”
Soon after this, Precious Blood
Sister Margaret von Ohr came to
visit Ms Mkhize and asked to see
her weavings.
“She then began to help me by
selling these overseas,” Ms Mkhize
said. “She also gave me new ideas
about what I could do to support
my family. Now she tries to get buyers in South Africa.” The weaver
called Sr Margaret a godsend.
Prayer forms part of all Ms
Mkhize does. “When I worked in
the weaving centre we used to pray
STAFF REPORTER
T
Margaret Mkhize (right) and her
woven depiction of the Holy Family
(above) which shows St Joseph the
carpenter assisted by the young
Jesus as Mary is preparing a meal.
the rosary. I pray it again now for
the people who buy my weavings,
and I pray for my family,” she said.
Her artworks show scenes from
African life and from the Bible.
“When I want to weave Bible
stories, I first read the story. Then
God shows me what to weave,” Ms
Mkhize said.
Catholic Media Expo proves a success
Continued from page 1
person to person, and this allows a
real discussion to take place,” he
added.
The archbishop rated the expo a
success.
“The expo was very successful
because it brought together a great
number of people who like to get
involved in spreading the good
news through news media and social media. I am very grateful to the
people who organised and participated in this pioneering event,” he
said.
The structure of the expo was divided into three parts: addresses to
all participants, up to four “taster
sessions” in which people could get
a feel for the different topics to be
workshopped in the afternoon, of
which they could then choose one.
These afternoon sessions were indepth and included practical exercises.
For some, this included a visit to
the studios of Radio Veritas, which
is also based in Edenvale.
Southern Cross news editor Stuart
Graham led 15 enthusiastic people
in a session on news gathering and
writing.
“They came up with some great
ideas,” he said.
Mr Perrier said: “All parishes
should be encouraged to participate
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Fatima statues
on their way
in the Church’s social communications. They have to learn how to
communicate effectively and to put
their parishes on the map.”
“The expo offered talks on the
full range of Catholic media, and
gave participants a chance to
deepen their understanding of one
selected area,” said Fr Emil Blaser
OP, director of Radio Veritas and
vicar of communications in the
archdiocese of Johannesburg.
Participants were encouraged to
carry some of the projects forward
with the help of professionals, leading up to Communications Sunday
on September 21.
576AM
in Johannesburg & beyond
www.radioveritas.co.za streaming live
SMS 41809 MASS followed by Mass Intention
41809 VERI followed by comments
PO Box 4599, Edenvale, 1610 (t) 011 663-4700
[email protected]
HE Portuguese businessman
who has donated more than a
hundred statues of Our Lady
of Fatima to churches and schools
throughout Southern Africa has his
largest shipment yet on the way to
South Africa, with 34 statues.
And his offer of making donations of statues, made through The
Southern Cross, has even reached
England. The businessman, who
prefers to be unnamed, donated a
statue to Ursuline High School in
Wimbledon, London.
The statue at the school, which
serves a thousand students, has
been blessed and now the devotion
to the Holy Rosary has started with
recitations on the 12th and 13th of
each month.
The diocese of Eshowe received
seven statues at the request of
Bishop Xolelo Thaddaeus Kumalo,
with a full-size statue going to the
diocese’s Our Lady of Fatima shrine.
Pilgrimages will now go regularly
to the shrine, especially on the 12th
and 13th of the month.
Devotion to Our Lady of Fatima
is growing in Polokwane, according
to a diocesan secretary, since the
donation of three statues. Paxana
High School in Polokwane will receive the fourth donation of a
statue in the diocese.
The archdiocese of Cape Town is
receiving a statue for display in the
foyer of its chancery.
Other statues are going as far as
Keetmanshoop in Namibia, Bulawayo in Zimbabwe, and Dedza in
Malawi.
The businessman said he had intercepted fraudulent applications
for the statues. However, to forestall
any further attempts, applications
by parishes, convents and schools
in future must be supported by a
letter of confirmation from the
local bishop. Applications by
parishes must go through the
parish priest.
The delicate statues are suitable
only for indoor use, and cannot be
used in outdoor sites such as grottos.
The donor asks that the statues
be positioned in a prominent place
in the main sanctuary.
Parishes must commit to recite
the rosary, as a community and in
prayer groups, on the night of the
12th to the 13th of each month, if
possible with Benediction, singing,
candles, white flowers, and petitions.
T
he businessman asks parishes
that have received statues to
give him feedback on how their devotion is going, and would be grateful to receive photos of the donated
statues in the churches.
He has also offered to donate
statues for Catholic school chapels.
Schools that apply must give an
undertaking that its school body
will recite the rosary on the 13th of
every month (or on the Friday or
Monday around the 13th if that day
falls on a weekend), or even once a
week. The school must also undertake to form a committee comprising the principal, the religious
education teacher and three senior
teachers to take responsibility for
ensuring that the devotion is continued. If members of the committee drop out, they must be replaced.
The statue must be displayed in
a prominent place in the school’s
chapel.
Applications must be made by
the principal, preferably co-signed
by the school’s chaplain, with a letter of confirmation by the local
bishop. The application must give
some details about the school (size
and composition of the student
body, number of teachers) and information on how the school intends to display the statue.
n The donor can be contacted at jjvca
[email protected]
Safari winner to be drawn
STAFF REPORTER
T
HE winner of the luxury safari
raffle in aid of the Capuchin
Sisters in Umzumbe, KwaZuluNatal, will be drawn live on Radio
Veritas by Fr Emil Blaser OP on the
feast of the Assumption, Friday, August 15, at 7:15am.
Entries to the raffle, at R100 per
ticket, will be accepted until August
13, said organiser Piero Colia.
The prize is a 5-star luxury safari
for two valued at R35 000.
To enter, make a transfer of R100
to the Standard Bank savings account
“Capuchin
Convent
Umzumbe—Raffle”, account number 053431901, Umhlanga branch
(057829). Include your cell number
so that your raffle number can be
sent by SMS.
Mr Colia said that he will contact the winner later on the day of
the draw.
He said he was particularly
pleased that the draw will be made
on August 15, the feast of Our Lady
Assumed Into Heaven, which is also
South Africa’s patronal feast.
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The Southern Cross, August 6 to August 12, 2014
LOCAL
3
Dwindling funds and
parish hurt Limpopo
BY STUART GRAHAM
T
Kreste Modisa parish in the archdiocese of Pretoria saw the enrolment ceremony of the Catholic Men’s Association in the Mahikeng/Molopo district. Fr
Dean Kabelo Mahemo was the main celebrant at the enrolment Mass, with
Fr Oupa Kgage, who conducted the retreat for the association, and Fr
Molefe Koloi, who preached the homily. The women ululated as the men took
their oaths, among others pledging to be real men and fight abuse of women
and children. (Photo: Tshidi Matlou)
Radio to host Mad Hatter tea
BY DYLAN APPOLIS
R
ADIO Veritas will host a day of
prayer and fun in Johannesburg to mark the culmination
of Women’s Month on August 31.
A Mass will be celebrated at the
cathedral of Christ the King at
11:00am, followed by a “Mad Hatter’s Tea Party”.
This is a day made for women, to
remember their worth in Christ and
also taking time to enjoy life by
making beautiful, funny-looking,
and inspiring hats, organisers said.
There will also be spot prizes for
unique hat designs.
“The eleven woman volunteers,
who each represents their respective parishes, dedicated their time,
skill and effort in assisting Radio
Veritas to raise funds and awareness, so Catholics know more about
Radio Veritas and what work we
do,” said Mahadi Buthelezi, Radio
Veritas’ marketing consultant.
This event is aimed at young and
mature women, with a view that
young woman can learn from their
elders and for the elders to network
and perhaps also learn from the
young women.
“This day is made for learning,
networking, socialising and breaking bread together,” said Ms
Buthelezi.
The entrance will be R100.
n For more information contact Mahadi Buthelezi at 011 663 4700 or
083 992 0387.
HE Church in Limpopo is battling to meet the needs of the
poor and those with Aids as it
struggles with shrinking donor
funds and dwindling numbers of
parishioners.
Bishop Joao Rodrigues of Tzaneen
told The Southern Cross in an interview that money from international
donors had decreased amid a perception that the South African government was on top of the pandemic.
“The rate of Aids infections has
plateaued, but the problem is very
much there in our parishes,” Bishop
Rodrigues said.
A nun who works in Limpopo
said Aids is still an enormous problem in the area. “People line up for
help at clinics,” she said.
Many of the problems in the
province are linked to poverty,
Bishop Rodrigues said, calling for
teachers and health care personnel.
“Health and education are the
two most urgent issues in this
province,” he said. “We need skilled
health care workers and teachers
who have a vocation to teach.”
Bishop Rodrigues said rural people are not joining the Church at
the rate at which they did before
the end of apartheid.
People, he said, are able to enjoy
Bishop João Rodrigues
more freedom of movement now
and many choose to settle in cities
for work opportunities.
“In a way it is the opposite of
apartheid,” he said. “It is an economic movement and there has
been a demographic change.”
Christian churches in the area
are also seeing their numbers hit by
the rise of “new evangelists”.
“It is a Christian problem in general,” the bishop said. “We are seeing the same problem in Europe
with the rise of secularism.”
The Church, he said, needs more
people like the late Benedict Daswa,
who was from a small rural village
outside of Thohoyando, and is
being considered for beatification
by the Vatican.
“Benedict Daswa was an evangelist and a teacher. He was also a role
model family man. We need more
like him,” the bishop said.
Daswa, a devout Catholic and father of eight, was killed by a mob
on his way home in February 1990
after speaking out against a proposed witch hunt.
Bishop Rodrigues said if Daswa’s
beatification is given the go-ahead,
there will be a surge in interest in
the Catholic Church.
“It raises the whole question of
what it means to be baptised a
Catholic,” he said.
Witchcraft is still widely practised in the area and is another
challenge for the Church, the
bishop said. “This region is steeped
in a culture that is pre-scientific.”
Daswa embraced his traditional
culture, but removed aspects of it
that did not follow the Gospel, the
bishop said.
The same question is relevant for
those who worship science and material goods. “As we accept the
Church, we have to look at what is
wrong in our culture and challenge
it,” he said.
Ernsa focuses on gender-based violence
BY DYLAN APPOLIS
T
HE Social Justice and Advocacy Desk of Edmund Rice
Network South Africa (Ernsa)
hosted a social justice event on gender-based violence at Green Point
in Cape Town.
The focus was on gender inequality and violence within the South
African context. Young members of
the Ernsa family grappled with issues
of gender identity, power norms and
subtle discrimination.
This year marks the start of
Ernsa’s Social Justice and Advocacy
Desk. The aim of the desk is to address social and eco-injustices
through advocacy, capacity building and volunteerism.
The desk is developing various
formation programmes that serve
to educate the general public about
social justice and advocacy issues.
The advocacy desk coordinates
social justice programmes, eco-justice presentations, eco-retreats, and
skills courses for vulnerable young
adults, as well as voluntary projects.
The desk also advocates on behalf
of local and international groups
that suffer infringements on their
human rights.
Jessica Dewhurst, advocacy desk
coordinator, said: “What is really
important for us is to create opportunities for people to learn more
about their rights, as well as the
rights of others.”
The social justice programmes
have focused on the realities of discrimination and inequality faced by
disabled people, women, and
abused children.
The programmes encouraged
people to consider how they could
begin to address gender inequality
in South Africa, through social interactions and leadership, as well as
on a larger scale through advocacy
and educational campaigns.
“We are thrilled at its growth
and impact so far this year. We are
especially proud of the success of
our monthly social justice programmes that are acting to enrich
and grow many young people
around issues of social inequality
and injustice,” Ms Dewhurst said.
The advocacy desk is working on
its next campaign, putting their
focus on human trafficking in
South Africa.
n For more information contact Jessica
Dewhurst at 021 434 6731 or at
[email protected]
Holy Redeemer Pilgrimage jOURNEYS OF
HOLY LAND
& JORDAN
with Fr Sean Wales CSsR
8 - 18 November 2014
Sacred Heart pre-novices Brs John Tembo (standing) and Andreas Keta with
Nazareth House residents (left) Ted Osgarby and Henry Petersen.
Pre-novices join the elderly
BY DYLAN APPOLIS
T
WO pre-novices with the
Priests of the Sacred Heart described their period of pastoral
experience at Nazareth House in Johannesburg a “life-changing experience”.
Br Andreas Keta, who is from
Lesotho, and Zambian Br John
Tembo assisted in the daily care of
the frail elderly residents, hospice
patients and children.
They also joined the Sisters for
daily Mass and community prayers.
“I grew to love the elderly people, finding them so interesting and
encouraging. Their life stories and
wisdom were an inspiration to me.
I have learnt so much towards understanding my own parents as
they become older,” Br Keta said.
Br Tembo struck up a strong
friendship with resident Ted Os-
garby, who many years ago had
worked for the agricultural department in Zambia. They shared many
conversations about the towns and
villages familiar to them both, and
how times have changed since.
In the hospice the brothers were
brought face-to-face with the suffering Christ and this touched them
deeply. They helped to bring comfort and hope to the patients and
were moved by their grateful responses.
As it was school holidays, both
brothers had plenty of interaction
with the children too, and admitted
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and comments from 32 busy and
enquiring minds.
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4
The Southern Cross, August 6 to August 12, 2014
INTERNATIONAL
For Holy Land Catholics, Church is an anchor
BY JUDITH SUDILOVSKY
A
S the death toll in Gaza
surged and an entire Christian community was exiled
from the Iraqi city of Mosul by Islamic extremists, Christians in the
Holy Land have found themselves
facing harsh realities.
For some Catholics, the Church
and its tenets serve as an anchor of
hope.
At the church of St Catherine,
adjacent to Bethlehem’s basilica of
the Nativity, parishioners spoke
after they joined parishes throughout the West Bank in celebrating
special Masses for Gaza, Iraq and
Syria.
“Christ tells us not to use violence. We try to raise our children
to love each other. Sometimes you
lose your mind and feel like you
don’t know what to do, but we pray
with our sons at home, and we
come to church every Sunday to
keep in touch with God. It is a safe
haven. Violence is not our way,”
said Bethlehem resident Jamila
Basha, 44, as she arrived at St
Catherine’s with her husband and
two sons, ages nine and 12.
“As Catholics, sitting here in
church really comforts us. We are
living Jesus on the cross, we are
sharing in the pain of Jesus, this is
the blood of Jesus,” said her husband, Walid Basha, 47.
“If I look at Israel, and at what is
happening in Iraq and look at
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Hamas at the same time [I worry]
that maybe, if they could, they
would do the same thing here [as
the extremists in Iraq]. Both of
them [Israel and Hamas] are killing,
both of them are violent. The hand
of God is up above but Satan is
doing his work down below.”
The couple said that at home
they talk to their sons about the
nonviolent teachings of Christianity, keep TV news viewing to a minimum and spend time going on
hikes and walks with them to keep
them occupied.
“I always tell my boys that a God
who asks his followers to fight is a
weak God. Our God is strong
enough to fight himself,” said Mr
Basha.
Samia Shahin, a mother of three
grown children, noted that she has
lived all her life in Bethlehem. She
has lived through all the different
moments of violence, she said, and
she believes these moments are a
symbol also of Jesus’s own suffering
for people.
“It is not just in the Holy Land
but in the whole world, you have to
feel Jesus inside you, peace has to
live inside you, not just with a cross
on a building or around your neck,”
she said. “You have to believe it, live
it and be a mirror for him so whoever deals with you knows you have
Jesus inside,” she said.
“Each day I stand is a gift from
God and I have to face it and live it,
The Basha family—Shadi, 12, Hani, 9, Walid, 47, and Jamila, 44—pray during Mass in the church of St Catherine in Bethlehem, West Bank. Parishes
throughout the West Bank celebrated special Masses for Gaza, Iraq and
Syria. (Photo: Debbie Hill/CNS)
knowing at the same time there are
people who are suffering more than
me,” she added.
To teach her children how to live
in the face of violence, Mrs Shahin
says she must mirror her Christian
faith. “If they see how you are living, even without words, you are
like a mirror for them. They see that
in our religion we put our faith in
Jesus, in peace,” she said.
I
n the West Bank village of Jifna, Fr
Firas Aridah of St Joseph Catholic
church said he tries to show his
young parishioners during summer
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camp that prayer and moments of
silence while lighting memorial
candles can also be a form of protest
against the situation, bringing them
spiritual strength without resorting
to violence.
“In the Holy Land, as the Mother
Church, we have to pray and hold
the cross with joy, even in moments
of death and destruction,” he said.
“If I bring more violence that does
not mean I can win. No one will
win. Violence begets violence.”
He said he counsels his parishioners to act as a bridge, to love
their neighbours even as they love
God, even in periods of difficulty.
“If you do not love your neighbour, you do not love God,” he
said. The love and hope of Christianity must be kept in their hearts,
he tells them, encouraging them to
“act” but not “react”.
He said none of the Catholic
youth from Jifna was involved in
the rioting in the nearby West Bank
city of Ramallah, which left eight
dead in late July.
“They don’t have to throw
stones,” he said of Palestinians in
the West Bank. “There is destruction in Gaza; I don’t want anybody
to be killed here. [Israeli] soldiers
have families, too. We don’t have to
fan the flames” of violence.
Nagi Sleiby, 25, of Bethlehem,
said it has not always been easy for
him to maintain his faith surrounded by the violence in the Middle East. He said his questions
through prayer were answered by
Jesus.
He said he realised he must be
thankful for what he has and help
people in Gaza through nonviolent
ways, such as prayer and donations.
He also said he finds peace in prayer.
Both Israel and Hamas are fighting for peace through violence, and
neither is perfect, he said. Having
had the opportunity to meet with
Israelis who also want peace has renewed and strengthened his faith,
he said, and he feels that peace is
possible despite the violence.—CNS
Numbers of religious refugees rise
T
HE displacement of people
around the globe because
of their religious beliefs in
2013 rose to levels unseen in
years, the US State Department
has reported.
Millions of Christians, Muslim and Hindus as well as people
of other faiths were displaced by
violence or threats because of
their religious practice or for not
holding any religious belief, said
the newly released 2013 Report
on International Religious Freedom.
It cited the civil war in Syria
and sectarian violence between
Christians and Muslims in the
Central African Republic for displacing millions of people.
Throughout the Middle East,
according to the report, the presence of Christians is “becoming
a shadow of its former self”.
The report found little improvement in the countries described as most likely to restrict
religious rights, particularly
North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran
and Sudan. Minority religious
communities faced sporadic incidents of sectarian violence in
Bahrain, Bangladesh, Burma,
Egypt, Eritrea, Pakistan, Sri
Lanka and Turkmenistan, the report said.
Calling religious freedom a
“universal value,” Secretary of
State John Kerry in introducing
the report equated religious practice with human freedom.
Tom Malinowski, assistant
secretary of state for democracy,
A Christian woman carries a cross
during a demonstration in Irbil,
Iraq, against militants of the Islamic State. (Photo: Reuters/CNS)
human rights and labour, joined
Mr Kerry at the podium, saying
that in most cases restrictions on
religious practice rarely resulted
from religious differences among
ordinary people.
“There is usually the additional factor of cynical calculations by political forces seeking to
maintain power or exploit religious differences for political
ends,” Mr Malinowski said. “Authoritarian governments, for example, often cannot tolerate
independent communities of
conscience beyond state control.”
I
n the way of other actions by
world governments, Mr Kerry
said Russia has used a series of
laws “against what they call extremism to justify crude measures against people of faith”.
Reports of violence against religious minorities were not lim-
ited to the developing world.
Malinowski said his office was
concerned by an 11% increase in
anti-Muslim incidents as well as
recent physical assaults against
Jews in France. Despite the incidents, he commended the
French government for continuing to promote interfaith understanding and oppose racist,
anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic
acts.
While Mr Malinowski said the
number of people displaced in
2013 was the highest in years, he
declined to specifically say how
many people were forced to
move from their communities.
“We made that statement at
the front of the report because
we look at places like Iraq now,
Syria, of course, over the last
couple of years, Central African
Republic, it seems to us that in
recent memory we’ve not seen
the numbers of people pushed
from their homes in conflicts
[with] a religious or sectarian dimension,” he explained.
The report included brief descriptions of actions that protected
minority
religious
communities.
In particular the report
pointed to Muslims stepping up
to protect churches from attacks
in Pakistan and Egypt and to the
work of orthodox Jews in Britain
who formed a neighbourhood
watch team to assist Muslim
leaders to ensure that members
had safe access to mosques.—
CNS
Pope to Philippines, Sri Lanka in 2015
BY SIMONE ORENDAIN
C
ARDINAL Luis Antonio
Tagle of Manila, Philippines, has confirmed that
Pope Francis will visit his country from January 15-19, after
spending several days in Sri
Lanka.
Specifics will be released before the end of the year. The
pope is expected to visit Manila
and the Visayas, in the central
Philippines.
Late last year, major disasters
struck numerous island provinces
in the Visayas.
On October 15, a magnitude
7.1 earthquake hit Bohol
province, killing more than 200
people and causing major destruction in surrounding islands.
Less than a month later, Typhoon Haiyan tore through the
central part of the country,
killing 6 300 people.
Cardinal Tagle, who heads the
committee planning the papal
visit, announced the theme of
the visit would be “Mercy and
Compassion”.
The dates of Pope Francis’
visit to the Philippines coincide
with the dates that the country
hosted World Youth Day and St
John Paul II in 1995.
Church officials have said this
is only the second time a pope
will visit locations outside
Manila.
Archbishop Socrates Villegas
of Lingayen-Dagupan, president
of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, and
Paquito Ochoa Jr, the Philippine
president’s executive secretary,
are also on the central committee for the visit.
The Vatican press office said
Pope Francis would visit Sri
Lanka from January 12-15. It released no details of the visits.
It will be the pope’s third visit
to Asia in the space of eight
months. In May he visited Jordan, Palestine and Israel; this
month he will visit South
Korea.—CNS
INTERNATIONAL
The Southern Cross, August 6 to August 12, 2014
5
Francis and evangelicals
BY CINDY WOODEN
T
A memorial beneath the Arc de Triomphe in Paris for the French soldiers who
fell in World War I. (Photo: Günther Simmermacher)
German bishops: Churches
also to blame for WW1
A
S the world marks the 100th
anniversary of World War I,
Germany’s Catholic bishops
urged efforts to overcome “destructive self-interest” and acknowledged the shared guilt of churches
for the conflict, which left 16 million dead.
“This war began in Europe 100
years ago during these summer
months, and its dimensions are still
shocking,” the Berlin-based bishops’ conference said.
“As a Church, present throughout the world with a redemptive
message for all humanity, we must
be determined in opposing all inflated nationalism and every attempt to devalue peoples and
cultures. Our times demand an effective response in asserting the
common interests of the human
family against destructive self-interest,” said the bishops’ statement.
The bishops said that, before the
war began in 1914, national rival-
ries trumped the close economic
ties between countries, unleashing
a conflict of “previously unimaginable proportions”, in which poison
gas and other weapons of mass destruction were used.
However, it added that Europe’s
Christian churches had also played
their part in “war-mongering” at
the outbreak of fighting.
“Although the Catholic Church
had distanced itself from 19th-century nationalism by virtue of its
universal character, many bishops,
priests and faithful took the side of
those welcoming the war as a
chance for spiritual and moral renewal,” the German bishops said.
“We know today that many people, including those high up in the
Church, brought guilt upon themselves, failing in the national blindness to perceive the suffering of the
war’s victims, and realising too late
the consequences of absolute loyalty
to their respective nations.”—CNS
he only name Pope Francis
wants divided Christians to
call each other is “brother” or
“sister”.
“When one walks in the presence
of God, this brotherhood results,”
the pope told evangelical and Pentecostal Christians at a meeting in
Caserta, Italy.
The pope himself acknowledged
that some people would be shocked
by his decision to visit a Pentecostal
church; while the Vatican has had
an official dialogue with some Pentecostals and evangelicals since the
1970s, by and large, Catholic-Pentecostal relations have not been easy.
For years, “sect” was the nicest
thing even Vatican documents had
to say about the burgeoning Pentecostal communities in Latin America
and Africa. The nicest thing many of
those communities have to say about
the Catholic Church is even worse.
And even as Pope Francis was
preparing his visit to the Pentecostal
Church of Reconciliation in Caserta,
the Italian Evangelical Alliance and
other communities issued a statement sharply critical of Catholic
Church teaching and, especially,
critical of evangelical communities
in Italy and around the world who
hope for ecumenical rapprochement
with Rome.
The groups said they “maintain
as incompatible with the teaching of
Scripture a Church that believes it is
a mediator of salvation” and “a
Church that has assumed the responsibility of adding dogmas—like
the Marian ones—to the faith”.
Pope Francis greets a woman during
his visit to Pentecostal Christians.
(Photo: L’Osservatore Romano/CNS)
“Apparent similarities with evangelical spirituality and faith in some
sectors of Catholicism are not in
themselves a reason for hope in a
real change,” said the statement. The
leaders called on evangelicals warming to Rome to exercise “healthy biblical discernment” and focus instead
on “bringing the Gospel of Jesus
Christ to the whole world”.
F
or Pope Francis, as for the popes
who preceded him, that is a key
point.
“Given the seriousness of the
counter-witness of division among
Christians, particularly in Asia and
Africa, the search for paths to unity
becomes all the more urgent,” the
pope wrote in his apostolic exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel. “Missionaries on those continents often
mention the criticisms, complaints
and ridicule to which the scandal of
divided Christians gives rise.”
Full unity in faith and the sacraments is the ultimate goal of ecumenism in fulfillment of Jesus’
prayer that his disciples would be
one so the world would believe. But
using the metaphor of setting out
Once the “guardian” of the early Christian catacombs of Rome and the Vatican’s priceless artworks by Michelangelo, Raphael and other
masters, Italian Cardinal Francesco Marchisano
died on July 27 at the age of 85.
The former president of the Pontifical Commission
for the Cultural Heritage of the Church also served
as president of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, the Vatican office in charge of
safeguarding the Christian catacombs of Rome.
In 2002, Pope John Paul II appointed him papal
vicar for Vatican City State, archpriest of St
Peter’s basilica; and president of the Fabbrica di
San Pietro, the office responsible for physical
care and maintenance of the basilica, and made
him a cardinal in 2003
Pope to priests: Confront
bishops, but don’t gossip
BY CINDY WOODEN
O
NE of the dangers of a “sterile” form of celibacy is bitterness and gossip, Pope Francis
told a group of priests and bishops
in Caserta, southern Italy.
“A man who is alone ends up bitter, not fruitful, and he gossips
about others,” the pope said during
a meeting with 123 priests working
in the diocese of Caserta and 19
bishops from Italy’s Campania region.
When a priest disagrees with his
bishop or when bishops disagree
with each other, they must air their
differences—even
loudly—but
never talk behind each other’s
backs, Pope Francis told the group
of bishops and priests.
“Say it to his face,” the pope recommended. “You’re a man, so if
you have something against your
bishop, go and tell him. There may
be consequences, but pick up your
cross, be a man!”
Not for the first time, the pope
admitted that he, too, has been
tempted to gossip. “I’ve wondered
if this isn’t the consequence of a
celibate life lived as sterility, not
fruitfulness.”
Pope Francis told the priests it is
normal and even “healthy” to get
angry, but wallowing in that, not
getting it off one’s chest, not airing
differences directly, but talking behind someone’s back cause more
damage.
The key to a fruitful life, the pope
said, lies in “double fidelity and
double transcendence: being faithful to God is seeking him, opening
oneself to him in prayer, remembering that he is the faithful one”, and
“opening oneself to others” with
empathy, respect and patience.
Openness to the Holy Spirit must
be accompanied by openness to
other people and to their real problems, the pope said. The only way
to learn about the needs of others is
to listen to them, patiently, and resisting the temptation to give easy
answers.
“We cannot be a Church closed
in on itself, navel-gazing, a Church
that is self-referential, that stares at
itself and is incapable of transcendence,” he said. —CNS
Pilgrimage Highlights
HOLY LAND: Jerusalem, Bethlehem,
Nazareth, Sea of Galilee, Jordan River
and much more...
ROME: Papal Audience, Mass in
St Peter’s Basilica, Sistine Chapel,
Catacombs, Major Basilicas, Ancient
and Baroque Rome...
FLORENCE: Dumo cathedral,
Church of the Holy Cross with the
tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo,
Renaissance Florence...
TURIN: Reserved viewing of the Shroud
of Turin in the Cathedral of St John
the Baptist, plus sites of Don Bosco
on his bicentennial: Pinardi Chapel
and Basilica of Our Lady Help of
Christians...
and walking with the Lord, a key
image of Christian life for Pope Francis, the movement towards Christian unity is something that
happens one step at a time.
For Pope Francis, it is not about
waiting for others to catch up with
you. It is about everyone continuing
to walk with and towards the Lord,
supporting and learning from the
brothers and sisters God places on
the same path. The closer everyone
gets to holiness, the closer they will
be to one another.
Pope Francis told the group in
Caserta that one thing present
among Christians since apostolic
times—but definitely not a gift of
God—is name-calling.
On the path of Christian life,
“when we stop and spend too much
time looking at each other, we start
a different journey, an ugly one,” the
pope said. In the First Letter to the
Corinthians, St Paul criticises early
Christians who, bragging and promoting rivalry, started saying, “I belong to Paul” or “I belong to
Apollos”, rather than “I belong to
Jesus.”
The pope said it was like saying,
“I am the Church, you are a sect”.
“It is not the Holy Spirit who
makes division,” Pope Francis told
the Pentecostals. “The one who creates divisions is the jealous one, the
king of envy, that sower of weeds:
Satan!”
“The Holy Spirit creates diversity
in the church,” he said. “And this diversity is very rich and very beautiful. But then, the Holy Spirit also
brings unity and, in that way, the
church is one in its diversity.”—CNS
6
The Southern Cross, August 6 to August 12, 2014
LEADER PAGE
LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR
Editor: Günther Simmermacher
Israel peace is possible
I
N the public discourse on the
conflict between Israel and
Palestine there always has been
an emphasis on balance and
avoidance of bias, at least among
the middle-ground.
The mantra has always been
that “there is wrong on both
sides”, without much interrogation into the depth of the respective sides’ liabilities.
After
Israel’s
merciless
scorched-earth destruction of
Gaza, there no longer can be such
nervous equivocation.
Images of shelters, hospitals,
schools, church buildings, power
stations and other infrastructure
being destroyed, of children on
beaches being blown up by rockets, of mothers holding their lifeless babies can leave no heart
unmoved.
When the ratio of civilian
deaths exceeds 400:1, we have to
speak of collective punishment—
a war crime.
One cannot be unbiased in the
face of such suffering. To be “unbiased” and “balanced” in this case
is to be on the wrong side of justice.
By exercising disproportionate
and excessive force on a thin pretext—Hamas’ rockets were ineffectual—Israel has lost much of the
sympathy and benefit of doubt it
previously took for granted.
The images from Gaza—and of
Israelis sitting on hills overlooking the region, cheering the impact of each lethal bomb—spoke
for themselves. Even Western
news outlets which once were
solidly pro-Israel have voiced
strong criticism.
The movement for boycotts
and embargoes against Israel will
now gather pace. South Africa’s
apartheid rulers learnt 30 years
ago that it is a small step from
grassroots pressure to diplomatic
action.
It is in a spirit of love for Israel
and her people that churches are
joining a pressure movement
which aims for peaceable coexistence between all who live in that
land.
Peace in Israel/Palestine is possible only in a unitary, secular
state under a constitutional
democracy which provides for
certain group rights.
The two-state solution, which
is still advocated by the Holy See,
has been made impossible by the
illegal settlements which Israel
has built in the West Bank. Israel
has made it clear that the two-
state solution is not an option. It
must now be discarded.
Of course, the prospects for the
one-state solution seem slim at
present.
For Palestinians, the primary
obstacle will be the negation of
the sensitive right to return question. Many families still hold the
keys to the properties that were
taken from them after 1948; for
most Palestinians this issue is
non-negotiable.
The one-state solution, even if
subject to checks and balances, will
also be difficult to sell to Israelis.
Some of their fears will be reasonable, particularly in questions
that concern security. Other objections would likely regard religion, politics and social issues.
None of them trump the imperative for peace and justice.
The only possibility for peace
resides not in the total subjugation of Palestinians, as Israel
seems to think, but in the secular
unitary state.
No doubt, Israel will need to be
robustly persuaded of the justice
of the secular one-state solution,
much as white South Africans had
to be as apartheid crumbled.
Israel’s only alternative is to
perpetuate its violence to the
point where Palestinians are
squeezed out of all viable land
and are concentrated in ghettos.
Such a campaign of ethnic cleansing cannot be tolerated.
So far Palestinian resistance has
given Israel a pretext for intensifying its repression under the cloak
of defending itself, with the moral
and material support of the United
States and European Union.
After Gaza, this propaganda is
patently absurd and unacceptable
to people of justice.
People of justice cannot wait for
governments to act, though some
will and already have. The pressure
has to come from civil society to
force governments, one by one, to
adapt their policies to the end that
they will emphatically communicate to Israel and Palestine, even by
use of sanctions, the world’s demand for a solution that brings a
lasting peace.
Boycotts, economic embargoes
and protests (which may not use
the contemptible rhetoric of antisemitism) can play a role in that.
Those who seek peace must set
the goal—a unitary, secular state
in a constitutional democracy—
and mobilise towards it, as an act
of solidarity with the people of Israel and Palestine who seek peace.
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.
No to Israeli services and products
N
O fewer than six pilgrimages to
the Holy Land were advertised
in the edition in which Archbishop
Stephen Brislin criticised disproportionate bombing of Gaza (July 23).
Pilgrimages that use Palestinian
tour operators, buses, hotels, restaurants and so on serve to support the
Palestinian communities, so those
who plan to go on a pilgrimage to
the Holy Land should boycott Israeli service providers.
Those of us familiar with the last
days of apartheid would know that
because of international isolation
and a boycott of South Africa
through culture, academia, sport,
even religious events and cooperation, among others, apartheid soon
fell. Pope John Paul II was loath to
stop over in Johannesburg in 1986.
We can’t support
priests’ families
I
THOUGHT that the subject of
married priests had long since
been put on the back burner, but
two of your correspondents in the
June 25 issue seem to want to continue plugging away with the same
old arguments.
“Give us a married clergy and all
will be well”? Nothing could be further from the truth.
Let me begin by saying I support
a married clergy, but the problem is
there is not one parish in Southern
Africa that could support a married
priest, his wife and unknown number of children.
Brian Commins says that male
chauvinism is to blame, but even if
the pope and the curia agreed to
such a request, no parish could finance a married clergy.
In most presbyteries today there
are usually two priests, both celibate. If one decides to get married,
who moves out? Who will provide
the necessary finance to build a
house for a married priest and his
family?
There is no stipulation anywhere
to my knowledge that says that the
wife of the priest would have to go
out to work to provide extra income for the family, but she may
also want to follow her own career
path.
Many Anglican priests would
like to become Catholic priests,
however, they have been told that
they would have to be self-supporting of this family, provide education to tertiary level for their
children and provide their own
pension scheme.
It is worthwhile looking at how
other churches have tackled this
problem.
Before you can become a full
member of any of the Pentecostal,
fundamentalist and Dutch Reformed churches, you will be visited
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Boycotts of Israel, its services and
products, can help bring peace in
the Holy Land. Visit the BDS movement’s
website
(www.bdsmove
ment.net) for more information.
Palestinians, especially Christian
Palestinians, warmly welcome pilgrims when they come in a spirit of
solidarity. The benefits of a group
staying in Bethlehem in the West
Bank are not only economic but it
also shows Palestinians that they
are not forgotten.
Responsible pilgrimages must include special encounters with Palestinians, beyond those with the
guides, drivers and hotel staff, so
that pilgrims can bring their stories
back to South Africa.
Potential pilgrims therefore have
a responsibility to interrogate those
by a delegated member of the
church’s finance committee; you
will be asked to disclose your total
monthly income and you will be
asked to sign a document that you
will contribute 10% of your nett
monthly income.
You will normally receive a
home visit on the last Friday of the
month when you will be expected
to hand over a cheque or cash based
on your monthly income.
Advocates of a married clergy
often point to the Anglican church
and people ask: “If they can afford
it, why can’t we?”
The answer is very simply, since
1534, when the Anglican Church
became a reality, their financial advisors have built up a massive fund
running into billions of pounds
through the purchase of land and
properties in central London.
The income received provides a
monthly salary for the clergy, retired clergy and also medical services.
Weekly collections are sent to a
central finance fund.
Here in South Africa we can’t
even get all the parishes to support
Radio Veritas, which is carrying out
the greatest evangelical programme
the Catholic Church has ever
launched.
The Southern African Catholic
Bishops’ Conference exhorts parishioners to contribute 3% of their
monthly income to the support of
their parish priest and to cover all
the parish expenses. I doubt very
much whether many parishioners
are following this directive.
Allow me to add that the Bible
exhorts all Christian believers to
contribute 10% of their basic income to cover their church’s expenses.
RG Pitchford, Middelburg,
Mpumalanga
Women bishops
I
WAS disappointed to learn in
your report “Women bishops ‘an
obstacle’ to unity” (July 23) of Cardinal Walter Kasper’s view that ordaining women as Anglican
bishops would create an impediment to unity with the Catholic
Church.
Why should this be so? To my
mind this smacks of discrimination
of the worst kind.
Is it not time that the Catholic
Church decided to accept the inevitable? Surely the Church cannot
continue for much longer to support a doctrine that excludes more
than half of our parishioners?
Owen Gush, Cape Town
Assisted suicide
A
RCHBISHOP Desmond Tutu recently called for a review of laws
governing “assisted suicide”, citing
his witness of Nelson Mandela as
well as a local case of assisted suicide that has been in the news.
Here is a pastor who fought
against the death penalty, and
against an apartheid government
which employed secret police to exterminate individuals who were an
obstacle to their repressive regime.
What a contradiction in terms. What
agencies that offer pilgrimages
about the following:
1. Do you use Israeli service
providers?
2. Do you use Palestinian guides?
3. Do your programmes include
encounters with Palestinians?
Tour operators that answer no to
any of these questions should not
be used because their support of Israel fails the people of Palestine, especially the Christian community.
Pilgrims should also not go on
pilgrimages that are advertised as
going to “Israel”, as if sites in the
occupied West Bank, such as Bethlehem, are part of that state.
Our Christian Palestinian brothers and sisters are asking pilgrims to
choose responsibly when they
come to the Holy Land. We have an
obligation to do so.
Wesley Seale, Cape Town
part of “thou shalt not kill” does
Archbishop Tutu not understand?
Do we end the life of a child or
spouse when in pain or if they have
an aching tooth; a leg that is infected with gangrene; someone
who has a life-threatening decease;
someone who is suicidal? No, we
seek help! A doctor; medicine; family; friends and divine assistance is
called for. Life is extended or made
comfortable—that is the Christian
response.
In my opinion, individuals who
want to be “assisted” to die make
this request only because they can
feel they have become a stone in
the shoe of their carers. They have
become a hindrance, an obstacle.
The lowest common denominator seems to set the agenda in society, become law and be proclaimed
as the highest common factor.
Archbishop Tutu has become a
string in his “rainbow nation” that is
pointing an arrow at the heart of
God!
Henry Sylvester, Cape Town
Follow God’s law
I
AGREE wholeheartedly with
Frank Sokolic’s letter “Contraception law will not change” (July 23).
People in the world today must
stop trying to change God’s laws to
suit themselves and their “self-gratifying” pleasures.
Contraception, homosexual acts
and same-sex marriage are mortal
sins! Also, please stop trying to have
women priests and bishops. It does
not fit with the Bible and the pope
cannot change that. Women can
become nuns, men become priests.
Women become wives, men become husbands.
What would happen if I called
for men to be allowed to be nuns?
Leave things as God intended
them to be.
Terry Throp, Cape Town
Priest role model
E
VERYONE is so quick to complain about priests that we forget
to thank those who truly make a
difference in people’s lives and who
live their vocation of tending to the
needs of the sick and dying.
On July 6, my father, Llewellyn,
passed away in St Augustine’s Hospital. Fr Eric Boulle OMI, although retired and not in the best of health,
unwaveringly visited and tended to
the spiritual needs of my father.
His quiet compassion and genuine concern were palpable. My
mother, brother and I will always
appreciate the kindness that he
showed— then and always.
Thank you, Father Eric; you are
a role model for all priests.
BA Blumfield, 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.
Letters can be sent to PO Box 2372,
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or faxed to 021 465-3850
PERSPECTIVES
Finding God in the arts
I
MAGINE a group of highly talented
people who through their work were
able to influence large parts of the population, sometimes in invisible and subtle
ways.
Imagine if the Church built up a wonderful tradition of support and collaboration with that group of people over many
centuries.
And then imagine if, in the last 150
years, the Church had almost entirely lost
that relationship such that it felt that they
now operated in two parallel universes.
Wouldn’t that be a shocking waste and a
missed opportunity?
I fear that this is what has become of the
Church’s relationship with artists and so
with the arts. But why?
A few weeks ago the Jesuit Institute attended the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown. If you have not visited this
yourself it is hard to imagine the sheer scale
of the event: 2 500 performances of 350 different productions in dozens of venues dotted around the small city. Every lamppost,
tree and fence covered in posters advertising the various performances of drama,
comedy, classical music, jazz, traditional
dance, contemporary dance, visual arts, lectures and even puppetry.
We were there working with Spiritfest
which is based at the Anglican cathedral to
help people to explore the spiritual dimension of the arts.
Grahamstown is known as the “City of
Saints”; indeed many of the churches and
schools named after saints are used as venues for festival activities. And yet, even with
an explicit intervention such as Spiritfest,
the spiritual dimension of creating and experiencing art goes mostly unnoticed.
But this was not always the case. Recall
that in previous centuries the Church was
the single most important patron of the arts
and religious subjects were the focus of
most artistic expression.
Any list of the greatest artistic achievements of all time will be dominated by religious works: in sculpture, Michelangelo’s
Pietà; in painting, Leonardo’s Last Supper;
in music, Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus”; in
poetry, Dante’s Divine Comedy; in drama,
Goethe’s Faust; in architecture, the medieval cathedrals.
The arts and religion both help us to do
something similar: to enable us to look beyond our day-to-day concerns and draw us
up to something higher, or inwards to
something deeper, or outwards to something bigger. Theologians have fancy terms
for this—the transcendent or the numinous
or “the other”; in other words, the recogni-
tion that there is more to reality than what
lies on the surface.
One of the defining characteristics of humans is our desire to reach out to these
higher, deeper, bigger realities.
The arts and religion also paradoxically
do the opposite. They help us to see within
the big picture, the role of the individual
human person. When we applaud at the
end of a great spectacle we are acknowledging each of the individuals who made that
possible. Notice how at the end of a film
each person involved, from the grandest to
the lowliest, gets their name listed.
S
o when politics and the media and academia can sometimes lose focus on the
individuals—or treat them merely as cogs in
a bigger machine—the arts and religion at
their most powerful show us that the big
questions and the grand vision are made up
of individual persons. That connects closely
to the fundamental Christian understanding that each human is uniquely created by
God.
It is, I fear, the failure of the Church to
recognise the unique creation that is each
artist that has resulted in this modern nonrelationship between the arts and the
Church.
Let’s face it: artists by and large do not fit
into neat models of what the world
“should” be like. They are unpredictable
and strong-willed; they often lead lives that
Jazz musicians perform in the chapel of
what once was St Aidan’s College in Grahamstown.
Who works the hardest?
O
N the whole, I think, Catholics are
not well informed on the Church’s
teaching about family life.
People know a little, maybe in a rather
vague way. Natural law is one aspect that
flummoxes us all, even priests. There are
discussions around divorced and remarried
people, the issue of homosexuality and children in same-sex families, also something
on the role and place of women.
A priest colleague recently made an interesting observation. “Who says people are
not well-informed?” he asked. “On the
question of dress-code in church I am
amazed at what people know, even quoting
from canon law.”
Is dress-code in church something to get
really excited about? For me it isn’t, but for
some it clearly is and they are prepared to
read up and back their arguments. If there
is something that really grabs people, they
will make an effort to learn more.
In the recent Sunday gospels we encountered Jesus teaching in parables. Often he
said: “You who have ears to hear, let him listen.” He must have been speaking about
openness to listen to him and his message.
He wasn’t talking to deaf people.
Nor are we in our families talking to deaf
people, but are we speaking to those who
are open to listen.
The question, “How many times must I
tell you?” is not about learning to count but
expresses frustration at children’s inability
to listen. Spouses are possibly the worst culprits when it comes to selective listening,
choosing what they want to hear. And doesn’t this constantly lead to conflict?
One of the topics family members may
not be very good at hearing about is that
of gender balance.
The introduction to the August theme of
gender balance in the Thoughts for the Day
booklet for July-September states: “All fam-
Generally, Catholics are not well informed
about the Church’s teachings on the family,
argues Toni Rowland (Phorto: morguefile)
ily relationships are influenced by sexuality
and gender issues. Gender rules are learned
from modelling and experience. Attitudes,
habits and behaviour patterns are influenced from early in life by how boys and
girls see themselves. Women’s empowerment has challenged stereotypes and
changed gender roles. Families need considerate, open and honest communication to
avoid undue conflict and gender-based violence.”
The faith reflection linked up with this:
“Men and woman have the same dignity
and are of equal value, not only because
they are both, in their differences, created
in the image of God, but even more profoundly because the reciprocity that gives
life to the ‘we’ in the human couples is an
image of God (Catholic Social Teaching
111)”.
M
en may be able to quote statistics
about gender roles but how often do
they take the message to heart?
Stats SA 2011 tells us that men aged between 15 and 64 spend on average 254 minutes per day on paid work and 102 minutes
Raymond Perrier
Faith and Society
are do not follow social or ethical conventions; they say things that we do not approve of; they are comfortable with paradox
and contradiction—in other words they are
creative.
But if the Church used only works from
artists of which she approved, our church
walls would be pretty bare, our choirs
would have little to sing, and the Vatican
Museums would be vast empty chambers.
The Jesuits ran St Aidan’s school in Grahamstown for almost 100 years and, ironically, the school closed 40 years ago just as
the Arts Festival was starting. The school is
now the office of the local education department and the room that was the
chapel—a beautiful stone neo-gothic building—usually stands empty.
But for the eleven days of the festival it
was filled again with praise of God: not because it was being used as a chapel but because it was a jazz café.
The artists who performed there—who
had not taken vows of poverty, chastity and
obedience—helped raise up the hearts and
minds of their listeners in a way that was
still strangely prayerful.
Collaboration in the past between the
Church and artists has been constructive,
creative and mutually enriching because
the Church was able to take seriously the
unique characteristics of the individuals
who are artists.
There was not an artist I spoke to at the
festival who felt that their skills and perspective on the world were simply the result
of a random biological act. They had a sense
of the spiritual, of the other. But most did
not find formal religion a place that helped
them to explore that; some had stories of
being excluded or rejected by churches.
The artists I met felt they were creative
because they felt created and that their creations in turn connected them with the
Creator.
One famous South African singer, now
operating on the world stage, commented
to me that he could feel deep inside the difference between singing religious songs and
other works.
I am sure that the artists would be very
comfortable with the words of Vatican II
that we are “co-creators” with God in God’s
enterprise.
The challenge to formal religion is to
find a way of co-creating with artists so that
we can all journey together towards the one
Creator.
Toni Rowland
Family Friendly
on unpaid work. Women spend 155 minutes on paid work and 253 minutes on unpaid work.
Most of the unpaid work is in the domain of housework and childcare.
From this we can conclude that women
work more hours than men overall, but also
give much more of their time to the home
and the children.
During Women’s Month in South Africa,
there is bound to be much talk about gender equality in the workplace and women’s
rights. Should there not be more reflection
and discussion both inside and outside our
homes about gender equality or balance, in
the home and family?
Should boys and girls be treated the
same or differently? Should both assist with
housework? What gender roles are most
suited to each of our own families and life
situations? Is this something to get passionate about, to want to know more about in
order to improve the quality of our family
lives and prepare the young for a better balance in future?
Catholic Social Teaching has a long section on marriage and family life as well as
areas of work and human rights. It is worth
studying and knowing.
But the profound snippet quoted above
is both beautiful and meaningful. In their
reciprocity,—their togetherness or complementarity—men and women, and families
too, as units are images of God. That is what
the image for the African Church as Family
of God is about.
Achieving that is our prayer during these
three years of focusing on families and we
ask for the intercession of the Holy Family
to guide and support us on our journey.
The Southern Cross, August 6 to August 12, 2014
7
Fr Ralph de Hahn
Point of Reflection
Woman’s special
place in Church
R
EADING through sacred scripture it is evident that the male writers failed to give
women their rightful place.
Men gave no credence to the views of women;
even Paul mentions the risen Christ appearing
only to men (1 Cor 15:3-8) when the gospels,
which were written later, make it clear that he appeared first to women.
At the time the views and witness of women
was held to be not valid.
However, we know that Jesus had a special
place for women in his plan. We hear of the pious
women who accompanied Jesus on his journey
and cared for the needs
of his apostles, such as
Joanna, the wife of
Chuza, Susanna and
several others (Lk 8:2).
Mark also mentions
the courageous women
who stood with the crucified on Calvary, such
as Mary of Magdala,
Mary the mother of
James the Younger and
the mother of Joset, and
Salome (15:40). John’s
gospel speaks of Mary
the wife of Clopas.
Scripture commends
Mary Magdalen and
many
weeping
the risen Christ, by Fra the
women of Jerusalem,
Angelico (1395-1455)
and even the pagan wife
of Pontius Pilate spoke up in favour of the condemned man.
While men wanted Jesus dead, the women
could honestly declare: “We are innocent of this
man’s blood” (Mt 27:24).
Unlike the cowardly apostles, women did not
lose faith in him! They were the first to take the
good news to his frightened apostles. Mary Magdalen was the Apostle to the Apostles.
Women were the first to see him because they
were the last to leave him. Even when he was
dead and buried they came with spices to the
tomb. They followed him with an unselfish love
and deep gratitude; they were indeed disciples of
the heart.
Woman is created by God to share with him
the creation of new life; she is granted the physical and spiritual qualities of motherhood, a cocreator with the Almighty. She is God’s
masterpiece, and it is in Mary, the Mother of
Jesus, that we find the perfect woman: a young
virgin , wife, mother and widow.
True womanhood is a distinctive calling of
God to display the glory of his son in ways that
would not be displayed if there were no women.
She is called upon to give God his children, and
to display the fullness of his glory.
And this is so clearly manifested in the great
mystery of the Incarnation of God’s own divine
son. This is not accidental or incidental; it is all
related to the birth, life and death of Jesus. A
woman, both married and single, plays a vital role
in the human arena and is ordained to play this
motherly role in the life of his body—the Church.
Both true manhood and true womanhood are
surely callings to manifest the glory of God. In the
past it was men who defined the role and significance of women; it is now time for womanhood
to be defined by women.
She must display her role in God’s plan, totally
female, magnificently empowered, confident,
able and willing to cooperate in the divine dispensation. The Church needs such a mother who
sees in Mary the perfect model worthy of imitation
For centuries men have tried to dominate
women, but that is like chasing the wind. She is
indispensable to God’s universal plan.
ONLY 3 SEATS LEFT
13 to 26 Sep
PILGRIMAGE OF PEACE
Visiting the Vatican City, Rome, San Giovanni
Rotondo (Tomb of Padre Pio), Loreto, and
Medjugorje
Organisers Marlene Cilliers and Nomsa Malindisa.
Accompanied by Fr Paul Beukes and Fr Cletus
Cost from R24 500
Tel: (031) 266 7702 Fax: (031) 266 8982
Email: [email protected]
8
The Southern Cross, August 6 to August 12, 2014
COMMUNITY
Thirty candidates from Holy Trinity parish in Matroosfontein, Cape Town, were confirmed by Archbishop Stephen
Brislin. Candidates are pictured with parish priest Fr Thomas Joseph Vanderkunnel MSFS and deacons Chris Canterbury and Gerald Sobotker.
Small Christian Communities’ leaders of Emaus mission in Umzimkulu,
KwaZulu-Natal, were installed. They are pictured with parish priest Fr
Raphael Phiri, Srs Bernadette Ncube, (seated centre), Monica Phakathi
(back right) and Alexandra Nguwa (back left). The statue of founder Abbot
Francis Pfanner can be seen far right.
Spiritan Father Steffen Gerhard paid a visit to Sibonakaliso Combined
School in Harrismith, Free State, to celebrate their outstanding academic
achievements. Fr Gerhard built the school during his 50 years as a missionary in South Africa. He is seen together with a past pupil.
Close to 2 000 Catholics from Gutu deanery in the diocese of Masvingo in Zimbabwe celebrated the Year of the Family
at Mupandawana with a procession from Holy Innocents parish to the show ground. Speakers such as Fr Ferdinand
Mubvigwi and Fr Peter Chimombe (pictured right) spoke on papal documents including Familiaris Consortio, regarding
family apostolate. The diocese of Masvingo has dedicated 2014 as the Year of the Family and other deaneries such as
Eastern, Lowveld, Masvingo and Southern in Zimbabwe will also hold congresses before the end of the year. The celebration brought together parishioners from Mutero mission, Mukaro mission and the newly founded St Josephine
Bakhita Tongogara mission. The closing Mass was celebrated by Fr Walter Nyatsanza.
Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood celebrated their jubilees of profession at Mariannhill mission in KwaZuluNatal. (From left) Sr Sizakele Mbeje (25), Bishop Stanislaus Dziuba of Umzimkulu, Sr Jane Frances Hlongwane (25),
provincial superior Sr Maria Paula Maine, Bishop Pius Dlungwane of Mariannhill, superior-general Sr Ingeborg Müller,
Sr Mary Catherine Sibisi (25), Sr Mary Dyan (60), Sr Sheila Madlala (50), and Sr Celeste Sithole (50). Not pictured is
Sr Mary Ute Mbatha (50).
Holy Rosary High School in Johannesburg embraced the 2014 World Cup
spirit by playing interhouse soccer. Members of winning Lourdes house
(Brazil) are pictured (from left back) Patricia Zongololo, Akhona Mabasa,
Shellsea Branquinho, Shannon Mansfield, Chisha Sitamulaho, Shaan
Forster, Bianca Da Silva, Brittany Moore and Alex Tyldesley. (From left front)
Taylor Sheffield, Amy Law, Kelly Marcel, Catarina dos Santos.
MICASA TOURS
Easter Pilgrimage to Lourdes
Led by Lionel Samuel
01-09 April 2015
Pilgrimage to Fatima, Garabandal,
Lourdes, Dozulè, Liseux and Paris
Led by Archbishop Buti Tlhagale OMI
10-23 May 2015
Pilgrimage to Italy-Shroud of Turin,
Passion Play in
Sordevolo, Milan, Rome,
Verona, Venice
Led by Father Victor Phalana
09-21 June 2015
Holy Land Pilgrimage
Led by Father Christopher Townsend
31 August -09 September 2015
Pilgrimage to Fatima, Lourdes ,
Rome and Assisi
Led by Father Robert Mphiwe
07-19 September 2015
Contact: Tel: 012 342 7917/072 637 0508 (Michelle)
E-Mail: [email protected]
Sixteen members of Sacred Heart parish in Cala, diocese of Mthatha, were
confirmed by Bishop Sithembele Anton Sipuka.
ON TAPE
A group of readers is preparing
audio tapes of excerpts from The
Southern Cross for interested
people who are blind,
sight-impaired, unable to hold
a newspaper or illiterate.
Anyone wanting to receive
tapes as part of this service, available for an
annual subscription fee of only R50, may contact Mr Len
Pothier, 8 The Spinney Retirement Village, Main Rd, Hout
Bay, 7806 or phone 021-790 1317.
The Post Office will deliver and return tapes without
charge. Should you know of any interested
blind or otherwise reading-impaired person,
please inform them of this service.
Angel Timothy of the SPRED (Special Religious Education and Development) group at Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Johannesburg received her
first Holy Communion from Fr Chaka Motanyane OP. (From left) SPRED faith
companion Elvira Rohrbeck, Angel Timothy, Fr Motanyane and Sr Theresa
Marais Healey.
The Southern Cross, August 6 to August 12, 2014
CHURCH
9
Strikes in Rustenburg: The aftermath
The five-month Lonmin strike
might be over, but its effects
will scar the Rustenburg
area for a long time. Bishop
KEVIN DOWLING explains
how he sees the long-term
consequences and what the
Church is doing.
O
NE day an old couple came
to one of the clinics we run
in an informal settlement in
the diocese of Rustenburg.
It was near an Anglo Platinum
shaft and this was during the fifth
month of the strike by the Association of Mining and Construction
Union (AMCU) in the Rustenburg
platinum belt. For some weeks we
had been preparing food parcels at
this and other clinics we run in
order to respond to the starvation
and malnourishment, not only of
miners and their families, but also
of affected people and children in
the informal settlements and nearby
villages.
This old couple came to the
clinic and were given a food parcel.
They said to the staff: “But how did
you know that today we are starving?”
There have been many such stories, and there are also examples of
great suffering that we have witnessed and heard about over the
past months, because our health
care programmes and the Tapologo
Aids programme is situated right in
the heart of the Rustenburg platinum belt with its huge informal
settlements.
The most poignant experiences
have been with the vulnerable children and Aids orphans whom we
care for.
In one informal settlement, the
striking miners broke into the aftercare centre and stole all the food.
Because of the violence and intimidation in the area, we had to shut
down the after-care centre where
the children received a cooked meal
every day. Instead we had to resort
to preparing small food parcels and
taking them to the school where the
child-carers met the children after
school and hid the parcels in their
shoulder bags, because miners had
taken the food parcels off the children, and our care workers, when
they walked home with the food in
plastic bags.
Over the past weeks in particularly, the Tapologo team with whom
I work has been able to increase its
food support, in particular through
the wonderful generosity of the
bishops’ conference donation, and
the many donations of money and
food from parishes, religious communities, the St Vincent de Paul Society, and individuals.
The strike is officially over. But it
will be some time before the shafts
become fully operational again. Be-
sides safety checks underground, all
the miners have been going
through health checks.
Impala Platinum requested the
Tapologo Aids team with whom I
work to assist them in this. We assembled a multi-disciplinary team
of 16 nurses, home care workers,
counsellors and social workers,
which worked with the Impala
health staff at all their shafts and in
a period of eight days some 13 000
miners were checked. This is an example of a partnership Tapologo has
had since 1997 with Impala, which
financially supports five of our
home-care teams and a clinic in the
affected communities around their
shafts.
related mining professions.
After two years of meetings the
project was ready to be implemented. Except that violence broke
out in that area, demonstrations,
burning of tires on the roads and so
forth. The result? The project was
mothballed.
This, sadly, was an important opportunity lost to redress the wrongs
or past lack of social concern by the
mining house. Lonmin has also run
health and social welfare projects in
their mining area like the provision
of ARVs for the mine workers, Orphans and vulnerable children programmes and so forth.
O
A
nd the point of all this is the following. Now, even some weeks
after the strike officially ended, people are still starving. But worse still,
many of the miners and their family
members have defaulted on their
ARV drugs because they were too
afraid to go to clinics owing to the
widespread intimidation, or because
they had gone home to families in
the Eastern Cape, Lesotho and
Mozambique—to hopefully find
some food on which to survive. We
have been aware of this for many
weeks now, but it is becoming more
evident as the miners come back to
work.
The AMCU strike has been the
longest in our history. To analyse
what has happened, and its myriad
causes and effects, would take many
articles. The cost to the country, to
the companies, to the miners and
their families, and to the thousands
of impoverished people like that old
couple—who had nothing to do
with the strike—can perhaps be
measured in monetary terms. The
billions lost by the companies because of no production, the billions
lost by the miners because they received no wages for five months,
and the billions lost to the fiscus
through loss of revenue from the
mines.
But I think we will only begin to
see several other very harmful effects of this strike as the months go
by.
For example, during the strike,
more than
150 businesses in
Rustenburg town shut down, leading to further unemployment. Most
will never reopen because owners
have had to move away in search of
work. The economic downturn in
Rustenburg over the past months
has been plain to see.
But no one can really quantify
the personal cost and suffering
which so many people, affected by
the strike, have had to endure.
Just a few days ago, a three-year
wage agreement was reached between the National Union of
Mineworkers (NUM) and the Royal
Bafokeng who own the Rasimone
Platinum mine a few kilometres
from where I live. This mine is op-
Ophaned and vulnerable children from Freedom Park are pictured with
Bishop Kevin Dowling. Despite the Marikana strike ending, violence and intimidation in the Rustenburg area has disrupted services to such an extent
that people are starving.
erated as a joint venture between
the Bafokeng and Anglo American
Platinum. The negotiations were
peaceful, there was no violence or
intimidation whatsoever, and the
agreement was reached after a short
time. AMCU does not represent any
workers at this mine.
Contrast this to the AMCU strike
at the Lonmin, Impala Platinum,
and Anglo Platinum shafts during
the past five months with massive
intimidation, murders, threats, and
prevention of non-striking employees from going to work. It has to be
asked: why?
Joseph Mathunjwa, the leader of
AMCU, on the day the agreement
was signed, made a statement that
the AMCU strike had been peaceful.
This is simply not true, and we in
the communities at our clinics, ARV
centres and orphan centres personally experienced the violence and
intimidation on a massive scale.
Already there are reports alleging
that the NUM will try to win back
workers from AMCU, and that
AMCU will try to gain more workers
from other unions. The potential for
further violence cannot be discounted.
I
t is clearly true that there is a long
history of exploitation of poorly
educated and unskilled migrants in
the mining sector in South Africa. It
is also true that the mining houses
came rather late to the table of
recognising their corporate responsibility for the affected communities
around their mine shafts. However,
to simply portray the mining houses
as totally uncaring needs to be at
least questioned.
For example, take the issue of
perhaps the most vilified mining
Prison Care and
Support Network
(Please leave your contact details in
case of donations)
[email protected]
house, Lonmin, because the
Marikana tragedy occurred in their
area of operation.
A few years ago, in response to
the challenge for Lonmin to enable
the communities around their
mines in the Marikana area to benefit from their operation, Lonmin
proposed that a feasibility study be
conducted to ascertain the viability
of a project which would precisely
benefit those communities through
training young people from the affected communities in a variety of
skills and job opportunities at the
Lonmin mines.
Basically it involved the following. Lonmin proposed opening a
mining secondary school in the
area, with the necessary infrastructure and workshops and so on, to
which the young people from the
communities around their mines
would be invited to enter. I was
asked to come into the negotiations
and to consider offering one of our
schools in the village of Bapong to
the project. I readily agreed to offer
the school, which was to be phased
out, and all its buildings to the project at no cost.
The local tribal authority was requested to allocate additional land
adjoining the school property so
that all the workshops and additional infrastructure could be developed. This was also granted. The
Department of Education was involved in the discussions. The idea
was that the school would offer a
whole range of job opportunities to
young people from the communities in the mining operations, including
the
possibility
of
academically excellent learners proceeding to Potchefstroom University to obtain degrees in geology and
n July 10, I was asked by Lonmin to give the opening prayer
and reflection at an event in
Marikana. This was a sod-turning
ceremony on land donated by Lonmin and the start of a housing project involving a partnership between
Lonmin, the provincial department
of Local Government and Human
Settlements, and the local tribal
council.
A total of 2652 housing units and
flats, all in facebrick with tiled roofs,
will be built for mine employees
and community members in
Marikana. Lonmin has also converted 108 of its 128 mine hostels
into proper housing for its employees, and will convert the rest also.
Mention was made that just down
the road at the Catholic church in
Marikana, Aids orphans and vulnerable children are being cared for.
This points the way to the future.
Huge damage has been done by the
strike. Much work has to be done to
build up relationships and trust
again between the companies, the
unions and the workers.
Besides dealing with the fact that
so many labour disputes become violent, we also need to come together to heal the spirit of the
people and communities which
have borne the brunt of the effects
of this strike. In my view, there have
been no winners in the Lonmin
strike.
While AMCU and the miners believe this has been a victory, the
miners and their families will discover in the months ahead that
even with their wage increase they
will never recover what they have
lost, especially as so many of them
are in the trap of what they owe to
the infamous loan sharks.
The companies have lost, the
country has lost, Rustenburg town
has lost, lives have been lost, the
poorest in our communities have
lost, and I fear the miners themselves will find that by next year
they have also lost out.
Clearly the faith communities
will have a role to play at the community level in responding to the
many needs of thousands of people
who have been affected by this
strike.
Continued on Page 11
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10
The Southern Cross, August 6 to August 12, 2014
FOCUS
Catholic mask: Truth behind mafia’s faith
The mafia title “Godfather”
has a practical application in
Italy: sometimes families wait
for a criminal to be released
from prison so that he can be
at a baptism or confirmation.
But bishops in southern Italy
are fighting back, as CINDY
WOODEN reports.
T
HE godfather who stands up
for a child’s baptism one day
and spends the rest of the
week running a brutal crime ring
unfortunately is not the stuff of
movies.
In southern Italy, the mafia, the
’Ndrangheta and other organised
criminal gangs still cloak themselves
in symbols of Catholicism—and the
region’s bishops have had enough.
It’s not that the bishops have
begun only now to act—they have
been coordinating their anti-mafia
work since the 1970s—but they
have seen just how deeply tied the
mafia is to local Catholic cultural
expressions and how essential those
fake religious ties are to the continued thriving of mafia relationships.
The bishops of Calabria met in
late July to discuss ways to cut those
ties and make it clear to people in
their region that hanging onto a
holy card or applauding when a
statue of Mary is carried past does
not make a criminal Catholic.
One possibility they are considering is to petition the Vatican for an
exemption from canon law that
would allow them to ban godfathers, godmothers and confirmation
sponsors completely.
It was not a coincidence that the
blockbuster film series based on the
book by Mario Puzo and directed by
Francis Ford Coppola was called The
Godfather.
Archbishop Giuseppe Fiorini Morosini of Reggio Calabria asked the
Vatican months ago if he could suspend for ten years the naming of
godfathers in his archdiocese.
“There are two problems,” he
told Vatican Radio. “There is the use
of religious symbols and even a
sacrament to present a ‘clean’ face
to society, but there is also the concrete fact that being a godfather at a
baptism or sponsor at confirmation
forms a bond between families.”
While that can be a good thing,
the archbishop said that “the
’Ndrangheta is built on the foundation of collaboration and strict
bonds between families”, and serving as a godfather “extends the family’s bonds, allowing them to better
dominate more territory”.
In an interview with SIR, the Italian bishops’ news agency, he said
some parents “put off baptism for
years—even until adolescence or beyond—because they are waiting for
the godfather to get out of prison”.
Fr Enzo Gabrieli, spokesman for
the president of the Calabrian bishops’ conference, said the bishops of
the 12 dioceses in the region all
agree on the need for “re-evangelisation” about the role of godparents
and sponsors, but the situation
varies so much from one diocese to
another that concrete measures also
should vary.
The choice, he said, is to “either
suspend the naming of godfathers
for a time or concentrate completely
on education”.
In his archdiocese of CosenzaBisignano, Fr Gabrieli told Catholic
Chiara Rizzo Matacena, wife of a convicted mafia-linked fugitive, is being arrested. In southern Italy, the mafia, the ’Ndrangheta and other organised
criminal gangs still cloak themselves in symbols of Catholicism, and the region’s bishops have had enough. (Photo: Luca Zennaro, EPA/CNS)
News Service, the biggest problem
with godparents and sponsors is
that friends and relatives tend to be
chosen as a sign of affection with little or no awareness that their role is
to assist the growth in faith of the
baptised or confirmed.
For Fr Gabrieli, like for the region’s bishops, the solution lies not
simply in condemning gangsters,
but in helping Christians live their
faith seriously and coherently.
P
ope Francis made headlines in
June when he visited Calabria
and said: “Those who follow the
path of evil, like the mafiosi do, are
not in communion with God; they
are excommunicated!”
Using the term “excommunicated” got people’s attention, but it
was not Pope Francis’ first condemnation of the mafia and organised
Finally, a Used Car Dealer we can Trust!
Buying or selling a used car can be a rather nerve racking experience because one can
never be too sure whether the dealer that you are dealing with can be trusted. This
coupled to the somewhat tarnished reputation that some dealers already have, it’s no
wonder that one tends to err on the side of caution when dealing with a used car dealer
when buying a used car or selling your old faithful mode of transport to them.
The good news is that we can now ease the burden of buying or selling a used car because
there is a ‘new kid on the block’, and the bonus is that he is one of our own! Dominique
Lejeune, a practising Roman Catholic and member of the Church of the Blessed Sacrament
in Virginia down in Durban, has recently opened a new autolot in Durban with a promise
to remove the fear of dealing with a used car dealer. When asked how he aimed to do
this, Dominique’s reply was simply, “To be honest and not tarnish my own reputation!”
Since this article appeared in the Southern Cross a few weeks ago, many interested readers
contacted Dom and were not disappointed with the outcome of their enquiry. Here are
the responses from just two satisfied customers.
Evelyn Pienaar, member of the congregation of St Michaels Redhill,
Durban, seen standing next to her Hyundai i-10 that she bought from
Dom recently: “I was very impressed at how smooth the sale went. It
was stress free, I never once had to leave my house and I got a great
deal on my trade-in too.” she told the Southern Cross.
Mr Dallas Sutton from Virginia sold his Chrysler Sebring to Dom and
he had the following to say, “I phoned Dom about selling my car after
reading the article about him in the Southern Cross. Dom came out to
my home, looked at the car and made me an offer which I accepted.
The whole transaction took a day and a half and I didn’t move an inch. All I had to do was
sign a few change-of-ownership forms and the agreed amount was paid into my bank
account before he even fetched the car. He was true to his word, he took all the stress out
of selling a car”
If you too want a great deal in either
buying a car or selling your car,
contact Dom—details below
Telephone : 031 579 4257 Cell: 082 440 6185 email: [email protected]
Web: www.dlpreowned.co.za
crime.
In March, almost exactly a year
after the solemn inauguration of his
ministry, Pope Francis met in a
Rome church with mafia victims. In
addition to listening to them and
praying for them, he used the occasion to address mafiosi: “Men and
women of the mafia, please change
your lives, convert, stop doing evil.
We pray for you. Convert, I ask on
my knees! It is for your own good.”
“Convert,” he said. “There is still
time not to end up in hell, which is
what awaits you if you continue on
this path.”
And visiting the southern town
of Caserta in late July, Pope Francis
said that being Christian is putting
God first in one’s life, which means
having “the courage to say no to
evil, violence and exploitation”.
He did not directly denounce the
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Camorra, as the local mafia is
known, but he told 200 000 people
gathered for Mass that “we all know
the name of these forms of corruption and illegality”.
The need for local bishops to take
concrete steps to educate their people and purify Church practices became evident soon after Pope
Francis visited Calabria. In what
media described as a threat to boycott Mass, mafia members jailed in
Locri asked their chaplain why they
should bother going to Mass if they
are excommunicated, and scandal
erupted in early July when participants in a Marian procession
bowed—with a statue of Mary—in
front of the house of a presumed
mafia boss.
The
bishop
of
Oppido
Mamertina-Palmi, where the bowing incident took place, banned all
religious processions for the time
being. The bishop of MiletoNicotera-Tropea banned a procession scheduled for July 16 in Vibo
Valentia after local law enforcement
officials notified the parish that
men suspected of having mafia ties
were among those scheduled to
carry a statue of Our Lady.
Archbishop Salvatore Nunnari of
Cosenza-Bisignano, president of the
Calabrian bishops’ conference, suggested a two-year stop to all processions to give church leaders time to
ensure future processions would be
strictly Catholic.
The bishops’ conference of Calabria, led by Archbishop Nunnari,
will publish joint pastoral guidelines
in October, Fr Gabrieli said, but each
bishop also is expected to issue his
own rules for ending the mafia’s access to public expressions of faith.
Unless, of course, they are ready to
repent.—CNS
TOURS TO ITALY - (Rome)
Travelling in June 2015
Places of interest: St Peter’s Basilica,
Vatican, Sistine Chapel, Roman forum
and many more.
Cost: R22 000 per person
Contact details: Elize Travel & Tours
Cell: 073 395 0095 or 011 934 4426
Email: [email protected]
The Southern Cross, August 6 to August 12, 2014
CLASSIFIEDS
Aftermath of Rustenburg strikes
Continued from page 9
For years now, particularly
through the Tapologo Aids programmes and clinics in the communities around the mines at
Rustenburg, we as Church have
played a significant role in responding to critical needs in the
most impoverished communities
where we work.
We are able to model the kind
of partnerships with community
members and businesses, together
with government, which make
programmes sustainable. We are
part of the Rustenburg Health
Forum which brings together 17
entities working in the field of
health care.
Tapologo is the only entity
which can offer in-patient palliative care to the very ill and dying
in this area, and we are being invited now to look at providing
also a TB treatment in-patient facility for those patients who are
HIV-positive and also suffer from
TB. We also bring the important
facet of holistic spiritual and psychosocial care.
The needs are enormous, and I
hope to continue to motivate and
support our programmes in these
affected communities, both in
health care, HIV/Aids, schools,
early childhood development, the
training of teachers to run crèches,
and other community development programmes.
I also hope to motivate our
Church communities to really look
at the many social needs among
families, children and the youth,
and to find the ways we can play
our part—sometimes in partnerships with others—to address the
issues which diminish the quality
of life of the people in this diocese.
Jesus promised: “I have come
that they may have life and life to
the full” (Jn 10:10). Jesus can only
make that happen in some way
through us as a Church community, and this surely must be the
mission of the Church in this
area, especially after this strike.
I hope and pray we can continue this challenging journey
with the Lord and with all our
people.
Sr Harlind Flügel CPS
P
RECIOUS Blood Sister Harlind Flügel, who died on July
7 at the age of 92, was born
Helene Flügel on October 26,
1921 at Dahlen in the diocese of
Limburg, western Germany, the
fifth of eight children.
Her brother Anton became a
priest and her sister Elisabeth also
entered the Precious Blood Sisters,
a missionary congregation, as Sr
Lioba. Sr Harlind kept a lifelong
close connection with her family.
On account of the outbreak of
the World War II she was sent to
Wernberg in Austria for her religious formation. In 1941 she became a novice and made her first
profession on December 8, 1942.
Sr Harlind was transferred to
Germany where she served at Bad
Kissingen and Mönchengladbach
under most difficult circumstances, as the country had become a war zone. Shortly after the
end of the war, Sr Harlind made
her final profession in Neuenbeken on February 2, 1946.
In October 1948 Sr Harlind’s
great wish was fulfilled when she
was sent to South Africa. After obtaining the post-matric teachers’
training in 1953, she studied by
correspondence for a BA degree.
She was a conscientious and
gifted teacher who taught for
nine years at Little Flower School
(1953-62) in Mariannhill, and
then for 26 years—from 1962-88
fulltime and from 1988-98 parttime—at St Francis College, also
in Mariannhill.
Although she was proficient in
teaching English, Afrikaans and
history, she spent most of her
teaching career concentrating on
her major subjects, biology and geography, in the matric classes. She
not only obtained excellent results
but also taught her students a deep
reverence for all living things in
God’s beautiful world.
Teaching Scripture was another passion of Sr Harlind. She
taught Scripture not only in her
classes but also to the Sisters in
the convent. She also took an active part in the catechetical and
Southern CrossWord solutions
SOLUTIONS TO 614. ACROSS: 4 Imprint, 8 Assisi,
9 Adipose, 10 Homily, 11 Idylls, 12 Evensong, 18 Interior, 20 Abacus, 21 Sunset, 22 Semitic, 23 Repose,
24 Stipend. DOWN: 1 Raphael, 2 Ishmael, 3 Psalms,
5 Midnight, 6 Repays, 7 Nestle, 13 Omission, 14 Big
Shot, 15 Brother, 16 Absent, 17 Scrimp, 19 Eludes.
Our bishops’ anniversaries
This week we congratulate:
August 6: Bishop Mlungisi Pius Dlungwane of
Marianhill, on the eighth anniverary of his episcopal elevation to ordinary of Mariannhill.
MONK?
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CLASSIFIEDS
Births • First Communion • Confirmation • Engagement/Marriage •
Wedding anniversary • Ordination jubilee • Congratulations • Deaths •
In memoriam • Thanks • Prayers • Accommodation • Holiday Accommodation •
Personal • Services • Employment • Property • Others
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DEATHS
GOEMANS—Alice Elizabeth (née Driver) passed
away on July 24, 2014.
Deeply mourned by her
husband Jasper and sons
Peter and Robert and
grandson Michael.
SARDINHA—Alice (Rodrigues) passed away July
3, 2014. Deeply mourned
by her husband Elmano
and children Ivonne, Louis
and Terry, brother Adelino
Vasco Feandeiro, wife
Celsa Maria and children
Valeria, Andres and families in Europe.
IN MEMORIAM
pastoral outreach programmes of
St Francis College.
Sr Harlind’s outstanding characteristics were her meticulousness,
her absolute adherence to principles, her gentleness and kindness.
After her retirement from
school in 1998, the Convent park
was entrusted to her loving care.
This duty she fulfilled graciously
till a very bad fall in April 2010
forced her to retire completely,
confining her to bed. She bore her
suffering patiently and with
heroic submission to God’s will.
As life ebbed away she accepted death calmly. In the early
hours of July 7 she died quietly.
Sr Marie-Therese Bossmann
Liturgical Calendar Year A
Weekdays Cycle Year 2
Sunday, August 10, 19th Sunday
1 Kings 19:9, 11-13, Psalm 85:9-14, Romans
9:1-5, Matthew 14:22-33
Monday, August 11, St Clare of Assisi
Hosea 2:16, 17, 21-22 or 2 Corinthians 4:6-10,
16-18, Psalm 45:11-12, 14-16, John 15:4-10
Tuesday, August 12
Ezekiel 2:8-3:4, Psalm 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111,
131, Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14
Wednesday, August 13
Ezekiel 9:1-7; 10:18-22, Psalm 113:1-6,
Matthew 18:15-20
Thursday, August 14, St Maximilian Kolbe
1 John 3:13-18, Psalm 116:10-13, 16-17, John
15:12-17
Friday, August 15, Assumption of the
Blessed Virgin Mary
Revelation 11:19; 12:1-6, 10, Psalm 45:10-12,
16, 1 Corinthians 15:20-27, Luke 1:39-56
Saturday, August 16, Saturday Memorial of
the Blessed Virgin Mary
Ezekiel 18:1-10, 13, 30-32, Psalm 51:12-15, 1819, Matthew 19:13-15
Sunday, August 17, 20th Sunday
Isaiah 56:1, 6-7, Psalm 67:2-3, 5-6, 8, Romans
11:13-15, 29-32, Matthew 15:21-28
11
BLASE—André Joseph,
Very Rev Father OMI. Father and founder of the
Servants and Handmaids
of Christ the Priest died on
August 7, 1992 buried at
Bosco House, Hammanskraal, in archdiocese of
Pretoria. On this the 21st
anniversary of the death of
our founder and father
may he continue to watch
and pray over our institutes and make powerful
intersession for us before
the throne of God. That we
may always be faithful in
living out our evangelical
councils in the spirit of our
charism and constitutions
as approved by the
church. He will always be
remembered in our daily
prayers and Mass. Rest in
peace Father. From your
beloved sons: Brothers
Daniel Ambrose Manuel
and Victor Pather SCP.
PRAYERS
HOLY ST JUDE, apostle
and martyr, great in virtue
and rich in miracles, kins-
man 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. Mrs
Lizikutty Jose.
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.
Remo Ciolli.
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. Karen
and Leon Madurai.
clean heart, O God, and
put a new and right spirit
within me. Do not cast me
away from your presence,
and do not take your Holy
Spirit from me. Restore to
me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a
willing spirit. Psalm 51
THANKS
GRATEFUL thanks—
Jesus of Divine Mercy, St
Faustina, Sacred Heart of
Jesus Immaculate Heart of
Mary, Infant of Prague,
Saints Jude, Martin,
Philomina, Anthony,
Joseph, Teresa Little
Flower for all favours received. A sinner—LC.
PERSONAL
ABORTION WARNING:
The pill can abort (chemical abortion) Catholics
must be told, for their eternal welfare and the survival of their unborn
infants. See www.epm.org/
static/uploads/downloads/b
cpill.pdf
NOTHING is politically
right if it is morally wrong.
Abortion is evil. Value life!
www.abortioninstru
ments.com is the graphic
truth that will set you free.
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HOLIDAY
ACCOMMODATION
HAVE mercy on me, O
God, according to your
steadfast love; according
to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from
my iniquity, and cleanse
me from my sin. For I know
my transgressions, and my
sin is ever before me.
Against you, you alone,
have I sinned, and done
what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in
your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment. Indeed, I was born
guilty, a sinner when my
mother conceived me. You
desire truth in the inward
being; therefore teach me
wisdom in my secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and
I shall be clean; wash me,
and I shall be whiter than
snow. Let me hear joy and
gladness; let the bones
that you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from
my sins, and blot out all my
iniquities. Create in me a
HOLY SITES TRAVEL
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MARIANELLA Guest
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Secure parking, ideal for
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SEDGEFIELD: Beautiful
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Bernadette 044 343 3242,
082 900 6282.
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Editor: Günther Simmermacher ([email protected]), Business Manager: Pamela Davids ([email protected]), Advisory Editor: Michael Shackleton, News Editor: Stuart Graham ([email protected]), Editorial: Claire Allen ([email protected]),
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Directors: C Moerdyk (Chairman), Archbishop S Brislin, P Davids*, S Duval, E Jackson, B Jordan, Sr H Makoro CPS, R Riedlinger, M Salida, G Simmermacher*, R Shields, Z Tom
Opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect those of the editor, staff or directors of The Southern Cross.
NOAH OLD
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HERE is a dreadfully exclusive little
voice, deep inside us, that says, “God is
only for People Like Us”. The readings
for next Sunday may be read as a remedy for
this too-narrow view of God.
The first reading was composed after Israel
had their terrible experience of being in exile
in Babylon, with the discovery that other
people than themselves were open to God,
and even pleasing to God.
All that matters is not their ancestry or
racial origin, but their readiness to “keep
righteousness and do justice—for my salvation is close”.
And the prophet meditates on those
strange beings “the foreigners” and notices
that they are people “who put their trust in
the Lord, to minister to him and to love the
Lord’s name”.
Many of his compatriots would have
found this impossible to conceive, but the
poet can imagine that these non-Jews might
actually “keep the Sabbath” and “rejoice in
my house of prayer”, and, quite shockingly,
“my house shall be called ‘a house of prayer
for all peoples’ ”.
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Business manager: [email protected]
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OMETIMES everything can seem right
on the surface while, deep down,
nothing is right at all.
We see this, for example, in the famous
parable in the gospels about the Prodigal
Son and his older brother.
By every outward appearance the older
brother is doing everything right: he’s perfectly obedient to his father, is at home,
and is doing everything his father asks of
him. And, unlike his younger brother, he’s
not wasting his father’s property on prostitutes and partying. He seems a model of
generosity and morality.
However, as soon becomes obvious in
the story, things are far from right. While
his life looks so good on the outside, he is
full of resentment and bitter moralising inside. He is, in fact, envious of his brother’s
amorality. What’s happening? In essence,
his actions are right, but his energy is
wrong.
But, lest we judge him too harshly, we
need to have the honesty to acknowledge
that we all struggle in this way, at least if
we are moral and generous.
What is played out in the bitterness of
the older brother is, in the astute words of
the psychologist Alice Miller, “the drama
of the gifted child”, namely the resentment, self-pity, and propensity for bitter
moralising that inevitably besets those of
us who don’t stray from our duties, who
do stay home, and who carry the brunt of
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volunteers and
donations.
Widen your gaze for the Lord
Nicholas King SJ
Sunday Reflections
The same openness is evident in the psalm
for next Sunday, which prays for “your way to
be known on the earth, your salvation among
all the nations…for you judge the peoples uprightly”, and he envisages all of humanity
coming to God: “May God bless us, and may
they fear him, all the ends of the earth.”
In the second reading, Paul is trying to
convey the same message about the all-inclusive understanding of God.
This time it is not the Jews but the Gentiles
who need to hear the message; for Paul has
spent a good deal of the Letter to the Romans
indicating that the Gentiles have a very special place in God’s plan.
Now, however (and he spends the whole
of chapters 9-11 trying to get this across), it is
important that he argues that the Jews have
not been rejected.
So he insists that while (on the one hand)
Paul has a mission as “Apostle to the Gentiles”, that does not mean (on the other) that
God has changed his mind about the Jews:
“For God’s gifts and calling do not have a
change of plan.”
God’s desire is “that he might have mercy
on everybody”. Who, this week, do you think
God might not wish to see in his kingdom?
Your answer to this question may say more
about you than about God.
The gospel reading for next Sunday is remarkable in that we actually see a woman (so
that is one strike against her) and a foreigner
(there is another strike) actually changing
Jesus’ mind.
She starts off well, addressing Jesus appropriately enough: “Have mercy on me, Lord,
Son of David.”
Then, as others have done in the course of
the gospel, she puts her problem before him:
“My daughter is in a bad way with a demon.”
We wait to hear how Jesus will respond,
and to our astonishment “he did not answer
When others have all the fun
Conrad
Talk to us…
Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000 • 10 Tuin Plein, Cape Town, 8001
20th Sunday: August 17
Readings: Isaiah 56:1, 6-7, Psalm 67: 2-3, 56, 8, Romans 11:13-15, 29-32, Matthew
15:21-18
S
Unplanned
pregnancy?
NPO044-227
We can use your old
clothing, bric-a-brac,
furniture and books for
our 2nd hand shop.
Help us to create an
avenue to generate much
needed funds for our
work with the elderly.
Fr Ron
Rolheiser OMI
Final Reflection
the load for our families, churches, and
communities.
Sadly, often, the feeling we are left with
when we give our lives over in sacrifice is
not joy and gratitude for having been
given the grace, opportunity and good
sense to stay home and serve, but rather resentment that the load fell on our shoulders, that so many others dodged it, and
that so many in the world are having a
fling while we are on the straight and narrow.
T
oo often, among us—good and honest
people who are fighting for truth and
God’s cause—we find a spirit of bitter
moralising that colours and compromises
both our generosity and our sacrifice.
But I say this with sympathy. It’s not
easy to give oneself over, to forego one’s
dreams, ambitions, comfort, and pleasure
for the sake of God, truth, duty, family and
community.
How might we do it? How might we imitate the fidelity of the older brother without falling into his envy, self-pity, and
bitterness? Where can we access the right
fuel to live out the Gospel?
As Christians, of course, we need to
look at Jesus. He lived a life of radical generosity and self-surrender and yet never fell
into the kind of self-pity that emanates
from the sense of having missed out on
something. He was never disappointed or
bitter that he had given his life over.
Nor indeed did he, like Hamlet, turn his
renunciation into an existential tragedy,
that of the lonely, alienated hero who is
outwardly intriguing but not generative.
Jesus remained always free, warm, forgiving, non-judgmental, and generative.
Moreover, throughout this entire life of
self-sacrifice, he always radiated a joy that
shocked his contemporaries. What was his
secret?
The answer, the gospels tell us, lies in
the parable of the man who is plowing a
field and finds a buried treasure and in the
parable of the merchant who after years of
searching finds the pearl of great price.
In each case, the man gives away everything he owns so that he can buy the treasure or the pearl.
And what must be highlighted in each
of these parables is that neither man regrets for a second what he had to give up
but instead each acts out of the unspeakable joy of what he has discovered and
what riches this is now going to bring into
his life.
Each man is so fuelled by the joy of
what he has discovered that he is not focused on what he has given up.
Only in this kind of context can selfsacrifice make sense and be truly generative. If the pain of what is sacrificed
overshadows the joy of what is discovered,
that is, if the focus is more on what we
have lost and given up rather than on
what we have found, we will end up doing
the right actions but with the wrong energy, carrying other people’s crosses and
sending them the bill.
And we will be unable to stop ourselves
from being judgmental, bitter, and secretly
envious of the amoral.
To the very extent that we die to ourselves in order to live for others, we run the
perennial risk of falling into the kind of
bitterness that besets us whenever we feel
we have missed out on something. That’s
an occupational hazard—a very serious
one—inside Christian discipleship and the
spiritual life in general.
And so, our focus must always be on the
treasure, the pearl of great price, the rich
meaning, the self-authenticating joy that
is the natural fruit of any real self-sacrifice.
And that joyful energy will take us beyond
self-pity and envy of the amoral.
her a word”!
What changes the story is that his disciples
“approached and asked him, ‘Get rid of her,
for she is yelling after us’ ”. So they are not
shown in a good light at all.
Jesus gives his policy, not an uncommon
one among Jews: “I was only sent to the lost
sheep of the house of Israel.”
That is a fairly clear rejection, but this spirited lady is not about to take “No” for an answer, and makes a very direct plea, “Lord,
help me”, which we imagine he cannot long
resist.
So we are surprised when at first he turns
her down: “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to little dogs.”
But she wins the argument by making the
witty point that “even little dogs eat from the
crumbs that fall from their lords’ tables”.
Jesus is stunned by this: “O Woman—great
is your faith: let it happen to you as you desire.” And we can scarcely resist a round of applause as we hear that “her daughter was
healed from that hour”.
All of us need to have our gaze widened,
this week.
Southern Crossword #614
ACROSS
4. Veronica’s impression of
Christ’s face (7)
8. The poor saints’ town (6)
9. A pose I’d adopt for the fat
(7)
10. I’m back in holy surroundings for the discourse (6)
11. Periods of bliss and poems
(6)
12. Service at the time of 21 ac
(8)
18. Kind of prayer for indoors
? (8)
20. It holds the beans you
count on (6)
21. Twilight (6)
22. Kind of language like Hebrew (7)
23. Adopt another position as
you sleep? (6)
24. Spend it for priest’s expenditure (7)
DOWN
1. Tobias didn’t know he
was an angel (Tobit 5) (7)
2. Hagar’s son (Gn 16) (7)
3. Postscript and gift to the
poor produce praise poems
(6)
5. Time for Christmas
liturgy (8)
6. Recompenses (6)
7. Settle comfortably (6)
13. Kind of sin of negligence (8)
14. Very important canon?
(3,4)
15. A monk in the family
(7)
16. New Testament base
about not being present (6)
17. Be thrifty (6)
19. Led Sue about and escapes (6)
Solutions on page 11
CHURCH CHUCKLE
T
WO nuns walk into a bottle store, grab a case
of beer and go up to the cashier.
He gives them a look, and one of the Sisters
says: “We use beer as shampoo, my child.”
Without missing a beat, he reaches under the
counter, and throws a bag of pretzels in the bag
with the beer: “Curlers on me, ladies!”