R7,00 (incl VAT RSA)www.scross.co.zaReg No. 1920/002058/06 No 4888

TheTheSSoutherouthernnCCrossrossAugust 27 to September 2, 2014

Look inside us:Can there be

peace?Page 7

The Bible: Our best

self-help bookPage 7

All about Pope Francis inSouth Korea

Page 9

SABC cancels papal ChristmasMass broadcast

BY STUART GRAHAM

THE SABC has cancelled its broadcast ofthe papal Christmas Mass in 2014—despite a 2010 undertaking to broad-

cast it every year.Archbishop William Slattery, speaking on

behalf of the Southern African Catholic Bish-ops’ Conference, said the state broadcasterhad informed the Church that it had decidedto cancel the broadcast and that it was “toolate” to renegotiate the screening of the papalMass for the year.

The bishops, Archbishop Slattery said,would now push digital satellite TV serviceDStv to host the US Catholic EWTN channelin its bouquet.

“What the bishops want to do is to get thepeople of South Africa, especially DStv sub-scribers, to present a petition to [the service’sowners] Multichoice to have EWTN as part ofthe bouquet so that Catholics can tune in365 days a year,” Archbishop Slattery said.

This way Catholics would have access “toall papal Masses, not only the midnight Massat Christmas”, he saids.

Archbishop Slattery recalled that whenEWTN was pulled off the DStv bouquet inNigeria in 2012, the country’s bishopsprotested and the channel was immediatelyreinstated.

“The bishops in Nigeria got prominentNigerians to react to that. Now Catholics inNigeria are in the fortunate position of hav-ing Catholic programmes 24 hours a day.”

In December 2010, the SABC’s generalmanager of content at the time, Ed Worster,undertook that the Mass would be scheduledannually.

Mr Worster left the SABC in 2013.Fr Chris Townsend, who as the bishops’

information officer at the time negotiatedwith the SABC, said he was surprised by thedecision to cancel the broadcast.

He said that when the bishops negotiatedwith the SABC, it was clear the broadcasterwas not going to make money from the papalMass but that it was “one of those goodthings to have”, in line with its religious di-versity policies. The Church would also pickup the tab for the technical costs of relayingthe Mass.

“We paid for all the technical stuff. It cost

them nothing. The Mass was filling in pro-gramming which they are desperately shortof,” said Fr Townsend, who now serves as aparish priest in Pretoria.

Fr Townsend said there had been almost a“systematic exclusion of established reli-gions” at the SABC.

“There is a constant battle being fought toretain religious broadcasting on the statebroadcaster. But with the change in philoso-phy at the moment, I don’t think the SABChas a direction,” Fr Townsend said.

“The real problem is the way the SABC asa whole deals with faith and media… No-body stays long enough to hold any opin-ion,” he said.

The broadcaster, he said, appeared to be infavour of what the priest called “smallergroupings”.

Father Townsend cautioned that it costs an“enormous amount of money” to have a

channel on DStv. The Church had been ne-gotiating with DStv for years to host EWTN,and found its attitude dismissive.

“They won’t put on a Catholic channel atall,” he said. “Their response has been thatwe have got our quota of Christian chan-nels.”

As an alternative to pushing for a channelon DStv, the Church might focus on support-ing Catholic radio.

“We should be punting our efforts intosupporting radio,” he said. “Radio is Africa’smedium. People listen to it.”

Fr Townsend said it is important for theChurch in Southern Africa to focus on radioas its main medium because 70% of theChurch is in the rural areas and has no accessto television.

“It is far easier to reach people in ruralareas with radio,” Fr Townsend said.

The Independent Communications Au-thority of South Africa (Icasa) awarded RadioVeritas a limited medium wave broadcast li-cence for Johannesburg in 2011, but withstringent conditions.

The Church had fought for the licence formore than a decade.

Despite repeated attempts, neither theSABC nor DStv had replied to questions fromThe Southern Cross as of going to print.

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Journalist beheaded byISIS was a devout CatholicPRAYER not only served as a source of

strength for Catholic journalist JamesFoley—whose death by decapitation by

militant Islamic State forces was shown in avideo—but is now a foundation for his fam-ily and community.

On August 19, the Islamic State, a militantgroup which controls territory in Syria andIraq, released a video titled “A Message toAmerica” in which the video purportedlyshows the beheading of Mr Foley.

Insurgents said that Mr Foley’s executionwas in retaliation for US airstrikes against Is-lamic State targets in northern Iraq.

Mr Foley, a graduate of the Jesuit Mar-quette University in Wisconsin and a free-lance journalist working mostly in theworld’s trouble spots, went missing in late2012 in Syria.

He had previously been kidnapped on aLibyan battlefield and held captive in Tripolifor 45 days.

Sometime in late 2012, he went missingin Syria.

Following his murder, Mr Foley’s familyhas been using Facebook, Twitter and othersocial media to express their sorrow and askfor privacy.

In a statement on Facebook, his mother,

Diane Foley, said: “We thank Jim for all thejoy he gave us. He was an extraordinary son,brother, journalist and person.”

She said family members “have neverbeen prouder of him”.

“He gave his life trying to expose the suf-fering of the Syrian people. Like Jim, they areinnocents. They have no control over Amer-ican policy in Iraq, Syria or anywhere in theworld,” Mrs Foley said.

Sister Kelly took to Twitter asking othersnot to watch the video that shows his be-heading: “Please honour James Foley and re-spect his family’s privacy. Don’t watch thevideo. Don’t share it. That’s not how lifeshould be.”

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo said that any-one sharing the images of the event wouldhave their accounts suspended.

In 2011, after he was let go by his kidnap-pers in Libya, Mr Foley wrote an article forthe magazine of the Jesuit Marquette Univer-sity on how prayer, specifically the rosary,got him through captivity in a military de-tention centre in Tripoli.

He had been captured with two col-leagues, he said. “Each day brought increas-ing worry that our moms would begin to

Continued on page 4

journalist James Foley, a Catholic who was executed by Islamist terrorists this month, speaksafter being released from imprisonment in Libya in 2011. (Photo: Tommy Giglio, NorthwesternUniversity via Reuters/CNS)

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Springfield Convent School requires the services of a suitably qualifiedfull-time Music Teacher to join our vibrant Music Department.

The successful applicant will:• Be a fully qualified, enthusiastic teacher, experienced in teaching both

practical and subject music, theory, history of music and aural;• Understand, identify with and contribute to the Catholic ethos and

values of the school;• Have piano practical to Grade 8 level (UNISA, Trinity or ABRSM);• Have a proven record of innovation, commitment and professionalism;• Be well versed in curriculum and assessment for Creative Arts in the

Senior Phase;• Be able and willing to provide accompaniment at Assemblies and school

liturgies;• Have effective organisational and administrative skills;• Be available in afternoons, evenings and at other times for extra-

curricular teaching, involvement in special events and concerts;• Have good computer skills;• Be registered with SACE;• Be willing to become fully involved in the school’s curricular and co-curricular programme.

Apply in writing, giving details of qualifications, experience and thenames of three contactable referees, including your Parish priest or Minister, to:

The Principal, Springfield Convent Junior School, St. John's Road, Wynberg, 7800, or postmaster@sfc.wcape.school.za

Closing date for applications: FRIDAy 19 SEPTEMbER 2014

The school reserves the right not to proceed with the filling of this post. An application willnot in itself entitle the applicant to an interview or appointment, and failure to meet theminimum requirements of the advertised post will result in applicants automatically disqualifying themselves from consideration.

No faxed applications accepted. Candidates not contacted shall consider their application unsuccessful.

SPRINGFIELD CONVENTSCHOOL, WYNBERG

MUSIC TEACHERApplicants are invited for the following post

To commence 1 January 2015Springfield is a day school for girls from Pre-School to Matriculation, set in

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STAFF REPORTER

THE world-renowned SouthAfrican theologian Fr AlbertNolan OP will be in the spotlight

at the Jozi Book Fair which will runfrom September 26-27 at the CentralJohannesburg College, Doornfonteincampus, next to Ellis Park stadium.

The fair includes book launches,workshops on writing, hip hop, drama,scriptwriting and seminars.

One of the seminars will be a discus-sion, led by Fr Mokesh Morar, on FrNolan’s influential 1976 book Jesus Before Christianity.

Fr Nolan, a social activist againstapartheid, now resides in the Domini-can house in Mondeor, Johannesburg.

Jesuit Fr Anthony Egan has written:“Nolan presented an account ofJesus’ radical involvement in the strug-gle for full humanity in the context of

first-century Palestine: he ‘challengedthe rich to identify in solidarity withthe poor, a spirituality of solidarity thatresonated with [Christians] seeking anew, progressive direction’.”

Copies of Jesus Before Christianityand others will be on sale.

The guest at this year’s fair is theSouth African writer, painter andmusic composer Zakes Mda. He is aprofessor of creative writing at OhioUniversity in the United States and abeekeeper in the Herschel district, hisplace of birth in the Eastern Cape.

Mr Mda has received a number ofinternational awards and his works in-clude The Heart of Redness, Banned: APlay for Radio, The Madonna of Excelsiorand Melville 67.nVisit www.jozibookfair.org.za, phone011 336 9190, or see Facebook andtwitter-@Jozibookfair.

BY DYLAN APPOLIS

THE Edmund Rice Networkof South Africa and StMichael’s parish in Ronde-

bosch, Cape Town, are doingtheir part to help the UmoyaProject succeed.

The project was launched inFebruary 2013 in support of theSisters of Charity’s Khayelitshahome which houses physicallyand mentally disabled people.

The sisters never turn awayanyone who needs a place tostay, so the numbers are alwayschanging.

Many people live at the homefor extended periods as theyoften lack family support.

As the sisters work hard inmaking sure that the home isproperly run, they don’t alwayshave the time to engage withthose living on the premises.

The Umoya Project aims toengage with the residents in thehome in order to grow theirsense of worth.

Several volunteers gather atthe home on a regular basis, co-ordinating numerous activitieswith the residents.

The programme emphasisesthe importance of building rela-tionships through face-to-faceinteraction.

What began as a small projectwith a few young volunteers hasgrown to around 50 dedicatedvolunteers of all ages and walks

of life. Since the Umoya Projectstarted, it has received a numberof overseas visitors and groups ofyoung people.

“Not only has this projectshown love and worth towardsthe 60 residents, but it has alsohelped to broaden the minds andhearts of the many volunteers,”said Jessica Dewhurst, social jus-tice and advocacy desk coordina-tor of the Edmund Rice Network.

“Both the act of selfless givingas well as the interaction with thelife stories and wisdom of the res-

idents has been an immeasurableblessing for the different volun-teers involved in the project.

She said the initially reservedresidents have welcomed theproject, and friendships havebeen made.

“While we continue to centreeach session on fun, interactiveactivities, these activities now actless as entertainment and moreas a means to grow friendshipsand express a sense of worth andcommunity,” Ms Dewhurstadded.

Muslim cleric addresses parishBY DAVE JONES

APARISH in the Oudtshoorndiocese invited a Muslimcleric to address its monthly

“Faith in Focus” faith-sharing ses-sions after a weekday Mass.

With the focus on the crisis inGaza, the liturgy team of St An-thony’s parish in Sedgefield, whichis served by St Boniface parish inKnysna, invited Imam Ansar Jo-haardien, who leads the Muslimcommunity in nearby George.

Parish priest Fr Brian Williamsintroduced Imam Johaardien, ofthe Southern Cape Islamic Society,as a friend and colleague.

He apologised for any possibleperceptions of imbalance in havingonly one side of the warring fac-tions in Gaza represented, explain-ing that Imam Johaardien was the

one speaker available at the time. Imam Johaardien outlined the

root causes of the conflict whichdate back to 1948 when Palestinewas partitioned to create the stateof Israel. He said the partition, withthe expulsion of Palestinians fromancestral lands, led to a bitter re-sentment of a kind that SouthAfricans in particular should under-stand, having lived through theirown history of apartheid and forcedremovals.

The imam expressed support forneither side in the current conflictbut condemned the violence it hascaused. He warned that progress innegotiations can be successful onlyif the root causes of the conflict areaddressed.

During question time, Imam Jo-haardien faced pointed questioningon Muslim extremism evident all

over the world and on the actionsof Hamas in Gaza which seem toprovoke such violent reaction fromIsrael.

The imam pointed out that vio-lence is not a core belief of Islam,and indeed the opposite view isheld by those who properly under-stand the faith.

However, he added, there are al-ways those who will select versesfrom the Quran or the Bible anddistort them to their own ends andfor their own agendas.

A closing remark from the floor,which received applause, suggestedthat the greater Christian commu-nity, since it is not involved in theclash of ideologies, could be a cata-lyst for peace in the Holy Land, andcalled on all Christians to give morethought to the sort of positive rolethey could play.

Fr Brian Williams (left) with guest speaker Imam Ansar Johaardien at St Anthony’s parish in Sedgefield, Oudtshoorn diocese.

Spotlight on SA theologianUmoya project aids the disabled

Volunteers from the Edmund Rice network and St Michael’s parish inRondebosch, Cape Town, support the physically and mentally disabled.

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BY DYLAN APPOLIS

MANY Catholics were amongthe 32 participants in aninter -denominat iona l

Alpha course at Drakenstein prisonnear Paarl, Western Cape.

“There was not a single personwho was not touched by the HolySpirit, and this included some ofthe wardens as well,” said Alphacoach Paul Miles.

“One of the young men in asmall group, Terence, expressedthat he would love to be filled withthe Holy Spirit, but he didn’t be-lieve that it would happen due tohis past.

“I was standing next to himwhen the Holy Spirit came uponhim and just thinking about whathappened is difficult to describe,”

Mr Miles added.Alpha has made great progress in

South Africa, seeing 3 567 peopledoing the Alpha course in SA pris-ons in the past 12 months.

Of these, 1 475 were in the West-ern Cape, 1 392 in Gauteng, 573 inFree State, and 127 in KwaZulu-Natal.

Alpha for Prisons was launchedin 1995 in response to demandfrom offenders. Since then, enthu-siasm for the course has grown.

It is now registered in 25% of thecorrectional centres in South Africa.

“The course is run successfully inall types of correctional institutionsfor both men and women and isalso used in young offenders andjuvenile institutions,” said regionalcoordinator Annalise Petersen.

CWL to fight forclean water supply

BY STUART GRAHAM

THE Catholic Women’s Leaguewill fight for clean drinkingwater and improved sanitation

in poor communities and for a clampdown on careless diamondprospectors in the next three years.

The resolutions were taken by900 delegates of the national coun-cil of the CWL at a conference inPort Elizabeth, spokeswoman SheilaThysse said.

“The national managementcommittee requested the incomingcommittee to contact the relevantgovernment departments regardingthe lack of proper sanitation to peo-ple in rural areas, particularly in theEastern Cape and Limpopo,” MrsThysse said.

“It also requested that chemicalsused in pit latrines are safe, as manywho use them, particularly chil-dren, are often burned.”

The league also resolved to askthe minister of Water Affairs to pro-vide clean drinking water to allrural areas.

“The motivation for the resolu-tion was that was people walk veryfar to get clean water,” Mrs Thyssesaid. “They can often only carrytwo buckets of water at a time. Thelorry that delivers water only comesonce a week. This is a huge problemin the rural areas.”

Regarding illegal diamond dig-gers, Mrs Thysse said they often leftlarge dangerous pits that filled withwater.

“The incoming committee hasbeen asked to contact the ministerof Mineral Resources regarding ille-

gal diamond diggers destroying theenvironment to insist on proper re-habilitation in terms of the Na-tional Environmental ManagementAct,” Thysse said.

Further resolutions include re-questing the police minister to in-crease visible policing to reduce therate of burglaries during the day.

It has also endorsed a call by theSouthern African Catholic Bishops’Conference to root out corruption.

The CWL, however, faces an up-hill battle. Its report for the pastthree years reveals repeated fruitlessattempts to reach ministers on a va-riety of issues.

As one example, it cites a letterwritten to the Human Settlementsminister to “urgently institute courtproceedings” against constructioncompanies responsible for shoddyworkmanship in the constructionof low-cost houses.

“Letters were addressed to theformer minister of Human Settle-ments, Tokyo Sexwale, in April andAugust of 2012, setting out the con-cerns of the league. In September of2013 our concerns were again ad-dressed to Mrs Cornelia Septemberwho was appointed the new minis-ter of Human Settlements,” saidMrs Thysse.

“No response was received to ei-ther of these correspondences.”

The CWL’s legal adviser has rec-ommended approaching munici-palities about the issues.

The CWL national conference isheld every three years in a differentcity, the last being held in Durbanin 2011. This was the league’s 27thconference.

BY DYLAN APPOLIS

THE Catholic order of theKnights of Da Gama in thearchdiocese of Cape Town is

running a regional recruiting pro-gramme.

For an information evening at StMary’s of the Angels parish inAthlone, 51 Catholic men regis-tered to attend.

The knights have visited parishesin Mitchells Plain, Strandfontein,Belhar, Elsies River, Facreton, OceanView, Athlone, Khayelitsha andWynberg.

They have expressed gratitude tothe priests and deacons who havewelcomed them into their parishes.

“This enables the brothers to bevisible and inform parishionersabout their calling to be of serviceto the poor and lonely sons anddaughters of God, by evangelising

through the faith,” said MalcolmGreen, regional recruiting officer.

The knights plan to conduct asmany presentations as possible intheir region.

The Knights of da Gama havebeen in existence for over 60 years.They primarily focus on spiritual,charitable and social works withinthe Church.

BY DYLAN APPOLIS

‘THIS is our old conventbuilding, we want to trans-form it into a youth learn-

ing centre,” Sr Victoria Sibisi said.Her order—the Daughters of

Charity of the Sacred Heart of Jesusin Sand River Valley, Ladysmith—isin the process of converting its oldconvent into a centre where the sis-ters can implement their youth pro-gramme.

The new Maria Goretti YouthLearning Centre’s vision is to buildvibrant and healthy communities

flourishing in God’s presence.The sisters’ charism is to take

care of the youth, try to educatethem, and help them gain theknowledge of starting a brighter fu-ture.

“Together we are moving for-ward, we are involved at schools,”Sr Sibisi told The Southern Cross.“But it’s not enough, we have a lotof challenges in today’s world.

“We see young people swim-ming in substance abuse and alco-hol. They end up going astray andthey refuse to listen to their parentsand are too busy doing other things

rather than attend Mass.”Sr Sibisi believes young people

with drug problems use illegal sub-stances to forget the poverty andabuse they face.

This triggered her spiritual in-stincts to help them get away fromall that is wrong in their lives andjoin a spiritual rehab, where theycan get help and make a better fu-ture for themselves.

“They lose hope for their future.We have good young people, butbecause of their negative behaviourand attitudes, they find themselvesnot going anywhere,” the nun said.

STAFF REPORTER

ADUTCH bishop has visitedSouth Africa, combining aprivate trip with remember-

ing a Cape Town-born seminarianof his archdiocese who died in 2007in a car crash in the Netherlands.

Bishop Jan Hendriks, auxiliary ofHaarlem-Amsterdam, said a high-light was a Mass in the parish ofDelft in Cape Town, the home ofDeacon Quinton Peters.

Deacon Peters died at the age of38 with another transitional deaconin the 2007 car crash.

“A special moment for me wasthe visit to the grave of Quinton,”Bishop Hendriks said, of a visit atwhich he was accompanied by FrLouis Padua of Delft.

Deacon Peters had been studyingto become a priest for the archdio-cese of Haarlem-Amsterdam at itsNeocatechumenate-run seminary.

The bishop met with Deacon Pe-ters’ family.

Bishop Hendriks also met withArchbishop Stephen Brislin of CapeTown, celebrated Mass for the fam-ilies in the mission of the Neocate-chumenal Way, and met theseminarians of the RedemptorisMater seminary of the Neocatechu-menate in the archdiocese of CapeTown with its new rector, Fr Zyg-munt Kurzawinski.

Bishop Hendriks also concele-brated a confirmation Mass with

Archbishop William Slattery of Pre-toria in Ga-Rankuwa.

“It was quite an experience: myfirst real African celebration, withsinging and dancing, two choirsand an enthusiastic community offaith,” he said.

In Witbank Bishop Hendriks cel-ebrated Mass in Hazyview parishand was introduced to the missionof the Neocatechumenate in the re-gion.

Knights of da Gama on recruiting drive

Fr Dominic Grieco, parish priest of St Mary’s of the Angels in Athlone, CapeTown, with members of the Knights of da Gama.

New centre aims to give youth hope

Dutch bishop visits South Africa

Mass being held with Dutch bishop Jan Hendriks in Delft, Cape Town, thehome parish of Deacon Quinton Peters.

Inter-denominational Alphacourse inspires prisoners

MIKE STECHSCHULTE

THOMMann believes Catholicsin Detroit, Michigan, have al-ways wanted to see their beau-

tiful, historic inner-city churchesfilled again, but just needed “a littlepush” to do so.

What started as a little push hasturned into a tidal wave for theonce-fledgling “Mass mob” move-ment, which began earlier this yearand has blossomed into a resound-ing “Amen” as pews have becomepacked with every successive outing.

This month’s event saw morethan 2000 people attend Mass at a

historic Polish church that hasn’theard that many “Peace be withyous” in at least three decades. Thesite was the 129-year-old St Albertuschurch, which closed as an activeparish in 1990 but continues to op-erate as a centre for Polish heritagein the city.

“At first we thought having themonce a month would be too many—how would we fill them up? Butnow, we’re overflowing,” said MrMann, who with three others is or-ganising the Mass mobs, five ofwhich have been held so far.

Since the first one on April 6 at-tracted 150 people, congregationshave grown to 400 to 900 to 1800and now more than 2000.

Anthony Battaglia, another ofthe organisers, said the turnout hasbeen “beyond my wildest expecta-tions”.

The movement aims at helpingDetroit’s aesthetically breathtaking,but now mostly empty, Catholicchurches regain some of their lostvigour.

Mr Battaglia said the draw for vis-itors is obvious: “Not only is it agreat spiritual experience, but youget to learn so much about the his-tory of this community, the historyof these churches in Detroit, the his-tory of the people who came here,some of the struggles, and just whatwent into the creation of some ofthese massive churches.”

Even non-Catholics can appreci-ate such history.

In addition to the use of socialmedia, Mr Mann credits the massiveamount of traditional media atten-tion with giving the Mass mobs theinitial boost they needed, especiallyin the Catholic media.

“The goal [is] to bring peopleback to their faith, and I’ve seenthat happen,” Mr Mann said.

He said reaction from Mass-goershas ranged from excited to apprecia-tive, and said he expects interest tocontinue to build.

“This Mass mob movement hasbeen just what everybody wanted,”he said.—CNS

BY DALE GAVLAK

THE first Iraqi Christians fleeingIslamic State militants reachedthe safety of Jordan, helped by

King Abdullah II and Catholic aidgroups.

“Our money has run out,” said anIraqi Catholic woman, UmMuwataz, as tears streamed downher face.

“The Islamic State put a big redArabic letter ‘N’ on our home, claim-ing the house as their property. Wehad no other choice but to flee, firstto [the northern Kurdish city] Irbiland now here to Jordan. We’ve spentour last penny,” the former teachersaid, her body tensing.

“N” is the first letter of an Arabicword for Christian, Nasrani(Nazarene).

“Never in my life could I imaginesuch a thing happening to us, Chris-tians,” she said.

Um Muwataz and her family offour managed to fly to Amman fromIrbil with about 100 Iraqi Christiansfrom Mosul, Qaraqosh, and sur-rounding Christian villages.

But she said she was concernedfor her married daughter and therest of the family stuck in Irbil, be-cause the young woman’s six-month-old twins do not have Iraqipassports. Nor they can return toMosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, toapply for these travel documents.

Ra’ed Bahou, Catholic Near EastWelfare Association’s regional direc-tor for Jordan and Iraq, said thatabout 1000 Iraqi Christians from theMosul area were expected to enterJordan under special arrangementsby King Abdullah.

Caritas, the Catholic Church’shumanitarian nongovernmental aidagency, is among the organisationsassisting the refugees at a Catholicfacility outside Amman by providing

food, water and lodging. They are the latest wave of Iraqi

refugees seeking shelter in Jordan,which is still hosting 300000 Iraqisfrom the 2003 US-led war. At theheight of the conflict, Jordan hostedsome 1,5 million Iraqis.

“Since 2003, we have been suffer-ing,” said a refugee who identifiedhimself as Safwan, a 43-year-old en-gineer. “But this is the biggest suffer-ing yet to befall us. Never in the past1700 years has there been no Chris-tian presence at all in Mosul.”

Safwan said he, his eight-months-pregnant wife and two young sonsescaped Mosul twice: first, when thearea came under Islamic State bom-bardment in June; in early July theysneaked out of the city.

“We left but heard that those whofled after us unfortunately had theircars, gold, money, even baby nap-pies and milk stolen from them bythe Islamic State militants,” he said.

Safwan said it was impossible toremain in Mosul with the militantsimposing Islamic law, or shariah, de-manding Christians either convertto Islam, pay a “protection” tax orleave.

He said he feared his wife couldbe taken from him as rumours wererife of the extremists kidnappingand selling some women, bothChristians and Yezidis, another reli-gious minority, fleeing for their lives.

An Iraqi Syriac Catholic priestidentified only as Fr Nour hasworked with authorities to bring theChristians to Jordan. He and theChristians are appealing to the worldcommunity to intervene and stopthe destruction of Iraq’s religiousand ethnic communities at thehands of Islamic State militants, whohave conquered vast swathes of Iraqiterritory.

“It’s the extermination of Christi-anity in Iraq. Why is international

opinion still silent?” he asked“Please save us from death,” Fr

Nour pleaded. The priest’s father, mother and

family have been stuck in Kurdistan,“sleeping in the street,” becausethere are simply no more places ofrefuge for the tens of thousands whohave fled the violence. He said hecannot bring his family to Jordan be-cause they lack travel documents.

Fr Nour said two Iraqi bishops are“sleeping with Christians in thestreets, walking with them and cry-ing”.

“There is death to everything weonce knew in Iraq,” said 52-year-oldtelecom employee Riad Riah Qatul.“How could we ever return and livethere once again?”

Many of the Christians said theyhave no other hope than to reunitewith close relatives living in theUnited States, Australia and Ger-many.—CNS

INTERNATIONAL4 The Southern Cross, August 27 to September 2, 2014

BY MWANSA PINTU

THE president of the Zambianbishops’ conference has toldCatholic nuns from eastern

and central Africa they deserve acommendation for doing a difficultand challenging job for the margin-alised.

“You are found where not even abishop can be. You die on your feet.When a sister goes to bed or is sick,she must be really sick,” ArchbishopTelesphore Mpundu of Lusaka tolddelegates to the Association of Con-secrated Women in Eastern andCentral Africa at a Mass in the Zam-bian capital.

He said bishops were at timescalled to quell disagreements thatarose between parishioners andnuns, but he described such thingsas issues that happen within thefamily of God.

“We give thanks to God for yourpresence, your charisma,” Arch-bishop Mpundu said.

“You do a tremendous job andreally your work is being appreci-ated by God’s people...please forgiveour shortcomings, which are many.

“We are at the service of the peo-ple, and this is better fulfilledthrough the religious, especiallyyou, the women religious,” hesaid.—CNS

Iraqi Christians tell tearful stories of desperation

‘Mass mobs’ hit closed churches

2 000 people attend Mass at a historic church in Detroit. The Mass was or-ganised as part of a “Mass mob” movement to fill now-closed churches foroccasional Masses. (Photo:Jonathan Francis, Archdiocese of Detroit)

Bishop praises work of nuns

Continued from page 1panic. My colleague, Clare, wassupposed to call her mom on herbirthday, which was the day afterwe were captured. I had still notfully admitted to myself that mymom knew what had happened.But I kept telling Clare my momhad a strong faith.

“I prayed she’d know I was OK.I prayed I could communicatethrough some cosmic reach of theuniverse to her.”

Mr Foley began to pray therosary. “It was what my motherand grandmother would haveprayed. I said ten Hail Marys be-tween each Our Father. It took along time, almost an hour to count100 Hail Marys off on my knuckles.And it helped to keep my mind fo-cused,” he wrote. “Clare and Iprayed together out loud. It felt en-ergising to speak of our weaknesses

and hopes together, as if in a con-versation with God, rather thansilently and alone.”

When he was first allowed tocall home after over two weeks incaptivity, Mr Foley said his mothertold him about the prayers othershad offered up for him. This newsmade him wonder if instead of hisown prayers, “it was others’ prayersstrengthening me, keeping meafloat”.

“If nothing else, prayer was theglue that enabled my freedom,” MrFoley wrote, “an inner freedomfirst and later the miracle of beingreleased during a war in which theregime had no real incentive tofree us.”

Marquette posted a link to his ar-ticle along with a statement abouthis death on the university’s web-site (www.news.marquette.edu).—CNS/CNA

Journalist slain by ISIS wroteabout power of prayer

POPE Francis has said that be-fore any international trip, hevisits Pope Emeritus Benedict.

“Our relationship is one ofbrothers, truly, but I’ve [also] saidthat it’s like having a grandfatherat home for the wisdom. He has awisdom with his nuances and itdoes me well to hear. He encour-ages me a lot. This is the relation-ship we have,” he told journalistson his flight from South Korea.

Archbishop Georg Gänswein,prefect of the Pontifical House-hold, told the Austrian Catholicpress agency in Kath.net: “Usually,Pope Francis pays a visit to Bene-dict XVI before every internationaltrip”, and this has become a sort ofhabit like that of going to pray tothe statue of Our Lady of SalusPopuli Romani in Rome’s basilicaof St Mary Major.

Archbishop Gänswein empha-sised that “there is only one pope”.

The German archbishop saidthat he personally acts as a“bridge” between Pope Francis andthe pope emeritus, given his dou-ble charge as prefect and personalsecretary of Benedict XVI.

“I live with Benedict XVI, I reg-ularly meet with him in the morn-ing for meals and during theevenings…so I work as a bridge.

When Pope Francis and BenedictXVI want to exchange messages,make a phone call to the other, oreven want to meet.”

Archbishop Gänswein rejectedany comparison between BenedictXVI and Pope Francis, since “thepope is not the successor of hispredecessor, but the successor ofPeter”, and so a differences of per-sonas is quite normal.

In his remarks to journalists onthe flight, Pope Francis hinted thathe might follow his predecessor’sexample and retire one day.

He said that the position ofpope emeritus will not be an ex-ception.

“I think that 70 years ago thebishops emeritus were an excep-tion. Today, the bishops emeritusare an institution,” he said.

“I think that the pope emeritusis already an institution. Why? Ourlives are getting longer and at a cer-tain age there is no capacity to gov-ern well,” Pope Francis said.

If he felt that he could not go onperforming the office of pope effec-tively, as Pope Benedict did, PopeFrancis emphasised: “I would dothe same. I would pray, but I woulddo the same. He opened a doorthat is [now] institutional, not ex-ceptional.”—CNA

INTERNATIONAL The Southern Cross, August 27 to September 2, 2014 5

Two popes meetbefore papal trips

China to ‘nationalise’Christian religion

BY HILLARY MAST

THE Chinese government hasaffirmed its intention to in-crease efforts to promote and

develop a national brand of Chris-tian theology.

The People’s Daily has reportedWang Zuoan, director of China’s re-ligious affairs ministry, as saying thatlocal authorities will work harder topromote a Chinese Christian theol-ogy that is in line with “China’s na-tional condition”.

Sooyoung Kim, regional directorof Southeast Asia of InternationalChristian Concern in Washington,said that this “is a very negativesign”.

“It really shows that the Chinesegovernment wants to control bothphysical buildings as well as whatChinese Christians teach in thosebuildings,” he said.

This announcement comes in thewake of an ongoing “anti-church”campaign in Zhejiang province—anarea once known as “China’sJerusalem” because of the theprominence of churches.

More than 360 churches havebeen partially or entirely demol-ished, including the 4000-seat San-jiang Christian church which wascompleted last year and cost $4 mil-lion to build.

In mid-August the Shui Tou Salva-tion church in the city of Wenzhouhad its cross forcibly removed afternearly two months of Christians

keeping vigil outside. In an earlier at-tempt to remove the church’s cross,known as the Jui-En Cross, policehad beaten Christians with iron ba-tons, severely injuring at least four.

Ms Kim said that the anti-churchattacks have been carried out underthe guise of urban beautification bydestroying or modifying buildingsthat are deemed illegal structures.However, many of these churchesare state-approved and there is nolaw that bans crosses from buildings.

Government officials “have al-ready done similar things on secularbuildings, but in this case, an over-whelming number of churches andchurch crosses have been removedcompared with secular buildings,”she said.

While house churches, or non-registered Christian churches, haveseen an increase in persecution since2008, the targeting of government-

approved churches on such a scale isnew.

“The government wanted tocrackdown on the undergroundhouse churches because they feelthat they are growing too fast andare getting out of control,” Ms Kimsaid.

She explained that the Chinesegovernment “is always very sensitivetowards any perceived threat to itsreign, either ideological or other-wise”.

The forcible destruction ofchurches and removal of crosses inZhejiang province is not likely toend anytime soon, Ms Kim said.

International Christian Concernhas launched a petition calling onthe Chinese government to stop re-moving crosses and demolishingchurches, saying that these actionsare illegal under China’s constitu-tion.

Despite the religious persecutionmany Chinese Christians are facing,Ms Kim said she sees hope in theirfaith, even if the physical cross isbeing taken away from theirchurches.

“I feel very encouraged [by] thebelievers on the ground. They saythat they just want to fight—fightuntil the end,” she said. “They saidthey’re not sure if they can keep thephysical cross, but what they reallyknow is that they need to be faithfuland not to be afraid of the injus-tice.”—CNA

Catholics hold candles during anEaster Vigil Mass in China. Zhejiangprovince is now cracking down onchurches. (Photo: Reuters/CNS)

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI embraces Pope Francis before the canonisationMass for Ss John XXIII and John Paul II in April. Pope Francis meets with hispredecessor before foreign trips, and has hinted that one day he might followPope Benedict’s example in renouncing the papacy. (Photo: CNS)

Mission in Rome’s nightlifeBY CINDY WOODEN

AS dusk falls over Rome, giv-ing only the slightest relieffrom the summer heat and

humidity, two Conventual Francis-can friars join thousands of Ro-mans and tourists on the banks ofthe Tiber River.

Armed with smiles, but alsofliers about the Franciscan mis-sions, Fr Paolo Fiasconaro and BrRaimondo Porcu pass everyevening, from 7 pm to midnight,at their stand amid the restaurants,bars, shops, bookstores and stagesthat form the Roman Summer Fes-tival.

The black-habited friars havebeen part of the summer scenesince the festival opened on June12 and plan to remain until itcloses on September 2. And theyplan to be back next year with aneven bigger and better stand.

Fr Fiasconaro said many peopleare surprised to see the friars amidthe twinkling lights, thumpingmusic and hawkers selling every-thing from hats to sweets. But hesaid he also has been surprised athow kind, open and respectfuleveryone has been.

“Our stand isn’t a store. Wedon’t sell anything,” he said. “It’ssimply a Franciscan presence andwitness. Just being. That’s the mostbeautiful thing.”

“The simple fact that people see

us here in this secular place raisesquestions for them”, beginningwith “Why are the Franciscanshere?”

Pope Francis “really wants us toleave the sacristy. We must go outand be among the people”, thefriar said.

The corner of the stall is deco-rated with a huge photo of St Fran-cis of Assisi and another of PopeFrancis. The two together, he said,form “the cornerstone” for thebooth and for what the friars aredoing along the river.

“After two months of being here[at the festival] for the first time,I’ve seen that people are amazed atfirst—‘Look there are Franciscanfriars walking around on thebanks,’” he said. But most people

Continued on page 11

Fr Paolo Fiasconaro OFM, who runsa missionary stand among bars andrestaurants at a Roman summer fes-tival along the banks of the Tiber.

Time for women’srightful roleFATHER Ralph de Hahn’s article

“Woman’s special place inChurch” (August 6) is prophetic.Each paragraph is more profoundthan its predecessor.

All discerning faithful shouldread and reread this thoughtfulpiece of contemporary philosophy.

Fr de Hahn begins his story thus:“Reading through sacred scripture,it is evident that the male writersfailed to give women their rightfulplace. Men gave no credence to theviews of women.”

Unfortunately, like most reli-gions, Judaism developed within apatriarchal society where only menrecorded and interpreted religiouslaw. From such societal dominance,the written scriptures were probablyinfluenced by the prevailing cul-tural bias and prejudice.

This predisposed approach, withits obvious deficiencies and proba-ble omissions, has left us with somepertinent questions.

Firstly, can we truly believe thatwomen and children would be ex-cluded from one of the greatest an-nual Jewish celebrations, theobservance of the Passover?

Where were the women andchildren at the Last Supper?

Why would Jesus not include hisfamily and friends? Where was hismother at this celebration? Wherewere Martha and Mary? Only daysbefore, Mary had anointed the feetof Jesus with costly ointment (Jn12:3).

If, in fact, they did attend andthe scripture writers chose to ignorethem, would Jesus have said: “I’monly blessing the bread and winefor the menfolk”? “Only the menmust do this in memory of me”?

On the day of the resurrection,

Jesus’ first appearance is not to thedisciples, it is to Mary of Magdala.At this meeting he instructs her totell the disciples: “I am ascending tomy Father and your Father, to myGod and your God” (Jn 20:17).

Yet, that same day, we are told,Jesus appears to the disciples in theupper room to invoke the HolySpirit and to tell the “men only”: “Ifyou forgive anyone’s sins, they areforgiven.”

Once again, where were thewomen? Surely, they also feared theJews and would have been thereand locked in behind the closeddoors?

After the Ascension, the apostleswent to the upper room inJerusalem (Acts 1:13-14). “With oneheart all these joined in prayer, to-gether with some women, includ-ing the mother of Jesus, and withhis brothers.”

Yet, when the Holy Spirit ap-pears at Pentecost, there is no men-tion of these folk. Only the men,apparently, received the Holy Spirit.Only the men could be heard in dif-ferent languages.

I think it is rather arrogant andnaïve to continue believing in a sys-tem of such patriarchal oppressionand misrepresentation.

No longer can the Church con-tinue to subjugate women. Nolonger should the men of theChurch be allowed to demand theirobsolete “cultural” right to such au-thority and power.

However, as Fr de Hahn’s letterconcludes: “For centuries men havetried to dominate women, but thatis like chasing the wind.”

Tony Meehan, Cape Town

Refugees crisisneeds our prayersRECENT Southern Cross reports on

Nigeria as well as Fr SeanO’Leary and Mike Pothier’s trip toSouth Sudan, add weight to theplea by the Catholic bishops ofSouthern Africa at their inter-re-gional meeting, for the SouthernAfrican Development Communityto act on armed conflicts and failedeconomies before such situationsarise here.

The bishops warn of xenophobicviolence against refugees in SouthAfrica, mainly Somalis but alsoCongolese and other nationals.

None of the reports requestprayer (which was Jesus’ first prior-ity). However, perhaps we can helpby saying St Francis of Assisi’s peaceprayer. Let us pray for peace, justiceand love for all of Africa.

For a free leaflet, SMS your nameand address to 083 544 8449.Athaly Jenkinson, East London

Hamas problemIAGREE with your editorial of Au-gust 6 that “Israel peace is possi-ble”—and the first steps towardspeace are simple and paramount.

First, Hamas must stop all formsof aggression towards Israel. Sec-ond, Hamas must acknowledge Is-

rael’s right to exist and call on therest of the Arab world to do thesame.

Once those two crucial and boldsteps are taken by Hamas, hostilitiesagainst it and the people of Gazawill stop and a lasting peace will in-deed become a real possibility.

John Nurse, Knysna

Where did Life inthe Spirit go to?LORRAINE Welff of Durban (July

30) asks, in her letter, what hashappened to the Life in the Spiritseminars of the Catholic charis-matic renewal movement whichshe encountered 27 years ago.

She mentions people who wereactive in the movement inKwaZulu-Natal, people whom I alsoknew—the late Fr Ignatius Heer,layman Cliff Gersigny and others.

These seminars are needed morethan ever today to invite Catholicsto new life in Christ, at a time whenPope Francis and his predecessorshave all strongly stressed the urgentneed for a New Evangelisation.

Evangelicals are claimingCatholics in large and unprece-dented numbers in Latin America.

Fr Eduardo Dougherty, a leaderof the Catholic charismatic renewalin Brazil, has written: “Why did theCatholic Church miss the mark? It’sa lack of perception of the basicneeds of the person—humanwarmth, healing, a deep spiritualexperience of Jesus Christ, based onthe correct understanding of thebasic message ...We have a lot tolearn from our Protestant brothers.”

Protestant pastors in Brazil main-tain that the Catholic Church tooka wrong turn in the 1970s when itembraced liberation theology. Theirony is that the Catholics opted forthe poor, and the poor opted for theevangelicals.

We Catholics urgently need to getinvolved in the New Evangelisation,and that “only by means of a testi-mony born from the heart of dailylife will the gospel message be madeeffective” (Cardinal Angelo Sodano,30 Days, No 11 1992, 24-27).

John Lee, Johannesburg

n Footnote: A series of Life in theSpirit seminars will be held fromSeptember 4 to October 30, pre-sented by Charismatic Renewal atthe cathedral of Christ the King inJohannesburg. Phone Joseph Ugaon 083 237 345 or Boni Gumede on072 274 3901.

LEADER PAGE6 The Southern Cross, August 27 to September 2, 2014

The Editor reserves the right to shorten or edit published letters. Letters below 300 words receive pref-erence. 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.

LETTERS TOTHE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

Stand up to the SABC

Opinions expressed in The SouthernCross, especially in Letters to the Editor,do not necessarily reflect the views of theEditor or staff of the newspaper, or of theCatholic hierarchy. The letters page in par-ticular is a forum in which readers may ex-change opinions on matters of debate.Letters must not be understood to neces-sarily reflect the teachings, disciplines orpolicies of the Church accurately.

letters can be sent to PO Box 2372,Cape town 8000 or editor@scross.co.za

or faxed to 021 465-3850

CATHOLICS will feelsnubbed by the decision bythe SABC to renege on its

promise, made in 2010, to broad-cast the pope’s Christmas EveMass live every year. This is anissue around which Catholicsmust be called to unite.

It is true that the broadcast of apapal Mass is not the most pressingissue the Church in South Africafaces. And yet, the cavalier way inwhich the SABC has decided tocancel the only significantCatholic event it covers in the yearindicates an unacceptable hostilitytowards our Church by a publiclyfunded organ of the state.

Moreover, the cancellation ofthe papal Mass can be seen as acontravention of the SABC’s reli-gious broadcasting policy, whichis intended to ensure a fair andequitable representation of SouthAfrica’s religious communities.

To tolerate the SABC’s disre-spectful treatment is to accept thecreeping marginalisation of theCatholic Church in South Africa’spublic life.

While Catholics have a right tocensure DStv over its refusal to ac-commodate a Catholic channel,in the form of EWTN, they woulddo so as subscribers to a commer-cial service.

DStv’s refusal—on the banalpretext that its array of evangeli-cal channels adequately coversChristians’ needs—may be inter-preted as an act of anti-Catholi-cism, and Catholics are quiteentitled to cancel their subscrip-tions in protest.

There is no such recourse withthe SABC. If we own a TV set, weare legally obliged to pay an an-nual licence fee to help finance theoperations of the SABC. We cannotwithhold it if the content or direc-tion of the state broadcaster ex-cludes or offends us.

In return, the SABC has an ob-ligation to serve all citizens ofSouth Africa—including the 7%of the population who belong tothe Catholic faith. The SABC can-not, for example, invoke commer-cial reasons for cancelling thepapal Christmas Mass when itsmandate and purpose is to pro-vide a public service.

Indeed, it seems absurd thatthe SABC should see reason not tobroadcast a Christmas event ledby the leader of the world’s largestreligion.

Pope Francis has more than abillion followers worldwide. Heattracts millions of young peopleto Masses and every week on

Wednesday is seen by tens ofthousands of people in the Vati-can. He has one of the most pop-ular Twitter accounts in theworld. Without a doubt, PopeFrancis is at present the world’smost popular man, bigger thanany pop star.

What arrogance leads theSABC’s programmers to believethat such a man should have noplace in their schedule?

Such is the poor reputation ofthe SABC that there are Catholicswho suspect political motivationsbehind the decision to rescind theundertaking to screen the papalMass.

Others accuse the SABC, notwithout cause, of deliberatelysidelining mainstream churchesin favour of evangelical churches.If so, this would constitute a pre-judice which might require a for-mal inquest.

Whether the cancellation ofthe papal Mass is guided by im-prudent commercial considera-tions, political machinations, afailure to meet a state broad-caster’s mandate, rank incompe-tence and confusion, a religiousagenda, or plain anti-Catholi-cism, South Africa’s faithfulshould not accept it quietly.

Catholics must in large num-bers register their protest with theSABC, in letters and on socialmedia.

Moreover, the language eventax-funded broadcasters under-stand is that of boycotts, or thethreat thereof.

For example, should theChurch call on all Catholics toboycott the products of advertis-ers—for instance those whosecommercials are screened duringthe evening news—over a certainperiod of time, then this wouldvigorously communicate to theSABC that the Catholic commu-nity expects this unfortunate de-cision to be reversed and its needsto be met.

Such a campaign would re-quire coordination and leadershipto reach into all parishes and so-dalities, and into every area of so-cial communications. It wouldalso need a register of products tobe boycotted, and a voice to artic-ulate to advertisers and the SABCto what purpose such a boycott iscalled.

Importantly, it would need tocommunicate to the SABC andothers who seek to marginalisethe Catholic Church, one funda-mental message: We will not bepushed around!

IWAS seriously disappointed whenI listened to the first reading for

the Mass of the Assumption to findthat they have left out the secondpart of the opening sentence.

The sentence as it used to begiven read: “The sanctuary of Godin heaven opened, and the ark ofthe covenant could be seen insideit” (Rev 11:19).

In the new lectionary the secondphrase, about the ark of thecovenant, has been left out. For me,this omission takes away the reasonfor the particular gospel passagechosen for this Mass.

In this gospel Luke sets out toshow Mary as the ark of the newcovenant (1:39-56). He does this bytaking the words (from the GreekSeptuagint text) and events fromthe story of King David bringing theark of the old covenant into

Jerusalem (2 Sm 6:12-19; 1 Chr 15).The ark of the covenant was con-

sidered by the Old Testament Is-raelites to be the place of God’sspecial presence among them (Ex25:22; Nm 7:89).

Mary bearing the Son of God inher womb was the place of God’sspecial presence among his people.

David brought the ark fromObed-Edom’s house up to Jerusalemin the hills of Judea. Mary, upon be-coming pregnant, went as quicklyas she could into “the hill countryto a town in Judah” (Lk 1:39).

David leapt for joy before theark. John the Baptist leapt in Eliza-beth’s womb, when Mary carryingJesus in her body arrived (Lk 1:40).

In both 2 Samuel 6 and 1 Chron-icles 15 the ark was brought up toJerusalem “amid great rejoicing”.Elizabeth “filled with the Holy Spirit

gave a loud cry” of joy (Lk 1:41). Theparallel is too close to be accidental.

So when the ark of the covenantwas seen in “the sanctuary of Godin heaven” (Rev 11:19) the Church,in the reading as previously given,with good reason saw Mary in thistext, as she sees Mary in the follow-ing verses about the woman clothedwith the sun, for which there is nosimilar biblical parallel.

We need to remember that thepresent division of the texts of theBible into chapters and verses onlycame about in the Middle Ages.

So the fact that in our Biblesthere is a chapter break between theark of the covenant and the womanclothed with the sun was not theintention of the original authorwriting some thousand years earlier,who wrote his book as a continuousstory.Fr Bonaventure Hinwood OMI,

Pretoria

Assumption reading disappoints

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WE live in a time when values inour families are eroding: valuessuch as respect for our elders, de-

cency in speech and in the manner ofdoing things, honesty, prudence, fidelity,the “fear of God”.

The Bible is our crucial handbook forsuch values. And yet, in many homes biblescollect dust on bookshelves.

In his apostolic exhortation Verbum Do-mini (2011), Pope Benedict XVI asked fam-ilies to not only have bibles in their homes,but to also use them for prayer.

He said that “every household [should]have its bible, to be kept in a worthy placeand used for reading and prayer”. This isgood to remember not only on Bible Sun-day, which this year is on August 31, but allyear round.

The Bible is an all-round self-help bookwhich families can use in their daily lives.When we are emotionally down, thepsalms can lift us up. When we are crying,the psalmists are there to cry with us andoffer us who are grieving a quick “therapy”.When we are jubilant at good news, joyousreadings are there to help us dance and cel-ebrate, but also moderate our exuberance.

The Bible is not just a prescriptive list ofwhat we may and may not do. It is a lifeguide that offers us the best advice and ex-amples. Sometimes it does so directly,sometimes it does so by leading us to Godthrough reflection and prayer.

Of course, the Bible doesn’t have a solu-tion to every specific question that we may

have. It is by reading Scripture, preferablyin our family, that we are led to makechoices that are godly.

Obviously not everybody is makingsuch choices. Theft, rape, murder and cor-ruption are a staple of the daily news.

Southern Cross editor Günther Simmer-macher, in an editorial in May last year, ti-tled “Worse than other sins”, noted that a

“culture of impunity—the sense of exemp-tion from responsibility towards others andto one’s own conscience—is at the root ofall corruption”.

There is no point in bemoaning the evilsin our society when there is little faith for-mation in our families and communities.When we meet the Word of God only onSunday in the Mass, then the Gospel valuesthat Jesus teaches will be unfamiliar in oursupermarkets, in our cars or taxis, in ourschools and so on.

A while ago a friend of mine, a father oftwo, told me that every evening before sup-per his family gathers at the table to readScripture. They may not eat before prayingtogether with the Word. They also readfrom a book about the saints. This is theformation our families need.

Can we have the strength to say with StPaul that nothing can separate us from thelove of Christ (Rom 8:37)? Neither worknor relationships, neither Internet norphone calls, neither gossip nor hatred.

Let the words of the great fourth-cen-tury brain, St Jerome, be a warning to us atall times: “Ignorance of scripture is igno-rance of Christ.”

The Bible is our best self-help book

The Bible is a life guide that offers us thebest advice and examples.

CANthere be peace between Palestineand Israel? After everything we haveheard and seen and continue to wit-

ness, can peace really be restored, given allthe history and issues between these twonations? Will these two nations ever livein peace with each other? Do they belongto each other?

Can peace be restored in my own heartwhere there is so much anxiety and ten-sion? Can I truly be at peace with myselfwhile agonising and fretting about pastbad decisions and actions I have taken?

Can I really be at peace while planningon revenges I still want to take on peoplewho have hurt me? Can peace really be re-stored in my own heart if I have forgottenwho I am and who I belong to?

Can peace be restored between myspouse and me? Can peace be restored be-tween me and my lover? Can peace be re-stored between me and my parents? Canpeace be restored between me and my

child? Can peace be restored between meand my in-laws? Can peace be restored be-tween me and my siblings?

Can peace ever be restored between meand any of these people who are so closeto me but who have hurt me, who haveneglected to invite me, who have not beenthere for me when I needed them most,who fail to visit me, who talk ill of me,who have used personal informationagainst me?

Can peace ever be restored if I nolonger feel that these people belong to meand that I belong to them?

Can peace be restored in my group ororganisation? Can peace be restored

between me and my colleagues, betweenme and my boss, between me and theboard? Can peace exist in our organisa-tions when bad decisions are taken whichaffect the lives of people?

Can peace exist in our organisations

given the jealousies and tensions that existand given the lack of recognition given tothose who do the work? Can peace existin our organisations where there is no au-thentic, honest and open communicationwhen it matters most? Can peace ever berestored if you no longer feel that you be-long and are part of your organisation?

Can peace be restored in the commu-nity where I live? Can I ever move aroundin peace knowing that at any moment Imight be attacked, hijacked, raped or evenkilled?

Are we at peace with each other in ourneighbourhoods with high walls, electricfencing, fierce dogs and security and alarmsystems? Are we at peace in our neigh-bourhoods, not knowing who our neigh-bours are, not caring about the widowliving alone, or the single mother strug-gling on her own?

Can we be at peace in our communityif we feel no sense of belonging there?Does this widow or single mother belongto me? Do I in some way belong to them?

Can peace be restored in our country?When we know that peace is not just theabsence of war, can we live in peace witheach other in our country where the gapbetween the rich and the poor is amongthe highest in the world?

Can we live in peace with each otherwhen there is so much emphasis on thedifference between race, colour, ethnicity,religion, culture and gender? Can we livein peace when every six minutes a womanin our country gets killed by her intimatepartner?

Can we live in peace in a country wherethe language of “them” and “us” is sodeeply entrenched? Do we feel a sense ofbelonging to each other as a nation?

Whether on the world stage, or in myown heart and family, these words by BlMother Teresa of Kolkata are so soberlytrue: “If we have no peace, it is because wehave forgotten that we belong to eachother.”

Can there be peace?

PERSPECTIVES The Southern Cross, August 27 to September 2, 2014 7

Anthony Gathambiri

Point of Reflection

Chris Chatteris SJPray with the Pope

Called to love the mentally disabled

General Intention: That the mentally disabled mayreceive the love and help they need for a dignified life.

AGREAT pioneer in the field of the mentallydisabled is the Canadian Jean Vanier (picturedabove), the founder of the l’Arche communi-

ties and the Faith and Light movement. He was an academic who taught philosophy in

Canada but the Lord led him into community lifewith two mentally handicapped men in a smallFrench village called Trosly-Breuil outside Paris.

I spent memorable times there as a young Jesuitstudent back in the ’70s. The movement was in itsinfancy. Volunteers were coming from all over theworld to offer their services. We were young andenergetic, and wanted to get stuck in and help inpractical ways.

We certainly found our energies being tapped,but often in ways we did not expect. We certainlydid do practical things around the communitiesand workshops—cooking, driving, organising out-ings and holidays. However, what Jean Vanier em-phasised in his wonderful talks, was the importanceof just being around and loving our handicappedbrothers and sisters as equals before God.

Vanier’s underlying idea was radical—thatl’Arche was not about institutions but foyers, aFrench word which, at l’Arche, has a rich meaning,encompassing the ideas of hearth, home and wel-come. In the foyer, both handicapped and helperlive together as in a home, not a hospital, andeach, according to the level of his or her ability,would contribute to the life of the community.

So the volunteer soon understood one’s contri-bution was not just a question of giving time andexpertise, but about a deep sensitivity to others.People who have suffered notice and understandthe suffering of others. Thus, intellectually chal-lenged people are often emotional geniuses whocan read a person’s feelings like a book and can re-spond with immense love and care.

Many of the volunteers experienced l’Arche asa life-changer. Some committed their entire livesto the handicapped in the movement, which con-tinues its work today throughout the world.

Be a volunteerMissionary Intention: That Christians, inspiredby the Word of God, may serve the poor and suffering.

SUCH intentions trip easily off the tongue, a bitlike our bidding prayers. But when we cast about

for practical ways to put realise them, we come upagainst formidable obstacles.

For one thing there is that demoralising sensethat the poverty and suffering of the world is a vast,undrainable ocean.

Another difficulty is how to discern where wecan make the best contribution. But if we aresearching for the silver bullet—the simple, elegantproject which will quickly solve the problem ofpoverty—our discernment will never be concluded.

A further problem is that the Church often seemsto lack the capacity to inspan people who really dowant to do something. Do people who want to dosome practical social action receive helpful advicein their parishes?

I believe that there is a category of Catholics,often older and therefore very experienced and tal-ented, who feel a deep sense of social concern andwould like to do some part-time volunteer work. Itcan be frustrating for them if they cannot find anoutlet for their energies, and just making a financialcontribution to some cause is not enough; they feelcalled to be more hands on.

Perhaps parishes need to have suggestions readyfor such people who come offering their talents, per-rhaps in the form of helpful links on the parish ordiocesan website under the heading “Volunteering”.

Judith TurnerFaith and Life

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COMMUNITY8 The Southern Cross, August 27 to September 2, 2014

Cheyenne Fernandez-Miller of St James parish in Cape Town competed inthe Kimura Shokukai International (KSI) Karate World Championships heldat Sun City, achieving a bronze medal in the Kumite division of the competi-tion, effectively ranking her 3rd in the world in her age group. She hopes tobe awarded her black belt by the end of the year. Cheyenne, a confirmationcandidate at St James, was congratulated at Mass by parish priest Fr Mark

Pothier and the congregation.

St James parish in Schauderville, Port Elizabeth celebrated its patronal feast withpraise and worship followed by an outdoor Mass with a crowd of 800 people. They alsolaunched “The Year of the Family”. Parish priest Fr Anthony Padua preached on theneed of families to grow together with love and maturity. During the Mass parishionersrecommitted themselves to family life.

The St Anne’s Sodality of Our Lady of Loreto parish in Kempton Park, Johannesburg, held a ceremony for theenrolment of five probationers conducted by parish priest Fr Peter Rebello OCD. During the ceremony, fivecrosses were presented to probationers by the president of the sodality Elizabeth Mashaba, together with theexecutive committee.(Back from left) Fr Rebello, Ms Mashaba, Mavis Dlamini, Refiloe Muguyo, ImeldaTsosane, Nomusa Dithupa and Matumelo Chopho. (Front from left) Mpho Modisane and Sharon Nkomo.

Emmanuel cathedral in Durban held a blessingof marriages ceremony conducted by CardinalWilfrid Napier. Pictured are Vernon and Eliza-beth Paul, married 66 years, of St Dominic’sparish in Hillcrest. Anthony and Doris Boltman(not pictured) married for 55 years, of St Anne’sparish in Sydenham, also received a blessing.

The Knights of St Christopher motorcycle ministry in Cape Town, led by Fr Bogdan Buksa, have adopted twoearly childhood development centres, Aaron Figaji in Bellville South and Ecclesia ECD, Greenlands. Fr Buska(back row 2nd from left) is pictured with the children of Ecclesia ECD, teachers from the centre and Knights ofSt Christopher.

The Catholic Women’s League of Bothasig parish in Cape Town collected clothing forCatholic Welfare and Development in support of Mandela Day.

St Anne’s parish inMpophomeni, inthe archdiocese ofDurban held a pro-cession on thefeast of CorpusChristi through thestreets of the town-ship, with parishpriest Fr Jude Fer-nando (pictured)holding the mon-strance surroundedby children andcongregants. FrFernando and Deacon SeraphicusNzimande hadtoured the townshipon the back of abakkie as part ofthe procession.

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Blessed Paul Joseph Nardini

For more information, contact the Vocation Team atP/Bag X9309 PO Box 194 PO Box 12Vryheid 3100 Wasbank 2920 Nkandla 3855

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I shall always strive for the one goal:For JESUS CHRIST to be my centre.

Members of St Anne’s Sodality, representing 17 parishes of the High-way deanery in Natal, delivered presents to the Durban office ofBirthright as part of the sodality’s outreach project. (From left)Birthright director Durban Ann Tarry, Sabrina Porritt, Rae Kearney,Sthembile Zondo, Nonhlanhla Ngcobo, Novuyo Mdakane, AfflineAfulo, Noreen Zulu and Marie-Eve Inghilterra.

PAPAL VISIT The Southern Cross, August 27 to September 2, 2014 9

CALLS for peace and reconcilia-tion dominated Pope Francis’historic apostolic visit to South

Korea.“Jesus asks us to believe that for-

giveness is the door which leads toreconciliation,” the pope said at thefinal Mass, which he described asbeing “first and foremost a prayer forreconciliation in this Korean family”.

“God’s gifts of reconciliation,unity and peace are inseparablylinked to the grace of conversion, achange of heart which can alter thecourse of our lives and our history, asindividuals and as a people,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Pope Francismet briefly with a dozen religiousleaders representing various faiths,including Buddhism, Confucianismand native Korean religions, as wellas the Anglican, Lutheran and Or-thodox churches.

The pope’s visit coincided withthe 6th Asian Youth Day, which

drew tens of thousands of youngpeople from across the continent.

Pope Francis addressed the youthon several occasions, urging them to“wake up” and respond to God’s call.He reminded the young people ofthe continent that “you are not onlya part of the future of the Church;you are also a necessary and belovedpart of the Church’s present!”

He challenged them: “Are youready to say ‘yes’ to him? Are youready?”

After listening to several youngpeople present the joys and chal-lenges of living as Catholics in differ-ent Asian countries, the pope beganto deliver a prepared address, but setaside his written remarks part-waythrough, saying that he wanted tospeak to those present sponta-neously, from the heart.

The off-the-cuff comments thatfollowed were among the Pope’sstrongest words on the relationshipbetween North and South Korea.

“There is only one Korea, but thisfamily is divided,” he said, pointingto the parable of the Prodigal Son asan example of the need for humbleconversion, repentance and forgive-ness in order to achieve reconcilia-tion.

During his apostolic visit, PopeFrancis also beatified Korean martyrsPaul Yun Ji-chung and 123 compan-ions, saying that “their witness to thepower of God’s love continues to

bear fruit today in Korea”.The pope observed that today,

there is a temptation “to compro-mise our faith, to water down theradical demands of the Gospel andto conform to the spirit of this age”.

“Yet the martyrs call out to us toput Christ first and to see all else inthis world in relation to him and hiseternal Kingdom. They challenge usto think about what, if anything, weourselves would be willing to diefor,” he said, noting that most of themartyrs were laity killed during atime of intense persecution.

Also during the trip, Pope Francisprayed at a cemetery for aborted chil-dren and visited a rehabilitation cen-tre for individuals with disabilities.He greeted a group of women whowere forced into sexual slavery dur-ing World War II by the Japanesemilitary.

He met with government offi-cials, charging them to embracehope, and work for peace and justicein order to benefit the commongood.

Meeting with a group of lay lead-ers, the Holy Father emphasised thefamily as the school of virtue andbasic unit of society. Speaking to re-ligious communities, he stressed thatonly the authentic joy of the Gospel,lived out in community life and pub-lic witness, will attract others toChrist.

The pontiff baptised a 62-year-oldman whose son was among the vic-tims in the Sewol Ferry tragedy ear-lier this year; the man took thebaptismal name “Francis”.

On two occasions during the trip,the Pope met with local bishops, urg-ing them to be guardians of hope,protecting the legacy of the faithhanded on by the martyrs of the na-tion.

Warning against relativism andan over-simplified reduction of thefaith, he encouraged them to keepalive “the flame of holiness, fraternalcharity and missionary zeal withinthe Church’s communion”.

He stressed the importance ofstrong Christian identity, saying:“We cannot engage in real dialogueunless we are conscious of our ownidentity.”—CNA

In the first papal visit to Asiain 15 years, Pope Francistravelled to South Korea thismonth calling for unity in thedivided nation, encouragingthe youth and conductingthe beatification of 124 mar-tyrs in Seoul.

Pope Francis in Korea

(From left) The pope prays in front of the birthplace of St Andrew Kim Tae-gon. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS)Pope Francis poses for a selfie while eating lunch with youth at the majorseminary in Daejeon. (Photo: L'Osservatore Romano/CNS pool)

(From left) Youth delegates from Hong Kong hold banners bearing the AsianYouth Day theme in Dangjin. (Photo: Simone Orendain/CNS)Pope Francis blesses a little girl in traditional attire after praying at the birth-place St Andrew Kim Taegon, the first Korean-born Catholic priest, before ameeting with Asian youth at the Sanctuary of Solmoe. (Photo: PaulHaring/CNS)

HELLO CHINA!As his plane entered Chinese air-space—the first time any papalflight had passed over the coun-try—Pope Francis sent a telegram ofprayers and greetings to China’sPresident Xi Jinping. China’s for-eign ministry acknowledged thepope’s telegram and said its govern-ment is willing to work with theVatican to improve bilateral rela-tions.MISSILE GREETINGLess than an hour before Pope Fran-cis’ plane landed in Seoul, NorthKorea fired three short-range mis-siles into the Sea of Japan in the lat-est of a large number of missile testsit began launching in March. NorthKorea had already refused theChurch’s request to send a delega-tion of Catholics to the South forthe pope’s visit.TIE A YELLOW RIBBONPope Francis subverted protocol bywearing a yellow-ribbon pin com-memorating the more than 300mostly teenage victims in the Aprilsinking of the Sewol ferry. To thechagrin of the government, rela-tives and friends of the victims havepublicly protested to demand a spe-cial law be passed for an independ-ent investigation into the accident. TRUMPETS SOUNDEDAt the moment Pope Francis pro-nounced the 124 Korean martyrsbeatified, trumpets blared and ahuge swath depicting a watercolourof the newly blessed martyrs inheaven was unfurled on the side ofa large building facing the squarewhere the faithful gathered. Peoplelaughed and cheered as the image

also popped up on the giant videomonitors along the more than1,5km stretch.SWAPPING GIFTSIn the customary exchange of giftswith heads of state, Pope Francispresented President Park Geun-hyewith a panoramic map of Rome,one of only 300 copies engravedand printed by hand to mark the ju-bilee year 2000. President Park gavethe pope a piece of embroideredfabric as an example of traditionalKorean craftsmanship.POPE ON SOCKSBefore entering the hilltop complexof the Kkottongnae community fordisabled children and adults, about80km south of Seoul, Pope Francisremoved his shoes as a sign of re-spect, according to custom at the

centre. He stopped and greeted thepatients one by one, embracingthem or placing his hands on theirheads for a blessing, and watched abrief dance performance by thechildren.FOOTBALL FAN FRANCISWhile he was in South Korea, PopeFrancis’ favourite foot-ball team, San Lorenzo,won the Copa Liberta-dores, South America’sversion of the UEFAChampions’ League, forthe first time. The popetold an Argentinian jour-nalist: “It’s true that thisis the greatest piece ofnews after the secondplace [of the Argentinenational team] in Brazil.San Lorenzo is the teamof which all of my familywere fans. My fatherplayed basketball for SanLorenzo. And when wewere kids, we went andmy mom came with usto the Gasómetro [SanLorenzo’s old stadium].“Asked whether SanLorenzo’s win was a mir-acle, the pope laughedand answered: “Miracle?No.”OLD SUFFERING RECALLEDPope Francis met withseven “comfort women”,who were forced into sexslavery by the Japanesebefore and during WorldWar II. One woman gavethe pope a butterfly pin

symbolising their call for justice,and the pope wore the pin during aMass at Seoul’s Myongdong cathe-dral.SELFIE EPIDEMICA running theme during the papaltrip was the number of selfies thepope allowed to be taken with him-self in a country that manufacturesa large proportion of the world’ssmartphones. So when a photo of aselfie-taker using an Apple iPhoneappeared on the Internet, he wasdubbed “the only iPhone user inSouth Korea—and he had to meet

the pope”.VOCATION ADVICEMeeting young Catholics, PopeFrancis answered the question of a young Cambodian woman, LeapLakaraksmey, who said she was try-ing to choose between entering re-ligious life and continuing heruniversity studies in order to helpthe poor in her native village.“When the Lord calls, he alwayscalls us to do good for others. Butyou shouldn’t choose. The Lordchooses. You have to ask: ‘Lord,what should I do?’”

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Papal visit highlights

(From left) Pope Francis uses incense as he celebrates the beatificationMass of Paul Yun Ji-chung and 123 martyred companions in Seoul. (Photo:Paul Haring/CNS)The pope prays at a symbolic cemetery for aborted children in Kkottongnae.(Photo: Paul Haring/CNS)

FOCUS10 The Southern Cross, August 27 to September 2, 2014

Building a ‘place of love’ in Barcelona

IT was at a funeral in a squattercamp east of Johannesburg thata small-business owner knew

that she wanted to help.Staff at her curtaining business

had told Ligia da Silva about thedesperate conditions in theBarcelona squatter camp on theoutskirts of Etwatwa in Daveyton,and she had sent parcels to be dis-tributed—but this was the firsttime she had seen the conditionswith her own eyes.

People were hungry and sick.The elderly were desperate. Chil-dren needed schooling. Women,traumatised by the effects ofpoverty, desperately needed coun-selling and clothes.

And so the businesswoman gotto work.

Her first priority was to providethe people with something to eat,but she would need a base for that.

She went out scouting andfound an abandoned building, for-mally known as the Flag Ship.

Next she enlisted the help ofher two friends, Bill Lavis andBrian Glass, to help her with thecooking.

The three friends would cookthe soup at their homes on Fridaynight and on Saturday morningthey would drive out to Barcelonaand distribute the food from theold Flag Ship.

Soon after this locals started torefer to the soup kitchen as Oth-ondweni, or “Place of Love”.

Word spread about Ms da Silva’sgood work and donations and vol-unteers began to pour in.

By 2005 Ms da Silva had regis-tered it as a section 21 company,known as The Friends of St Martinde Porres, after the Dominicansaint who lived from 1579 to 1639.

“We managed to get donationsof old clothing and anything elsethat people were willing to part

with,” says Marilyn Smith, a mem-ber of the organisation who speakson behalf of Ms da Silva, who isnot a native English-speaker.

“We got teams of people to-gether. Some would do the cook-ing of the soup. Others would helpdistribute the clothing,” Ms Smithexplained.

Then bigger donors became in-volved.

The PD Nixon container com-pany donated a container to beused as storage space for donationsof food and clothes. This left thehouse free for cooking and servingsoup.

A second container was laterdonated by the Rotary Club ofBenoni Aurora, and later a thirdwas donated by PD Nixon andconverted into a kitchen.

South African Breweries do-nated wooden tables, benches andumbrellas for shade.

The local Sohum Sanctuary ofthe Hindu community donatedhomoeopathic medication for thesick.

“One of the containers nowserves as a homoeopathic clinic,”Ms Smith said.

“The sanctuary also providesfood parcels and clothes,” sheadded.

Ms Da Silva wanted to involveher own community in the proj-ect, so she arranged an initiative inwhich people were invited to“adopt a family” in Barcelona.

The initiative allowed them tosupport families with monthlyparcels of basic items such asmealie meal and soap.

An after-school drop-in centrewas also established where

children returning from schoolcould be fed and stay to do theirhomework before returning home.

Sr Antonia, a Salesian fromBoksburg, was brought in to pro-vide training to volunteers toteach the children at the crèche.

Ms Smith said that there is agreat need for counselling in thearea because of the difficulties thepeople face.

“We enlisted three ladies fromthe community who are nowcounsellors, to help wherever theycan,” she said.

They have been on courses atthe cathedral in Johannesburg andnow “do home visits and also pro-vide counselling at the soupkitchen”, Ms Smith explained.

“We also have sewing groupsand knitting groups.”

Today the organisation cookseight large pots of soup every Sat-urday, which it distributes withbread under the watchful eye ofMs Da Silva’s colleague, Char-maine Gurahia.

“We feed between 300 and 500adults and children every Saturdayand during the week approxi-mately 200 people,” said MsSmith.

New sturdier premises are beingarranged. Negotiations with Gaut-eng’s MEC of Housing resulted inthe charity being given permissionto use erf 32042 in Extension 4

Barcelona, although the deal is stillbeing formalised.

The new premises are situatednear the newly completed road atSentrarand which allows easy ac-cess from surrounding areas to theservice centre.

Through Ms Da Silva, TheFriends of St Martin De Porres hasgrown from a small once-a-weeksoup kitchen into a small non-profit business.

The needs of the communityare enormous and The Friends ofSt Martin de Porres does the best itcan with what it has.

Ms Da Silva would love for thecommunity to have access to water

and electricity. For the momenthowever, these services remainelusive.

”The ladies have to walk veryfar to find water to make thesoup,” said Ms Smith.

“We would also like to establisha vegetable garden but due to thewater issue it is very difficult.”

Ms Da Silva is undeterred. Thisproject is very much like runninga business and very much like life.There will be difficulties, but allyou can do is pray and keep going.n To help The Friends of St Martin dePorres contact: Ligia da Silva: 072287 7107, Joe Barbarovich: 082 4515412, Bill Lavis: 071 109 1261.

Where there’s need,Catholics are called to respond. This is what a Gauteng businesswoman did when she founded what locals dubbed “Place ofLove”, as STUART GRAHAMreports.

MICASA TOURS

Contact: tel: 012 342 7917/072 637 0508 (Michelle) e-Mail: info@micasatours.co.za

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Do you feel called to theFranciscan way of life?

Barcelona squatter camp in Daveyton, Johannesburg, is home to many hungry and desperate people who have beenhelped by The Friends of St Martin de Porres through their soup kitchens, clothing donations, creches and coun-selling services. Businesswoman Ligia da Silva started the organisation over ten years ago in response to the condi-tions she saw in the area. The initiative, dubbed “Place of Love” by locals, currently feeds over 500 people a week.

DeAtHSHIGGInS—Alan. Passedaway 11/8/2014. A man ofgreat morals, 2 Timothy4:7. R.I.P. How I shall missyour phone calls. Strengthto Connie and Garry, fromMaureen and family Fer-nandes.ReADeR—Keith. Dearestfriend left us on 5/8/2014after a long illness bravelyborne. We will treasure ourgreat times together. Tillwe meet again R.I.P. Mau-reen and family Fernan-des.SARDInHA—Alice (Ro-drigues) passed away July3, 2014. Deeply mournedby her husband Elmanoand children Ivonne, Louisand Terry, brother AdelinoVasco Feandeiro, wifeCelsa Maria and childrenValeria, Andres and fami-lies in Europe.

In MeMORIAMHOUGHtOn—Bill, hus-band of the late Agnes,passed away on August29, 1990. Always lovinglyremembered by his daugh-ters, Mary, Margaret, Brid-get, Barbara, sons-in-law,Walter, Derick, Ben, grand-children and great-grand-children. May his dear soulrest in peace. HOUGHtOn—Bill. Fondlyremembered by Pamelaand Elizabeth.PAGe—Noel. In lovingmemory of my loving andoutstanding husband andfather who passed awayAugust 1, 2011. Ourprayers will always be withyou. Rest in peace Liseand our family.SetSUBI—MonicaMaleshwane (Shwane).Our firstborn after nearly a4½year struggle, slippedinto eternity on the fatefulSunday morning, August14, 1994, as if it were yes-terday. By virtue of the“Communion of Saints” thechurch commends thedead to God’s mercy andoffers her prayers, espe-cially the holy sacrifice ofthe Eucharist on their be-half. Blessed be the

Almighty. Always in ourhearts. Your family.

PRAyeRSHOly St JUDe, apostleand martyr, great in virtueand rich in miracles, kins-man of Jesus Christ, faith-ful intercessor of all whoinvoke you, special patronin time of need. To you Ihave recourse from thedepth of my heart andhumbly beg you to come tomy assistance. Help menow in my urgent needand grant my petitions. Inreturn I promise to makeyour name known andpublish this prayer. Amen.Remo Ciolli.

HOly St JUDe, apostleand martyr, great in virtueand rich in miracles, kins-man of Jesus Christ, faith-ful intercessor of all whoinvoke you, special patronin time of need. To you Ihave recourse from thedepth of my heart andhumbly beg you to come tomy assistance. Help menow in my urgent needand grant my petitions. Inreturn I promise to makeyour name known andpublish this prayer. Amen.Mrs Lizikutty Jose.

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CLASSIFIEDS The Southern Cross, August 27 to September 2, 2014 11

ClASSIfIeDSBirths • First Communion • Confirmation • Engagement/Marriage •

Wedding anniversary • Ordination jubilee • Congratulations • Deaths • In memoriam • Thanks • Prayers • Accommodation • Holiday Accommodation •

Personal • Services • Employment • Property • OthersPlease include payment (R1,37 a word) with small advertisements for promptest

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SOLUTIONS TO 617. ACROSS: 3 Educating, 8 Liar,9 By no means, 10 Peter's, 11 Pence, 14 Arias, 15Hugh, 16 Signs, 18 Doer, 20 Thorn, 21 Shorn, 24Domino, 25 Stampeded, 26 Weds, 27 In a desert.DOWN: 1 Clap hands, 2 Last rites, 4 Days, 5 Chose,6 Trench, 7 None, 9 Brass, 11 Pagan, 12 Eulogised,13 Shintoist, 17 Stood, 19 Rhymed, 22 Reeds, 23Stun, 24 Dear.

Southern CrossWord solutionsLiturgical Calendar Year AWeekdays Cycle Year 2

Sunday, August 31, 22nd SundayJeremiah 20:7-9, Psalm 63:2-6, 8-9, Romans12:1-2, Matthew 16:21-27Monday, September 1Genesis 2:4-9, 15, Psalm 90:2-5, 12-14, 16,Matthew 6:31-34 Tuesday, September 21 Corinthians 2:10-16, Psalm 145:8-14, Luke4:31-37 Wednesday, September 3, St Gregory theGreat1 Corinthians 3:1-9, Psalm 33:12-15, 20-21,Luke 4:38-44Thursday, September 41 Corinthians 3:18-23, Psalm 24:1-6, Luke 5:1-11 Friday, September 5, Votive Mass of the Sa-cred Heart 1 Corinthians 4:1-5, Psalm 37:3-6, 27-28, 39-40, Luke 5:33-39 Saturday, September 6, Saturday Memorialof the Blessed Virgin Mary 1 Corinthians 4:6-15, Psalm 145:17-21, Luke6:1-5 Sunday, September 7, 23rd Sunday Ezekiel 33:7-9, Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9, Romans 13:8-10, Matthew 18:15-20

The Southern Crossis a member of theAudit Bureau of Circulations of SouthAfrica. Printed byPaarl Coldset (Pty)Ltd, 10 FreedomWay, Milnerton. Published by theproprietors, TheCatholic Newspaper& Publishing Co Ltd,

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This week we congratulate:August 30: Bishop Graham Rose of Dundee, on the sixth anniversary of his ordina-tion as bishop.*In our congratulations last week we placed Arch-bishop Jabulani Nxumalo’s episcopal ordinationin Mariannhill. He was, of course, auxiliary inDurban before his transfer to Bloemfontein. Weapologise for the error.

Our bishops’ anniversaries

to advertise call elizabeth Hutton on021 465 5007 or at e-mail advertising

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Word of the WeekPallium: Special stole made of lamb's woolworn over the chasuble by the pope and arch-bishops; it signifies communion of archbish-ops with the Holy See.

The Southern Cross is published independently by the Catholic newspaper & Publishing Company ltd. Address: PO Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000. tel: (021) 465 5007 fax: (021) 465 3850 www.scross.co.zaeditor: Günther Simmermacher (editor@scross.co.za), Business Manager: Pamela Davids (admin@scross.co.za), Advisory editor: Michael Shackleton, news editor: Stuart Graham (s.graham@scross.co.za), editorial: Claire Allen (c.allen@scross.co.za), Mary Leveson (m.leveson@scross.co.za) Advertising: Elizabeth Hutton (advertising@scross.co.za), Subscriptions: Avril Hanslo (subscriptions@scross.co.za), Dispatch: Joan King (dispatch@scross.co.za), Accounts: Desirée Chanquin (accounts@scross.co.za).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.

CAPe tOWn:Gospel extravaganza,September 14 at 14:30 for15:00. St Luke’s Facreton.Tickets R50, childrenunder 12 R30. ContactKaren on 084 805 8254.DURBAn:Walk for life celebrationSeptember 13 at 10:00 atHoly Trinity parish (210Musgrave Road) withHoly Hour followed by aprayerful walk to CurriesFountain where a Mass ofReparation will be cele-brated by Cardinal WilfridNapier OFM and BishopBarry Wood OMI.

Holy Mass and novenato St Anthony at St An-thony’s parish everyTuesday at 9am. HolyMass and Divine MercyDevotion at 17:30pm onfirst Friday of everymonth. Sunday Mass at9am. Phone 031 3093496.JOHAnneSBURG:life in the Spirit seminar,September 4 to October30 presented by Charis-matic Renewal at cathe-dral of Christ the King.Contact Joseph Uga at083 237 3745 or BoniGumede at 072 274 3901.

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or e-mail m.leveson@scross.co.za (publication subject to space)

Mission in Rome’s summer nightlifeContinued from page 5

accept the fliers, and he said a sur-prising number wander back tochat after initially hurrying by.

Fr Fiasconaro said he also wassurprised at how few of the fliersend up on the ground alongsidethose advertising bars and restau-rants.

One of the passersby “told uswe were a torch lit in this place—I wouldn’t say of perdition—butthis place that is very secular. Peo-

ple believe in us Franciscans,” FrFiasconaro said.

“I must say, the Franciscanhabit really does sweep away con-fessional ideologies. St Francisdraws people. Even those whodon’t believe and refuse to take aflier treat us with respect andhave love for a friar who wouldapproach them. This is beautiful,”he said.

“I had no idea it would be likethis. I believe being on the banks

of the Tiber is putting into prac-tice precisely what Pope Francismeans by mission,” he said.

“It makes me sad to realisethere are some pastors who thinkonly about the 10% who go tochurch, those who spend all day,every day, with the little oldladies in the church, while 90% ofthe people—who make up the pe-riphery—are never touched bythe Church’s pastoral work,” FrFiasconaro said.—CNS

REMEMBERINGOUR DEAD

“It is a holy and wholesome thought topray for the dead, that they may beloosed from their sins” (II Macc XII,46)

Holy Mass is celebrated on the first Sunday of each month in the All Souls’

chapel, Maitland, Cape Town at 2:30pm forall souls in purgatory and for all those

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CAN you prove that God exists? Someof the greatest philosophers believedthat it can be done. Anselm, Aquinas,

Descartes, Leibnitz, Spinoza, Hartshorne,among others, all tried to do it.

They used different approaches. Some,like Thomas Aquinas, tried to prove God’sexistence by arguing that the existenceand design of the universe necessitate aGod as its creator and ground.

One of Aquinas’ proofs, for example,goes this way: Imagine you’re walkingalong a road, see a stone lying on theground, and someone asks you, “Who putthat stone there?” You can easily answerthat it’s always been there. Not much sug-gests this is anything beyond brute nature.

However, imagine you’re walking alongthat same road and you see a watch lyingon the ground, still ticking, still keepingtime. Could you still answer that it has al-ways been there? Not so easily this time.Its functioning suggests that it’s not simplythe result of blind nature, but the productof some intelligent designer, just as the factthat it’s still ticking makes it clear that ithasn’t always been there.

Aquinas then takes this image and ex-tends it to the whole universe. Its intelli-gent design (for example, the centralnervous system and brain structure of thehuman being) is a billion times more com-plex in terms of intelligent design than isa wristwatch and the fact that it’s running

down tells us that can’t always have beenhere. Some intelligent designer must havehelped fashion it and it must have had abeginning in time.

Descartes, Leibnitz, Spinoza, and Anselmhave a different argument. Theirs goes thisway: If God is possible, then God exists, be-cause it is impossible to have a possible God.Since God is possible, God exists!

That may sound almost silly to the or-dinary mind, but this peculiar little equa-tion has intrigued some of greatest mindson the planet, hinting that the rest of us—ordinary mortals—are perhaps missingsomething of its meaning.

The British philosopher Frederick Cople-ston, in a famous debate with Bertrand Rus-sell, once put all of these arguments intoone equation: If the universe makes sense,then God exists.

Russell, an atheist, actually conceded thistruth, but then argued that the universe

doesn’t make sense but is simply a brute, ac-cidental fact that cannot be meaningfullyexplained.

What’s to be said about these “proofs”?Do they prove anything?

These are not mathematical or scientificequations, so don’t prove anything in thatfashion. Nor are they arguments that com-pel a sceptic to believe in God.

But that doesn’t mean they’re meaning-less either. Their value is that they

point to something deeper, beyond math-ematics and science, something below thesurface that invites you either to trust ordoubt, to believe that it all makes sense oris meaningless.

Their power is a moral power: Like howdo you know if someone loves you? How doyou know you can trust somebody? Whatgives you the feeling that life makes sense?

Fr Karl Rahner, the famous Jesuit the-ologian, once suggested his own proofs forthe existence of God.

For him, we taste God in certain experi-ences and these experiences ultimately im-print us with the belief that the universemakes sense, that we have sufficient reasonto love and trust, that there’s a world be-yond this one, and that there’s a God.Here’s a paraphrase of his argument:

Have you ever remained silent, thoughyou wanted to defend yourself, thoughyou were treated unfairly?

Have you ever forgiven, though you re-ceived no reward for it and people took itfor granted?

Have you ever been absolutely lonelyand, within that, had to make up your mindto do something purely for the sake of con-science, from a place beyond where you candescribe, from a place where you are deeplyalone, and where you know you are makinga decision for which the responsibility willbe yours alone, always and eternally?

Have you ever tried to love when nowave of enthusiasm was carrying youalong, where you could no longer confuseyour own needs with love?

Have you ever persevered without bit-terness in doing your duty when that dutylooked like death, felt like it was killingyou, looked stupid to those outside, andleft you helpless to not envy those whohave chosen a path with more pleasure?

Have you ever been good to someonefrom whom no echo of gratitude or com-prehension came back and where youweren’t even rewarded with the feelingthat you had been good and unselfish?

If you’ve ever had any of these experi-ences, then you’ve experienced God andknow that there’s a deeper ground beneaththe one on which you walk.

CHURCH CHUCKLE

Our proof that God exists

Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000 • 10 Tuin Plein, Cape Town, 8001tel: (021) 465 5007 • fax: (021) 465 3850

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Conrad

23rd Sunday: September 7Readings: Ezekiel 33:7-9, Psalm 95 1-2, 6-9,Romans 13:8-10, Matthew 18:15-20

ONE of the things that we have alwaysto recall is that though we might bequite sincere in our desire to follow the

Lord, all too often we do not manage thetrick, and have to be given a warning. Thatseems to be the message for next Sunday; butthe warning must be delivered with love, notthe sanctimonious anger into which religiouspeople can all too easily lapse.

The first reading has Ezekiel (whom God al-ways addresses as “Son of Man”, for some rea-son) appointed as “a watchman for the Houseof Israel”. His task is to “hear a word from mymouth” and then “warn them from me”. It is,it seems, literally, a matter of life and death.

The wicked man who is warned and doesnot change his ways, “will die in his ini-quity”; and at the same time, if the prophetfails to warn him: “I shall demand his bloodat your hands.” This is not a comfortableprospect; but equally, we have to avoid thetrick of enjoying the opportunity to lay downthe law to our sinful brothers and sisters, somaking ourselves feel better.

What this means is that we have to focus,first of all, on God; that is what the psalm fornext Sunday does in its accustomed exuber-ant way: “Come; let us sing joyfully to theLord, and sing to the Rock of our salvation.”

The song has a series of invitations to wor-ship God, and if that is where your focus is,then it will seem quite natural to do what fol-lows: “Let us approach his presence withthanksgiving, with joyful psalms…let us wor-ship, let us kneel before the Lord who madeus, for he is our God, and we are the peopleof his pasture, the flock of his hand.”

We have to remember, however, that wecan get it wrong; we still have to listen, unlikethe people to whom Ezekiel was sent: “If onlytoday you would listen to his voice—do notharden your hearts.” (Hebrews 3:15)

That is how the ancestors operated in thedesert: “When they tested me, even thoughthey had seen what I had done.” The trick isto keep our eyes on God.

In the second reading, after dealing withthe awkward question of whether or not theRoman Christians should pay taxes (we mayguess that there was more than one viewabout that among Christians in the capital ofthe empire), Paul goes back to the only thingthat matters: loving one another, and so ful-filling the Law.

Here Paul seems to be echoing the Gospelresponse of the scribe who asked Jesus aboutthe two greatest commandments, as he in-sists: “Love is the fulfilment of the Law.”

For the gospel, we find ourselves in thatpart of Matthew that is sometimes called “theChurch discourse”. Here the question is thedifficult one of how we are to respond if a fel-low-Christian sins against us. Here, Jesus of-fers a finely graded, three-tier system.

Stage 1 is to approach the fellow-Christianand “reproach him (or, presumably, her) be-tween the two of you alone”.

Stage 2 is to do it with two witnesses; here,as so often, Matthew has in mind the require-ment of Jewish Law, “that everything may beestablished on the evidence of two or threewitnesses”.

Then comes Stage 3, to bring the matter

before the Church, “and if the person doesnot obey the Church, let them be to you likethe gentile and the tax-collector” (if thissounds uncharacteristically harsh against tax-collectors and gentiles, let us remember thatMatthew was traditionally thought to be atax-collector, and that the last words of hisgospel are an instruction to “make disciplesof all the gentiles”).

Then there is an encouragement to theChurch to pray together: “If two of you agreeon the earth about anything that they ask for,it will come to them from my Father, the onein Heaven.”

Then the Church is given the mysteriouspower of binding and loosing, which arguesthat it has a certain authority after Jesus is nolonger with us. Nor does it quite stop here, forJesus concludes that “wherever two or threeare gathered in my name, I am there in themiddle of them”, almost the same promisethat he makes at the very end of the gospel.

That may serve as a reminder to us not toenjoy too much the task of dealing with otherpeople’s sinfulness; it has always to be donein the presence of the Lord, and therefore inlove.

God’s warning delivered with love

AFTER Mass, worshippers filed out to greet thepriest. One shook the priest’s hand and said:

“Thanks for the sermon. You know, you must besmarter than Einstein.”

As the week went by, the priest became baffledas to why anyone would deem him smarter thanEinstein. The next Sunday he asked the parish-ioner: “Exactly what did you mean that I must besmarter than Einstein?"

The man replied: “Well, Father, they say thatEinstein was so smart that only ten people in theentire world could understand him. But Father, noone can understand you.”

Southern Crossword #617

DOWN1. Applaud manually (4,5)2. Dying ceremonies (4,5)4. They are numbered inmonths (4)5. Picked out (5)6. Deep furrow of warfare(6)7. Not any (4)9. Bold metal? (5)11. Heathen (5)12. Gave funeral oration (9)13. This is not confusedmember of Japan's religion(9)17. Stand in the past (5)19. Versified (6)22. Deers around waterplants (5)23. Nuts can bewilder (4)24. Beloved and expensive(4)

ACROSS3. Providing teaching (9)8. Fibber (4)9. Many bones? Certainly not!(2,2,5)10 and 11. First pope's annualcollection? (6,5)14. Songs out of Ave Marias(5)15. Thug hides the saint (4)16. Jesus did many other ...(John 20) (5)18. The person who does (4)20. It consumes briar and ...(Isaiah 9) (5)21. Was cut off with shears (5)24. Piece laid down in Latingame? (6)25. Damp steed galloped offwith the others (9)26. Marries (4)27. Where Jesus was tempted(2,1,6)

Solutions on page 11

Fr Nicholas King SJ

Sunday Reflections

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

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