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PAGE 2 PAGE 4 PAGE 11 PAGE 10 PE beauty St Peter’s Celebrate Where the queen on jail opens South Africa’s pope goes her faith for public patronal feast on holiday August 11 to August 17, 2010 www.scross.co.za R5,00 (incl VAT RSA) Reg No. 1920/002058/06 No 4688 SOUTHERN AFRICA’S NATIONAL CATHOLIC WEEKLY SINCE 1920 Inside Soaring hope HE skies of Wentworth, Durban, her- Using the Internet for good alded a symbol of hope as kites dived The producers of a popular TV series with a Tand soared from the hands of eager values-driven message are launching a pro- youth. ject to help churches to use the Internet more Coached by the adult men of the com- effectively.—Page 3 munity, youngsters went out looking for bamboo and off-cuts of paper and fabric to Anglicans divided on split meticulously create their aerodynamic fly- A group of traditionalist Anglican bishops ing wonders, said Fr Merlin Ince OMI of has admitted that Anglo-Catholic clergy are Wentworth’s Christ the King parish. sharply divided over how to respond to the “The mentorship which they received ordination of women as bishops.—Page 5 from the adults was an affirmation of their potential. As the winds picked up and lifted Who cares for care-givers? the kites, the look of awe and wonder in Conversation on HIV/Aids tends to focus on the eyes of these youth was most inspir- prevention and research, but those who pro- ing,” Fr Ince said. vide care are often neglected, experts say.— The event was part of the Winter Holi- Page 12 day Programme, which was hosted by Christ the King parish in collaboration Holy stairs and karaoke with other churches and non-governmen- A Catholic radio presenter led a pilgrimage of tal organisations. About 800 youths took listeners to Italy, finding that there is space part. for the holy and edifying as well as for rock The kite-flying event followed weeks of karaoke and green sambuca.—Page 13 revenge attacks and murders that had taken place among rival gangs in the area. Exposing the hoaxes “When these kids came together to fly their kites, it was with a sense of letting go In his weekly column, Chris Moerdyk expos- Youngsters fly kites in Wentworth, Durban, as part of an initiative hosted by Christ the King es e-mail hoaxes with which Christians dam- and letting what is only natural to happen parish in collaboration with other local churches and organisations. The event followed weeks of among youth: to be joyful, to make friends, age their own cause.—Page 12 gang violence in the area. PHOTO FROM, MERLIN INCE OMI to live freely,” Fr Ince said. What do you think? In their Letters to the Editor this week, read- ers discuss parish politics, xenophobia and Samaritans, Johannesburg’s new chancery, incense and Chinese bishops.—Page 8 Easy access to drugs This week’s editorial: Keep the press free Pope ‘dropped ‘trivialises abortion’ BY CAROL GLATZ decision by US regulators to begin using women’ from embryonic stem cells in clinical tests on ROMOTING easy access to RU-486 and human patients. other drugs that induce abortion risks The destruction of human embryos Jesus’ friends Ptrivialising the termination of a preg- involved in such research amounts to “the nancy, according to the president of the Pon- sacrifice of human beings” and is to be con- OPE Benedict has been criticised for tifical Academy for Life. demned, said the president emeritus of the not mentioning female disciples in a Commercialising abortion medication can Pontifical Academy for Life, Bishop Elio children’s book about Jesus titled The turn “an unwanted pregnancy into being Sgreccia. P almost like an annoying cold to be gotten rid Friends of Jesus. The US Food and Drug Administration The British chapter of the Catholic of with a pill,” Mgr Ignacio Carrasco de Paula (FDA) gave final approval for a clinical trial of advocacy group We Are Church said that told the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore embryonic stem cells as a treatment for Pope Benedict highlighted only male disci- Romano in an interview. patients with spinal-cord injuries, making the The Spanish monsignor, who is also a ples in a new children’s book published in People take part in a protest against abortion United States the first country to allow the his name, saying it implied women are sec- medical doctor, recalled working in Armenia in Seville, Spain, after changes in Spanish law testing of such cells on human beings. ond-class citizens in Christianity. after the 1998 earthquake. He said many of made it easier for women to terminate a preg- Geron Corporation, the company which Pope Benedict is described by the Vatican the women patients he worked with had nancy. The banner reads: “We want to live. won the FDA approval, plans to perform tests Information Service as the author of the 48- already had more than 20 abortions and that No to abortion.” on a small group of patients paralysed by a “for them abortion had become like having a page book about Jesus’ 14 friends who are PHOTO: JAVIER BARBANCHO, REUTERS/CNS spinal cord injury. listed as Peter, his brother Andrew, James coffee”. The company had won FDA approval the older, John, Thomas, Matthew, Philip, Such a blasé attitude “is a serious phenom- early last year, but after mice treated with the Bartholomew, James the younger, Simon, enon” that could easily spread to other parts co said. He believes the academy’s role is to cells developed spinal cysts, the government Judas Thaddeus, Judas Iscariot, Matthias and of Europe. “always go beyond polemics in order to put the clinical trials on hold amid concerns Paul. However, no mention is made of Mary However, indiscriminate use of the abor- reflect on every single aspect of the issue, over the safety of the procedure. The new Magdalene or any other female friends of tion pill may increase the number of women even if it is uncomfortable to face. Internal or government-approved trials aim to test the Jesus, the English daily The Times reported. who experience post-abortion syndrome, he external debate does not scare us, rather, it therapy’s safety on humans as well as its Valerie Stroud of We Are Church said: said. enriches us”. effectiveness. “In giving children the idea that Jesus only Mgr Carrasco, who was named head of the Mgr Carrasco urged people to at least try In an interview with Vatican Radio, Bish- favoured men, Pope Benedict sends a very life academy in June, said scholars are work- to resist the large financial and ideological op Sgreccia said science itself recognises the strong message that women are second-class ing on a document focussing on the psycho- interests lobbying for pro-abortion legisla- human embryo “is a human being in the citizens in the Christian religion. This was logical and emotional aftereffects of abortion tion. He praised Nicaraguan President Daniel making”. Destroying embryos “receives a never Jesus’ intention. The Supreme Pontiff because “it is certain that abortion, beside Ortega for abandoning his support of limited completely negative judgment” from an ethi- completely abandons the modern idea of killing an innocent person, weighs heavily abortion laws and becoming a strong oppo- cal point of view, no matter what justifica- equality within relationships.” on the conscience of the woman who resorts nent of abortion. tions are given for their use. Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi to one”. The academy is also studying the issue of The Italian bishop said embryonic stem SJ said the book was put together by an edi- The academy will study the impact and umbilical cord blood banks. While the cells have not been proven to be effective in tor but admitted that the pope had sanc- nature of the syndrome more in-depth and Church supports the use of stem cells derived therapies. He said embryonic stem cells are tioned the use of his name on the cover. release its findings and recommendations in from adults and umbilical cord blood, the “totipotent”, that is, they tend to reproduce a “The Pope has done explicitly a cate- a document by October 2011, he said. academy will look at whether public or prof- whole organism or individual, but not spe- chism about the many women in the ser- “When abortion is being talked about, it-driven private facilities would better and cialised cells. vice of the Gospel who were disciples of unfortunately, it triggers many issues that more fairly conserve and use such cells, he However, even if there were positive Jesus and helped him in his life,” he said.— always spark a heated debate, sometimes said. results from the use of such cells, “morally it cathnews even within the Catholic world,” Mgr Carras- The Vatican has condemned the recent would still be a crime,” he said.—CNS 22 The Southern Cross, August 11 to August 17, 2010 LOCAL Using the Internet, TV for good Fr Stefan Hippler is pictured on a big screen as he addressed the audience at a BY MICHAIL RASSOOL chord among South Africans, working, in which answers to rock concert by German star Udo paving the way for subsequent all kinds of questions on the HE successful television initiatives. medium will be provided. Lindenberg in Tübingen, Germany. Fr serial Hopeville made by Hippler, co-founder of the Aids organisa- Heartlines is also engaged in “The Forgood web platform multi-media production tion HOPE Cape Town and former chap- T enabling churches to connect will allow people to share infor- lain to German-speaking Catholics, Heartlines, which aims to pro- to one another and the broader mation and activities and form received the Herman Hesse award of the mote good values in South community by using social net- groups based on a member's African society, is to be featured Udo Lindenberg Foundation for Young working tools, and is the basis geographical location and inter- on the big screen next month Musicans, which launched a two-year for its Forgood “Virtual” Plat- ests,” Ms Peppler said.