The SSoouutthheerrnnCCrroossss October 1 to October 7 , 2014 Reg No. 1920/002058/06 No 4893 www.scross.co.za R7,00 (incl VAT RSA) Pope wept as Fr Rolheiser SA couple on he heard shines new light way to Vatican’s priest’s story on Prodigal Son synod of bishops Page 5 Page 12 Page 9 SA archbishop warns: Beware of false prophets BY STUART GRAHAM mility, not self-pro - motion. Saintly peo - EOPLE seeking spiritual guidance must ple always hide their be wary of “false prophets” who are mak - gifts. They use their Ping money out of religion, an archbishop gifts, but they will try has warned. to hide them and Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria point out these are said the collapse of the guesthouse at faith God’s gifts.” healer TB Joshua’s Synagogue Church of All People gather in St James Square in Barcelona, Spain to watch the construction of a Archbishop Slat - Nations in Lagos, Nigeria, last month had tery said faith must human tower and to celebrate their patron saint, The Virgin of Mercy. (Photo: Gustau raised “many questions” for the Church. Nacarino, Reuters/CNS) be built on reason Many South Africans were among the vic - and on “the rational tims. use of the laws of na - “People went believing that they were re - ture”. ceiving help and now they were being “Grace builds on Archbishop Slattery, brought back in coffins,” Archbishop Slattery nature and nature is who has warned Post Office could kill said. God given,” he said. Christians to beware “We are extremely sorry that these reli - “All those laws of preachers who are gious people have ended in this terrible way. that control rising of in it for the money. This raises many questions for us as Church sun and moon, pho - The Southern Cross people.” tosynthesis, laws governing the animal Around 115 people, including the 84 world... These are God-given laws that have STAFF REPORTER able, especially in Gauteng and the Eastern South Africans, were killed and dozens evolved over millenia. Life must be guided by Cape, even when there are no strikes, she trapped when the church’s three-storey guest - HE Southern Cross will be hit hard by the laws of nature—not by miracles.” said. house collapsed. Archbishop Slattery said Mr Joshua’s reac - losses from sales after parishes in several Matters became so bad in Johannesburg a Around 350 South Africans were thought centres did not receive the newspaper tion after the building collapse beggars belief. T few years ago that The Southern Cross decided to be visiting the church, in the Ikotun neigh - “The immediate response of TB Joshua was for weeks due to a series of postal strikes. to courier the allocations for the archdiocese’s bourhood of Lagos, at the time. The newspaper relies for the bulk of its dis - that some plane passed over the building be - bigger parishes for distribution through Radio South African worshippers, some of whom fore it collapsed. This doesn’t make much tribution on the Post Office because other Veritas. were trapped and injured in the rubble, at - sense. Thousands of planes pass over Tembisa methods would impact on the cover price, “The Post Office’s lack of service is exasper - tended TB Joshua’s weekly sermon on Sunday without any buildings collapsing.” said business manager Pamela Davids. ating, because not only do we lose sales, but after the collapse. The archbishop also rejected blaming Some weeks during the strike parcels ad - readers are angry when they don’t receive Mr Joshua, whom his followers refer to as “Satan” for the disaster, as some religious dressed to parishes throughout the country their weekly newspaper,” Ms Davids said. “The Prophet" or “The Man of God”, told the leaders have done. “It is very easy to blame did not even leave the Cape Mail depot. The board of directors of the Catholic congregation at the service that he would Satan and shirk on your personal responsibil - Parishes in areas such as Bloemfontein, Newspaper & Publishing Company, which travel to South Africa to meet people from ity,” he said. Durban, Witspos and Pretoria were particu - publishes The Southern Cross , has investigated South Africa and other nations “in memory Archbishop Slattery said the local Catholic larly affected by the strikes, which began in alternative methods of distribution, but none of martyrs of faith”. Church is “calling on the people of South early August. have proved financially viable. Archbishop Slattery said people must look Africa to get behind the bereaved and help in “We have not calculated the losses we have “A functioning postal service is crucial in for signs of authenticity in religious leaders. whatever way we can”. incurred due to the strikes, but it will run into any country’s economy. So when a national “We have 6 000 independent churches in Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Con - the tens of thousands, possibly above postal service consistently fails to provide South Africa...There are a lot of people in - ference communication officer Fr S’milo R10 0 000,” Ms Davids said. what it is there for, then it isn’t far-fetched to volved in the business of religion. We need to Mngadi said the Church was shocked at the “A newspaper that runs on small margins, speak of economic sabotage,” said the board’s give some reflection to it,”he said. “We must Lagos incident. like The Southern Cross , could be killed off by chairman, Chris Moerdyk. look for genuine religious leaders or “The Catholic Church passes heartfelt con - this,” she added. The Southern Cross is making available prophets.” dolences to the families of those who lost Ms Davids said that some parishes have back issues on its website for those who Religious leaders live good moral lives and their lives during the collapse of a building at been very generous in absorbing the loss as a missed them during the strike action. They do not hop “from one wife to another”, he the Synagogue Church of All Nations,” he way of supporting The Southern Cross . can be downloaded in PDF format at said. said. “Some parishes told us that they will sell www.scross.co.za/?p=15736 “One would expect them to be honest and “It is sad when people die in such tragedy the older issues when they are finally deliv - To subscribe to the digital edition Southern just people. They are not abusing money at a while they are on a quest to find God and to ered because, they say, the content of The Cross —which looks exactly like the print edi - fantastic rate for their own personal comfort,” deepen their spirituality. May this sad occa - Southern Cross is timeless,” Ms Davids said. tion—go to www.digital.scross.co.za/subscribe the archbishop said. sion stir us all into conversion and deeper re - Post Office services are notoriously unreli - or e-mail Avril at [email protected] “I would expect them to tend towards hu - lationship with God,” Fr Mngadi said. The SSoouutthheerrnn CCrroossss PILGRIMAGE 2015 For info HOLY LAND • ROME • TURIN phone Gail at 7 - 21 May 2015 076 35 2 3809 or 021 551 3923 See the Holy Land, the pope and the Shroud of [email protected] Turin with ARCHBISHOP WILLIAM SLATTERY fowlertours.co.za Jerusalem | Bethlehem | Nazareth | Boatride on Sea of Gailee | River Jordan | Turin with reserved viewing of the Holy Shroud | Florence |Papal Audience in the Vatican |Catacombs | Ancient & Baroque Rome | Four Major Basilicas | and much more... 2 The Southern Cross, October 1 to October 7, 2014 LOCAL Dowling warns on IS BY DENNIS SADOWSKI solved the situation. We are now reaping the fruits of the fact that XPANDED airstrikes on Islamic there wasn’t an inclusive political, State (IS) positions in Syria social response,” Bishop Dowling Eserve as little more than a re - said. cruiting tool for the extremist group “It’s this inclusive dialogue and and place more innocent people in non-violent way of bringing people danger, Bishop Kevin Dowling of together, of facilitating understand - Rustenburg, co-president of Pax ing, that’s what has to be done. Christi International, has warned. Otherwise, we simply perpetuate a The three top leaders of the situation where people’s only Catholic peace organisation also called upon the world, particularly thought is, ‘We’ve been violated, so the United Nations, to work to - we will take revenge, and to restore gether to seek non-violent alterna - our sense of dignity, we have to re - tives to stop IS’s expansion and spond to violence done to us.’ influence in Iraq and Syria. “But that doesn’t achieve any - Bishop Dowling, fellow co-presi - Bishop Kevin Dowling, co-president thing either. So we’ve got to find dent Marie Dennis, and secretary- of Pax Christi International, during other ways, non-violent ways, in - an interview in Washington. (Photo: general José Henriquez suggested clusive ways,” the bishop added. Bob Roller/CNS) several steps that they believe will For true peace to be achieved, “it bring lasting peace to the violence- has to be, like in the Church, prone region during an interview must be taken to identify the through the principle of subsidiar - with Catholic News Service hours sources of their funding and to stop ity,” Bishop Dowling said. “The is - after a US-led international coalition them,” she said. sues have to be informed from the attacked Islamic State forces in Syria. In the United States for a Pax grassroots, as seen and analysed by The Catholic peace leaders pro - Christi programme on international the affected people.