New Book of Cartoons

More to come...

from "Last Cracks in Legendary Cloisters"

by Brother Choleric

(Pub. Sheed & Ward London)

Prayers and esteem for the Church and for the noble Chinese people

Matteo Ricci, SJ (October 6, 1552 – May 11, 1610) Painted in 1610 by the Chinese brother
Emmanuel Pereira (born Yu Wen-hui).
It hangs in the Jesuit House in Rome  

“Father Ricci went to China not to bring science and Western culture, but to bring the Gospel, to make God known. He writes: ‘For over twenty years every morning and every night I prayed in tears to Heaven. I know the Lord of Heaven has compassion for living creatures and forgives them... . The truth about the Lord of Heaven is already in the hearts of men. But humans do not understand it immediately, and, moreover, are not inclined to reflect on similar issues’ (Il vero significato del “Signore del Cielo”, [The true meaning of the “Lord of Heaven”], Rome 2006, pp. 69-70). And it was indeed while bringing the Gospel, that Father Ricci found in his interlocutors the demand for a wider confrontation, so that the meeting motivated by faith also became a dialogue between cultures; a disinterested dialogue, free from economic or political ambition for power, lived in friendship, which makes the work of Father Ricci and his disciples one of the highest and happiest points in the relationship between China and the West”. With these words, Benedict XVI recalled the figure of Father Matteo Ricci, on the fourth centenary of his death. He concluded: “Like Father Matteo Ricci, today I too express my profound esteem for the noble Chinese people and their ancient culture, convinced that their renewed encounter with Christianity will bring abundant fruits of good, as it then encouraged peaceful coexistence between peoples. Thank you”. The Pope’s speech was published in L’Osservatore Romano of May 30 with the title Prayers and esteem for the Church and for the noble Chinese people. 

The cause of beatification of Father Matteo Ricci (1552-1610), originally begun in 1984, was reopened on January 24, 2010 at the cathedral of the east-central Italian Diocese of Macerata-Tolentino-Recanati-Cingoli-Treia

Click here: Investigate the fascinating Fr Matteo Ricci SJ on Wikki

New Official Portrait of Pope Benedict

Master artist Igor V. Babailov, M.F.A. has completed the new official portrait of His Holiness Benedict XVI, entitled: "The Truth, The Way and The Life: A Portrait of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI," Oil on Canvas, 72" x 48" (183 cm x 122 cm) Click here for a better resolution version of the portrait.

Six men arrested over plot to attack Pope Benedict XVI during state visit to Britain.

Sep 17 2010

SIX men were arrested today by police investigating a suspected plot to harm the Pope.

Scotland Yard officers swooped on several people after information emerged that Pope Benedict XVI could be in danger.

Some of the men were working as street cleaners, Westminster City Council revealed.  They were arrested by officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command shortly before 6am.

The five men were working for Veolia Environmental Services, a contractor which employs 650 on-street staff to keep Westminster's streets clean and free from rubbish.

The suspects, aged 26, 27, 36, 40 and 50, were held under the Terrorism Act 2000 at business premises in central London.

A sixth man, aged 29, has was arrested later by counter-terrorism officers.

They were taken to a central London police station, where they will be interviewed by detectives.

It was later reported that the men were of Algerian origin.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the business was being searched, as well as homes in north and east London.

A spokesman said: "Initial searches have not uncovered any hazardous items.

"Today's arrests were made after police received information. Following initial inquiries by detectives, a decision was made to arrest the five men.

"Following today's arrests the policing arrangements for the Papal visit were reviewed and we are satisfied that our current policing plan remains appropriate.

"The itinerary has not changed. There is no change to the UK threat level."

Sources said the accuracy of the information received by police is yet to be checked and stressed that no suspicious items have been found.

The source refused to discuss the nature of the tip-off, but said it was only received a relatively short time before the arrests were made.

A multi-million-pound operation was put in place to protect the Pope during his tour of Scotland, London and the West Midlands.

Thousands of officers are involved in the operation from forces including the Met, Strathclyde, Lothian and Borders, West Midlands and British Transport Police.

The cost of policing the Pope's visit to Britain could reach s1.5million and is being co-ordinated by South Yorkshire Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes.

Senior officers said there was no information ahead of the visit to suggest any "specific group" wanted to attack the Pope.

But they warned people not to underestimate the "passion and the fervour" the visit would bring.

Police also interviewed mentally unstable people who they feared may pose a threat to the Pope.

A spokesman for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales said: "We have absolute confidence in the security operation to protect both the Pope and the public.

"The Pope is enjoying a wonderful visit, warmly welcomed wherever he goes."

Father Federico Lombardi, a spokesman for the Vatican, said the Popewas informed of the threat during his visit to St Mary's University College, in Twickenham, south west London.

He was 30 minutes late for prayers in St Mary's Chapel, but it is not known if this is because of the unexpected intervention.

Father Lombardi said: "We are totally confident in the work of the policeand Scotland Yard. We have no particular preoccupation with this.

"The police have already said that the information that they have collected until now demonstrates there is no need to change anything on the programme of the Pope and the security measures."

Father Lombardi added that the Pope remains "totally calm" and "happy" and will continue to enjoy his trip.

www.dailyrecord.co.za

Mass rape by paedophile Catholic priests is a myth, says secular humanist magazine

By Damian Thompson Religion

How The Independent reported the rape claims
A fascinating article today by the atheist Left-wing columnist Brendan O’Neill, editor of spiked, rubbishing claims that thousands of children were “raped by the Catholic Church’s army of paedophile priests”. Here’s an extract:

Were 10,000 children in America and thousands more in Ireland really raped by Catholic priests? In a word, no. Instead, what has happened is that in the increasingly caliginous, almost Inquisitorial mindset of sections of the New Atheist anti-pope lobby, every allegation of abuse against a Catholic priest … has been lumped together under the heading of ‘rape’, and every allegation has been described as an actual proven ‘rape’ regardless of whether it resulted in a legal trial, never mind a conviction.
The term ‘paedophile priest’ has become such a part of everyday cultural lingo that most people, when they read in last week’s relatively respectable UK Independent that ‘over 10,000 children have come forward to say they were raped [by Catholic priests]’, would probably think, ‘Yeah, that’s possible’. But it isn’t true.
You’ll need to read O’Neill’s piece to grasp the full details, but in essence he makes two points:

1. In America, between 1950 and 2002, a total of 10,667 people made allegations against 4,392 priests (ie, four per cent of priests in ministry during that period). Of these accusers, 1,203 made allegations of what we would consider rape. O’Neill asks:
How did a complex US report about all manner of allegations against priests come to be translated in the words of the Independent into the idea that ‘over 10,000 people have come forward to say they were raped [by priests]’? Because in the outlook of certain sections of the intolerant New Atheist lobby, everything from sex talk to fondling to being shown a porn flick is ‘rape’ – if it’s done by a priest, that is – and every priest is guilty of what he is accused of despite the question of whether or not he was convicted in a court of law.
In other words, the Catholic-baiting Independent seriously misled its readers.

2. In 2009, the Irish and British press reported that “thousands of children were raped” by Catholic priests and religious in Irish reform schools. The reality is that 242 male witnesses made 253 reports of sexual abuse against the staff of Irish reform schools at the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse – and of these, 68 claimed to have been raped. O’Neill adds:

Once again, not all of the allegations resulted in convictions. Some witness reports involved priests who had died, and out of the 253 male reports of sexual abuse, 207 related to the period of 1969 or earlier; 46 related to the 1970s and 1980s. How did 68 claims of anal rape made against the staff of Irish reform schools over a 59-year period translate into headlines about thousands being raped? Because once again, everything from being neglected to being smacked to being emotionally abused – which thousands of Irish reform-school kids were subjected to – was lumped together with being raped, creating a warped image of a religious institution that rapes children on an almost daily basis.

O’Neill has done us a service by writing this article on the eve of the Pope’s visit. And, please, there’s no need to remind me that vile acts were committed against children by Catholic clergy. I know. I was writing articles about the scandal of paedophile priests in the early 1990s, at a time when neither the Church nor public opinion seemed very interested.

But, at around the same time, I was also writing sceptically about the “Satanic Ritual Abuse” scare. Remember that? To put it mildly, many allegations of ritual abuse turned out to be unfounded. Yet anyone who refused to “believe the children” was denounced as an apologist for paedophilia.

I’m not claiming that the analogy is an exact one: clearly a small minority of priests were abusers, whereas the evidence for devil-worshipping paedophiles was virtually non-existent. But what I do remember from the early 1990s is that academics or journalists who asked awkward questions about the empirical basis of the Satanic claims were shouted down by a mob whose members consisted of religion-hating secularists and extreme Protestants. Call me paranoid, but I reckon the old alliance is back in business.

From newadvent.com Submitted by F Ron

News Letter from the Archdiocesan News Editor, Judy Stockill

Dear Archdiocesan News Reader

October issue delayed
Regretfully the October issue of the Archdiocesan News will only reach the pews on the second Sunday, 10 October. It will be ready for collection on Wednesday 6 October.
Since there are 5 Sundays in October there should be no knock-on effect and the November issue is planned for the first Sunday, 7th November, as usual.
That does mean there are a few more days to submit parish photographs, with a full caption-story, of Bible Sunday and Catechetical Sunday and another days grace to send notices.

Pull out and keep supplement
I hope you kept the supplement ‘Growing in your Faith’ from the September issue. It was compiled and paid for by the 6 institutes of learning here in the Archdiocese. If your Congregation would like a similar 4-page supplement please contact the Editor. The ADNews is also planning to compile a similar supplement for smaller movements, service organizations, sodalities and retreat centres that offer opportunities for spiritual growth and on-going formation. Please let me know if your organization would like to have a space. There will be a cost, R300 as a rough estimate. The exact cost will depend on uptake of the space. It won’t happen till 2011, hopefully early in the year but I would like to know soon if there is any interest in such a supplement. I think it would be a great service to the Archdiocese.

Budget for 2011
Parishes are preparing their 2011 budgets. Please remind your PFC to confirm the parish order for the AD News. The order can be increased during the year but not decreased. We have to have a total order of 15,500 to go to print at all.

Communications
Improved communication was a Synod ’08 outcome/priority. The Vicar General is overseeing a move towards making use of the latest technology starting with a new website and a weekly e-newsletter.
Make an offer if you think you could help.
The AD News seeks an editor. Must have industry experience and must be a Catholic. Just about everything else is negotiable.

I’ll repeat all this in the ADNews. Look out for it. Draw it to the attention of other readers/leaders. Also the notices below which will now be too late to be of use.

Have you filled in your 2012 consultation form yet?

Regards, Judy

Sunday 3 October 10:30
Rosebank Chamber Choir
will sing the Mass ‘The Prince of Peace’ by William Lloyd Webber and the motet
the ‘Cantique de Jean Racine’ by Gabriel Faure.
Church of The Immaculate Conception, Rosebank.

Pilgrimage to Ngome
8-10 October
Leaving from Mary, Mother of Sorrows Church
105 11th Avenue, Kensington
Book with Ann Moodley
011 622-2767 or
083-528-9033

Sat 9 October 12:00 to 16:00
THE JEWISH ROOTS OF THE SACRAMENTS
Closing lecture
Catholic Bible College, La Rochelle 011 435-7997 and Catechetics Dept


Wednesday 6 October
09:00
Clergy Ongoing Formation
Fr Rodney Moss speaks about The Priesthood
Trinity House, Braamfontein

Saturday 9 October
08:30 - 13:00
VATICAN III
Follow-up Discussion
St Vincent’s School for the Deaf, Melrose
RSVP Shelagh Mary hf (w) 011 402-6400
Cell 083 256 1422
e-mail shfcorrie@icon.co.za

Saturday 9 October
14:00-17:00
Annual General Meeting
Archdiocesan AIDS Commission
Cathedral Place
Invited are:
Members of the AIDS Commission
Deanery and Parish AIDS Coordinators

Archdiocesan News
Chancery 011 402-6400
www.catholic-johannesburg.org.za
adnews@icon.co.za

Pope Benedict World Youth Day Message

Pope Benedict XVI has released his message for the next World Youth Day to be held in Madrid 2011. In warm and personal way, the Pope has invited young people around the world to turn out for the celebrations which will be held in the Spanish capital next summer. Recalling his own youth, Benedict XVI reflected on his time as a university student and the challenges of responding affirmatively to his vocation to the priesthood.


Click here to read the full message

Rhodes Park Spring Fair, St Anne's Makes R 8430!

Our Rhodes Park Spring Festival Stalls was the first major Fundraising Event of this year, and in particular, with, in mind, our Contribution to the New Diocesan Chancery Building.  A Great Thank You and Congratulations to all the Members and Sodalities of St Anne’s and to our (often anonymous) Donors, for the united and joyful spirit with which everyone entered into the venture. We raised R 8,430.00 – a good improvement on last year. But most of all we had fun in working together and helping make the Spring Fair a lovely day for all. We thank God for His Blessings showered upon us. - Fr Ron

From Herbert... by email on Monday 6th September 2010

Good Day All

 

Yesterday, 05 September 2010, was the annual Rhodes Park Spring Fair.  Our Parish, St. Anne’s (Belgravia), has been occupying a stall at this fair for the past three (maybe four) years, and we’ve grown from strength to strength, in terms of presence, paraphernalia and participation.  Yesterday was a beautiful day.  We were blessed with absolutely lovely spring weather, we felt the crowd has grown over the years and the position of our stall was ideal.

 

What was truly inspiring this year was the level of participation and co-operation of all St. Anne’s parishioners.  People went out of their way to contribute and for that the parish is extremely grateful.  The only thing better than seeing this collaboration, is to actually be a part of it.

 

I want to say some special thank-you’s to the people involved:

 

Firstly to Fr. Ron, our spiritual head, PCC and PFC President, general benefactor and all round Good Guy.

 

Then to Nailand Smith as Chairman of the PFC, under whom all fundraising initiatives lie, for the actual planning and co-ordination of the event; unfortunately Nailand was unable to be with us on the day to see the fruit of his hard work, as he and his family we away on pre-planned family business (we all get caught up in this some time or the other).

 

I then want to thank the Fund Raising Committee Ladies, and these words pertain to all participating groups, for all the hard work that they tirelessly put in, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, without expecting any reward, and at much personal expense.  I want to thank their families for all the support that they give to their mothers and spouses, taking time out of their personal schedules to show their “home executives”, that their efforts are appreciated, valued and most of all, are making a significant contribution to a worthy cause.

 

I want to thank the Zulu/Sotho Choir ladies for their participation, generous donation and absolute magic in their contribution.  To their families too who participated, donated and contributed.  Who transported and provided logistics to their “queens”, who (wo)manned the stalls and did so well, that even after topping up what they originally came with, still ran out and were unable to supply the demand.

 

To the Portuguese community, represented by Alice, Fernanda (Alice’s husband), Fernanda (also known as Tina J) and Joe Pereira, for their participation and contribution, especially of the of the ever popular Prego Rolls, also sold out on the day.  A special thank you again to Joe, for making an absolute avalanche of cold drinks available to us.  

 

Our Vision reads:

 

“We, the people of St. Anne’s, from diverse backgrounds, cultures and even countries, ask GOD for the Spirit’s Gifts of Faith, Love and Unity, that, as one Family, we may reach out to our neighbours, with the Love and Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

 

Yesterday, our vision ramped up a notch.  What was evidenced at last years Fete at The Dominican School continues to grow.  Step by step, day by day, year by year, we see our Vision being lived.  For a parish that was on the verge of being closed down, I think that we can be extremely proud of what we have achieved to date and what we are continuing to achieve going forward.  I certainly am proud to be part of St. Anne’s and I am proud to be associated with each and every one of you.

 

GOD Bless you all.

 

Kind regards,

 

Herbert J. Africa

PPC Chair.  

Interview with the Editor of the "Dictionary of Mysticism"

All Are Called to Mysticism

Interview with Carmelite Father Luigi Borriello

By Miriam Diez i Bosch

ROME, SEPT. 1, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Mysticism is not just a secondary aspect of theology, but is something that all people are called to, says Father Luigi Borriello.

Fr Borriello 

The Carmelite priest knows about mystics: Not only does his Carmelite family claim many in its history, such as St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), but he is also co-director of the "Dictionary of Mysticism" of the Vatican Publishing House.

Father Borriello is a consultor of various Vatican dicasteries and a theology professor at numerous universities in Rome.

He spoke with ZENIT about the mystical experience, and stressed the importance of clarifying what Christian mysticism is, at a time when many religions are interested in this field.

ZENIT: Mystics are famous for being from another world, but you say this is not so.

Father Borriello: Mystics are men and women of this world.

Today there is a tendency to trivialize mysticism, as if it were something of another world, and that it has nothing to do with us. But it isn't so. Moreover, the mystics' experience fits in the Church and is related to faith, not foreign to it.

Mystical experience cannot be separated from faith; it can only take place in it. Mystical experience calls for a mystical theology, a reflection whose basis is mysticism itself.

Today there is a persistence of the mystical event. It is part of the post-modern society. This universal mystical richness is rediscovered in Western and Eastern religiosity. And Eastern mysticism has exercised great fascination in the West.

Also in the present climate of crisis, of confusion and syncretism, there is a temptation to confuse the authentic nature of mysticism with New Age or Next Age realities.

Religion and mysticism are different realities, and it is necessary to make distinctions.

ZENIT: In fact, many seek in the East what Christian mysticism already contains.

Father Borriello: Indeed. It's a paradox.

Many Christians don't know the wealth of their own mystical tradition and they turn to the East, seeking what is in the interior of that tradition.

Moreover, it is important to recall that there is a mystagogy in all mystical experience: You can also experience this as the other does.

Although the mystic is reserved, what he says is for others.

In this sense we must say to ourselves that we are all called to sanctity and to mysticism. And the mystical experience is a call to witness.

ZENIT: Christian mysticism always recognizes the "You" of God.

Father Borriello: Yes, it isn't dissolution; it is encounter.

Christian mysticism is characterized by the Incarnation, which is always a gift; it isn't something that the human being gains.

In it, the "You," the duality of a God who gives himself and the man who receives, though there is fusion, always recognizes the other.

We are speaking of duality in unity, as a spiritual marriage. The two always recognize one another; they are not confused; they keep their own identity.

ZENIT: Would it be appropriate to desire a mystical experience?

Father Borriello: It is not a question of asking for it but of receiving it when it comes, if it comes.

Experience is a category that is used in all the disciplines. I prefer to speak of mystical experience; it is something that God gives to man who receives it passively, and, in fact, makes an effort on receiving it.

It is what John of the Cross calls "the night."There is a collaboration in the acceptance, but the initiative is always God's, who makes himself known. And the greatest revelation takes place in Jesus Christ.

Hence, mystical experience is always Christ-centered and Trinitarian. And it is revealed only gratuitously, without our merits.

Submitted by Fr Ron

Caritas - Catholic Relief Agency reports on floods in Pakistan

Pakistani Homes Reduced to Mud, Says Caritas

Stresses Need to Affirm Flood Victims' Human Dignity

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, SEPT. 1, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Thousands of homes have been reduced to mud after weeks of heavy flooding in Pakistan, but the families are still sticking by the mounds they once lived in, reported Caritas.

Chaudhry Kamran, an aid worker with Caritas Pakistan, spoke about his experience and eyewitness account of the plight of flood victims after a heavy monsoon season.

"When the intense rains began to hit the south of Punjab, I went to the flooded areas," he recalled. "In the bus, we were all very worried for the people we passed by, living in improvised shelters. In no way could the tents resist the strong winds."

"No one knew what would happen," the aid worker said.

He noted that the latest U.N. estimates state that at least 17.2 million people have been affected by the floods, and more than 1,600 people have already died. Thousands more have been affected by diseases of the skin and stomach due to unsanitary conditions and waterborne illnesses.

Kamran noted that "the United States and other countries worldwide have promised more than $700 million to help those affected in Pakistan," and "the International Monetary Fund is studying all the possible ways to help the country."

However, he added that "these efforts were too slow for Bela Khan."

"Survivors waited for foreign aid for about two weeks after this village was submerged in water," Kamran explained, but Caritas was the first to arrive there.

Homeless

They brought tents to shelter the families whose homes are submerged.

The aid worker observed that the villagers "are not willing to abandon their homes, now turned into a mound of mud."

He continued: "Many families continue to live on the slope of an embankment with the hope that the waters will soon recede.

"Before Caritas' tents arrived, the shelters on this embankment only had charpoys (fabric to make beds), supported by large drums or plastic sheets covered by branches."

"Despair is reflected on all faces on television screens," Kamran said.

He noted that "a relief package in general lasts two days in a family of six, a typical village family unit."

"However," he continued, "to bring knowledge and tools such as sewing machines can help to restore confidence and hope among the survivors."

The aid worker concluded with an appeal: "Although food and clothing continue to be a great need, the world must think of ways to help them live with dignity."

Submitted by Fr Ron