Closing of the combox

It is with a heavy heart that The Southern Cross will with immediate effect, as of 16 January 2013, suspend the comments section on its website.

Originally conceived as a forum in which readers could civilly exchange ideas on articles, the comments have become marked by a level of polemic and lack of charity, sometimes including slanderous and even libellous statements, that stood in direct breach of Christ’s 11^th Commandment. This placed an undue burden on the moderators of this site.

The Southern Cross has for many decades encouraged robust debate, but such dialogue must be conducted in a spirit of mutual respect. When this quality is lacking, fruitful debate is impossible and cannot be facilitated by a forum that is truly Catholic.

Readers who wish to make known their views on articles in The Southern Cross, or on issues not covered in the newspaper, are warmly invited to share these through the newspaper’s letters page. editor at scross.co.za