Year-end Review 2004
JANUARY
At least 29 Catholic Church workers were slain in mission territories in 2003, according to the Vatican’s annual “martyrology”. They include Fr Manus Campbell, who was murdered in Amanzimtoti.
Bruce Walsh, the Catholic survivor of the 1998 Planet Hollywood bombing in Cape Town, publishes a book on his experiences titled Victor Over Victim.
Fr Joseph Mugera of Rustenburg wins his appeal against a rape conviction.
Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem tells Israel’s President Moshe Katzav that “we must fight terror”, but reminds him that Palestinian terror “has a reason”.
Veteran personality Pat Rogers retires after six years as executive producer with Radio Veritas.
Fr Dieter Gahlen, superior-general of the Missionaries of Mariannhill who lived many years in South Africa, dies after a short illness on January 24 in Rome.
FEBRUARY
The bishops of Southern Africa discuss matters such as the revised Protocol on sexual abuse, poverty alleviation, corruption, HIV/Aids, inter-religious dialogue and the liturgy during their first plenary session of the year.
Archbishop Denis Hurley, 88, dies suddenly of a heart attack on February 13 after attending a golden jubilee celebration at Fatima School in Durban North. His funeral is held at King’s Park stadium on February 28.
The Vatican releases a 220-page report titled Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church: Scientific and Legal Perspectives.
Fr Mark James is elected Dominican provincial of South Africa, at 40 the youngest ever.
Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, president of the Southern African Catholic Bishop’s Conference, pledges the local Church’s support for the freedom struggle of Tibet.
A man is arrested for the murder of Archbishop Michael Courtney, nuncio to Burundi, on December 29.
The Vatican’s top ecumenist, Cardinal Walter Kasper, visits Moscow to “open a new page” in the Church’s strained relationship with the Russian Orthodox Church.
MARCH
On March 17, Pope John Paul II becomes the third-longest reigning pope in history, overtaking Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903).
Radio Veritas goes on air on fm and medium wave for a month in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.
The bishops of Zambia praise President Levy Mwanawasa for his “courageous” decision to commute the death sentence of 44 coup plotters.
Austrian Cardinal Franz König, a giant of Vatican II, dies on March 13 at the age of 98.
Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo calls on the South African government to act on human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.
Cardinal Francis Arinze, the Nigerian prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation of Divine Worship, visits South Africa, celebrating Mass at St John Vianney seminary.
The Congregation for Bishops issued a 301-page Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops.
The debt incurred by the apartheid regime continues to cripple South Africa’s economy, SACBC Justice and Peace head Neville Gabriel tells an international conference in the Unite States.
Mel Gibson’s controversial film The Passion of the Christ goes on circuit in South Africa, with special premieres hosted by Radio Veritas. It draws a mixed reaction among Catholics.
Catholic missionaries in Mozambique express concern about a wave of murders and disappearances of children in that country.
APRIL
South Africans re-elect the African National Congress with an increased majority. Prior to the election, the bishops of South Africa issued a pastoral statement, calling on South Africans to continue the miracle of 1994.
Representatives of Africa’s English-speaking Catholic Church endorse the proposed New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) an opportunity to promote the Church’s social teachings.
The Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship issues the document Redemptionis sacramentum, which outlines new norms for the celebration of the Mass.
Sisters of St Paul Agnes Mokheti and Alphonsa Senoko are killed and two other nuns seriously injured in a car crash in the Free State.
The diocese of Manzini, Swaziland, convokes its first synod.
The Vatican calls for tougher action by governments on human trafficking.
MAY
A Zimbabwean high court rules illegal the closure by government of private schools because they had increased their fees without approval.
Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg, chairman of the Sudan Ecumenical Forum Assembly, says that at least 120,000 people have fled the western region of Darfur since February after attacks by pro-government militias.
Pope John Paul canonises six new saints, including Maronite monk Nimatullah Kassab al-Hardini and Italian laywoman Dr Gianna Beretta Molla.
Pope John Paul publishes his autobiographical book Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way in Italian. It is later published in other languages.
Nearly 11 years after murdering Mexican Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampa, eight drug-gang members are sentenced to 40 years in prison for the killing.
In a TV interview with Britain’s Sky News, Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe calls Archbishop Pius Ncube “unholy” and a liar, and describes Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu as “an angry, evil and embittered little bishop”.
Days before planning to go on air again in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, Radio Veritas is denied permission by the Independent Communi-cations Authority of South Africa (Icasa) to transmit to the latter two cities.
The first Catholic missal in Afrikaans, Die Sondags Missal en Gebedeboek, is completed by the SACBC’s Afrikaans apostolate.
JUNE
The bishops of South Africa attack a late-May Pretoria high court ruling allowing girls under 18 to procure abortions without their parents’ knowledge.
Pope John Paul travels to Bern, Switzerland for a huge youth rally.
The last Catholic departs from the island of St Helena. The Catholic church there is being left in the care of the Anglican vicar.
Fr Damian Weber, who spent 13 years in South Africa, is elected superior-general of the Missionaries of Mariannhill worldwide.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, counsels American bishops to be cautious on the question of withholding Communion from politicians who embrace pro-choice policies, after some US bishops declare that presidential candidate John Kerry, a Catholic, would be barred from receiving the Eucharist in their dioceses.
Pope John Paul announces a Year of the Eucharist, to run from October this year till October 29, 2005.
Bishop Robert Ndlovu of Hwange is named new archbishop of Harare, succeeding Archbishop Patrick Chaikapa, who died in June 2003.
The Vatican publishes a volume of historical papers delivered at the groundbreaking 1998 symposium on the Inquisition.
Nobel peace laureate Carlos Ximenes Belo announces that he will become a missionary in Mozambique.
Catholic TV personality Candice Morgan of Lenasia, Johannesburg, wins the Miss Deaf World title.
Former Johannesburg priest Fr Emmanuel Lafont is appointed bishop of Cayenne in French Guyana, South America.
JULY
The Vatican releases figures that show a budget deficit of $11,7 million for 2003.
The Zimbabwean government announces plans to legislate greater state control of non-governmental organisations, including those run by the Church.
Cardinal Wilfrid Napier says he cannot understand why the South African government does not impose sanctions on Zimbabwe, when these worked so well in the struggle against apartheid.
Terrorists in Colombia kidnap and then free Bishop Misael Vacca Ramirez of Yopal.
Speaking at the 15th International Aids Conference in Bangkok, Dr Christopher Benn of the Global Fund says that the Church in South Africa is doing more than the government in fighting Aids.
A Satanist murders a priest after Mass in a church in Santiago, Chile.
AUGUST
During their second plenary session this year, the bishops of Southern Africa discuss the draft rules for implementing general instructions on the new missal, a draft pamphlet on child abuse by Church personnel, Aids, seminaries, and diocesan anniversaries. They also issue statements calling for international action on Sudan and Zimbabwe, and local action on abortion.
The SACBC makes a presentation to parliament appealing for the scrapping of the Choice of Termination of Pregnancy Act, or at least to limit the harm done by it as amendments to the law are being debated.
Pope John Paul travels to Lourdes, France.
The bishops of Rwanda criticise a government report that lays fresh blame on he Church for complicity in the 1994 genocide.
An archaelogist reports having found what he believes to be a cave used by John the Baptist, near Jerusalem.
Catholic sociologist Edward Higgins dies in Johannesburg at the age of 80.
SEPTEMBER
Catholics commemorate the 25th anniversary of the murder of the lay Franciscan mystic John Bradburne in Zimbabwe.
During his installation as archbishop of Harare, Archbishop Robert Ndlovu criticises Zimbabwe’s poor human rights record, in front of President Robert Mugabe.
Former Dutch Reformed dominee and anti-apartheid campaigner Dr Beyers Naudé dies on September 7.
The Catholic Institute of Education holds its second National Catholic Schools Congress in Randburg, ten years after the first.
Nursing sister Wilhelmien Charles sues Kopanong hospital in Vereeniging and the minister of health for victimisation after her conscientious objection to assisting in abortion procedures.
A copy of the icon Mother of God of Kazan, considered sacred by the Russian Orthodox Church, is returned from the pope to Russia.
Mgr Gregory van Dyk of Bethlehem succeeds Mgr John Baird as national director of the Pontifical Mission Society.
The Pan-African Parliament opens in Midrand, with Dr Gertrude Mongella, a Tanzanian Catholic, as its first president.
Austrian Bishop Kurt Krenn resigns following a sex scandal in his diocese’s seminary. He is succeeded by Bishop Klaus Küng, who had acted as apostolic visitor in St Pölten.
OCTOBER
Fr Gerard Fitzsimons of Colesburg, in the diocese of De Aar, is murdered during a robbery on October 2. A suspect is arrested shortly after.
The Year of the Eucharist is launched.
Radio Veritas begins permanent 24-hour broadcasts on DStv’s audio channel 71.
Mgr Jan Jaworski of Johannesburg is awarded Poland’s prestigious Cimoszewicz Award from President Aleksander Kwasniewski in Warsaw.
The bishops of Zimbabwe issue a pastoral letter calling on the government to ensure a free and fair parliamentary election in 2005.
Pretoria archdiocese holds its synod assembly, the culmination of the synod process initiated in 2002 by Archbishop George Daniel.
Pope John Paul beatifies five, including Sr Anne Catherine Emmerich and Austria’s last emperor, Charles I.
Church leaders in southern Africa commit themselves towards greater self-sufficiency as they meet for the 7th plenary session of the Inter-regional Meeting of Bishops in Southern Africa (Imbisa).
Two Italian aid workers are released by kidnappers in Iraq, apparently after intervention by the Holy See.
The BBC in London decides not to show a satirical cartoon set in the Vatican titled Popetown because of concerns that it could offend Catholics.
The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace issues a new Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.
The Vatican’s top ecumenist, Cardinal Walter Kasper, and the head of the Lutheran church worldwide, Rev Ishmael Noko, visit South Africa to mark the fifth anniversary of the signing of the agreement on the doctrine of Justification.
Cardinals Paul Poupard, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, and Polycarp Pengo of Daar-es-Salaam meet with African bishops and ecclesiastical experts to discuss issues concerning inculturation.
More than 900 priests meet in Malta for an international 5-day convention.
NOVEMBER
The SACBC’s Pastoral Instruction to the Order of the Mass is made available.
After George W Bush beats John Kerry in the US elections, experts warn that that the religious rhetoric of the campaign – including that of some US bishops – will have a lingering effect.
Saudi Arabia releases an Indian Catholic who had been jailed and whipped for “preaching Christianity”.
Christian Palestinians feel they face an uncertain future after he death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on November 11.
Boys Town in South Africa, which was founded by the late Bishop Reginald Orsmond, announces that it will change its name to Girls and Boys Town.
Bishops from Africa and Europe meet to find ways of achieving greater solidarity.
Pope John Paul announces plans to convene a second Synod for Africa, a decade after the first.
The Dalai Lama visits South Africa, meeting with Cardinal Wilfrid Napier.
Newly installed Archbishop Liborius Nashenda of Windhoek says the biggest threats facing Namibia are corruption and HIV/Aids.
Two veterans of the President Ronald Reagan’s administration say that there was no coordinated action between the US and Pope John Paul in toppling the Soviet bloc.
DECEMBER
Southern Cross columnist Noel Bruyns dies suddenly in Bangkok, Thailand on December 6.
The Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office warns that while Black Economic Empowerment is important, it should not benefit just a handful of people and no section of the population should be excluded.
A memorial service is held in London for Margaret Hassan, an Irish-born Catholic aid-worker living in Baghdad who was abducted and murdered by terrorists in Iraq.
British church leaders condemn a Nativity display at Madame Tussaud’s wax museum in London that depict footballer David Beckham as Joseph and his wife Victoria as Mary.
The SACBC’s Justice and Peace department issues its preliminary report on racism in the Church.
Catholic newspaper editors around the world vote Pope John Paul “Newsmaker of 2004”.
Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg welcomes the peace deal between Sudan’s government and southern rebels, but warns that the Khartoum regime cannot be trusted to stick to it.
Hundreds of thousands are killed as a tsunami hits several Asian countries, even reaching the east coast of Africa, on Boxing Day.
Jesuit Father Jacques Dupuis, a leading theologian, dies in Rome on December 28.
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