This Was 2017 – The Highlights and Lowlights of the Year

It was the Catholic year that was dominated by the centenary of the apparitions at Fatima. In Southern Africa, the Church began its year-long jubilee for the 200th anniversary of its establishment here, marked the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation, and challenged government and business on several issues.  GÜNTHER SIMMERMACHER looks back at 2017.

DECEMBER 2016

• Catholic parishes across South Africa mark three days of prayer and fasting in support of sexual abuse victims, including those of priests, to support the 16 Days of Activism and No Violence Against Women and Children. In a statement, the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) apologises for the Church’s “failure at times” to adequately deal with the issue and to empathise with the pain caused.
• For the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal, Pope Francis grants a plenary indulgence opportunity throughout the entire anniversary year.
• President Jacob Zuma in a speech to the 12 Apostles Church in Christ in Durban tells churches to stop “meddling” in politics.
• Terrorists kill 25 in a bombing of the Coptic Orthodox cathedral in Cairo.
• The Vatican launches a child protection website (www.protectionofminors.va).
• Brazilian Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns, retired archbishop of São Paulo and famed champion of the poor and oppressed, dies at 95 on December 14.
• Michelle Nkamankeng, 7, a parishioner of St Francis of Assisi church in Yeoville and pupil at Sacred Heart College in Johannesburg, receives the prestigious Mbokodo Award after publishing her first book, Waiting for the Waves.
• Pope Francis grants clemency to Mgr Lucio Vallejo Balda who had served nine months in a Vatican prison for leaking confidential documents.

JANUARY 2017

• Amid growing claims of demonic possession and Satanism in South Africa, the bishops arrange a series of workshops to educate priests about exorcism.
• The great majority of sainthood causes in the past decade, nearly 40%, have originated in Italy, according to Cardinal Angelo Amato, head of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes.
• Lesotho Cardinal Sebastian Koto Khoarai OMI receives his red hat in a ceremony in Mohale’s Hoek. The 87-year-old had been too ill to attend the consistory in November.
• The Palestinian embassy to the Holy See is inaugurated in the presence of Palestine’s President Mahmoud Abbas.
• The bishops of Southern Africa issue a pastoral letter on the implementation of Pope Francis’ document on the family, 2016’s Amoris Laetitia, giving a general outline of the priorities for the local Church.
• At their January plenary, the Catholic bishops welcome delegations from sister churches for an ecumenical session and service in Pretoria.
• The new Council for the Laity in the SACBC pastoral region is launched, with Malatsi Leonard Kope as its first chair.
• The bishops of Southern Africa appeal to all university students to follow their academic programmes, even “while continuing their legitimate campaign” for and end to fees.
• The German bishops publish their guidelines on Amoris Laetitia, allowing, in certain cases, for divorced-and-remarried Catholics to receive Communion.
• The death of at least 94 mental health patients in Gauteng facilities could be called “a gross violation of the right to life”, the Jesuit Institute says in a strongly worded statement.
• Pope Francis forces Fra Matthew Festing to resign as grandmaster of the Knights of Malta following an investigation into the removal of the order’s grand chancellor.

FEBRUARY

• The Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO) marks the 20th anniversary of the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act taking effect with a Mass in Cape Town’s St Mary’s cathedral.
• The Church in Southern Africa observes February 8, feast day of St Josephine Bakhita, as a day of prayer and reflection on human trafficking and the abuse of women and children.
• The Vatican releases an expanded and updated guide of the Church’s bioethical teachings to reflect the Church’s positions on abortion, contraception, genetic engineering, fertility treatments, vaccines, and other life issues.
• The 50th anniversary year of Little Eden homes for the intellectually disabled in Gauteng is launched with a Mass of thanksgiving.
• Hundreds of homeless people and parishioners of Holy Trinity church in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, attend the unveiling of a sculpture by Timothy Schmalz of Jesus as a homeless person sleeping on a park bench.
• The Jesuit Refugee Service compares South Africa’s policy proposals on refugees to the “protectionism and isolationism” of US President Donald Trump’s controversial ban on Muslim refugees.
• Bishop Abel Gabuza, chair of the SACBC’s Justice & Peace Commission accuses the government of “playing with the lives of the poor” amid widespread fears that the social grant system is in crisis and that payments to 17 million poor South Africans might be disrupted after the first of April this year.
• Precious Blood Sister Maria Senn, whose art is found in many South African churches, dies at 86 in Austria.
• The head of the Franciscans worldwide, Fr Michael Perry, visits South Africa to meet with friars and sisters of various Franciscan congregations.
• More than 6000 people witness Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg officially launch the building of the archdiocesan Marian shrine and pastoral centre in Magaliesburg.

MARCH

• Marie Collins, a founding member and the last remaining abuse survivor on the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, quits over what she describes as resistance coming from Vatican offices against implementing recommendations.
• The new shrine for Archbishop Denis Hurley at his grave in Durban’s Emmanuel cathedral is officially opened and a prayer for the intercession of the late archbishop released to encourage acts of public devotion which are needed to justify the opening of a sainthood cause.
• Cardinal Edwin O’Brien, grand master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, presides over a vigil and investiture of South African members in Cape Town’s St Mary’s cathedral.
• Benedictine Brother Ghislain Maluvu takes over as the local superior of his order’s St Benedict’s abbey in Polokwane.
• Archbishop Michael Neary of Tuam, Ireland, says he was “horrified and saddened to hear” of the revelations of a commission set up to investigate the treatment of unmarried mothers and their babies in Irish care homes run by nuns in the 20th century.
• Vatican journalist Robert Mickens tells audiences in Johannesburg and Cape Town that Pope Francis likes to be addressed as “Padre”(“Father”).
• The newly-renovated edicule that holds the tomb of Christ in Jerusalem’s church of the Holy Sepulchre is revealed.
• In a pastoral letter on the drought in the Cape, Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town warns that saving water is becoming “the new normal” and calls on Catholic parishes and  institutions to lead by example.
• The Catholic bishops in the Democratic Republic of Congo abandon their attempts to broker a power-sharing agreement between government and the opposition amid violence.
• Sr Alison Munro OP retires as director of the SACBC Aids Office which she headed for 17 years.

APRIL

• The SACBC Justice & Peace Commission urges President Zuma to institute a commission of inquiry into state capture and “corporate involvement in cabinet appointments”.
• Two ISIS terror attacks on churches in Tanta and Alexandra, Egypt, on Palm Sunday kill more than 45 people.
• Bishop Duncan Tsoke, auxiliary bishop in Johannesburg, calls for “a coordinated and effective response” by the political community, civil society and the Church to meet the challenges and reality of migrant and refugee children in South Africa.
• A US teenager, Santos Colon of New Jersey, pleads guilty to charges related to a plot to kill Pope Francis in 2015.
• Pope Francis visits Egypt on a 72-hour trip. In Cairo he meets with Muslim scholars and the iman of the influential Al-Azhar University.
• St Augustine cathedral in Port Elizabeth closes a year of celebration to mark its 150th anniversary.

MAY

• Bishop Barry Wood OMI, auxiliary in Durban, dies suddenly on May 2 at the age of 74. His funeral at the Royal Agricultural Showground in Pietermaritzburg is attended by 5000 mourners.
• St Mary’s cathedral in Wau, South Sudan, gives shelter to 16000 people displaced by political violence.
• President Zuma uses the setting of a Catholic church in Bulwer, Mariannhill, to launch the ANC presidential campaign of Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
• A Vatican commission set up to study the alleged apparitions of Mary at Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, has reportedly voted overwhelmingly to recognise as supernatural the first seven appearances of Mary in 1981, but is  doubtful about the thousands of alleged visions that have occurred since July 4, 1981, and supposedly continue to this day.
• Visiting Fatima, Portugal, to mark the centenary of the Marian apparitions there, Pope Francis canonises two of the three visionaries, Ss Francisco and Jacinta Marto (the cause for Bl Lucia dos Santos is running separately).
• The Syrian city of Aleppo, still damaged by the civil war, is consecrated to Our Lady of Fatima.
• South Africa opens its first residential embassy in the Vatican, with George Johannes as ambassador.
• Archbishop Stephen Brislin leads a Southern Cross pilgrimage to Fatima and Avila, and other places in Portugal and Spain. The pilgrimage is repeated in October in association with Radio Veritas and led by Fr Brian Mhlanga OP.

JUNE

• The Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement celebrates its 50th anniversary with a Pentecost vigil and papal Mass in Rome, also attended by members of Pentecostal and Evangelical churches.
• Catholic athlete Bongumusa Mthembu wins his second Comrades Marathon, holding his rosary. He later visits the Marian shrine at Kevelaer, Mariannhill, to give thanks to Our Lady.
• The body of Bishop Jean-Marie Bala of Bafia, Cameroon, is found in a river three days after his disappearance. Authorities rule his death a suicide, but the Church and his family suspect murder and a cover-up.
• Following its own findings of severe corruption in government, the South African Council of Churches calls for the dissolution of parliament and new general elections.
• Church leaders in Zambia condemn rising political repression and rebuke President Edgar Lungu.
• Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban says a case brought against the Catholic Church by a racist guesthouse owner for blasphemy, murder and the Spanish Inquisition was “a joke” by somebody not in full possession of his faculties. The case was quickly dismissed in the Durban High Court.
• The archdiocese of Cape Town launches a year-long celebration to lead up to the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the Church in South Africa, culminating with national Masses of Thanksgiving on June 10, 2018, in every cathedral, parish and mission station throughout Southern Africa.
• Pope Francis elevates five new cardinals, including Cardinal Jean Zerbo from Mali.
• Archbishop Teofil Matulionis, who was murdered by the Soviet police in 1962 to prevent him attending Vatican II, is beatified in Lithuania.
• South African youth are urged to respond to an online questionnaire set up by the Vatican in preparation for next years Synod of Bishops on the Youth.
• Cardinal Gerhard Müller’s term as prefect of the Congregation for Doctrine expires after it was not renewed by Pope Francis.

JULY

• The Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO) applauds a Constitutional Court ruling instructing parliament to amend defects in the Immigration Act.
• Dr Joaquin Navarro-Valls, long-time spokesman for Pope John Paul II, dies on July 5 at 80.
• Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Offices from across Africa meet in Cape Town to share experiences. The Southern African CPLO celebrated its 20th anniversary this year.
• Germany’s bishops’ conference criticises a parliamentary vote to allow same-sex marriage.
• The Missionaries of Charity trademark the distinctive habit of their order popularised by Mother Teresa.
• Former Northern Ireland and Manchester United footballer Philip Mulryne is ordained to the priesthood in Dublin.
• The Vatican rules out permitting gluten-free Communion hosts.
• Pope Francis introduces a fourth pathway to canonisation: giving one’s life in a heroic act of loving service to others.
• A proposed law that would require the licensing of “worship centres”, such as churches, and of “general religious practitioners” would amount to limitations of freedom of religion and association, the CPLO warns.
• Bishop Victor Phalana of Klerksdorp hails 45 tavern owners in his diocese who have committed themselves to the fight against a culture of rape and femicide.
• The Vatican shuts down the fountains in St Peter’s Square in the midst of a drought.
• A theme song for Mini World Youth Day in Durban in December is released with a video. “The Mighty One” was written by Justin Nanak and Thandeka Dube-Ndhlovu.
• Fr Thomas Weston SJ tours South Africa and Swaziland to present the Jesuit Institute’s Winter Living Theology on the subject of addiction.

August

• The bishops of Southern Africa focus on race in their mid-year plenary meeting in Mariannhill, saying the Church can help in the national racism debate.
• Bishop Valentine Seane, 51, of Gaborone resigns unexpectedly for what he says are “personal reasons”.  Bishop Frank Nubuasah of Francistown is appointed administrator of Gaborone.
• At least 11 people are killed in a shooting during Mass in Ozubulu, Nigeria.
• The Dominicans celebrate the 100th anniversary of the arrival of their friars in South Africa. Later in the year, the Cabra Dominican Sisters celebrate 150 years in the country, and the King William’s Town Dominican Sisters 140 years.
• The Church throughout the world marks the centenary of the birth of martyred Archbishop Oscar Romero. There are hints that he may be canonised in 2018.
• Sr Ruth Pfau, the “Mother Teresa of Pakistan”, is given a state funeral in the Muslim country after her death at 87 on August 10.
• The Catholic Women’s League’s national council will be based in Johannesburg for the next three years following the election of Bernice Cocci as national president.
• Twelve people about to begin a Marian procession are killed by a falling tree in Madeira, Portugal.
• Archbishop Mario Cassari, nuncio to Southern Africa from 2012-15, dies at on August 19 at 73.
• Kenya’s bishops condemn post-election violence that left 24 dead following the disputed presidential elections.
• Some 72 members of Neocatechumenal Way of South Africa go on a ten-day itinerant mission, travelling without money or cellphones throughout Southern Africa.

SEPTEMBER

• Bishop Michael Wüstenberg, 63, of Aliwal North retires for health reasons.
• Christopher West, a speaker on Theology of the Body from the US, addresses audiences in South Africa on sexual ethics.
• Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria leads his third Southern Cross pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Rome and Assisi.
• A survey in Britain finds that 53% of respondents say they have “no religion”.
• St Augustine College, South Africa’s Catholic university, is invited by the International Federation of Catholic Universities to join an initiative that, through the Vatican’s new Department for Promoting Integral Human Development, will provide support to papal diplomacy on important global issues.
• Pope Francis makes changes to the Code of Canon Law regarding translations of the Mass and other liturgical texts that give bishops’ conferences greater power in introducing liturgical texts.
• Salesian Father Tom Uzhunnalil is released 18 months after he was kidnapped in Yemen. The sultan of Oman was reportedly instrumental in securing the Indian priest’s release.
• Pope Francis visits Colombia, urging reconciliation after a 50-year civil war.
• Fr Teresito Soganub, vicar-general of the prelature of Marawi, Philippine, is released after almost four months in captivity by ISIS-inspired militants.
• Sr Hermenegild Makoro CPS, secretary-general of the SACBC, briefs Pope Francis on behalf of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, of which she is a member.
• A group of conservative priests and laity, including the head of the schismatic Society of St Pius X, accuse Pope Francis of propagating heresies.
• Forty Catholic institutions worldwide, including Catholic Welfare & Development, the social welfare agency of the archdiocese of Cape Town, decided to divest from fossil fuel companies.
• US priest Stanley Rother, who was martyred in Guatemala in 1981, is beatified.

OCTOBER

• The official medal for Bl Benedict Daswa, authorised by Bishop João Rodrigues of Tzaneen, is unveiled.
• Rimon Makhlouf, a frequent guide of Southern Cross pilgrimages in the Holy Land and a Roman Catholic, dies suddenly on October 3 at 57.
• The bishops’ Justice & Peace Commission launches a Friday prayer campaign for the healing of our nation and to ask God to intervene in the political and economic situation of the country  in the lead-up to the ANC National Conference from December 16-20,  at which the party’s members will elect their new leaders.
• Francistown in Botswana is elevated from vicariate to the status of a diocese.
• Slovakian Salesian Father Titus Zeman who died in 1969 from torture and radiation poisoning after forced labour in Czechoslovakia’s uranium mines is beatified.
• Bishop Tsoke is tasked with overseeing the establishment of Caritas in all dioceses of the Southern African pastoral region, with a view to having the Church’s charitable arm present in all parishes.
• Fr Pius Afiabor of Rustenburg, regional superior of the Society of African Missions, dies on October 12 at 45.
• Retired Bishops Herbert Lenhof SAC of Queenstown and Fulgence Le Roy OSB of Polokwane die on October 13 and 14 respectively.
• Pope Francis says that the death penalty is contrary to the Gospel.
• Bishop Gabuza calls on candidates for the ANC presidency to declare their support for the establishment of a specialised anti-corruption court.
• An SACBC delegation led by president Archbishop Brislin, vice-president Bishop Sithembele Sipuka, and secretary-general Sr Makoro makes a submission to a parliamentary committee on the abuse of religion, saying that a law requiring all religious practitioners to register under umbrella organisations would amount to a violation of the right to freedom of religion and worship.
• The Franciscans celebrate 800 years since their arrival in the Holy Land, where today they are the custodians of major shrines.
• A Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazonian region will take place in Rome in October 2019, Pope Francis announces.
• Pope Francis proclaims 35 new saints, including the “Martyrs of Natal”, Brazil, and the “Child Martyrs of Tlaxcala”.
• A Vatican court convicts Giuseppe Profiti, former president of the Vatican-owned paediatric Bambino Gesu hospital, of abuse of office for using donations belonging to the hospital’s foundation to refurbish a Vatican-owned apartment used by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, former Vatican secretary of state. Mr Profiti’s sentence is suspended. Cardinal Bertone was not investigated.
• Pope Francis makes a phone call to outer space as he speaks to astronauts on NASA’s International Space Station.
• Bishops from the metropolitan region of Durban resolve to uphold a 1981 SACBC resolution that no party political speeches are to be permitted at Church events.
• Durban’s Emmanuel cathedral is packed as 80 clergy from different Christian denominations celebrate an ecumenical service to mark the 500th anniversary of the start of the Reformation.

NOVEMBER

• Archbishop Tlhagale approves the initial stages of an investigation into the possibility for a cause for sainthood for Domitilla Rota and Danny Hyams, the founders of Little Eden Home in Edenvale.
• The beatification of Indian Sister Rani Maria Vattalil who was murdered in 1995 at 41 is attended by her killer, Samandar Singh.
• Chris Langeveldt, a former Oblate priest and social activist, dies on November 2 at 66.
• Recognition of a national homeland for Palestinians is required to achieve justice and reconciliation in the Holy Land, English Catholic and Anglican leaders say to mark the centenary of the Balfour Declaration which culminated in the founding of Israel in 1948.
• The Justice & Peace Commission challenges 21 South African mining companies to explain why they are using tax havens.
• Pope Francis bans the sale of cigarettes in the Vatican.
• The Church marks the first World Day of the Poor, instituted by Pope Francis.
• Jesuit Father Fidelis Mukonori, parliamentary liaison officer for Harare archdiocese, is involved in mediating a graceful exit for the  reluctant Robert Mugabe following the de facto coup in Zimbabwe. The country’s bishops urge “a speedy return to normalcy and constitutional order”.
• Thousands of Christians gather at Soccer City in Johannesburg for a National Day of Prayer for South Africa.
• Pope Francis begins his visit to Myanmar and Bangladesh.
• Organisers for Mini World Youth Day in Durban say more than 3600 youth have registered to take part.