To Be Waterwise
In the face of climate change we will have to get used to increasingly frequent droughts in South Africa, a country in which many regions are already under pressure from water shortages. It...
Author: Editor
The Tensions of Art
The blistering outrage over a school art project that was considered by some to be blasphemous holds lessons for all involved, including those who registered their anger on social media. To be sure,...
We are 99 Years Old!
The Southern Cross is turning 99 years old — which means, as the arithmetically-gifted reader will have correctly deduced — that in exactly a year’s time, The Southern Cross will celebrate its centenary. In...
The Pitfalls of Mission
Sometimes Pope Francis reveals a surprising blunt side. One such episode was told by the Holy Father himself. Talking to Jesuits in Mozambique during last month’s papal visit there, the pope recalled an encounter...
The Outlawing of Spanking
The ruling by the Constitutional Court to outlaw all forms of corporal punishment of children by parents has inevitably divided public opinion. In its decision to uphold a High Court judgment, the Constitutional Court...
You Are a Mission
When he declared October 2019 an Extraordinary Mission Month, Pope Francis invited us to do more than pray for vocations, important as that is. He issued a call to action in discerning, planning and...
What is Patriarchy?
One keyword in the discussions on gender-based violence is “patriarchy”. In protests against the endemic rape crisis, domestic violence and femicide in South Africa, many voices (including this newspaper and at least one bishop)...
Safety From Men
Once in a while, news reports of rapes and murder of women and girls pile up to create a sense of despair among South Africans. So it has been over the past month...
The Echoes of 1934
Pope Francis last month sounded a warning from history when he noted that much of the current political rhetoric reminded him of the populism applied by Adolf Hitler in 1934, as the Nazis were...
The Bradburne Sainthood Cause
There will be much rejoicing when the archdiocese of Harare officially launches the sainthood cause for John Bradburne on September 5, the 40th anniversary of his violent death. There are many Catholics, in southern...
To be Prepared for the Word of God
As Catholics we are taught that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist which we receive at Mass; but often his presence in the Liturgy of the Word is treated as secondary. In last...
In All Things, Charity
Catholics are prone to complain that they do not receive sufficient respect from those outside the Church, especially in the secular world. One reason for secular disregard for the Church is an incomprehension of...
