Pope: Unity is First Sign of True Christian Witness
By Junno Arocho Esteves – The Catholic Church gives an authentic witness of God’s love for all men and women only when it fosters the grace of unity and communion, Pope Francis said. Unity is...
Category: Ecumenical dialogue
Catholic or Christian: On the Outside Looking In
Hazel James, Johannesburg – I have a good Catholic friend who kindly lends me copies of The Southern Cross and although I do not belong to the Catholic Church, I read the paper with...
Muslims Join Catholics at Mass After Sri Lanka Atrocity
A delegation of Muslims attended Mass in a Catholic cathedral to express their solidarity following the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks by an extremist Islamic group on churches in Sri Lanka. The group from the...
Of Scribes and Pharisees: Challenging Negative Stereotypes
By Junno Arocho Esteves – When Pope Francis wants to warn Christians against falling into the trap of rigidity and putting too much emphasis on adherence to the law above the merciful encounter with...
Diakonia Gears up for Good Friday Procession in Durban
The Diakonia Council of Churches is calling people of faith in Durban to its annual ecumenical Good Friday service at dawn on April 19. The event, a traditional highlight of Durban’s Easter weekend, begins...
We must be catholic, not just Catholic
I find it disturbing when some Catholics believe that outside of the Catholic Church there in no salvation. This comes off the back of a discussion I recently had with a good friend of...
World’s Women to Join in Prayer
Lay women throughout the world and from all walks of life are invited to join in the Women’s World Day of Prayer (WWDP) to intercede for Slovenia, on March 2, starting from 9:00. The...
Orthodox Church Split Implications Unknown
The Russian Orthodox Church’s decision to sever ties with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople will affect ecumenical dialogue, but the long-term implications remain unknown. Paulist Father Ron Roberson, associate director of the US bishops’...
When May Non-Catholics Receive Communion?
While some German bishops have decided that non-Catholic spouses of Catholics may receive Communion in individual cases according to pastoral needs, inter-Communion in Southern Africa is governed by the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference’s “Directory on Ecumenism”, which was approved by the Holy See and released in 2003.
Marriage and Communion: SA and the Rest of the World
The German bishops are not the only bishops in the world to propose or adopt pastoral guidelines for allowing an Anglican or a Protestant married to a Catholic to receive the Eucharist under certain...
Communion For All is Dishonest
At Communion, especially at nuptial and funeral Masses which invariably include a broad spectrum of Christians, we experience a heightened sense of the unfortunate divisions in the body of Christ.
Reclaiming Jesus From Politics
Saying that Jesus Christ has been “hijacked” in the name of politics, a large crowd of national Christian leaders and members of their congregations vowed during a prayer service and vigil to “reclaim Jesus” from those who not only use his name for their political and personal gain, but reject the gentleness, kindness, love of neighbour, the poor and the truth that Christ embraced.
