Editorials 2004

The bishops and abortion

If the Church cannot convince legislators that life is sacred because it begins at conception, then we have next to no chance of persuading them to repeal...

No vocations crisis

South African Catholics who rely on the secular press for information about their Church may well feel despondent regarding the much-trumpeted vocations crisis.

Bishops’ accountability

Just when Catholics thought the sex scandals in the Church had blown over, a new episode hit the headlines, this time in Austria. The reported shenanigans in...

Zimbabwe and sanctions

Cardinal Wilfrid Napier’s call on the South African government to consider imposing “intelligent sanctions” on Zimbabwe’s Mugabe regime is timely. Alas, his appeal will inevitably fall on...

Stand up for the faith

This week we report about the downgrading of the chapel in Johannesburg International Airport to a “prayer room”, along with the substitution of Christian symbols with Muslim...

Inquisition and the pope

The reputation of the Catholic Church has been stained by grievous episodes in its history. One of these was the Inquisition, a time when perceived dissent from...

Catholic literacy

Walk into any South African shopping mall of a certain size, and you are likely to find a classy media centre aimed at Christians of an evangelical...

The abortion battle

In South Africa, the odds are stacked against the unborn. The courts allow teenagers to procure abortions without parental consent; the governments intention to widen access to...

Let all hear Radio Veritas

South Africa’s Catholic Church received a proverbial kick in the teeth when the Independent Communications Authority (ICASA) refused permission for Radio Veritas broadcasts to Durban and Cape...

Why didn’t they listen?

The Catholic Church has from the outset been opposed to the invasion of Iraq, warning the United States, Britain and their allies of the folly of an...