In recent weeks, religious Sisters from a congregation in Chile told national television their stories of abuse by priests and other nuns — and how those in authority knew but failed to protect them. In India, a nun filed a formal charge against a bishop whom she accused of having raped her.
While it is indeed commendable for men to show appreciation for women — preferably also on the other 364 days in the year — the commercialisation of Women’s Day as a glorified Mothers’ Day is an unwelcome subversion of the meaning of this public holiday.
Church / Editorials 2018 / Suffering and Pain / Suicide
by Editor · Published July 29, 2018 · Last modified July 28, 2018
Few family tragedies leave as many lasting scars as the suicide of a loved one. Those left behind not only are faced with the grief that accompanies all bereavements, but they inevitably will inquire...
Christian Living / Church / Editorials 2018 / Family
by Editor · Published July 22, 2018 · Last modified July 20, 2018
Much has changed in the half century since the release of Pope Paul VI’s controversial encyclical Humanae Vitae (“Of Human Life”), and yet a lot of it is more prophetic now than it was...
Most people regard Mr Nelson Mandela as one of the great peacemakers in modern times — one who led a peaceful revolution — and hail him as one of the few politicians of...
Catholics were rightly disappointed at the empty chairs reserved for political leaders at the bicentennial celebrations in Cape Town.
by Michael Shackleton · Published July 1, 2018 · Last modified June 30, 2018
Church and State in a democratic society share the same members but each has its own independent agenda and purpose. The State has a role to play on the natural level to pursue the temporal common good of its citizens and to defend their well-being. The Church’s mission, as a self-governing body, is the pursuit of the supernatural well-being of its members and ultimately life everlasting in Christ.
Church / Editorials 2018 / Holiness and Sanctification
by Michael Shackleton · Published June 24, 2018 · Last modified June 23, 2018
The grapevine in any big organisation, including the Church, is a rumour-mongering engine that tickles the ears of one and all. Because it does not contain formal or decisive statements from the top, it thrives on a handful of unverifiable “facts”.
Editorials 2018 / Shackleton / Youth
by Michael Shackleton · Published June 17, 2018 · Last modified June 16, 2018
By Michael Shackleton – Senior readers will remember the opening words of the old Latin Mass: “Introibo ad altare Dei, ad Deum qui laetificat iuventutem meam”, meaning “I shall go to the altar of...
Editorials 2018 / Education 2018 / Schools
by Michael Shackleton · Published June 10, 2018 · Last modified June 8, 2018
By Michael Shackleton – Our special supplement on Catholic Education provided a reasonably comprehensive assessment of the state of education in South Africa, with special attention to our own schools. The positives and the...
Pope Francis reassured some people and confused others when he reportedly told a young homosexual man that “God made you like that and he loves you like that and I do not care”.
As the Church in South Africa celebrates the 200th anniversary of its establishment, it is a good time to pay tribute to the remarkable history and ongoing contribution of Catholic education in this country.
