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...
Category: Editorials 2019
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...
Transfer of Feasts
The patronal feast of South Africa, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin into Heaven, is on August 15. This year the feast falls on a Thursday, and in Southern Africa the solemnity will therefore...
To Feed the Multitudes
In the Gospels we observe Jesus’ response when, on two occasions, he was faced with crowds of people he knew to be hungry. Something needed to be done, and Jesus performed the miracles of...
The Army in the Streets
When the time comes to measure the success of the deployment in Cape Town of the South African National Defence Force in combating the rampant gangsterism in the city’s townships, we will need to...
Lessons to Learn From Fake Priest
We must be alarmed at how easy it was for a conman to pose as a priest, even to the point of violating the sacrament of Reconciliation. As we report this week, a Congolese...
