What is a Plenary Indulgence?
By Carol Glatz – Pope Francis said he will grant a plenary indulgence to the faithful who watch or listen to his extraordinary blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world) at...
Southern Africa's Catholic Weekly
Fifth Sunday in Lent Reflection
Who am I? To be called by my name, to be known, this is the act of love, an intimate caress that carries us beyond and through death into resurrection. This truly is...
This Week’s Issue: 25 March – 31 March, 2020
Here are the Southern Cross headlines for the issue of March 25, which you may find of use for inclusion in your parish communications or on social media. Please encourage your parishioners to...
Loadshedding and Time Travel
The Southern Cross has been publishing cartoons on its back page drawn by Conrad Burke since the early 90s. We have decided to make them available online! Mr Burke is a parishioner at Most...
Mass Readings: 29 March – 5 April, 2020
Liturgical Calendar Year A – Weekday Cycle Year 2 Sunday March 29, 5th Sunday of Lent Ezekiel 37:12-14, Psalm 130:1-8, Romans 8:8-11, John 11:1-45 Monday March 30 Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62, Psalm 23,...
Bishop Sipuka: Look at Root Causes of Femicide
By Magdalene Kahiu – AS South Africa struggles to curb alarming rates of gender-based killings targeting women and girls, a bishop has highlighted the need to identify the root cause of violence targeting women for...
Pope: ‘Every Man For Himself’ Is Not A Solution To Pandemic
By Junno Arocho Esteves – As more and more countries start to feel the economic pinch due to the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis urged business leaders to seek solutions that will not hurt employees and...
Coronavirus and the Real Invisible Danger
Stephen Clark, Manila, Philippines – The local and global responses to the coronavirus are interesting; here we have an invisible but real threat seen by its effects. Large efforts and vast resources are now...
We Are All in This Together!
US-based Tony Magliano looks at Covid-19 in his home country and his government’s response to it. “The worst is, yes, ahead of us,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, U.S. director of the National Institute of...
St Joseph’s Cedara Gets A New Chancellor
This year marks the 30th anniversary of St Joseph’s Theological Institute (SJTI) in Cedara, near Pietermaritzburg. The institution grew out of the Oblate Scholasticate, which for its 46 years until 1989 had accepted only...
Is Devil Using New Virus To Cause Us To Doubt?
Earl Smiles, Klerksdorp – At a Lenten lecture in the cathedral in Klerksdorp, Fr Don Bohé OMI repeated a much-loved phrase of his: “Mass is non-negotiable.” Because Jesus is present at the Mass. It...
South African Jesuit: Informal Settlements ‘Perfect Storm’ For COVID-19
By Bronwen Dachs – Africa’s informal settlements, where running water is scarce, make for a “perfect storm” as COVID-19 spreads through the continent, said a prominent South African Jesuit. In these crowded settlements on the...
