(Vatican Radio) South Africans of all faiths are celebrating the life and legacy of one Catholic leader who played a vital role in the vision of the Church in South Africa and in the struggle against apartheid and injustice.
Denis Hurley, the former Archbishop of Durban, was born in Cape Town on 9 November, 1915. The Denis Hurley Centre in Durban is leading centenary celebrations with a rich programme that aims to strengthen and enhance the Centre’s religious, ecumenical, social and cultural role and to revitalize Hurley’s legacy.
Raymond Perrier, Director of the Denis Hurley Centre spoke to Vatican Radio’s Linda Bordoni about Hurley the man, the priest, the activist – and about his prophetic voice in South Africa today.
He also speaks of the joy of the staff at the Denis Hurley Centre when they received a special message from Pope Francis assuring them of his prayers…
Listen to the interview :
Raymond Perrier reveals that centenary celebrations received an incredible boost from Pope Francis himself who entrusted South African Cardinal Wilfrid Napier with a personal message for the Denis Hurley Centre in which Francis assures his prayers for the good work of the Centre and for everyone who works there.
He goes on to explain who Denis Hurley was pointing out that he was the archbishop of Durban for 45 years because he was made bishop when he was only 31-yeard-old: the youngest bishop in the world… “He was around for a long time and that period covered a very critical period in South Africa”.
Perrier says Hurley stepped down from his role as archbishop just after Nelson Mandela was released from prison and just before he was elected President, and then lived another 10 years after that.
“So he really saw the transformation in this country from the fascist, racialized system it was, to the democratic, Rainbow nation people have heard so much about!” he says.
Perrier tells of how Hurley was active in the political struggle and of how he became the first religious leader to stand up and say “apartheid is wrong”. And, he says “where Hurley led, others followed” and his energy and charisma were such that he brought many people together in the fight against apartheid.
“There is a famous picture of Hurley in Durban leading a march against apartheid. Shoulder to shoulder with him are the Anglican bishop, the Methodist bishop, the Presbyterian Minister, the leader of the Mosque, the leader of the Hindu community, the leader of the Jewish community… “
Perrier also speaks of how Hurley – who was only 50 at the time – participated in the Second Vatican Council (a period he described as the most important of his life); of how he – the son of a lighthouse keeper, grew up on Robben Island (the notorious prison in Table Bay where Nelson Mandela spent much of his time in prison); of how he came to be known as “Guardian of the Light”.
Perrier concludes talking about the activities of the Denis Hurley Centre which he leads today and of how it is committed to feeding the poor, tending to the sick, welcoming refugees and developing job skills for people as well as of how he aims to turn the Centre into a cultural hub for the city in which people of all religions and races can come together to celebrate diversity and justice “living life to the full”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
Vatican City, 17 November 2015 (VIS) – This morning, in the Holy See Press Office, a press conference was held to present the 30th International Conference organised by the Pontifical Council for Health Care Pastoral on the theme “The culture of Salus and welcome at the service of man and the planet” (Vatican City, 19-21 November).
The speakers at the conference were Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers (for Health Pastoral Care); Msgr. Jean-Marie Mate Musivi Mupendawatu and Fr. Augusto Chendi, M.I., respectively secretary and under-secretary of the same dicastery; Dr. Antonio Maria Pasciuto, president of the Italian Association for Environmental Medicine and Health, Italy; and Dr. Lilian Corra, president of the Argentine Association of Doctors for the Environment, Argentina.
Archbishop Zimowski explained that the Conference is inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato si’”, and seeks to identify methods and indications for a pastoral response to the needs, in many cases urgent, expressed in the document. He also noted the event’s proximity to the climate conference in Paris and the opening of the Jubilee Year, which will offer an opportunity to reflect on love for others and for the Lord’s work. In addition, this year the Pontifical Council celebrates the 30th anniversary of its establishment and the 20th anniversary of John Paul II’s encyclical Evangelium Vitae.
The profound bond between the world of sickness and healthcare with the Mother of Jesus, as shown in the celebration of World Day of the Sick on 11 February, the liturgical memory of Our Lady of Lourdes, also inspires the theme of this Day in 2016, to be celebrated in Nazareth on the theme “Entrusting oneself to the merciful Jesus like Mary: do whatever he tells you”.
The president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers (Health Pastoral Care) reported that the 30th International Conference will be attended by 500 people from around 60 countries of the five continents: Angola, Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, the Dominican Republic, Eritrea, France, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Haiti, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Lebanon, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Togo, Ukraine, Uruguay, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Zimbabwe. The event will also involve contributions from theologians, biblical scholars, doctors, scientists, diplomats and legal experts of international standing.
The conference will begin with Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, presided by Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council “Justice and Peace”, and on the same morning Pope Francis will receive in audience all the participants.
Msgr. Jean-Marie Mate Musivi Mupendawatu explained that the Conference, taking as its starting point the encyclical “Laudato si’”, will consider climate change and the defence of biodiversity, information and technological pollution, animal experimentation and genetic modification, environmental stress and working medicine, pathologies linked to climate change and international legislation on environmental issues.
He continued, “Special attention will be dedicated to the theme of the challenges to be faced nowadays at world summits: the right of access to clean drinking water, denied to many; sanitation problems in urban areas and especially on the outskirts of cities. Projects for development and business initiatives, particularly in poor countries, have an impact on the environment that is not infrequently neglected or underestimated. It is therefore urgent to ensure that development plans respect life and the environment, and are therefore far from the devastating aims of mere profit”.
“Finally”, he added, “reflection on the anthropological roots of the ecological crisis would be timely in view of a hoped-for ecological conversion, deriving from an increased awareness of the responsibilities of each person, in order to inspire change in the direction of a rediscovered harmony between man and the environment”.
Dr. Corra commented that a recent press release from the World Health Organisation indicates that “few risks affect health as much as air contamination, which poses by far the most serious danger to health. It is responsible for one in every eight deaths, is the cause of more than 80% of mortality in countries with medium to low income, and has particularly worrying effects on fertility and neurological development, which can manifest themselves as behavioural disorders and impaired intellectual performance”….
(Vatican Radio) The importance of safeguarding our Christian identity and not living double lives: that was the theme at the heart of Pope Francis’ homily at the Santa Marta Mass on Tuesday morning. The Pope based his words on the daily readings which focus on the need for coherence between our spiritual and our temporal lives.
Listen to Philippa Hitchen’s report:
Pope Francis began by reflecting on the elderly Jewish Rabbi Eleazar who chose to be martyred rather than submit to the unjust laws that we read about in the second book of Macceabees. The 90 year old Eleazar refused to eat pork meat and rejected the offer of his “worldly” friends to compromise his integrity, choosing instead to die a martyr’s death.
Spiritual worldliness, Pope Francis said, tempts us towards an inconsistent lifestyle, in which we pretend to be one thing but live in another way. It may be difficult to recognize, he said, but just as woodworm slowly destroys things, so worldliness slowly leads us to lose our Christian identity.
Worldliness, he went on, leads to inconsistency between the things we say – “Oh, I’m a good Catholic, Father, I go to Mass every Sunday” – and the things we do at work, such as offering or receiving bribes for example. This is not being consistent, the Pope said, rather it leads to a double life which distances us from God and destroys our Christian identity.
For this reason, Pope Francis continued, Jesus strongly pleads with his Father to save his disciples from such a worldly spirit. The Christian spirit, on the other hand, the Christian identity, he said, is never egoistic, but always tries to be consistent, avoiding scandal, helping others and showing a good example.
The Pope responded to objections such as, “It’s not easy, Father, to live in this world where there are so many temptations and we are lured by the attractions of a double life every single day!” For us it is impossible, he said, and only God can help us avoid such worldliness, which is why we pray in the Psalms, “The Lord, upholds me”. He is our support against that spirit which destroys our Christian identity.
That is why we pray with humility, saying “Lord, I am a sinner, all of us are sinners, but I ask You to uphold me so that I don’t pretend to be a Christian while living like a pagan, worldly person.
Pope Francis concluded by urging his listeners to pick up a bible and read the story of Eleazar in chapter six of the book of Maccabees. It will do you good, he said, and give you courage to be an example to others. It will give you strength and support to uphold your Christian identity, without compromise and without leading a double life.
(from Vatican Radio)…
Vatican City, 16 November 2015 (VIS) – At midday today in the Holy See Press Office, a press conference was held to present the “Ratzinger Prize”, instituted by the “Vatican Foundation: Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI”, to be awarded on 21 November to Professor Nabil el-Khoury, Lebanon, and Fr. Mario de Franca Miranda, S.J., Brazil. The speakers at the conference were Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, S.J., member of the Foundation’s Scientific Committee, Msgr. Giuseppe Scotti, president of the Foundation, and Professor Pietro Luca Azzaro, executive secretary. Nabil el-Khoury is professor of philosophy and comparative literature at the Lebanese University in Beirut, where he has taught since 1977, and at the University of Tubingen, Germany. He is the translator into Arabic of the Opera omnia of Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI. He has held courses at the Eberhard Karls University of Tubingen, the Catholic University of Eichstatt-Ingolstadt, the Johannes Gutenburg University of Mainz, and the University of Freiburg in Germany, and the University of Salzburg in Austria. Fr. Mario de Franca Miranda, S.J. began teaching in the theological faculty of the Pontifical Catholic University (PUC) in Rio de Janeiro in 1974, and served as ordinary professor of systematic theology and subsequently in the Jesuit faculty of theology in Belo Horizonte, where in 1990 he was appointed as academic rector. He returned to the PUC in 1993, where he served as dean of the faculty from 2001 to 2003. In recent years he has devoted himself to ecclesiological studies. He has given courses in various dioceses throughout Brazil, and has collaborated extensively with the Conference of Brazilian Bishops. He has also served as a member of the International Theological Commission in the Vatican under during two periods between 1992 and 2003, under the direction of the then-cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. In his discourse, Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, S.J., emphasised that with its decision this year, the Foundation continues to broaden its horizons. “Indeed, from the beginning the Ratzinger Prizes have been granted to theologians of various nationalities: Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Great Britain, Poland and the United States, and by virtue of the ecumenical spirit that inspires the Foundation, this important award has also been given to some representatives of other Christian confessions. This year both prizewinners are Catholics, but neither of them belongs to the so-called ‘Western world’. … With these two figures, the list of theologians who have deservedly received the Ratzinger Prizes is further enriched not only quantitatively, but also qualitatively”….
(Vatican Radio) The single thought, humanism that takes the place of Jesus, destroys the Christian identity. We don’t put that identity card up for auction. Those were the words of Pope Francis on Monday during Mass at the Casa Santa Marta.
Worldliness leads to the single thought and apostasy
The first reading of the day from the first Book of the Maccabees, tells of “a root of evil” that arose in those days: the Hellenistic King Antiochus Epiphanes imposes pagan customs in Israel, to the ” chosen people “, that is, the” Church of that time. ” Pope Francis commented that, “the image of the root is under the ground.” The “phenomenology of the root” is this: “What is not seen does not seem to do any harm, but then it grows and shows its true nature.” “It was a rational root” that pushed some Israelites to ally with neighbouring nations to be protected: “Why so many differences? Because since we went our own way many evils have come upon us. We go to them, we are equal. ” The Pope explained this reading with three words: “Worldliness, apostasy, persecution”. Worldliness in life is to do what the world does. It’s saying: “We put up for auction our identity card; we are equal to everyone. ” Thus, many Jews “disowned the faith and fell away from the Holy Alliance.” And what “seemed so rational- ‘we are like everyone else, we are normal’ – became their destruction”:
“Then the king recommended that his whole kingdom should be one people – the one thought; worldliness – and each abandoned their own customs. All peoples adapted themselves to the orders of the king; also many Jews accepted his worship: they sacrificed to idols and profaned the Sabbath. Apostasy. That is, worldliness that leads you to one unique thought, and to apostasy. No differences are permitted: all are equal. And in the history of the Church, the history we have seen, I think of a case, where religious feasts were renamed – the birth of the Lord has another name – in order to erase its identity “.
Humanism today destroys the Christian identity
In Israel the books of the law were burned “and if someone obeyed the law, the judgment of the king condemned him to death.” That’s “persecution”, initiated by a “root of bitterness”. “I have always been struck – the Pope said – that the Lord, at the Last Supper, in that long prayer, praying for unity and asking the Father that he would deliver them from every spirit of the world, from all worldliness, because worldliness destroys identity; worldliness leads to the single thought “:
“It starts from a root, but it is small, and ends up an abomination of desolation, in persecution. This is the deception of worldliness, and why Jesus asked the Father, at that Supper: ‘Father, I do not ask you to remove them from the world, but keep them from the world’, this mentality, this humanism, which is to take the place of the true man, Jesus Christ, that comes to take away the Christian identity and brings us to the single thought: ‘They all do it, why not us?’. This, in these times, should make us think: what is my identity? Is it ‘Christian or worldly? Or do I say to myself Christian because I was baptized as a child or was born in a Christian country, where everyone is Christian? Worldliness that comes slowly, it grows, it justifies itself and infects: it grows like the root, it defends itself – ‘but, we do as others do, we are not so different’ -, always looking for a justification, and eventually it becomes contagious, and many evils come from there. ”
Beware of poisonous roots that grow and infect
“The liturgy, in these last days of the liturgical year” – said the Pope – exhorts us to beware of “poisonous roots” that “lead away from the Lord”:
“And we ask the Lord for the Church, that the Lord will guard it from all forms of worldliness. That the Church will always have the identity given to it by Jesus Christ; that we will all have the identity that we received in baptism. May the Lord give us the grace to maintain and preserve our Christian identity against the spirit of worldliness that always grows, justifies itself and is contagious. ”
(from Vatican Radio)…