Author Archive: Archdiocese of Cape Town

From Cardinal Brislin on the situation in Gaza

Dear Bishop, Fathers, Deacons, Sisters, Brothers

Yesterday I received information from the Latin Patriarch, His Beatitude Cardinal Pizzaballa, and from Vatican News, about an attack on the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza and on the Centre for Disabled Children that is run by the Missionaries of Charity in Gaza. I have celebrated and concelebrated Mass in the Holy Famiy Church on my visits to Gaza, and have had tea with the parish priest in the adjoining presbytery as well as with parishioners after Mass. On every visit I made to Gaza we visited the Missionaries of Charity and witnessed the good work they are doing there.

I have copied both statements below.

Please make your parishioners aware of these attacks and please ask them to keep in prayer the minuscule Christian community in Gaza together with all those who have been so badly affected by the war – those killed, who have lost loved ones, those maimed, those displaced, those without food and water……Let us pray for peace and an end to this horrifying violence that seems to have as its aim the annihilation of Gaza.

With blessings
Stephen Cardinal Brislin

From Cardinal Pizzaballa
Around noon today, December 16, 2023 a sniper of the IDF murdered two Christian women inside the Holy Family Parish in Gaza, where the majority of Christian families has taken refuge since the start of the war. Nahida and her daughter Samar were shot and killed as they walked to the Sister’s Convent. One was killed as she tried to carry the other to safety. Seven more people were shot and wounded as they tried to protect others inside the church compound. No warning was given, no notification was provided. They were shot in cold blood inside the premises of the Parish, where there are no belligerents.
Earlier in the morning, a rocket fired from an IDF tank targeted the Convent of the Sisters of Mother Theresa (Missionaries of Charity). The Convent is home to over 54 disabled persons and is part of the church compound, which was signaled as a place of worship since the beginning of the war. The building’s generator (the only source of electricity) and the fuel resources were destroyed. The house was damaged by the resulting explosion and massive fire. Two more rockets, fired by an IDF tank, targeted the same Convent and rendered the home uninhabitable. The 54 disabled persons are currently displaced and without access to the respirators that some of them need to survive.
In addition, as a result of the heavy bombing in the area, three people were wounded inside the church compound last night. Furthermore, solar panels and water tanks, which are indispensable for the survival of the community, were destroyed.
Together in prayer with the whole Christian community, we express our closeness and condolences to the families affected by this senseless tragedy. At the same time, we cannot but express that we are at a loss to comprehend how such an attack could be carried out, even more so when the whole Church prepares for Christmas.
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem follows this developing situation with great concern and shall provide additional information as needed.

From Vatican News:
The Israeli military has reportedly entered the compound of Holy Family Catholic Parish, shooting at anyone leaving the church. The victims are said to be an elderly woman and her daughter who rushed out of the building to rescue her mother. Israel has justified the attack, which is still ongoing, claiming the presence of a missile launcher in the parish.

Israelis have opened fire on Gaza’s Christians. Following heavy bombardment overnight of the area around Holy Family Latin parish in Gaza City, dozens are reported dead, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, and reports continue to arrive that shooting by Israeli snipers continues during these hours.

From the reports coming in, confirmed by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, on Saturday afternoon two women have been killed, believed to be a mother and daughter, the latter murdered while attempting to rescue her elderly mother who had been shot by snipers. There are also several wounded, one of them in very serious condition.

The attack was reportedly justified by Israelis who claimed the presence of a rocket launcher in the parish. Despite the Patriarchate’s intervention, the operation has not been halted. Israeli soldiers reportedly entered the parish compound and are in the parish square itself from where they are firing at civilians sheltering in the building.

Archdiocesan News 4 of 2023

IN THIS BUMPER EDITION: The making of a Cardinal; Reminiscences and Reflections from Rome; On the Red Carpet; Food Insecurity – How to address it through parish programs; 100 years of Stella Maris; Retrouvaille at Century City; A Phoenix’s Rise; Dominicans celebrate 160 years in SA; Bellville Unity Mass; The Pontifical Mission Societies & Holy Childhood; Spirituality and Discernment; Homelessness; Focus on Catechetics; Youth at the APC

AD NEWS 4 OF 2023

Ceasefire NOW petition

Dear colleagues and friends,

Now that the season of Advent is approaching, we are keenly aware of the pain arising from the senseless war in the Holy Land, where Jesus was born. Simultaneously, we aspire to embody true Hope and express solidarity with conflicts worldwide, particularly those in the Holy Land today.

In the spirit of compassion and solidarity that defines Caritas Internationalis, I extend to you an urgent and heartfelt invitation to join a global effort advocating for an immediate ceasefire in the Holy Land. This initiative, led by Ceasefire Now, calls upon individuals and organisations to lend their voices to a cause that transcends borders and demands our collective attention now by signing a global petition.

In fact, today marks the end of the Ceasefire, prompting us to invite the entire Confederation to unite through this symbolic action and sign the #CeasefireNOW petition. This petition has already garnered support from Caritas Jerusalem, Caritas MONA, and Caritas Internationalis, as well as 788 organisations from over 80 countries and more than 980,000 individuals. Its purpose is to amplify the global call for an immediate ceasefire, aiming to protect and save lives.

The goal of this petition is to mobilise 2.2 million people globally, equivalent to the population of Palestinians living in Gaza. The petition urges all world leaders, the UN Security Council and actors on the ground to take action now to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.

Caritas Internationalis warmly invites all of you to join the #CeasefireNOW petition and help us reach 2.2 million signatures by:

Please find the translated versions of the open letter in English, French, German, Japanese, Italian, Arabic, Turkish and Hebrew.   

As we approach the season of Advent, we hold onto hope, accompanying those who suffer globally, and particularly standing in solidarity with our colleagues in Caritas Jerusalem and Caritas MONA today.

Warm regards,

Alistair Dutton
Secretary General of Caritas InternationalisPalazzo
San CalistoV-00120
Vatican City
Email: Dutton@Caritas.va
Mobile:  +44 7795 176702Website: www.caritas.org		image001.png

Synod Synthesis Report

Below please find the Letter of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops to the People of God, and the Synod Synthesis Report: A Synodal Church in Mission.

Dear sisters, dear brothers,

As the proceedings of the first session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops draw to a close, we want to thank God with all of you for the beautiful and enriching experience we have lived. We lived this blessed time in profound communion with all of you. We were supported by your prayers, bearing with you your expectations, your questions, as well as your fears. As Pope Francis requested two years ago, a long process of listening and discernment was initiated, open to all the People of God, no one being excluded, to “journey together” under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, missionary disciples engaged in the following of Jesus Christ.

The session in which we have been gathered in Rome since 30 September is an important phase of this process. In many ways it has been an unprecedented experience. For the first time, at Pope Francis’ invitation, men and women have been invited, in virtue of their baptism, to sit at the same table to take part, not only in the discussions, but also in the voting process of this Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. Together, in the complementarity of our vocations, our charisms and our ministries, we have listened intensely to the Word of God and the experience of others. Using the conversation in the Spirit method, we have humbly shared the wealth and poverty of our communities from every continent, seeking to discern what the Holy Spirit wants to say to the Church today. We have thus also experienced the importance of fostering mutual exchanges between the Latin tradition and the traditions of Eastern Christianity. The participation of fraternal delegates from other Churches and Ecclesial Communities deeply enriched our discussions.

Our assembly took place in the context of a world in crisis, whose wounds and scandalous inequalities resonated painfully in our hearts, infusing our work with a particular gravity, especially since some of us come from countries where war rages. We prayed for the victims of deadly violence, without forgetting all those who have been forced by misery and corruption to take the dangerous road of migration. We assured our solidarity and commitment alongside the women and men all over the world who are working to build justice and peace.

At the invitation of the Holy Father, we made significant room for silence to foster mutual listening and a desire for communion in the Spirit among us. During the opening ecumenical vigil, we experienced how the thirst for unity increases in the silent contemplation of the crucified Christ. In fact, the cross is the only cathedra of the One who, having given himself for the salvation of the world, entrusted His disciples to His Father, so that “they may all be one” (John 17:21). Firmly united in the hope brought by His Resurrection, we entrusted to Him our common home where the cries of the earth and the poor are becoming increasingly urgent: “Laudate Deum!” (“Praise God!”), as Pope Francis reminded us at the beginning of our work.

Day by day, we felt the pressing call to pastoral and missionary conversion. For the Church’s vocation is to proclaim the Gospel not by focusing on itself, but by placing itself at the service of the infinite love with which God loved the world (cf. John 3:16). When homeless people near St. Peter’s Square were asked about their expectations regarding the Church on the occasion of this synod, they replied: “Love!”. This love must always remain the ardent heart of the Church, a Trinitarian and Eucharistic love, as the Pope recalled on October 15, midway through our assembly, invoking the message of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus. It is “trust” that gives us the audacity and inner freedom that we experienced, not hesitating to freely and humbly express our convergences, differences, desires and questions.

And now? We hope that the months leading to the second session in October 2024 will allow everyone to concretely participate in the dynamism of missionary communion indicated by the word “synod”. This is not about ideology, but about an experience rooted in the apostolic tradition. As the Pope reminded us at the beginning of this process, “communion and mission can risk remaining somewhat abstract, unless we cultivate an ecclesial praxis that expresses the concreteness of synodality (…) encouraging real involvement on the part of each and all” (October 9, 2021). There are multiple challenges and numerous questions: the synthesis report of the first session will specify the points of agreement we have reached, highlight the open questions, and indicate how our work will proceed.

To progress in its discernment, the Church absolutely needs to listen to everyone, starting with the poorest. This requires a path of conversion on its part, which is also a path of praise: “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children” (Luke 10:21)! It means listening to those who have been denied the right to speak in society or who feel excluded, even by the Church; listening to people who are victims of racism in all its forms – in particular in some regions to indigenous peoples whose cultures have been scorned. Above all, the Church of our time has the duty to listen, in a spirit of conversion, to those who have been victims of abuse committed by members of the ecclesial body, and to commit herself concretely and structurally to ensuring that this does not happen again.

The Church also needs to listen to the laity, women and men, all called to holiness by virtue of their baptismal vocation: to the testimony of catechists, who in many situations are the first proclaimers of the Gospel; to the simplicity and vivacity of children, the enthusiasm of youth, to their questions, and their pleas; to the dreams, the wisdom and the memory of elderly people. The Church needs to listen to families, to their educational concerns, to the Christian witness they offer in today’s world. She needs to welcome the voice of those who want to be involved in lay ministries and to participate in discernment and decision-making structures.

To progress further in synodal discernment, the Church particularly needs to gather even more the words and experience of the ordained ministers: priests, the primary collaborators of the bishops, whose sacramental ministry is indispensable for the life of the whole body; deacons, who, through their ministry, signify the care of the entire Church for the most vulnerable. She also needs to let herself be questioned by the prophetic voice of consecrated life, the watchful sentinel of the Spirit’s call. She also needs to be attentive to all those who do not share her faith but are seeking the truth, and in whom the Spirit, who “offers everyone the possibility of being associated with this paschal mystery” (Gaudium et Spes 22, 5), is also present and operative.

“The world in which we live, and which we are called to love and serve, even with its contradictions, demands that the Church strengthen cooperation in all areas of her mission. It is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium” (Pope Francis, October 17, 2015). We do not need to be afraid to respond to this call. Mary, the first on the journey, accompanies our pilgrimage. In joy and in sorrow, she shows us her Son and invites us to trust. And He, Jesus, is our only hope!

Vatican City, October 25, 2023

A-Synodal-Church-in-Mission.-Synthesis-reportDownload