The next Marriage Encounter weekend will be held at Maryland from 19-21 June 2015. There is still space for that special couple wanting to enrich their marriage, and experience an amazing weekend.

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Attached is a letter from Archbishop Brislin regarding the celebration of the Solemnity of the Ascension.
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THE STATEMENT OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH ON THE RECENT VIOLENT ATTACKS ON FOREIGN NATIONALS.

The Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference has observed with sadness the outburst of xenophobic violence in Durban which the Catholic Archbishop, Cardinal Wilfrid Napier has already condemned.

Our charter, the bible, is very clear “When a foreigner lives with you in your land, don’t take advantage of him. Treat the foreigner the same as a native. Love him like one of your own. Remember that you were once foreigners in Egypt. I am God, your God”. (Leviticus 19:33-34)

We understand the anger that the people may be feeling towards the foreigners for various legitimate reasons.  However, we are a nation of peace; we are a rainbow nation.  We conquered apartheid with very little use of violence and a settlement was reached peacefully.  The same principle of Ubuntu needs to be applied in order to calm the recent spates of violence and unrest.

While we acknowledge that the utterances by His Majesty, the king of the Zulu nation, never meant nor intended this violence, we believe that he should categorically condemn this violence and publicly propagate the value of hospitality entrenched in the Zulu worldview “isisu somhambi asingakanani singangenso yenyoni”.  This would amplify his influence as a peacemaker and a loyal leader of the soil.

We commit ourselves to pray to God for this situation to be resolved and to be available as agents to broker peace. We also commit financial support from the SACBC Foundation for the displaced people.

We urge the foreigners and expatriates to avoid being involved in any unfair labour and illegal business practices.  We also exhort them to expose those who are here illegally and report any criminal elements among them.  This is to be expected of every responsible citizen, both foreign/expatriate and native.

We urge our society to avoid irresponsible use of social media.  Many graphics and verbal postings do very little to change the situation but exacerbate the violence.  Before posting, always ask yourself if it will bring any good or if it will fuel the conflict.

Finally, we urge the government to take leadership in this matter.  Leaders of this violent movement should have been identified and confronted for dialogue and accountability.  Issues that provide a context for this horrible violence need to be addressed immediately.

May all South Africans remember that “whatsoever you do to the least of my brethren, you do it unto me” (Matthew 25:40) and that the Freedom Charter (1955) says “South Africa belongs to all who live in it.”

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Released by: Archbishop William Slattery, the Spokesperson of the SACBC

Enquiries:     Fr S’milo Mngadi, SACBC Communications Officer

Tel : 012 323 6458

Cell: 072 110 8613

On Holy Thursday, Archbishop Stephen Brislin celebrated the Chrism Mass, or Mass of the Holy Oils with the priests, deacons, religious and faithful at Our Lady Help of Christians Church, Lansdowne. Here are some photos of the event.

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“The Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Church and Contemporary World.”

Greetings

Towards the end of 2013, the Holy See distributed throughout the world, a set of questions that formed the basis for discussions at the recent III Extraordinary Synod of Bishops held in November 2014. A number of concerns were highlighted, these included:

1. Marriage Preparation and Accompaniment
2. Marriage breakdown (Divorce and Civil marriage)
3. Access to Tribunals for Annulments
4. Co-habitation

Other issues were also discussed, namely single parent families, child-headed families and persons with a same sex attraction.
As we prepare for the Ordinary Synod of Bishops tasked with examining the Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Church and Contemporary Word, Pope Francis has tasked us with involving all components of our local church, organizations, lay movements and other ecclesial associations with discussing this topic.

In the light of this request, we ask you to complete the following questionnaire on family life issues most prevalent in our Church.
This will assist our Bishops representing the SACBC in providing as accurate a picture as possible of our situation at this General Assembly of Bishops from around the world.
Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions and helping us better meet the needs and assist with the challenges of families in our region.  Please pass this information on to as many groups and individuals as possible.

Please complete the online survey below. Directly below it is the survey in PDF format if you wish to print it out.

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Pray the daily Mass readings and Breviary online – and much more – with this new application on our website. Click HERE.

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This past weekend saw the first roll-out of the new Catechetics policy for Kuil’s River and Kleinvlei parishes in 2015. There will five such workshops around the Archdiocese throughout the year. Attached is a picture of the group.

On 31 January there was a meeting of Catechetical Co-ordinators at Immaculate Conception, Parow. Attached are two pics of the participants.

Catechetics policy roll-out for Kleinvlei and Kuil’s River parishes

Catechetics co-ordinators’ meeting, Parow

Catechetics co-ordinators’ meeting, Parow