03/11/2010 • 8:59 pm Comments Off on 11.03.2010 Abuse cases
Reading about all the abuse cases within the Catholic Church, but also in other institutions makes one sometimes wonder how and why all this could happen. But I also realise how much priests are now in a spotlight – also being easy prey for accusations of all sorts.
And sitting in when it comes to the legal matters as a consequence of an accusation changes the perception of it all once again in many ways….
Filed under: Reflection, Uncategorized, abuse case, catholic church
02/12/2010 • 10:56 pm Comments Off on 12.02.2010 Chamber’s celebration
A full day today, this morning first some phone calls to clarify outstanding issues, then driving to the lovely wine farm of Blaauwklippen where the Southern African – German Chamber of Commerce and Industry celebrates the 10th anniversary of the opening of its Cape Town Regional Office. At first a formal meeting with the Senior Council, the Directorate and the Regional Council and you can see the difference: The people from Johannesburg are dressed nicely all in black suits – not very common in Cape Town, but it makes me feel a bit under-dressed in my Cape Town outfit.. 🙂
Nevertheless, the meeting serves also the purposes to present the proposal to form a national task force on renewable energy/energy efficiency and it is my task to present this proposal to the senior council. After a short discussion the proposal is accepted and after 80 minutes the meeting done.
The afternoon programme continues with the arrival of more guests on the wine farm, among them Helen Zille, the premier and the German Ambassador Dieter Haller as well as the German and Austrian Consul General. The speeches are not too long and I am chuffed about the fact, that HOPE Cape Town is also mentioned from the premier as one of the outstanding German contributions towards South Africa in the Western Cape and Charles Scheltemacher from the Regional Council reminds the people that indeed I was the first customer of the newly opened office needing some donations in form of computers and routers. And I am amazed that out of this not only came the joined Ball of HOPE as the annual function of Chamber and church for HOPE Cape Town, but also a wonderful friendship with Anja, the representative here in the Cape. She is indeed the best girlfriend, a priest is allowed to have … 🙂 A wonderful afternoon, catching up with so many people, having to explain the concept of a Fidei Donum priest and my new role within the church – I really enjoyed the time and the chats and the food and the drinks and the weather – in one word: jolly good afternoon.
In the evening then home again and still some work to do, sitting in my little office and trying to get a bit of work done before chatting with friends in Germany via Skype for quiet a while. Also that so wonderful to be able to chat long without being bankrupt and seeing the persons on the other side. Technology can be a blessing.
So summa summarum a day with mostly positive energy and what I did not get finished this eve on work can also wait until tomorrow morning… 🙂
Filed under: General, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, Networking, Reflection, Anna Tambusso Ferraz, catholic church, chamber of commerce, church, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, priest, renewable energy
02/08/2010 • 10:17 pm Comments Off on 08.02.2010 Monday blues again…
Monday morning starts off with two doctors interested in the HOPE Cape Town project. Somehow an interesting dialogue between European and African thinking. For me amazing to see how people really try to get a grips on the HIV pandemic in Southern Africa and develop ideas how to minimise the transmission rate. Obviously also the stance of the Catholic Church is part of the discussion.
Thereafter a TV request and discussion with the producer what is possible on short notice. It is sometimes difficult to judge and see how we can get the legitimate request for information together with what we can render on possibilities to fulfill such requests. In the moment, lots of TV teams are searching for motives, interviews and stories around the soccer world cup 2010… People in South Africa are generally more sensitive about cameras in townships and I can understand it. For too long, townships have been used and sometimes abused to produce, what was requested, without really respecting the dignity of the people. Times have changed and I think it is good that they have changed.
CCMA next, the center for conciliation and arbitration has scheduled a meeting to discuss a case of dismissal, I have been involved with. Also here it is sometimes not easy to find a balance between the very different standpoints of view of the employee and the employer. But after an informal discussion a solution is found and the more legal ways avoided. I am quite relieved about it.
Then office work, emails – I think I did write about them a couple of days earlier – to answer takes time, a request for an interview tomorrow regarding Nelson Mandela and his release from prison has to be prepared, some phone calls and then it is time for a home visit with house mass. A good tradition to bring some families together to celebrate the Eucharist in their home and then to stay together for a decent meal and lots of chat and discussion. It is good to touch again the lives of people, talk about families, their joys and hard times, about any topic just coming up. I always find a house mass very intense as people are more participating, are more part of the celebration.
The evening ends with some preparation for tomorrow, some last emails to answer and reading the latest news on the internet.
Filed under: HIV and AIDS, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, Medical and Research, Reflection, Society and living environment, Africa, catholic church, Church Matters, conciliation, dismissal, eucharist, europe, hiv, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, house mass, soccer world cup, TV
02/07/2010 • 11:02 pm Comments Off on 07.02.2010 Sexual abuse …
Once again is the sexual abuse of minors by priests and religious a topic in Germany – and once again it seems that one case follows many and the responses are quite divers. From condemning the church till accusing the church of cover up there is a lot to read in our days in the German press. The psychologist of criminology, Hans-Ludwig Kroeber points out that still the numbers of abuse compared with the general population is below average. Of course, the “status quo” of a priest and his delicate position of confidence in society are making every case a special one. There are quite a lot who blame celibacy as the reason behind sexual abuse. Others question the cover up of such incidence until the very moment that nobody can deny the fact anymore.
Nobody denies that it is a tragedy and that the church has long enough shrouded such cases in secrecy, trying to avoid the daylight. Whether in the USA or in Ireland and now in Germany, many admissions are coming too little too late. There is a clear procedure how to handle such cases in Germany and other countries and this is certainly the first step in the right direction. But still the church somehow seems to not acknowledge the problem until a media campaign has started and everybody tries to be on the safe side.
I believe that we owe the faithful as a church more than clear procedure. We owe them an honest debate on how we handle the topic sexuality in our church. We owe them to acknowledge that we have done much to far in these fields when it came to confession, but not enough when it comes to catching up with the modern science of sexuality. We have our heels digged deep when it comes to this special topic and we are losing more and more moral ground by not engaging ourselves in this honest debate. A debate which includes spirituality, the knowledge of sciences and the many stories of lives, wining or losing the battle to integrate sexual desire into the lives of priests and religious. We all as priests know the theory of integrating sexuality – but we also know the practise, ranging from to sublimate the own sexuality in gaining power in the church via abuse of alcohol till the topic to be discussed here: sexual abuse of minors. There are so many possibilities where integration of sexuality can go wrong.
I say it again: The Catholic Church is by far not above the average of any other group of the population when it comes to sexual abuse of minors. But we should be capable of learning from the lessons we receive since years now and tackle the topic of sexuality. Doing so, we also can escape that the clergy in general is put under general suspicion. Too much harm is done, to many people are hurt, too much trust is lost – and too many chances to engage with young people. It becomes for a normal priest to dangerous to work with young people because alone the suspicion can destroy a priestly life.
Filed under: Reflection, Uncategorized, catholic church, Church Matters, moral theology, priest, sexual abuse, sexuality, Theology
01/25/2010 • 4:25 pm Comments Off on 25.01.2010 Golf Day
Today is a Golf Day in lieu of HOPE Cape Town, tomorrow the horse auction at the Milnerton Town Hall. It is amazing to see what people can do to support a good cause. Brian Sharkey and the Men’s Society of the Milnerton/Brooklyn Catholic Church are indeed busy to support HOPE Cape Town and they are doing in now since years. It is always good to be with them in the beginning of a new year and to experience the goodness of people. HOPE Cape Town is very grateful for these local supporters – and that is a focal point of fundraising also for this year: to expand the circle of sponsors and friends of HOPE Cape Town in South Africa. People living here should own their country and they should work hard to make their very own country a better place. Judging from experience it is not often the case. Very often it is easy to support those who are living far away- but to forget the nightmares in front of the own door. I guess it is an international phenomenon. The Men’s Society shows that it is good and worthwhile to look not too far for a moment but to see the needs around the corner of the parish boundaries. I am grateful to know all these people. Well done and all success for today and tomorrow.
Filed under: HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, Networking, Reflection, Society and living environment, brooklyn, catholic church, Catholic Men's Society, gold day, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, milnerton, parish, sponsor
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