Benedict XVI to Present Conclusions of Africa Synod

Benedict XVI will travel to Benin this November to sign the postsynodal exhortation of the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops.

The Vatican press office released the itinerary of the Pope's three-day trip to the West African nation, which marks the second time the Holy Father has traveled to Africa during his Pontificate. In 2009, he traveled to Cameroon and Angola to present the "instrumentum laboris" for the African synod, which took place later that year.On Friday, Nov. 18, the Pope will depart Rome in the morning and arrive at 3 p.m. in Benin's capital, Cotonou  and complete his itinerary on Sunday, Nov. 20 before returning to Rome.

Mission Sunday 23 October 2011

22 Sept 2011

WORLD MISSION DAY –  23 October 2011

Dear Faithful Catholics

The grace and love of God be with you all.

We are aware that the Good News of the Lord Jesus is for everybody

As the month of October draws near we are once again reminded about our holy communion with God’s active love for the salvation of the whole world in Christ Jesus. We who enjoy the saving blessings of God because of our faith in the Lord Jesus are called to share these blessings and thus give glory to the Divine Giver. The Holy Spirit impels us to tell others about the wonderful spiritual benefits we enjoy because of Jesus Christ’s Self-gift to us in the Church. We are not able to keep quiet about such Good News and we want everybody to see and hear about Christ Jesus’ saving love so that everybody can enjoy what we enjoy. This desire is what can be called the fundamental missionary spirit of all faithful members of the Catholic Church.

World Mission Sunday is a reminder to all of us that as members of a particular Christian community and local Catholic Church, we recognise and give witness to this universal outreach of God in Christ Jesus.

We pray for missionaries of the Catholic Church of our Lord

And so we pray for Catholic missionaries especially those who are in very difficult and oppressive situations in different parts of the world. We intercede for them before God knowing that “nothing can separate them from the love of God in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8,35) unless they themselves abandon their faith in Christ. We join our intercessions with the prayers of the October saints namely: St Therese of the Child Jesus, St Daniel Comboni, Blessed Daudi Okelo and Jildo Irwa Martyrs, St Francis of Assisi, St Theresa of Avila, Our Lady of the Rosary, St Luke the Evangelist and Saints Simon and Jude Apostles.

We support financially the missionary work of the Catholic Church

We also contribute from our financial resources to the World Mission Sunday collection and we do so with joy knowing from our own experience how we continue to benefit from this same fund for many of our missionary projects in this diocese. And we are also aware of the many and often greater missionary needs in other countries and nations of the world. May we be as generous as we were last year.

I wish to thank you for your spiritual and material support of the Church’s mission.

May St Therese of the Child Jesus, pray for us and protect our missionaries in Tzaneen Diocese.

Bishop Joao Rodrigues

Diocese of Tzaneen

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youth presentation

Diocesan Youth Presentation Report

1. Diocesan youth Manual.


The Youth Manual has been drafted and presented to the youth and Animators of
the diocese at Ave Maria on the 5-7 August. It has been well received by them
and have expressed that it is also easy to use and it addresses a lot of issues
which they are facing in their lives.

The Manual is the best tool to be used in youth matters in all parish levels as
it’s both theoretical and practical in its application. Youth leaders and their
facilitators both need to be trained on its proper and beneficial use at their
youth meetings. Not everything has been included in the manual for the sole
sake of avoiding total dependence on it and as such leading to passiveness in
being proactive in sourcing out other programs and activities in youth
ministry. The manual is to be used with other programs and activities that are
relevant in youth matters, in other to enhance the life of young people in the
parish.


These are some of the comments that were part of the youth workshop on the
manual:


*It is relevant and offers guidelines for the youth

*it builds them and brings formality and uniformity in all parishes.

*it is educative on liturgical matters

*It’s easy to follow and has good references

*it gives the youth a place in the church.

* Develops a holistic approach to life.

*it makes them to be proud of their catholic faith.

Negatives

*it lacks visual aids (pictures and colour)

*it builds on the already existing youth, but will be difficult to implement in
parishes where there is no existing youth structures.

*it lacks the basics of building the youth structure from scratch.

2. Youth Ministry.


2.1. Youth leadership.


The lack of proper leadership of the youth within parish structures has
contributed to the dismal or lack of youth participation in the life of the
parish. The same can also be said about the youth themselves lacking proper
leadership skills to handle their affairs and steer their own programs. Hence
this leads to a lot of failures in all efforts of building and sustaining youth
programs in the diocese and parish level. In the beginning of each year when
they youth gather, they need to be all trained and given proper formation in
church based leadership. They need to be all trained before they elect their own
leadership and drawing up their pastoral programs for the year. After this
training, then they can draw up their pastoral year plan and then followed by
the election of their leaders. There should be a further leadership skills
training for their elected parish executive on community and parish level.


The parish pastoral council needs to include the leadership of the youth in
their general council meetings, so that they too can have meaningful
contribution in the life of the parish and to ensure that all youth matters are
properly dealt with and supported by the council. Without proper youth
leadership in both the youth and parish structures, it wont matter how good and
relevant youth programs we might have at our disposal; it will all be in
vain.



2.2. Youth involvement in parish life.


It remains the responsibility of the parish council to ensure that the youth
are involved in parish matters. They are to be included in the parish pastoral
council where they are allowed to have active participation in planning and
decision making. They are to be offered responsibilities in the ministries of
the parish and community, not just to be relegated to the level of music or
choral music entertainment only. They are to be trained in ministries like,
catechetics, scripture, Sunday and funeral service, visitation of the sick and
other areas of responsibility. These areas of responbility give them a sense of
belonging and being part of the life of the church. When they are excluded and
ignored it makes them to feel isolated and this contributes to them being
passive in church and in extreme cases some of them will eventually leave the
church.

2.3. Adult involvement and support.


Adult involvement and their support in all youth activities is in itself an
invaluable encouragement to the youth. Adults need to attend and support the
youth and their activities, not only be seen or heard when things have gone
wrong. They need to accompany and walk with them on their faith formation and
maturity in life. The positive influence and involvement of parents in youth
affairs can never be substituted by an animator or priest, as they are the best
formator’s in this regard.


2.4. Animators.


The question is always asked as to who should be an animator for the youth.
Here are the qualities of a youth animator as seen by the youth themselves:


*Approachable, confident, persuasive, reliable, sense of humor, self-control,
respectable, dedicated, committed, understanding, lively and creative, active
in church and youth matters, must leadership and facilitative skills, honest
and open, must have a heart to forgive, not afraid to make decisions, must have
the urge to work with the youth, good listener, must have catechetical
knowledge and be grounded in the faith.

These qualities best answers the question as to who should be a youth animator.

The election or nomination of a youth
animator needs to be done in consultation with the youth leadership, as their
exclusion in this matter will result in a poor relationship between the youth
and the animator(s) concerned. The best way to describe the role of the
animator is that of offering guidance, discipline and being a good listener
(the rest will fall into place).

3. Regional structures.


Regional structures are to facilitate, form relationships and offer support
between neighboring parishes and the diocese. The success of regional and
diocesan structures depends totally on the proper functioning of parish
structures, as everything depends on grassroot involvement and participation.

4. Parish visitations. 2011

Parish visitations will form part of an evaluation and assessment of what
actually is happening on a parish level as far as youth ministry is concerned.
It will take the form of a consultation with the youth and their leadership. It
will also facilitate an opportunity to further promote the youth manual and
offer leadership skills to both the Youth and Animators.

Parish	Date
Musina	2 October
Makhado	8 Oct
Modjadjiskloof	16 Oct
Dwarsriver	22 Oct
Ndzhelele	23 Oct
Sibasa	29 Oct
Malamulele	30 Oct
Giyani	5 Nov
St Scholastica	6 Nov
Tzaneen	12 Nov
Ngwabitsi	13 Nov
London	19 Nov
Ofcolaco	20 Nov
Phalaborwa	27 Nov

5.1. Youth Vigil


it will be a great opportunity that at the end of the year (second weekend of
December), there should be a diocesan youth vigil, where they will all come together to pray and gives thanks
to the Lord for all the graces receives throughout the year.


5.2. Youth Conference


another possibility instead of hosting the youth vigil, could have the diocesan
youth conference at St Brendan’s during the Christmas holidays. There
conference will deal with the four elements contained in the youth manual. The
youth conference could scheduled to begin on Monday evening and concluding on
Friday lunch time. For the full three days different speakers amongst priests
and religious would be invited to offer Mass, Confessions and to also give
Vocation, faith formation and human development talks. There could also be
discussions amongst the youth themselves on various topics that would be
relevant to their needs in society and in the church.

In memory of those who have gone before us

Last name	Title	Other names	Date of Death	Diocesan/Religious/Lay	Parish
Rapholo	Fr	Paul	20 Nov 1974	Diocesan	St Brendan’s
Risimati	Fr	Benedict	19 Nov 1976	Diocesan	Malamulele
Durkin	Bishop	John	27 Sep 1990	Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC)	Tzaneen
McHugh	Fr	Adrian	5 June 2009	MSC	Musina
O’Connor	Fr	Patrick	21 Dec 1996	MSC	Diocese
McCarthy	Fr	Donal	15 Oct 1998	MSC	Diocese
Cadogan	Fr	William	26 Sep 1971	MSC	Diocese
Van de Rostijne	Fr	Medard	5 June 1997	Order of St Benedict	Diocese
Mboweni	Mr	Norman	30 Nov 2010	Lay catechist	Ofcolaco
Mokgashi	Mr	Matthew	24 Jan 2011	Lay Catechist	AMPC
Palane	Ms	Mirriam		Lay Catechist	Ofcolaco
Retombo	Mr	Andres		Lay Catechist	Mulima
Raulinga	Mr	Freddy	July 2010	Lay Translator	Makhado/Sibasa
Moagi	Mr	Jude	3July 2010	Bookkeeper	Diocese
Mwacha	Fr	Nikomedius	12 Sep 2011	Apostles of Jesus	St Scholastica

Thanks for the Comments

Jimmyk said...

Good move and look forward to the blogging . Best wishes for good interaction . Am new to this , will be experimenting . Jimmy

September 12, 2011 11:41 PM

Bishop Joao said...

Thanks for the encouraging words +Joao

Fr. Masilo Selemela said...

First of all i would like to thank you for allowing the people of Tzaneen to express their views on Vision 2020. One of the things which i think should form part of the vision heading to 2020 is self sufficiency in all its dimensions, the ownership of our faith which should take place through a structural, prepared renewal program which involves all parishes over a period of a year or two with its focal point being catechesis and ongoing formation of adults through parish based programs.The other one will be to focus on the material aspect, that is finance, a plan that would see all parishes by 2020 being able to look after the parish and its needs and all subsidies cut. The third one would be to see the number of diocesan priest increase through an intense program of vocational promotion and a very strong youth ministry program for the diocese which center on the faith of the young person. Fr. John Selemela Priest of the same diocese

September 14, 2011 1:27 AM

Radio Veritas - Good News

From Fr Emil Blaser OP, Director of Radio Veritas.

Radio Veritas – THE GOOD NEWS. FOR A CHANGE.

The Catholic Church in Southern Africa celebrates the granting of a licence to Radio Veritas.

Since the Millennium Jubilee year 2000, Radio Veritas has been working untiringly for a radio broadcast license.  This has finally come to fruition.

The Catholic Bishops of Southern Africa received the good news last night that Radio Veritas had been granted both a licence to broadcast and a frequency on which to broadcast.

Archbishop Buti Tlhagale, Archbishop of Johannesburg and President of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, thanked ICASA for finalising the many requests to broadcast. He expressed his joy  - ‘Radio Veritas will be broadcasting in the greater Johannesburg Metropolitan area – our Archdiocese. At last.’

Father Emil Blaser, the Dominican priest who has spearheaded this project for the last 11 years, spoke of his great joy and enormous relief at the granting of this permanent licence.

‘We have waited so long and tried every means possible to get on air – from broadcasting for periods on shortwave, medium wave, special event broadcast licences, engaging in public hearings, doing market research,  knocking on government and international doors, to streaming on the Internet and on DSTV’s Audio channel 170. To have been granted this licence is indeed Good News from ICASA for a change – and Good News for the Catholic Community in the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan area. The news of being granted this license has filled us with an indescribable joy and messages of congratulations have not stopped streaming in”.

Radio Veritas has been granted the 576kHz medium wave frequency, known to many as the former Medium Wave frequency of Metro FM.

The official launch will be announced as soon as all technical issues have been worked out.