Day Three in South Africa

South Africa trip

The latest photo updates can be seen by clicking the image above. Scroll down if you've seen the earlier ones. We had an unbelievably good day here in South Africa around Johannesburg. Every day has been like a Colorado summer day - starting off cold and dry, but warming nicely in the afternoon before cooling off quickly in the evening. The weather couldn't be better or feel better to be in. Around 70 with sun in the afternoon, cooling to the 40s at night.

This morning with our car in the shop we relied on Denise Andrew, our host, to haul us to the Archbishop's residence in Praetoria, South Africa. The apostolic administrator, appointed by Rome to run the archdiocese of Praetoria until a bishop can be named, himself wanted to show us around the archdiocese and was very grateful for our visit. He did this on his day off no less. We as two young priests felt unworthy to take so much of his time, but through him we were able to see so much in so short a time. Msgr. Gabuza is a well-educated priest, having done post-graduate work with the Jesuits in California after his ordination, but he is reserved and humble. He was happy to show us around, but you could feel the sadness in his having to try to run an Archdiocese with so many challenges. I'll try to list a few throughout the blog post.

We started with some introductions at the nice Archbishop's residence in Waterskloof, a suburb of Praetoria, the nation's capital. It is a nice suburb where many foreign diplomats reside. The Church has had property here for many years, and right next door to the archbishop's residence is the national seminary. After having tea and a quick tour of the Archbishop's house, we went to the national seminary where Msgr. Gabuza taught for ten years. It was a beautiful place, but unfortunately, the seminary is having its struggles with the quality (not quantity) of seminarians and with finding qualified Catholic faculty. The Franciscans who founded the seminary are no longer there to run it. They are adding on more rooms and a library to the seminary which was good to see. They have 155 students at the time being for the whole country of South Africa. The Archdiocese of Praetoria itself is about 9% Catholic. There are many Christians here who do not like institutional Churches, and many Muslims as well. There are Indian Catholics in addition to European Catholics and Black Catholics.

Msgr then took us to a nice parish church, so that later we could see the sharp contrast in neighborhoods and parishes throughout the Archdiocese. Although it was shocking to experience the whole of the Archdiocese, and the wealthier parishes here are not nearly as wealthy as back home, still most of the same discrepancies we have in the USA are found here. The socioeconomic segregation is remarkable, and mostly follows racial lines. Things are better post-apartheid, but change slowly, and in a few ways get worse as more and more layers of security continue to be added to those who own property, lest they leave the country for more secure opportunities for their families. It is all a mess, to be sure.

After our first stop at a nice parish Church, we headed downtown to the Cathedral, where even the apostolic adminsitrator had to buzz a doorbell and wait patiently for security to open up the church. It is nicely done, but also small, and has some noteworthy Gothic elements. As in every Catholic Church we entered during this world cup, the flags of many nations were on full display right in the cathedral church. After seeing the cathedral we quickly went through the Praetoria chancery and met a few people and saw where Msgr. Gabuza gets his headaches. It was great to talk to him for 5 plus hours just as a brother priest. The same problems he has we have in our presbyterate, in our archdiocese, and with our people. His mission while apostolic administrator is to try to instill a sense of stewardship and giving amongst his priests and the people of the Archdiocese. Msgr. Gabuza hates being dependent on mission societies when the resources are around him for the building up of the Church, but he sees his priests as unmotivated and his people as unwilling to give. The Andrews remarked the same at their well-to-do parish in Bryanston where we have been saying Mass - it is not the same spirit of giving and stewardship that we are used to in the states.

After the chancery we were ready to head into the townships, also known as settlements, outside of Praetoria. People claim their space in the townships haphazardly over the years, and in some townships, things eventually are better organized, and some government services and utilities emerge, and some police and shopping and even a middle class emerge. This is good to see and we did see it alongside the more desperate parts of the townships. Unemployment in the townships is around 45%, yet South Africa is seen by many other African nations as an affluent land of opportunity, because there is significant wealth here as well. As you drive in the countryside around Johannesburg, each mile is different - mansions and malls are followed soon by the most desperate of townships. If you own anything, security is unbelievably tight, and indeed, it seems that about half the workforce here has jobs in security. Msgr. Gabuza worries that the violence might resume again after the World Cup.

We saw a poor Catholic parish in the townships, a new Catholic hospice, medical clinic and parish church in a very poor area of a township, and a nicer Catholic parish and private Catholic school in the middle-class area of the same township outside Praetoria. While at the Catholic hospice, we heard firsthand of the attempted murder of Fr. Kiernan, the passionist missionary who had organized the campus. Fr. Kiernan aligned an unusual team of benefactors to build everything he has - the Pontifical Mission Society, the US government, the S. African goverment, and yes, even the South African lottery. It was really a nice place filled with love, which had a great view over the poorer areas of the township. The medical clinic run by Fr. Kiernan treats 160 HIV/Aids patients with retroviral drugs donated by the United States government.

After stopping to say hello to a Catholic family that Msgr. Gabuza knew who ran a B&B, we were off to drive by his old parish church St. Thomas More and go to a more dangerous township, Diepsloot, which is just minutes from where the Andrews live in a secure gated community. Msgr. Gabuza built the parish church in Diepsloot after much travail, and it broke his heart that last December, the rectory was robbed and Fr. Louis an African missionary father, was shot and killed. Msgr. Gabuza was clearly still shaken by everything that had happened.

Fr. Guido, the Afrian missionary father from Montreal who was in the house when Fr. Louis was shot and killed, had a stroke just weeks before we arrived. We had planned to spend time with Fr. Guido in the township, but now the situation is in flux and unsafe. Msgr. Gabuza asked if we would like to meet Fr. Guido, so we headed another 15 minute drive to the rehab facility where has was being well cared for. Fr. Guido seemed to have been paralyzed completely on his right side, but showed some improvement in eyesight, speech and motion from what we were told. Fr. Guido is so emotional. He was where he wanted to be in Diepsloot, doing the work God had given him to do, and was so sad to lose a brother priest to the shooting, and now being unable to continue the parish himself made him very sad. We prayed with him and thanked him for his priestly witness.

After all that, we arrived back at the Andrews in time to make preparations for the evening, celebrate a nice Mass with them in their home, and eat some chicken lasagna before watching Paraguay tie mighty Italy in the last world cup match of the night. Only 4 days until USA vs. Slovenia. Tomorrow we're going out to fight some lions and tigers and elephants - stay tuned!