Radio Veritas Staff Member Invited To Symposium In Rome

We’re very proud to announce that Radio Veritas production assistant and presenter Sheila Pires has been invited to the 2018 Catholic Women Speak (CWS) Symposium and book launch in Rome. She leaves for Rome on Saturday, September 29^th.

The aim of the symposium is to bring the voices and experiences of young women from the global Catholic Church (Latin America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and North America) to the Synod on Young People, The Faith, and Vocational Discernment through the launch of their new book entitled ‘Visions and Vocations’ edited by Professor Tina Beattie.

It all started back in 2014, when Sheila proposed a current affairs programme that would look at the work of the Catholic Church throughout Africa and also gender inequality, including a weekly women’s feature on Thursdays. Thus ‘Catholic View’ was born and it broadcasts every Tuesday to Friday at 18h30 on Radio Veritas South Africa.

In 2015 Ms Pires came across an article about ‘CWS’ which mentioned the well-known theologian, and St Augustine’s College lecturer, Dr Nontando Hadebe. One interview with Dr Hadebe led to a series of interviews for the Women’s feature on ‘Catholic View’. In 2018 member and book contributor of CWS Dr Radebe made the exciting and unexpected announcement – that Ms Pires had been selected to attend the 2018 CWS Symposium and book launch in Rome on October 1st. Later, the founder of CWS Professor Tina Beattie invited Sheila to introduce and chair a roundtable discussion entitled ‘Sharing our Stories: Cultures and Catholicism’, also making her a member of CWS. The conference which starts on September 30^th to 05^th October, comprises of a number of activities, including a session of filmed interviews with some of the participants conducted by Tina Beattie and Sheila Pires on October 02^nd, and attending Pope Francis’ general audience on Wednesday 03^rd October. CWS member and Radio Veritas presenter Dr Nontando Hadebe will also take part in a roundtable discussion entitled "Reflections in a Time of Crisis - power, abuse and sexuality, followed by a performance: "The Three-Legged Cooking Pot - Culture, Catholicism and Women's Rights".

According to Dr Radebe, among the reasons Sheila was selected was her critical approach in raising contemporary and controversial issues related to Women, Youth and African Politics in her programmes on Radio Veritas South Africa.

Sheila says she is thrilled at being given this wonderful opportunity and also sees it as a chance to market Radio Veritas to a wider audience. While she’s extremely grateful to both Catholic Women Speak and Dr Nontando Hadebe, above all she’s grateful to God.

Whilst in Rome Sheila will be covering the first week of the Bishop’s Synod on Young People and providing daily reports on Radio Veritas breakfast programme “Matins” presented by Khanya Litabe and Colin York.

Have a wonderful time Sheila – we’re proud of you!!

My Health (from Fr Emil)

For the past five years I have had a neurological condition called CIDP. I have no feeling in my arms and legs and can no longer write, type, drive or easily use knife and fork. I cannot stand or do much without the help of two nurses who are really wonderful in this frail care of the Dominican sisters at St Mary’s in Hyde Park. I need to have a five-day infusion of Octagam as soon as possible but unfortunately, there is no Octagam available in the country at present. The hope is that this will get some strength back into my body. In addition to this condition, I was hospitalised for two months during which time I was diagnosed with a very rare bone marrow condition called Amyloid Lamda which affects the immune system and in my case my kidneys. It is very likely that this is the origin of the CIDP. The recommended medication is a light chemotherapy even though it is not cancer or malignant. I am extremely grateful to the doctors for their encouragement and service and to the many thousands of people who have assured me of their prayers at this very difficult time in my life. I am confident that I shall walk again. But for now, I’m afraid I am wheelchair-bound. I always enjoy visits from people so if ever you are in this area it will be wonderful to see you. (81 1st Road, Hyde Park). Meanwhile, please keep me in your prayers.

Funding

This is an ongoing concern. We are very grateful to the almost 2000 people who support us on a monthly basis. However, this number needs to increase dramatically so that we can cover our monthly costs of approximately 500,000 Rand. Donations are always very welcome and we are grateful and pray for our donors. In particular we are grateful to some large donors who prefer to be anonymous. However, in recent months we have been blessed with donations from the Catholic women’s Association in Pretoria (R 15,000), Sacred Heart Sodality Johannesburg (R 50,000) (at right) and Lenten Appeal (R 500,000). However, don’t let these figures numb you in thinking ‘okay, they seem to have enough money!” Remember your debit order of whatever amount will go a long way in helping us. Father Emil’s dream has been to find another 2000 donors. You could make that happen.

Club 6000

This is a project of Radio Veritas and St Augustine’s Catholic University. The aim is to find 6000 people who would make an annual contribution of R 1000 for three years. Both Catholic institutions are desperately in need of money with St Augustine’s needing much more than radio Veritas. The money will be divided on a 4:2 basis which will be a lifesaver for both institutions. The project has been somewhat slow in developing and we hope that you will use the electronic facility on our website to join Club 6000 with your generous annual contribution. Just follow the instructions and the deduction will be made automatically from your bank account. Be assured that the transaction will be completely secure. Please tell your friends about this club and get them to join. We believe, even in these difficult economic times, that there are thousands of people in the country who could make a contribution to support this cause of evangelisation with the donation of R1000. On practically any evening restaurants are full and it is no exaggeration to say that most tables would be spending approximately that amount of money. Our plea is that you consider a contribution to the work of evangelisation through our two institutions.

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Radio Veritas building refurbished

Visitors to Radio Veritas will notice that the entrance, parking area, toilets and lobby have been refurbished to bring our building up-to-date for the next 10 years! This has all been done through the kind financial assistance of the Knights of da Gama with whom we own the building. The Knights and ourselves have developed a good and healthy relationship over the years and we are grateful to them for this collaboration.

Programmes

Congratulations to Men in Christ who celebrated the first anniversary of their show on 6 September. This is a group of truly committed Catholic men who are very active in their parishes and present a weekly show on Wednesday evenings from 7 to 9. They have been a blessing not just in their programme but have come to our assistance in many other ways when we needed anything. We pray that the Lord bless their work and programmes for many years.
We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all our volunteer presenters and contributors to various shows. You are a blessing and gift not only to the station but to all our listeners and the Church. May God bless you for your generosity and commitment.

New Shows

Listen out for our exciting new shows. Mustard Seeds, a Catholic young adult show presented by Kananelo Mapoko every Tuesday evening at 19h00; Pearls Before Nine presented by Graeme and Oriella van der Walt on Tuesday evening at 20h00; Arts Edition with Fr Lawrence Ndlovu (right) on Friday morning at 09h00; Emthonjeni presented by Siphiwe Moloi has moved from Saturday 11h00-12h00 to Saturday 09h00-11h00. Soothing Melodies, a Choral music programme on Sundays at 14h00-16h00 with Fr Thabo Mothiba OMI and Thula Ndlovu.

Outside Broadcasts

It was the late Benjamin Mophatlane, who provided us with a flight ready outdoor mobile unit. The Diocese of Munich very generously provided us with a vehicle, a Volkswagen Caddy. With these we have been to many outside locations from where we have done live broadcasts. In the beginning we had teething problems but we have mastered these and can now bring you crystal clear broadcasts from really anywhere in the country. For example, we did live broadcasts of the funeral of Bishop Barry Wood and the Episcopal ordination of Bishop Duncan Tsoke. We would like to extend these live broadcasts to various parishes and church functions. Do not hesitate to contact us for a live broadcast of functions in your parish or diocese, especially if these have an historic value. For obvious reasons, we would appreciate a financial contribution to cover essential costs.

Financial Administration

Our financial Administration is efficiently cared for by Genni Rogers and Lucia Zwane. Before the annual audit, the books are checked by Zeno Zambri and then sent to Herbert and Liebisch for the official annual audit after which audited statements are approved by the Board of Trustees. We are grateful to our auditors who do the annual audit free of charge. So our donors can be quite sure that their donations are carefully recorded and responsibly used.

St Dominic’s Day

As you might know, Radio Veritas operates under the auspices of the Dominican Order. Every year, as with parishes served by various religious orders, an annual collection is taken up for the support of young brothers’ formation and the care of the elderly. Usually, on Radio Veritas we invite people to make donations. Unfortunately this year, due to the illness of Father Emil, this was not done. However, if you would nevertheless like to make a donation, please feel free to do so by sending your donation to Radio Veritas with the reference Dominican Order. As a matter of interest, it costs approximately R 100,000 per year per student and we have 16 students in training, five of whom are deacons awaiting ordination to the priesthood in the next year.

Fr Emil Hangs up His Microphone after 17 Years

After 17 years of presenting the morning drivetime show on Radio Veritas, Fr Emil took the painful decision of hanging up his microphone on the morning show. Very much a morning person, it meant getting up at three every morning to be on air at six.

Unfortunately, due to his present condition of chronic inflammation of the peripheral nerves (CIDP), it became increasingly apparent that he needed more rest, and those early hours of the day seemed critical.

The morning of the 11th of May was full of emotion and tributes as he bade farewell to his faithful listenership. It was a farewell and a celebration. 17 years at the morning show is indeed a long time. Throughout these years the show was always produced by Olinda Orlando, without whom Radio Veritas would not be where it is today. Father Emil paid tribute to the entire team, especially to his technical producer Siphiwe Moloi and Tiiso Mosoeu. For many years his news anchor was the seasoned presenter, Colin Yorke, who very often was called Fr Colin! It’s all very well to have a five-minute newscast with audio clips but people should realise that news is hours of work and for this we are tremendously grateful to Olinda Orlando who sacrificed many recreational hours to bring our listeners up-to-date news.

From the 14th of May the morning programme, Matins, is being hosted by Khanya Litabe and Colin Yorke and produced by Olinda Orlando.

Father Emil will continue as director of the station and will continue presenting some programmes, like the Sunday mass and As the Sun Sets. He will also have a weekly slot in the morning show.

Men in Christ

On the 1st of May the Men in Christ who present a programme on Radio Veritas every Thursday evening, held a fundraising event on the property of Jose Aguiar In Roodepoort. Everything on the day was sponsored, including a huge marquee which accommodated more than 600 people. The day began with the celebration of mass, concelebrated by about six priests and a Deacon. Immediately after the mass people wasted no time in removing the chairs and replacing them with tables for the braai/luncheon. It was truly a professional programme with everything being sponsored. The Men in Christ are a group of dedicated men who love their faith and get on with what has to be done. They walk the talk. Every parish would benefit tremendously from having a group like this to rely on. At the end of the day there were many tired people but in the coffers they had raised over R326,450. Well done Men in Christ. Any parish interested in starting such a group should contact Albert De NOBREGA on 0828219585 or Carlos CAMARA 0824025319. Be forewarned: Men in Christ mean business!!

Refurbishing of Radio Veritas building

The home of Radio Veritas is co-owned with the Knights of the Gama. At present, the three storey building is receiving an up-to-date renovation. This is thanks to the Knights of the Gama who have provided the necessary funds. All we need now is some generous person to provide us with a lift!! The renovated building is worth a visit.