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Head of Goldman Sachs Colin Coleman tells Bloomberg TV the stand-off between Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and the Hawks can devastate the country.

This week’s episode of #EntrepreneurCorner features Antoinette Prophy, who talks about starting her own business at the age of 26, and the benefits of surrounding yourself with smart employees.

While there's a chance for SA to be downgraded to non-investment grade in November, rating firms may wait for the outcome of the ANC elective conference, says economist Kim Silberman.

Raenette Taljaard, the Executive Director of Economic Research Southern, talks to Fin24 about the implications of S&P Global's downgrade of SA debt.

The start of a good financial plan is not to react to tax hike announcements, but to match our income and our expenditure, says Errol Meyer, Head Advisory Propositions at Standard Bank.

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni is delivering his mini budget, just days after being appointed to the post. What his speech live.

By Bishop Arthur Serratelli

A few years ago, Paul Croituru and his young son went out treasure hunting near their native village in Romania. To their surprise, they discovered ancient Greek currency dating back 2,350 years to the time of King Philip II. The 300 silver coins turned out to be counterfeit. The father and son now hold the distinction of having discovered the oldest counterfeit money known thus far.

Counterfeit money has been around as long as money has been around. In fact, some have named the production of counterfeit money “the world's second oldest profession.” During war time, nations often resort to counterfeit money to inflict harm on their enemies. During the Revolutionary War, Great Britain attempted to devalue the continental dollar by flooding the market with shovers (fake dollars). During World War II, the Nazis made prisoners in their camps forge British pounds and American dollars to destabilize their enemies’ economies and destroy them.

Satan constantly attempts to entice individuals into counterfeit religion where the forged currency is believing in God while denying sin. The devil would have everyone forget that sin is a reality. In this way, he can render ineffective in us the work of Christ who came to take away our sins. Failure. Weakness. Mistakes. Psychological pressures. Social customs. All these labels the devil uses to disguise sin. But, sin itself remains a fact.

Science always prides itself on beginning every research project with a fact. True religion, likewise, begins with the fact of sin in the world, original sin and personal sin. “The ancient masters of religion…began with the fact of sin. Whether or not man could be washed in miraculous waters, there was no doubt at any rate that he wanted washing. But certain religious leaders…have begun…to deny the indisputable dirt. Certain new theologians dispute original sin, which is the only part of Christian theology which can really be proved” (G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy). And so can the personal sins of hatred, envy, lust, pride, gluttony and greed likewise be proven.

Even a casual glance at Sacred Scriptures shows that sin taints even God’s greatest heroes and heroines. Adam and Eve lead the procession of sinners. Drunken Noah, untruthful Abraham, adulterous David and Bathsheba, disloyal Peter, and murderous Paul follow. Sin really is not that original. It is the monotonous repetition of the tragedy of Eden: choosing self over God. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 Jn 1:8).

In the Sacrament of Penance, the Church offers us the gift of a personal encounter with our merciful Lord who forgives our sins. However, many people, and sometimes even faithful Catholics, say that they do not need to go to a priest for confession to have their sins forgiven. Why confess to a priest who is a sinner himself? God will forgive sins without the ministry of priests. Certainly, God can forgive sins when we turn to him and repent. But, he has chosen to offer us his forgiveness through the ministry of the Church. And, for a reason.

Sin is not just between the individual and God. Every sin that we commit offends God and affects others. Every sin harms Christ’s Body, the Church. The act of confession before a priest recognizes the true nature of sin as an offense against God and others. And so, it is through the Church’s priests that God chooses not simply to forgive our sins but to reconcile us to the Church. (cf. Pope Francis, General Audience, November 20, 2013).

So important is confession that some of the holiest priests of the Church have spent hours in the confessional as missionaries of God’s mercy. St. Philip Neri, a busy parish priest in Rome, spent every morning hearing confessions before continuing his work with youth in the afternoon. So famous was St. Jean Vianney in hearing confessions that a new train station had to be built in his town of Ars so that people from all of France could go there to confess to this holy priest. Most recently, St. Padre Pio heard confessions for not less than 18 hours a day. There were always long lines awaiting him.  

During his public ministry, Jesus forgave sins (cf. Mk 2:5; Lk 7:48; Jn 8:1-11). And, then after the Resurrection, he entrusted this ministry of forgiveness to his priests. On Easter Sunday night, “Jesus said to them ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained’” (Jn 20:21-23). In confession, the priest, weak and sinful himself, acts in the name of Jesus and with his authority.  

In going to confession, we approach the priest, one by one, not as group, not as family. We humbly place before him all our own sins. To receive absolution and be forgiven, it is necessary not simply to confess all mortal sins, but also to have a firm purpose of amendment of sinning no more. As difficult as this might be at times, how great the grace! For, when the priest absolves us, we have, as Jesus promised, the certainty that our sins are forgiven. 

Young people in Bangladesh learn to combine sport with their love for God, and one programme participant explains his enthusiasm for the experience.

OM supplies rural schools in Bangladesh with books, new toilets and other essential facilities that positively impact students.

Needing God’s love and job skills, one young woman discovers a new future at OM Bangladesh’s residential discipleship programme.

Despite having a degree, a young woman in Bangladesh finds it impossible to get a job until she completes an OM computer course.

A team leader in Bangladesh has experienced God’s love and plan for salvation, changing him and enriching his marriage and ministry.

A Bangladeshi woman sees God answer prayer in an unlikely way. Her new faith teaches her to trust that God hears her.

OM's training centre in Bangladesh allowed Gopal to learn new skills to rise above other job seekers and apply for good employment options.

Massive distribution efforts by OM teams in Bangladesh over more than 10 years sowed gospel seeds and made the Bengali New Testament a #1 best seller.

In a case from Montana, conservative justices suggested they were inclined to rule for parents who seek to reinstate a state tax credit funding scholarships for use at religious schools.

"The moment has finally arrived," said Spain captain Kike as he ended an international career that brought two FIFA Futsal World Cup triumphs and five UEFA Futsal EUROs.

Slovenia's 1-0 first-leg defeat of Spain ended a string of streaks held by the European champions, including 27 straight wins and unbeaten runs of more than a decade.

Argentina beat Russia 5-4 despite three Eder Lima goals in a meeting of two first-time finalists in Colombia while Portugal were pipped to bronze by Iran.

Jose, an Argentinian worker serving in Southeast Asia, tells of how he entered overseas service and what he has seen God do through his not-so-typical ministry.

During special Easter outreaches to women in red light areas, outreach workers go in the knowledge that Jesus is with them and His resurrection power gives hope, strength and life.

Are deposits necessary? When can they be retained? And how much can be asked for? Attorney Simon Dippenaar explains.

The portfolio comprises three properties in the capital Bucharest, and one in Timisoara, a city in the west of the country.

These places give new meaning to the term "golden years". And no fewer than four of the five top retirement villages listed in the 2019 Estate Ratings report by New World Wealth are in the Western Cape.

Single women dominated property sales in 2017, 2018 and 2019, compared to single men and even married couples, according to data analytics firm Lightstone.

Consumers must be careful simply to assume their fortune lies in investment property, cautions Steven van Rooyen, Principal at Leapfrog Milnerton.

Cape Town's East City Precinct - between the CBD and District Six - are undergoing a revival and the new The Harri residential development is an example of this trend.

Property experts weigh in on the Monetary Policy Committee of the SA Reserve Bank's decision to lower interest rates.

Construction work on FWJK's R800 million residential development known as 16 on Bree has topped out with the 36th floor having been cast.

The Leonardo opened its doors on Tuesday 3 March. Developers of the 234-metre tall building said the 240-suite hotel and residences were ready for occupation and some residents were already in the process of moving in.

While its "business unusual" in the SA residential property market, it is also the best buyer's market in a decade, says the chair of the Seeff Property Group.

Expense tracking is one of the least enjoyable aspects of running a business. Thankfully, there are various cloud-based solutions that help small to midsize businesses (SMB) innovate and even automate expense reporting tasks. Here are nine of the most notable that we've tested for your business to consider.

Inventory management is more than simply knowing what's left in the warehouse. Today these systems track the warehouse, a product's shelf life, and even your customers' experience. We test top players to help you choose.

Enterprises and small to midsize businesses (SMBs) require rock-solid endpoint security. The challenge is determining the right features to best keep exploits at bay. We put the leading solutions to the test to find the best options for your business.

Document management solutions have evolved from simple file storage engines to sophisticated workflow and data classification systems. We review and rank the top 10 players in this field.

Managing identity across an ever-widening array of software services and other network boundaries has become one of the most challenging aspects of the IT profession.. We test 10 end-to-end identity management solutions that can help.

Want to encourage girls to become professional technologists? Here's how to make sure your girls-in-tech events help them to accurately set their Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) career expectations.

Millennials and Generation Z make up 48 percent of the US workforce. Here are some insights on how businesses can better connect with these employees and engage this dominant market segment.

We review and compare four of the most popular universal VPN software clients used by businesses. These solutions have the ability to work as VPN solutions on their own or integrate with any VPN servers or services you might already be using.

To stay healthy in 2020, telecommuting and regular work-from-home arrangements are pretty much a must for most people. We test and compare 10 video conferencing software solutions to help you choose the right one to stay connected.

The economic meltdown has seen the world's leading central bankers including the South African Reserve Bank come under pressure to bail out their respective economies in the form of interest rate cuts. They've been urged to fund governments, an idea that central bank governor, Lesetja Kganyago, says is tantamount to a client instructing their banker to do the same.

From bicycle culture to electric vehicles, the automotive industry is changing and Covid-19 may be accelerating the pace of change.

Prasa estimates revenue losses for the year of R757 million, due to the impact of the lockdown.

Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan would not have committed to the framework of his 'Leadership Compact' if he did not know where the money would come from, the Labour Court heard.

The horse racing authority is pleading for a partial restart of the industry under Level 4 of the lockdown, warning that a prolonged suspension of activity could lead to massive financial impact and job losses.

Section 189 notices commencing a consultation process over proposed retrenchments at SAA were procedurally unfair, the Labour Court found on Friday.

Microsoft hopes to improve its software through AI research while OpenAI can take full advantage of the Azure cloud.

The Naples processor is designed to compete with Intel's Xeon offerings for the data center.