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South Africa: Candid Prelate Calls Region’s Church to More Action Print E-mail
Written by CISA   
Thursday, 21 August 2008
The president of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) has challenged the church to play a more active role in tackling pressing issues in the region and Africa.

Archbishop Buti J. Tlhagale OMI reminded his colleagues at the opening the SACBC plenary on Thursday that they were duty-bound to find solutions to the problems, many of which stemmed from a moral crisis. He spoke on ‘The Pastoral Ministry of the Bishops’ Conference’.

“At issue are the moral virtues of accountability and integrity, of transparency and honesty, of loyalty and commitment to service and the upliftment of the standards of living for the majority of the poor people.”

The ministry of the bishops’ conference demands “not only vigilance, but a policy decision, strategic planning, constant analysis of our situation and a programme of action, ranging from addressing the top leadership and filtering down to the church pews.”

The SACBC president also questioned the conference’s commitment to the regional and continental associations of Catholic bishops, and the effectiveness of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) and the Interregional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA).

“Our relationships with these organizations are distant; our ties with them are loose. We do not feel the importance of their work and we probably care less except once in a while when we get a pinch from the levy” the archbishop said.

“Do we wish SECAM to support those who call for the arrest of President Al-Bashir for the genocide committed in Darfur? The African Union has been going softly-softly on President Mugabe. IMBISA, based in Zimbabwe, is a toothless bulldog. Our own conference has not done much beyond expressions of solidarity and occasional protest.”

Archbishop Tlhagale suggested that the conference should break ranks with the African leaders and openly support smart sanctions on the Zimbabwean leadership. “Mr Mugabe, at 84, ought to be worried about his relationship with God rather than Prime Minister Gordon Brown and President George Bush.”

Archbishop Tlhagale also challenged the bishop of the tiny Kingdom of Swaziland to provide guidance on the troubled politics there. Swaziland is a constitutional monarchy, with succession is governed by custom and not election. Political power lies almost exclusively in the hands of
King Mswati III.

On HIV/AIDS, the bishops’ conference should go beyond raising funds and providing anti-retroviral treatment and agitate for the free provision of Anti-Retroviral Treatment to every citizen living with HIV/AIDS, like in Botswana. Five million people are said to be living with HIV in Southern Africa, but only 300, 000 are on treatment.

The prelate also spoke on the need to address poor church attendance and exodus of the faithful to other churches. “Why is the Catholic Church unable to retain the loyalty and commitment of its members? Is it because evangelization is not deep enough? Or is it because we lack post-confirmation formation programmes and adult formation programmes?”
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 20 August 2008 )