“A proud moment”: Leadership of South African Political Party Lauds Bishop’s Appointment to Vatican Dicastery

Johannesburg, 26 June, 2025 / 9:47 PM

The appointment of Bishop Thulani Victor Mbuyisa of South Africa’s Koksta Catholic Diocese as a member of the Vatican Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life (ICLSAL) is “a proud moment” for the country, the leadership of the African National Congress (ANC) has said.

In their Thursday, June 26 congratulatory message to Bishop Mbuyisa, ANC officials describe the appointment that the Vatican made public on June 24 as “distinguished” and “historic”.

“This distinguished appointment is both a proud moment for South Africa and a recognition of Bishop Mbuyisa’s deep spiritual leadership, unwavering dedication to justice, and his pastoral commitment to the upliftment of the poor and marginalized,” they say in the one-page statement shared with ACI Africa.

Officials of South Africa’s governing party since the end of apartheid in the country in 1994 go on to describe Mbuyisa’s “role” in the ICLSAL as “strategic, as it guides the global Church on matters concerning religious orders, missionary communities, and the vital role of consecrated life in society.”

Bishop Mbuyisa’s appointment, ANC officials say, “affirms the global stature of South African religious leaders and reflects the profound contribution that African voices continue to make to the moral, ethical, and spiritual discourse shaping our world.”

The South African member of the Congregation of Mariannhill Missionaries (CMM) is among the five newly appointed members to the ICLSAL Dicastery, who are ministering in Africa.

All of them members belonging to various ICLSAL, the others are Cristóbal Cardinal López Romero of the Catholic Archdiocese of Rabat in Morocco and member of the Congregation of the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) and Archbishop Jude Thaddaeus Ruwa’ichi of Tanzania’s Catholic Archdiocese of Dar-es-Salaam, who belongs to the Order of Friars Minor (OFM Cap.)

Other Papal appointees to the Vatican Dicastery headed by Sr. Simona Brambilla are Bishop Tesfaye Tadesse Gebresilasie, the Auxiliary Bishop of Ethiopia’s Catholic Archdiocese of Addis Ababa and member of the Religious Institute of the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus (MCCJ), and Fr. Stanley Lubungo, the Zambian-born Superior General of the Society of Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers/MAfr.).

In the June 26 statement, ANC officials acknowledge with appreciation Bishop Mbuyisa’s life principles, saying, “We take great pride in this honour bestowed upon a son of our soil, whose values echo the principles of service, humility, and dignity upon which our liberation movement was founded.”

“We are particularly inspired by Bishop Mbuyisa’s journey, which reflects the transformative power of faith in action and the enduring relevance of ethical leadership in a world yearning for healing,” say officials of the party that has dominated politics of South Africa, having played a significant role in the country’s anti-apartheid struggle

Wishing him the best as he takes up the responsibility, ANC officials add, “We trust that he will serve with the same compassion and integrity that has long defined his ministry.”