Catholic Bishops in Southern Africa Welcome G20 Resolutions following Two-Day Summit

Johannesburg, 25 November, 2025 / 10:50 PM

The Justice and Peace Commission of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) has expressed its appreciation for the resolutions adopted by G20 leaders during their two-day summit in South Africa, noting that the outcomes reflect and reinforce the Church’s long-standing appeals for global justice, solidarity, and inclusive development.

The resolutions include commitments to multilateralism and global cooperation, progress on debt sustainability, and efforts to address inequality and promote inclusive development.

On commitments to multilateralism and global cooperation, Bishop Thulani Victor Mbuyisa, the SACBC-JPC chairman, said, “We welcome the renewed call for global partnership and the pledge to leave no person, no community, and no country behind.”

The Local Ordinary of South Africa’s Catholic Diocese of Kokstad  explained that commitment to global cooperation is timely, “especially at a time when the world faces deep inequality and economic uncertainty.”

The summit, held on 22–23 November at the Nasrec Expo Centre in the Catholic Archdiocese of Johannesburg on the theme “Solidarity, Sustainability and Equality,” brought together heads of state and government from across the G20 bloc.

The 19 countries of the G20 include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (U.S.). Other entities are the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU).

At the two-day summit in South Africa, all members are said to have participated except the United States of America.

In the welcome note that the SACBC shared with ACI Africa on Tuesday, November 25, Bishop Mbuyisa also commended the G20 leaders for their renewed support for the common framework for debt treatment.

“We commend the G20’s support for debt transparency, fair debt treatment, and stronger debt management capacity for indebted nations. These steps respond directly to the calls of faith leaders, including the SACBC,” he said.

He highlighted the petitions submitted by faith leaders to South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation following their  G20 Social Summit side event that was held in Johannesburg on the theme, “A Jubilee for Solidarity: Towards a People and Planet Driven Financial Architecture for Africa.”

“We recall that the SACBC and other faith leaders submitted petitions to Minister Ronald Lamola ahead of the Summit, and we are encouraged that these concerns were reflected in the final resolutions,” said Bishop Mbuyisa.

The South African member of the Congregation of Mariannhill Missionaries (CMM) also lauded G20 leaders’ resolution of addressing inequality and promoting inclusive development, welcoming “the focus on inclusive industrialisation, women’s economic empowerment, financial inclusion, and reducing inequality between and within nations.”

Bishop Mbuyisa, who has been at the helm of Kokstad Diocese since his Episcopal Ordination in June 2022, expressed gratitude for South Africa’s opportunity to host the first G20 Leaders’ Summit on African soil, describing the event as “a significant milestone for Africa’s voice in global affairs.”