Johannesburg, 26 June, 2025 / 9:47 pm (ACI Africa).
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.”
