Others with African links appointed alongside Bishop Mbuyisa included 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.).
Pope Leo XIV also appointed 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.) to the ICLSAL Dicastery.
In the interview published on June 28, Bishop Mbuyisa reflected on his participation in the ICLSAL Dicastery, whose Prefect is Sr. Simona Brambilla saying, “I hope I can make my own contribution.”
The Local Ordinary of Kokstad Diocese since June 2022 clarified that the nature of his service as a member of the Vatican entity primarily entails participating in meetings on “particular policies or directions that the Dicastery is taking following the leadership of the Prefect.”
“I do know to be a Consultor it means you're one of those who are called into meetings, only for meetings and then coming back, so I’m not going anywhere,” the South African CMM Bishop said about the Vatican Dicastery that exists “to promote, encourage and regulate the practice of the evangelical counsels, how they are lived out in the approved forms of consecrated life and all matters concerning the life and activity of Societies of Apostolic Life
throughout the Latin Church.”
Meanwhile, South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa, has welcomed the appointment of Bishop Mbuyisa to the ICLSAL Dicastery, describing it as an “an honour for the Diocese of Kokstad, the Marianhill Missionaries” and the people of South Africa.
“On behalf of the nation, I congratulate Bishop Thulani Victor Mbuyisa of the Catholic Diocese of Kokstad on his appointment by The Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV,” the President of South Africa said in a June 26 post on his X account.
He said the Papal appointment places the South African-born Catholic Church leader “among a distinguished group of Cardinals, Bishops, and religious leaders from around the world entrusted with advising the Vatican on matters related to Religious Life and Apostolic Societies.”
The South African President added, “Bishop Mbuyisa is Vice Chairperson of the Commission for Synodality of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, whom we join in congratulating him on the Vatican’s recognition of his leadership, pastoral sensitivity and theological insight.”
“We wish Bishop Mbuyisa well on his elevation to a role in which he will help to shape the future of the Church globally,” President Ramaphosa said.
