“Deeply abhorrent”: Cardinal Brislin Denounces Denial of Health, Education Access to Non-South Africans

Cardinal Brislin says, “In the light of the Scriptures and church teachings, which form us and our consciences, and in the light of the law of the land, I ask you to give no support to these misguided and ultimately dangerous activities. They are contrary to our faith.”

The Local Ordinary of Johannesburg Archdiocese, who doubles as the president of the  Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC), expresses regret over attempts in various countries to deny foreigners access to essential services.

“Across the world, there are attempts to prevent and criminalise migration as well as ratcheting up xenophobic discourses and activities, thereby undermining social cohesion. Let us be very clear,” he says.

He further says, “Irrespective of legal status, all have a right in South Africa to access medical care and a right to schooling.”

“Let us also be clear that no group has the authority to abrogate the prerogative of law enforcement by mob action, as these groups are doing at clinics and schools,” Cardinal Brislin says in the one-page statement that he signed.

He says that official law enforcement agents are duty-bound to protect all people when in harm’s way, even those without documentation. Failure to do so, he says, “is a dereliction of duty and should be met with strong consequences.”

“Our Scriptures and Church teaching are clear on this subject,” he says and adds in reference to the book of Exodus, ‘Do not mistreat or oppress the foreigner for you were once foreigners in Egypt’ and Leviticus, ‘When an alien resides with you in your land....do not oppress them.’”

Quoting further from the book of Deuteronomy, Cardinal Brislin says, “Cursed is anyone who denies justice to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow”.

Cardinal Brislin goes on to use Jesus’ teaching and the famous Sermon on the Mount, “When I was a stranger you welcomed me,” to illustrate the need to embrace the foreigners and grant them access to essential services.

From the book of Hebrews, the South African Cardinal says, “Do not forget to show hospitality to the stranger, for in doing so some people have welcomed angels unaware.”

In his message, the Cardinal also reflects on the Catholic Church’s Social Teaching, which he says insists that “human dignity, and all human rights, arise from our being created in the image and likeness of God, and not by legal status.”

“All people have the right to protection, including the right to be protected from illness, vulnerability and harm. These are principles which the church honours,” The South African Cardinal, who started his Episcopal Ministry in January 2007 as Bishop of South Africa’s Kroonstad Catholic Diocese, says.

Furthermore, the Cardinal explains that the “actions of preventing people from receiving health care and education are contrary to the Constitution, the Judgements of our Courts, the Directives of the Government Departments and the assurances of the respective Ministers.”

In the face of such clear legal guarantees, Cardinal Brislin says that he considers the actions of those preventing foreigners from accessing services as lacking “any moral purpose and instead they contribute to normalising the politics of exclusion and deprivation.”

“It is worth noting that the excuse often used for these misguided actions is that undocumented migrants are draining resources and thus impacting the well-being of South Africans,” he says in his September 30 message.

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The South African Cardinal, who was appointed to the Vatican Dicastery for the Clergy, adds that  “if these groups are concerned about lack of resources, they should direct their attention to the underlying cause-corruption - rather than bullying the vulnerable.”

Earlier in August, Archbishop Siegried Mandla Jwara of South Africa’s Catholic Archdiocese of Durban also denounced the denial of healthcare to foreigners seeking services in some hospitals and clinics in the country, urging the authorities to take immediate action to address the matter.

Archbishop Mandla’s condemnation came after reports indicated that, in Johannesburg’s Rosettenville suburb, residents established barricades and demanded that undocumented migrants seek private medical care and not public facilities.

Those who act in such a manner, the member of the Congregation of Mariannhill Missionaries (CMM) said, “contradict the principles of Catholic Social Teaching and the Gospel Values of love, mercy, and compassion.”

He said that foreigners “are to be treated with love, respect, and afforded every right as is available to them to seek treatment in situations that require medical intervention.”

In July, the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) issued a statement condemning the xenophobic protests blocking foreign nationals from accessing public healthcare facilities in South Africa, reaffirming their unwavering defence of human dignity and constitutional rights.

“The frightening evidence of all sorts of abuse by groups calling for foreign nationals to be excluded from health care is morally reprehensible, in direct contradiction to the Constitution, and undermines our every attempt to strengthen social cohesion,”