Catholic Bishops in Southern Africa Decry Rooted Racial Division in Parishes

The Bishops who held their plenary assembly from January 17 to 24 also decried what they described as a  continuing legacy of colonial and apartheid racism that they said had been brought to the fore by a suspected racially-motivated attack at a holiday resort in Bloemfontein in South Africa’s Free State province.

“We noted with dismay the latest incidents of racism in South Africa, with particular reference to the racial incident at a holiday resort in Bloemfontein, where some white people violently prevented some black teenagers from using a pool,” the Catholic Bishops say.

They add, “We recalled that there had been a number of such incidents in the recent past. We find it disconcerting that after almost 30 years of the new dispensation; we still witness incidents of this nature.”

The Catholic Bishops acknowledge that the Church in South Africa still has “some serious work to do” in addressing the effects of racist social conditioning in Catholics.  

They say that racism was “deeply entrenched” in the country, and note that the vice could not be ended by being wished away.

The Catholic Bishops express regret, saying that while Church leaders had in the past vehemently fought racism, the current Church had become comfortable with the vice.

“We recalled with a sense of remorse that while in the past the hierarchy of the Church issued statements condemning apartheid  and racism, in its internal daily life and practice the Church colluded with discrimination and  segregation in its parishes, seminaries, and religious congregations,” the Bishops say in the statement that was signed by SACBC President, Bishop Sithembele Sipuka of Mthatha Diocese.

They add, “This racially informed way of  being Church has, unfortunately, continued well into our own times and is proving difficult to  transcend.”

The Bishops appeal to the people of God in South Africa to make the fight against racism a personal mission “by remaining awake to unconscious racial tendencies.”

Additionally, the SACBC members encourage the use of programs and workshops in parishes, noting that sic programs facilitate awareness-raising regarding what they described as “deeply entrenched effects of the long history of racist social conditioning.”

In their Plenary Assembly, the SACBC members also pay tribute to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, describing his passing on on New Year eve last year as historical for the Church. 

“Our Plenary meeting took place soon after the historical event of the passing on of Pope Benedict XVI,” the Catholic Bishops say, and add, “His passing  was a historical event because his mark as a theologian, a Pope and a leader is recognised globally.”

The late Pontiff, they say, “is remembered as one who invited us to the truth that transcends our limited understanding, the  truth that gives us a theoretical framework of how we must relate to and treat each other, the truth  that liberates us from the dictatorship of our lower levels of existence, the truth that holds us  accountable.”

“He taught us that a life worth living is not based on a personal construct of what we feel is good or right for us but rather on one that is grounded in something greater than ourselves, a truth independent of time and culture, binding everywhere and for everyone,” the Bishop say of Pope emeritus Benedict XVI.

They add, “He reminded us that ideologies that begin with the noblest intention, given their human origin can become destructive later. In contrast, a truth greater than us ensures that we will always strive to live according to its summons, even if, at times, we fail.”

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The Bishops from South Africa, Botswana and eSwatini also pay tribute to  Fr. Albert Nolan, a world-renowned researcher who died in October last year, describing him as a “humble but powerful witness.” 

“He was fondly remembered for his humble but powerful witness during the dark years of apartheid as well as for his passion for relating the Gospel to the circumstances of the poor and  oppressed,” they said.

The Catholic Bishops of the three-member Conference highlight the relevance Fr. Nolan’s book “Hope in an age of Despair”, which they say provided reflection on the sorry state of affairs in eSwatini and South Africa. 

“We appreciated his (Fr. Nolan’s) call for compassion and solidarity with the poor as a way to contribute toward  the alleviation of this sense of hopelessness,” they say.