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Bishops Laud Growth of Catholic Church’s Service Delivery in Southern Africa

Members of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC). Credit: SACBC

Members of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) have lauded the steady growth of the Catholic Church in the countries making up the conference, noting that many good quality services in education, health, and in other institutions within the region are provided by the Catholic church.

In their message to mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of SACBC, a celebration that coincided with their Plenary Assembly, the Bishops highlighted various ways in which the Conference had grown, including providing services to non-Catholics.

“Through its various organs and departments, the Conference has served society beyond the confines of the Catholic Church and helped improve people’s lives. This is particularly true of our schools which, though few and under-resourced, continue to provide quality education to many children of poor backgrounds,” the Catholic Bishops said in a communique they shared with ACI Africa on Monday, January 30.

They added, “In recent times, the Catholic Church has been the number one institution in taking care of people with HIV and AIDS.”  

The Catholic Church in Southern Africa had also expanded and was now serving people who had, for long, been marginalized, the Catholic Bishops said.

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They noted that the Church had grown from one that initially focused on ministering to settlers to one that has become inclusive of all the local people in its membership. 

The Church, they said, had grown from one that initially depended on expatriate missionaries to one that is growing in becoming self-reliant, self-supportive, self-evangelizing, and self-ministering.

“During the time of apartheid, the SACBC was one of the prominent and recognized voices that constantly and continually advocated for change. The bishops played an important role in denouncing the ideological attitudes and practices against human dignity inherent in this system and in constantly calling for change and transformation,” the Catholic Bishops in Botswana, South Africa, and eSwatini said.

They noted that through the numerous statements issued at different times, Catholic Bishops not only condemned what was wrong, but also offered pastoral guidance to the faithful on how to respond to the social, political, and economic injustices.  

The immense growth notwithstanding, the Catholic Bishops acknowledged that some areas need improvement in the Catholic Church in Southern Africa.

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They underlined the need for the Catholic Laity to develop a sense of ownership of their Church, saying, “We note with some disappointment the slow march towards the ownership of the Church and  its prophetic mission by the laity in general.”

They noted that the engagement of the Church with civic and political in the region had been the sole responsibility of the Church leaders while the Laity took a back seat.

“It has been the bishops who spoke and issued statements on matters of justice and economic inequality. This is also true regarding carrying out the mission of the Church, which is still largely viewed as the domain of priests and religious,” SACBC members said, and added, “The notion of a self-supporting Church remains underdeveloped among our laity.” 

In their Plenary Assembly, the SACBC members highlighted the problems that the poor and vulnerable are facing in the three African countries and noted that the poor, however, are not entirely innocent in what bedevils the countries.

“We are troubled by the phenomenon of the poor failing to take responsibility and initiative within the scope and the means available to them, choosing instead to depend on and rely only on government grants,” the Bishops said, and added, “The morally right government policy of giving grants to the poor and the elderly has unfortunately engendered a culture of dependency and laziness, where people do not make use of available opportunities and do what they can to earn their living.”

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They said that even more troubling was the problem of poor people engaging in criminal activities. 

“Part of the problem of electricity in South Africa that is rarely spoken about is that the poor engage in illegal electricity connections to avoid paying,” the Bishops said, expressing concern about what they termed as a growing culture of vandalization of property, theft, and refusal to pay for services, especially in South Africa.

The Catholic Church leaders decried lawlessness, lack of consideration for the poor, as well as the practice of littering in the country.

They challenged the poor people to appreciate their dignity and to do what they can to provide for themselves. 

“The poor must also play their role and become responsible citizens,” the SACBC members said at their plenary assembly that was held at St. John Vianney National Major Seminary in the Archdiocese of Pretoria.

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Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.