Johannesburg, 03 October, 2023 / 1:20 pm (ACI Africa).
One of Stephen Cardinal Brislin’s tasks in Southern Africa will be to call leaders out when they deceive those they govern, the President of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) has said.
According to Bishop Sithembele Sipuka of South Africa’s Mthatha Diocese, political leaders, especially those in South Africa, have the tendency to say ‘yes’ to people’s needs during political campaigns when, like one of the sons in the Gospel of Matthew, they mean ‘no’ and do not act on their mandate.
“Our political leaders back at home are saying all the right yes’s. But it is a big no in real life. What is painful is that this no remains forever because initially, it is presented as a yes. And so, when you try to challenge it, you appear unreasonable,” Bishop Sipuka said in his homily on Sunday, October 1.
Bishop Sipuka made the remarks at Cardinal Brislin’s inaugural Mass in Rome. Cardinal Stephen was one of the 21 Church leaders who were created cardinals by Pope Francis at a consistory in St. Peter’s Square on September 30.
Bishop Sipuka likened the behavior of politicians in South Africa to that of the second son in the Gospel of Matthew who said ‘yes’ when his father sent him to work in his vineyard but did not go.
