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In response to the request from the Bishop of South Africa’s Diocese of Mariannhill “for an Apostolic Visitation”, Pope Francis has appointed the Archbishop Emeritus of Pretoria in South Africa, William Slattery to represent him in the visit of the diocese that is part of the Ecclesiastical Province of Durban.
The newly-launched pastoral plan of the Southern Africa Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) is expected to be “a light in darkness” for Botswana, Eswatini and South Africa, to guide the three countries on the path of evangelization in contemporary times, and possibly redeem the people of God there from economic instability, corruption and social evils to become, once again, “the model and envy of the world,” a section of SACBC members have said.
At the ongoing Plenary Assembly of the Bishops in Botswana, South Africa and Swaziland, the Papal representative in the region, Archbishop Peter Bryan Wells outlined, on Wednesday, January 22, five characteristics of missionary episcopate that the Holy Father desires of serving Bishops as explained in Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium and that “the bishop must become a model of the joy of Christ.”
Pope Francis has expressed his condolences to the families of the two priests, formators at Saint John Vianney Seminary in Pretoria, South Africa, who died in the December 3 road accident and made known his prayerful solidarity with the two others who survived the Tuesday afternoon tragedy.
As the global community continues to mark the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence that started November 25 advocating for the elimination of all forms of gender violence, Church leaders under the Southern Africa Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), a region that has recorded the highest cases of femicide in Africa, have called on all people to use the upcoming Advent season to promote the dignity of women and girls, taking deliberate initiatives to end gender-based violence that usually targets the female gender.