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We warmly greet you all, the faithful in our dioceses, parishes and communities. We are about to celebrate ten years since the choice was made to pursue the path of democracy as a country and to grow together as a family of different peoples and cultures. We write this letter with the hope of encouraging you to face bravely the difficulties which we encounter in becoming this family. In building our nation, we, Catholic Christians, together with others, are sent by Christ to give a shining example of a living community where different peoples accept one another, are reconciled, live and worship together in peace and happiness. It saddens us whenever we notice instances in the life of the Church where people are failing to come together. For instance, when white Catholics and people of other ethnic groups stay away from celebrations; problems of language and reference to the length of the services are usually given as the reason. Or, when national days are so politicised that there are people who feel alienated. This is the challenge we want to address through this pastoral letter. The Vision of God is a Community of All Peoples"Here on this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a banquet for all the nations of the world ‑ a banquet of the richest food and finest wine. Here he will suddenly remove the cloud of sorrow that has been hanging over all the nations. The Sovereign Lord will destroy death forever! He will wipe away the tears from everyone's eyes and take away the disgrace his people have suffered throughout the world. The Lord himself has spoken. "When it happens, everyone will say, 'He is our God! We have put our trust in him, and he has rescued us. He is the Lord! We have put our trust in him, and now we are happy because he has saved us'. The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain …” 1 This plan of God for all people is especially apt to describe a vision for all our peoples in Southern Africa growing together into one community. The Vision of our Pastoral PlanThe vision of the Pastoral Plan for our Church in Southern Africa, launched in 1989, was a vision of community serving all human beings in our country. "The call to build community is not a mere human urge. It comes to us from the divine community of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in whose image we are made. "When Jesus established his Church he created a new community built around himself. Its supreme law and distinctive sign is love: love of God and love of one another.” Let Us Examine Ourselves. Parish Pastoral Councils, Associations and small Christian communities should ask themselves the following:
We are called to continue Christ's mission to create unity. The gospel message calls us to reach out and create one human community in which all find an experience of belonging to the same human family. Our church with its many groupings, structures and networks places us in a unique position to work at overcoming these barriers. We acknowledge with gratitude the new and extra efforts made in parishes and dioceses to build relationships between different groups of people who up to now have been separated from each other. We urge you all to look for ways to bring people of different cultural and ethnic traditions into greater fruitful contact with each other. The call is to go further than casual and superficial acquaintance, to work together and to build up real family relationships in the one family of the Church. In particular we, as Bishops, feel challenged to assist people in overcoming the uneasiness they feel with each other. This uneasiness often results in their not participating in church or civic activities when there is a difference in cultural and ethnic expressions. For example,
We seek your support and assistance as we pledge ourselves to work together with you in promoting this climate for greater social inter‑activity. We find that our youth are leading the way and this is characteristic of their ability to adapt. Gospel values and Church backing will give much greater permanence to what they are doing. In particular we learn from the youth that with the right spirit and commitment we can facilitate people getting to know each other better and growing in commitment to one another. Conclusion The difficulties which we still experience in many of our church communities is a reflection of the difficulties experienced as a nation. We understand it as a sign of the times. Christ sends us Catholic Christians, among others, right into this situation in order to become shining examples of unity where different peoples are able to tolerate and accept one another in love and worship. We would like to quote again from Community serving Humanity, published in 1989: "In Southern Africa we have inherited a legacy of barriers. These are the racial barriers erected by a political policy that fed on people's racial prejudices.... There can be no meaningful search for community that does not strive to remove those barriers. "Discrimination whether based on race or on sex, is found not only in society but also in our Church communities. In pursuing the theme of Community Serving Humanity we must therefore give special attention to demolishing these barriers, removing discrimination, and fostering a genuine experience of equality before the Lord " 3 In the name of the Lord we call on you, Beloved Sisters and Brothers, to reach out to one another in church services and in the life of the parish, despite differences of language and culture. Succeeding in this will mean more than building a new South Africa, it opens the door to the Kingdom of God among us. Your Bishops Wilfrid Cardinal Napier OFM Archdiocese of Durban (President) Bishop M. Coleman Diocese of Port Elizabeth (First Vice‑President) Archbishop B. Tlhagale OMI Arch. of Bloemfontein (Second Vice‑President) Archbishop G. Daniel Archdiocese of Pretoria Archbishop L. Henry Archdiocese of Cape Town Bishop H. Bucher Diocese of Bethlehem (Board Member) Bishop O. Hirmer Diocese of Umtata (Board Member) Bishop M. P. Dlungwane Auxiliary Bishop of Mariannhill (Board Member) Bishop P. Mvemve Diocese of Klerksdorp (Board Member) Bishop E Risi OMI Keimoes‑Upington (Board Member) Bishop W. Slattery OFM Diocese of Kokstad (Board Member) Bishop E. Adams Diocese of Oudtshoorn Bishop M. D. Biyase Diocese of Eshowe Bishop J. L. Brenninkmeijer OP Diocese of Kroonstad Bishop K. Dowling CSSR
Diocese of Rustenburg Bishop E. Hecht
OMI
Diocese of Kimberley Bishop H. N. Lenhof
SAC
Diocese of Queenstown Bishop F. Lobinger
Diocese of Aliwal North Bishop P. M Khumalo
Diocese of Witbank Bishop P. T. Mngoma
Diocese of Mariannhill Bishop L. N. Ndlovu OSM
Diocese of Swaziland Bishop P.M Nkumishe Diocese of Pietersburg Bishop F. Nubuasah SVD
Diocese of Francistown Bishop J. Nxumalo
Auxiliary Bishop of Durban Bishop M. M. O'Shea OSM
Diocese of Hlabisa Bishop J Potocnak SCJ
Diocese of De Aar Bishop M. P. Rowland OFM
Diocese of Dundee Bishop B. T Setlalekgosi
Diocese of Gaborone Bishop H. Slattery MSC
Diocese of Tzaneen SOUTHERN AFRICAN
CATHOLIC BISHOPS' CONFERENCE 1. Isaiah 25:6‑10 2. Words from Community
serving Humanity: Pastoral Plan of the Catholic Church in Southern Africa, par.
6 3 ibid. Pastoral Plan of
the Catholic Church in Southern Africa, par. 16 TO BE READ IN ALL CHURCHES PARISHES ON 15 JUNE 2003
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