Canterbury backs Southern Africa primate in church v state row

Posted Jan 4, 2017

[Anglican Communion News Service] Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has declared his support for Archbishop of Cape Town Thabo Makgoba in a dispute with the South African president.

In his Christmas sermon, Makgoba had rejected a call from President Jacob Zuma for the church to stay out of politics. In a statement, Zuma later said that he had been referring to party politics. In response, Makgoba welcomed the clarification but insisted the church would not keep quiet and would not keep out of politics.

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Comments (3)

  1. Lloyd Casson says:
    January 4, 2017 at 4:11 pm

    I sure do agree with the Archbishop. If Jesus had stayed out of politics we would never have heard about him!

  2. Vicki Gray says:
    January 4, 2017 at 6:05 pm

    Good for Thabo, a good man I met in Palestine. He spoke the truth in Jerusalem and he is doing so again. In standing tall to speak truth to power, he provides a model for American clergy – and laity – in our current time of peril. And there are welcome echoes in the letter on climate change and immigration that the bishops of California have written to the President-Elect and the forceful statement of solidarity and resistance by the vestry of Seattle’s St. Mark’s Cathedral. For too long we have hidden behind the potential loss of our tax exemption as an excuse for silence. As Vincent Harding wrote and Martin spoke “There is a time when silence is betrayal.” That time, I fear, is now.

  3. Joe Prasad says:
    January 11, 2017 at 9:16 pm

    I am glad that the Archbishop has chosen to speak against the various types of injustices occurring in South Africa. I do respect separation of Church (religion) and State however there are times when politicians need to be reminded that they have someone Higher to whom we must all answer. All of us at one or time have looked towards religious institutions for guidance and support. It will help society in the long run to have some moral / ethical guidelines to work with.

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