Tuesday 27 January 2015

Tribute to the Revd. Canon Mcebisi Xundu

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba has paid tribute to a "revolutionary cleric" who is remembered for his rallying cry of "Via, Jesus, Viva!" at church services in the Eastern Cape.

The Revd Canon Mcebisi Xundu, a prominent cleric in the Anglican Diocese of Port Elizabeth and an activist in the struggle against apartheid, died in Port Elizabeth last week at the age of 80. He had also been a United Democratic Front campaigner in KwaZulu/Natal in the 1980s, and spent periods in detention in both KwaZulu/Natal and the former Transkei.

Adding to a tribute paid by Bishop Bethlehem Nopece of Port Elizabath, Archbishop Makgoba said:

"Canon Xundu was a revolutionary cleric and a great son of this church. He was not always easy to get along with, but his faith was characterised by a disciplined and deep spirituality.

"A writer and a thinker, he was in the vanguard of the quest for social justice. Not shy to express his partisan political affiliation, he taught us as church to think, to weep alongside our people and to be bold in the quest for justice. When I visited him at his home recently, he gave me a new booklet challenging his beloved ANC.

"On behalf of the church in Southern Africa, we express our sympathy to his family."

Bishop Nopece said in his tribute: "For us it is a great loss to lose a man of this calibre. Canon Xundu was very vocal when our church was quiet during apartheid. Our condolences to the family, friends and to the ANC, and we assure them of our prayers.”

President Jacob Zuma's office today announced that Canon Xundu's funeral had been declared a "Provincial Official Funeral", and that the president had directed that the national flag should be flown at half-mast at all stations in the Eastern Cape province on Thursday, the day of his funeral.

Friday 23 January 2015

Statement on violence against African migrants in Soweto

Taking part in the World Economic Forum in Davos, I have been shocked at the shooting, looting and killing that has been happening in parts of Soweto, the place where I grew up and regard as home.

We cannot allow the current tensions to run at such high levels, even less to flare up into violence and the targetting of residents from elsewhere in Africa. I condemn the killing and destruction of property, and deeply regret that a law enforcement officer is said to have been involved.

I appeal to the authorities to get to the root of the crisis, to act speedily to stop these attacks from spreading and to bring perpetrators to book.

We all belong together and no one should be excluded from township life or be chased out. Revenge will not solve problems, only a display of our innate goodness and generous forgiveness will take us forward.

On behalf of the Anglican Church, I convey our condolences to all who have lost family members.

The Most Revd Thabo Makgoba
Archbishop of Cape Town

Thursday 22 January 2015

Archbishop Condemns Latest Attacks Using Religion as Pretext for Violence

A press release issued from Davos:

Davos, Switzerland - In the wake of the latest Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria and the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, spoke out against the use of terror tactics masquerading as a religious obligation.

Speaking during an interfaith panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, the Archbishop said:

“History is blood-spattered with religion used as a pretext for violence. Enough is enough. Violence in God’s name is never justified. Religions should never be used a vehicles of hate - never.”

Archbishop Makgoba joined former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, David Rosen, Rabbi and International Director, Interreligious Affairs, American Jewish Committee in Israel and Hamza Yusuf Hanson, Co-Founder and President, Zaytuna College, on the panel which discussed the use of violence in the name of religion.

He will also participate in a discussion on Business Ethics on Friday, January 23.

Saturday 3 January 2015

[VIDEO] "South Africa has inherited massive inequalities" - SABC Television Interview

An interview with SABC Television News on December 29, 2014:



"Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba says South Africa has become a society that has not only inherited massive inequalities but also accepts the continuation of such inequalities. Makgoba said this at a recent Mass at the St George's Cathedral. He also told the congregation that South Africans should be politically aware and participate in issues that would better their lives. Archbishop Thabo Makgoba joins us from our Cape Town Sea Point studios now to elaborate on his statement."