Archbishop appeals to the world: Speak out on Gaza!

The depths of the cruelty which the current Israeli administration is prepared to inflict on innocent civilians in Gaza is making it ever more difficult to find words to condemn it.

Its refusal to allow life-giving supplies under conditions acceptable to experts in providing humanitarian aid suggests a willingness to use starvation as a tool of ethnic cleansing. This would amount to a war crime, and adds weight to the South African government's genocide case against the State of Israel at The Hague. 

Diplomacy seems to be reeling with ineffectiveness while Israel threatens to wipe out a whole nation. In the absence of military action against Israel, which would only beget more war, the only tool we have is to speak out and pray that the whole world will push back. We pray especially that the United States will choose the right side of history, and bring a halt to Israel's aggression, which has now taken on levels which are vastly disproportionate to Hamas's heinous attack of October 2023.

Lord in your mercy, please hear our prayers.

††Thabo Cape Town

Ad Laos - To the People of God – May 2025

Dear People of God, 

Having traversed Passiontide, celebrated Easter and embarked on the path towards Pentecost, I feel compelled to express my deep gratitude to God for His sustaining power throughout our journey as the people of God. As I write, some congregations are already preparing for services on Ascension Day, which is a significant moment in our liturgical calendar. 

I find the Christian calendar, divided into what I like to call “chunks”, incredibly helpful for providing a structured liturgical rhythm to our lives amidst all the competing demands and voices that vie for our attention. It gives me a sense of relief and security, knowing that we can move predictably from one season to another, from the contemplation of Lent, to Easter with its promise of renewal and light, to the celebration of the Ascension, then to Pentecost and once again to Christmastide and the Epiphany. This divinely-ordained structure provided by God through His church serves as a guiding framework that helps us navigate our spiritual journeys more effectively.

During the tumultuous times we are living through, many of us and our neighbours face numerous challenges ranging from political crises to economic uncertainty, and the recent stand-off between India and Pakistan reminds us of the continual potential of nuclear war which always seems to loom on the horizon. Young people in particular often feel anxious and uneasy in our uncertain world.

In light of this reality, I write to encourage everyone: take a deep breath; allow yourself time; walk slowly; remember that God remains sovereign over all. The God of hope reassures us that even amid difficulties, if we not only acknowledge the problems we face but identify them clearly, we can gather others around us in prayerful support while seeking constructive ways forward. As I said in my sermon at the Easter Vigil, we can draw confidence from the words of Jesus, as quoted by Julian of Norwich, that ultimately “All manner of things shall be well”.

In that spirit, after the Easter celebrations my wife Manala and I travelled to the United States, where I was blessed with an opportunity to preach at St. Thomas' Church in New York and to participate in adult class discussions afterwards—a truly enriching experience! It’s noteworthy that while most parishes in our province offer confirmation or baptism preparation classes for newcomers or those exploring faith initially, very few provide adult classes aimed at discipling already committed individuals who desire deeper spiritual growth within their everyday lives or professional environments.

Also in the United States, I had the privilege of addressing God's people at an inspiring gathering of the Church Club of New York. During my talk there, I made two heartfelt pleas: one was directed towards seeking humanitarian aid—such as that offered by the American government's PEPFAR HIV-Aids relief programme—while another focussed on fostering trade relationships with communities in need of support and development opportunities. 

Back at home, I convened an urgent meeting involving mining CEOs plus diverse business representatives across South Africa to reflect upon the potential impacts of the withdrawal of American aid, not only locally but across our church Province regionally, since neighbouring countries are impacted too. I am hopeful that, after also hearing valuable insights from government regarding PEPFAR's role across various nations, we can soon engage in dialogue with South Africa's Health Minister on the issue.

I returned from New York for the Elective Assembly which was scheduled to choose a new bishop of Port Elizabeth. Regrettably it had to be postponed to a date which has not yet been set as a result of a legal challenge. Subsequently, the Elective Assembly for the Diocese of Pretoria went ahead, but no candidate received the requisite support, so the election has been delegated to the Synod of Bishops in August or September.

Also back at home, Lungi and I had an enlightening opportunity visiting Nelson Mandela University, where former parishioner Wendy Luhabe, best known for her economic empowerment of women, spoke eloquently about values-based leadership in a lecture sponsored by our family foundation. Since she was addressing how to move forward together in pursuing broader community engagement strategies, her topic was particularly apt for a church dealing with disputed and deadlocked elective assemblies! 

Following this event, my chaplain, the Ven Mcebisi Pinyana, and I attended an insightful book launch at the University of the Western Cape centred around how slogans like “Rhodes Must Fall” and “Fees Must Fall” relate to efforts to decolonise education. The book looked at how to transform pedagogy beyond traditional Western constraints and replace conventional educational frameworks with justice-oriented local curricula.

As we move towards Pentecost, may each one of us be inspired by the Holy Spirit to find a centredness in our faith experience which will enable us to take on board Jesus's words in John 20:21: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you”. As you accept his call, be empowered to go out into the world to serve our communities faithfully wherever we are needed.

Blessings from Rome! 

††Thabo Cape Town

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba joins Anglican Communion delegation to attend the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV

 From Good Hope, monthly newsletter of the Diocese of Cape Town:

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba joined an Anglican Communion delegation in Rome earlier this month to attend the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV’s papal ministry and to hear his first address to other religious leaders.

At an Inaugural Mass on Sunday May 18, ecumenical leaders were seated in front of St Peter’s Basilica, where presidents, prime ministers and members of royal families were also present.

“The service—the liturgy and the music—was glorious,” the Archbishop wrote afterwards on his blog, and “the Pope's message of peace struck a real chord in me.

“Afterwards we had lunch at the British Embassy to the Holy See, together with English cardinals, MPs and members of the Royal family. We were also joined by Bishop Anthony Poggo, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion. After lunch, Lungi and I joined the Royal family and team and went to Pope Francis’s grave where I laid a white rose in his memory.”

In his homily at the Mass, Pope Leo deplored the state of the world, telling worshippers: “In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalises the poorest.”

Declaring his intentions for his Papacy, he continued: “For our part, we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world. We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ! Come closer to him! Welcome his word that enlightens and consoles! Listen to his offer of love and become his one family: in the one Christ, we are one.”

He appealed for a united Church, to be “a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world”.

Responding on his blog, Archbishop Thabo wrote: “Today was the first of many possible gestures of uniting us as humanity and then the household of Faith, especially Christians, in responding to what God is up to in God’s world."

On Monday May 19, the Archbishop joined Archbishop Leonard Dawea of Melanesia, Archbishop Stephen Cottrell of York, Archbishop John McDowell of Armagh and Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe of The Episcopal Church in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace for an audience which the Pope held with representatives of other faiths and Christian denominations.

Addressing the audience on inter-church unity, Pope Leo told his guests: “As Bishop of Rome, I consider one of my priorities to be that of seeking the re-establishment of full and visible communion among all those who profess the same faith in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

Appealing for peace and justice, he added: “In a world wounded by violence and conflict, each of the communities represented here brings its own contribution of wisdom, compassion and commitment to the good of humanity and the preservation of our common home.

“I am convinced that if we are in agreement, and free from ideological and political conditioning, we can be effective in saying ‘no’ to war and ‘yes’ to peace, ‘no’ to the arms race and ‘yes’ to disarmament, ‘no’ to an economy that impoverishes peoples and the Earth and ‘yes’ to integral development.”

The audience included Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, and Catholicos Awa III, patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, as well as Methodist and Lutheran leaders. Representatives of the Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh and Jain communities also attended.

Archbishop writes from Rome after Pope Leo XIV's inaugural Mass

 Dear People of ACSA

I am writing from Rome, where I am with Lungi and members of an international Anglican delegation attending the Inaugural Mass of Pope Leo XIV. Tomorrow I am part of a team which will have an audience with His Holiness.

We arrived last night (Saturday night). Today the service, the liturgy [PDF] and the music, was glorious and the Anglican Communion was well represented. The Pope's message of peace struck a real chord in me.  

Afterwards we had lunch at the British Embassy to the Holy See, together with English cardinals, MPs and members of the Royal family. We were also joined by Bishop Anthony Poggo, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion.

After lunch, Lungi and I joined the Royal family and team and went to Pope Francis's grave where I laid a white rose in his memory.

Please keep us, the Communion delegation, all those who attended the Mass, and the Pope in your prayers.

††Thabo

 An addendum from the Archbishop after sending the photo below:

"Today was the first of possible many gestures of uniting us as humanity and then the household of Faith especially Christians in responding to what God is up to in God’s world."

[Photo: Neil Verger]

Archbishop's letter to The Episcopal Church on South Africa's white "refugees"

 Archbishop Thabo Makgoba's letter to Presiding Bishop Sean W. Rowe of The Episcopal Church:

May 15th, 2025

Dear Presiding Bishop Sean,

I write to thank you for your call on Sunday, and to assure you of our gratitude for the stand you have taken in support of ACSA and South Africa in regard to the group of South Africans being resettled by your Administration.

What the Administration refers to as anti-white racial discrimination is nothing of the kind. Our government implements affirmative action on the lines of that in the United States, designed not to discriminate against whites but to overcome the historic disadvantages black South Africans have suffered.

By every measure of economic and social privilege, white South Africans as a whole remain the beneficiaries of apartheid. Measured by the Gini coeficient, which measures income disparity, we are the most unequal society in the world, with the majority of the poor black, and the majority of the wealthy white. 

While U.S. supporters of the South African group will no doubt highlight individual cases of suffering some members might have undergone, and criticise TEC for its action, we cannot agree that South Africans who have lost the privileges they enjoyed under apartheid should qualify for refugee status ahead of people fleeing war and persecution from countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Afghanistan. 

Please feel free to share this letter publicly.

Blessings,

††Thabo Cape Town

More background: Episcopal Church news report:

https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2025/05/15/southern-africa-archbishop-thanks-episcopal-church-for-opposing-trumps-selective-refugee-resettlement/

Archbishop's response to the election of Pope Leo XIV

On behalf of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, I welcome the election of Pope Leo XIV and pray intensely for him and for the Roman Catholic Church which he now leads.

We are greatly encouraged by his statements on the importance of remaining humble and his commitment to being close to those who suffer as well as to building bridges between people.

As members of the worldwide Anglican Communion, we look forward to working shoulder to shoulder with him to build the kingdom of justice and peace, to forging our shared way ahead, and to taking forward the legacy of Pope Francis. Our prayers for his leadership accompany him solidly.  

††Thabo Cape Town