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Voices
Russell Pollitt, S.J., is America’s Johannesburg correspondent.
Sisters carry a cross during a silent march during Good Friday celebrations in Durban, South Africa, in March 2016. (CNS photo/Rogan Ward, Reuters)
FaithDispatches
Russell Pollitt, S.J.
One South African theologian described “a deep sense of disillusionment that the church, on the one hand, is saying we need to be a synodal listening church, and has yet again taken the diaconate for women off the table.”
Father Emmanuel Mosoew, an Oblate of Mary Immaculate, distributes ashes to a religious sister at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Johannesburg during Mass on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. Father Mosoew is a theology professor at St. Augustine University in Johannesburg. (OSV News photo/Sam Lucero)
FaithDispatches
Russell Pollitt, S.J.
“If women are doing practically everything that a deacon is doing ... [why] do we want to draw women into clericalism when we are having so many problems with it?”
A child kicks a football in front of a mural of Nelson Mandela, in Soweto, South Africa, as the country celebrates Freedom Day on April 27. (AP Photo)
Politics & SocietyDispatches
Russell Pollitt, S.J.
Polls abound, and the political ground keeps shifting, but one thing is sure: South Africa is likely to experience a significant political realignment on May 29.
Cardinal Stephen Brislin addresses the press on Jan. 30, describing the position of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference on the Vatican declaration, “Fiducia Supplicans.” Photo courtesy of SACBC Communications Office.
FaithDispatches
Russell Pollitt, S.J.
The spokesperson for the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference said that the conference “has taken a slightly different stand from the rest of Africa” on the Vatican declaration “Fiducia Supplicans.”
A woman walks through rows of white-wrapped bodies, touching one, as Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, outside a morgue in Rafah, southern Gaza, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Politics & SocietyDispatches
Russell Pollitt, S.J.
For many in South Africa, there is a symbolic significance in the decision to pursue the genocide charge. In 2024, South Africa celebrates 30 years of democracy, yet vast injustices still permeate South African society because of its traumatic history.
Politics & SocietyGoodNews
Russell Pollitt, S.J.
Three2Six offers a basic education to undocumented migrant and refugee children, many of whom are barred from South Africa’s public schools because of their residency status.
Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema is sworn-in as Gabon's interim president during a Sept. 4, 2023, ceremony in Libreville, the nation's capital. Nguema seized power Aug. 30 after the military overthrew the incumbent president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, in the former French colony region in West and Central Africa. (OSV News photo/Reuters)
Politics & SocietyDispatches
Russell Pollitt, S.J.
Gabon military leaders claimed that electoral malpractice was one of the reasons for the coup, but another surely must be the growing frustration of the general public with a ruling elite who live in luxury while life for average Gabonese, despite its oil riches, remains a struggle.
A man sits outside his building which was destroyed during Israeli bombardment in Rafah refugee camp in Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Politics & SocietyDispatches
Russell Pollitt, S.J.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the A.N.C. remained steadfast in advocating for peace between Israel and Palestine. He said the A.N.C. stood with Palestine and its citizens, who have been oppressed for more than 70 years.
Palestinians inspect damages in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, following a Hamas surprise attack at Beach refugee camp, in Gaza City, Oct. 9, 2023. The Hamas-Israel war has entered a new phase, with more than 1,100 dead. (OSV News photo/Mohammed Salem, Reuters)
Politics & SocietyDispatches
Russell Pollitt, S.J.
Father Neuhaus: The current military confrontations in the Holy Land are accompanied by a war to control public opinion at home and abroad. The rhetoric used on both sides basically denies the other side’s humanity.
People in Soweto, South Africa, walk past electricity pylons July 3, 2022, during frequent power outages because of aging coal-fired plants. (CNS photo/Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters)
Politics & SocietyDispatches
Russell Pollitt, S.J.
In a pastoral letter, titled “All Citizens to Reclaim the Dream,” the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference encouraged South Africans not to lose hope.