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Voices
Russell Pollitt, S.J., is America’s Johannesburg correspondent.
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.
Medics stand by the covered bodies of victimes of a deadly blaze in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa, on Aug. 31. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)
Politics & SocietyDispatches
Russell Pollitt, S.J.
Following the tragedy, the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference issued a statement that decried those who “unscrupulously exploit the homeless and the poor.”
A boy stands before wind turbines at the Ashegoda Wind Farm, near Mekele in Ethiopia's Tigray region. Congolese Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu said the climate crisis is holding back African development. (CNS photo/Kumerra Gemechu, Reuters)
Politics & SocietyDispatches
Russell Pollitt, S.J.
“Loss and damage” because of climate change—the idea that the worst affected emerging economies receive compensation from affluent nations that have contributed the most to global warming—has for the first time been included on the agenda.
A Cameroonian elite Rapid Intervention Battalion member patrols the abandoned village of Ekona in the Anglophone region on Oct. 4, 2018. (CNS photo/Zohra Bensemra, Reuters)
Politics & SocietyDispatches
Russell Pollitt, S.J.
Separatists are demanding a $50,000 ransom for the release of their victims.
A woman holds a sign as demonstrators gather Sept. 4, 2019, at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town during a protest against gender-based violence. (CNS photo/Sumaya Hisham, Reuters)
Politics & SocietyDispatches
Russell Pollitt, S.J.
Advocates for the protection of women charge that rape is systemic and endemic in South Africa. Police statistics confirm this: There are about 115 rapes per day, a level that is among the highest in the world.
A listening session in Johannesburg. Photo courtesy of the Archdiocese of Johannesburg.
FaithDispatches
Russell Pollitt, S.J.
Bruce Botha, S.J., said one notable achievement of the synodal process was that many people who experienced themselves on the margins of the church felt that they were heard.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses parliament in Cape Town, South Africa, on June 9, 2022. Ramaphosa could face criminal charges and is already facing calls to step down over claims that he tried to cover up the theft of millions of dollars in U.S. currency that was hidden inside furniture at his game farm. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht, File)
Politics & SocietyDispatches
Russell Pollitt, S.J.
The #farmgate scandal is only the latest example of dysfunction within the African National Congress. Critics warn that corruption and incompetence have become endemic, contributing to a massive breakdown in basic services.
Archbishop Buti J. Tlhagale. Photo by Russell Pollitt, S.J.
FaithDispatches
Russell Pollitt, S.J.
“There is palpable outrage against the Catholic Church hierarchy for its complicity, its silence and its cover-ups. For siding [with] and hiding perpetrators at the expense of victims.”
South African President Jacob Zuma speaks on Feb. 14 at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. Zuma, 75, resigned that day after nine years in office. (CNS photo/Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters)
Politics & SocietyDispatches
Russell Pollitt, S.J.
Catholic leaders in South Africa praise the court decision to summon Zuma, saying it proves that no one is above the law.
Politics & SocietyDispatches
Russell Pollitt, S.J.
New president Cyril Ramaphosa has brought hope to South Africa, but he still comes from the party responsible for the disastrous reign of Jacob Zuma.