SOUTHERN AFRICA: Bishops condemn political greed, president's sexual misconduct as 'moral decay'
Episcopal News Service. February 12, 2010 [021210-04]
Matthew Davies
South African President Jacob Zuma has come under fire from the bishops of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa for what they call his "sexual misconduct" following his admission that he fathered a child out of wedlock.
Meeting Feb. 8-11 in the Diocese of Swaziland, the bishops said that such "sexual indiscretions ... highlight the way women more widely face exploitation and abuse, and, in the case of Swaziland, are reduced to the status of the possession of a male through the denial of basic human, political and economic rights."
The bishops expressed their concern at reports regarding the "moral degeneration within our societies and among their leadership. The almost unprecedented levels of alleged corruption among those in positions of power within the Republic of South Africa, the seeming inability or unwillingness of the state to hold anyone accountable, and the recent revelations of the sexual misconduct of the president of that country do not bode well for the future and are cause for serious concern."
Such "moral decay," the bishops said, "seems to disregard and undermine fundamental human rights."
Zuma freely admits he is a polygamist. He has been married five times and is father to 20 children.
He is on record as saying: "There are plenty of politicians who have mistresses and children that they hide so as to pretend they're monogamous. I prefer to be open. I love my wives and I'm proud of my children.” Polygamy is legal in South Africa.
Earlier in the week, Zuma issued a statement of apology for fathering a child out of wedlock.
Addressing issues of political greed, the bishops said they believe that "those in power are called by God to wise leadership and exemplary lifestyle," but that in reality "most of the leaders of our respective nations seem more committed to self-enrichment than poverty eradication."
"We have listened to accounts of unbridled greed, a greed that is not simply limited to those in political power," they said in a statement released at the end of their meeting. "Nevertheless, we are especially concerned at the levels of greed of those in power, and at the manner in which political processes are manipulated and co-opted in the pursuit of self enrichment. This has resulted in a serious undermining of democratic values to the point where, in some places, such values are non-existent."
Acknowledging that it is the poor who pay the price for political greed, the bishops underscored their concerns for the large number of people living below the poverty datum line in the oil-rich country of Angola and people struggling to exist on less than $2 a day in Swaziland. "In some of the nations within our province, this quest for self-enrichment has given rise to blatant abuses of power to the point where, in Swaziland, for example, political leaders stifle all attempts at dialogue and silence opposition, preferring instead to rule by threats and intimidation," they said.
The Anglican Church of Southern Africa is one of the 38 provinces of the Anglican Communion and includes Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, St. Helena and Tristan da Cunha.
The bishops called upon the leaders of all the nations within their province "to covenant with us in a process of moral, spiritual and economic regeneration, in which we seek to model our lives and our societies more closely on God's principles and purposes for humanity, as they are held in common by the great majority of faith groupings. Through doing so, may we be servants of his blessing upon all his people."
During their meeting, the bishops also addressed issues of biblical interpretation, known as hermeneutics, and formed a task team to explore in greater detail the implications of African traditional customs and rites being incorporated into Christian liturgical practice.