In his opening address, the SACBC President extended condolences to fellow confrères who lost loved ones over the past year. He then proceeded to welcome and congratulate Stephen Cardinal Brislin who was created and proclaimed Cardinal by Pope Francis in the consistory of 30 September 2023.

“We welcomed Cardinal Brislin in August as an announced Cardinal, but now that we have seen him in red, because seeing is believing, we welcome him with certainty and with no doubt as a Cardinal because we have seen the colour red. All the other congratulations made so far, we were tentative. Congratulations, Cardinal Brislin,” said Bishop Sithembele Sipuka in his Wednesday, January 24 SACBC Plenary opening address.

Highlighting the theme of the SACBC January Plenary Session, Bishop Sipuka said, “This is our first gathering since the Synod on Synodality in September last year, so our theme for this plenary is Synodality. Archbishop Mpako and his team will lead an extended session on Synodality, giving us information about the Synod and leading us into an experience of the Synod.”

He noted the gradual resumption of Church life and the upward trend of the Lenten Appeal collection following the COVID-19 lockdown. Bishop Sipuka also thanked “the Department of Christian Formation’s constant efforts to link faith and culture through liturgical translation, healing, and exorcism workshops and research.”

“These are excellent efforts towards the inculturation of the faith, which has been paused since the 1990s,” he added.

In the January 24 SACBC Plenary opening address Bishop Sipuka highlighted South Africa’s upcoming general elections, the war in Gaza, and the sociopolitical issues in Eswatini as topics that require further discussions.

On matters concerning the Catholic Church to be addressed during the plenary session, Bishop Sipuka highlighted the recent document Fiducia Supplicans, the ongoing formation of Priests especially with regards to catechism, as well as theological reflection on gender fluidity.

He said, “In the past nine years, except during the COVID-19 period, the Theological Advisory Commission has picked up on its task of theological reflection on current matters on behalf of the conference. During this plenary, they will give a presentation on gender fluidity.”

In his concluding remarks, Bishop Sipuka congratulated the matric class of 2023 for achieving “an all-time high record of 82%,” pass rate.

He said, “This is a significant improvement, with more numbers achieving bachelor’s passes and more students passing mathematics compared to previous years… I also express gratitude to our own Catholic schools, which have contributed significantly to this overall improved pass rate.”

“Our schools are doing well; we must support them. Thanks to the Catholic Institute of Education, which is doing a lot to help our school maintain a high standard of education,” he added.