In his Christmas message, the President of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) says that the birth of Jesus Christ is “a much-needed season of hope for peace,” in a world marred by war and by “a lack of peace with varying degrees.”
“As we enter this season of peace, the reality of our situation in the world, at the national and personal levels, is characterised by a lack of peace with varying degrees, with some situations being worse than others. To talk meaningfully about this season of peace, we must be upfront in naming our unpeaceful situations,” says Bishop Sithembele Sipuka.
In the December 21 Christmas message, the SACBC President laments the “absence of peace in the Holy Land,” and in the world at large. He bemoans poor media coverage of other war-torn countries such as Sudan, DRC, Burkina Faso, Tigray, Mozambique, and Ukraine.
“The situation of war in the Holy Land is receiving comprehensive media coverage, contributing to knowledge and sympathy about what is going on there. Not so forefront in our consciousness are similar situations that are occurring in the African continent and elsewhere because they are not so well covered by the media, but they are there,” says Bishop Sipuka.
The Local Ordinary of Mthatha Diocese also highlights the lack of peace in South Africa aggravated by “corruption” and “the lack of ethical leadership at top levels and mismanagement of the country.”
In his concluding remarks, Bishop Sipuka calls on the people of God “to embrace Christ who is God among us so that we can have peace at all levels of our existence.”
“It is in this context of lack of peace between humanity and creation, lack of peace among nations, lack of peace between the leaders and citizens, lack of peace among citizens, lack of peace between oneself and others, lack of peace within oneself and lack of peace between oneself and God that we are invited to embrace Christ who is God among us so that we can have peace at all levels of our existence,” says Bishop Sipuka in the December 21 Christmas message.
