Cape Town, South Africa, May 4, 2016 / 06:37 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Catholic bishops of South Africa have criticized the government for excessive weapons spending given the country’s major social problems.
“We insist that, in the absence of discernible external military threat to our country, and in a country which is struggling to recover from high levels of unemployment and extreme poverty, it is ethically irresponsible and unnecessary to spend billions of scarce resources on weapons of war,” said Bishop Abel Gabuza.
Bishop Gabuza chairs the Justice and Peace Commission for the South Africa Catholic Bishops’ Conference. In an April 26 statement, he said the arms spending ignored the real problem.
“(T)he greatest threat to our national security are economic inequalities and youth unemployment which are themselves fueling violent social protests,” he said.
Bishop Gabuza said forms of protests are becoming increasingly violent.
“The defense capabilities that the military acquired through the arms procurement in 1999 are irrelevant in the face of this security threat,” he said.
The bishop was critical of a government finding that justified the arms spending in the face of corruption claims.
He said the government spent billions of South African rands – worth tens of millions of U.S. dollars – on weapons in 1999 at a time when the government said it could not afford retroviral treatments for South Africans with HIV.
“We therefore continue to insist that the arms deal was an ethical blunder,” he said.
The bishops’ conference commission also called on the government to suspend its plans for nuclear energy procurement.
Photo credit: KANIN.studio via www.shutterstock.com.
Article Archive
South African bishops rebuke government for spending billions on weapons
Related Articles • More Articles
null / Credit: Peter Hermes Furian via ShutterstockACI Prensa Staff, Apr 19, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) on April 19 condemned the kidnapping and murder of a catechist in Burkina Faso, West Africa.In a news brief, ACN informed ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, that catechist Edouard Yougbare was kidnapped on Thursday night by "terrorists, and his lifeless body was found near Zigni this morning."According to other local sources, along with Yougbare, who was a member of Saatenga parish in Fada Gourma, Burkina Faso, more people were kidnapped and murdered."We are heartbroken by the loss of Yougbare. He served his community faithfully and his death is a devastating blow for the people of Saatenga," lamented Spaniard María Lozano, press and public relations director of ACN International."Catechists in Burkina Faso are on the front lines, risking their lives for the good of their people. Just two months ago, ano...
Pope Francis addresses the faithful at his Wednesday general audience on March 27, 2024. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Apr 19, 2024 / 10:07 am (CNA).In the latest move in Pope Francis' reform of the Vatican judiciary, the pope issued a new motu proprio on Friday on the retirement age and benefits for cardinal judges and magistrates in the Vatican's court system.The April 19 motu proprio states that Vatican magistrates will retire at the end of the judicial year in which they turn 75 and cardinal judges at the age of 80, unless Pope Francis asks them to remain in office beyond the age limit.Magistrates and judges who wish to resign from office before the retirement age can only do so with the approval of the pope.The pope also has the prerogative to dismiss magistrates unable to fulfill their duties at any time. Upon the termination of their duties, magistrates will retain the rights to assistance and welfare provided to Vatican citizens and employees.The motu proprio, wh...
Archbishop Marek Jedraszewski of Krakow announced on April 14, 2024, the decision to begin the process of beatification and canonization of Helena Agnieszka Kmiec, a young lay missionary murdered in Bolivia in 2017. / Credit: The Helena Kmiec FoundationACI Prensa Staff, Apr 19, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).Archbishop Marek Jedraszewski of Krakow, Poland, announced the decision to begin the process of beatification and canonization of Helena Agnieszka Kmiec, a young lay missionary murdered in Bolivia in 2017.The prelate said that after the preliminary phase began in December 2022, he made the decision to officially open the process for Kmiec after having consulted the Polish Bishops' Conference and receiving the go-ahead from the Vatican's Dicastery for the Causes of Saints."With this edict I call on all those who have any document, letter, or information about the Servant of God, both positive and negative, to send them to the Metropolitan Curia of Krakow before June 30," the archbish...