Rome Newsroom, Jul 15, 2021 / 06:35 am
Catholic bishops in Southern Africa have called for an end to violence and looting that has led to the deaths of 72 people.
People were trampled to death this week amid looting and rioting in the streets of two South African provinces, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, where violence broke out following the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma.
The South African Bishop Sithembele Sipuka issued a statement on behalf of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) on July 13 condemning the violence.
“Let us not allow the difference of opinion on political matters to be hijacked by criminal intentions to create anarchy in our country that will result in worse social and economic situation than we presently find ourselves in,” said Sipuka, the president of the SACBC, an episcopal conference comprising the Catholic bishops of South Africa, Botswana, and Swaziland.