Waiting for the Renaissance
Last week we reported that the Church and its personnel are increasingly being targeted by criminals.
The report was by no means representative of the extent to which crime affects the Church. What we published were randomly collected reports of crime, probably representing just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
It is of concern that several of the priests we interviewed saw the Church as being regarded by criminals as a “soft target”. Criminals presumably anticipate less resistance, especially of the armed variety, from Church personnel, and fewer problems in gaining access to churches and presbyteries.
Bishop Kevin Dowling–who last month fell victim to a particularly vicious armed robbery at his residence–has pointed out that the prevalent condition of unemployment and poverty is at the root of many criminal acts.
In other words, not all criminals enter their wicked vocation for purposes of pure greed. Many break the law to feed themselves and their families.
This may serve as an explanation for some felonies, but not as an excuse. The majority of unemployed and impoverished South Africans–whose predicament usually is not one of their own making–do not engage in robberies, never mind employing brutal means in the process.
The cruelty that often accompanies crime can be understood in terms of the dehumanising dimensions of abject poverty, and the sense of hopelessness which the condition breeds. One may add to that the experience of apartheid, a brutal system that regarded black life as cheap. Subsequently–and this is the cruel legacy of a cruel system–a number of South Africans have grown up to regard all life as cheap.
Again, this may serve as an explanation, but it cannot justify violent crime.
Clearly, the state continues to fail in its duty to protect citizens from crime–and there seem to be no quick fixes to combat this social malaise.
It seems inevitable that Church personnel will have to invest in extra security measures to protect themselves, possibly at the grim human cost of relinquishing the intimacy they have traditionally enjoyed with the communities they serve.
It is often said, rightly, that the extent to which a society can protect its people is a measure of its civilisation. In these terms, South Africa is still awaiting its renaissance.
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