The pope’s new man in SA

With the Church in the countries of his first posting as apostolic nuncio and delegate – Botswana, South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho and Namibia – we congratulate Archbishop James P Green and wish him God’s blessings as he prepares to take on the significant task of representing the pope and the Holy See in our region.

On a diplomatic level, the nuncio is the Vatican’s ambassador to the nation or nations of his posting, representing the concerns, interests and priorities of the Holy See. Ecclesiastically, the nuncio represents the pope and the Vatican in the affairs of the local Church, with the nomination of new bishops a particularly important responsibility.

Some nuncios have emerged from Pretoria to go on to greater things in the Church. Archbishop Edward Cassidy, the Australian who served as nuncio in Pretoria from 1981-84, became a cardinal in 1991 and headed the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity before his retirement in 2001. Portuguese Archbishop Manuel Monteira de Castro, here from 1998-2000, moved from Pretoria to the prestigious nunciature in Spain, historically one of the four “First Class Nunciatures”.

Archbishop Green will face diverse challenges when he officially takes up his appointment in October or early November.

It is evident that many of the policies of the South African government run counter to Catholic doctrine. With the leaders of the local Church, one may presume that Archbishop Green will take a lively interest in government policies that may impact on the teachings of the Church.

For example, as he arrives, the government will be soliciting public input in its process of re-drafting the abortion law, as instructed by the Constitutional Court.

As far as Church affairs are concerned, it is conceivable that among the priorities our local Church leaders might wish to bring to the nuncio’s attention is the high number of vacant or soon to be vacant dioceses in Southern Africa.

At present, at least six dioceses are without a bishop (one of them, Umzimkulu, is administrated by the archbishop of Durban). Another three are headed by bishops who have offered their obligatory resignation upon reaching the canonical retirement age of 75 (the pope may ask such bishops to continue in their episcopal ministry). Additional dioceses may fall vacant unexpectedly when bishops resign due to ill health or die suddenly.

The process of episcopal nomination, approval and appointment is intricate and therefore slow. Presuming that there are not many nominations pending in the Vatican, we may need to be patient. Archbishop Green will require some time to acquaint himself with our region before initiating the processes governing the selection of new bishops. This may well take some time.

In his new job, Archbishop Green will need the keen support of all in the local Church with whom he will interact. May his time in our region be distinguished by accomplishment and joy in the service of Our Lord and his Church.