Pilgrims of Hope: Joint Witness Meeting 2024

by Fr Vaclav Klement SDB · September 23, 2024

By Fr Vaclav Klement SDB – The synodal path of the Southern African Catholic community is marked every 3 years by a ‘Joint Witness’ – 3 days of mutual sharing, prayer and discernment of the Southern African Bishops Conference (SACBC) and the Leadership Conference of Consecrated life (LCCL) in South Africa, Botswana and eSwatini.

For the first time after the Covid pandemic, the ‘Joint Witness’ was held in the Christian Centre of eMseni, Benoni in Johannesburg, from 16 to 18 September with the participation of 2 Cardinals, 13 Bishops and 44 leaders of men and women religious congregations of Southern Africa.

A well-prepared programme and discussions moderated by Br Michael Burke CFC with the wonderful synergy of both presidents – Bishop Sithembele Sipuka of the SACBC, and Fr Siphelele Gwanisheni OFM of the LCCL together with Secretary Generals of the SACBC, Fr Hugh O’Connor and of the LCCL, Sr Thao Phi FMM.

The theme of Joint Witness was focused on ‘synodality’, just before the second session of the Synod on Synodality begins in the Vatican on October 2. Most of the common concerns and issues affecting the Southern African Catholic community were tackled in a true family spirit environment of prayer and mutual listening in smaller mixed groups (two bishops, men and women religious) as well in the whole large assembly of 60 participants.

The Spirit guiding the Church in these fast-changing times, calls the Church ‘on the crossroad’ to be more united, working together as One Body of Christ. The presence of the new apostolic nuncio to South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, eSwatini and Namibia, Archbishop Henryk Jagodziński, also stressed the growing importance of synodal Church dynamics.

As the President of the SACBC, Bishop Sithembele Sipuka well expressed in his conclusion address: “We are here because of you, we are standing up as a local Church and we can’t forget that, even if we now seem to be dwindling and ageing, as bishops we are here to stay with you since you carry on the legacy of commitment. That is why we are calling for more collaboration among us. Maybe it’s a really providential moment for us when we are dwindling, that God is calling us to work together. It’s good that things start at the grassroots level. I would like to ask bishops and superiors to work at home together.”

Participants were inspired by hope-filled homilies with many images of ‘being pruned as a plant for future growth’. There were joint realistic discussions on: the Pastoral Plan of SACBC, the changing face of our Church: dwindling and ageing, with fewer vocations both to the priesthood and religious life, the challenges of carrying on education structures (schools) with dwindling resources, the need for new vocations and new missionaries, lifelong formation and mutual collaboration between the religious and their bishops, communication, missionary animation, safeguarding efforts and a true deep panorama of a present Southern Africa Catholic church.

The common hope-filled path is unfolding with a concern about generating innovative ideas and ministries in the local church, encouraging proactive vocation animation and a renewed commitment to continue patient evangelisation in 320 Catholic schools. The testimony of the Cape Town Archdiocese Episcopal vicar for the religious, Fr Mari Joe OCD was a good inspiration for other diocesan ‘Joint Witness’ dynamics. The most important expected follow-up of this large Joint Witness meeting is the metropolitan or diocesan level collaboration and communion of religious with their bishops and local church.

All participants appreciated the very informative, thoroughly prepared and hope-filled Joint Witness 2024, which brought a lot of concrete inspiration, getting to know each other and invited to continue the synodal path of mutual listening and closer collaboration. The next Joint Witness of the SACBC- LCCL will take place in 2027.