South African cardinal says churches forced to focus on crime
Dec 20, 2006
South Africa's religious leaders must focus on crime because "not enough is being done or seen to be done" by the government and police, said Cardinal Wilfrid F. Napier of Durban.
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS, Dec-19-2006) -- South Africa is among the most crime-ridden countries in the world, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime.
Violent crime is of particular concern, Cardinal Napier said in a Dec. 17 telephone interview from Durban, noting that he "very rarely meets anyone whose family has not been affected by crime."
As president of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, Cardinal Napier is among Catholic representatives on the National Religious Leaders Forum that meets with President Thabo Mbeki and other government leaders to find ways of reducing crime.
At a Dec. 7 meeting in Pretoria with Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula and top officials of the police force, the religious leaders discussed problems local police stations are facing.
In December and January religious leaders will visit about 170 police stations in an effort to strengthen "the relationship between community-based organizations and the police," said a statement issued after the meeting. Analysts say mistrust of police has led to an increase in vigilantism in the country.
Members of the religious leaders' forum also will visit police roadblocks across the country to observe government efforts to curb traffic violations.
Noting that the Christmas season in South Africa is "often marked by increased deaths from road accidents, family violence and drunkenness," Cardinal Napier urged respect and restraint in a Dec. 13 statement from the Pretoria headquarters of the bishops' conference.
"We should be celebrating in our families and communities in such a way that our celebrations do not include the pain of domestic violence or violent crime or unnecessary and avoidable deaths," the statement said.
South Africans "cannot just sit back and expect the government to solve the problem of crime," Cardinal Napier said, noting that "each one of us has a part to play."
Priests and nuns are among many religious who have been victims of crime, he said.
"Criminals know we are soft targets because we are not going to be carrying guns," he said.
South Africa's high rate of unemployment is partly responsible for crime, Cardinal Napier said.
South Africa's official unemployment rate is 26 percent, but it is unofficially estimated at about 40 percent, according to the U.N. news agency IRIN. The agency reported survey results that show one in five South Africans does not have enough to eat.
"When people feel that the government is taking poverty and unemployment seriously, fewer people will turn to crime in desperation," Cardinal Napier said, noting that "there is no hope when there are no jobs."
South African cardinal says churches forced to focus on crime