“Bring your prophetic voice and the practice of healthy restraint to this situation, transforming violence into peace through justice,” LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr. Martin Junge.
The Lutheran World Federation expressed concern about rising violence in South Africa
Lutheran World Information.
Expressing “deep concern about the rising violence against women, young people, children and foreigners in South Africa”, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) urges its member churches in the country “to act for the sake of justice in cases where human dignity is being degraded.”
“Bring your prophetic voice and the practice of healthy restraint to this situation, transforming violence into peace through justice,” General Secretary Rev. Dr. Martin Junge wrote to the leaders of four LWF member churches in the country.
The letter is addressed to Presiding Bishop M. J. H. Ubane (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa), Bishop Horst Müller (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa – NT), Bishop Gilbert Filter (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (Cape Church)) and Rev. Godfrey Cunningham, President of the Moravian Church in South Africa.“God-given, inherent dignity”
In September, several people were killed in violent attacks on foreigners and foreign businesses in Pretoria and Johannesburg, provoking condemnation from the international community. Around the same time, the government published statistics showing the large number of women killed in the country and a numerical increase in sexual crimes against women and girls.
[The UN has defined “femicide” as the killing of a woman because of her gender – ed. note]
Junge reminded the church leaders of the prayers and solidarity of the Lutheran communion and that “our conviction of faith is that all people have a God-given, inherent dignity”. He recommended the LWF publications on gender justice and welcoming the strangeras “helpful resources” in standing up for peace, reconciliation and justice.
At the same time, the Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (Cape Church) has called on the South African government “to guarantee the safety of foreigners, women, children and vulnerable people in our society”. In a letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa, Filter condemned “xenophobic violence” “in strong terms” and emphasized the churches’ readiness “to make a meaningful contribution by building bridges in our communities”, seeking equality and harmony.
Geneva
26.09.2019.
Source: The Lutheran World Federation news
Photo: Discott, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA)