Cardinal Napier delivers keynote address at bi-annual Catholic Social Tradition Conference

 

To cap off the Center for Social Concerns’ Catholic Social Tradition Conference on Tuesday, March 25, Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of South Africa delivered the keynote speech in McKenna Hall.  He spoke on “The Impact of Gaudium et Spes on the Church in Southern Africa.”

This year’s conference celebrated the 50th anniversary of the promulgation of Gaudium et Spes by Pope Paul VI after the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council.  Also known as “Joy and Hope,” this document expresses Church teachings about contemporary issues such as economics, poverty, social justice, culture, science, technology, and ecumenism.

Napier described it as “the mission statement of the Second Vatican Council,” as well as the “blueprint for Catholic Social Tradition in the world today.”

Born in South Africa, Cardinal Napier graduated from the National University of Ireland, Galway, in 1964.  He was ordained a priest in 1970 and became Archbishop of Durban in 1992, where he continues to preside as cardinal.  He was active in South Africa during the anti-apartheid movement in the late 20th century and focused his remarks on the African civil rights movement in relationship to Gaudium et Spes.

Cardinal Napier began by reading the opening lines of Gaudium et Spes: “The joys and hopes, the grief and anguish of the people of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted, are the joys and hopes, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well.”

Cardinal Napier said that Gaudium et Spes took on a special meaning in South Africa in the second half of the 20th century during the fight for civil rights against apartheid laws.  The document reinforces Jesus’ evangelizing call to “make disciples of all nations,” and forced the Church in South Africa to reexamine her stance on social issues.

The Catholic Church in South Africa began a program entitled “Evangelize Today Southern Africa,” through which the Church surveyed parishioners for their views on issues such as access to health care, education, welfare, and community development.

The program was going well, but on June 16, 1976, students in Soweto took to the streets to protest the introduction of Afrikaans as the language of instruction in local schools.  Many students were killed by the police, prompting the Church to evaluate its priorities regarding social justice.

Cardinal Napier said that Church leadership had Gaudium et Spes in mind when they made the decision to abandon “Evangelize Today Southern Africa” and take a more proactive approach to ending discrimination in South Africa.  The Church decided to stand in opposition to apartheid laws and allow open access to all Catholic institutions.

“If we continued to observe the law of the land, then most of our members would not have access to our top quality schools, hospitals, and other public institutions,” Cardinal Napier said.

This decision, he reflected, was guided by the same principles that led the Second Vatican Council to pass Gaudium et Spes.  The Church made renewed efforts to rebuild local communities and remove the divisions and separations that colonialism and apartheid had brought into their communities.

Cardinal Napier also addressed some of the criticism that the Church received at the time for involving itself in political affairs.  “[Our involvement] lies in the fact that it is the Church’s understanding that politics is human activity, and all human activity falls under God, and therefore must also be the Church’s concern,” he said.  The Church continues to involve herself in social causes within South Africa and throughout the world, in response to her call to a universal and inclusive mission.

Cardinal Napier concluded by thanking all those in attendance and took questions regarding the Catholic Church’s work in South Africa today, before Reverend Paul Kollman, CSC, closed the conference with a prayer.

This is Peter Heneghan’s first time writing for the Rover. He forgot his byline, but you can assure him that all is forgiven at phenegha@nd.edu.