Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI
Johannesburg (Agenzia Fides) – The Southern African bishops re-affirmed their full support of South Africa’s legal case against Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICJ), which accuses Israel of genocide against the population of Gaza.In a statement published in the aftermath of the bombing of the Holy Family Church compound in Gaza, which left three dead and at least nine wounded (see Fides, 17/7/2025), the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), which brings together the bishops of South Africa, Botswana, and Eswatini, recalled that Israel’s response to the massacre perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, 2023, “is now widely recognized throughout the world as genocide and ethnic cleansing.””We share that assessment and so have given our support to the South African government’s case at the ICJ in The Hague accusing Israel of perpetrating acts of genocide,” the SACBC bishops state in the statement signed by their president, Cardinal Stephen Brislin, Archbishop of Cape Town.The members of the SACBC explain that they hoped the action taken by the South African government would serve “as a peaceful means of pressuring the parties to the conflict to stop the spiral of violence.” “This has not been the case,” they note, highlighting the responsibility of those who continue to send weapons: “The many countries that continue to supply arms and support the rhetoric of war have become accomplices in what history will undoubtedly record as a ‘crime against humanity.’””Therefore, we raise our voices to protest against the ongoing genocide, and we join Pope Leo XIV in calling for a lasting ceasefire and the release of all hostages, including those in administrative detention,” the bishops urge.”Our prayers and solidarity must be accompanied by actions,” they conclude, calling for “non-violent action, boycotts in various sectors, active protest, and denunciation of the spread of war throughout the Middle East.” (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 21/7/2025)
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