wfn.org | ACNS3728 A New Year Message from Archbishop of Cape Town

["Anglican Communion News Service" <acnslist@anglicancommunion.org>]

ACNS 3728     |     SOUTHERN AFRICA	|     3 JANUARY 2004 

A New Year Message from Archbishop of Cape Town, 
the Most Revd Njongonkulu Ndungane

[ACNS source: Church of the Province of Southern Africa] As we begin our
10th year of democracy, there is much for our transforming nation to be
proud of and a solid platform of achievement from which to set new
standards and objectives.

We dare not be complacent about issues, such as HIV/AIDS, women and
child abuse and moral bankruptcy. However, to operate without hope is to
court failure.

The breakdown of the moral fabric of our society is one of the grimmest
legacies of apartheid and in this international Year of the Family I
believe it is possible to rebuild traditional moral values.

I agree with Martin Prozesky, author of Frontiers of Conscience, that
South Africa is the only country that could have produced a Mahatma
Ghandi. That we are well placed to draw on established moral wisdoms:
African, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, Christian, other faiths and secularist
views. He says we need to draw on these ancient wisdoms to produce a
national ethic. And suggests that the first step is a national ethics
consultation that aims to overcome our moral crisis in the interest of
the common good.

I agree: South Africa, as a microcosm of the international macrocosm,
can and should achieve this important objective and, in the interests of
moral regeneration, faith based communities should take the initiative
regarding a national ethics consultation.

It is also with a new sense of hope that I anticipate the roll out of
the Government's anti-retroviral programme. I pray that it will soon
reduce the endless number of needless deaths that have left such a trail
of devastation. This medication, which we have campaigned so hard to
bring within reach of all who need it, should be key to containing the
heartbreaking number of our children prematurely orphaned by AIDS and
the unaffordable erosion of skills in the workplace.

These anti-retrovirals, albeit imperfect, are one of our best defences
against a disease that permeates every aspect of our national life.

Our nation dares not fail in this regard and, once again, I offer the
services of the Anglican Church which reaches deep into communities and
is well placed to establish centres where people living with HIV or AIDS
can be counselled and encouraged to adhere to prescribed medication. I
know that other faith-based communities are as ready to do this.

We remain committed to the concept of strategic partnerships with
government, business and the private sector and acknowledge that the
church has special responsibilities; particularly regarding the cruel
stigma it has allowed to develop around the disease.

It is stigma that prevents people from testing early enough to manage
the disease and prevents others from seeking the practical, emotional
and spiritual support they desperately need.

We still need to shout from the roof tops that AIDS is not God's
punishment for the wicked. It is just a disease - testable, manageable
and preventable.

It is against this hopeful backdrop that I wish you a Happy New Year.

___________________________________________________________________
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