Artikel

Het Apartheidsbeleid in Zuid-Afrika: houding van de Rooms-Katholieke kerk

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Abstract

The apartheid policy in South Africa. The attitude of the Roman Catholic Church - This article looks at how the Roman Catholic Church denounced the apartheid system. Although only 10 per cent of the South Africans are Roman Catholics, the role of the Roman Catholic Church should not be underestimated. After the victory of the ’Nasionale Party’ in the elections of 1948, the apartheid regime, which had actually begun to exist when the Union of South Africa was founded, received its legal basis. The Roman Catholic Church was then practically forced into opposition. The Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference expressed its displeasure particularly in pastoral letters, official declarations and protests. The actions of the Roman Catholic Church especially aimed at maintaining a dialogue, striving for reciprocal understanding and prayers; in this way they hoped to change the opinions of the South African leaders. After the Second Vatican Council, the Southern African Bishops’ Conference became more radical and the Catholic bishops even clashed with the Government. Also church leaders were not safe from the apartheid regime; they were arrested and tortured like the other opponents. As the apartheid regime was abolished in 1994, one may conclude that the struggle of the Roman Catholic Church was not in vain.

How to Cite:

Van Den Bossche, G., (1997) “Het Apartheidsbeleid in Zuid-Afrika: houding van de Rooms-Katholieke kerk”, Tijdschrift voor Sociale Wetenschappen 42(1), 1–22. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/tvsw.95256