The brochure says the religious community in South Africa is under attack. Church leaders have been mysteriously murdered. Others have been detained and tortured. The brochure says in December last year one church field worker, Tom Manthata, was convicted of treason and given a heavy sentence for his work. The brochure says many funeral services have been banned and armed policeman posted at the doors of some churches. The brochure says fourteen heads of denominations, including Roman Catholic Archbishop Stephen Naidoo, Anglican Prelate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Reformed Church leader Allan Boesak and South African Council of Churches General Secretary Frank Chikane were assaulted with water...
The brochure says the religious community in South Africa is under attack. Church leaders have been mysteriously murdered. Others have been detained and tortured. The brochure says in December last year one church field worker, Tom Manthata, was convicted of treason and given a heavy sentence for his work. The brochure says many funeral services have been banned and armed policeman posted at the doors of some churches. The brochure says fourteen heads of denominations, including Roman Catholic Archbishop Stephen Naidoo, Anglican Prelate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Reformed Church leader Allan Boesak and South African Council of Churches General Secretary Frank Chikane were assaulted with water cannons and arrested while leading a peaceful protest march to the South African Parliament. The brochure says Khotso House, the headquarters of the South African Council of Churches, was bombed in the middle of the night. The brochure says a few weeks later, Khanya House, headquarters of the South African Catholic Bishops Conference was set on fire. The brochure says as they respond to these assaults, South African church leaders have appealed for support and solidarity from their sisters and brothers in the United States. The brochure says this sweeping attack on the church is part of the apartheid state's intensifying assault on all the democratic forces struggling for freedom in South Africa. The brochure says many organizations have been banned - all their political activities frozen and their leaders jailed. The brochure says opposition, from the liberation movements to community organizations, has been banned. The brochure says newspapers have been shut down. The brochure says South Africa's religious community has now stepped into the frontline of the fight for freedom. The brochure says the Religious Action Network is an effort to link Christian, Jewish and Muslim congregations, to end South Africa's brutal system of apartheid. The brochure says in the last few years, as the situation in South Africa has changed, religious leaders from southern Africa have called out for more actions in support of their efforts. The brochure says write for more information to: Dumisani Kumalo, Coordinator, Religious Action Network/ACOA. The brochure includes excepts from the Kairos Document, a theological reflection of justice and truth issued by 150 leading South African theologians. The brochure discusses the South African Council of Churches (SACC), detentions, jailing of religious leaders and all other opponents of apartheid, isolation, sanctions, political prisoners, and prayers.
