Suspended Johannesburg Central Methodist Church Bishop Paul Verryn will appear before a disciplinary committee on February 1.
“He has been charged with transgressing the laws and discipline of the church, essentially the constitution of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa,” the church said in a statement on Friday.
An attorney working for a firm that acts on behalf of the church, Bongani Khoza would not say what the reason for Verryn’s suspension was. He was suspended on Tuesday but the church only announced it on Thursday.
Verryn applied to the high court last year in a bid to get a curator appointed for unaccompanied minors living at the church.
The application followed ongoing wrangles between the church and the Gauteng government, which accused Verryn of refusing to cooperate with social workers who had wanted to move the Zimbabwean children to proper homes and shelters.
Subsequent to Verryn’s application, children’s rights lawyer Dr Ann Skelton, from the Centre for Child Law, was appointed by the Johannesburg High Court to act as the legal guardian to the 56 unaccompanied children. She was expected to compile a report making recommendations on the care of the children by February 8.
‘Verryn acted unilaterally’
The Methodist Church of Southern Africa said Verryn acted unilaterally in launching the application. The church said it only allowed the presiding bishop or the church’s general secretary to bring an application before a court.
“Mr Bishop Paul Verryn has acted unilaterally and without the support of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa,” the church’s head Ivan Abrahams said at the time.
The Central Methodist Church has given refuge to a number of Zimbabwean immigrants. It has been at the centre of controversy involving the situation of woman and children. There have also been allegations of sexual abuse.
Last October, the Gauteng legislature’s health and social development portfolio committee called for the closure of the church.
Following a visit to the building, chairperson Molebatsi Bopape said at the time: “Children are being exposed to abuse, babies are sleeping on the floor … the place is so filthy that we couldn’t even breathe.”
In December, the government said it was considering taking court action to remove children from the church.
At the time, Legal Resource Centre attorney Jason Brickhill said the application for curatorship took place in the context of government’s statements.
He said Verryn believed he was unable to “adequately safeguard the best interest of the children at the church, or if and when they are relocated”.
Last year, the SA Council of Churches said the primary villain in the refugee saga was not Verryn, but the government.
“These people moved into [the church] because it responded to a humanitarian crisis, to which few other people, including the local, provincial and national government, responded.”
The National Prosecuting Authority has also compiled a report on the church following claims of children being sexually abused.
“There was indeed a complaint submitted to us, which we considered and presented to the SAPS. A decision was then taken on the matter … unfortunately we can’t disclose that decision to the media until such is communicated to the affected parties,” spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga said on Friday. – Sapa