The Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) has welcomed President Jacob Zuma’s call for a national dialogue on morality and morals.
“President Zuma’s proposal is a timely one. It is for all South Africans to participate in a collective responsibility for our future,” the SACBC said in a statement.
“As a nation, we have been reaping the fruits of attitudes — social, economic, moral and political — that have undermined and continue to undermine what common values and principles of behaviour we shared in the recent past to achieve our new South Africa.”
The elements of a legacy which were beginning to emerge under the leadership of former president Nelson Mandela and his generation of leaders had been substantially squandered.
“It is quite clear that at present we are floundering — directionless and clueless as to where we are going as a country,” the SACBC said.
“Given the current depth of polarisation along social, economic and political lines, we propose that the starting point be the foundational principle that the human person, and every human person, has intrinsic and inalienable value.
“All else in any code of morals must take its lead from that basic principle.” — Sapa