Special Hearings — Faith Community Hearings — 1997-11-17

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you. Right you are Ray?
PASTOR McCAULEY Commissioners, religious leaders, special guest, ladies and   gentlemen, I must say that this is a first for me - that half the congregation   left before I even started preaching, normally they go about halfway through.
I'm here today in my capacity as President of the International Federation   of Christian Churches, it's an organisation that came into being in 1984 and   consists in excess of 400 churches countrywide. Rhema, my own church, is a member   of the organisation and incidentally also this church which is hosting these   TRC hearings. We also have close links with the larger Pentecostal and Evangelical   fraternity in South Africa and the South African Council of Churches.
We're often boastful about our spirituality but today we come in humility,   as we have to confess our shortcomings of the past. It's sad to admit that we   often hid behind our so-called spirituality and ignored the stark reality of   the dark events of the apartheid age. And as Pastors we delighted in preaching   and teaching about the good samaritan and pointing the finger at others, while   all the time we should have applied the lesson to ourselves.
Paralysed by false respect for government authority, most of your White charismatic   and Pentecostal church followers were simply spectators to the horrible acts   of abuse to humanity in this country. When we should have been comforting and   praying for those in desperate need, we sometimes joined the cheering crowds   and urged on the gladiators who in this modern day was a ruthless security force   machine that crushed any foe that dared to shout freedom.
We must confess that many of us allowed ourselves to be swayed and manipulated   by a government propaganda machine that tried to portray freedom fighters as   the enemies of the church and of Christianity in particular. We, the White members   of our leadership of our charismatic and Pentecostal churches, sincerely seek   the forgiveness of our Black counterparts within the church.
Many of these Black leaders tried to show us the error of our ways but pride   and often a sense of superiority blinded us. Instead of hearing the cry of their   hearts, we rebuked, offended, and even at times ostracised them for their honest   efforts to speak truth in love.
We seek the forgiveness of our colleagues within the larger religious community   for the times when we lacked the courage and conviction to walk alongside you   in your demands for justice and righteousness. We seek the forgiveness of those   who are willing to bear the scars of rejection, humiliation, persecution for   their campaign to isolate through sanctions, a minority government and by this   peaceful means bring into submission. Forgive us for our short-sightedness and   selfishness.
The tragedy of this ineptness and sometimes callous attitude of hundreds of   thousands of christians will forever stain the history of Christianity in South   Africa. The guilt of many South African christians is even greater because of   the laws of apartheid and the subsequent abuse of power by a security system.   And a police force that at times seemed to come from the pit of hell, was aimed   at fellow christians.
Like the madness of Northern Ireland, we saw christians persecuting christians   in Southern Africa. Men who sang the same hymns and said the same prayers and   belonged even to the same denominations became mortal enemies outside of the   sanctuary of God but God's seen it all, not one of those evil deeds of the apartheid   era has gone unnoticed.
We know that many christians within our constituency still to this day, find   it hard to accept any responsibility for what happened in the past. In 1990,   when I attended the historic Rustenberg Conference, I was challenged by the   willingness of Professor Willie Jonker to make a bold confession on behalf of   the Dutch Reformed Church. This forced me to consider the part that our constituency   had played during the apartheid era and it was in a hotel room at Rustenberg,   that I got together with other leaders of Pentecostal denominations. 
I felt this was an important moment in time for us to confess our failure,   to oppose apartheid and take the challenge to our various constituencies. Unfortunately,   we could not all agree that it was the right time for confession and only one   other grouping joined me in making a confession at Rustenberg.
As much as the Commission's work has to do with the past, I'd like to read   that confession made in Rustenberg just over seven years ago. It reads
"Despite our short history we recognise our guilt in that for some us   our opposition to apartheid did not go far enough, nor was it effectively expressed.   While others of us adapted a so-called "neutral stance" which resulted   in complicity in the system. Our statements and conviction were often not adequately   put in practical action and as a result we were often silent when our sisters   and brothers were suffering persecution.
We confess that our silence in this area was in fact sin and that our failure   to act decisively against all forms of apartheid made us party to and inhuman   political ideology. We therefore confess our failure and repent of our sin,   declare our complete rejection of all forms of racism and evil unjust system   of apartheid. Please, forgive us.
Further, as part of the family of God, we declare our resolve to play an active   and positive role in ensuring that all people receive an equal opportunity to   take part in all forms of political, economical and social life in the post-apartheid   South Africa. Please, forgive us".
Looking back at those words, I thank God for his generous grace for helping   me and the leadership to make that confession then. The reason why I say this   is because it cleared the way for us to go forward. I'm not for one moment suggesting   that it absolved our people of personal responsibility because confession and   repentance is a very personal matter but it helped me to help others to not   only face the past but to have a positive vision for the future.
Much of the work of this Commission and the majority of the presentations and   hearings, have dealt with the problems of the past but I think we would be naive   to believe that these hearings have achieved everything that we may have prayed   for and hoped for. In fact, I believe that the TRC is the starting point for   true reconciliation in our country. 
Confession of past sins - whether of commission or omission, may bring pardon   but confession is not complete without two vital components. They are powerful   theological words which religion knows well, they are repentance and forgiveness.   The act of confession does not mean that the person has really repented, confession   is a starting point to a process that should lead to lasting reconciliation.   This is why repentance is so important in the vocabulary of the church, it is   the through the act of repentance that we see the fruit of our confession.
The thief no longer steals the lie, tells the truth, the cheat becomes an honest   person. Repentance means a complete turn around. Sadly, though the repentance   is not forthcoming because the confession has not been what we in the church   would recognise as a confession of sin. Many people in our society are prepared   to admit that apartheid was a mistake and offer a half-hearted apology for the   past.
That sort of confession in my mind, is cheap and it fails to get to grips with   a true confession which leads to repentance and that in turn leads to meaningful   forgiveness, followed by restitution and reconciliation. There is no easy road   to reconciliation, in fact we may be deceiving ourselves to even talk about   reconciliation for apartheid has been so successful in keeping generations of   South Africans apart, that only now are we setting off on a journey to truly   find each other.
The road to true reconciliation is signposted with confession of your past   sins, repentance, forgiveness and restitution. One of the most beautiful pictures   of this is found in the Bible account of Jesus and the Tax Collector, Zakeus.   It is a story of an extraordinary conversion by a man who held a privileged   position in society, he was wealthy - and if he was alive today, most probably   will look like Danny de Vito, but from the story we gather that he abused the   trust and authority he had in society.
When he was confronted with his sin he repented and the outcome was a voluntary   offer to make restitution to those he had taken advantage of. The evidence of   a sincere confession and repentance should always be followed by a desire to   make amends wherever possible. We would be doing an injustice to the TRC if   we simply remembered it as an event that only exposed the evil of our past.   Without this necessary exposure of the past, we would have built our future   on lies, deceptions and half truths.
It may be that we have not brought out all the truth of the past but there   can be no denying that all South Africans now know that the history of apartheid   is not golden but rather that our past is clouded with tragedy and shame. But   as dark as our past may have been, I believe we now have a sufficient foundation   of truth on which to build a future that will never allow an ideology to rob   millions of it's citizens of it's basic human rights.
I think it's most fitting that the churchmen have been given this opportunity   to speak at the TRC because I believe that we, more than the politicians or   the business world, have the spiritual capacity to rebuild the moral fibre and   the dignity of the people in our nation. Christianity, despite the failings   of it's followers, offers new beginnings, new life and it's faith that believes   in redemption. It is a faith that cares and has compassion for human kind, it   is a faith that inspired hymns like "Amazing Grace", that gave us   the words "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, save the wretch like me.   Once I was lost but now I'm found, once I was blind but now I see".
To many of us in this room today the transition to our fledging democracy has   been a divine miracle, it has been amazing grace that saved our land from civil   war. The shameful wretch of apartheid is behind us, we are finding our way and   the scales are falling from our eyes day by day. I have no hesitation in saying   that only God's amazing grace is going to carry us further on the road to reconciliation   where dignity and prosperity will be freely available to all our people.
A political revolution has taken place in our nation. What I plead for today   is that, out of the pain and suffering - cauldron of the TRC hearings, we begin   a moral revolution that will break the curse of poverty an pain. A moral revolution   that will eradicate corruption from business, government and the services of   law and order. Our own President stated that approximately 80% of the police   are some way involved in corruption.
A moral revolution that will teach young people right from wrong, a moral revolution   that will cherish human life and dignity, a moral revolution that will treat   all South Africans - young and old, as valuable and precious in the sight of   God. Deliverance from the yoke of apartheid has brought freedom, now we need   to honour that freedom by acknowledging that it comes to us with a high price. 
South Africans' road to true reconciliation means a new appreciation of freedom.   Countless horror stories have been told to the TRC of young men and young women,   of mothers and fathers who died and suffered to bring down apartheid. It is   a present tragedy that the blood spilt by so many to win freedom, is being trampled   underfoot by criminals who terrorise our streets and by white collar crooks   who salt away the wealth of our land by devious and unethical business tricks.
And we can point a finger at government departments as well but I'm ready to   acknowledge that the church too has it's responsibility to chasen it's congregations   to live lives worthy of their faith. It was Jesus who said "Why do you   look at the speck of the sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention   to the plank in your own eye? How can you save your brother? - let me take the   speck out of your own eye, when all the time there is a plank in your eye. You   hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, then you will see clearly   to remove the speck from your brother's eye"
So I think it is only right that the church has been called to make it's confessions   here at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and I'm also saying that we   as christians who believe in the higher laws of God, must set the tone and the   value system for reconciliation to become a reality within our congregations.   There is no place for prejudice and racism within our sanctuaries. The Bible   may have been abused in the past to bolster a manmade ideology but let's get   back to what God intended for his people and that is peace, joy and ...[indistinct]   in the Spirit of Christ. 
Church leaders - especially those who still have predominantly White congregations,   are going to have to challenge their people to be peacemakers, to stretch out   their hand of fellowship. The church has so much to offer South Africa and it   must not fail in it's God-given opportunity to share the love, compassion and   healing of the gospel.
This is going to have to mean a lot more than just loving - having a loving   sermon. As I said earlier "Heartfelt confession will bring forth truth   repentance which in turn produces a new outlook and a changed attitude",   this must result in restitution and good works. Faith says the Bible is dead   without works. When we use faith and works together, we have a dynamic force   for change and for good in our nation.
Restitution or reparation has to happen. There is hardly a White person in   South Africa who did not benefit in some way - no matter how small, from apartheid.   We benefited in the field of education, business, sports, arts and in everyday   life by having better bus services, train services - and I'm the first to admit   today, that I got benefits from the apartheid system.
Maybe I didn't get it deliberately to mistreat or deprive others but Black   people certainly never enjoyed the rights and privileges that I did when I was   at school and when I was a young man. So we have to face the challenge of restitution   head-on. The issue of land acquisition is key to giving people a sense of dignity   and belonging, and my sincere prayer is, that those church organisations that   hold unused property will generously show the hand of true christian charity   - this is could be - in some areas, a wonderful example of restitution. 
For younger organisations like the one I lead, the challenge is to give back   something to our communities and that is not hard to do if there is a willing   heart and a willing spirit. The poor are all around us, homeless people are   dumped on the pavements and street children wander aimless through our cities'   streets - these are all opportunities for restitution.
And because of the past failures in the country, we who believe in the christian   faith carry a heavy responsibility to be the shepherds that lead South Africa   into the pastures of peace and prosperity. And I personally have a dream of   a nation that will hold it's head high, where the dignity and life of each individual   regardless of colour, is recognised as a sacred gift from God Almighty.
In closing, we commit our churches and our congregations to boldly walk the   road of reconciliation, to build a nation under God that will be a growing testimony   to the international world. We applaud the TRC and it's dedicated members for   taking on this most difficult task of opening up the soul of the nation, but   we believe that the people of faith with loving and caring hearts, will soothe   the wounds and help dry the tears of our nation.
I have a very short addendum which will take another minute or two and I'm   nearly on time - blessed are the short-winded. This section is added to our   statement to give some practical idea of what steps our churches are taking   to make restitution in a way that adds value to the lives of those who are marginilised   for so many years. 
One of these areas - we feel that our network of churches can make a really   significant contribution to the upliftment of the less privileged, is in the   area of housing. Besides trying to help the homeless and the poorest of the   poor with soup kitchens, literacy classes and clinics, we are gearing up for   a pilot project in Gauteng where we'll work with the local government authorities   to provide a housing estate.
The concept is simply to enter into a partnership with local authorities who   will provide land and services while we as the church, will raise the finances   for the houses. Besides this, we will call on our congregational members to   provide their skills on all the various areas of building and work with the   local people on a self-help scheme that will see people building their own homes   and owning them.
This project has been on ice for two years because of the difficulties that   the local authorities had in getting suitable land for development, but we believe   that this will be able to start with a pilot scheme in Gauteng next year. Once   this pilot scheme has proved itself we plan to role out the project across the   country to other cities, towns where they have churches and where our partnerships   can be established with local authorities.
Part of this scheme is also to provide small business opportunities nearby   the proposed estates, so that the areas will be economically sustainable. We   believe this project - using the volunteer expertise available among the privileged   members of our congregations, will make a valuable contribution to uplifting   our local communities and of giving Whites in particular a practical way of   making restitution.
In the meanwhile, some of our churches have come to the rescue of some homeless   groups which have been evicted and have offered shelter on their own property.   The measures of course are only short-term and our main focus is on providing   permanent homes. Besides our proposed housing scheme, some of our churches in   the cities are involved with street children. 
In Johannesburg we have the establishment of an orphanage which already is   producing wonderful results among the children who were once lost in the streets   of Hillbrow. In Mpumalanga Province our churches have been engaged in a water   scheme and has seen the establishment of clean fresh water tanks. Boreholes   are now available in many villages and this has helped to reduce - in our small   way, sickness in those areas which previously came from using polluted water.
Like many, many other churches that have done more than us, we are continually   engaged in running literacy classes, doing our best to help in the clinics and   particularly getting involved in the informal settlements. We believe that our   churches can and will make a substantial contribution to improving the living   standards of the poor and the homeless. It is the least we can do for those   who are deprived of so much by our failures and sins in the past.