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

CHAIRPERSON: Yes, well okay, two minutes.

UNKNOWN: Just to say Honourable Chair, that the reason I feel that it is appropriate   to identify myself with this letter was that it was a challenge directed at   the local pastor and that I believe is the place where we must start not only   to uncover the full story about the past, because in fact the reasons that the   churches were very afraid to become involved, was that the pastor very often   even though the apartheid Security Police were a part of the church, or a part   of the leadership or even pastors themselves, it was very impossible for young   people to continue to practise their faith in honesty.
So, there was such a fear that gripped the churches and I think that it is   important for the pastors to admit their failure in that regard.
But secondly also in terms of the future of reconciliation, the pastor again   becomes an important agent to help us move beyond the confessions that we make,   to practical ways of changing our habits of the past and so on.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you very much. Piet Meiring?

UNKNOWN: Brother Nico, brother Moss let me just say one word of profound   gratitude for the letter you wrote. When we learned about the letter, read about   it I thought for one time I am sorry I am sitting this side of the table, because   I would have wanted to add my name 100 times.
It may be that there are more people who did add their names. In our office   there is a letter if I remember correctly, from the Congregation of Bosmont   in the Cape where the whole congregation, I think about 300 members added their   names. So it may be that there are many, many people who really identified with   this.
But thank you ever so much for the inspiring thing, when we heard about it   we said if Oom Bey has to confess, what about the rest of us.
If you and Moss and the others had to confess, it humbled us, it put us to   shame, but thank you for the challenge and the inspiration. Please convey that   to Oom Bey.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you very much, you may stand down. We now come to the last   of our witnesses to testify, the Theologians from the Gereformeerde Kerk, Potchefstroom.   Please come Prof Van der Walt. Whilst you are coming, I just wanted to read   a small little message which we got from Bishop David Russel. It comes from   the members of (indistinct) Council, meeting in Grahamstown today.
They greet Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the TRC members in the name of Our Lord,   Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God for this initiative you have taken in inviting   the churches to come forward to confess the ways we have sinned and fallen short   during the days of apartheid and for our continuing failures in witness.
We wish to identify with the submission made on behalf of our church by Bishop   Michael of Natal. May this whole process lead us to a deeper repentance and   so to more faithful commitment to God's mission in our land. It is signed, David,   Grahamstown.
We thank Bishop David Russel and his council.
We welcome you very warmly. We are grateful that you have been so patient and   you come at the end of the process, but you are a very important part of that   process. Do you want to introduce your colleague.

UNKNOWN: Professor Venter is my colleague in the Department of Philosophy,   he is actually Head of the Department of Philosophy and I am Bennie van der   Walt, I am at the Institute for Reformational Studies at the Potchefstroom University.

CHAIRPERSON: Will you please stand and Bongani Finca will administer the oath   or the affirmation.

UNKNOWN: (sworn states)

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you very much. It is over to you Professor. I don't know   which Professor.

UNKNOWN: We have shared the time.

CHAIRPERSON: Yes, all right. Ten minutes each.

UNKNOWN: Ten minutes about each yes.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you.