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CNS Story:
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POVERTY-SAFRICA Apr-23-2007 (300 words) xxxi
Archbishop speaks of South Africa's ills in address to religious
By Bronwen Dachs
Catholic News Service
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) -- The head of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference called the ruling African National Congress' slogan, "People First," "an empty charade.
Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg said a rich elite class had sprung up "almost overnight" because of government patronage, while many people in rural areas "are trapped in chilling poverty."
In a mid-April address to South Africa's Leadership Conference of Consecrated Life, the archbishop said widespread corruption in the civil service includes forgery, bribery and "jobs for pals," noting that "cases of corrupt policemen appear increasingly difficult to overcome."
A "dangerous mix of poverty and greed" has unleashed a wave of crime, he said, noting that South Africans "live in fear for their lives, their property."
Criminals are often freed on technicalities by the courts and they "return to society and continue to terrorize and brutalize innocent people," he said.
While South Africa's race groups "are polite to each other," reconciliation "has not yet taken root in this country," Archbishop Tlhagale said.
"This calculated politeness undermines the creation and emergence of a South Africa that does not judge people by their skin color," he said, noting that on national holidays "the various groups keep apart -- as if physical contact will lead to mutual poisoning."
Apartheid, South Africa's former system of enforced racial segregation, officially ended with all-race elections in 1994.
The archbishop also criticized the country's "culture of death" and said the church must promote solidarity with society's weakest members, "the elderly, children and the poor." He spoke of problems caused by increasing immigration, increasing drug use by youths, AIDS and militant unions.
"A fresh approach that appeals to the worth of a person is imperative," he said.
END
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