Church rules debate hots up

THE Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities believes that if it had been left to implement its proposals, which included regulating and vetting pastors, abuse of congregants in churches would have been limited.

“We proposed these regulations in 2016. They were opposed. If we had been allowed to continue with what we had been proposing, children would have been helped,” said CRL Commission chairperson Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva.

She was speaking to the media after meeting church leaders of the Great Commission, an umbrella body for pastors, yesterday.

“For about three years, Freedom of Religion SA has been going on about the separation of churches from the state. But how, when the people are a part of the state?” she asked.

Earlier, Mkhwanazi-Xaluva said churches would have to get themselves out of the problems they were facing.

She was referring to reports of pastors who fed congregants dog food and snakes, and sprayed people with insect spray, as well as reports of pastors raping women and children.

“We need to vet pastors. An umbrella body needs to be formed to which the pastor will belong,” she said, adding that a higher body would be formed to govern the umbrella bodies.

Bishop Samuel Ndlovu said: “The CRL doesn’t have the church’s best interests at heart.” He said they had told the CRL they wanted to be included in consultations, not that they were opposing the idea.

Discussion on the CRL’s intentions and theology got heated, with some accusing the CRL of causing conflict.