Johannesburg - North West Pastors, under the auspices of the Mahikeng Ministers Fellowship (MMF), on Thursday said the issuing of summonses against religious communities has displayed a heavy-handed and misguided approach.
“The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities’ (CRL commission) so-called research project has degenerated into a charade to humiliate and publicly ridicule targeted church leaders instead of advancing the mandate to protect religious communities,” said Apostle Zandisile Reginald Mpame, the chairperson of MMF, which is an interdenominational pastors fellowship.
Apostle Mpame said that MMF shares the view of the African National Congress (ANC) Chaplaincy that the commission’s controversial public posturing and confrontational statements to the media undermine its primary objective.
“We agree wholly with the chaplaincy that though the commission may have powers of subpoena, its main mandate and primary duties are to promote peaceful coexistence between religious cultural and linguistic groups in the country, educate, protect, and roll out awareness campaigns – and not merely to be abrasive,” said Mpame.
The chaplaincy said state regulation of religion was “anathema of ANC Policy” and that there was no intention on the part of the party to silence the prophetic voice of the church in favour of “prophets of the palace”.
Mpame warned that the commission’s “antagonistic posture” had the potential to do more harm to the ANC’s election campaign than all opposition parties put together.
He said the summons had the potential of causing an “unprecedented uproar” across the country. Mpame warned that the move could upset leaders of more than 4000 African Independent Churches, whose influence among the electorate could not be ignored.
The CLR commission was prompted to act after media reports exposed strange practice by some pastors who were asking their followers to eat grass, drink petrol, swallow live rodents and snakes. Others told congregants to lie down while they stomped on them and claimed they felt no pain.
However, earlier in August MMF dismissed the country-wide investigation into the affairs of churches as an outrageous overreaction that had the potential to alienate churches from the state. The CLR commission is also probing finances of churches and religious bodies.
“It had categorically said that while most churches condemn practices such as feeding of snakes and rats to congregants which are not supported by the Word of God, they will not support being brought under the control of the state,” said Mpame.
ANA
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