The 2021 academic year started nearly a month late. Many learners are anxious about the work they missed last year and many are sad that many extra mural activities have been cancelled. Some are disappointed with their results and feel despondent. Levinia Pienaar recalls a homily at a 2020 school mass and uses it to encourage South Africa’s youth at the start of the new school year.

COVID-19 changed all our lives, and as difficult as it is for adults, it is equally challenging for young people.

Continue reading Don’t give up: a message for the new school year at spotlight.africa.

The personal representative of Pope Francis to South Africa, Archbishop Peter Wells, addressed the assembled bishops of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) during their plenary this week. Highlighting three themes from Pope Francis’ recent encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, Archbishop Wells challenged the Bishops to encounter, dialogue and dream with their people so as to bring hope and build bridges. Matthew Charlesworth SJ reports.

Archbishop Wells, the Papal representative to Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and eSwatini, gave the opening address during the SACBC’s plenary session in January.

Continue reading Nuncio urges Southern African bishops to build bridges of encounter at spotlight.africa.