By Bongiwe Zwane-Maseko
Gender-based violence is a scourge that can be solved if the issue of conflict resolution is introduced at an early stage. This has to be done at the family, community and national levels.
This is the view of the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Peter Wells. He says in many parts of the world, but in Southern Africa in particular, the number of gender-based violence cases are alarming.
He said faith communities need to come to the forefront of addressing this matter. In an interview, Archbishop Wells said this social ill needs to be addressed speedily.
“There is only so much we can achieve individually but collectively; we can make a huge difference. If we start talking about such issues at the family level, we can achieve a lot,” he said.
The Archbishop said that left unaddressed, violence festers into cancer, which spirals out of control. He said nobody deserves to be treated unjustly, no matter what their rank is.
The Archbishop is on a farewell visit to Eswatini, following a seven-year stay in Southern Africa.
He joined hundreds of Christians at the Bishop Mandlenkosi Zwane Memorial Lecture at the Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral in Manzini.
The guest speaker is Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, who is the Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, Prefect Emeritus of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and Archbishop emeritus of Cape Coast (Ghana).
Since its inception, the Annual Lecture has been given by some of the most well-known Catholic Church leaders such as Archbishop William Matthew Slattery, Emeritus Archbishop of Pretoria and former Director of the Secretariat at IMBISA, Fr Dumisani Vilakati, and has attracted audiences from across and beyond the Kingdom.
