Cardinal Brislin urges South Africans to reflect on true freedom, unity, and challenges like corruption and xenophobia on Freedom Day.
Newsroom (28/04/2026 Gaudium Press) South Africans marking Freedom Day have been urged to reflect not only on their hard-won liberties but also on those who remain without true freedom, as Cardinal Stephen Brislin called for solidarity, unity, and vigilance against ongoing social challenges.
Freedom Day, observed annually on April 27, commemorates South Africa’s transition from apartheid and white minority rule to democracy, marked by the landmark 1994 elections in which citizens of all races voted for the first time.
In a message published by the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) following an April 27 interview, Cardinal Brislin expressed gratitude for the freedoms currently enjoyed in the country, particularly religious freedom, while cautioning against complacency.
“We can never be truly free when other people are not free, and so while we rejoice in our freedom, we’ve also got to be in solidarity with those people who do not have the freedom that we enjoy,” he said.
Reflecting on South Africa’s past, the Archbishop of Johannesburg urged citizens not to lose sight of the nation’s history of apartheid and systemic dehumanization.
“Let us not forget where we came from. While we have many problems, challenges in our country, evil things that are happening, we have come from a dreadful system of racism, of apartheid, of the really dehumanization of people, and we are a free country,” he said.
Cardinal Brislin highlighted that South Africans today benefit from fundamental rights, including freedom of speech and association, describing the country as among the freest on the continent. However, he warned that these freedoms remain under threat from persistent societal issues.
“We have freedom of speech, we have freedom of association, I would say we are the freest country in Africa, and let us never forget that, and then we can face the problems that you have mentioned, like corruption and xenophobia,” he said.
Xenophobia continues to be a significant concern in South Africa, often manifesting in hostility, intimidation, and violence against foreign nationals, particularly African migrants. In some cases, migrants have been targeted by vigilante groups, accused of being undocumented, and blamed for unemployment, crime, and limited access to public services.
Alongside xenophobia, Cardinal Brislin pointed to corruption and violence as major obstacles to achieving genuine freedom, noting their impact on access to essential services such as healthcare and housing.
“Let us work together so that we can be truly free, not subject to the violence that we experience on our streets, not subject to the terrible corruption that deprives people of a future, deprives people of hospital care, of housing, and so on,” he said.
He emphasized that such issues continue to “limit freedom” and called on citizens to confront what he described as the “shackles” of corruption, greed, and xenophobia through collective effort.
Concluding his message, the 69-year-old cardinal stressed the importance of national unity, acknowledging that divisions persist within South African society.
“We’ve got to find ways of really unifying and becoming South African,” Cardinal Brislin said.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from ACI Africa
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