New priests’ council in South Africa lauded for fostering collaboration with bishops

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — The new Council of Priests (COP) of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference has been lauded for fostering collaboration between its members and bishops and promoting a synodal approach to addressing issues affecting the priesthood.

Speaking to ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, in an interview at the council’s first strategic planning meeting held Sept. 9–11, COP vice chairperson Father Alex Beukes said the new structure responds to the need for closer collaboration between bishops and priests.

Beukes compared the COP structure with the former Southern African Council of Priests, saying: “The one reason for the change to COP is that we found that there was not much collaboration between bishops and priests.”

He said COP was established by the bishops as a collaborative and synodal body through which priests can share their experiences and concerns.

Beukes said the previous arrangement brought priests together for meetings but did not give them sufficient space to address issues affecting their ministry in the different dioceses.

“Itʼs COP which changed that, because itʼs a collaborative ministry, and itʼs…