Anglican Bishop of Pretoria Cleared of Misconduct

George Conger reports:

The Bishop of Pretoria, the Rt. Rev. Johannes Seoka, had been exonerated by an investigatory committee of misconduct. The task force convened by the Anglican Church of Southern Africa found there was no truth in charges brought by members of the chapter of the Cathedral of St Alban the Martyr the bishop had stolen R500,000 of Diocesan Trust funds.

“The task team’s report states clearly that allegations that the Bishop of Pretoria, Dr Jo Seoka, had acted improperly regarding a loan for housing are groundless, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba reported. “The bishops call upon those making these unfounded allegations to desist.”

In June, the church initiated an investigation into the charges and convened a task force of the House of Bishops charged under  Canon 21.3 with investigating the claims.  The initiating of an investigation was not an indication of guilt or a finding of a prima facie case of misconduct, but is the proper canonical response to allegations of misconduct, a South African bishop said.

Bishop Seoka had protested his innocence from the start, telling The Church of England Newspaper the charges of theft were “ridiculous”.

In a statement released at the close of the 23-26 September 2012 meeting of the House of bishops in Pretoria, the bishops said they had received reports on “the internal crises affecting the life of the people of God in our dioceses (most notably those in the Cathedral of Pretoria and the Diocese of Umzimvubu).”

The bishops said they also discussed the “formation and training of new bishops, and ways in which we could better guide and mentor those experiencing difficulties within their dioceses.”

Sources in the South African church report that in private session the bishops received private briefings on the situation in the Dioceses of Umzimvubu and Pretoria.  At the close of their February 2012 meeting, the bishops said that at the invitation of the Bishop of Umzimvubu, the Rt. Rev. Mlibo Ngewu “we dealt at length with the complicated issues presently affecting his Diocese. After extensive discussions, we unanimously resolved the diocese should be placed under the care of a provincial administrative team.”

Elected in 2003, Bishop Ngewu has been charged by his clergy with simony, nepotism, embezzlement, fraud, sexual harassment and bullying.  In August 2011 two-thirds of the diocesan clergy had written to the Archbishop of Cape Town requesting his intervention.

The provincial administrative team overseeing Umzimvubu gave their first report to the House of Bishops at last week’s meeting. While its contents have not been made public, sources tell CEN the investigations continue.

 

South African Anglican Bishop Accused of Assaulting Priest

The problems at St Alban’s Anglican Cathedral are far from having been resolved.

The Sowetan Live:

This time Bishop Johannes Seoka is accused of assaulting a priest-in-training in the middle of the night after accusing him of leaking confidential church documents.

Seoka allegedly assaulted Albert Wright on Friday at the church in central Pretoria.

Police spokeswoman Sergeant Anne Poortman confirmed that a case of common assault had been opened at Pretoria Central police station.

The bishop, who is also chairman of the South African Council of Churches, has been at loggerheads with church members for some time.

In May, the church members took Seoka to court after he had suspended church activities.

The court ordered that the cathedral be opened immediately; there be mediation within 30 days; that no party disrupt church activities; and that the bishop, any archdeacon and priest nominated by the bishop, as well as Reverend Rudi Paulse, had the right to officiate at the cathedral without interference, threats and/or disruptions.

As a result of the feuds, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba’s office decided to form a task team as canon 21.3 of the church’s constitution states that the Synod of Bishops can form a task team when there are “reasons which indicate to it that in its opinion the affairs of the diocese merit an inquiry or investigation in relation to possible support”.

The task team will report its findings to the Synod of Bishops for a final decision.

It is claimed Seoka used R500,000 of the diocese’s funds to pay for his mortgage bond.

He is also accused of misappropriating R162,000 to fund his legal representation against a church dean.

 

Diocese of Pretoria South Africa Sells Anglican Church

Anglican Mainstream:

LETTER OF CONCERN OVER LOCAL ANGLICAN DIOCESE DECISIONS

According to an email circular, St Matthew’s Anglican Church in Brits, has suddenly and without any warning, been sold right from under the noses of the priest and the congregation for an amount of R850 000. ( £65,000).

The history of St Matthew’s Anglican Church dates back to 1933. An exchange was made with the church and the owners of the Overberg Hotel, which later became the Medi Clinic, for them to build a church on the property that was occupied, and for the hotel to have the remaining church property.

A meeting, held by the Acting Archdeacon of the Madibeng Archdeaconry at St Matthew’s, informed the Church Wardens of the selling of the property and hastily announced the date of the final service, followed by the formal handing over of the property just a mere two days afterwards. In the words of a concerned parishioner, the Diocese of Pretoria has “left the congregation of St Matthew’s shocked, dazed and in complete disbelief. The members of St Matthew’s have been dealt a devastating blow; it was found that all furniture was removed including service books, Bibles, hymn books and priest vestments.”

Apparently the St Matthew’s members have reason to believe that the selling of the property may have something to do with the cash flow of the Diocese of Pretoria, as other congregations have also had similar problems. In a letter submitted to JOY! Magazine, a parishioner expressed the following: “the congregation is shocked at the action of the Diocese of Pretoria, and saddened by all that has occurred. It seems that the Diocese of Pretoria truly is determined to prevent the expansion of the Kingdom of God, but this will not stop our congregation from getting back on its feet by the grace and mercy of God!” JOY! prays that the situation will be resolved quickly.

Read the full letter here. Shocking!

In any event, the news follows quickly on Saturday’s report of the Anglican Cathedral Parish in Pretoria closing after death threats allegedly made by the Bishop! See that here.

 

Anglican Cathedral Parish in Pretoria Closes after Death Threats

The Anglican cathedral parish of St Albans in Pretoria has closed its doors because of death threats, confrontations, disruptions and allegations of corruption against its bishop, according to a report on Saturday.

One priest who feared for his life had already resigned, the Saturday Star reported.

The church leadership under Bishop Johannes Seoka wrote to parishioners informing them of the closure and suspension of all forms of worship with immediate effect on Thursday.

“Unfortunately the action will affect all those whose intention it is to disrupt the cathedral worship and the innocent ones,” the church was quoted as saying.

On Friday, members of the cathedral vowed to fight the closure and urged parishioners to come and worship outside the premises.

According to the report members were also consulting with lawyers to seek an urgent court order to force Seoka to reopen the church gates before Sunday.

The bishop, who is also the president of the SA Council of Churches, was accused by church members of misappropriation of cathedral funds, dishonesty, breach of trust, corruption and fraud.

The accusations were contained in a letter signed by two priests, two church wardens and a parish councillor and sent to Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, the newspaper reported.

They alleged that Seoka had used R500,000 of the Diocese of Pretoria to pay for a mortgage bond for him and his wife. They also claimed that Seoka had misappropriated R162,000 to be used to fund legal representation against a church dean.

Seoka said the allegations had nothing to do with the closure.

Source

HT:  Fr Stewart Peart who spotted the above news in the Star.