SANCTIFYING OFFICE
In his homily during the Mass for taking possession of his titular church in Rome, Cardinal Brislin “encouraged the faithful to witness to their faith in the Risen Lord and so build a world of love, compassion, unity, justice and peace, until Christ comes again in glory.”
On the eve of being made a cardinal, Brislin highlighted that the role of a cardinal is about serving. “It’s about serving the Church and serving God’s kingdom. I will try to faithfully do that as best I can, but I’ve got a lot to learn,” he said.
He also said he would follow in the footsteps of his predecessor who held South Africa’s red hat, Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier. “I would like to very much continue what he has done over the years, because he’s really served the Church very, very well”, said Brislin, explaining that his priorities will be focused on “the dignity of life and the need to protect life through every stage, from the womb to the tomb.”
But he also contended that human dignity is more than just opposing abortion, echoing Pope Francis’ “seamless garment” approach to pro-life issues. “In South Africa, for example, it’s not only about abortion, but it’s also about the incredible poverty and the squalor in which people are forced to live,” he said. “And it is these things that the Church must conscientize people about.”
Neither Cardinal Brislin, nor the Archdiocese of Cape Town, has taken on official stance on Traditionis Custodes and the limitations it places on the celebration of the Tridentine Mass.
The cardinal has treated Communion on the tongue or on the hand as a matter of personal preference, but during the Covid crisis he did not allow Catholics to receive on the tongue.
GOVERNING OFFICE
Sexual Abuse
The Archdiocese of Cape Town under Archbishop Brislin introduced strict anti-abuse policies . The archdiocese issued an instruction saying that “if a person has knowledge or has a reasonable suspicion that any child is being physically abused or deliberately neglected, that person must immediately report that suspicion to the civil authorities.”
However, archdiocesan finances during Brislin’s tenure have faced some criticism. In 2017 the Southern Cross reported that the archdiocese had run a deficit of some 6 million a few years earlier. A member of the finance committee of a parish within the archdiocese criticised the state of affairs, saying their parish priest had declined “to provide any information in this regard nor provide a copy of the archdiocese’s latest budget” which, they added, flew in the face of the “need for accountability and transparency with regard to monetary affairs.”
Graham Wilson, financial administrator of the archdiocese of Cape Town, responded to the criticism, saying the debt had been a problem nearly 20 years previously; and that the Archdiocese had made steps to introduce greater transparency since then.
In 2017, the Catholic Welfare and Development (CWD) in the Archdiocese of Cape Town was also forced to close due to financial problems. “The CWO’s financial position is very much worse than we could have imagined”, Archbishop Brislin said regarding the situation. The archdiocese had given a large loan to the organization. It closed within a year after its director resigned following a disciplinary inquiry. The director was accused by one disgruntled employee of running the organization “into the ground,” although there’s no evidence of any involvement from Cardinal Brislin.
During the 2014 Synod on the Family, then-Bishop Brislin was praised for the way he had led their small working group as a relator. Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville said Brislin “captured the tone” of their group “which was a very pastoral tone, and one in which I think there was great sense that we need to locate any pastoral activity that we’re promoting — any creative activity — within the beauty of sacred Scripture, the call of our Lord Jesus, the grace of Christ, the gift of creation, the cross of Christ — that all of these would be the groundwork that has been conveyed over the centuries within church teaching. There was a real affirmation on Thursday morning that he was speaking for the group and, of course, he presented it well. And, he presented it in under 10 minutes!”
TEACHING OFFICE
Cardinal Brislin has consistently upheld traditional Catholic doctrine on sexual ethics, though he has taken a more flexible and open stance on access to the sacraments for those living in illegitimate relationships and how pastoral care is provided.
Views on Abortion
The cardinal has repeatedly condemned legal abortion in South Africa as “the taking of human life” and has called on the faithful to have the courage to “stand firm” and adhere to “living the Gospel.”1He said: “We are all products of our society and the prevailing norms and culture of the community in which we live. Not all those norms, even if civilly legal, are ‘righteous’ in terms of our belief in God. In such matters we need the courage to “stand firm” and to adhere to living the Gospel – just because something is legal it does not mean it is morally right. An obvious example is abortion, which in certain cases is civilly legal, but is contrary to our belief in the Creator God who has given us life and attached to it the commandment that we are never to take life.”
He was similarly forceful in his comments on euthanasia.2“To respect the sanctity of life means protecting the unborn and protecting the lives of the elderly. Our belief in God as the source of life means that we cannot accept abortion or euthanasia.”
Contraception
The cardinal has affirmed Catholic teaching prohibiting the use of artificial contraception and in 2010 defended Pope Benedict XVI’s statements on the use of condoms by a male prostitute, emphasising it didn’t change Catholic doctrine. “This is not revolutionary as some have claimed and should be seen in the context of a call away from the evil consequences of promiscuity and a disordered use of sexuality to a more human sexuality faithful to the God-given gift,” he said.
At the same time the cardinal stated that teenage pregnancies and abortion show that people have failed to follow Church teachings on chastity, but that the government’s condom policies had also failed. “Until recently, the government’s message has been characterised by the slogan ‘condomise’. The Church’s message has been abstinence before marriage and fidelity within marriage. By and large, neither message has been adhered to. “The number of teenage pregnancies, and the increased number of abortions, both testify that many people have not listened to the condomise message. Equally, they have not listened to the Church’s message of abstinence and fidelity.”
He reaffirmed the Church’s prohibition on the use of condoms when it comes to HIV/AIDS, saying people “must understand what the Church’s message is” on the matter.
Doctrine and Pastoral Praxis
The cardinal was sympathetic towards pastoral flexibility, adapted to the local level, as supported by Pope Francis during the 2015 synod on the family, but not relativistic regarding doctrine.
“The recognition of cultural and local differences, which demand different pastoral responses, will result in less centralization and far greater scope for local bishops to discern pastoral intervention,” he said. As Pope Francis said, ‘what seems normal for one bishop on one continent, is considered strange and almost scandalous – almost! – for a bishop from another… what for some is freedom of conscience is for others simply confusion…’. The synod is over, but the journey is not.”
The cardinal denied that doctrinal change has occurred under Pope Francis, saying it was simply more important to preach the love of God. “The Church has not compromised on the teaching and doctrines of God,” he said, “it has merely understood that the preaching of God’s love is more important.”
Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage
During the 2014 and 2015 Synods on the Family, Brislin was viewed as taking a somewhat liberal stance on a variety of issues. With regard to Communion for the divorced and civilly remarried, he spoke in favor of the law of gradualism that recognizes that people grow in virtue and improve their relationship with God gradually, without compromising on the content of the moral law. He said he was not therefore supporting a blanket permission for the divorced remarried to receive communion, but also not excluding that it could be allowed in certain cases.
When the second synod assembly ended in 2015, Brislin acknowledged that the proposal to allow the divorced remarried to receive Communion in certain cases had not acquired sufficient support. However, he stressed that the synod was “not the end of the discernment” but rather about facing up to “difficulties and uncertainties in the light of Faith.”
After Amoris Laetitia was released, Brislin along with other South African bishops released guidelines that did not specify whether the divorced and remarried could henceforth receive Communion in certain cases, but called for greater pastoral care and integration.
In a 2022 instruction, then-Archbishop Brislin reaffirmed the duty of Catholic parents to raise their children in the faith and other marriage laws, and encouraged engaged couples to receive marriage preparation before receiving the sacrament. “Parents are reminded of their grave obligation to ensure the Catholic education of their children,” he said.
He warned priests against participating in marriage ceremonies in which one party is not fully committed to the marriage bond, saying that such a marriage can be scandalous in future. He likewise forbade priests from being involved in (re)marriages involving a divorced spouse.3“It is absolutely forbidden for a pastoral minister to assist at a marriage, even only in his capacity as a civil marriage officer, where at least one party remains bound through a bond of marriage to his/her former spouse.” He added: “The participation of a pastoral minister in such a ceremony would lead to serious scandal among the faithful and to their questioning the Church’s doctrine on the indissolubility of marriage. Failure to observe this norm may lead to canonical penalties.”
He also made it clear that marriages between Catholics and non-Catholics could only be allowed if the Catholic spouse was not at risk from falling away from the faith and the children were all raised Catholic.
Homosexuality
Cardinal Brislin has made several statements regarding homosexuals and homosexuality over the years, mostly in their favor. In 2017, he expressed a welcoming attitude towards homosexual people in the Church, stating that the Church “should be home for gay people” and that he found it “very distressing” that they don’t always feel at home in the Church. He acknowledged that some homosexuals in parishes are “very good Catholics” trying to live the best life they can.
He faulted the Church for failing to connect with people and accompany them, saying Pope Francis had “opened a debate” that he did not think was “going to go away.” At the same time expressed his opposition to focusing on homosexual identity. “I don’t think one should make a special class of people just because they are gay, I don’t think that should be the defining thing,” he said. “But if people are feeling excluded from the Church, if people are not feeling at home with the Church, that is the issue that we must address and that might be because they are gay, it might be because they are divorced, it might be because they are in other situations. That is the core that should be addressed.”
Although he rejected making sexuality a person’s essential identity, homosexual advocacy groups such as New Ways Ministry welcomed his comments and praised him for using the word “gay” — a word which has been deliberately used by the homosexual lobby to signal pride and acceptance of sexual identity.
Fiducia Supplicans
Along with the other South African bishops, Brislin diverged from most African bishops by supporting Fiducia Supplicans while emphasizing that the Vatican declaration did not allow the blessings of a same-sex union and that those being blessed have to live chastely.
“We in South Africa felt that, obviously, it is up to each local bishop, but that we would implement the document and its recommendations with blessings, prudently,” he said.
According to Brislin, when homosexuals in a relationship seek a blessing, this means they seek God’s grace and it was important to remember that. “Their motivation does need to be right,” the cardinal added. “It must be a spontaneous request. It mustn’t be in order to promote an ideology or to show themselves; it must be a genuine thing that is coming from their hearts.”
He added: “Generally speaking, when we give a simple blessing, we don’t ask a lot of questions. We don’t ask people if this is your wife and if you have been faithful to her always and that sort of thing. And I would suggest that the same [practice be observed], even though this is challenging. If [priests] are asked for a blessing, give a blessing.”
“The difficulty that the church has is not that somebody is gay or even that they live together; it is the sexual expression that is not in accordance with God’s will.”
“In talking about homosexuals or other people in irregular situations, it is actually a challenge to all of us that we make sure that we do live chaste lives.”
Treatment of Reform Groups
In 2012 Brislin took measures against members of the dissident We Are Church group, after a local branch called We Are All Church (WAACSA) had been founded in South Africa. The group called for reforms, such as making priestly celibacy optional and the ordination of women. National coordinator Brian Robertson said Brislin had informed him that his group, which claims to “strive for a return to the spirit of the Second Vatican Council,” was outside the Church and could not meet on church property. Robertson also found himself removed from the updated list of Eucharistic ministers.
In 2019, Brislin lifted the ban on WAACSA. Asked why the bishop took the decision, Robertson said that Brislin had “always been supportive and open to meeting with us,” and that “after one of our members asked him why he continued to withhold permission for us to meet on Catholic property, he informed me that he had decided to lift the ban.” Robertson gave no clear reason for the lifting of the ban.
Ordination of Women
After two former Dominican nuns claimed to have been ordained in 2014, Brislin reaffirmed the Church’s prohibition against the ordination of women.
“Catholic women who accept to be ordained to the priesthood separate themselves from the Church and the sacraments,” he said. “It is therefore contrary to the spirit of the Catholic Church to be involved in the promotion of the ordination of women to the priestly ministry; It is contrary to the teaching of the Church to offer or create platforms where conversations are held with women who claim to have been ordained.”
Synod on Synodality
The cardinal was supportive of the Synod on Synodality, asserting that the Holy Spirit works not just through bishops and clergy, but all of the faithful. “We need the collective wisdom of the whole of the Church, because God’s Holy Spirit works throughout the Church, not only with bishops and priests and so on, but with all the Church and every component of it,” he said.
He also contended that the synod was popular at the local level and that it was something to be developed “more locally, to become that listening Church, that discerning Church, and really opening ourselves to God’s Holy Spirit.”
Politics and Climate Change
Brislin has also weighed in on controversial political issues including climate change. He has supported the “We Have Faith Campaign – Act Now for Climate Justice” that is launching a Pan-African cycling caravan. “These initiatives are exciting but this movement needs to grow,” he said. “We urge everyone to take action, whether through a campaign, engaging in COP21 or by adopting more environmentally friendly practices. Climate change is a threat that we all face and we all should be working together to mitigate it.”
Brislin however, has reprimanded parishes that have campaigned on behalf of the African National Congress, rejecting such direct interventions in the political sphere as improper for the Church.
He has frequently spoken out against corruption in politics, and the gap between the rich in the poor in South Africa which he believes could be the highest in the world.
- 1He said: “We are all products of our society and the prevailing norms and culture of the community in which we live. Not all those norms, even if civilly legal, are ‘righteous’ in terms of our belief in God. In such matters we need the courage to “stand firm” and to adhere to living the Gospel – just because something is legal it does not mean it is morally right. An obvious example is abortion, which in certain cases is civilly legal, but is contrary to our belief in the Creator God who has given us life and attached to it the commandment that we are never to take life.”
- 2“To respect the sanctity of life means protecting the unborn and protecting the lives of the elderly. Our belief in God as the source of life means that we cannot accept abortion or euthanasia.”
- 3“It is absolutely forbidden for a pastoral minister to assist at a marriage, even only in his capacity as a civil marriage officer, where at least one party remains bound through a bond of marriage to his/her former spouse.” He added: “The participation of a pastoral minister in such a ceremony would lead to serious scandal among the faithful and to their questioning the Church’s doctrine on the indissolubility of marriage. Failure to observe this norm may lead to canonical penalties.”
