‘To Save a Soul’: Catholic Mission Schools,Apartheid, and the 1953 Bantu Education Act

The Bantu Education Act of 1953 was enacted by the government of South Africa to bring about the election promise of apartheid (separateness) among the races. For the Roman Catholic Church in South Africa, the Education Act was a direct attack on its apostolic work in the country as the church was responsible for educating 15 per cent of the black student population by 1953. Regardless of the Catholic contribution to South Africa’s educational system, the church was viewed as a threat — die Roomse gevaar — to its architects of apartheid. Catholic precepts regarding the unity of the human race under “the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of man” and the belief in the equality of all people as children of God challenged the apartheid ideology of racial separateness and differentiation. Eliminating Catholic control of Bantu education would neutralise the Roman threat. Passage of the Education Act left church leaders with two choices: fight or surrender. They chose to fight, launching the “Catholic Bishops’ Campaign for Mission Schools and Seminaries” in 1955. Although overlooked by most scholars, the campaign was an important part of a larger resistance movement that challenged the legitimacy of the apartheid regime in the 1950s.     

A medieval bladder stone from Norwich,Norfolk

A fragmented bladder stone was recovered from the pelvic cavity of a medieval mature male buried in the Franciscan cemetery of St Faith's, Norwich. A review of other British archaeologically derived bladder stones is also included. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.