Mbeki's mistakes, white South Africans, Catholics in crisis

Scholarly, erudite, but misguided. That just about sums up Thabo Mbeki. His absurd policies on Aids and Zimbabwe became the target of many of my articles in the Herald newspaper in the early 2000s. I also had a go at a group of Port Elizabeth activists who saw fit to protest against Israel's latest fray with the Palestinians while ignoring the massive travesty going on in Zim. An attempt to discover just why so many Roman Catholic priests were getting involved in paedophilia led to a spate of angry letters from the Jewish community.

Tony Leon, the former Democratic Alliance leader, once called it the A to Z of ANC policy - Aids and Zimbabwe summed up just how badly they were governing generally.

In the midst of all the politics, I managed to squeeze in the odd book review, including this look at Bluesman, by Andre Dubus III.

My article critical of those who turned a blind eye locally to Mugabe's reign of terror, while flogging the age-old scapegoat, Israel.

As the ANC imposed its racist policies, disguised as bringing equity and fairness to the country, I felt it was time to point out that white South Africans, like golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, continued to make us proud.

Phew! Talk about fools rushing in. This is my attempt to diagnose the moral crisis afflicting the Roman Catholic Church.

These letters in response to my article appeared in the Herald on May 15, 20002.