South Africa's Dutch Reformed Church, once ostracized for its theological justification of apartheid and white-majority rule, has rejoined the South African Council of Churches

Christian Century, August 10, 2004

* South Africa's Dutch Reformed Church, once ostracized for its theological justification of apartheid and white-majority rule, has rejoined the South African Council of Churches. The move, announced July 13 during the ecumenical organization's triennial meeting in Johannesburg, ended more than 40 years of antagonism between the denomination and the ecumenical agency, and was hailed by South African media and church leaders as something of a milestone in the country's ongoing process of reconciliation.

Willie Botha, a spokesman for the Dutch Reformed Church, told the SACC that the 3-million-member denomination having apologized for its past--had been "humbled" by its reception in reentering the council.