At its 2022 Normal Meeting on Tuesday, the Church accepted a movement introduced ahead by Rev Prof Susan Hardman to apologise for its function within the historic persecution of those victims of witchcraft accusations who’re majorly ladies.

Reacting in an announcement by Leo Igwe, the Advocacy for Alleged Witches says it acquired the information with a lot pleasure and hope for the way forward for its marketing campaign to finish witch-hunting in Africa.

“This improvement marks a big step within the efforts by Witches of Scotland to win justice, authorized pardon, apology, and nationwide monument for hundreds of individuals principally ladies who have been convicted of witchcraft and executed between 1563 and 1736.

“AfAW is delighted by the progress that the marketing campaign by Witches of Scotland has made. On March 8, 2022, the Worldwide Ladies’s Day, the Scottish first minister, Nicola Surgeon, provided a proper apology to individuals accused of witchcraft within the sixteenth and 18th centuries.

“By the way, this marketing campaign has elicited criticisms from some segments of the Scottish inhabitants who assume that the initiative is pointless as a result of these are wrongs dedicated centuries in the past.

“Some individuals say that such a marketing campaign is an anachronism to the present technology of Scottish individuals. However these critics are vastly mistaken. They’ve forgotten that injustice is injustice regardless of how lengthy previously it was dedicated.

“And it’s by no means too late to say: “I’m sorry”. It’s by no means too late to acknowledge errors and wrongdoings. It’s by no means too late to treatment previous injustices, particularly when these injustices are nonetheless meted out to individuals in some elements of the world.

“Extra importantly, this marketing campaign has a lot up to date relevance and resonance. Tens of hundreds of individuals, together with ladies, youngsters, and aged individuals, nonetheless undergo hurt linked to witchcraft accusations and prosecution in lots of African nations.

“And church buildings with a direct and oblique hyperlink to the Church of Scotland typically perpetuate these abuses. Church buildings in Africa are a part of the issue of witch-hunting within the area. Churchmen and girls are modern-day witch hunters, witchcraft accusers and witch persecutors.”

AfAW added that the acknowledgment by the Church of Scotland sends a transparent and highly effective message to its counterparts and associates (church buildings) in Africa including that it’s going to persuade and mobilise African church buildings to grow to be a part of the efforts to finish abuses linked to witchcraft beliefs within the area.