Apostolics investigating pastor
2002-09-13 09:50
Johannesburg - The Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) has been conducting its own disciplinary investigation into Johannes Swart, a former pastor who has moved in with a male co-pastor, treating the issue as any "ordinary extramarital relationship".
AFM president Dr Isak Burger said on Thursday there was no reason why Swart's alleged homosexual relationship with Pastor Phillip Liebenberg of the Melville congregation should "imply aggravating circumstances".
His comments follow a Johannesburg High Court ruling on Swarts's application this week for interim alimony that the pastor's wife, Adri, pay him R7 000 a month.
Judge G M Makhanya also ordered Mrs Swart to contribute R5 000 towards Swart's legal costs. An order was made granting him access to their five-year-old child, who lived with Mrs Swart.
Burger maintains that, as far as he is concerned, Swart's resignation has not been approved. "Otherwise, we would not be conducting an investigation against
him."
'Unconventional people' attend services
According to Burger, the report about Swart's and Liebenberg's alleged relationship has shed new light on the issue and a disciplinary investigation was ordered against Liebenberg.
Beeld managed to trace Swart to Liebenberg's flat on Thursday.
However, he declined to talk to the media, saying he did not know where Liebenberg was. Liebenberg could not be reached on his cellphone. Liebenberg's church is adjacent to his flat.
Burger said: "I'm aware of the fact that his church is not a conventional venue, and that unconventional people attend his services. He has clearly targeted a specific market."
He could not shed any light on what the consequences were likely to be for Swart and Liebenberg if the respective investigations find them guilty.
Swart's wife, Adri, alleged in court that her estranged husband and Liebenberg
had been having an affair for more than five years.
She said on Thursday she was
determined to discover why the Johannesburg High Court had awarded her husband R7 000 in
alimony.
Her husband had earlier resigned from his post as pastor of the Strubenvale congregation in Springs.
Mrs Swart's lawyer, Hans Badenhorst, said the court temporarily ruled that she should pay her estranged husband support. The ruling is operative within seven days. He added that the court would make a final ruling when the couple's divorce action was heard.